Shattered Stars

Instinct

I fought back the heavy feeling of dread. There was no way I could finish the mission without Neval. He was one of the few people alive who still cared about me.

Neval shakily climbed onto my back, holding another spear under his arm. "One last push. No more diving to the ground, you. You might not get up one of these times. Skylar, be sure to stay on the ground. No jets. Save your last antimatter bullet until it is absolutely needed."

I tried to slow my breathing as I watched the green circle on the door expand toward the edges. "We just have to destroy the Core, right?"

"No," the Defect stated. "That would result in activation of a redundant Core in a different location. Give me the time to open the final door and get to the Core, mission is complete."

"You can't access it remotely?" I pleaded.

"The Core has no remote functionality. Unhackable. Only physical access is allowed."

My labored breathing filled the last few seconds of silence before the door expanded open like the first. The Defects crouched into a running position. "Prepare. The target is the small door, guarded by the Guardians"

Seventeen Shifters. I gulped, wiping tears from my eyes. Why do I have to die?

The door opened, giving way to yet another expansive chamber. Two long rows of Clones and one row of Shifter-spheres bent in a wide arc around a human-sized door carved out of the back wall. Two other grand doors were carved into the other walls.

"No..." Skylar said, standing next to me.

The Shifters morphed into humanoid form. The Clones ignited their double-ended spears. I flinched.

There is no way you can do this.

A gigantic Phobos appeared in the middle of the room. "Ah, what a nice place to perish. So dark, miles underground. Nobody will hear your dying scream."

"Simultaneous attack," the Defect commanded, its bodies bolting forward. The flurry of motion snapped me out of paralysis. I ran along with them with Skylar trailing behind, using them as a barrier between me and the opposition.

The Shifters fired at us from where they stood and the Clones rushed at us with grim determination. The Defects scattered about and rushed the Clones head-on, using the converted Clones as leads. I steered clear of the fight, the barrage of projectiles keeping me from getting too close.

Skylar deflected a few projectiles with his plasma blade then hurled it into the fray. The blade became no more than a blinding blur of energy. One of the Shifters fell to dust as the blade sank into the far wall. That was the last we saw of it as several projectiles from other Shifters ended it.

"No! Why'd you do that?" I scolded, narrowly avoiding having my tail sliced off by an enemy Clone. "We don't have any weapons left!"

"Yes, we do," Skylar said, extending a hand toward the nearest Clone. It's spear swerved toward Skylar, pulling the Clone with it. He snatch the handle out of the air and impaled his plasma-tipped tail through the enemy's chest, shattering it.

Seeing this, I whirled on the Clone from which I was fleeing. I caught its spear just inches from my muzzle and slammed my foot into its chest. It soared to the other end of the chamber. A Shifter projectile scraped my side, tearing through my wing. A reticle appeared in my interface centered on the chest of the nearest Shifter. I whipped my arm forward and the spear blurred straight through the Shifter's power cell. Somehow, my interface also made my aim perfect.