Rise of the Star Ch. 07

"Robots go to hell."

Their synth comrades didn't take that the wrong way, just a simple call from her to ass-fuck the hub into inexistence. Space filled with so many fragments of debris, so many fired projectiles, hundreds of thousands of fighters scrambled from the battleships to give even harder hits, just this giant mass of astorian ships here to show that they could go harder. That first fleet would fall within four hours. Four extended hours of people not even taking bathroom breaks... bless the smart fabric to allow one to shit in them. After the first ten minutes it was more tiring than anything else. But scratch a shit ton of APEX ships. Now came the other hard part.

The Apocalypse needs a substantial amount of time to charge for its devastating effect. It had waited just behind the fleet for a clear go to get started, but it would take days to charge. That meant that in these days they had to sit still and defend the thing. Not just by bombing any surface-to-space defenses that hub had, not just by blasting any new ships coming out of it, but by defending it against other fleets collecting and coming in a concentrated assault. That was the test as the thing fought for its life. Five days of sitting on edge, working around the clock with people going in three shifts to keep everything rolling at all hours. It could have been a month, but they were overclocking the Apocalypse as well. Remember, planets are BIG.

But after those five days, the rotating flower of doom had collected enough power in its capacitors to unleash a very concentrated shot toward that planet, one that took inspiration from how the Gull's Homeworld went to shit. You don't need to completely blast the planet, just overload its core with energy and make it blow up, and it will take care of the rest. A giant beam would come out of the center of that flower of death, the beam piercing through all the infrastructure and defenses like it was butter, drilling to the core in less than an hour and then throwing that vast amount of energy into the core, letting physics do the rest. That hole would be the first to erupt like a volcano, weaker spots on the planet doing the same before the big, orange lines appeared on the planet, as the people on the ships broadcast this back home so everyone could see how the robots were getting fucked... and with one more push, the shards blew outward in a release of energy, the hub blown to bits and no longer chugging out either ships or controlling them. That might almost hurt the guy doing this.

"Three to go."

It still caused a stir of celebration, a sign that the machines were not invincible, even as they seized their borders and the Maginot worlds fired almost every day, even as there were plentiful losses on their side, they could do this. They could beat them. It meant so much for those that secured a place in the empire. This was not the end.

But He Who Is Everything looked in confusion as even after such prodigious application of His influence, that stain was not going away. He pressed harder, giving more power to it. The machines got stronger. They started to fire with such force that their shields might almost be a suggestion and the armor was laughed at. They started taking heavier losses, but already the message was sent and those things could not stand undefeatable. James was nowhere in sight, but his influence could be felt as often their guns might pound harder and the shields might hold just beyond the point where one thought them gone. That stain was persistent.

One by one, the other hubs were taken, each at a significantly increased difficulty. The hub moved from trying to wipe them out to just defending itself, every last ship it had in the galaxy converging upon those hubs with utter desperation. It screamed threats over the communication lines, it tried to infiltrate or commandeer their ships, it brought so much against them that from four thousand they had but one thousand left and just one titan as the last hub had that engine of destruction whirring above it. The Apocalypse was tearing itself to shreds in this, but it would hold... just enough. Just one more and it was done. They could build another in a year, but it had earned the resources spent on it. Three planets blown up, just one more left. The farthest from their space and the one where every last ship the hub had was waiting to defend it.

And then it came, that final beam to tear into the planet and make it blow up. That final task after which they saw the Apocalypse break into pieces as it had run itself into the ground, the core holding long enough to send that last pulse and make the final hub turn to shreds. It was over. The Sentry array confirmed it. Every last station of the robots just went offline, any ships it had produced from those stations just stopped and went to drift in space, every last bit of influence of that machine was done. There was a great cheer. There was a great relief. There was nothing left. But this was no ordinary thing.

