Intergalactic conquest with an AI

A searing, precise laser shot pierced the air and struck him squarely in the head, disintegrating it in an instant. What remained of his helmet and skull clattered to the ground, followed by the lifeless body that slumped forward, still clutching the scanner.

Blood splattered across the holographic display; the glowing dots now smeared with blue.

"Enemy contact on the east!" The sergeant shouted out, his voice cutting through the sudden chaos. "Take cover!"

He dove behind a pile of debris as more laser fire erupted, the precision of the shots indicating a highly skilled enemy. The other soldiers scrambled for cover, overturning crates, ducking behind metal barriers, and positioning themselves near the wreckage of damaged machinery.

"Where's the fire coming from?!" one of the soldiers shouted, his hands shaking as he readied his rifle.

"East sector! They've got snipers!" Another soldier yelled back, blind-firing over a pile of rubble.

The sergeant activated his communication unit, shouting orders. "Tanks, form a defensive line, and light up the eastern approach! Infantry, hold positions and suppress those snipers! Watch for flanking!"

The hover tanks hummed to life, their engines emitting a low whine as they floated above the ground. Their cannons swiveled toward the east, and a moment later, the air filled with the deafening roar of explosive shells being fired.

Bright orange projectiles streaked across the battlefield, detonating in a fiery cascade that lit up the night.

The infantry opened fire as well, unleashing a barrage of suppressive laser fire into the darkness. The once-quiet facility was now a cacophony of explosions, gunfire, and shouted orders, the air thick with the acrid smell of burning metal and scorched earth.

But the enemy wasn't so easily deterred.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

From the shadows of the eastern sector, two figures emerged while moving with an unnatural grace and speed that sent a chill down the sergeant's spine.

"Sir... what the hell are those things?" One of the soldiers muttered, his voice trembling as he pointed at the approaching figures.

It didn't take long for the sergeant to realize these weren't ordinary invaders. They were unlike anything he had ever encountered.

The first figure, a young woman with long, silvery hair that shimmered like liquid moonlight, moved with an almost playful demeanor. Her crimson eyes glowed faintly in the dark, and she twirled two blood-red blades in her hands as if this were nothing more than a game.

The second figure was identical to the first but carried herself with a colder, more calculated air. Her movements were precise, efficient, and deadly. Unlike her twin, she wielded a pair of sleek handguns, their barrels glowing faintly with energy.

"Sis, do you think they even realize what's happening yet?" Nyra called out, her voice carrying a playful lilt as she spun one of her blades and lazily deflected a stray metalic shot that had come dangerously close.

Lyra sighed, reloading her pistols with a flick of her wrist. "I doubt it. Look at them; they're still clinging to hope like it'll save them."

The sergeant grated his teeth. "Those two... they're experimental subjests!." He spat the word like a curse. "Damn it! All units, focus fire on the two hostiles! Do not let them close the distance!"

The soldiers obeyed immediately, redirecting their fire toward the twins. Laser bolts and metallic rounds streaked through the air, a wall of destruction aimed at the approaching threats.

But the twins moved like ghosts.

Nyra laughed as she darted forward, her movements like a blur. Her blades danced through the air, slicing through incoming projectiles with ease. One moment she was deflecting fire; the next, she was upon a group of soldiers, her crimson blades carving through their ranks with terrifying precision.

Lyra followed close behind, her pistols spitting out rapid bursts of energy that found their marks with deadly accuracy. Each shot was a kill, each movement calculated to perfection. She moved methodically, eliminating threats with an almost mechanical efficiency.

"Fall back! Fall back!" The sergeant shouted out, but his voice was drowned out by the chaos.

The hover tanks tried to intervene, their cannons swiveling to target the twins. One tank fired, sending a massive explosive round hurtling toward Lyra.

She didn't even flinch. With a flick of her wrist, she redirected the explosive round mid-air using one of her pistol's energy waves, sending it crashing into another tank and obliterating it in a fiery explosion.

Nyra vaulted onto one of the remaining tanks, landing gracefully on its turret. She kneeled down, peering into the tank's cockpit with a devilish grin. "Knock, knock~!" she sang before driving one of her blades through the reinforced glass.

A muffled scream came from within, followed by silence as the tank powered down.

The sergeant watched in horror as his forces were systematically dismantled. It wasn't a battle. It wasn't even a massacre.

