Interstellar Survival: Invasion

"Sarje, there is no need for threats," I stopped Sarje from inflicting too much panic on the two.

The drones flew by us without giving us a second look. The situation in the hangar was way too chaotic for anyone to pay a single drone any attention.

"Lamo's skills are trustworthy. You need to trust his skills," said Somo.

"I know the two of you are very skilled. Our priority is leaving this place. If you can take us out, I'll guarantee your safety," I promised.

Under the two's control, the drone slowly flew toward the exit. The hangar was filled with numerous ships ready to escape, and the robotic warning was being constantly broadcast in the room. We still couldn't contact Zhang Bao'er and the others.

The path out of the battleship was congested, with the escaping ships crowding the few available exits. The Milky Way–class battleship had carried too many passengers, making escape a rather difficult task.

"The exits are too congested. We won't be able to get out before the battleship explodes," said Sarje anxiously.

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"Don't worry. I know an exit with no traffic," said Somo.

"Where is it? Take us there already," urged Sarje.

Under Lamo's control, the drone moved away from the crowd and moved upward in the ship.

"There's an exit higher in the ship?" I asked in astonishment. Generally, the imperial battleships would only install their exits at the bottom.

"That's a special escape route for the captain during emergencies," said Lamo.

"Bullshit! The captain will always be the last to leave the ship. How can that be called an escape?" said Somo.

"Wait. If the captain is the last to leave, won't we encounter the captain's guards if we go now?" asked Sarje.

"Don't you worry about that. Just watch," said Lamo. The drone accelerated, and before long, we arrived at the highest level in the ship.

"You have arrived at the command area. Please show your access level," a robotic voice demanded.

With a nod by Somo, Lamo pressed a red button on the dashboard.

The automatic scanner activated. Shortly after, the robotic voice rang out again, "Captain Adoka's ship detected. Access granted."

"Look at this. You're full of surprises," praised Sarje.

"That's nothing special. After researching the battleship's core system, I will be able to freely enter even Emperor Fille's palace," said Lamo smugly.

Somo gave Lamo's head a heavy knock.

"Why did you hit me?" complained Lamo with a furious glare.

"You talk too much. Even as a prisoner, you still can't stop blabbering your mouth," said Somo.

"Li Canyue never tortures prisoners. We know that," said Lamo.

"You fool. I have nothing else to say," said Somo with a helpless sigh.

I found the conversation rather comical. The two totally didn't see themselves as prisoners. While the two were bickering, we arrived in front of a small airlock.

"That must be the exit," said Sarje in excitement.

"Yes. Get ready. We're leaving," said Somo.

At that moment, an armed ship suddenly appeared from the right and stopped in front of us. The sudden appearance instantly intensified our nervousness. The ship turned around to face us, but it did not send us any signal or message. We faced each other in silence for about a minute. All of us were feeling extremely nervous because our drones were not equipped with any weapons while the other ship could easily destroy us. During that critical moment, something odd happened. The ship suddenly turned around and left through the airlock. It didn't even bother closing the door after leaving.

"What's going on?" asked Sarje in confusion.

"You claimed that the captain wouldn't leave first, right? What do you have to say now?" said Lamo.

"Shameless. Too shameless. The captain actually escaped before the rest of the crew left the ship," scolded Somo.

"That must be why the ship hadn't attacked us. They must be too ashamed of their behavior," I said.

"The imperial army is useless. Ignore them. We also need to leave. If even the captain has escaped, then this battleship really won't last much longer," said Sarje.

That reminded all of us of the situation we were in. Under Lamo's control, our drone rushed out of the battleship. The situation outside the battleship had changed considerably. Markus was nowhere to be seen. I had no idea if it had been destroyed or if it had broken through the line. Before us were countless imperial ships and drones. 

Only a small number of league fighters could still be seen flying around the battlefield. Farther away from us, General Edward's fleet was under heavy fire. Only a short while had passed, but the league had suffered such a great defeat. I had a feeling that this was basically a hopeless war for us.

