Port Aquila, Askellon Sector.
Aboard the Shadow's Sovereignty, Nareth, seated on the command throne, reined in his thoughts. He pressed his communication bead and spoke.
"We will conduct joint operations to cleanse the xenos from this system."
"After that, I will summon you."
"As you wish, Lord," Luther replied.
After the communication ended, Nareth noticed that Diana's chair had not swiveled back towards her console.
"My Lord, we have a clear advantage in the void battle. I wish to participate in the ground combat once we've established void superiority."
Nareth keenly sensed the eagerness for battle in her tone.
Considering Diana was already a Sequence 6 "Hypnotist" with decent combat capability, he granted her request.
"You may proceed to the surface."
Diana recalled the auspex scan results she had just received. Some xenos had made planetfall while the Imperial ships were still struggling to defend.
The scan indicated the ground combat intensity was low, suitable for her.
"By your will."
The Captain swiveled her leather chair back to her console.
She entered the "Spectator" state, surveying the viewscreen before her from a detached perspective.
Seconds later, her emotions calm, she commanded the fleet's offensive.
Blazing lances and shadow-strike light-showers filled the void, illuminating Port Aquila, shining into the gloom of the hive city.
People in the Hertford Hive fled in terror.
Eleven-year-old Pat stumbled through the loading zone, running with an uneven gait.
More than hunger and weakness, what tormented him were the colors around him.
Red and black filled his vision.
Countless blinding white lights, those were people's fear.
The entire city trembled.
No, the whole world.
Pat's eyes suddenly flashed with a pitch-black light.
He immediately sprinted in the opposite direction.
Pat had seen that black light before. Afterwards, his thoughts would stall, his body stiffen.
If he hadn't recovered faster than others, and if others hadn't been closer to that evil xenos, he would already be a corpse, or in a worse state, enslaved.
Pat ran desperately. His tattered boots, much too large for his feet, were now just a few scraps of artificial leather wrapped around them.
The cold metal floor of the loading zone stung his soles with every step.
He bit his dry lips, afraid to make a sound.
Amidst terrified screams, a bloody red light flared behind Pat. He didn't look back, but he could see it clearly.
Pat ran faster. The desire to survive forced strength from within him.
Stumbling, he ran on.
Only when there were no colors around did he stop.
He leaned against a cold machine, panting heavily for a few seconds.
Pat immediately covered his mouth with both hands and looked around vigilantly.
Seconds later, as if a mist had lifted, he could see the markings above him.
Having learned more than other workers' children since he was young, he barely made out the letters.
He was astonished to discover he had run past the loading zone and reached Berthing Area Thirty-Six.
Pat felt unfamiliar and also somewhat ironic. As the child of a loading worker, he would never have set foot in this area in his life.
He never imagined that a xenos invasion would allow him to escape the cage of his birth.
Pat looked around blankly. When he saw a burning aircraft, he snapped out of his daze.
'Those fierce guards are gone.'
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. 'Those damned xenos have been here. They won't come back.'
'At least... not today.'
With this thought, Pat's strength left him. He collapsed weakly.
He curled up and fell into an exhausted sleep.
He didn't know how long he slept before he suddenly frowned.
Black. Red. White.
Pat woke with a start. Cold sweat soaked his body instantly.
He scrambled up and ran.
Hearing a piercing shriek from above, Pat immediately dropped and rolled.
He glimpsed an orange figure with a sharp beak embedded in the ground, stuck, its wings beating against the ground.
Panicked, Pat ran between two wrecked aircraft. Wind rushed overhead.
And the hum of engines.
He had no time to think, only to flee.
A clattering sound. One after another, orange bird-like creatures thudded to the ground.
Pat stared in shock at the sky, then saw fifteen black aircraft descending.
The airflow from the opening hatches pushed his frail body back.
He crossed his arms in front of him, eyes wide, looking forward.
Pat saw a female officer in black armor. Her golden hair was tied back, falling behind her head.
Her blue-green eyes suddenly flashed gold. Deep within her pupils, there seemed to be another pair of golden, vertical pupils, staring at him.
Pat shrank back, pulling his thin, ragged clothes tighter. He felt those sharp golden rays penetrate his body. He felt completely exposed.
"Mi... lady..." His lips trembled as he called out in the local Low Gothic.
He wanted to say something, anything, to make himself feel better.
Pat's words came to an abrupt halt. He suddenly felt the blackness surging behind him engulf his surroundings.
He immediately tried to run in terror, but then a calming, powerful voice sounded in his ear.
Pat didn't understand the language, yet a thought abruptly flashed through his mind.
"Don't panic!"
Pat felt the voice held a certain power he couldn't comprehend, but he was no longer afraid.
He stopped running, no longer afraid.
Pat stared blankly at the heroic female officer, watching her stride past him to face the strange xenos.
Having "calmed" the boy, Diana advanced to meet the Cerabvore.
Diana suddenly felt her thoughts stall. Layers of grey, decaying threads enveloped her.
The "Hypnotist's" eyes flashed gold. Her thoughts instantly cleared.
The "Hypnotist's" golden eyes coalesced. Psychic light, like an arrow, shot towards the Cerabvore.
The "Hypnotist" knew the effect of her "Battle Hypnotism" would be brief. As she used her beyonder ability, she raised her archaeotech pistol.
The Cerabvore's raised bent arm suddenly lowered, swatting away an aircraft.
It only became vigilant when it felt its arm burning with pain.
The Cerabvore glanced skeptically at its arm. A dazzling beam lanced towards it.
The energy beam, harvested from the star, struck the intersection of the vertical line running through its head and its horizontal mouth.
A wound the size of a fist appeared. Sickening mucus dripped to the ground.
The Cerabvore cried out in shock. It had always been the one numbing others with its neurotoxins. This was the first time its mind had been numb.
It stepped forward, raising its arm.
Suddenly, its foot slipped.
As its swaying body steadied, another dazzling beam struck.
Pat, no longer afraid, followed the female officer's figure, watching the battle.
He was stunned to see the terrifying xenos staggering and swaying like the drunken adult workers he knew.
Beam after beam struck its body.
It fell.
Crashed to the ground.
Pat stared blankly at the golden hair and the upright back, murmuring,
"Are you... a magician?"
Diana heard the boy's incomprehensible local Low Gothic. She didn't understand the words, but as a full-fledged "Telephatist," she could guess his astonishment.
Looking at the fallen Cerabvore, she felt a slight astonishment herself.
She had access to a portion Shadows of Order reports. She remembered that it took elite warriors to kill a Cerabvore.
She knew it was because the Cerabvore's neurotoxins couldn't harm her, a specialist in the mental domain.
Her "Battle Hypnotism" had caused the Cerabvore's erratic behavior, and the archaeotech pistol could deal sufficient damage.
'Against other enemies specializing in close combat, I wouldn't have this much time.'
Diana calmly summarized. Still, she was satisfied with her current combat capability.
'Before meeting Lord Nareth, I never imagined I would possess such power.'
'Thank you, Lord Nareth, for granting me this strength.'
As Diana pondered, a grey figure flashed in the corner of her left eye.
Her eyes gleamed. She looked to her front left.
.....
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