The greater god pushed harder as this stain would not go away. It was reaching a point of being ridiculous. NOTHING should resist it. True, it was not exerting their full power or that would have done it, but HWIE was giving it more than even a "Level 2" god could do. And yet it resisted. So he kept at it. The joy of the galaxy lasted for about an hour. The Sentry array noticed it just after the transmission hit the few sensors allowed to receive it.

"Foolish fleshlings. APEX is eternal. Your effort is in vain."

With that kind of boast, it was just asking for it. The Array noticed how another planet did that process of... hold up. No, it was not a planet. There are few things to explain how a Dyson sphere just spontaneously appears upon a sun to not just monopolize that energy but turn it into a giant shipyard. And since this thing did not need to follow logic, it could do better than even the Astorians' yard. A faraway system just had every planet in its system crash into the sun to have that thing emerge from it as if you could grow that sort of thing.

Some did indeed lose hope, others just went "OH, COME ON!" as they thought this was not in any way fair. And it was not. Still, they set course for that thing, a bit at a loss as to how they were to demolish it. A megastructure is quite the resilient thing and they had just four thousand battleships too few to do any significant damage. After all, you're talking about a structure that could already take the forces of that enormous design. Space might allow such building, but even space had to put its foot down sometimes.

Mina really didn't know what they were going to do other than just shooting at it and hoping for the best. Already it was vomiting more ships than they might be able to take on. For a while she was tempted to just turn back, build back a bigger fleet and come back with something to blow up a sun, or maybe they could hold the line until the boys built that idea they came up with about a superweapon to blow suns from afar. Nobody was asking what they were doing, even though most might know they were just marching toward death with some idea of final defiance.

So it was time for someone to put their foot down.

"Uh, chief... unknown object on the hull toward the fore."

"Bring up cameras. Let's see what it is."

She was on automatic, but the sight of that "object" brought hope. She saw a man just standing on their ship, that coat billowing behind him, the smoke from his cigarette trailing back. He was in SPACE. But leave it to a god to be dramatic, even when physics does not allow it. The small woman spoke, energy in her again.

"If there's any time for you to show up, it's now, James."

"Yeah, the rest was stuff you could deal with. Now this is just bullshit. Almost tempted to tell you guys to go home and let me handle it."

"Not a chance. Hey, the whole empire can see you right now. We're broadcasting everything."

"Okay, but if anyone asks, you did this by yourself."

"So, what's the plan?"

Just one more blink and they were there. James seemed to not even care where they were going. No problem to just ride on top of them like some hero. Mina saw him throw away that cigarette, the thing going out as soon as it left whatever influence he kept to make it still have fire in space. The man held his arms out, two things materializing next to him. On his left, one could see something that seemed to be a gigantic shield, with a cross-like design and circular core. It was bigger than he was. The thing on the right was... an electric guitar. Nothing he had seemed to be a weapon, so she assumed the plan was to just let them go at it while he did something else.

"Do I look like a guy with a plan?"

"You had a plan for everything. So I bet you've been quiet all this time to come up with something good. So yes, you are the guy with the plan."

"Alright, but I'm not telling it. Just blast any ships out of space and I'll handle the rest." Beat. "Okay, that's kinda telling you part of the plan."

"Heh. We can do that. Reminds me of the story of the Arrival."

"Everyone holding the line while I went back and threw them into the future? Think the empire is a bit too big for that now. Gonna have to fuck this thing out of existence."

Everyone was watching. The sight was transmitted back via the Sentry Array, from it to all the stations, and from those stations to links and holo-projectors as the whole Empire just stopped to watch it. This would have serious consequences for the infrastructure. But this was needed. The final blink and they arrived in the system, the Dyson-yard looming in sight as its assembly tubes just pissed out corvettes, destroyers, cruisers, and battleships. Already they were facing something that did not look like this fleet could take. They were scarred and tired, they were running low on just about everything as they thought the four were everything. And now they would not be. James picked up the guitar, ready to show them real energy.

