Chapter 168

　　"He`s stable, but Prometheus is out of commission. The Engineers say the reactor is undamaged, and the rest of it can be rebuilt with time and the proper facilities, but we`re down to just the four of us." Kal explained to the others.

　　"Our losses are going to be severe with us out of the fight." Patrick replied, shaking his head at their new orders.

　　The four remaining Titans were floating far above the battlefield, so high that even the large Heavy Class Mechs looked like tiny specks below them. It was the first time since they had arrived that they were all gathered in a single location.

　　But it was necessary. The Titans were the only thing keeping the Psychic Virus from assaulting the humans below once more. With the threat of the Monarchs, it was clear that all four of them would need to act together if they had a chance of defeating the variant and coming out of it alive.

　　Still, not everyone was happy with the decision. Their soldiers were already being pushed back, with the Titans involved in the fighting. Now that they were removed, things could only get worse.

　　"They will be horrific if another one of us falls. All that matters is we hold until the detonation occurs. We cannot allow the Vore to reach home." Iris Naice spoke up.

　　She was the last member of Augustus` faction here on the Sphere, and she had expected to be pushed out or alienated from the group. To her surprise, Patrick Grandster was accommodating to her presence.

　　"We can`t cover everything. It will take time for us to travel to a location if a Monarch appears. We should split into two groups and hold long enough for the others to arrive. No grand acts of sacrifice to take one of them out. We have no idea how many more are waiting for us in the Hive." Patrick suggested.

　　"Agreed. Katherine and I will take the North and East. You both take the South and West." Kal ordered.

　　"Can we even win? We all saw the sensor data from the Prometheus. It murdered Yanis in a moment. What is to keep that from happening again?" Katherine stated, her voice sounded small and frightened.

　　"Wraith was not designed for direct confrontation, and Yanis let his guard down. That won`t happen to us." Patrick assured her.

　　"I`ve never seen anything like that before. It was some kind of telekinetic attack concentrated on a single point." Iris added.

　　"We`ve learned from it, though. Stay moving, and don`t let your guard down." Kal asserted.

　　"And keep your distance. There is no possible way those things can launch attacks like that from miles away. We find the Monarchs and bombard them." Iris suggested.

　　"Sovereign will shield from the front while Hyperion uses its speed to engage at close range. Caledon, you will keep it in one place while Luminous blasts the thing from kingdom come." Patrick explained the plan.

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　　The waiting was the worst part, in Kal`s opinion.

　　He watched as people fought and died against the Vore. All the while, he and Katherine were removed from the conflict. Like observers, they hovered in the air and waited.

　　Multiple explosions shook the city below them as the Imperial Guard and House Troops fell back to another line of defences. Nuclear explosions daisy chained for thousands of miles, splitting off large sections of the sphere and obliterating them.

　　The superheated air wiped the Vore from existence, and it took long minutes for them to be replaced with fresh reinforcements from the Hive.

　　How many have the Vore lost since this all began?` Kal thought to himself in a mixture of awe and fear. They showed no signs of slowing, and as time marched on, more of the larger and stronger variants were awakening.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

　　Already, the multitude of drones was being replaced with Soldier variants. But as they grew in number and strength, so did the tactics of the humans evolve to compensate. They were learning the weak points of the Vore or how to position themselves for maximum effect.

　　But the losses on the human side were showing, and Kal estimated they had lost at least ten percent of their numbers, possibly even fifteen. And they still had five hours left until they could retreat.

　　Finally, after what felt to be an eternity, Kal saw what they were both expecting and dreading. Another Monarch emerged from the void of space. It matched the sensor readings of the Prometheus perfectly, a near twin of the other that had killed Yanis and injured Praxis so terribly.

　　It couldn`t be allowed to run amok. It would kill everything in its path to reach the Silver Pyramid, and only the Titans could stop it.

　　"Katherine, it`s just like we planned. You hamper its movements while I go in for the kill. Don`t be a hero. If we can`t defeat it, we just need to delay it for the others to arrive." Kal ordered. With a deep, steadying breath, he led the way forward.

