The Iron Armada Closes In
The massive slime wave that had blanketed the void of Wild Space in white contracted in an instant. Like the tide receding, the white substance clinging to the Night Raven ship's hull was sucked back inside the vessel. At the same moment, their obstructed view cleared, revealing the ships of the Hound unit's vanguard fleet ahead.
The vessels that had loomed so menacingly just moments ago, threatening them with impunity, now drifted aimlessly through the pitch-black cosmos—mere husks. No bio-signs, not even energy signatures. Perfect scrap metal. No, massive metal coffins.
Kal swallowed dryly at the sight. Witnessing Nahibi's power firsthand again made it crystal clear. The Federation classified xenoform singularities by color-coded threat levels. Red—manageable by regular troops. Blue—requiring Constellations or support from Titan-class battleships. Purple—strategic weapons capable of incinerating an entire star system in moments, barely containable by a division-sized fleet. And the worst: Black—cataclysmic disasters threatening the Federation's survival, demanding sector-wide mobilization.
Even if Nahibi's full might wasn't captured in those crude color grades, recalling the power she'd displayed as Nariant's hoibi put her at minimum Purple, maximum Black—a singularity-type monster through and through. On Garcia Planet, she hadn't even unleashed her full arsenal—hardening, eyeball bombs, and more—yet the strength on display was utterly terrifying.
'Even if that Hound vanguard wasn't their full force, it's still Apex Industries' elite fleet, no doubt.' Destroyers armed with shield-nullifying warheads, eight escort carriers. Enough to crush wrinkle-skinned pirate gangs or rogue regular army remnants prowling a star system.
And she'd dismantled them in under ten minutes. No—suppression took less than one.
[Good work out there, Nahibi.]
He sent the wavelength toward the returning Nahibi.
[Hmph. As I said, no trouble at all. If anything, stretching my cramped body and devouring fresh emotions felt refreshing.]
Nahibi phased through the Night Raven's hull back to the bridge, radiating pleased wavelengths. Her body gleamed with a lustrous, creamy white sheen brighter than usual.
[Ah, lowly human.]
[Yeah? What is it? Something to say?]
[Of course. While licking through their brains for intel, I found something quite amusing.]
Nahibi's myriad eyes narrowed.
[These were just scouts. The main fleet's trailing us by three star systems.]
[Figured as much, but yeah, they weren't the whole show. Did you catch the scale?]
Scouts at destroyer-class already hinted at a massive main force. But Nahibi's answer shattered his expectations.
[Three cruisers at the core, coming in all pompous glory. Escorts and support included... over 800 ships total.]
"......800?!"
He blurted it aloud without thinking.
"800 ships? That's insane! Even for a megacorp like Apex Industries, mobilizing a private army that size straight-up violates Federation law!"
Three cruisers anchoring 800 vessels. Enough firepower to conquer a minor nation. It spoke volumes about Apex's obsession with capturing Eve.
[Not all regular Hound unit, of course.]
Nahibi clicked her tongue.
[From their memories, the core Hounds number about 100. The rest? Outer Rim space pirates and merc bands bought off with cash. Scraped together as bait.]
"Even so... over 700 merc ships? They're out of their minds. How much money did they pour into this?"
The elite 100 Hounds were daunting enough, but 700 cannon fodder on top? How to punch through that?
Nahibi drummed her plump tentacles on the console.
[Trash is trash, no matter the numbers. 800 or 8,000— I could handle it solo. Might take time, though.]
"......"
Kal fell silent at her arrogance. He didn't doubt her raw power; she could annihilate that fleet alone. But...
[Hm? Finally using that brain? You get my point, don't you?]
Nahibi smirked, reading his expression.
"Yeah. If it was just you, sure—you'd chew through them. The problem's Eve. And us."
[Exactly.]
Her tone turned grave.
[Say I manifest fully and go hunting. Wiping them out takes time. In the chaos, if they focus-fire the Night Raven?]
800 ships' broadsides. A barrage to saturate the void.
[Eve's reinforced shields have limits against that scale. Blocking thousands of missiles perfectly? Impossible. It'll breach eventually. You lowly humans die instantly in the blast; even Eve's at risk.]
That was the dilemma. Nahibi was an unmatched spear, but not invincible with baggage to guard. Ants can't kill an elephant, but they can trample the flower it's protecting.
"Then... warp out fast as possible, or hide till they miss us."
But slipping a 800-ship encirclement cleanly? Near impossible.
[No need to panic and flee blindly. There's a solid way out of this. The best way.]
"There is?"
[Yes. The key to breaking this isn't me... it's Eve.]
"Eve? What can Eve do?"
A child like her? Queenly powers or not, matter reconfiguration wasn't combat-suited here. What could she manage against an armada?
Nahibi spoke cryptically, gazing out the viewport at the void with a satisfied smile.
[The surest method. One only a queen can pull off.]
Wild Space outskirts, J-33 Star System.
A colossal fleet swam through the void. At its heart, three state-of-the-art Apex Industries heavy cruisers exuded menace, ringed by hundreds of assorted warships in escort formation. Mercs, pirates, bounty hunters—a chaotic but overwhelming martial horde.
On the bridge of the Cerberus.
Hound unit commander, Admiral Varkas, arms crossed, scowled at the tactical map.
"Report from the Red Wolf scouts?"
"No response since last comm... 20 minutes now."
The bridge air grew heavy. Final report: Night Raven sighted, engines halted, surrender induced. Then—silence.
"Tch. Ambushed, huh."
Varkas clicked his tongue, irritation trumping surprise.
"Guess the codes were right about that unidentified mega-beast. If Red Wolf went down without a fight, it's no ordinary thing."
One destroyer and its escorts silenced in seconds. An unknown bio-weapon absent from Federation intel databases.
"Admiral, change of plans? Enemy strength exceeds projections. Not just an upper form—likely singularity-class..."
His adjutant ventured cautiously, but Varkas waved him off.
"Doesn't matter."
Arrogance burned in his eyes.
"Singularity or not, it's irrelevant. We've got 800 ships."
He gestured to the armada beyond the viewport.
"No hero stands against sheer numbers. That beast can thrash all it wants—our firepower turns it to mince. Plus, HQ's anti-xenoform special warheads."
Varkas grinned cruelly.
"They're cornered rats. Track their warp trail. Tighten the net around the scout coords."
"Relay to all units: Full speed to next system. On sight—kill the monster, capture the girl alive. Focus on the mission. Ignore those 700 baits and meatshields outside."
The bridge crew snapped to disciplined action. Comms chatter filled the air.
Varkas stroked his goatee, pleased. 'Hounds never let prey slip once we've got the scent.'
800 ships ramped engines in unison. The steel tidal wave surged into Wild Space's depths, trailing the Night Raven.