Chapter 129: The Core Meltdown

The Suicide Run

Alpha Thorne issued his command to evacuate the packs while he turned away from the huge dreadnought which emitted deep sounds of pain. All units must move back to the Citadel according to his order which required them to enter the underground vaults.

Thorne will face no consequences according to Kade who spoke with certainty that defeated all the surrounding anxiety.

The Alpha Prime observed the giant extraterrestrial vessel which sat partially buried in the ash-covered wasteland. The sickly grey plasma venting from its hull was growing brighter, pulsing like a dying, frantic heart. The ground beneath our boots was vibrating with the sheer, catastrophic build-up of dark-matter energy.

Kade explained that a slipspace detonation of that scale would destroy the Citadel and subsequently erase all physical matter from the entire continent. The vaults will be vaporized along with the bedrock according to Kade.

I used all my strength to hold my Star-Metal knife while my muscles protested against the movement. The silver astral magic flowed through my veins but I reached my physical limit from fighting the High General.

We lack the ability to escape from it according to my statement. Therefore, we need to create a plan for stopping it.

Kade’s ocean-blue eyes met my feral gold ones. He didn't tell me to stay behind. He understood that anything would be unnecessary because the world needed her Alpha.

Kade ordered Thorne to take his soldiers back to defend the walls while he ordered Elara and me to enter the building.

Thorne's protests did not stop us from going inside.

I activated the silver starlight in my blood while I took hold of Kade’s heavy human hand. I teleported us across the ash-wastes using a blinding flash of cosmic photons which brought us to the base of the massive lowered ramp of the dreadnought.

The open hangar bay released heat which created a suffocating atmosphere that carried the scents of burning ozone and copper and sterile alien metal.

Kade told us to stay close while he raised his Star-Metal gauntlet and we went into the belly of the beast.

The Broken Gravity

The Aethelgard dreadnought's interior space functioned as a terrifying experience which defied traditional Euclidean spatial structures.

The ship crashed at an extreme angle which caused its artificial gravity system to experience severe malfunctioning. We walked down a massive, seamless dark-matter corridor but the "floor" was actually the port-side wall. The airspace above us contained floating alien debris which included crates and destroyed drop pods and the bodies of Aethelgard engineers who moved freely in the area with zero gravity.

"The core is dead ahead, deep in the central axis," Kade said while his tectonic sensors examined the massive labyrinthine structure. The layout of my system was disrupted because of the dimensional shielding which scrambled my layout. Watch your step.

The emergency lights which appeared as sickly grey suddenly changed to a violent strobing crimson.

The synthetic voice of a telepathic system spoke through our minds to declare that we had detected an intruder anomaly which activated the purge sequence.

The automated turrets descended from the ceiling which faced our left side. The weapon system did not shoot bullets. The system projected precise energy beams that could erase all biological material they hit.

The air became silent as a grey beam moved through it to destroy a metal crate which floated just above my head.

Kade gave an order to go down.

He used his hands to create a huge violet gravity field. The Source magic from the raw Source collided with the turrets, which resulted in two of them being crushed into flat dark matter disks that pressed against the bulkhead.

The two turrets maintained their focus on Kade's energy signature as they began to spin in rapid motion.

I prevented them from doing anything.

CRACKLE.

I turned into silver light which I used to bounce off dark-matter walls like a cosmic pinball. I materialized in the zero-gravity pocket directly above the turrets, driving my Star-Metal blade straight down into the primary sensor array of the first gun. I used a point-blank starlight beam to kill the first gun and then I teleported to a spot near the last turret.

I crashed onto the tilted surface while I struggled to breathe after the silver light vanished from my palms.

I used all my energy reserves at a faster rate than I wanted to according to my statement as I cleaned sweat together with ash from my forehead.

Kade assured us that we were about to reach our destination as he helped me stand up.

The heat intensity increased more with every step we took through the smoke-filled corridors which had twisted into an unrecognizable state. The ship made loud metallic sounds which now dominated all the sounds because it prevented us from hearing the alarms.

The Impenetrable Shield

We finished the last turn which caused our vehicle to stop completely.

We entered the reactor room which contained a huge circular space that contained the dreadnought's core. The core was a gigantic orb which emitted sickly grey-green energy that expanded outwards from its center point.

We were unable to get to that location.

The reactor room entrance was completely blocked by a shimmering solid bulkhead which consisted of pure dark-matter shielding material. The wall appeared to be a liquid obsidian surface which produced a humming sound that caused me dental discomfort.

