Nova: The Next Generation Part Four Of The Shiar Conflict

Nova: The Next Generation

Part Four

Of

The Shi’ar Conflict

Written By: Timelord 10.10.09

Chapter 4: Demi-Goddess

The rocket propelled adamantium ‘Nova Killer Round’ easily penetrated the phasic shields and tore through the chest of the lovely raven-haired Nova Cadet who had been lying in wait to surprise attack the approaching Veradinae dragons. She fell to the ground silently. The two Veradinae advance scouts converged on her body, anxious to dine on her flesh while she was still warm and freshly dead. They retracted their helmets in preparation for their meal. Her body began to writhe and shift, instantly breaking apart into two cloudy swarms of billions of tiny objects. Before the dragons could react, the nanites moved swiftly – entering the ears and noses of the Veradinae and burrowing into their brains. The dragons fell to the ground and convulsed violently for several seconds as their brains were pureed. Then they became still and moved no more. From the treetop, Sylvia smiled to herself as she ordered the nanites making up her uniform to exit the skull cavities of the slain Veradinae, clean themselves, and reform around her. It had been child’s play for her to wield her power to communicate with AI’s to order the nanites composing her uniform to morph into a facsimile of her to use as a decoy for the enemy scouts. Once the dragons had “killed” her facsimile and un-sealed their armor to dine; they were vulnerable to attack and the nanites had performed both admirably and silently. She much preferred the direct approach of a stand up fight over such guerilla warfare techniques; but she was willing to do what was necessary to give her people a fighting chance against the approaching enemy. She waited while the nanites clothed her nude body; and once her helmet formed, she quantum linked to Surfaan with one simple message. “Two enemy down. Fifteen to go. Send in the drones.” Sylvia prayed that the drones would keep the Veradinae busy long enough for Bem’s troop ship to win their own firefight with the Veradinae harrying the larger group of survivors, finish extracting the larger group of survivors, and come to the rescue of her smaller group of survivors.

Sylvia paused as the Xandarian Attack Drones, twelve small seamless silver orbs about the size of her fist, sped silently past her position, fanned out, and began their hunt for the enemy. Using her natural power to communicate with any AI, she patched into the AI controlling the drones so she could gauge enemy strengths and weaknesses as the drones attacked. She didn’t expect the drones to do much but slow the dragons down; as all advanced ground armies had developed counter-measures for drone attacks. That was why ground armies were still comprised of biologicals. AI drone systems could nullify each other and telepresence could be rendered inert via disruption of communication between operator and drone; but super-powered biologicals did not suffer the same constraints and were not so easily counter-measured. They could function independently and adapt to changing battlefield conditions – bringing guile, innovation, and un-predictability factors into the equation – the very factors that often won battles. In the final analysis, biologicals had millions of years of head start on AI’s in finding clever ways to kill each other. Biologicals were simply better at killing than AI’s.

Melding with an AI was always a strange sensation. Multi-tasking was something biologicals did not do very well; so to meld with an intelligence that multi-tasked as a matter of course was at first disconcerting. Sylvia felt overwhelmed for an instant before her mind made the adaptation from sequential information processing to simultaneous processing. Experiencing the drone attack from the point of view of the controlling AI, she was essentially in twelve different places at once – “seeing” what each of the twelve drones saw as they searched for the enemy. Quickly adjusting to this unfamiliar experience, she was able to follow the progress of the drones as they weaved through the murky swamp, using the natural terrain in addition to their stealth tech to mask their advance on the enemy.

The drones paused. The enemy had been found. Fifteen heavily armed dragons and one Veradinae drone controller android were about a mile from the survivor encampment and advancing as rapidly as the terrain allowed. Passive scans indicated that the Xandarian drones had not been detected. Sylvia attempted to penetrate the Veradinae Android’s firewall; but it was too strong for her to quickly overcome. She cursed to herself. She had hoped to render the enemy drone controller inert or even use it against the enemy. She realized that her drones would now get only one chance before the Veradinae droid took counter-measures. Sylvia and the AI concurred on the attack plan. Explosive charges were set and the drones attacked.

The Xandarian drones each picked a target. As one, they swooped down from the treetops at top speed in a surprise attack. Two drones targeted the android; and the rest targeted individual dragons. The Veradinae android reacted instantly, raising a force field and releasing ten interceptor drones. The Xandarian drones impacted against the android’s force field; exploding on contact. The Veradinae android was not harmed; but the concussion from the blast threw the dragons into momentary confusion; knocking three of those closest to the android off their feet. The Xandarian drones moved to capitalize on the enemy’s confusion; diving toward those most vulnerable to attack. The Veradinae interceptors did their job, intercepting and destroying most of the Xandarian attack drones; but two Xandarian drones managed to evade the interceptors and impact against two of the dragons who were thrown from their feet by the initial attack’s blast. The resulting explosions took one dragon’s head off and the other dragon’s leg off.

Sylvia was pleased. Xandar had been lucky. The drones had inflicted more damage than she had expected they would. She had one last immediate range glimpse of the enemy before her last drone was destroyed by an interceptor. She saw the commanding dragon walk over to the dragon that lay injured from loss of its leg and shoot it in the head.

Sylvia used her powers to conduct a long range scan in order to assess the enemy’s incurred damage. She was pleased to learn that the enemy had been slowed and was now having to take time to re-group. She quickly flew back to the survivor encampment to prepare to engage the Veradinae.

Arriving back at the encampment in seconds, she was greeted by Surfaan Ren. Ren had divided the encampment into defense zones and fortified each zone the best he could with the available men and material. The Star Corps regulars were ready. Surfaan would command the ground troops; and Sylvia would harass the enemy from the air.

They didn’t have long to wait. Within minutes of her arrival, Sylvia’s HUD flashed a proximity warning. The enemy was closing. Sylvia took flight, activating her uniform’s camouflage function, becoming invisible against the pale blue sky of the planet. Surfaan had prepared one last surprise for the enemy and it would be her cue to attack.

The Veradinae marched straight for the encampment. They were positioned in a ragged semi-circle, obviously intending to simply overwhelm the encampment with superior numbers and firepower. The Veradinae droid sent attack drones in to soften defenses; but Xandar’s droid sent interceptor drones and stalemated the attack. As the enemy entered the Xandarian outer perimeter; Surfaan activated the anti-personnel mines he had placed, watching with satisfaction as the explosions and adamantium shrapnel killed two enemy troops and caused the enemy line to waver.

Capitalizing on the wavering enemy line, Surfaan ordered the Xandarians to open fire; and the troops laid down a withering assault of plasma charges and projectiles. From the air, Sylvia dove in for a strafing run against the enemy line; firing furious volleys of gravimetric pulses from her eyes and both hands. She sighted her primary target and rushed in for the kill; smashing through the Veradinae android’s force field and then through the android itself, tearing it apart and rendering its drones useless. As the inert Veradinae drones fell from the sky, the remaining Xandarian drones were freed from their aerial dogfights with the Veradinae drones. Xandar’s drones dove from the sky to attack the enemy; and several dragons fell to explosions from drone impacts.

