"This is it. People are counting on you," I reminded myself as I pushed forward, my senses sharpening with each passing millisecond. I had begun my journey to the heart of the conflict well beyond the range of the assembled fleets, and it was only as I dove closer to the distant artifact that I realized how distorted my perspective had been. This conflict was massive, and each galactic step closer to the artifact was like a layer of an onion. The enemy fleet ships were truly gargantuan compared to my concept of spacefaring vessels. The chaos of battle unfolded around me like a violent tapestry—ships exploding into fiery blossoms, energy beams slicing through the void, and debris scattering in all directions. Amidst this pandemonium, my goal remained clear: rescue the three kidnapped Blidda children before they became casualties of this relentless war.
Nurse's calming presence sat at the back of my mind, her analytical processes already working overtime to monitor my heightened state. It felt like I had just downed a case of Redbulls and the caffeine was just starting to hit my bloodstream. "Your vitals, if you can call them that, are spiking, but everything is within operational parameters. Just stay focused and we'll get through this."
I nodded inwardly, weaving my swarm through the battlefield with unparalleled agility, having to gradually slow down as I moved deeper into the conflict. The black streak of my passage caused waves of confusion among some of the warring armadas, some attempting to track my movements but unable to keep up with the sheer speed and unpredictability of my trajectory.
Ahead loomed the massive silhouette of a U'lennea dreadnought, its hull bristling with weapons spewing destruction in all directions. The Blidda transport that had originally carried the children was caught in its hooked snare, struggling in vain to break free as smaller enemy U'lennea fighters circled like vultures, waiting for their meal once the larger ship managed to rip the smaller ship apart.
"I've isolated and gone through the Blidda's latest com chatter," Nurse announced, superimposing a detailed schematic in my vision. "Bulkhead stability is failing along the entanglement points, and hull integrity is at 43%. We need to act fast."
"On it," I replied, pushing for more speed while trying to keep an eye out for innocent lives. I would hate to run into a Blidda that just happened to get blown out into space. I felt a surge of power coursing through my drone body, the recent changes amplifying my abilities beyond previous limits. The distance between me and the embattled transport vanished in an instant as I closed in, assessing the best course of action to cut the lines attached to the ships and engage the enemies still harassing the ship.
I flicked the tail end of my swarm around, shaping it into a whip blade that easily sliced through the tethers that held the two ships together. A squadron of U'lennea interceptors broke formation and headed straight for me as their weapon systems locked on. Their reaction time was impressive, but not enough to match my newfound speed. I didn't bother twisting through their barrage of plasma fire, the bolts glancing harmlessly off my morphing swarm as I closed the gap and dispatched them with precise, calculated blows. Each enemy ship erupted in silent explosions, adding more debris to the chaotic battlefield.
I sent an attack force of my swarm into the Blidda ship to cleanse it of any U'lennea on board. Though my swarm was able to move at insane speeds, sweeping the corridors and tearing through the invaders who were still working their way through the ship's halls and fighting the crew, it still felt like it was taking forever, as my concern only grew. I noticed something strange, each death changed the U'lennea slightly, it was as if they were getting faster... almost to the point where they started to raise their weapons to attack my swarm the moment it came into view.
"Enemy reinforcements coming in from sectors three and seven," Nurse warned, highlighting the rapidly converging signatures on the tactical map. "They're trying to box us in."
"Let them try," I muttered, undeterred. The interior of the ship was a scene of panic - alarms blaring, lights flickering, and the crew desperately trying to maintain control. Life signs of the crew flickered faintly on my display, huddled in various weakened compartments, moments away from breach.
"Accessing their systems now," Nurse informed. "Initiating emergency protocols and stabilizing critical functions," she said as my swarm finished off the last of the invaders and went into stabilization mode, sweeping through the ship like putty, repairing cracks and holes as quickly as possible.
"Good. Begin evacuation procedures for the remaining crew and children. Get them into an escape pod that doesn't take up too much of my swarm to protect, and I'll provide cover," I instructed, extending segments of my swarm to envelop the ship like a protective cocoon. My drones quickly swept around the vast hull of the ship, acting as a shield to ward off any incoming attacks.
The U'lennea dreadnought adjusted its massive cannons, targeting us with lethal intent. The incoming U'lennea reinforcements seemed to ignore the Blidda ship completely, pausing in their approach to see what would happen next. I could feel the build-up of energies as it prepared to unleash devastating blasts that were designed to obliterate everything in their path.
