Destiny Among the Stars - Scifi - LitRPG - Adventure

Zoe's targeting reticle locked onto another Vexillari flyer, her plasma cannons tracking the creature's erratic movements. The insectoid banked hard, its membranous wings catching the toxic atmosphere, corrosive spit trailing from its mandibles.

She fired.

The plasma bolts caught it center mass. The flyer exploded in a spray of chitin and green ichor, fragments tumbling toward the battlefield below.

[Combat data accumulating...]
[Calculating... XP]
[Calculating... Credits]

"Kill confirmed," Tir'Shan said over the squadron channel as another explosion from the fortress illuminated her screen. "That's the last of the AA turrets."

Zoe checked her tactical display. Squadron 5-Delta formed up around her, all twelve fighters intact. No losses. Against Vexillari flyers and ground-based anti-air, they'd maintained perfect cohesion.

We're actually doing this. We're winning.

She allowed herself a smile inside her neural combat helmet.

Below, the fortress walls were breached. Heavy Assault was pouring through. Dropships descended with Emily's air assault company. The ground battle raged, but up here, the sky belonged to Squadron 5-Delta.

Then the Vexillari flyers broke off.

All of them. Simultaneously. Banking upward and accelerating hard, climbing toward orbit with desperate speed.

"What are they doing?" Shel'Kara called out.

Zoe's tactical display showed the retreat. Every enemy fighter within engagement range was fleeing upward, abandoning the ground forces entirely.

We're giving chase, not letting those fuckers get away.

"Squadron 5-Delta, pursue," Zoe ordered, her fighter's nose pitching up. "Stay in formation. We're not letting them regroup."

"Confirmed, Commander," Tir'Shan said, her wingman falling into tight formation beside her.

The squadron climbed as one, their propulsion-less drives accelerating smoothly through the toxic atmosphere. Mach 2. Mach 4. Mach 6. The Stalker Mk-I fighters punched through chemical clouds like they weren't there, inertia shielding keeping the G-forces manageable.

The Vexillari flyers were fast, but the Stalkers were faster.

Zoe watched her altimeter climb. Forty thousand meters. Fifty thousand. The atmosphere thinned, the blue giving way to darkness.

Then they broke through.

And Zoe's jaw dropped.

Space spread before her, vast and filled with war.

The Varnathi fleet hung in high orbit, massive capital ships arranged in defensive formation. Two extra-large carriers dominated the center, actively disgorging fighters and dropships that streaked toward the planet below. A large battleship flanked them, its hull bristling with weapons batteries. Dozens of smaller vessels, likely frigates, destroyers, and corvettes formed a defensive screen around the capital ships.

Shields flickered across the fleet like soap bubbles catching light, each impact from Vexillari weapons sending ripples of energy across their surfaces.

And engaging them was the Vexillari fleet.

Oh god.

Chitinous vessels, black as death, swarmed through space toward the Varnathi fleet. Dozens of them. Ships that looked grown rather than built, their surfaces covered in armor plating that moved and shifted. They disgorged fighters constantly, small as flies from this distance but numbering in the thousands.

Plasma fire and energy weapons lit up the orbital space between the fleets. Missiles streaked across the void. Point defense systems created walls of fire. Ships exploded on both sides, debris spinning away from the battle.

The Varnathi were holding, but barely.

"Command, this is Squadron 5-Delta," Zoe transmitted. "We've reached orbital altitude. Vexillari fleet is—" She struggled for words. "Massive. Engaging—"

"Squadron 5-Delta, negative!" Command's voice cut through, sharp and urgent. "Return to your operational theater immediately. You are atmospheric support for Third Army operations. Fleet engagement is handled by orbital squadrons. Return and resume ground support operations. Acknowledge."

Zoe watched the orbital battle rage. Varnathi fighters were already engaging the enemy swarm, dozens of squadrons designed for void combat. Her small squad of fighters wasn't needed there.

And below, the Varnathi were assaulting multiple fortresses across the planet. She had her fortress to support. Her operational theater.

Right. We have a job. Down there.

"Squadron 5-Delta acknowledges," Zoe said. "Returning to operational altitude."

"Confirmed. Multiple Vexillari atmospheric assets are repositioning toward your theater. Maintain air superiority over fortress assault operations."

The Vexillari flyers they'd been pursuing merged with the swarm heading toward the Varnathi fleet. And in the distance, between the planet and one of its moons, Zoe caught sight of a massive structure. A ring, kilometers across, its surface covered in geometric patterns that hurt to look at directly. Energy cascaded around its circumference, bending light and space.