His fingers began to rush upon the strings, a high-energy riff erupting from him, the sound heard all in this system, all through the empire, some might even suggest all through the galaxy. James... was turning on his active power. It was time for the Limit Break. That song had so much furry to it that their fatigue went away, their spirit was inflamed and they were ready to ROCK. Never mind the readings, the Outsider is with them. Just keep firing the guns. Shields would gain the power to ignore energies far beyond their power, the lasers and pulses carved holes through the enemy ships... and they would lose nothing.

"On a cold winter morning

In the time before the light

In flames of Death's eternal reign

We ride towards the fight

When the darkness has fallen down

And the times are tough, alright

The sound of evil laughter falls

Around the world tonight"

It was not just their spirit. He was boosting everything to the point of saying "this fleet is enough". The ships were unyielding and gave out far beyond their ability. Smiles were had, a faith like no other grew. In this moment, everyone saw the Outsider defending them.

"Fighting hard, fighting on for the steel

Through the wastelands evermore

The scattered souls will feel the hell

Bodies wasted on the shores

On the blackest plains in hell's domain

We watch them as they go

In fire and pain, now once again we know"

He was wielding that guitar with more skill than many might have, skill that did not belong to him, but it was important this song be nailed. All the other instruments were not there, but he liked to imagine in this moment how those first people were there, playing beside him, standing beside them...

"So now, we fly ever free, we're free before the thunderstorm

On towards the wilderness, our quest carries on!

Far beyond the sundown, far beyond the moonlight

Deep inside our hearts and all our souls!"

Utopia. Eternal utopia. That was the mission of this place. But when they could not hold that challenge, when it was too much for them... he came in. Even when He Who Is Everything stood against them. James was not afraid of no God.

"So far away, we wait for the day

For the lives, all so wasted and gone

We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days

Through the fire and the flames, we carry on!"

All around him, ships fired their salvos as they weaved around the gigantic structure, heroics tempting at this moment, everything in overdrive and everyone doing the biggest dick moves. They were having fun, but this was a very important moment. This energy bubbling in them and being sent with no hesitation toward their god, Ten trillion people looking to a man and offering their faith, their hope, their lives. He didn't need them to submit constantly, just once. Just two minutes had passed and the scene was worthy of a movie. The riffs the man was making were insane in their speed.

"As the red day is dawning

And the lightning cracks the sky

They'll raise their hands to the heavens above

With resentment in their eyes

Running back through the mid-morning light

There's a burning in my heart

We're banished from a time in a fallen land

To a life beyond the stars

In your darkest dreams, see to believe

Our destiny this time

And endlessly we'll all be free tonight"

The enemy was falling as if these planet-killer ships were mere mooks, their ships cleaving through space, every weapon firing with utter abandon, the Outsider giving them the force to kill a SUN. But not quite. Enough to kill what that sun was producing.

"And on the wings of a dream, so far beyond reality

All alone in desperation, now the time has gone

Lost inside you'll never find, lost within my own mind

Day after day, this misery must go on!"

All looked to the god, all believed and hoped. The ships were carving lines in the masses of robot ships. Even as the greater God pushed, even as they threw more than was recommended... this thing was not going away!

"So far away, we wait for the day

For the lives, all so wasted and gone

We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days

Through the fire and the flames, we carry on!"

A massive push went as James gave them the energy through that song, as he showed them that when the scales might go unfair, he was there, sometimes even to make a show. But that was him, that was how he worked. Drama. Soon enough they were blasting ships faster than they could be replaced. The Hub saw this was not working. PUSH HARDER.

They felt it before sensors picked it up. Energy build-up. Some red circle opened on the surface, almost as if an eye was staring at them, a giant, sun-sized eye, one full of evil. Of course he was curious how the fuck do these things still exist. James threw that guitar aside, but the song kept playing. Oh, he could feel that, he knew it might try that. His hand seized upon the shield bigger than him as the power of rock still roared around them. Gotta meet it head-on, no sooner, no later. Push it back as it pushes. He didn't even know what he was fighting against.