"High energy signatures detected. Weapons will fire in five seconds," Nurse's voice remained calm despite the urgency.
"Work as fast as you can to get those remaining out of here," I ordered, already noting and disregarding Nurse's calculations regarding the escape pod's future escape trajectories. Five seconds seemed like an eternity to me, but I knew it wasn't enough time for Nurse to work while getting everyone to safety. I could feel what she was doing, ripping holes in the walls to move everyone as fast as possible, while building protective suits around everyone in real time using whatever she could grab.
I was beginning to feel stressed. We still had the other captives to rescue, and every second had to count. I dispatched bullet-shield drones, rapidly morphing into shapes to confuse enemy scans. I was glad I did, because a few of the bullet shields actually encountered some free-floating Blidda, on the verge of death, apparently thrown from their ship during an attack. They were quickly dragged towards their only hope of survival.
The dreadnought fired, blinding beams of concentrated energy tearing through space toward us. Time seemed to slow as I manipulated the swarm, bending the trajectory of the free bullet-shields to intersect with each beam's path. The collision resulted in a massive explosion, shockwaves rippling outward but dissipating against my impervious shields.
"That was different, it seems that the U'lennea have already absorbed and modified their weapons to use cr-disabling technology as well as traditional high energy blasts. That attack would have done considerable damage to normal cr joined shielding," Nurse speculated.
"Then the Blidda won't be here for the next one," I replied as I felt Nurse secure the last of the Blidda a few moments later and remotely activate the escape pod's engines, synchronizing them with my swarm's propulsion. "Engaging emergency escape. Plotting course for safe coordinates."
The transport's engines roared to life, sputtering at first, but gaining strength as my swarm nursed their damaged systems. The surrounding enemy ships closed in, desperate to prevent their escape. I directed concentrated masses of the deadly swarm at them, unleashing my fury, savagely tearing through hulls and U'lennea fighter pilots alike, clearing a path as the space around the dreadnought's armament began to distort again, signaling another incoming barrage.
"I can't go very fast. Not everyone is in safety gel pods," Nurse warned, her voice tense with urgency. As if on cue, the dreadnought fired again, its barrage meant to distract and overwhelm. This time, a massive volley of beams erupted from the side, a coordinated attack from several directions.
I barely had time to react. My swarm moved instinctively, pulling several bullet-shields from my grasp and diverting them into the path of another set of beams fired from a distant dreadnought. The beams had been aimed at an unprotected side of the escape shuttle - a calculated attack that would have completely gutted it.
The resulting series of explosions startled me, the shockwaves reverberating through space. Despite their inability to penetrate my bullet-shields, the coordinated assault revealed a chilling reality: I had narrowed my focus too much, leaving blind spots that the enemy was quick to exploit.
But then again, it wasn't just me out here. My swarm was an extension of my will, and they were just as capable of adapting as I was.
Which was a good thing, because the enemy was learning. And fast.
The enemy dreadnoughts crept forward, advancing in formation, their relentless assault on the escaping Blidda pod unwavering. Despite the chaos of battle raging around them, their coordination was unnervingly precise. Each ship adjusted its position, keeping the pressure on, while beams of energy sliced through space, expertly aimed to either strike the fleeing pod directly or force it into the path of another volley.
I could feel the strain as I directed my swarm to intercept the onslaught. The dreadnoughts worked together with brutal efficiency, their combined firepower creating a deadly web of destruction around the Blidda pod. I knew then that I had no choice—if the pod was going to escape, I would have to make a sacrifice.
"Send a third of the swarm to secure the pod's escape," I ordered, my voice steady even as the tension mounted.
A portion of my swarm broke off immediately, forming a tighter formation around the escape pod. They acted as a living shield, darting in and out of the enemy's line of fire with precision. The dreadnoughts responded by intensifying their attack, focusing all their efforts on the pod, testing my resolve and the swarm's limits.
But my attention was already shifting back to the dreadnought that held the Blidda children captive. I could sense their fear, a faint echo in the back of my mind that urged me to move faster. Just as I prepared to launch myself toward the enemy ship, Nurse's voice cut through the intensity.