A stargate.

That's how they got here. That's how the Varnathi could hold a colony this far from their homeworld.

As her fighter re-entered the atmosphere, Zoe watched the gate through her canopy. Vexillari ships were firing on it, concentrated plasma eating away at its structure. The geometric patterns darkened, then failed. The energy field collapsed inward.

The stargate imploded.

Silent from this distance but devastating. The ring structure compressed, twisted, and vanished in a flash of impossible light, taking with it several Vexillari ships.

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Space rippled as a massive spatial distortion formed far behind the Vexillari fleet. Space folded then tore open.

Another fleet emerged from hyperspace.

More insectoid ships. Fresh and undamaged. At least twenty capital vessels with fighter swarms already deploying. They moved to flank the Varnathi fleet, coordinating with the existing Vexillari forces.

Zoe banked her fighter, the squadron following her lead. They dove back toward the atmosphere, accelerating hard.

This is an extermination.

The Varnathi weren't holding back an invasion. They were watching their colony world die. The gate was gone. Reinforcements were impossible. And the Vexillari kept coming, wave after wave, until nothing remained.

This world was lost.

We need to finish this scenario and get out. Fast.

The thought was cold and immediate. Luca in the trenches. Emily dropping into the fortress. Ryan blowing holes in walls. Chris in his mech. Joey trying to keep everyone alive. And Danny, sweet Danny... charging into the worst of it with that ridiculous warhammer.

I hope we make it out of this in time. Danny... be careful.

The portal exit was somewhere in that fortress. Behind enemy lines. And they had to disable the fog generators before the Vexillari fleet finished its extermination.

"Squadron 5-Delta, form up," Zoe said, her voice hollow. "Multiple hostile assets inbound to our theater. Weapons free."

Her tactical display updated. Vexillari flyers diving back toward the fortress, regrouping after their failed orbital run. More contacts appearing from other fortress locations across the planet.

Tir'Shan's fighter pulled alongside hers. "Commander, new contacts. Estimate forty-plus hostiles inbound."

"I see them," Zoe said.

Her plasma cannons charged. The squadron spread into combat formation. Below, the fortress assault continued, fighting for a world that was already dead. That had already died, God knows how many thousands of years ago.

But they were still fighting. And somewhere in that fortress was their way home.

If we can reach it before this world burns.

"Squadron 5-Delta, engage," Zoe ordered.

Her fighter dove back into the war.

Danny's world turned white and concussive. The blastwave picked him up and threw him like trash, his armor screaming warnings as he slammed into broken earth.

Sound returned. Ringing. Static. Then Ryan's voice over the comm.

"Breaching charges successful. Breach is open. Heavy Assault, go."

Danny forced himself up, his powered armor compensating for the impact trauma. His warhammer was still locked to his back. His shield generator was flickering but functional. Blood in his mouth. Bit his tongue. Didn't matter.

"Keep up, bro!" he called to Joey, already moving.

Joey's voice came back strained. "Right behind you!"

Then Danny ran, straight into hell.

The breach was a smoking crater in the fortress wall, thirty meters wide and twice as tall. Rubble and twisted metal formed a ramp leading into the fortress interior. Energy weapons immediately opened fire from within, plasma bolts streaking through the gap.

Heavy Assault Company 112-Sigma charged anyway.

Danny was first through the breach.

The interior was nightmare architecture. Organic walls and resin-coated floors that squelched underfoot. Insectoid defenders pouring from side passages, their chitinous bodies reflecting the green light, mandibles clicking, weapons firing.

Danny's shield absorbed the first volley. Then he was among them.

His war hammer came off his back in a smooth motion, the weapon's mass feeling right in his powered gauntlets. A [Vexillari Swarmer] charged him, multi-limbed and fast. Danny swung.

The warhammer caught it center mass. Chitin cracked like thunder. The creature's thorax caved in, green ichor spraying across Danny's armor. It dropped, twitching.

Two more replaced it immediately.

Danny didn't stop moving, pushing forward. Always forward. The plasma war hammer was a blur, each swing crushing exoskeletons and pulping organs. A [Vexillary Ravager] leaped from above, mandibles aimed at his throat. He caught it with his new shield, felt its weight, then slammed the war hammer into its head. The skull collapsed with a wet crunch.

Around him, the rest of his company was a wave of armored fury.

Plasma chainsaws screamed as they bit into insectoid flesh, the teeth tearing through chitin and spraying viscera. Heavy assault beam weapons fired in sustained bursts, lances punching through multiple targets. Varnathi soldiers fought with desperately, their formations holding despite the chaos.