Kade advanced toward the shield surface which he struck with his Star-Metal gauntlet forcefully. He used his power to create an intense gravitational force which he aimed at breaking the barrier into pieces.

The battle between the white-gold and violet light produced a bright display which failed to cause any movement in the shield.

Kade gritted his teeth while his neck veins became active which he used to push himself harder. The slipspace lock displaces kinetic force through dimensional displacement.

I demanded an answer while I stared at the expanding core which was growing in size. The grey-green plasma was spreading across the border of the containment sphere.

Kade said that there were only two minutes remaining before he showed total despair. Elara... I can't get through.

I can pass through.

I approached the shiny black wall.

Kade instantly stopped me from proceeding after he discovered my intention. Elara, if you teleport into solid dark matter the dimensional friction will tear your atoms apart. You can't ride the light through a slipspace void. It's suicide.

I will not enter the void. I will pass through it I said while my golden eyes fixed on him. I can see the control console on the other side of the glass. It's twenty feet away. If I miscalculate, I die. I have to attempt this because if I do not everything will die. This includes Leo.

Kade's jaw muscles tightened. The Alpha Prime had to make a choice which resulted in terror showing in his eyes. He let go of my arm.

Kade whispered the distance of twenty feet which his voice could not handle. Do not miss, Luna.

The Blind Jump

I closed my eyes to avoid seeing the terrible dark matter wall completely. I visualized the empty space on the other side. I knew the exact distance and angle.

Using the deepest part of my soul, I extracted all remaining astral magic energy.

The silver starlight didn't just ignite; it exploded. I transformed into a dazzling silhouette that emitted pure cosmic energy.

CRACKLE.

I threw myself forward.

The moment I entered the slipspace shield, it felt like swimming through shattered glass. The dark matter forcefully pulled at my photons while trying to extinguish my starlight. I experienced complete agony which caused my sight to disappear and brought about choking sensations.

I needed to travel twenty feet which became my mental battle against dark matter. Just twenty feet!

I used all my strength to push myself back into the physical world.

I crashed onto the metal floor on the inside of the reactor room.

The dimensional friction caused my body to scream while I reformed my body. The process left my tactical gear with deep burns and jagged marks which produced smoking injuries. But I was whole.

Kade's muffled voice called out for Elara from the outside, hitting the shield.

I immediately started to move without wasting time. I jumped up while enduring the nerve pain which felt unbearable. The console had glowing grey runes that I couldn't read so I disregarded hacking it and threw myself at the alien control console.

The Star-Metal knife blade I raised descended to the crystal array. I used it forcefully to shatter the console system.

The dark-matter wall that was behind me vanished without warning.

The Infinite Cup

Kade didn't run into the room; he launched himself, catching me as my legs gave out.

I'm okay, I gasped while I used him as my support. Stop the core!

The room contained a central grey-green orb which began to expand after the containment field had collapsed. The final containment field had shattered. The meltdown was happening.

Kade let me go and stepped directly beneath the catastrophic, descending wave of explosive dark-matter plasma.

He opened his chest instead of raising his hands.

Kade displayed his arms to the world while showing his Star-Metal plate which was perfectly fused to his heart. The World Engine generated pristine white-gold light which became its maximum brightness when it received deep violet Source magic from our son.

Kade yelled at the alien sun while it was dying that he wanted to consume from this planet. Then choke on it!

The Star-Metal plate functioned as a cosmic vacuum system which operated without end.

The catastrophic wave of expanding dark-matter plasma hit Kade, but it didn't detonate. The World Engine forcefully pulled Kade's chest into the meltdown which caused the alien energy to scream as it moved to his biological core.

Kade's body bent backwards while he absorbed a powerful strike which should have destroyed an entire continent. The grey-green plasma surged into his heart's Star-Metal forge but raw Source magic of creation had already neutralized it.

The reactor core vanished completely after it made a loud slurp sound which displaced all nearby air.

The room became completely dark when its lights died except for Kade's chest which emitted soft light.

The dreadnought was dead. The bomb was defused.

Kade dropped to his knees, his broad shoulders heaving as the massive influx of energy settled harmlessly into his infinite reserves.

I dropped to the floor after I walked to him. He hugged me while I lay on the metal floor. He caught me, burying his face in my shoulder, his massive, heavy frame shaking with sheer exhaustion and overwhelming relief.

We remained in the dark silence of the alien ship's center as the ultimate winners who had conquered the universe.