Intergalactic conquest with an AI

"Alright, everyone, on high alert!" Rex shouted, his voice cutting through the roar of distant explosions. "We're not alone out here."

The soldiers quickly tightened their formation, weapons at the ready. Each one felt the weight of the moment pressing down on them. They weren't just fighting for survival now; they were racing against time, against an enemy that seemed to grow more menacing with every breath.

This battle was far from over. And somewhere out there, hidden in the storm, a new nightmare was waiting to be unleashed.

As Rex and his team pressed forward, the relentless ambushes took their toll. With every kilometer, the squad's numbers dwindled, their faces etched with exhaustion and tension.

Each attack was the same; the Khryssari warriors rained down green bioplasma from above, forcing the humans to take cover. Then, when the Khryssari ran out of ammunition, they charged in, engaging in brutal melee combat.

The close-quarters fighting was vicious, with blades clashing and blood spilling on both sides. The soldiers were worn down, battle after battle, and even Rex could feel fatigue eating out at his endurance.

"Cleo, are we close to the target yet?" Rex asked, his voice gritty through the communicator.

"Affirmative," Cleo replied. "The device should be about five hundred meters ahead of your current position."

Rex squinted his eyes, trying to peer through the swirling sandstorm, but the thick clouds of dust made visibility nearly impossible. "I can't see a damn thing. This sandstorm is cutting my sight down to five meters or less."

"Hold on. I'll mark a route on your HUD to guide you," Cleo said with a soft blue light illuminating her face as she worked on a screen she summoned.

Rex gave a tired chuckle. "Right… I forgot you could do that."

"I figured as much," Cleo sighed, a hint of amusement in her voice. "There. You should see the illuminated path now. Just follow it, but proceed with caution."

"Got it, beautiful. Thanks." Rex grinned, giving her a quick salute on the screen before rallying his troops.

They began moving again, following the faint blue trail that Cleo had mapped out. The path was strangely quiet, with no ambushes or enemies in sight. But instead of comfort, the silence made Rex's skin crawl. He scanned the hazy surroundings with his senses on edge.

"Rex! Over there!" Carlos shouted, pointing toward a barely visible shape in the distance.

Rex strained his eyes and finally caught a glimpse of it; it was a metallic structure, half-buried in sand, looming like a ghostly shadow in the storm. His heart quickened. "That's it. That's the device! Move, people! Let's finish this!"

Just as they charged forward, Cleo's voice came through his comm, sharp and urgent. "Stop! Don't go near it!"

Rex halted, confused. "What? Why?"

"I'm detecting a powerful electromagnetic field surrounding the device," Cleo explained. "It's invisible, but if you step into it, you'll be crushed instantly. Every piece of your gear has metallic components. That field would turn your own equipment against you."

Rex grimaced, scanning the area, even though he knew he wouldn't see it. "So... they've shielded it with an electromagnetic trap. Damn bugs. Smart move on their part since they're fully organic, so it doesn't affect them."

"Rex, let me handle it," Carlos said, stepping forward, his hammer gripped tightly. "I'll get in there and shut it down."

But before he could take another step, Cleo's voice cut him off. "Negative, Carlos. Rex has to be the one to go in. I'm the only one who understands Khryssari technology well enough to deactivate it, and I need a direct link to Rex's neural interface to walk him through it. But… there's a problem."

Rex raised an eyebrow, glancing at the display. "Of course there is. What's the catch?"

Cleo hesitated, a flicker of concern passing over her usually composed expression. "The electromagnetic field is irregular. It pulses every ten seconds, creating brief windows where you can enter. But once inside, you'll need to be completely still while I work on the deactivation. Any movement could disrupt the field, and... well, you'd be crushed instantly."

Rex clenched his jaw, nodding slowly. "So, we've got to time it perfectly. And once I'm in, I can't move. Got it."

Carlos shook his head, his expression grim. "Rex, this is insane. One wrong step, one slip, and you're dead."

Rex looked at his friend, a determined gleam in his eyes. "I've come this far, Carlos. This is the mission. Besides, we don't have time to argue. The longer we wait, the more of our troops are dying out there in the assault. We have to take this thing down now."

Carlos stared at him, then finally gave a reluctant nod. "Alright. Just... don't get yourself killed, you damn sissy-looking face."

Rex grinned, clapping him on the shoulder. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Turning back to the device, Rex focused, waiting for Cleo's signal. His heart pounded as he watched the pulses of energy ripple across his HUD, each one a deadly wave just waiting to crush him.

"Alright, Rex," Cleo's voice came through, calm and steady. "On my mark... three... two... one... Go!"

Rex sprinted forward, diving into the narrow gap between pulses. The field hummed around him with a vibrating tension that prickled at his skin. He slipped into the safe zone, barely catching his breath before he froze, every muscle tensed.