Suddenly, a laser beam came from the side, nearly hitting our drone. Fortunately, Lamo was able to react in time to avoid the attack. At the same time, I noticed a quantum fighter flying past in the sky above us. I could see the code S81 on that fighter.

"Fighter S81, we're friendly! Do not attack our drone!" I shouted to the communicator.

The fighter turned around, and a voice replied with pleasant surprise, "This is fighter S81. Who are you? Why are you inside an enemy drone?" 

After losing contact with all my allies for a period of time, I grew excited when I was once again able to hear the voice of an ally.

"This is Officer Li Canyue. I lost my fighter to enemy fire, but I was able to take over this drone. Where are Carter and the other fighters?" I asked.

"The empire activated their light wave weapons to block our signals. We can no longer contact any ally farther than 30 meters away from us. Commander Carter had led the fleet to assist the superweapons. We're staying behind to provide cover for our rescue ships who are here to pick out our ejected pilots," replied the pilot of fighter S81.

"Carter and the others went to reinforce the superweapons? What happened? Where are they?" I asked.

Suddenly, a guided missile shot toward us. Fighter S81, who had slowed down to maintain communication with us, was struck,  and it exploded into chunks of metal. The sudden change stunned me. Only static could be heard through the communicator. Just like that, the pilot who was talking to me just moments ago was killed.

I lowered my head silently, offering my prayers to the unknown pilot who had sacrificed himself for the war. Suddenly, I heard a beep. On my communicator's screen, a set of coordinates appeared. The destination was roughly 600 million kilometers away from us, an area near Jupiter.

Without a doubt, the brave pilot of S81 must have sent the coordinates over before he was killed. These must be the coordinates indicating the superweapons' location. Apart from showing my respect to the heroic pilot, there was nothing I could do for him.

"Somo, can you take me to this place?" I asked.

"Jupiter? Why do you want to go there? Are you running from the war?" asked Somo. The moment he opened his mouth, he was unable to stop talking. That seemed to be a shared trait of the Sacred Wing race and the Jido race.

"According to the information I received, the superweapons are there. The great sovereign and Temo need our help. Therefore, I must get there and assist them," I said.

"So are you ignoring your other allies who are surrounded here?" Lamo asked.

I took a look at General Edward's surrounded fleet and sank into thought.

"What are you waiting for? What else can this stupid drone do? Just follow my superior's order or don't blame me for being impolite," threatened Sarje.

His words reminded me that my top priority was the superweapons. Blue was still under the Kax Ring's protection, but if the superweapons on our side were defeated, we would have no hope of turning this war around.

"How long will it take for us to reach Jupiter?" I calmed my mind and asked.

"I can take you away from this battlefield and produce a wormhole leading to your location. Can you free us after that?" Somo asked. After all, he was worried that he would be imprisoned by us without the protection of the imperial army.

"Don't worry. You will regain your freedom after you take us to Jupiter. I, Li Canyue, am a man of my word," I promised.

The two little fellows whispered to each other for a bit before piloting the drone away from the battlefield. As the drone was a product of the empire, we were able to move around without any obstacles. Before long, we were out of the battlefield.

"Stay seated, everyone. Since the drone is too small, the wormhole-leap might be a tad bit rough," warned Somo.

Both Sarje and I went back to our seats. The drone continued moving until it was hundreds of kilometers away from the battlefield. There, Lomo activated the wormhole system. Space twisted as a wormhole was produced. Everything seemed fine. When the wormhole appeared, the drone flew inside.

Thus began the worst wormhole-leap I had ever experienced. The shaking was so intense that it felt like the drone was about to fall apart. It was difficult to believe that I was seated within a product of the Sacred Wing race. The terrible experience lasted about 10 minutes before we ended the leap.

"What bullshit leap was that? A tad bit rough? That's an absolutely terrible leap," said Sarje, whose face had paled and looked like he was about to vomit.

I couldn't be bothered to comfort Sarje. I hurriedly removed my seatbelt and looked out. A chaotic and terrifying scene unfolded before my eyes.