Though suffering heavy losses, the Veradinae were nothing if not tenacious. The remaining eight dragons regrouped under the leadership of their commander and made a concerted push against the Xandarian line. Concentrating fire from their hand held and armor mounted weapons; the Veradinae were able to overwhelm the Xandarian force field defenses, battering them down.

As the Veradinae grouped to rush the Xandarian line; Sylvia flew into their midst, generating a powerful radiative aura gravimetric pulse. The armor of the three dragons nearest her absorbed the greatest part of the concussion; killing the dragons instantly. Most of the rest of the dragons were knocked off their feet; but their commander managed to maintain his footing and rushed Sylvia with his claws extended, intending to rend her apart. Sylvia had learned from her earlier fight with an actual dragon to stay clear of dragons’ biomantium-coated claws; so she twisted and dodged the dragon’s attack, firing gravimetric pulses from her hands into its back as she took flight. The dragon twisted to avoid the pulses hitting its power packs and its armor-mounted plasma cannon fired at Sylvia. The plasma bolt bounced off Sylvia’s shields, but disrupted her flight function, causing her to tumble to the ground.

Momentarily stunned from the impact with the ground, a dragon rushed Sylvia and she barely recovered in time to twist away from a vicious swipe of its claws. Another dragon rushed at her; and she fired a gravimetric pulse into its chest as she took flight; knocking the dragon into the line of fire from one of the Xandarian defense zones. The dragon was caught in the concentrated fire and suffered several penetrating wounds from adamantium projectiles as Sylvia’s gravimetric pulse had weakened its armor’s force field. Before Sylvia could gain altitude, the Veradinae Commander leaped into the air, caught her by her ankles, and slammed her head into the ground.

Fighting to retain consciousness, Sylvia groggily twisted in his grasp attempting to activate her flight function and escape. Flexing his muscles, he slammed her into the ground again; causing her to lose consciousness for a moment.

Sylvia awoke to a familiar voice shouting, “Let go of her mother farker!” as Surfaan Ren flew to her rescue; firing short bursts of adamantium projectiles into the Veradinae Commander’s armor at point blank range so as to avoid hitting Sylvia with any stray pellets. The Veradinae Commander roared in pain as several projectiles penetrated its armor. It turned loose of Sylvia to attack Surfaan as Surfaan had strayed way too close to the dragon in his attempt to distract it before it killed Sylvia.

The realization that Surfaan had only seconds to live snapped Sylvia back into full consciousness and she viciously kicked the dragon’s leg, buckling his armor and causing him to sink to his knees roaring in pain. Gritting her teeth and rapidly struggling to her feet, Sylvia built up a gravimetric pulse in her right hand and with all her might struck the dragon commander in the head at the same time as she fired the pulse. Screaming in rage as her gravimetric enhanced punch penetrated the dragon’s helmet armor; she felt the dragon’s head explode before its decapitated body fell limply to the ground.

Sylvia twisted to avoid the shots fired at her by another dragon and took flight behind Surfaan, placing herself between him and the remaining dragons so her more powerful shields could defend him from their weapons fire.

Sylvia’s HUD flashed a warning that she was being scanned by a Xandarian Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) device and she looked up to see Bem’s troop ship sliding into place over the Xandarian encampment.

The ship’s plasma cannons and 50 caliber adamantium projectile weapons opened up against the few remaining dragons, causing them to scramble for cover as they returned fire. A hatch from the bottom of the ship opened and waves of Nova Cadets rapidly descended to the ground. Each Nova Cadet scooped up a Star Corps Regular and ascended to the ship as other Nova Cadets provided covering fire.

Sylvia and Surfaan provided covering fire and were the last to board the troop ship. The hatch snapped shut behind them and the ship rapidly ascended through the atmosphere into space, entering a stargate to the Orienta Shard as soon as it achieved minimum safe distance from the gravity well of the planet.

As the Nova Cadets tended to the wounded and stowed their combat and rescue gear, Sylvia caught sight of Surfaan placing his rifle in a weapons locker. She walked over to him and he turned to her with a smile of delight on his face.

Sylvia returned his smile. “Thanks for saving my a– out there.”

He raised his eyebrows and made a great show of craning his neck to examine her ass. “How could I let such a cute a– go to waste? Besides, I do like a screamer – more so in the bedroom than on the battlefield though.”

They shared a laugh; but were interrupted by a shout of “Commander on deck!”

Nothing if not efficient, Bem arrived with several clerk droids to begin debriefing. The cadets scrambled into formation and prepared to provide reports. The ride back to Orienta was going to be filled with official Corps business.

Surfaan finished his report to the clerk droid and headed to the mess hall of the ship. As he approached the door to the mess hall, it snapped open and out stepped Kritana Tas.

Unable to avoid the encounter, Surfaan sheepishly smiled at her in greeting. “Hi Kritana.”

Kritana’s eyes narrowed as she looked at him. “Fark you Surfaan.” She brushed past him.

His face red with exasperation and embarrassment, Surfaan said to her receding back, “Come on Tana! You can’t still be mad at me.”

In response, Kritana simply made an obscene gesture over her shoulder without turning back around.

“Oh nice! Very mature! Talk to me?” he said with no real expectation that she would.

Surprisingly, she stopped and turned around. Walking up to him, she placed her fists on her hips and with arms akimbo angrily got right in his face. “Talk to you? I’ll talk to you. What do you have to say?”

Caught off guard, Surfaan’s mind blanked and he could only blurt out a feeble, “I’m sorry.”

That was not what Kritana wanted to hear. She huffed. “That’s it? That’s the best you’ve got? Why did I waste my time?” Shaking her head in irritation and disgust, she turned to depart; then changed her mind and turned back to him. “You know – when you decided you wanted to fark that little Rigellian First Year Cadet, all you had to do was tell me. It’s not like I’m possessive or jealous or have ever demanded exclusivity. I thought she was cute too and I might even have joined in if she’d been interested. All I ever asked was that you never lie to me. I thought that we had agreed on that much.”

He shook his head affirmatively. “I know and I was wrong to lie about farking her. I farked up. I’m sorry. Can’t we just put this behind us and be friends again?”

Kritana shook her head negatively. “I have to be able to trust my friends to tell me the truth. That’s obviously beyond your capabilities.” She turned her back and walked away.

Surfaan watched her go, cursing himself once again for farking up the good thing he had had with one of the most gorgeous, sexy, and capable women he had ever known. He turned to enter the mess hall. The door snapped open and he saw several cadets milling about the food and drink synthesizers. He spied Sylvia extracting a drink from a synthesizer portal and waved to get her attention. She smiled in response and he took that as an invitation to approach her.