It was an execution.

"What... what are they...?" he whispered, his hands trembling as he clutched his rifle.

Nyra turned her crimson gaze toward him, as if sensing his fear. She smiled with a playful, almost innocent smile that sent a shiver down his spine.

"Guess we'll leave you alive for now," she called out, her tone dripping with mockery. "Someone needs to tell the rest of your friends what's coming~!"

Lyra stepped beside her sister, her expression colder but no less terrifying. "Let's finish this quickly. The longer we stay, the more annoying this gets." Explore more at empire

The sergeant glared at Nyra, his slimy face tentacles writhing in anger.

"Hah! Damn monsters, do you seriously think you're all that smart? That we can't do anything to you? You're not fighting some backwater company; you're up against a megacorporation! Your arrogance will be your doom!"

He spat on the ground, the glob landing just inches from Nyra's boots.

Nyra tilted her head, unimpressed, as she casually wiped the blue blood off her crimson blade. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, her voice dripping with mockery.

"Are you trying to intimidate me? Because, and forgive me if I'm wrong, your small army just got annihilated by a handful of snipers and little old me. So... not exactly screaming 'unstoppable power' over here."

Before the sergeant could retort, Lyra's voice cut through like a whip. "Sis, duck!"

Without hesitation, Lyra lunged, tackling Nyra to the ground just as a massive mecha suit crashed into the space they had been standing in.

The impact sent debris flying in every direction. Four more mechas landed behind it with a thunderous boom, accompanied by squads of militia soldiers armed to the teeth.

The mecha suits were monstrous, towering three meters tall with gleaming black and silver armor. Tentacle-like appendages writhed menacingly from their backs, and their hands ended in claws that looked like they could rip a tank in half.

A voice echoed from the lead mech, smooth and dripping with condescension. "Well, well. It seems we've finally found the little parasites causing all this chaos on my turf."

Nyra and Lyra turned to see the pilot of the lead machine stepping forward, his arms crossed behind his back as if he had all the time in the world. Harlix, the infamous enforcer of Nexum Dynamics, surveyed the twins with a cold smile.

"Sis," Lyra muttered, helping Nyra to her feet, "this guy... he's different. Stronger than the rest. Probably their ace in the hole."

Nyra rolled her eyes and brushed the dirt off her jacket. "Stronger? Smarter? Whatever. If they were hiding all this time and needed a sneak attack to make an entrance, it just means they're cowards."

She jabbed a finger at Harlix's mech, her voice ringing out. "Come on, Tin can! Show me what you've got!"

Harlix let out a slow, mocking laugh. "Oh, the irony. You're calling us cowards? Didn't your little squad drop in on us like thieves in the night? Or did you forget about those sneaky little pods you came in?"

Nyra's face twisted into an offended scowl. "Pods? PODS? I didn't come here in a stupid drop pod, you overgrown vending machine! I walked. W-A-L-K-E-D." She raised her middle finger at him. "Take that, and shove it up your shiny metal a—"

"Vulgar," Harlix interrupted, his tone dripping with mock disapproval. "This is why I hate dealing with savages. You there," he gestured lazily to one of the mechs with a clawed hand, "take care of them for me. I've got better things to do than waste my time on this circus."

The mech stepped forward, its tentacles snapping ominously as it closed the distance. The ground trembled beneath its weight, each step pounding like a drumbeat of doom. Nyra cracked her neck and grinned, gripping her blade tighter. "Oh, this is going to be fun."

But before the machine could reach them, the ground began to quake violently. Small rocks bounced across the battlefield. Then, without warning, a section of the wall behind the twins exploded in a cloud of dust and rubble.

From the debris emerged a massive Mauler juggernaut, its monstrous frame tearing through the wall like it was paper. The massive machine rammed into the advancing machine with a deafening roar, sending it flying backward.

The unlucky soldiers behind it scattered like bowling pins as the mech slammed into them, sparks and twisted metal flying everywhere.

Nyra watched the chaos unfold, her grin widening. "Well, well. Looks like the cavalry's here."

Lyra sighed, wiping dust off her face. "You're impossible, you know that?"

"Yeah, but you love me anyway," Nyra shot back with a wink, already gearing up for the next round of chaos.

Harlix's voice boomed over the battlefield, tinged with annoyance. "So... you've brought toys of your own. Fine. Let's play."