Intergalactic conquest with an AI

"Hey, beautiful. Welcome back,"

he said with a smirk tugging at his lips despite the tension of the situation.

"What were you up to?"

From his back, Ys's playful voice responded, her tone brimming with smug satisfaction

. "Oh, nothing much... just taking care of a little pest problem."

Rex's eyes narrowed, but there was a hint of amusement in his gaze.

"I trust you didn't go too overboard?"

Ys's voice hummed in his ear, full of mischief.

"Me? Overboard? Never, darling. I simply acquired a new little pet. Someone who might prove useful to us later on."

Rex shook his head with a quiet chuckle.

"Just make sure she doesn't get in the way."

"Oh, don't worry,"

Ys replied, her voice dropping to a purr.

"She'll be very well-behaved."

As they moved swiftly toward the transport ships, Rex's sense of unease grew. Whatever lay beyond the battlefield wasn't just another Khryssari common troop; it was something darker, something ancient, and it was coming closer.

"Hey, Ys, is your aunt planning something big?"

Rex asked, his tone full of growing concern.

"Mmm... probably,"

Ys replied, her voice deceptively light as she hugged his neck from behind, leaning against him with a playful smirk.

"Since you've already defeated the champion, I'd say the playtime is over."

Rex's brow furrowed.

"And... what exactly does that mean?"

"It means she'll finally start taking this fight seriously,"

Ys answered, a hint of excitement in her tone.

"For starters, the allied fleet is already as good as gone."

Rex glanced over his shoulder, alarmed. "

Is she sending a bigger fleet to ambush them?"

"Not exactly,"

Ys chuckled, clearly enjoying his reaction.

"You see, we have these... special units. Scary-looking guys who are very good at boarding enemy ships without anyone noticing; not even scanners can pick them up."

Rex let out a low whistle, imagining what kind of horrors could bypass high-tech scanners and trained sentries.

"If they're considered scary by Khryssari standards, they must be pure nightmare fuel."

He was still picturing these mysterious creatures when he felt Ys's breath close to his ear, her voice dropping to a soft whisper.

"Darling, we need to hurry to the transport ships. My aunt has already mobilized the real swarm."

Rex's stomach dropped.

"And... how dangerous is the real swarm?"

Ys started to answer, but before she could speak, the sky began to darken. Countless black and green eggs of all sizes started to rain from above, slamming into the ground with dull, wet thuds.

As each egg cracked open, Khryssari of every shape and form emerged, soldiers, drones, and beasts, some with long, serrated limbs, others with wings or bioplasma cannons embedded in their arms.

Within seconds, the battlefield was swarming with creatures, an endless wave of insectoid horrors that surged forward with terrifying speed and precision.

The communications channel crackled to life, filled with frantic, overlapping voices shouting for backup, for evacuation, for anything that could help. But there was no help. The Khryssari had finally stopped toying with them. Now, it was a massacre.

"Damn it, your aunt was really holding back,"

Rex muttered as he dodged a bolt of bioplasma that sizzled past his head, fired from a Khryssari sniper he'd never seen before.

Ys giggled, a proud glint in her eye.

"Of course she was holding back! They don't call her 'The Hive Devourer' for nothing."

"Yeah, I don't think I want to find out why she earned that name."

Rex shook his head.

"Let's get out of here."

Activating his bionic implants to their full capacity, Rex took off, sprinting across the battlefield at over 100 kilometers per hour. The landscape blurred around him as he zigzagged to avoid the long-range bioplasma shots that streaked through the air like green lightning.

As he ran, he looked up, and his heart sank. The sky, once a brilliant blue, was now dark and green, completely blotted out by the endless wave of descending eggs and swarming Khryssari.

The sunlight was gone, replaced by a shadow that stretched across the entire horizon, as if the world itself were being swallowed by the Hive.

Around him, soldiers who had ignored his earlier order to retreat were now running for their lives, pursued by Khryssari drones that moved in deadly unison. Some were caught mid-sprint, torn apart by claws and fangs before they could even scream.

Ys's voice echoed in his ear, calm yet somehow thrilled by the chaos.

"Isn't it beautiful, darling? The Hive in all its glory."

Rex gritted his teeth, his gaze fixed on the distant transport ships.

"Beautiful? I think you and I have very different definitions of that word."

"Oh, don't be so serious,"

Ys teased, her tone almost sing-song.

"We'll make it out. After all, I'm with you."

As they drew closer to the transports, Rex's focus sharpened. He wasn't just running for his own life; he was leading a retreat, trying to save as many of his soldiers as possible. But the enemy was closing in, and the Hive Devourer's forces were relentless.

