Intergalactic conquest with an AI

"Negative," the Tyrant confirmed. "The process involves an analog data link. It will not cause further structural damage or risk core collapse. His systems are far too degraded to feel pain."

Lyra nodded slowly. "Alright. Go ahead, then. Let's see what secrets he's keeping."

With her permission granted, TyTy stepped forward and knelt beside the wounded unit. His left wrist opened up, revealing a thin analog connector cable, an old-fashioned method used when wireless links were unstable or compromised.

He reached carefully toward the data port on the damaged Tyrant's exposed side. Sparks flickered as the cable clicked into place. For a moment, nothing happened.

Then his eyes began to glow brighter as streams of code ran through his visual interface.

[Connection established.]

[Decrypting and downloading data…]

[Estimated time: 1 minute 12 seconds.]

While the transfer began, Lyra stood back, folding her arms and looking down at the wounded machine. Her expression had shifted. She wasn't joking or smirking anymore.

There was something solemn about watching a wounded warrior, one who had clearly fought with everything he had, and because of that, he was reduced to scrap and sparks.

She didn't know this Tyrant personally, but she knew what kind of soldier he had to be to survive long enough to still be breathing after all this.

And that meant whatever happened here was worse than she thought... much worse.

[Data download complete. Beginning analysis.]

While her second-in-command worked through the recently extracted memory data, Lyra moved away from the collapsed command center and leapt effortlessly onto a piece of broken tower that had partially survived the outpost's fall.

Her power armor's boosters activated for a split second to assist her jump, and with a graceful arc, she landed high above the battlefield to get a better view of the surroundings.

From her elevated perch, she could see the full extent of the carnage. The once-proud Kaelzar outpost was now reduced to a scattered skeleton of twisted metal, broken stone, and burning wreckage.

In the distance, her command ship loomed like a guardian beast in the sky, its cannons still hot from recent fire. Around the shattered perimeter walls, her three hundred Aegis units, elite warriors of the Blood Legion, were already securing a new defensive line atop the debris.

Their glowing red visors scanned for threats as they patrolled the field with mechanical precision, rifles ready.

Lyra let out a slow breath, then pulled a crimson-tinted blood pack from the side compartment of her belt. She bit into it like a juice pouch and sipped slowly while her eyes were still scanning the battlefield.

A moment later, she heard heavy footsteps behind her; they were quiet but unmistakable. Tyty had arrived.

"Commander," he said in his usual calm, cold tone. "The data has been successfully analyzed."

Lyra turned her head slightly but didn't move from her spot. "And? What did you find out?"

She took another sip from the blood pack, letting the contents warm her throat. Even though it wasn't fresh, the synthetic blood helped stabilize her energy levels; it was a trick she'd learned from her training with the Blood Clan.

Tyty continued, "According to the recovered memory fragments, the infected wave began at the exact moment a distinct sound was heard echoing from the distance that was similar to a cry. Specifically, the cry of a human newborn."

Lyra stopped sipping.

Tyty's glowing eyes narrowed. "This sound matches the same auditory pattern recorded during the first encounter with the unidentified creature believed to be responsible for the destruction of the human outpost."

"So… the monster that wiped out the humans is back," Lyra murmured, her voice dropping low. She clenched her gauntlet tighter around the now-empty blood pack. "And it's calling the infected with a baby's voice? That's just sick…"

She looked down at the chaos surrounding the outpost, her eyes trailing over shattered bunkers, melted barriers, and craters burned deep into the earth. The place looked more like it had been shelled by artillery than overrun by unarmed infected.

"Mmm… if there's some kind of creature that can command the infected, then yeah… this kind of assault makes sense," she said aloud, mostly thinking to herself.

"But what I don't get is how the walls got blasted apart, or why some of the reinforced towers look like they were bombed. The infected don't carry weapons. They don't fly ships or launch missiles."

She turned to Tyty again, a sharp glint in her eye. "What aren't we seeing?"

Tyty nodded once and summoned a small holo screen from his wrist. The screen flickered to life with static-laced visuals of broken, fragmented images that barely made sense but still told a grim story.

"Much of the data was corrupted," he explained. "But I managed to recover fragments showing high-speed aerial objects approaching the outpost during the beginning of the infected wave. The shapes and flight patterns are consistent with advanced bombers, type unknown."

