"What… no!" Vera screamed as her lord and General of the Altair, Tarazed the Abomination, disintegrated around her. He'd lost all the Grand Intelligence's protection and couldn't maintain any substance in this minor universe. She screamed as the tendril holding her crumbled to pieces, leaving a several-story drop awaiting her. Out of instinct, Vera tried transforming, but stopped herself. Thanks to this stupid bomb collar, it'd only hasten her death.
Thankfully, in his dying moments, Tarazed realized this and caught her in his final death throes before she struck the ground. She landed with a painful thud against his squishy flesh, but it spared her a deadly fall. This tendril crumbled too, but Vera slipped to the ground before it vanished. The impact sent spikes of pain through her leg, leaving a deep gash from the gravel floor.
Lord Tarazed's death resonated through the Altair's hivemind as the tragedy struck each Altair, both as a collective and as individuals. The sorrow of countless souls reverberated through her head at the fall of their proud and noble general. Tseen Foo's rage lashed out at everything around him. The senseless destruction only stoked his desire for revenge.
"That's it! I'm coming over there." A cruel smile formed in their connection through the hivemind. "And it's perfect! The Red Devil won't be in any shape to fight me! Humanity's so-called champion will perish!" She sensed him running in their direction, smashing anything in his path. A car speeding down the highway was flattened by a careless foot. This was only a taste of the revenge Tseen Foo would inflict against humanity.
The Red Devil sensed his approach and stood at attention. It lumbered in that direction, almost stomping Vera flat in its haste. Only a quick roll saved her from being pulverized.
But her relief was short-lived as unmarked, black trucks sped towards her, ready to finish the job Prince Hallfar had planned. Vera howled in frustration. If only she could transform. But no, that wouldn't help either. Rose would destroy her with ease. If Lord Tarazed couldn't beat her, what chance did she have?
"Enough." The powerful voice sent a jolt through her body. It demanded absolute obedience. Even the hotheaded Tseen Foo stopped cold, forced to obey without question. "You will not throw your life away, Tseen Foo."
"B-but Lord Alshain, the Red Devil killed Lord Tarazed! She deserves to pay! She's weak, and…"
"No, Tseen Foo. That is an order. You fight the Red Devil, and she will kill you," Lord Alshain said, the last of the Altair generals. "Vengeance will come, but not today."
"Fine then!" Tseen Foo's mental smile turned wicked. "I will return to Minneapolis and continue smashing. The expression on that devil's face when she finds her precious human city crushed into dust!"
"No, Tseen Foo. Go into hiding now."
"But!" Tseen Foo said in utter disbelief.
"Did you forget these people are our food? I won't have them wasted for some petty payback. Besides, the Red Devil is quickly approaching. She would destroy you, another senseless waste. Let the humans assume we're defeated. There sense of victory will be short-lived, I promise you."
"Fine." Vera sensed Tseen Foo slink away like a chastened dog.
"And me, sir?" Vera cringed. She'd spoken out of turn. "Is there any way to help me?" She eyed the trucks approaching her with worry.
"Don't worry, Aquilia. No harm will come to you," Lord Alshain said. "I already have your escape planned out."
"How? Are you nearby, sir?" Vera said, her eyes bulging.
"No, I just arrived on this planet, Earth, an hour ago. I am somewhere called Spain. Poor Tarazed—I warned him to wait for me, but he wanted to do the operation his way." Lord Alshain gave a mental shake of his head. "Regardless, I've been following events. You will be rescued."
"How?"
"I might not be there, but…" Vera heard a smirk behind Lord Alshain's words. "Someone else is."
Her whole body jerked as the ground rumbled beneath her, and Vera crab-walked away as the Red Devil returned. Its head swiveled around like a hound searching for a scent. "Who's there?"
"Disappointing. It seems the Red Devil's senses are keener than I expected. No matter," Lord Alshain said.
A scream escaped Vera's lips as the ground thundered beneath her as Rose's robot lost its footing and toppled over. Sparks flew from a gash across its chest. It was deep, exposing circuitry.
"It dodged away?" Lord Alshain said, annoyed. "That should have stolen its head."
"Who?" Then Vera saw it. The air above her seemed to shimmer in the daylight like a mirage. Whatever it was, it was giant, standing almost as tall as the Luyten V. Its indistinct form stood crouched, like a predator ready to strike.
"He Ge, grab Aquilia and go to the rendezvous point." Lord Alshain's words brooked no argument.
"Understood." He Ge's hazy head lowered in supplication.