"Kevin, I've detected a change in the U'lennea fleet. They're accelerating the capture of alien races—every fleet they come across is being targeted. And there's more… their armaments are evolving, transforming in real-time. It looks like they’re adapting, preparing specifically for you."
A ripple of unease passed through me, but I quickly smothered it with the fire of determination burning inside. The U'lennea were learning, using every bit of information they could gather from my actions. The situation was escalating, the stakes rising with every second.
"Let them adapt," I muttered, my gaze locked on the dreadnought that held the Blidda children. "I'm coming for them."
With a surge of energy, I turned my focus back to the heart of the battle, pushing myself to the limits as I raced toward the dreadnought. My swarm, now reduced in size but no less lethal, followed my lead, ready to unleash our full fury on the enemy that dared to threaten those I had sworn to protect.
The U'lennea dreadnoughts continued their relentless pursuit for a time, their weapons shifting, adapting, becoming more sophisticated with every shot fired. The air was thick with tension as I closed in on the enemy ship.
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I barreled into the side of the dreadnought, the impact rippling through my swarm as I smashed into the outer hull. The material was tough, reinforced with layers of cr and dense wiring that surprised me just how much it resisted my efforts. The wall felt almost alive, pulsating with the ship’s energy. I could sense the U'lennea’s defensive systems activating, a chaotic mix of energy fields and automated defenses springing to life in response within the gigantic ship.
"Huh," Nurse commented. "They suddenly stopped firing at the escape pod."
"It might have something to do with the fact that I am about to breach their ship," I said, pushing harder against the wall. I broke through the first layer and then the next. The strain was evident as I forced my way through the layers of CR. The ship's hull felt like it was fighting back, trying to heal and resist. It wasn't stronger than me—it was just organic, as if it was desperately trying to keep me out. I had never encountered a race that used its CR so effectively. It was still mud CR, but there was so much of it, absorbing my kinetic energy like oobleck.
"Eat it," I commanded my swarm, watching with satisfaction as the wall's defenses crumbled under the relentless assault.
The final wall gave way with a massive breach, and I surged through the opening, my swarm quickly following. The interior of the dreadnought was a stark contrast to the chaotic exterior—a sterile, dimly lit maze of corridors and chambers.
"Stay alert," Nurse advised, her voice calm despite the urgency. "The U'lennea will be on high alert now that you've breached their hull."
I nodded, my focus sharpening. My swarm spread out, searching for the Blidda children and any other captives as I navigated the narrow corridors. The ship was massive, but every turn was deliberate, guided by the signals Nurse provided and my own growing sense of direction.
My swarm continued to dwindle as I ventured deeper into the dreadnought. Each corridor I traversed was a gauntlet of sophisticated traps and weaponry, designed to test and challenge any intruder. Sonic weapons emitted waves of high-frequency vibrations, intended to disrupt my swarm's integrity, but they passed harmlessly through, failing to impact our advance. Lasers swept across the corridors, their beams cutting through the air with precision, but they didn't harm me as I moved swiftly through them. Plasma blasts ignited with intense heat, burning hotter than the cores of suns, but my swarm flowed through them effortlessly, unaffected by their fiery arcs. Radioactive bombs, set at various intervals, released bursts of radiation that would have incapacitated any normal entity, but my swarm simply marched on, bypassing the annoyance without slowing its progress.
The ship’s defenses were relentless, each trap more elaborate than the last. The U'lennea seemed to be testing every possible form of assault, from concentrated energy pulses to shifting hull segments that attempted to crush anything that came too close. Despite these efforts, my swarm pressed on, its autonomous nature allowing it to note and bypass each threat without hesitation.
When I reached the halfway point, I encountered the first beings within the vessel. They were far from what I had expected. These creatures weren’t U'lennea; instead, they were horrifyingly disfigured amalgamations of various alien species. They appeared to be the subjects of brutal experiments, their bodies modified and tortured beyond recognition. Some had mechanical limbs, while others were covered in grotesque growths and pustules, the result of prolonged exposure to harmful substances.
Their presence was disturbing, not just for their appearance but for what they represented—a glimpse into the U'lennea’s cruelty and experimentation. They wielded bizarre weapons and devices, remnants of their own suffering turned into tools of aggression. Though they were a sight of abject horror, they did not slow my progress. I didn't have time to stop and try to help each one. Aid would come later, once I had accomplished my objective and could get the help these aliens needed.