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　　"Sir, another Monarch has been confirmed. Caledon and Havencroft are moving to confront it." Argyle`s aide spoke from a communication terminal. Argyle wearily nodded.

　　"Have everyone fall back from that sector. It`s no place for anyone but a Titan to fight now." Argyle ordered, and it was relayed to the forces holding the line. In minutes, they would be falling back to the following defensive line while Atlas and Hyperion fought a Monarch.

　　"We`re not going to make it." A voice spoke out from behind him, too low for anyone but him to hear. Spinning around, he was surprised to find Alexander mere feet away from him. He hadn`t been aware of his presence.

　　Was he losing his edge in his old age that he would let an enemy close enough to stab him in the back?

　　Argyle wasn`t used to seeing his brother in a Pilot Bodysuit, clean, sober and lacking a smile or mocking grin on his face. Instead, the youngest Prince looked grim.

　　"What are you doing here? I thought I had ordered you to take command of the northern sector." Argyle asked. Alexander merely shrugged at the question.

　　"Father asked for my assessment, and I gave it to him. We`re not going to make it. It`s why I`m here, Argyle. You`re not going to like my recommendation, but it`s necessary if we are to succeed." Alexander replied, stepping even closer to his brother so that his whisper wouldn`t be heard over the din of the command center.

　　"Well, I didn`t ask for your opinion. Don`t think I trust or have forgiven you for what you`ve done, brother." Argyle hissed.

　　"Regardless of your view of me, the fact remains. We have five hours left before the artificial sun powering this Dyson Sphere detonates, but at the rate we are being pushed back and losing soldiers, we can hold for another hour, possibly two. You may not trust me, but surely you can also do the math." Alexander explained.

　　Argyle had made the projections. It was a simple equation with a single answer. They were losing, and quickly. The Vore were more numerous than anyone had predicted, and they were evolving by feeding on the dead.

　　At the start of the battle, Argyle had witnessed an Exosuited soldier`s Lasrifle pierce a drone`s flesh with ease. Now, it was taking multiple direct hits to injure them. And even when they died, two more replaced them while the corpses were used as fuel to create more.

　　Argyle shuddered to think what would happen when the Monarchs adapted. They could destroy a Titan by themselves. What if they multiplied?

　　"What was your recommendation to father?" Argyle asked.

　　"We need to hurry the process to cut the time down significantly." Alexander began, but Argyle shook his head.

　　"Impossible. We`ve looked at the systems ourselves. Power is being fed back into the artificial sun to destabilize it and create an explosion greater than anything that occurs naturally. But that power has to come from somewhere. It`s not as simple as flipping a switch, Alexander." Argyle stated.

　　"You`re right. We`d need a source equal to that sun above us in order to make a difference. Luckily, Caledon brought exactly what we need." Alexander replied, and Argyle`s eyes opened wide at the statement.

　　"You want to use Prometheus to fuel the detonation?" Argyle whispered, shocked at the audaciousness of the plan. To willingly destroy a Titan? It was unthinkable.

　　"The Titan is gone, but its reactor is still intact. Using it as a primer, we can cut the time it takes to detonate the sun in half, possibly even shorter with additional help." Alexander explained.

　　"What help? There isn`t anything else we could use except for&." Argyle wouldn`t even give voice to the idea.

　　"The Starships." Alexander finished the thought for him.

　　"You`d destroy our only means of escape?" Alexander murmured quietly, carefully to not let another soul overhear them. Such a question would rob the hope of anyone who heard it.

　　"Not all of them. I would keep one out of every ten for our exodus. We don`t need all of those ships, not by the time this is over. We`ll be lucky if half of us make it out of here, and we can abandon the Mechs. We can all fit on the few ships I would spare. The rest will be used to fuel the detonation or directly against the Vore.

　　"Think of it, Argyle! There are a thousand bombs floating in the sky above us, just waiting to be used!" Alexander hissed.

　　"Are we truly so desperate?" Argyle muttered to himself, looking at the screen displaying troop movements as they fought against an enemy out of their worst nightmares.

　　"Very well, we use whatever means available to us."