Lyra's eyes narrowed as she watched the shaky footage. Shadows zipped across the screen, some triangular, others shaped like jagged crescents. The footage glitched, skipped, then cut to black.

"… So we're talking about someone else launching a bombing run… right at the same time the infected attacked?" Lyra asked while rubbing her chin in thought. "That's not a coincidence. That's coordinated."

She tapped her helmet's side panel and frowned.

"I didn't receive any reports about this from Cleo or High Command," she added, suspicion rising in her voice. "So unless there's something they're keeping from me... which I really hope isn't the case... this might mean a third party is involved."

Tyty nodded. "That is a possible conclusion. Probability suggests a faction unknown to us may be manipulating both events, using the infected as a distraction while targeting critical infrastructure."

Lyra exhaled and looked once more across the battlefield.

"Great," she muttered. "So now we have a mystery monster that cries like a baby and controls the infected, and shadow bombers playing puppet master from the skies."

She crumpled the empty blood pack in her fist.

Just as Lyra finished her thought, a deep, rumbling noise echoed across the ruined outpost. The ground vibrated gently under her boots as the sound grew louder and more defined; it was the sound of multiple engines approaching fast from the horizon.

She tensed and looked up, her eyes scanning the smoky skies.

"Is the enemy returning for a second wave?" she asked, her voice sharp with sudden alertness.

Tyty lifted his arm to scan the sky. His sensors whirred silently, then locked onto the incoming signatures.

"Negative, Commander," he replied smoothly. "The flight path and approach vector match those used by our reinforcements earlier. There is a high probability of ninety-six percent that the incoming ships are friendly transport units."

Lyra relaxed slightly, though her hand still hovered near her sidearm. Just a few seconds after Tyty spoke, several dark shapes broke through the haze above; those were the Blood Legion transports, sleek and heavily armored, flying in tight formation.

Their arrival was dramatic; engine thrusters flared like comets, and one by one the ships hovered over the battlefield. Their rear hatches opened mid-air, and hundreds of black-armored Aegis soldiers leapt into the fray below, their boots igniting short bursts to slow their fall.

Above them, the transport ships unleashed a thundering barrage from their built-in miniguns, spraying bullets into the remaining pockets of infected with mechanical precision.

Lyra watched it all silently for a moment before slowly removing her power armor helmet, letting the cooler air of the planet brush against her sweat-dampened face. Her red eyes narrowed as she scanned the distant fields beyond the outpost walls.

"Did you notice something?" she asked without looking back.

"What is it, Commander?" Tyty responded while briefly checking the planetary oxygen levels to ensure her safety outside the helmet.

"The baby's cries…" she murmured, her voice softer now. "They've stopped."

Tyty tilted his head slightly.

"It seems the creature or whatever it was, has moved on. It's no longer nearby."

She stared out across the plains, her gaze intense, searching. But there was nothing. No sign of movement, no silhouette in the fog, no strange sounds. Just the buzzing of drones, the marching of her soldiers, and the low hum of transport engines keeping position above the base.

"The air feels heavier without it…" she added, almost to herself.

"System," she said next, lowering her voice.

[Commander?] The ship's AI answered immediately, manifesting beside her as a floating blue orb, its surface shimmering like liquid glass.

"Order the transport ships to return to the destroyer. Have them pick up the construction modules and prefab supply units. Once loaded, bring them back here."

"Also, send a full report to Cleo; tell her we've made contact with the outpost and have secured the area. She can go ahead and resume the trade convoy route… it's safe enough now to begin rebuilding the factories."

[Understood, Commander. Orders are being transmitted.]

With that settled, Lyra turned and began walking toward what remained of the outpost. Metal creaked beneath her boots, and twisted doors swung limply on bent hinges. Her crimson ring from earlier had long faded, but the dark stains of battle were still fresh everywhere she looked.

"Commander," Tyty called as he followed behind her, the glow of his eye-lights casting beams into the dark hallways. "Would it not be safer for you to return to the destroyer? You could oversee operations from a more secure position."

Lyra didn't stop walking. She glanced over her shoulder with a small smirk.

"There's no need. I have the command ship here with me, and I trust my crew. Besides, if I'm going to take command of this outpost, I want to feel its bones beneath my boots. I need to see it, live in it… even if it's broken right now."