He decided to try confident humor. “Now that we’ve openly admired each other’s a–es and established that we’re both screamers, I was hoping we could get some private time together to get even better acquainted. Care to share a shower?”

She laughed. “Subtlety is not your strong point.”

He shrugged. “What can I say? I believe in making my intentions known.”

She suppressed a smile. “Oh, by reputation I knew your intentions before I ever met you. My mother warned me about men like you.”

He looked deeply into her eyes. “Your mother sounds like a wise woman. We’ll name our first child after her.”

Sylvia raised her eyebrows. “My-my-my, the rumors about your large ego are true after all.”

He grinned. “I’d love to show you which large rumors about me are true.”

She laughed. “No doubt you would.”

He decided the time was right to make his pitch. “So let me. After this mission, we all get a week’s liberty. Let’s go out tonight.”

She looked away for a moment as if seriously considering his offer. “Would that I could. I’ve already made plans to celebrate with a friend tonight; and I leave for Nu-Xandar on the first shuttle out in the morning.”

He decided to go for broke. “Well, how about if I meet you somewhere before or after your date with your friend?”

She shook her head negatively. “You are a persistent one aren’t you?”

He grinned. “I’ve been called worse.”

“I know” she deadpanned.

He laughed. “Come on – we both know you want to give me a chance.”

She hesitated – then relented. “I really do have plans tonight and my date will be an all nighter – but I’ll be at The Paradise for awhile. Maybe I’ll see you there.”

Surfaan was mentally shouting ‘Victorie;’ but his verbal reply was calm and confident. “You will definitely see me there Sylvia Rider-Dru.”

The General Quarters klaxon sounded and with a last smile at each other, Sylvia, Surfaan, and the remainder of the cadets scrambled to prepare for arrival on the Orienta Shard.
 

“I’m telling you that you’re wasting your time Surfaan.” Owan Luf downed his synthahol shot and ordered another. The droid bartender complied and Owan stared morosely at the drink. “Listen to me. Nobody knows more about disappointment than me. There are plenty of women here who’d love to spend the night with you. Better pick up one of them. The one you’re waiting for is a royal – as far out of your league as I’m out of Kritana’s league.”

Surfaan rolled his eyes. Owan was a nice guy; but Owan could be such a wet blanket – especially when he drank. “And I’m telling you that I’m on to something here. She wants me. I know it. Nobody knows more about women than me.”

Owan downed his drink and ordered another. “You’ll see.”

Surfaan smirked. “Yeah right.”

The Paradise was Orienta City’s oldest, largest, most popular pleasure club. It was nearly full to capacity tonight with cadets celebrating the first liberty of the year. The music was loud, the dance floor was full, drinks and vapors were flowing, and the sex rooms lining the perimeter of the first several stories of the building had long waiting lists. The sex rooms were opaque at times and totally transparent at other times. They became transparent when they were randomly and intermittently illuminated for club patrons to observe the activities taking place within – pandering to the exhibitionistic and/or voyeuristic traits just below the surface in nearly everyone’s personality.

Surfaan was worried that he might miss Sylvia in the crowd, so he placed himself at the Center Bar where he could scan the new arrivals at the entrance. The entrance, some forty feet away, was lined with a canopy of Halthri Trees – the last of the line still alive from pre-cataclysm Xandar. Halthri trees contained natural illuminants, their branches lit with thousands of points of light to attract the insects that pollinated them. They were truly a natural wonder whose beauty was beyond compare. He looked at the tree tops stretching all the way to the skylights at the top of the building.

So distracted, Surfaan almost missed Sylvia’s arrival. As his gaze drifted back to the entrance, he stood transfixed as he beheld her. Dressed in a simple skin-tight white mini-dress that emphasized every lovely curve of her perfect body, she was the very picture of a goddess. The light from the Halthri’s refracted off her dress, seeming to make it glow of its own accord. Her high-heeled white shoes and white dress perfectly contrasted with her lovely raven hair, dark eyes, and lightly tanned body. She scanned the crowd as if looking for someone.

Surfaan elbowed Owan. “See Owan – she’s looking for me. Observe and learn.” Surfaan took a step in her direction.

He stopped short in stunned silence when he saw Kritana Tas rush up to Sylvia and greet her with a long passionate kiss. Arm-in-arm, the two lovely women descended to the dance floor.

Surfaan turned to look at Owan.

Owan finished his drink and ordered another. “Told you so. They’re the two hottest women in the academy. Of course they’d end up with each other. In fact, they’ve been seeing each other for weeks now – ever since Tana dumped you.” Owan downed his last shot of synthahol and did not order another. “D’ast. I hoped I’d have a chance at Kritana once she dumped you.” With one last longing look at Kritana, Owan got shakily to his feet. “I’m out of here. Not going to torture myself about Kritana any more. My shuttle leaves for Nu-Xandar first thing in the morning. I better get back to the Crista and sleep this off.” Obviously tipsy from drowning his sorrow in synthahol; he staggered toward the exit, weaving through the throngs of celebrating people.

Surfaan scanned the dance floor. Kritana and Sylvia were dirty dancing – obviously in heat for each other. In fact, they couldn’t keep their eyes or their hands off of each other. Surfaan leaned his back against the bar, ordering a vial of endorph-vapor and a shot of synthahol.

While waiting for his drink and his inhalant, he indulged some prurient fantasies about the lovely young ladies. “Ah – the possibilities” he whispered to himself. When his inhalant and his synthahol arrived, he popped the lid off the vapor vial, held it to his nose, and inhaled deeply. He downed the shot just as the music ceased. Before the next song started, Kritana whispered something in Sylvia’s ear. Sylvia shook her head affirmatively and they parted ways after a quick kiss. Sylvia weaved her way through the crowd and eased up to the Center Bar; taking a seat about ten feet away from Surfaan. She hadn’t noticed him yet. Surfaan realized that it was “now or never” time. He sidled up to her. “Well hello Cadet Dru. Fancy seeing you here in this den of iniquity.”

Sylvia touched her chest and batted her eyes in mock surprise. “Why Cadet Ren – what a surprise.”

He cocked his head. “Buy you a drink?” Without waiting for a reply, he motioned for two shots of synthahol.

“Trying to ply me with synthahol are you?” she teased.

“But of course – and would you care for a vapor too?” Without waiting for a reply, he motioned for two vapors. “So where’d Kritana go?” He asked casually, hoping that the answer would be ‘far away.’

“To get a room” Sylvia replied matter-of-factly as she picked up the shot of synthahol placed in front of her by the bartender. She lifted the glass in salute. “Our body counts were higher than anyone else’s today. So, to you and me – the two best d’ast cadets on the battlefield.” She clinked her glass against his.