Every instinct in his body screamed at him to keep going, to survive. The ground shook beneath his feet as he sprinted through the chaos, dodging plasma fire and Khryssari claws, Ys's laughter still echoing in his mind, a strange comfort amidst the nightmare unfolding around them.

"Well, I'm glad at least one of us is having fun,"

Rex muttered, still sprinting at full speed toward the extraction point.

"Hehehe, why shouldn't I enjoy it?"

Ys replied, her tone playful as she nuzzled her cheek against his.

"I feel perfectly safe while holding onto my darling."

Despite the chaos around him, Rex couldn't help but smile, feeling the warmth of her soft cheek against his own. Even in the midst of a battlefield, Ys's presence had a way of grounding him.

After several grueling minutes of running at top speed, Rex finally reached

Cleo's

gunboat. It was under assault, with several K. warriors clawing at its hull, but the Aegis sentinel were holding them off, blasting the Khryssari back and giving Rex a clear path to board the ship.

Once inside, Rex hurried to the cockpit and threw himself into the pilot's seat. His fingers danced over the controls, bringing the gunboat's systems online. The engines hummed as they powered up, and the energy shields shimmered to life, enveloping the ship in a protective barrier.

"Aegis units, time to fall back!"

he ordered through the comms.

"Get inside the ship so we can take off."

For a moment, there was silence. Then, a voice came through, deep and calm but with a strange hint of finality.

[Negative, my lord. We will stay here to give you enough time to escape and prevent the Khryssari from breaching the ship.]

Rex's jaw tightened, his eyes widening.

"What are you talking about? It's time to leave; get inside now!"

There was another pause, and then the response came again, this time even firmer.

[Negative, sir. Time is running low. You need to take off immediately. It is our duty to ensure your safety.]

Rex's hands clenched on the controls, his heart sinking. He wasn't used to this. The Aegis units were his steadfast guardians, each one a valuable and irreplaceable asset; more than that, they were his comrades. And now they were choosing to sacrifice themselves.

He swallowed, trying to find the words. But before he could speak, the voice came through one final time.

[And sir, it was an honor serving under you.]

Rex's grip on the controls trembled.

"Understood,"

he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. He forced himself to look away from the viewport, unable to bear the sight of the Aegis units outside, holding back the Khryssari swarm with unwavering resolve.

The ship's engines roared to full power, and Cleo gunboat lifted off the ground, slowly ascending. Through the cockpit's glass, Rex caught one last glimpse of the Aegis sentinels, locked in fierce combat, their metallic forms shining amidst the chaos.

One by one, they were overwhelmed by the relentless Khryssari forces, but they held the line, buying him every precious second they could.

Ys watched him silently, sensing the turmoil in his heart. She reached out, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"They knew their purpose, darling. They chose this."

Rex exhaled slowly, his gaze hardened. "

I know. But that doesn't make it any easier."

The gunboat accelerated, leaving the battlefield below. As they soared through the skies, Rex's heart was heavy with the weight of those left behind. The sacrifice of the Aegis units would not be forgotten. It would fuel him, driving him forward, giving him yet another reason to fight, to survive.

Once the gunboat ascended into the sky, Rex's eyes scanned the horizon, catching sight of a swarm of Khryssari aerial units, skydancers, and others, heading straight for them.

Their forms were like dark shadows in the turbulent skies, wings beating in unison, creating a low, menacing hum that reverberated through the air.

Rex's hand flew to the control panel, activating the gunboat's automated turrets. The hum of the engines was soon accompanied by the sharp, rhythmic thrum of rapid-fire cannons.

Beams of light shot out, tearing through the darkened sky and striking down the approaching skydancers with deadly precision. The air crackled with energy as the Khryssari units spiraled downward, some disappearing in fiery bursts as the turrets found their marks.

But Rex knew the odds were against them. The planet was overrun, and it would be nearly impossible to break free of the Khryssari swarm on sheer firepower alone.

Just as the weight of that realization settled over him, a brilliant, unexpected sight caught his eye, it was a massive allied fleet ship, torn and battered, plummeting from the sky like a falling star.

The ship's descent was catastrophic, its bulk slicing through the Khryssari swarm with the force of a thousand blades. It crashed into the ground with a thunderous roar, splitting apart and erupting in a dazzling firestorm that lit the sky in a kaleidoscope of flame and debris.

The impact and the subsequent explosions tore through the swarm, creating a temporary void, a pathway through the chaos.

"Lady Luck, you beautiful thing,"

Rex muttered