ShipCore

USD: A week after the audience with the Empress

Location: Luna, Imperial Residency, Underneath Princess Celestia’s Wing

Tia stared at her sister, her mind reeling as the word ‘traitor’ echoed through her thoughts. The air around her seemed to thicken, making it difficult to breathe. She turned to look at Livia, her heart pounding in her chest.

Traitor.

Invisible threads wrapped themselves around her, urging her to reach out and end Livia’s life with a swift, brutal snap of the neck. But Tia resisted, her entire being screaming in protest.

Traitor. Treason.

She would not hurt Livia; she would rather die!

“Tia...?” Livia’s voice was weak, but the concern on her battered face was evident.

TRAITOR. TREASON.

Tia’s eyes overflowed with red nanite laced tears, turning Livia and everything in her vision a scarlet red. Squeezing her fists tighter, Tia’s nails bit into her skin, leaving cuts on her palms.

Melanie’s voice cut through the haze. “Ertan, Andrew. She’s literally going to melt herself. Do something.”

“Let me help you, Celestia,” Andrew said, kneeling in front of Livia and placing a firm hand on Tia’s shoulder. “You must care for her deeply, but there’s another option besides getting rid of her.”

She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t scream at him to leave Livia alone.

Traitor.

He clenched his fist, making sure Tia saw it, and then slammed it into Livia’s torso. Blood splattered everywhere, but the unbearable compulsion gripping Tia suddenly released.

“Livi!” Tia screamed, pounding at Andrew with her small fists. He merely pushed her away, standing back up with a disdainful sneer.

“Behave. You can make her your sub-core now. Isn’t that nice?” he taunted.

Tia turned back to Livia, frantically trying to stem the flow of blood from her friend’s wounds. Livia’s eyes, now pulsing a deep ruby red, locked onto Tia’s as she whispered her name.

“Tia…”

Tia sobbed, holding onto Livia as a stinging sensation took hold. Andrew watched with a cruel expression. “Oh dear. It looks like you haven’t learned how to make a sub-core yet.”

Tia could only scream as Livia dissolved into a painful, stinging cloud.

Melanie turned to Andrew, her voice a venomous hiss, “They’ll detect it; mother will punish us. Nullify the rampancy.”

“Let her feel it a little longer,” Andrew replied, smirking. “It should be a lesson she never forgets.”

USD: 1 Day after Cadre-S Graduation

Location: Van Biesbroeck’s star, Meltisar, MIL-1A Elevator, Main Transit Hub

Celestia, wake up!

Tia’s eyes snapped open, her breath catching in her throat as she inhaled sharply through her mask. A red warning light blinked urgently, urging her to move. With a desperate roll to the side, she narrowly evaded a deadly black spear.

Pain surged through her left hand and arm. She shook it vigorously, flinging off a thick layer of black rampancy that had taken hold while she was unconscious. The AGAI had hit her. Hard.

Get it together.

Her defense field flickered weakly as a barrage of spikes hurtled towards her. The black nanite forms penetrated the sphere with ease, and Tia somersaulted through the air to avoid being hit. The AGAI had closed the distance, its hateful gaze locked onto her.

Most of its body had morphed into a shapeless mass, but its head remained the same enigmatic black helmet with glowing red eyes. A sudden twinge of pain at her temple blurred her vision, and an image of Livia’s face replaced the helmet. Uncertain why the memory haunted her now, Tia pushed it away.

Pointing a finger above the creature’s head, a small whine preceded a sharp crack. The projectile was small, but it carried enough energy to dislodge the damaged support beam, causing the nearby scaffolding attached to the ceiling to crash down onto the AGAI’s head.

“You need to get further away from it, Tia!” Alex’s frantic voice buzzed in her ear.

“You took my modules,” Tia accused. “I don’t think I can get any further. I’m running on empty here.”

“It’s getting tired too,” Alex said. “Stop trying to brute force it! Use your head!”

“I don’t have any more tricks! I already collapsed the ceiling on it!”

A brief pause ensued as Tia started to retreat, but as soon as she moved, the AGAI roared and charged after her.

“There’s an unexploded gas tank in the tram wreckage. It’s nitrogen, but it’s very high pressure; it might work,” Alex added finally.

Tia’s eyes darted to the center of the wrecked station, her HUD highlighting the container using Alex’s tag. It was a better idea than anything she had.

A black pole shot out from the AGAI’s arm, smashing into the ground behind her. The floor caved in, buckling, and flying out of the station’s I-field. Barely having time to react, Tia jumped and kicked at the weapon as it lifted back up, propelling herself through the air toward the destroyed tram.

A spike followed her trajectory, slamming into her side and drawing a ragged curse. She clutched at it, focusing as she tumbled through the air. Her nanites rapidly cloaked her hand, cannibalizing the hostile mass and sealing the injury.

As Tia soared through the air, her eyes locked onto the unexploded gas tank nestled within the twisted wreckage of the tram. The distance was closing, but she could feel her energy reserves dwindling. She gritted her teeth, determination flaring within her.

The AGAI, relentless in its pursuit, launched another volley of spikes her way. Tia twisted her body, narrowly avoiding a few, but some grazed her arm and leg, leaving trails of pain in their wake.

“Almost there,” she muttered under her breath as she neared the nitrogen gas tank.

With a final burst of speed, she grabbed it, her fingers digging into the cold metal. Tia spun around, facing the rampaging AGAI, and heaved the tank in its direction.

Predictably, it chopped the tank in half with its arm.

“Alex, now!” Tia shouted, kicking off the wreckage and leaping into the air. The overpressure wave expanded forcefully, sending her hurdling across the station.

A second later, the entire transit hub lit up with a blinding flash of light as a ship grade laser turned a meter wide swath into plasma.

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