He was delighted by her praise and her seeming receptivity to him. “I’ll drink to that.” They downed their shots simultaneously and he motioned for two more shots just as the vapor vials arrived. He handed one vial to Sylvia. They popped off the lids to the vapors and inhaled them.

The shots arrived and Surfaan motioned for two more – double strength. He made eye contact with Sylvia. “So you’re seeing Kritana. Now I know where you heard all the rumors about me.” He handed a drink to her.

Sylvia accepted the drink and downed it before teasingly replying, “It seems that your loss was my gain.”

Surfaan was dismayed as he saw his prospects for spending the night with Sylvia rapidly diminishing. Before he could reply, he nearly spilled his drink as Kritana brushed past him to stand between him and Sylvia.

Shooting Surfaan an angry glare, Kritana muttered, “These places will let any kind of sleaze in won’t they?”

“It’s always such a pleasure when I run into you unexpectedly.” Surfaan raised his drink to Kritana in salute before downing it.

Kritana ignored the sarcasm and turned to Sylvia. “Is he hitting on you? Tell me if he’s hitting on you. I’d love an excuse to kick his ass.”

Sylvia was a little tipsy from the drinks and vapors. She stroked Kritana’s hair. “It’s all right sweetie. We were just talking.”

With a sideways glance at Surfaan, Kritana moved closer to Sylvia and gave her a long, passionate kiss – slowly moving her hand up the inside of Sylvia’s thigh until it disappeared under Sylvia’s dress. Sylvia breathed deeply and arched her back as she moaned in pleasure and pulled Kritana closer, deeply kissing her.

The two double-shots arrived before Kritana and Sylvia finished their kiss. Surfaan drank one and reached for the other. He needed the drink to help him cope with the strange blend of jealousy, envy, and arousal he was feeling.

Kritana pulled back from the kiss. “Come on Syl. I called in some favors to get us to the top of the waiting list. Our room is ready.” Kritana pulled Sylvia away from the bar and they headed for a row of transparent rooms. Sylvia waved goodbye to Surfaan as Kritana rapidly dragged her through the crowd in an attempt to get her away from Surfaan as quickly as possible.

Surfaan was not so easily dissuaded. In fact, Kritana’s attitude had stirred his competitive spirit. He caught up to them when their progress was slowed by the crowd of people in the club. “You know Sylvia; I think I’m on the same shuttle as you in the morning. Would you save me a seat next to you? We can make arrangements to get together while we’re both on Nu-Xandar.”

Kritana huffed in irritation. “Go away Surfaan. She’s not interested in you.”

Surfaan was not ready to give up. “So you say – but let’s let Sylvia speak for herself.”

Before Sylvia could reply, Kritana hustled her into a room and slammed the door in Surfaan’s face.

“D’ast!” Surfaan was frustrated as he turned to retreat to the Center Bar. He stopped short as he felt someone grab him by the collar and pull him back. Turning, he found himself face-to-face with Kritana Tas.

Kritana glared at him. “She wants a toy and you’re the closest thing to an AI dildo I can find on short notice.”

Surfaan glanced over Kritana’s shoulder to see Sylvia sitting on the bed. Sylvia let her eyes drift below Surfaan’s waist before making eye contact with him and smiling coyly.

Surfaan grinned at Sylvia before making eye contact with Kritana. “Happy to be of service ma’am.”

Kritana rolled her eyes as she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the room. “Just shut up and take off your clothes.”

Sylvia stared at the ceiling of the room in The Paradise Pleasure Club – bored, irritated, restless, unable to sleep – an intolerable situation made all the more annoying by Cadet Surfaan Ren’s soft snoring as he lay next to her fast asleep. Kritana Tas was snuggled up to Ren on his other side; her head resting on his chest as she also soundly slept. Though Sylvia required less and less sleep as her powers developed; the world was made for those who did require sleep, so she often found herself all powered up with no place to go. The Overmind had explained to her that someday she would no longer sleep at all. She looked upon the arrival of that day with abject dread.

Sylvia briefly considered dropping in on The Overmind; but quickly quashed the idea. She was not in the mood to tolerate his typical condescending attitude; but more importantly, she was still angry with him. She sighed and turned onto her side, watching Ren as he slept. She liked him. He was a handsome young man full of dreams and possessing a lean, muscular figure, curly brown hair and hazel eyes. He was about two years older than her and about a year older than Kritana. He was a fine soldier – brave and bold – and on a personal note – a very skilled lover. She understood why Kritana liked him. Ren was the perfect complement to Kritana’s seriousness and ambitiousness. He made her loosen up, relax, and laugh. Sylvia smiled, satisfied that Kritana had finally forgiven Ren’s transgression. All it took was a little talk and a lot of sex. Kritana stirred and snuggled closer to Ren before instantly falling back to sleep. Kritana was among the best Xandar’s armed forces had to offer – smart, capable, tough, serious – and on a personal note, strikingly beautiful, incredibly sexy, and a passionate lover. Sylvia considered herself lucky to have had the pleasure of spending such an enjoyable night with two of the Corp’s finest Cadets.

They had all gotten to know each other better during rest periods from farking. After Kritana had finally forgiven Ren; they had all discussed possibly forming a steady triad relationship. Sylvia was warming to the thought of a steady relationship with them. She smiled in satisfaction as she recalled their evening together. Over the course of the evening they had farked in every conceivable three-way combination – some of which would have been impossible without their powers to manipulate gravity. It was some of the best, most satisfying sex Sylvia had ever had. She was impressed with Ren and Tas. Apparently other club patrons had been impressed as well – as the audience outside their room had grown with every illumination. Sylvia realized that the royal family would be displeased with such a public display if they ever found out; but what happened in pleasure clubs stayed in pleasure clubs – so they would likely never know. Besides, Sylvia and her friends were young and teeming with super power. Super-powered individuals had super-powerful sex drives. That was generally understood. But even super-powered individuals had their limits; and after several hours of farking, Surfaan and Kritana literally collapsed in exhaustion. Sylvia laughed quietly to herself when she realized that the hint of a sexually satiated smile still graced Ren’s sleeping face.

The Red Alert Klaxon sounded unexpectedly, jarring Sylvia out of her private amusement; and both Ren and Tas out of their post-coital slumber. They all made eye contact for a second, realizing what this alert likely signified – diplomacy had failed and Xandar was now in a shooting war with the Shi’Ar. With a thought, their uniforms appeared around them and they flew from the room through the ceiling exit and into the sky; joining the rest of the thousands of scrambling cadets rushing to the Nova Crista’s assembly area.

