Chương 395: Book 6 - Chapter 56 - Emergence

"Define trouble," I yelled at Bandit.

"I'm reading massive seismic readings coming from the north," the fox reported.

"Well, no shit! I could have told you that," I growled.

"What's causing it?"

"From what I can tell, something massive is trying to push its way to the surface," he said.

"Don't you mean dig to the surface?" I asked.

"No," the fox replied.

"I don't." The minor tremors turned into what I could only describe as a minor earthquake, causing most of the bears to stumble about in a desperate attempt to stay standing. Thankfully, they weren't the only ones having problems, as the shaking was so bad that even the quadrupedal Antithesis Models were having trouble advancing. The only ones that didn't seem to be having issues with the violent tremors were Bob and the Badgers.

I'm not sure if it was because of the Spatial Anchors or the fact that they weighed so much, but they seemed happy to use the distraction to wade into the middle of the Antithesis lines and smash skulls. After what felt like an eternity but was more likely only a few seconds, a huge plume of dirt and rock erupted in the north, so large that I could see it peeking over the various spiny ridges that surrounded us, and the shaking finally stopped.

"What the fuck was that?" I asked, to no one in particular.

"I have no idea," Nora replied.

"Can you see what caused it?" I looked back at her for a moment.

"If you couldn't see anything with those lanky legs of yours, how would I?" I asked sarcastically. She sighed.

"I meant using that network of yours. Couldn't you access the cameras on Bear Force One or something?"

"Oh… Yeah, I can do that," I replied sheepishly, before diving into the command network. It only took me a moment to connect to the cameras mounted around Bear Force One, and what I saw took my breath away.

"What the fuck is that?" I exclaimed. Several hundred meters north of the hive, in an area that had once been a barren plain, an unfathomably large Antithesis had pushed its way to the surface and was now slowly rising into the air. It looked like a cross between a whale and a jellyfish, covered in hard armor plating, spines, vile sores, and tentacles. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

As it rose into the air, some sort of dust or spore began to float off its underside and gently rain down on the area below it. That, Evelyn, is a problem, Nyx said quietly.

"No shit!" I exclaimed.

"That thing's nearly as big as Bear Force One. What is it?" A Fifty-One-S, Nyx replied—a planet seeder.

"A fucking what?" I asked. A Fifty-One-S. They're designed to travel over an area and seed it with fast-growing Antithesis fauna that chokes out the local plant life. The new growth is easier for the Antithesis to harvest and process, accelerating their biomass collection. The thing is, these things don't typically show up until the Antithesis have established a firm foothold on a planet. The biomass requirements are too high.

"Is it armed?" I asked. Evelyn, this is a Model designed to anchor the Antithesis forces during a mid-stage invasion. Of course it's armed. Even if it wasn't, the seeds will dig into every living thing they come in contact with and once dug in, like a Model Seven, they'll use the host's biomass to grow.

"That's disgusting," I growled. It's efficient, and that's what the Antithesis are all about.

"What is it doing here?" I asked before pausing and putting a hand against my forehead.

"Wait, don't answer that, the answer is obvious. It's because the Tender created it, but why?" Well, a Tender's primary function is to identify threats to the hive and counter them, Nyx said. So it must have thought a Fifty-One was the best way to deal with something. If I had to guess, I'd say it was to deal with something large and flying.

"Shit!" I hissed before switching to the command network. [Spooky, I need you to put as much space between you and that flying monstrosity as possible.] [I'll do my best, but Bear Force One isn't exactly the swiftest. Where would you like to go?] Spooky replied. [I don't know, ideally we'd want to keep this fucking thing from traveling too far and spreading its 'seed' everywhere, and we'd want to keep smashing it with the UHF as long as possible,] I said. [... hold up a second.]"Nyx, how high can that thing fly?" I asked. A typical Fifty-One-S can reach an altitude of around twelve kilometers, about the cruising altitude of long-distance commercial traffic. However, they rarely go that high unless they're crossing a sea or something, Nyx replied.

"And the Bear Force One?" Well, it is a Strato Carrier so that it can reach the upper stratosphere. It can reach around fifty kilometers if it has the proper pressurization systems or the crew doesn't need to breathe. Nyx said. Coincidentally, to reach its maximum cruising altitude, the Fifty-One-S will probably have to close its spore sacks to maintain pressurization. [Spooky go up, and if that thing tries to follow, you keep going until it can't continue,] I ordered. [Copy that, Commander,] Spooky replied.

I could tell from the exterior cameras that Bear Force One was already climbing, and as I watched, it unleashed a full barrage from all its primary and secondary weapons. Dozens of coilguns, missiles, and even the UHR were unloaded into the top of the massive Antithesis, and although the strongest weapons seemed to penetrate the armor, they didn't seem to do much to the massive flyer. In response, the Fifty-One opened up gills along its sides, releasing hundreds of flyers.

Although they appeared to be Model Ones at a distance, when they closed in on Bear Force One and were shot down by the PAWs' systems, they exploded violently. In addition to the small exploders, hundreds of Model Elevens flew out of the pit that the Fifty-One left in the earth, flocking around the titan like carrion birds around a corpse.

"I think this is going to be a slugging match," I muttered. While I watched the battle unfolding just beyond the ridge, Nora tapped me on the shoulder.

"Evelyn, what's going on? You've just been standing there for the last two minutes." I shook my head and unmuted my helmet.

"Sorry about that, a massive problem just showed up, and I've been trying to deal with it."

"You know, there are other Samurai around here, you don't have to deal with everything alone, right?" Nora replied.

"What sort of problem?"

"One that may be beyond our ability to deal with," I said, sending her a data feed containing the camera footage.

"Take a look."

"Ahhhh… that's… a problem," Nora muttered.

"That's true," I replied.

"However, it's like you said, we're not the only Samurai around. I need to make a call."