It wasn't until one of the aliens spoke that a fresh wave of horror flooded through me.
"Light. Light. Light!"
The voice was unmistakably that of a Skii, but the creature before me bore no resemblance to the sleek, black-skinned beings I was familiar with. This Skii was a grotesque mockery of its former self, its body bulbous and sickly green, with wrinkly red globs hanging from it like festering tumors. The elegant slender form I had once known was replaced by a horrid, deformed figure. It seemed to writhe in a perpetual state of agony, its limbs twisted and misshapen, and its once intelligent mind now clouded with suffering.
The sight of it struck me like a physical blow. The Skii had been turned into something unrecognizable, a victim of unspeakable cruelty. This was no mere battle; this was a systematic dissection of sentient beings, twisted and corrupted for the U'lennea’s perverse experiments.
"Light! Please... Light!"
The creature’s plea was desperate and heart breaking. It waved the attached weapons in its hands around, strangely avoiding pointing at my person or itself regardless of what the U'lennea wanted it to do, its movement erratic and disjointed. I could see the torment it was in—an echo of the Skii's former grace now marred by endless pain.
My swarm, still unaffected by the myriad traps and assaults of the U'lennea, hesitated momentarily as if sensing my sudden turmoil. I forced myself to refocus, driving my swarm onward through the nightmarish corridors. The sight of the tortured Skii was a stark reminder of the stakes at play—this wasn’t just about the Blidda children; it was about the fundamental need to stop this madness and prevent further suffering.
As I continued, the grotesque scenes became more common, each corner revealing more horrors inflicted upon different alien races. It was a grim testament to the U'lennea’s brutality, and I felt a renewed, grim determination to end their reign of terror. Either that, or my pause next to the Skii was noted and acted upon because all of a sudden the hallways were filled with the cries of suffering aliens. They began to have less of a hostile appeal and more of a surviving a trauma vibe, as though the U'lennea were just dumping them in the hallways, still hooked up to the machines that were causing their mutations and suffering.
It was then that I found them.
All three of the children still sleeping inside their Blidda gel pods.
They were parked in a large room adorned with many lengthy tubes or tentacles lining the walls. Several adult Blidda were there as well still inside their space suits, secured to vertical gurneys via straps around their bodies and limbs. They each had tentacles attached to them from the walls and ceilings.
The sight of the Blidda children, still sleeping peacefully in their gel pods, filled me with a strange mixture of relief and dread. The room was a stark contrast to the corridors I had just passed through - quiet, almost serene, if not for the grotesque tubes and tentacles lining the walls. It was clear that this wasn't just a holding chamber; it was a laboratory, a place where the U'lennea conducted their hideous experiments.
The adult Blidda, still in their spacesuits and strapped to vertical gurneys, were motionless, their fate uncertain. The tubes connected to them pulsed with a sickly glow, as if the ship itself was feeding on their life force. It was a sight that turned my stomach, but I couldn't afford to dwell on it. Not now.
As I approached the Blidda children, my swarm surged off of me and over the three small pods, leaving me with just a light dusting of swarm attached around my large, aggressive looking drone body. I had grown again, or perhaps I had been growing all along. That would explain the strange energy build-up I had been experiencing. Now my body was the size of a human heart and my drone limbs extended like human fingers. I could feel the rest of my swarm inside the ship being recalled as Nurse went to work, rushing to get to me as fast as they could. Some of my swarm took the corridors, while others just bored straight for me. I could feel the walls of the ship, still alive with that strange organic resistance, subtly shifting, almost as if preparing for something. The U'lennea weren't done yet.
"I'm sorry, Kevin! I have to deal with this!" Nurse shouted at me as she hid what she was doing to the pods. I knew I could easily peel back the thin block she could throw in front of me, it almost felt like my swarm was suffering right in front of me and they didn't want me to see what they were doing.
What they had to do.
I got a taste of what the copies of me were feeling and it made me turn away in pain.
"Nurse, how do we get them out of here safely?" I asked, my voice cracking. I felt anything but calm.
"Give me a moment," the nurse replied, her tone equally grim. "I'm analyzing the pods and the connection to the ship. We must sever the connection carefully, or we risk waking them, or worse, alerting the ship to our actions." She said as tendrils that were arriving began to rapidly snipping the tentacles connecting those attached to gurneys and sealing up the connections without a care. It struck me as odd that she was doing this so differently than how she was treating the children. It was almost as though it was too late for the adults.
