Intergalactic conquest with an AI

"

Deploy the defensive units! And show me where those bastards are!"

Carlos shouted, his voice cutting through the blaring alarms. He took off his coat and tossed it aside, already feeling the adrenaline pumping through his veins. Combat was inevitable, and he was ready for it.

["The enemies are moving near the main cannon,"]

the ship's AI reported, its calm voice contrasting with the chaos around them. [

"There is a high probability they are attempting to disable it."]n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Carlos slammed his fist on the console, his jaw tightening.

"Those sons of—! Start charging the main cannon and aim it at the nearest enemy shield. How are the engines holding up?"

["Charging the main cannon... 3 percent and rising,"]

the AI replied.

["The engines are at 60 percent integrity. Our fighters are holding the line, but the asteroid field is causing severe damage. Impact detected. Engine integrity is now 58 percent."]

Carlos cursed under his breath as the screen lit up with red warnings. Every hit to the engines felt like a punch to his gut.

"If those engines go down, we'll be dead in the water. Keep charging the cannon. I'm heading to the main cannon control room. We can't let those bastards take it!"

Behind him stood his personal battle suit, Argos, a towering mechanical marvel at 2.5 meters tall. Its sleek frame gleamed under the dim lighting of the command bridge, bristling with weapons and a reserve of nanomaterials for crafting melee weapons.

This suit wasn't just a machine; it was his lifeline, custom-built by Cleo under Rex's personal orders.

"Battle suit Argos, activate,"

Carlos commanded, stepping into the cockpit. The suit came alive, a low hum vibrating through the air as the interface synced with him.

["Engines at full power. Ammo stocked. Shields at 55 percent and climbing. Awaiting further orders,"]

the AI intoned.

Carlos grinned, gripping the suit's controls. "

Let's give them hell. What's the status of the merchant convoy?"

"The merchant convoy is secured in the hangar bay. The 198th Legion Argos is protecting them."

"Good. We lose those assets, and we might as well surrender. Half the Royal Guards, with me! The rest, defend the bridge!"

Carlos stomped toward the bridge exit, the metallic thud of his battle suit echoing through the halls. The Royal Guards, heavily armed Aegis Sentinels, snapped into action, their glowing visors reflecting the chaos around them.

From the shadows, the stealthy Phantom Units followed, their movements silent and precise.

As Carlos and his team advanced, the ship trembled under a barrage of enemy fire. He could already hear the clashes ahead, the sound of metal tearing, weapons discharging, and something heavy crashing into the walls. When the enemy came into view, his blood boiled.

They were massive golems, standing over two meters tall with jagged, rock-like bodies that glowed faintly from within. These weren't mere soldiers; they were living weapons, stomping through his ship like they owned it. And judging by the way they moved, they knew exactly where to go.

Carlos smirked, despite the tension tightening his chest.

"Oh, you think you've got me all figured out, huh? You think I'm just some amateur admiral ripe for the picking?

" He flexed his fingers, the suit responding with a hiss as a massive two-handed hammer materialized in his grip.

"Big mistake!!"

The closest golem turned toward him, but before it could react, Carlos was already in motion. He swung the hammer with brutal force, the impact shattering the creature's torso into a cloud of gravel. The remaining pieces clattered to the floor, lifeless.

"Who's next?!"

Carlos roared, his voice reverberating through the corridor.

A second golem lunged at him, its massive arm swinging like a wrecking ball. Carlos sidestepped and planted a heavy kick into its chest, sending it crashing into the wall with enough force to dent the metal.

His shoulder-mounted laser cannons whirred to life, unleashing a storm of energy bolts that riddled the creature with holes until it crumbled to dust.

Behind him, the Royal Guards engaged more of the golems, their energy blades clashing with the invaders. Sparks flew, the air thick with the smell of burning metal and ozone. One of the guards fell, its armor shattered, but the others pushed on, their resolve unshaken.

Carlos glanced back, his hammer resting on his shoulder.

"Don't let up! These things might look tough, but they're just oversized pebbles!"

As he moved forward, he heard the AI's voice in his ear.

["Admiral, more golems are approaching the main cannon control room. The Aegis units are holding them off, but their numbers are dwindling."]

Carlos grated his teeth.

"Of course they are. These rock piles just don't know when to quit."

He broke into a run, the heavy battle suit thundering down the corridor. When he reached the next wave of enemies, they turned to face him, their glowing eyes locking onto his suit.

One of them let out a guttural, grinding roar, a sound that might have intimidated anyone else.

Carlos laughed.

"Oh, you think that's scary? Buddy, I've had hangovers worse than you!"

He charged, his hammer swinging in wide arcs. One golem managed to block with its arm, but the impact still sent it stumbling backward.

Carlos pressed the advantage, slamming the hammer down onto its head and splitting it in two. From his back, a missile launcher popped up and fired, obliterating another golem in a fiery explosion.

