Chapter 126 The Shattered Hull

Chapter 126 The Shattered Hull
The Backfire. The ocean around us created a boiling water effect that produced a loud shriek.

The viewport which protected the Nautilus from threats received its first view of the catastrophic feedback loop which shot its entire length upward. The uncontrollable tectonic energy Kade used to join the continents began to clash with the Aethelgard drill's dark-matter vacuum. The resulting energy beam created a terrifying display of white-gold and sickly grey which produced a blinding effect.

I yelled to the surface while the submarine made deafening metallic noises. I ordered Finn to take us to the surface immediately.

Finn required no further instructions to proceed. He pushed the throttle forward to activate emergency ballast blow. The Nautilus shot upwards through heated water in pursuit of the energy beam's trailing end.

We crashed through the Pacific Ocean's surface at high speed while riding a huge wave which displaced water.

I opened the top hatch to climb onto the wet Star-Metal deck.

The sky above the ocean displayed a complete scene of destruction. The enormous Aethelgard dreadnought remained suspended between two dimensions while it tried to pull back its siphon.

At that moment the situation had reached a point of no return.

The energy feedback loop struck the massive ship dead center.

If we had fired a nuclear warhead at the dreadnought from the surface, its dark-matter slipspace shielding would have simply absorbed the kinetic force or deflected it into another dimension. The Aethelgard made their execution plan when they opened their ship to feed.

The crew used their own siphon to transmit the feedback loop which bypassed all their exterior dimensional shields until it detonated inside their ship.

The impact created a deafening sound followed by a terrifying silence. The sky appeared to remain still for a brief moment.

The dreadnought disintegrated into fragments.

A catastrophic, rippling explosion of green and grey fire tore through the mountain-sized hull. The ship suffered massive destruction when dark-matter armor pieces which weighed more than city blocks were violently blown off. The dimensional fracture behind the dreadnought violently collapsed, severing the ship's connection to the stars and fully trapping it in our gravity.

Valda observed the ship's descent while standing beside me after she exited from the hatch. Her scars made her face look pale because of her deep admiration for the ship's design.

The colossal ship lost altitude when its metal parts tore apart with an ear-piercing sound. The ship started to tip to the right side while it released thick black smoke and sick green plasma. The ship did not drop into the ocean. The ship crashed into the coast and created a huge shadow which stretched for miles over the city of Aurora Citadel.

The Price of Continents

I gasped Kade's name before turning back to the open hatch.

The water beside the submarine erupted. A localized gravity well emerged from the ocean surface to bring Kade out of the boiling water. He landed on the Nautilus deck but remained on the ground without standing up. He dropped down to the ground while he struggled to breathe.

I dropped next to him while I took hold of his shoulders.

The Star-Metal plate on his chest which emitted a bright white-gold light had lost all of its brightness. The light had been replaced with a dull flickering ember. The liquid silver veins which used to cover his neck now appeared completely black.

I begged Kade to speak with me while I carried the dead weight of his iron gauntlet which he used to push himself up.

Kade said he felt good after he spoke in his natural human voice without any synthetic sounds. The core remains secure in its current state. The tectonic fusion process used up all the Engine's power.

Valda and I helped him lift his huge body after he told her that Kade moved two continents. Your battery has completely worn out from this task you performed.

Kade needed time to recover from his current condition.

The earth experienced a powerful tremor which shook the ground with enough force to almost send the submarine back into the water.

The dreadnought had positioned itself on the ground.

The airplane crashed at high speed when it missed the city and flew into the ash-covered wastelands which extend from the eastern Star-Metal walls of Aurora Citadel. The kinetic impact produced a huge shockwave which drove ash and dirt hundreds of feet into the sky to create an artificial dust storm that blocked sunlight.

I ordered Finn to take us to the harbor while I used Kade's heavy arm to support my body. The ship remains operational despite its grounded status.

The High General

When the Nautilus reached the docks we entered the city with Kade and the Citadel had already achieved full lockdown status.

The Star-Beasts flew in circles above the tall buildings while they emitted distress calls toward the ground-based packs. Alpha Thorne stood on the eastern wall's highest point as he used tactical binoculars to examine the dust storm that was moving into the area.

I carried Kade to the command bunker which stood in front of the wall base and I placed him down on the medical cot. His body struggled to withstand the weight of iron as he shivered with intense force.

I commanded him to remain in place because my gold eyes provided no opportunity for him to dispute my order. "Him out there.," I commanded her to stay behind. "The Engine requires time to recharge."

Kade desperately but weakly held my wrist. "Elara... they are cosmic conquerors. The ship remains grounded as they will not surrender.

I knew what she meant when she said that. I pulled closer to him by lowering myself until I could press my lips against his lips.

I exited the bunker and ascended the iron steps until I reached the Star-Metal wall while Valda followed close behind.

Thorne lowered his binoculars as I approached. "Luna. The Prime?"

"He exists but I see him through the enormous wall which stands a hundred feet high. "He sealed the core but the Engine requires recovery time. "We will maintain our position here.

Thorne swallowed hard while he stared at the ash-covered land. "That situation will create difficulties."

The dust from the dreadnought's crash was finally beginning to settle. The alien ship lay as a gigantic smoking wreck which experienced partial burial in the scorched ground. Fires burned throughout the entire surface of the ship.

The grounded vessel displayed a giant ramp which descended from its front section and hit the ground with force.

The Aethelgard survived the crash because their dark-matter armor provided them with protection against the force of impact.

Thousands of them began to march down the ramp in terrifying, perfect unison. The group included more than just the beach's primary vanguard fighters whom we had fought against.

A commander who shared blood freezing characteristics headed the endless armada.

He stood nearly nine feet tall while wearing dark-matter armor which featured detailed designs and emitted a sickly grey light from its glowing runes. He used a gigantic twin-bladed scythe as his weapon which absorbed all light that surrounded it. He had twelve elite guards who wore spiked armor and moved about like hunters.

"I felt him from a distance of one mile because his terrifying presence filled the cold hunger which he projected.

"The gates match their movement toward the entrance," Valda reported while she drew her Star-Metal sword. Her hands shook but her jaw remained tightly closed.

In the Citadel courtyard thousands of united pack members including Ferals Earth Mutants and Syndicate Null-Wolves stood ready with their weapons aimed at the iron gates. The Alpha Prime had been neutralized in their view. The god-magic would not come to rescue them.

I walked to the parapet edge and peered down at my people.

I chose to deliver no speech because it was unnecessary.

I raised both of my hands high into the air. I reached beyond the earth and the clouds all the way to the endless vacuum of space.

The liquid silver starlight erupted from my veins and created a blinding supernova of pure astral lightning which illuminated my body. The silver light washed over the Citadel as it reflected off the Star-Metal walls which removed all shadows from the crash site.

"Open the gates!" I roared my voice went over the wind.

Thorne faced me while an animalistic grin appeared on his face. He struck the release console with his fist.

The Star-Metal gates of Aurora Citadel began to open with a thunderous sound.

I didn't wait for them to finish. I transformed into bright starlight which teleported me off the wall to the ash-wastes where I would start our battle against the cosmic dark.