I waited, the tension in the room palpable as my swarm collected completely and began to spread out, covering the exits and checking for any immediate threats. I couldn't shake the feeling that this was all too easy, that the U'lennea were watching, calculating, adjusting, and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
"You did it. You saved them, now you just need to get them to safety and clean up this mess," I reminded myself, pushing the uneasiness away. I had to stay focused, not just for the children, but for everyone else caught up in this nightmare.
I felt something through my connection to Nurse. It felt like I could feel her heart breaking.
"Nurse. What is it!?! What is wrong?" I asked, fearing her answer.
"Kevin. The U'lennea aren't sequential. They don't do one thing and then another in a row. They are everything all at once. The very moment that these three were captured, they already had serums injected into their pods, even while they were being abducted from the Blidda ship, to allow for cybernetic implants to take without loss of blood. There were even primer agents for mutations slotted into the transfusion lines. I was able to catch those, just not the first dose of primer agents."
"So what? I failed?" I asked, my world going white.
"There wasn't anyway to win with the U'lennea. They corrupt the moment they touch something, always having solutions for testing stored inside their bodies. We can't afford to wake these children up until the process is done. It is quite a painful process and I am keeping them under while it occurs. The ship has already sent commands to wake them up, in fact in the very moment that you arrived, just so that you could hear their cries I am guessing."
"What? You can't stop it or reverse it?"
"Not out here with what I have on hand. As it is, though extremely painful, the process isn't necessarily bad, it is often used on people when they want to have implants and it actually makes their bodies stronger. The thing is, you don't stop or reverse the process while it is ongoing, that would be like ripping nanobots from their inner cell walls. The same bots that, while causing pain, are increasing the durability and elasticity of the cells they are attached to."
A pulse of darkness spawned in the middle of the whiteness I was lost in.
"Get them to safety. I have something that I need to do."
Nurse didn’t hesitate in her task. I watched through the shared vision of my swarm as she cleared a path through the ship’s defenses, the cr tearing apart under her relentless force. The children's pods, along with the suited Blidda, were enveloped in a protective shell of CR, rocketing away from the ship with an urgency that mirrored my own resolve. Like a living being, the walls rapidly sealed again behind her.
Nurse had tried to keep something away from me but I had been stubborn and had looked beyond the curtain. The procedure was only done to those who were older and stable in life because it had a very high rate of causing sterility. She had been unable to reach the children in time and that part of the procedure had already been done. There was a chance that they would never be able to have children again.
Never get to experience that part of life.
The atmosphere around my drone body began to warp and bubble outwards. The tiny pulse of darkness began to eat at the whiteness around it, spreading like a fine mist that consumed and hovered around me. It was control, fine tune control of Loss.
I could feel the reason why I was able to keep it so finely tuned and close to my body, I wasn't weak anymore. The strength that was building up inside me was making me strong enough to manhandle the power of the ability down to the tiniest of release. Ultimate control wrestled in my favor. Instead of having a toddler holding back a broken damn, it was now a drinking straw held by an elephant.
The ship seemed to hold its breath as I stood there, the pulse of darkness growing, spreading like a predatory mist around me. I could feel the U'lennea's collective attention, their curiosity piqued by the change they sensed. They were studying me, trying to understand what was happening, what new threat I might pose. The air itself felt heavy, charged with anticipation, as if the ship’s very walls were bracing for something they couldn’t yet comprehend.
I could still feel the weight of the revelation—the knowledge that those children might never experience the fullness of life, that they had been robbed of something so fundamental. The loss of their future potential was a heavy burden, one that fed the darkness swirling within me. But this wasn’t the time for grief. I couldn’t allow it to consume me, not when there was so much more at stake.
The darkness around me tightened, a concentrated storm of power that I could feel in every cell of my being. It was no longer a wild, uncontrollable force; it was mine to command, to wield with precision. I felt the ship's organic walls react, a subtle shiver of fear or perhaps recognition as the U'lennea realized they had miscalculated.
I wasn’t just some drone, easily manipulated and broken. I was a force that had been tempered by loss, forged into something far stronger than they had anticipated. And now, I would show them exactly what that meant.
I would become death.