"Keep up, boys!"

he shouted to the guards.

"I don't want to hog all the fun!"

Despite the chaos, Carlos couldn't ignore the growing sense of urgency. Every second the enemy delayed him, the closer they came to taking the main cannon. And if they succeeded, it wouldn't matter how many golems he smashed; the ship would be defenseless.

"AI, status on the cannon charge!"

he shouted.

["Main cannon at 42 percent. Estimated time to full charge: three minutes."]

Carlos growled. "We don't have three minutes!"

He swung his hammer one last time, clearing the corridor. As the last golem crumbled, he turned to his team.

"We're almost there! No stopping now!"

Deep down, Carlos knew the odds weren't in their favor. His ship was battered, his crew exhausted, and reinforcements were nowhere in sight. But giving up? Not an option. He was human, after all. And if there was one thing humans were good at, it was defying the odds.

With a smirk, he muttered under his breath,

"You picked the wrong ship, you rocky bastards."

Then, gripping his hammer tightly, he charged toward the cannon room.

[Warning: Carapace-Class Destroyer detected emerging from the warp jump signature. Affiliation: Khryssari.]

Read the latest on empire

"What!? A Khryssari vessel? In this part of the galaxy?"

Carlos froze, his eyes darting to the tactical display. His stomach churned as realization hit him like a hammer.

"No, no, no. Please, not that. Anything but that!"

His voice rose in desperation, cutting through the tense silence of the bridge.

Before the AI could respond, a voice cut through the private long-range channel.

"Aha～, I have arrived to save you, baldy. Couldn't handle a few pathetic enemies without me～?"

The voice was sharp, teasing, and entirely too familiar.

Carlos groaned, his head falling into his hands.

"Oh, for the love of all that's holy. Not you, Ys. Not now."

Ys was lounging in the throne room of her bioship, a smug grin on her face as she watched the chaos on Carlos's end through her tactical interface.

"I told my darling I would come to help you, so you should be grateful for my royal intervention～,"

she purred, lazily twirling her finger in the air as though orchestrating the entire battle herself.

On the tactical display, the Khryssari Carapace-Class Destroyer loomed into view. It was an ominous sight, a kilometer-long vessel resembling a massive beetle with an armored shell that seemed to ripple with life.

Its reinforced hull gleamed under the faint light of distant stars, its bio-organic nature unmistakable. Unlike standard ships, it had no visible windows or traditional features, it was just a grotesque, pulsing exterior that hinted at the hive mind controlling it.

Carlos stared at the screen, muttering under his breath.

"Why does every disaster in my life involve her?"

Ys, sprawled across her opulent, silk-covered throne, popped a fruit into her mouth and chewed lazily.

"Behold, my magnificent ship,"

she said, gesturing toward the tactical hologram as if Carlos could see her.

"Isn't it glorious～? And here I am, lowering myself to save you."

The front of the Khryssari Destroyer shifted as four massive, organic cannons emerged from beneath its shell, each one pulsating with glowing energy. Ys snapped her fingers with a theatrical flourish.

"Fire."

The ship's cannons unleashed a salvo of compressed bio-matter at unimaginable speed. The glowing projectiles streaked through the void, slamming into the shields of the enemy capital ship.

Upon impact, the bio-matter decomposed violently, spreading corrosive energy that detonated in a blinding explosion. The enemy ship's shields flickered and cracked under the strain, the shockwave rippling outward.

Carlos watched the feed, his mouth open wide.

"What the hell was that?"

Ys giggled, leaning back in her throne as another servant handed her a fresh piece of fruit.

"Oh, just a little something I cooked up for pests like these. It seems sturdier than I expected, though. Fire again when ready."

"Princess, enemy fighters are approaching,"

the mind of her destroyer communicated telepathically. Its voice was calm, almost indifferent, but Ys could sense the alertness in its tone.

She raised an eyebrow, barely glancing at the display.

"Oh, how boring. Send out the little ones to deal with them. I have no time for such trivial matters."

The destroyer's hull shifted again as several large sections opened, revealing cavernous, organic launch bays. From them, hundreds of Swarmling-Class Fighters burst forth, each one shaped like a sleek, black hornet with glowing green highlights along their edges.

The fighters darted through space with insect-like agility, their twin bio-energy cannons firing rapid bursts at the approaching pirate ships.

On the other end of the battlefield, the pirate wing leader stared at his tactical display in mounting panic.

"What the hell is that? What are those things?"

"Just fighters,"

another pilot said over the comms, his tone dismissive. "

Let's take them out and—"

Before he could finish, the Swarmlings swarmed them. The first pirate ship exploded in a flash of green energy, followed by another and another. The pirate wing was torn apart in seconds, the hornet-like fighters darting between them too fast to track.

"Pull back!"

the wing leader screamed, his voice breaking. "

Those aren't fighters! They're monsters!"