Arriving at the assembly area, the cadets quickly organized into formal columns and reported their presence and readiness for duty to Worldmind tactical. The Commandant of the Academy, Alistan Nix, approached the podium overlooking the assembly area and motioned for silence. “We have been ordered to full alert status as we are now at war with the Shi’Ar Imperium. The Shi’Ar and Xandarian Federation fleets are preparing to engage. A strike against our homeworld is considered likely. The Orienta Shard has been ordered to adopt a defensive position within a tesseract. All cadet classes have been promoted to active duty status to assist the Xandarian Planetary Guard in defense of Nu-Xandar. Stand by to receive your orders from Worldmind tactical. When your orders are received, you are to depart for the indicated duty station immediately. Dismissed.”

Sylvia’s HUD indicated that she was again assigned to a unit under command of Third Year Cadet, Ensicus Bem. Bem’s unit had been assigned to help defend one of the asteroid-based command centers for the Automated Defensive Field surrounding Nu-Xandar. Sylvia’s orders were to report to Troop Ship #347 departing from Landing Field #4 in five minutes. She hurriedly flew to the landing field, arriving at the same time as Surfaan Ren, Owan Luf, and Kritana Tas. Bem hustled the cadets aboard and the ship immediately took flight along with the thousands of other ships and tens of thousands of Corpsmen streaming off the Orienta Shard to report to their duty stations. The troop ship quickly cleared the dome and headed into space. Sylvia looked back upon her beloved Orienta City, watching as the last of the ships and troops cleared the dome; and the Orienta Shard, last surviving legacy of old Xandar, shimmered and disappeared into a pocket dimension as a failsafe against another genocidal attack against Xandar. With the Worldmind and cloning facilities on the Orienta Shard safe from all attack; Xandar could never fall again. She turned her HUD’s attention to Nu-Xandar. Thanks to Adanacian tech, Nu-Xandar too could enter a pocket dimension; and certainly would if the automated defenses surrounding her were ever breeched. She could see the Star Corps Planetary Guard ships deploying from the Torus and the Nova Centurion support troops taking up defensive positions. Looking forward, she could see her ship rapidly approaching one of the Command and Control asteroids placed in Libration Points within the field of automated defensive satellites surrounding Nu-Xandar and The Orienta Shard. The Automated Defense Field was a network of cloaked mines and robotic attack drones deployed in a spherical arrangement orbiting Nu-Xandar. Outside the plane of the ecliptic, the ADF was composed of nothing but self-replicating stationary mines. Along the plane of the ecliptic, the ADF was composed of mobile attack drones which could be ordered to attack or allow passage of any ship approaching Nu-Xandar. The Command and Control Center Asteroids controlled space traffic approaching and departing from Nu-Xandar; and had total control of the ADF. Calling up her HUD and patching into Worldmind tactical, Sylvia could see the Xandarian 6^th and 8^th Fleets deploying outside the ADF. She requested the position of her father’s flagship, The Aurora, and found that her father was with the Xandarian Federation’s First Fleet in the area of space under dispute between Xandar and Shi’Ar, some 10,000 light years from Nu-Xandar. Tactical indicated that the Fourth and Ninth Federation Fleets were on their way to rendezvous with the First Fleet; but that Xandar and her allies were still outnumbered by the approaching Shi’Ar Fleet.

The troop transport ship touched down on the landing pad of the C&C Asteroid and was immediately lowered into the asteroid’s hangar bay. The cadets hurriedly disembarked, anxious to meet the base commander and report to their duty station in one of the gun turrets. As they approached the security doors, they were automatically identity scanned and granted entrance. Hurrying down the corridors bustling with Starcorps regulars rushing to duty stations; they finally arrived at the bridge of the C & C. A grizzled, gray-haired old warrior, Commander Harvan Soth, was busy issuing orders and did not immediately notice the arrival of the Cadets; leaving them standing silently at attention for several long minutes. Finally, he turned his attention to the cadets; approaching Bem.

The cadets saluted as Commander Soth approached them. Returning their salute, he got right to business. “Millennian Bem. You will report to Gun Turret #4 and your cohort will provide all necessary aid and assistance to the gunnery crew there under command of Lieutenant Johaan. Any questions?”

Bem shook his head negatively. “No Sir.”

“Good. Dismissed.” Soth turned to leave just as the overhead lights flashed red and the emergency Klaxon sounded.

A Lieutenant shouted to Soth. “Sir! Multiple stargates forming outside the ADF! Our fleet and our Centurions are engaging incoming Shi’Ar ships.” Scanning a data screen, the Lieutenant jumped to his feet. “Sir! Multiple attempts to pierce our teleportation dampening field are being recorded. We are compensating.”

Soth looked concerned. “Lock down this facility! All crew to action stations! Internal security prepare to repel intruders! Centurion detachment to the surface to repel any enemy materializing outside the dampening field! Communications – message to The Torus. The ADF is under attack and a breach is possible. We are beginning countermeasures.”

Sylvia watched as the heavy security doors slammed shut; securing the C & C. Glancing at a tactical screen picturing Nu-Xandar, she saw The Torus, that wonderful combination of Xandarian and Adanacian tech that made life on Nu-Xandar possible, begin to glow with unimaginable power. Nu-Xandar shimmered and disappeared into a pocket dimension. Sylvia breathed a sigh of relief. At least her mother was now safe; though if she knew her mother, Sevilica was probably having difficulty restraining herself from leaving her governmental duties and joining the Centurions defending Nu-Xandar.

Soth glanced at Bem. “Change in orders Bem. Your squad will assume guard duty of the C & C. Arm yourselves and take up positions.”

Bem nodded to the cadets and they rushed to a weapons locker; each grabbing a plasma rifle, a projectile side arm, and an adamantium-bladed knife. Sylvia reluctantly armed herself along with the others. She had no real need of arms as she already possessed Centurion level powers; having been born naturally able to wield Nova Force. Her friends Ren, Tas, and Luf had only the cadet-level Nova powers of flight, slightly augmented strength, and partial invulnerability granted by their newly upgraded Nova Matrices. Bem had the Millennian level powers of energy absorption and projection granted upon entrance into the third and final year of the academy. Bem assigned the cadets guard duty over the security doors leading into the C & C.

The Lieutenant was again on his feet shouting to Soth. “Sir! The teleport signals are overwhelming the dampening field! Enemy troops have materialized near the surface. Our Centurions are engaging.” C & C tactical screens flashed with images of Centurions clashing with Shi’Ar armored troops and Imperial Guardsmen. “Sir, multiple contacts power diving toward the surface of the asteroid!”

