Intergalactic conquest with an AI

The guards had fortified the space with makeshift barriers, mounted turrets, and crates hastily repurposed as cover. The air was thick with tension as they braced for the inevitable.

"Sir! The militia defensive forces have been overrun!" One of the guards shouted, the panic creeping into his voice. "Scouts report that the invaders are heading straight for us. Do you think they know the command room is here?"

The captain of the guard, a grizzled veteran with a robotic eye, stood firm, his plasma rifle resting across his chest. "It doesn't matter if they know or not. It's standard enemy tactics to target the command center. All that matters is we hold this position."

He gestured toward the barricades. "This is the choke point. If they want to get to the command room, they'll have to come through us first. So hold the line, no matter what!"

The guards nodded, though some of their hands were shaking as they gripped their weapons.
Your journey continues at empire

Then came the sound they had all been dreading, the thunderous pounding of footsteps. The Revenant golems were approaching.

"Positions! Get ready!" the captain shouted the orders.

Moments later, the first golems appeared at the far end of the corridor. Their towering forms gleamed under the emergency lights, their glowing purple crystals casting eerie reflections on the walls.

The guards opened fire immediately, filling the air with the deafening sound of plasma bolts and energy blasts. The first golem took a direct hit to its shoulder, staggering for a moment before continuing its advance.

"Focus fire on the heads!" the captain shouted.

The guards adjusted their aim, targeting the glowing crystals embedded in the golems heads. It took concentrated fire, but one of the golems finally fell, its head shattering like glass as it crumpled to the ground.

The victory was short-lived since more golems surged forward, their crystalline limbs cutting through the barriers like paper. The guards fought desperately, but they were being pushed back inch by inch.

"Hold the line!" The captain shouted, his voice a beacon of determination amidst the chaos.

In the midst of the battle, Lyra's voice crackled through Nyra's communicator.

"Nyra! The invaders are pushing toward the command room. The guards are holding them off, but they won't last long."

Nyra's eyes narrowed as she led her makeshift militia team through the station's labyrinthine corridors. "Tell them to hold on. I'm on my way. And send whatever Blood Legion units you can spare to back them up!"

"I'm already on it," Lyra replied while her voice was clearly tense. "Just don't do anything reckless!"

Nyra smirked, her crimson blades humming with energy as she picked up her pace. "Reckless? Me? Pffff."

"Sir! The plasma turrets are working fine against the golems; we should focus them toward the place with more go—"

The guard didn't get to finish speaking since a sharp flash of blue streaked through the air, slicing through his skull like a blade through butter. His remaining eye rolled back, his mouth frozen mid-sentence, and his lifeless body crumpled to the floor in a heap.

The captain turned his head slowly, his stomach knotting as he followed the trajectory of the kill shot. Embedded into the reinforced wall behind them was a glowing blue triangular crystal, still humming faintly with residual energy.

"Take cover!" the captain shouted with all his strength, his voice breaking the stunned silence.

The order was barely out of his mouth before hell erupted.

A storm of triangular crystals rained down upon the guards, slicing through armor, limbs, and flesh with horrifying precision. The air was filled with screams, the sharp hum of the crystals cutting through metal and bone, and the sickening thuds of bodies hitting the floor.

"Ahhhhhh! My han—" one guard shrieked, only for his head to be taken clean off by another crystal.

"What the hell is happen—" another tried to shout before a cluster of shards ripped him apart mid-sentence.

"Take cover!" the captain repeated, but the words felt hollow. The guards were already scrambling for any shelter they could find, diving behind crates, pillars, or whatever debris they could use to shield themselves from the crystalline death raining down.

"Where are the reinforcements?!" one guard yelled in desperation, but the response was silence, just the steady hum of death cutting through the chaos.

The volume of gunfire began to dwindle, not because the guards were running out of ammunition but because there were fewer of them left alive.

The survivors were paralyzed by fear, holding their breath and avoiding making a sound, knowing that even the slightest noise might reveal their position and doom them.

Behind one of the metal containers, two guards huddled together. One of them had lost his leg to a crystal; blood was pooling beneath him as he trembled in pain and fear. The other was desperately clamping a hand over his brother's mouth to keep him from crying out.