"Now hold still," Cleo instructed. "I'm syncing with your neural interface... just a few more seconds..."

The seconds felt like hours. He could feel the pulses moving around him, each one a wall of crushing force that could end him in an instant. Sweat trickled down his face, but he didn't dare move, not even to blink.

As Rex worked to dismantle the device, the sounds of battle grew louder behind him. Suddenly, a deafening crash cut through the chaos, and he glanced back just in time to see Carlos flying through the air, his body smashing into the canyon wall with bone-jarring force.

A low, mocking laugh echoed through the canyon. "Kukukuku... do you like your little cage, human? I made it just for you," sneered a towering Khryssari champion, nearly three meters tall.

His body was armored in a dark exoskeleton, streaked with eerie green lights that pulsed like the veins of some monstrous insect. His hands ended in massive, hammer-like fists, and behind him, two pairs of translucent wings fluttered, sending ripples of disturbed sand swirling around him.

"Carlos!" Rex shouted, a surge of anger breaking his focus.

"Focus, Rex!" Cleo's voice cut in sharply through their neural link, steadying him. He couldn't afford to lose concentration now, not with the device only half-deactivated. The entire mission depended on him finishing this.

Meanwhile, the rest of Rex's troops rushed to Carlos's aid, opening fire on the Khryssari champion. Bullets and plasma rounds ricocheted harmlessly off the creature's exoskeleton, which seemed to heal almost instantly, the green veins pulsing brighter with each impact.

"Kukuku, pathetic little mosquitoes," the champion sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. "But don't worry, I haven't forgotten any of you."

As if on cue, thousands of Khryssari warriors appeared, emerging from the shadows of the canyon, their insectoid forms glistening in the dim light. They swarmed around Rex's troops, surrounding them in a deadly ring.

The soldiers barely had a moment to brace themselves before a torrent of green bioplasma rained down, forcing them to scramble for cover.

"Don't you dare!" Rex roared, his voice carrying the weight of his fury, even as he stayed locked in place, focusing on the device.

The Khryssari champion chuckled darkly. "Kukuku… Why wouldn't I? Kill them all," he commanded, raising his hammer-like fists as he laughed, a deep, rumbling sound that grated against the ears.

Before he could finish his mocking laugh, a familiar voice cut through the chaos. "Shut the hell up, you overgrown cockroach!" Carlos had returned, dragging himself up from where he'd been thrown.

Blood trickled down his helmet, but his eyes were blazing with fury. He hefted his massive hammer and charged, swinging with all his might. The hammer connected with the champion's face in a bone-cracking blow that sent a shockwave through the air.

The Khryssari champion staggered, momentarily stunned. "KU! You filthy inferior!" he hissed, rage flashing in his eyes as he steadied himself, then launched himself at Carlos like a charging bull.

Carlos grinned, unphased. "Aw, did I make the little bug mad?" he taunted, lifting his gunshield and unleashing a stream of bullets. But, as before, they bounced off the champion's exoskeleton harmlessly.

"Oh, come on! Is everything on this planet bulletproof?" Carlos shouted, rolling to the side just as the champion's massive fist smashed into the ground where he'd been standing, sending a cloud of sand and rock flying.

"If bullets won't do the job," Carlos growled, gripping his hammer with both hands, "then I'll smash your face until it looks like the stew that the Aquarian grandma made back at home!"

The champion's eyes glinted with amusement. "Kukuku… Interesting! Show me what you've got, inferior life form!" He raised his hammer-like fists, his wings buzzing as he closed in.

Carlos charged forward, the two titans meeting in a violent clash of strength and fury. Carlos used his shield generators to absorb the brutal impacts of the champion's fists, each blow sending shudders through his armor.

In return, he swung his hammer with relentless ferocity, aiming for any weak spot he could find, each hit echoing through the canyon like thunder. Their strikes threw up clouds of sand, the force of their battle pulling them deeper into the heart of the sandstorm, until they were just shadows in the swirling dust.

Rex, still focused on disarming the device, clenched his jaw as he heard the sounds of his friend's struggle. He knew Carlos was buying him time, risking everything to hold back the champion, but he couldn't afford to lose focus. One mistake, and the entire mission would be lost.

"Just a few more minutes," Cleo's voice murmured in his ear, calm and steady, guiding him through the final steps. "You're almost there, Rex. Keep going."

In the midst of the chaos, surrounded by the sounds of desperate battle and swirling sand, Rex took a steadying breath, pushing aside his fear and rage. This was it. He couldn't let his team down.

After a few minutes had passed, Rex could hear the steps of someone coming from the sandstorm while dragging something.

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