The asteroid shook from a massive impact; and the ceiling burst as multiple super-powered beings invaded the C & C. When the dust cleared, Sylvia could see that the Shi’Ar Imperial Guard, led by Gladiatrix, had arrived. The Xandarians were quick to react. Soth drew his side arm and began to empty the clip into the chest of Galdiatrix. Purple-skinned, purple-clothed, lean, strong, and sporting the Mohawk hairstyle of her father; Gladiatrix smiled cruelly as she grabbed the still firing Soth by the neck and lifted him off the ground. Shrugging off his adamantium bullets; she snapped his neck and disdainfully threw his body to the ground. Bem and Luf flew at Gladiatrix, furiously firing plasma rifles; as Tas, Ren, and the Starcorps Regulars in the C & C all engaged other Imperial Guardsmen.

Sylvia threw down her rifle and fired a gravimetric pulse at the nearest Shi’Ar Guardsman, Smasher, vaporizing him from the waist up. Determined to prevent the Shi’Ar from disabling the ADF by taking control of the C & C; Sylvia flew toward the next Imperial Guardsman; firing gravimetric pulses furiously. She had studied the Imperial Guard at the academy and recognized this one as Diprin, an energy manipulator who easily shrugged off the blasts. As Sylvia closed on Diprin; Diprin spun and lashed out with her adamantium claws, just as Sylvia expected she would. Sylvia easily dodged the attack; flipped over Diprin, and put her fist through the back of Diprin’s head; killing Diprin instantly.

Sylvia had no time to gloat over her second kill as she was struck from behind by Velociti-raptor, the lizard-like speedster of the Imperial Guard. The strike did not penetrate her phasic shields but it did knock her off balance and into the energy matrix trap of Imperial Guardsmen Grelan. Sylvia absorbed the energy matrix as Grelan attempted to constrict it and slice her into cubes; firing the absorbed energy back at Grelan and knocking him off balance before he could construct another energy form to attack her. Her enhanced senses indicated Velociti-raptor was speeding toward her for another attack. She sidestepped his attack while drawing her adamantium knife and slashing savagely. Velociti-raptors body slammed into a wall and writhed on the ground. His severed head rolled across the floor, stopping at her feet; his eyes wide with terror as his mouth moved in silent screams at approaching death before finally becoming still. Sylvia took flight and flipped to avoid the slash of the energy sword the now recovered Grelan had directed toward her in an attempt to decapitate her in revenge for the killing of Velociti-raptor. She easily evaded the sword, fired a gravimetric pulse at him to distract him; and with all her might threw her adamantium knife, burying it in Grelan’s left eye to the hilt. Grelan silently keeled over, falling to the ground instantly dead.

Sylvia wheeled around in time to see Gladiatrix kill Luf by tearing him in half. Bem already lay dead on the floor beneath the feet of Gladiatrix, having been torn limb from limb. Sylvia and Gladiatrix locked eyes for a moment; each taking the measure of the other. Breaking the pause simultaneously, they rushed together; both intent on killing the other.

“Sylvia!” yelled Ren, flying between the combatants in an attempt to protect Sylvia with a clumsy attack on Gladiatrix.

Gladiatrix put her fist through Ren’s chest; splattering blood and gore upon Sylvia. Ren’s head fell back as Gladiatrix extracted her fist; and he briefly made eye contact with Sylvia as the light left his eyes and he fell to the ground.

Sylvia screamed in blinding rage and grief; firing her most powerful gravimetric pulse into Gladiatrix; stunning Gladiatrix and blasting her several miles into the rock of the asteroid. Sylvia was also stunned at the level of power she had just wielded. The battle had stopped as all combatants were staring up at her in stunned silence – staring UP at her as she had grown to eight feet tall and was glowing white hot with power. Energy arced from her eyes and across her body. She found it hard to think, her mind clouded with rage and consumed with hatred for Xandar’s enemies. She had become a Supernova – a vengeful demi-goddess intent on slaying Xandar’s enemies.

“My gods Syl, what’s happened to you?” said a distracted Kritana Tas. One of the Imperial Guardsmen, Mentat, sought to take advantage of Tas’ lapse of concentration on the battle and made to deliver a killing blow. Before he could strike, Sylvia bound him with rings of gravimetric nodes; shackling his ankles together and shackling his arms to his waist. She smiled cruelly as she ordered the nodes to contract. Mentat screamed briefly as the contracting rings trisected him. The remaining four Imperial Guardsmen turned from the Star Corps regulars they had been engaging to regard Sylvia.

Grinning broadly now, energy coursing across her body, mind filled with nothing but the bloodlust of a berserk warrior; Sylvia issued her challenge. “What’re you waiting for you Shi’Ar purries? Trying to decide which one of you wants to die next?”

The Imperial Guardsmen began to spread out in an attempt to surround her. Lasher moved to Sylvia’s left, charging her energy whip. Killbird took flight, hefting her cosmically powered mace. Fightmaster moved to Sylvia’s right with the dangerous grace of the galaxy class hand-to-hand combatant that he was. The weapons specialist, Quartermaster, moved to attack Sylvia from the rear; ramming a new clip of ‘Nova Killer Rounds’ into his projectile weapon. The surviving Xandarian Starcorps regulars and Nova Cadet Tas took the opportunity to re-group, re-arm, and lock down the C & C’s computers to keep the Shi’Ar from fulfilling their mission of commandeering the C & C to disable the ADF.

Quartermaster fired before Sylvia could dodge. To her surprise, her new larger body was going to take some getting used to as she now had to recalibrate her kinesthetic sense in regard to where her body was in space, how big it now was, and how fast she could move it. The adamantium slugs would have easily pierced the phasic shields and body armor she started the day with; but her new, more powerful shields were more resistant and the slugs merely glanced off. She was, however, knocked off balance by the impact of the slugs; and her unfamiliarity with her new body caused some coordination problems which left her open to attack from Lasher’s energy whip.

The whip wrapped around Sylvia’s torso, pinning her arms to her sides and delivering a jarring shock; as at the same time at point blank range Quartermaster unloaded a clip of slugs into Sylvia’s helmet. Sylvia reeled from the attacks; but as she was quickly becoming accustomed to her new body and as she was driven by berserker rage; she shrugged off the pain and focused on killing her enemies. Sylvia focused twin eye beams onto the whip, sending a massive jolt of energy into it. The feedback traveled up the lash and into Lasher; blowing Lasher’s right arm off at the shoulder. Flexing her muscles, Sylvia broke the whip pinning her arms to her sides and swatted the still firing Quartermaster into the wall, stunning him.

Sylvia ducked to avoid the swing of Killbird’s cosmically powered mace; but stepped directly into the path of Fightmaster’s kick to the torso. Stunned, she stumbled and was immediately struck by Killbird’s mace. Sylvia felt the cosmic power penetrate her shields and burn her flesh, sapping her power. She knew she couldn’t afford to take another such strike. Dodging and taking flight, she blasted Killbird with a collimated gravimetric pulse, flipped, and kicked Fightmaster in the head, stunning him.