"Don't shout, please," the unharmed brother whispered, his voice shaking. "Don't shout… I'll remove my hand now, but please don't shout!"

Slowly, he pulled his hand away.

The injured guard whimpered, his trembling eyes locking with his brother's. "B-brother... I don't want to die... If I knew this was going to happen, I wouldn't have made you join the guard with me..." Tears streamed down his face, mixing with the blood that stained his uniform.

The older brother's expression softened, though the fear in his own eyes was barely contained. He forced a smile, placing both hands on his brother's face. "Don't worry," he said; his voice was still steady despite the chaos around them.

"Everything will be alright. I'll do something. You just stay here, okay? I'm the older brother, after all."

The injured guard's lip quivered as he tried to respond, but the older brother leaned in and kissed him on the forehead, cutting him off. "I love you, brother," he said firmly before pulling back and glancing toward the mounted plasma machine gun nearby, which still had the severed hand of a fallen guard clutching its trigger.

The older brother stood up, his resolve hardening. "Now go!" he shouted. Without waiting for a response, he sprinted toward the mounted gun.

"COME AND TAKE ME, YOU BIG PIECES OF SHIT!" he shouted as he reached the weapon, pressing the severed hand's finger down on the trigger. The plasma gun roared to life, unleashing a torrent of fire toward the advancing golems. "I'LL MAKE ROCK SOUP OUT OF YOU FOR DINNER!"

The blue glow of the golems flickered as the plasma bolts struck their crystalline bodies. They staggered slightly, but they weren't deterred. Instead, they began to prepare another volley of their deadly crystals, aiming directly at the defiant guard.

Meanwhile, the younger brother had started crawling toward the command room, dragging himself across the blood-slicked floor with every ounce of strength he had left. But after just a few meters, he stopped. His heart twisted in his chest, and he couldn't bring himself to leave.

Turning around, he saw his brother still manning the plasma gun, shouting curses and defiantly firing into the oncoming tide of golems. But the deadly blue crystals were already in the air, streaking toward him.

"BROTHER! COME WITH ME!" The younger brother screamed, his voice breaking as tears streamed down his face.

The older brother turned briefly; his face lit with determination. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE? GET THE HELL OU—"

His words were drowned out by an explosion. A crystal detonated just in front of him, shattering into a cloud of bluish smoke that consumed his figure.

The younger brother froze, his outstretched hand trembling as he stared into the haze.

"NOOOOOOO!" he screamed, his voice raw with anguish. The sound tore through the halls, carrying with it the pain of a soul ripped apart.

The younger brother collapsed, his body trembling as his grief consumed him. The blood pooling beneath him grew wider, but he no longer cared. The pain in his leg was nothing compared to the hole torn in his heart.

And yet, even as the Revenant golems advanced, he gritted his teeth, pulling himself forward once more. His brother's sacrifice had bought him time, and he just wasted it.

[Hostiles detected. Order: Blood Legion, destroy them.]

The injured guard's ears perked up at the mechanical voice cutting through the chaos. It was cold, calculated, yet oddly familiar. He'd heard it before during drills, back when this station had felt like a safe haven. But now, in the heat of battle, the voice seemed to carry a weight it never had before.

With trembling hands, he turned his head toward the thick cloud of bluish smoke where his brother had been just moments ago. He expected nothing but silence, destruction, and the finality of death.

But then... he saw it.

From the haze, a faint red glow began to pulse, growing stronger and brighter with each passing second.

Before the injured guard could process what was happening, a sharp crack pierced the air, and a searing red plasma bolt shot out of the smoke, striking one of the Revenant golems square in the head.

The massive creature staggered for a moment before collapsing with a heavy thud, its crystalline skull shattered like glass.

The sound of heavy, metallic footsteps echoed behind him.

He turned his head to see a towering figure standing over him, just to see it was a Blood Legion Aegis unit. This particular unit was unlike the others he had seen before. Its frame was bulkier, its design sleeker, and its crimson lights radiated an almost menacing glow.

Yet, despite its intimidating appearance, this Aegis unit was outfitted with modifications specifically for medical assistance, a testament to Cleo's relentless innovation.

[Allied force in need of urgent medical assistance confirmed. Proceeding to treat.]