Before Vera even registered what had happened, the ground beneath her tore away, tearing away a good chunk of soil with it. It stuck to her blouse as she rolled through it. She bounced as the figure holding her dashed off with incredible speed. She grimmaced, spitting out dirt as some spilled into her mouth.
"Hold it!" A beam lanced after them. It left a blackened scar, but He Ge pivoted away before continuing his dash. In moments, the quarry had become a distant bad memory. Luyten V came in pursuit, but soon became confused as He Ge's camouflage made it difficult to tell where he'd gone.
"What are you doing?!" Tseen Foo demanded. "You hurt the Red Devil, so why not finish it off?"
"Its time will come, Tseen Foo.. Enough questions. Go to the rendezvous point. We will discuss our next move then." There was a grim smile behind Lord Alshain's words. "The timetable has changed."
"Huh?" Vera's teeth rattled as He Ge maintained his breakneck pace. "What do you mean?"
"I've been in discussion with the Grand Intelligence," Lord Alshain replied. "Lord Tarazed's death will not stand. This puny planet has been a thorn in our side long enough. Already the Altair are stirring. We will soon march."
"For what?" Vera asked.
"For the full invasion of Earth. It will be our launching pad into this universe. We will spread out and consume all. We are the Altair, and all are our prey."
"A full invasion?" Including the Grand Intelligence itself? Vera's breath caught. She'd never heard of their great leader being pushed this far. Lord Tarazed's death must have really ticked him off. Their leader wanted Rose dead. They would burn and consume all she loved. It sent thrill and apprehension through her. This was it. They'd entered the final act, and Earth's demise would be the curtain call.
///
"Sorry, it escaped," Rose said, hanging her head. Inside, she seethed at her failure. "It was fast." She couldn't believe it'd stolen Vera from under her nose.
"It was hardly your fault. We didn't even know some Altair could cloak themselves." Director Shapley steepled his fingers on his desk. "You were lucky. That ambush could have ended you."
At least Minneapolis was safe. Altair B had left the second after the general's destruction. The damage was pretty terrible, but it could have easily been much worse. Still, the death toll was horrible. The news outlets still didn't have an estimate.
"Yeah." It was lucky the Luyten V had sensed something amiss. Its ability to sense the Altair was truly remarkable. She paused, and a silence hung between them. They both knew what they were avoiding talking about.
Rose fidgeted in her anxiety for her friends, but there was nothing to do but wait. She'd offered to use the Luyten V to help the work crews, but they'd shooed her away. She'd only get in their way. So Rose waited, waited for the other shoe to drop.
"Oh, Cecilia." Why had Rose agreed to that stupid bait plan, anyway? Beta's destruction meant nothing compared to her friend's life. And Sandage. She couldn't bear anything happening to him. It was a disaster all around.
When he saw Rose tearing up, the director put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We're doing everything we can to recover them, okay? We'll bring them back."
Rose only gave a rough nod of her head and wiped her eyes clean. How she hated crying in front of others.
"Cecilia's special. I don't think she's finished just yet," Director Shapley said, a slight smile on his lips. "And Sandage is too stubborn to die easily. Still, this sudden appearance of that new Altair bothers me."
"Mr. Shapley?"
"Why didn't it help Beta?" The LUVOLT director paced. "Its cloaking ability was impressive. Witnesses barely noticed it until it was right on top of them."
"We should work on expanding the Luyten V's sensors," Rose said, glad for the distraction. "I wonder if Stella could help us? I'll PM her on YouTube."
"Not a bad suggestion." However, he sounded loath to ask the VTuber's help.
Stella's unknown origin had always bothered him. He seemed unsure whether they could completely trust her. Reasonable, but silly in Rose's opinion. Stella was a friend worth trusting, , but no one bothered listening to her views. Despite being Luyten V's pilot, they considered her only a child. It was beyond frustrating.
A buzz caught the director's attention, and Rose waited with bated breath as he answered. Thanks to his long experience with the FBI, Shapley's expression gave nothing away as he spoke.
"I see. Keep me informed," Shapley said before hanging up.
"Some good news. They found Prince Hallfar. Thankfully, his armor took the brunt of the damage. He should make a full recovery."
"That's a relief." It spared his father, the Ectutai Emperor, from losing two sons in short succession. Rose choked out the next words. "Did they find anyone else alive?"
Despite his stoic demeanor, a smile crept onto Shapley's face. "They found Sandage. Broken leg, but he too should recover."
"Thank goodness." Rose sighed in relief. "And Cecilia?"
All joviality left the LUVOLT director's face. "She wasn't so lucky. They found her half-buried. The damage is bad. But she is alive."