Lasher was bleeding profusely from the site where her right arm had been separated from her shoulder; but had recovered enough to materialize a second whip and was wielding it with her left hand. Sylvia’s enhanced senses warned her that Quartermaster had recovered and was preparing to fire. Sylvia took flight just as Quartermaster fired, and the slug meant for Sylvia instead tore through Lasher’s chest, killing Lasher instantly. Quartermaster was momentarily paralyzed by the realization that he had just killed his teammate. His paralysis cost him dearly as Nova Corp Cadet Kritana Tas flew from behind a computer panel where she had taken cover and fired her projectile weapon point blank into Quartermaster’s head, splattering his brain onto the ceiling of the C & C. Kritana then flipped to avoid a vicious punch from Fightmaster and fired at Killbird before again ducking behind a console for cover where she continued to lay down covering fire against the Imperial Guardsmen.

Killbird dodged Kritana’s shots, but too late realized that her dodges had placed her within reach of Sylvia. Sylvia caught Killbird in a headlock and quickly snapped Killbird’s neck.

Fightmaster and Sylvia locked eyes from across the room. Fightmaster prepared to attack Sylvia, demonstrating his prowess by adopting several attack positions, taunting Sylvia as he invited her to prepare to defend herself. Sylvia sneered cruelly as she fired twin eye beams into Fightmasters forehead and watched him crumple to the ground instantly dead.

The remaining Xandarians were frozen in place, staring at Sylvia. All knew that Supernovas were obsessively devoted to the protection of Xandar; but they also knew that Supernovas were paranoid, murderously psychotic, and dangerously unpredictable.

The Avatar of the Worldmind appeared on Sylvia’s HUD. “Cadet Sylvia Rider-Dru. It is critical that–..”

Sylvia broke the link, silencing him; having no time for his prattling. There were enemies of Xandar to destroy. It was so hard to think. She knew there had been another enemy; but what had happened to it? She saw a familiar figure and turned to Kritana Tas demanding, “Where is the other one? Where is the one called Gladiatrix?”

Eyes wide, Kritana pointed down the tunnel bored by the gravimetric pulse Sylvia had directed at Gladiatrix. Sylvia turned to the tunnel and sensed an object approaching at hypersonic velocity. Before she could react, she was struck in the midsection and driven several miles through the rock to the surface of the asteroid and out into open space; emerging into the thick of battle between the Xandarian Centurions and the Shi’Ar Imperial Guardsmen.

The pain of having been essentially used as a drill bit through the nickel-iron asteroid had inadvertently helped Sylvia’s brain become accustomed to her new larger body. The pain had also cleared her mind of psychotic process and rage; and she was now able to focus. She remembered her mother’s advice about pushing all else aside but the battle; and by force of will, cleared her mind of all thoughts but those of combat. Quickly assessing her whereabouts, she could see combat raging all around her as Nova Corpsmen engaged Imperial Guardsmen and Shi’Ar regular troops. She could not risk cutting loose with full power against Gladiatrix for fear of endangering her own comrades in arms.

Gladiatrix gave Sylvia no time to recover; delivering blow after powerful blow, attempting to pierce Sylvia’s phasic shielding so she could deliver the killing stroke. Sylvia dodged Gladiatrix’s next punch and delivered a massive punch to Gladiatrix, sending Gladiatrix careening into the surface of the asteroid. Sylvia watched in satisfaction as Gladiatrix entered the artificial gravity well of the asteroid which gave it Xandarian normal gravity on the surface; and smiled as Gladiatrix impacted the surface, creating a sizeable crater.

Gladiatrix was stunned and Sylvia was not about to give her time to recover. Pressing her advantage, Sylvia dived to the surface, furiously firing gravimetric pulses into Gladiatrix. Gladiatrix reeled from the assault but was able to dodge many of the pulses and flew out of the crater to meet Sylvia’s attack.

Sylvia landed the first punch, sending Gladiatrix flying into the field of boulders created by her impact on the surface of the asteroid. Hefting one of the boulders, Gladiatrix sent it flying at Sylvia as Sylvia rushed to press the attack. Sylvia blasted the boulder into an expanding cloud of dust and pebbles with a gravimetric pulse; too late realizing that while an effective response, it had been a strategic blunder as the dust and debris momentarily clouded her tactical. Gladiatrix took advantage of Sylvia’s blinded tactical to surprise attack; flying directly out of the dust cloud and landing a massive punch that stunned Sylvia and sent her flying hundreds of feet; landing roughly on the ground outside one of the asteroid’s automated gun turret defenses.

Sylvia’s enhanced senses warned her that she was being targeted by the automated defenses; giving her just a second to dodge before the area where she had landed was vaporized by a plasma bolt. Apparently, the ‘Identify Friend or Foe’ system did not recognize her as a friend in her new Supernova quantum body; and had reacted accordingly.

Sylvia’s senses indicated that Gladiatrix was rapidly closing and Sylvia could also tell that the automated defenses were again targeting her. She had only a second to form a plan. Sylvia ran across the surface of the asteroid to attract the attention of all the surface defenses, deftly dodging the plasma beams and rapid fire 50 caliber adamantium slugs being sent her way from the automated defenses; deliberately staying just a second ahead of the targeting system. She rapidly closed the distance to Gladiatrix, taking flight to meet Gladiatrix head on, but dodging Gladiatrix at the last second, leaving Gladiatrix in the line of fire from the automated defenses. Gladiatrix was struck from multiple angles by 50 caliber adamantium slugs and by plasma bolts; causing her to scream in agony and fall twisting and writhing to the surface of the asteroid into a minefield; just as Sylvia intended.

Gladiatrix landed stunned next to a mine which suddenly blossomed with metal tentacles wrapping around Gladiatrix and imprisoning her. Two Xandarian Sentry Androids deployed from nearby bays to take the captured Gladiatrix into custody; training their projectile weapons on her and ordering her to surrender. Sylvia was engaged in dodging the automated defenses; delaying her ability to get to Gladiatrix and deliver the killing blow she so desired to deliver. Gladiatrix quickly recovered, flexed her muscles, and freed herself; using one of the tentacles as a whip to attack the androids who were now firing at her with their small caliber Gatling-gun-like weapons. The androids’ adamantium slugs were not powerful enough to penetrate Gladiatrix’s shields; but they were powerful enough to cause her pain from the impacts. Enraged, she attacked the androids. Using the severed metal tentacle she held to decapitate one of the androids; she leaped into the air and decapitated the other with a quick kick to the head. Before the android could fall, Gladiatrix tore the gatling gun from it’s body and began firing at the rapidly approaching Sylvia, striking her squarely in the chest and knocking her to the ground in the minefield.