But the fortress was full of Vexillari.

They poured from every passage, every alcove, every hidden recess. Ravagers, Swarmers, Drones. All of them armed and with a single purpose.

Danny's warhammer never stopped. A [Vexillari Swarmer] with a plasma rifle. Swing. Its head exploded. Another with scything limbs. Splat. The limbs separated from its body in a spray of green. Three more rushing together. Danny activated his shield's kinetic pulse, throwing them back, then followed up with hammer strikes that left nothing but pulped chitin and ichor.

The floor was slick with it. Green blood mixed with yellow lymph and black digestive fluids. The stench was overwhelming even through his armor's filters. Acidic compounds ate at his boots with each step.

"Medical!" someone screamed over the comm.

Joey's voice cut through immediately. "I see you! Hold position!"

Danny risked a glance back. Joey was moving through the carnage, his medical equipment already deployed, plasma blaster in one hand while the other worked on a downed Varnathi soldier. The wounded soldier's leg was gone below the knee, cauterized by plasma fire. Joey worked with another medic, injecting stabilizers and deploying emergency foam.

A [Vexillari Burrower] appeared behind Joey, its centipede-like arms extended.

"Joey, six!" Danny shouted.

Joey spun, fired his blaster one-handed. The insectoid staggered back, allowing two heavy assault troopers to hack the two-meter-tall monster into pieces.

"Thanks!" Joey called, then returned to his patient.

His company pushed deeper. Vexillari defenders made them pay for every meter. Plasma fire came from elevated positions. Acid grenades exploded among the Varnathi, eating through armor. Insectoid soldiers fought in swarms, their tactics improving as the defenders fell back toward more defensible positions.

Danny's hammer found another target. Then another. His arms burned with exertion despite the powered armor's assistance. His shield was at thirty percent capacity. His armor was covered in ichor and acid scoring.

He didn't stop.

Another Burrower appeared, nearly twice the size of the Swarmers. Command variant, his tactical display identified. It wielded what looked like a plasma cannon, the weapon integrated into its carapace.

It fired.

Danny's shield took the hit and failed completely. The overflow caught him in the chest, throwing him backward into a wall. His armor's integrity dropped to sixty percent. Breach warnings screamed in his HUD.

The command variant advanced, plasma cannon charging for another shot.

Danny threw his warhammer.

The weapon tumbled end over end, its mass-driver enhanced momentum carrying it across the alley. It hit the monster in its face. Chitin shattered. The plasma cannon misfired, the bolt punching through the wall instead of Danny's chest.

Danny was already moving, charging forward. He grabbed his warhammer from where it had embedded itself in the creature's skull, yanked it free, and brought it down in an overhead strike that split the Burrower from crown to thorax.

It collapsed in two pieces.

"Push forward!" someone ordered over the command channel. "Secure the breach!"

Thunder rolled overhead.

Danny looked up through gaps in the organic ceiling. Dropships. Dozens of them, their engines roaring as they descended into the fortress interior. The craft hovered over the breach points, their ramps deploying.

Figures dropped from the dropships.

Jetpacks ignited in brilliant blue as Air Assault Companies deployed into the fortress. A hundred and twenty jump infantry descended like angels of death, their plasma repeaters already firing. They covered the Heavy Assault's advance from above, suppressing Vexillari positions that had elevation advantage.

Emily was up there somewhere. Leading them.

The combined assault was devastating. Heavy Assault below, grinding through defenders, while Air Assault above, eliminating threats and providing covering fire. Between them, the Vexillari forces were caught in a kill box.

And moving through it all, barely visible even to Danny's enhanced sensors, were infiltrators.

Luca's reconnaissance company.

They moved through the carnage, their active camouflage rendering them invisible to all but the most sensitive sensors. While Heavy Assault and Air Assault drew all attention, the infiltrators slipped past, moving deeper into the fortress.

Their objective was clear: find the generators powering the fortress shields. Kill them. End this.

Danny watched one infiltrator phase past him, so close he could have reached out and touched them. Then they were gone, vanishing into the fortress depths.

A [Vexillary Swarmer] charged Danny from his blind side. He turned, brought his hammer around, crushed its skull without thinking.

More Vexillari poured from the passages. More plasma fire lit up the organic halls. More screaming. More dying.

Danny raised his war hammer and charged forward again.

[Combat data accumulating...]
[Calculating... XP]
[Calculating... Credits]