The scattered fleet moved into formation to see how that eye was following them, and the energy was growing... that eye growing brighter. Firing at it did nothing. The structure just ignored their assaults, empowered as they were. Okay, time to pull that back. And just as the energy in the song grew, just as that glow was reaching a peak... James braced the shield forward. A spiritual brickwork formed around them, but the gap in the middle let him stay there, as if there to focus everything on him. That guitar solo rang out before the sheer THUM of that beam erupted from the eye, enough force to wipe a planet from existence, enough to turn the Maginot worlds into dust. It clashed against his shield and the man stood with the vast reserves of his oceans of wrath thrown upon this force. One full minute of more energy than a solar system could withstand passed as the man endured it, everyone looking at the sight with awe and fear. Yes, this was giving some belief to He Who Is Everything, but it was giving more to him. One full minute of telling GOD to fuck off and go home.

One might even feel fatigue after unleashing that on the enemies, so content that it should have done it. But the fleet was still there. A white-hot shield was in the man's hand and he cast it aside. A very angry god was looking at a much bigger one as that one could not wipe them out. It was like a very persistent flea that would not yield to anything less than a hydraulic press. The Outsider didn't even realize what he was staring in the face, what he spat at with the power of defiance behind him, doing his name justice and everyone behind him empowering him. To say that He Who Is Everything was pissed would say little. But it was James's turn. He kept those final lines to sing himself as he gathered his vast oceans of wrath.

"Now, here we stand with their blood on our hands

We fought so hard now, can we understand?

I'll break the seal of this curse if I possibly can

For freedom of every man!"

He would do that and more. Another charge was happening. But there was a lot of wrath being employed. The man was breathing at an increased pace as he remembered everything that brought him here. All the disgust he had for his world, all the effort his people made to get here. All the people who died, all the people who lived, all the resources they carved out of the cold infinity and shot back at it to keep its bullshit at bay. One to see the man from the front would see his eyes shining in that light green glow, the anger in them outshining a supernova.

"So far away, we wait for the day!

For the lives, all so wasted and gone!

We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days!

THROUGH THE FIRE AND THE FLAMES, WE CARRY ON!!!"

Beams erupted simultaneously from these two opponents, the deep red from that structure, the bright green from the Eyes of the Outsider, a kilometer-wide pillar of force beyond humanity's ability to create firing from his wrath, meeting its match in the middle and in a most surprising fashion, the bigger god did not win. It would stall, it would weave back and forth, James pouring more and more and more and more and more and more. He had a people behind him united by choice, a people that did not submit to give a passive gain over a long time, but have that active, overclocked explosion to outdo in this moment even a force infinitely his greater.

It drew closer to that structure by the second as Human, Gull, Raff, Synth, Zox, and Tan watched with awe. There were no arms raised, but their hearts were with him, they were giving him their all. That beam drew closer to that structure more... and more... and more. And as that minute elapsed, it pushed upon it, drilling into it, eradicating that eye and throwing unquantifiable amounts of energy at the sun. More than a supernova and it would cause one, that energy making the sun go critical. There was not even an attempt by the fleet to leave. They trusted him to hold them safe. They trusted him for this to be the end.

The sun exploded, blowing that megastructure to pieces. It was magnificent, it was glorious, it was a moment to inflame faith like no other. He who Is Everything felt like he just put that finger on a hot stove, drawing the influence away in reflexive action as it has been a LOT of time since he even felt PAIN. That time can turn you into a useless coward. James did not Kill God, but he sure gathered all his strength to give one point of damage, but that is such a monumental achievement that it could ensure their safety for another thousand years. HWIE would draw back and stare in spite at that dot that not only dared to exist, but dared to fight back and achieve something, even if it might be so inconsequential. But he had to draw back. He spent far too much influence and needed to focus on the other worlds to prevent other mishaps. And this moment would damage him more than one thought. For a long time, he functioned on the idea he was unbeatable... and now he had this tiny scar to show his tools that it was not so.