Sylvia landed on an explosive mine; the concussion throwing her deeper into the minefield as the anti-personnel shrapnel glanced harmlessly off her shields. Landing roughly, a mine surrounded her with an energy net as a gun turret popped up from the ground and targeted her. Sylvia could sense that Gladiatrix was closing fast even though Gladiatrix was also slowed by having to dodge all the automated defenses. Sylvia absorbed the mine’s energy net and used it to destroy the gun turret before turning to engage Gladiatrix.

Still wielding the tentacle, Gladiatrix struck Sylvia in the head with it just as she turned; and the impact sent Sylvia flying head over heels, roughly landing on her stomach. She rolled to avoid the next strike from Gladiatrix’s makeshift whip; quickly flipping to grab the whip before Gladiatrix could withdraw it. Sylvia altered her gravimetric energy signature and sent several terawatts of alternating current into the tentacle, paralyzing Gladiatrix as she firmly gripped the tentacle. Maintaining the current flow, Sylvia turned the whip to her advantage and swung the helplessly paralyzed Gladiatrix over the minefield; slamming Gladiatrix into the ground over a concussion mine. The explosion blasted Gladiatrix back into space above the asteroid and Sylvia rapidly flew to close the distance. Before Gladiatrix could recover from Sylvia’s attempt to electrocute her and the concussive force of the blast from the mine, Sylvia pummeled Gladiatrix into unconsciousness.

With Gladiatrix’s shields down due to unconsciousness, Sylvia was able to bind Gladiatrix with rings of gravimetric nodes – shackling her ankles together and her arms to her waist; and placing a spherical node around her to prevent flight. She then turned her attention to the remaining Shi’Ar combatants that the Centurions had yet to subdue; killing all of them with gravimetric pulses. Per order of the Worldmind, the Nova Centurions warily withdrew to the C & C asteroid to secure it; leaving the Imperial Guardsmen captured by the Centurions to Sylvia’s tender mercies.

Sylvia floated in front of the beaten and captured Gladiatrix, knowing that Gladiatrix would quickly regain full consciousness. She decided to help Gladiatrix along in regaining consciousness and ordered the ring shaped nodes to form razor sharp points where they bound Gladiatrix. She ordered the rings to contract slightly, pushing the points into Gladiatrix. Gladiatrix stirred and stared at Sylvia with a mixture of rage and hatred, teeth clenched to keep from screaming.

Sylvia smiled cruelly before saying with mock sympathy, “Hurts?”

Gladiatrix snarled, “Fark you!”

Sylvia sneered, “Thanks for the offer but I prefer my women a little more feminine looking than you.” Sylvia pointedly looked Gladiatrix’s thickly muscled body up and down; noting every masculine-like feature. “Correction – a LOT more feminine looking than you.” Then, just for fun, Sylvia ordered the rings to contract some more.

Gladiatrix screamed in agony as blood ran from the places where the rings pierced her skin; and looking at Sylvia with hatred yelled, “You farking schmaug! I am going to farking kill you! I am going to burn your schlag-hole homeworld to a cinder!”

Sylvia’s eyes burned in response to the threat to her homeworld; and she found it difficult to fight back the murderous Supernova rage. “Wrong thing to say to a Supernova.” Sylvia ordered the rings to contract some more and was rewarded by Gladiatrix’s screams, the sound of several of Gladiatrix’s ribs snapping, and the site of blood oozing from Gladiatrix’s mouth.

Sylvia moved in close to Gladiatrix. “I want to kill you so much it makes my purri wet just thinking about it. But, I need you to carry out your role of lapdog and convey a message for me.” Sylvia reached out with her mind and contacted the AI of a nearby automated hospital ship, ordering it to her position. “I want you to tell your lowborn piece of schlag of a Majestix that Xandar is now under protection of me, The Countess of Sura, and I will brook no incursion of foreign powers into Xandarian space. She is to withdraw from the disputed area, withdraw from Xandarian space, and end all hostilities against Xandar or I will collapse her Throneworld into a black hole.”

Gladiatrix spat blood upon Sylvia in response.

Sylvia was enraged – and in a universal gesture of disrespect used the back of her hand to slap Gladiatrix’s face; watching in satisfaction as Gladiatrix’s head snapped back from the blow and as more blood oozed from Gladiatrix’s mouth. Sylvia moved her head within inches of Gladiatrix’s head and through clenched teeth issued her final insult and warning to the helpless Strontian warrior, “You worthless farking kint! If I ever find you in Xandarian space again, I will kill you!”

Sylvia roughly threw Gladiatrix into the open hatch of the hospital ship and, gathering up the rest of the gravity node imprisoned Imperial Guardsmen, roughly followed suit with them. She ordered the hospital ship to deliver the Guardsmen to the Shi’Ar Throneworld and opened a stargate for it; watching it disappear into the stargate’s event horizon before turning her attention to the battling fleets.

The Xandarian and Shi’Ar fleets had both suffered heavy losses in their battle outside the ADF; but the Xandarians were holding their own. The Shi’Ar plan to collapse the ADF had failed thanks to Supernova Sylvia’s efforts. Now she was determined to take out the Shi’ar Fleet.

Sylvia targeted the lead Shi’ar Battleship and sped toward it at her maximum speed, plowing through intervening ships and dodging or shrugging off any projectiles or energy bolts directed at her. The lead Shi’ar Battleship recognized their danger and aimed a withering assault at the oncoming Supernova to no avail. Sylvia smashed through the hull of the ship and released her most powerful radiative aura pulse when she reached the exact center of the ship, utterly destroying the Shi’ar capital ship in seconds.

With their command ship gone, the rest of the Shi’ar fleet disengaged from the battle to regroup.

Emerging from the debris field of the Shi’ar command ship, Sylvia aimed gravimetric pulses at the two nearest Shi’ar cruisers, completely destroying them. She turned to pursue a Shi’ar destroyer that was attempting to form a stargate to flee. With her Supernova-enhanced command of gravitons, she ordered the stargate to close before the Shi’ar destroyer could enter it. The destroyer sent a message of surrender to Sylvia, but pleas for mercy were now lost upon her. Summoning the immense power it had taken to destroy the capital ship had caused her internal controls to slip and she had descended into the murderous rage that was part and parcel of being a Supernova. The destroyer was reduced to an expanding cloud of debris in seconds.

Heedless of all Shi’ar unconditional surrender messages; Supernova Sylvia blocked all Shi’ar attempts to form stargates to flee and mercilessly destroyed the remaining seven Shi’ar ships. She then formed a stargate to the location of her father’s fleet some 10,000 light years distant. She knew a massive battle was underway there and that Xandarians were in danger. Supernova Sylvia’s only coherent thought was to destroy Xandar’s enemies; and she was determined that not one enemy of Xandar would return to its homeworld alive.

The End of Part 4

Of

The Shi’ar Conflict
 

Come back next time for the conclusion of The Shi’ar Conflict.