"Oh, poor Cecilia!" Rose said, tears stung her eyes. What could this mean? Was it possible she might never walk again?
Shapley seemed to read her mind. "As I said, it's too early to say. And let's not forget our Ectutai friends. They have medical treatments far beyond our technology."
"I hope it'll be enough." Still, Rose knew it'd be an uphill battle. "When can I see her?" She paused. "And Sandage too!"
"I'll have Brown take you to them right away," Shapley said. "They're at Saint Alexius Hospital."
"Thanks again!" Rose said, thankful from the depths of her heart. She hoped the hospital had good news. Too many people had already died. Too many good people.
"Thanks again!" Rose rushed out. She was determined to watch over both her friends as they recovered. And visit the Prince too, of course. He'd suffered too much already. If she could improve their situation even a little, she would. This was how she'd spite the Altair: by fixing what they broke. She'd show them humanity doesn't break easily.
///
"Not good," Macauley said, biting her digital lip. "This wasn't meant to happen. Cecilia shouldn't have gotten hurt."
"It's not your fault. You did the best you could," Petrus said to the computer screen. He sipped his grape soda, his favorite. It had gotten him through plenty of long nights back in college. He watched as the alien entity paced across his three screens.
His friend and benefactor was always like this: a total worrier. She'd really grown to care for Cecilia and Rose since this little adventure had begun.
"There's worse news," Macauley said.
"Why, what's happened?" Petrus stood straighter.
"The third and final general has arrived on Earth," Macauley said, her voice grave.
This caused Petrus to sit straighter.
"No. Already?" From Macauley's projections, that should have happened months , maybe even a year later. The Altair were stepping up their game.
"Yes, I detected a huge warp in space-time. It is consistent with the other generals. Besides, who else could it be?"
"Poor Rose might be in for a rough time pretty soon," Petrus said.
"No, it's worse than that," Macauley said, her voice grave. "I've detected more warping of space-time on the fringe of the solar system. So far, nothing's come through, but it gives me a bad feeling."
Ice shot through Petrus's chest as an unwelcome idea went through his head.
"How big are we talking about?"
"Huge, almost the size of a small moon, but it's growing steadily," Macauley replied.
"No," Petrus pounded a fist on his desk, already guessing what this might mean. "Is this a prelude to a full-on invasion?"
"Why not? We've already bested two of their generals, and we've hurt them dearly."
The Altair had a hive mind. Who knew how death felt through their connection? Beta's death would have been particularly impactful. This wasn't good.
"No time. No time!" Macauley paced again. She wasn't the implacable, mischievous figure she pretended to be. She had doubts and fears like other living beings.
No time indeed. Petrus looked at his half-finished work and despaired. All this work for nothing. His control system wasn't even remotely ready. He'd been working to construct an artificial Altair as a core, similar to what Luyten V had. While his friend had other scientists working on similar problems, he was only one piece among many. Macauley's plan to spearhead their defences with another Luyten V had failed. The technology was just too complicated.
"No! I refuse to admit defeat!" The cup holding his grape soda rattled as Petrus pounded a fist on the desk. "I refuse to surrender the Earth to those monsters just yet."
"Brave soul, Petrus." Macauley's avatar wore a wan smile. "Just the attitude we need. But we need time we can't afford."
No! Petrus refused to despair. Before Macauley, he'd been a disgrace. He'd convinced fellow students to test a drug he'd been working on. It was designed to boost attention and memory. It worked, but at a terrible cost. The boost eventually wore off and actually caused some damage to the human brain. In his haste, he'd failed to consider this. And when the university dean found out…
But Macauley had given him a second chance to make things right. He refused to let it stop there.
"Then, we pivot! Into something else!" Petrus was speaking without really thinking, but he was onto something. "A weapon Luyten V can really use to fight the Altair! One final tool to save the day."
This caught the VTuber's attention.
"Oh? You have a suggestion?"
"Well, no... But the others might. We need to convene the others you've recruited, Macauley. That way we can discuss it and brainstorm ideas."
"Okay. That sounds like a good idea."
"Really? So quickly, after you've worked so hard to keep your cabal secret?"
"We're far beyond caring about that. And we should get LUVOLT involved too. You yourself said they have the world's best minds."
"Must we?" Petrus hated involving the feds. Their red tape and bureaucracy would only muck things up. "Okay." But his reservations hardly mattered. Humanity was still ignorant of the upcoming threat. They needed to know. They didn't have the sensors his friend had. And having their new alien allies behind them wouldn't hurt either.
"Chin up, Petrus. We might actually have something. This group of geniuses will save the day. We must. Otherwise, all is lost."