Chapter 181 - Epilogue: Part 5

　　The conflict with the Vore reignited on the borders of colonized Andromeda space, scarcely five years after the Dyson Sphere and the fleet of Starships arrived on the edge of this new galaxy and only fifteen after they had first left the Milky Way.

　　Alexander had been conservative in his estimates. He had incorrectly assumed that the mysterious object that remained after fleeing from the destruction of the A.I. collective`s vessel operated similarly to their own Engines.

　　Contrary to expectations, the Vore arrived in Andromeda after a mere thirty-five years of travel. Worse, the Hive that had mainly been stripped away from the hardened core by the detonation of the Dyson Sphere`s artificial sun had mainly been restored.

　　Like a dark star descending from the heavens, it approached a colony on the furthest reaches of settled space. Planet Neera, a dusty rock that was just beginning the terraforming process and home to only two thousand people, was lost in the first wave of Vore.

　　While they were picking the planet clean of life and harvesting the bodies of the dead settlers, a message was broadcast to the rest of the galaxy, the warning a last act by the brave men and women as they defended their new home.

　　The Titans were the first to arrive, a dozen strong and at the lead of a rapid response strike group made up of a thousand Starships. With nearly two hundred thousand Mechs, the Vore on the planet were obliterated from orbit by flights of bomb-carrying assault ships guarded by flying mobile suits.

　　But the Vore had learned from their first encounter with humanity. They would not allow human ships, Mechs or large objects near the surface of their Hive. Unlike the first war, the Vore were not shaking off the effects of their long slumber.

　　The appearance of humans immediately provoked them.

　　Hundreds of millions of Vore appeared from the Hive, taking to space with an ease that put the greatest of space-capable Mobile Suits to shame. Forming a barrier that prevented anything from approaching the Hive, they launched themselves against the Imperial Forces.

　　And at the forefront, half a dozen Monarchs led, their psychic powers forming an impenetrable barrier as they closed with the Titans.

　　Human technology had advanced significantly since their first encounter, and so had the destructive power of their weapons.

　　Mechs vaporized entire swathes of drones, and guided missiles sought out the stronger Soldiers amongst the Vore, targeting them before they could get close. Assault craft weaved their way through the battlefield, their energy weapons clearing a path for the slower-moving mechs.

　　But humanity was outnumbered in this fight, and even with all of their training and preparation to face the Vore, the Titan Pilots were stunned by the aggressiveness and complete disregard for causalities that the Vore had.

　　Flo panted with exception as she followed Katherine closely. The Pleiades was based on the Atlas design and carried out a similar kind of attack. Waves of intense gravity confused and disoriented the Vore, allowing the Mobile Suits under her command to pick them off quickly.

　　Celestial Devastation` was a draining and exhausting attack for its Pilot to use, and all of their training told them to conserve their strength for a prolonged conflict.

　　Their goal was to decrease the Vore forces enough so that a strike team carrying a new type of bomb could reach the surface of the Hive and detonate it, causing an explosion similar to the detonation of the Dyson Sphere.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it`s taken without the author`s consent. Report it.

　　The bomb was essentially a modified Starship with an oversized engine that would detonate on command but required Mechs to move it and set the command to detonate.

　　"Watch it!" Katherine shouted through their communication channel. Eos flashed in front of her, its speed increasing instantly so that it seemed to teleport.` Stabbing a Vore soldier that was about to fire on Pleiades, it moved on to the next target.

　　"Keep your mind focused, Flo. It only takes a moment for things to fall apart." Katherine chastised Flo. Luckily, the Monarchs were focusing on preventing the Fleet from reaching the Hive, leaving the Titans to support the regular troops.

　　If Flo had lost focus while fighting a Monarch, it would likely have been the end of the young woman. Shaking off her errant thoughts, Flo threw herself back into the battle.

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　　An alert went out to all the newly settled colonies of Andromeda.

　　Kal and Mare, living as Merit` and his wife Ella,` were in New Caledon when the announcement was made that the Vore had been spotted. Unlike the Titans who were assigned to the Rapid Response Fleet, Merit and Ella were still a part of the Caledonian House Guard, meaning they would be required to fight but would report through their own chain of command.

　　Merrick Tan was acting Governor of New Caledon, the Terra-like world had been one of the first habitable planets they had found, and the powerful Ducal House had laid claim to it.

　　"We`ll need to mobilize our forces. We`re looking at possibly a day before we can bring in all our equipment and prepare the Starships." Talha advised. The Rapid Response fleet would be responsible for either stopping the Vore dead in their tracks or, at worst, slowing their assault long enough for reinforcements to be mobilized.

　　The settled systems had no idea how long it would take the Vore to arrive. It could have been decades or longer before the Hive reached Andromeda. This was a compromise to allow the settlement to continue while providing security.

　　Kal and Mare stood in the Governor`s office, a beautiful building overlooking a pristine sea on New Caledon. For the settlers, as much as they loved Caledon, this new planet was already feeling like home.

　　"Ella and I will lead the Aesir Titans against the Vore. Five hundred Mechs will be enough to buy you the needed time." Merit replied.

　　"Those Mechs are Pseudo-Titans at best, Merit." Talha looked at the other people in the room, choosing her words carefully. Wearing his Pilot Bodysuit and helmet, no one aside from herself and Tan knew his true identity.

　　"They may lack the unique abilities of the Titans, but their reactors are just as powerful. What we lose in strength, we make up with numbers. We`ll drive the Vore back." Merit promised, and Talha was stunned at the bold declaration.

　　She would have thought it was just a boast if she hadn`t known his true identity. But Kal knew what the Vore were capable of. If he was confident that five hundred of Caledon`s Aesir Titans could make such a difference, who was she to argue?

　　"Very well, your Starships are ready to bring you there. Good luck, everyone." Talha agreed. As much as she wanted to stop or join him, she knew she lacked the ability to handle one of the Mechs. Her responsibility was to oversee the mobilization and defence of New Caledon.

　　Kal had personally selected the Pilots for the Aesir Titans, not just from amongst the Caledonian sector but the entire Galaxy. Many were former Imperial Guard who had fought on the first Dyson Sphere and whose experience there had elevated their abilities. After a decade of intense training, they were ready.

　　Merit led the ground to three Starships in orbit above New Caledon. Bearing the Caledonian Red Stag on the sides of ships, five hundred Mechs Jumped to Planet Neera.

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　　Florine Caledon was in trouble. Pleiades was being driven back, and even the additional support from Eos couldn`t give her the break she needed.

　　The Vore were evolving, and she could see it happen in front of her eyes. Whatever technological advancements humans had made that gave them an edge in the beginning were being countered quickly.

　　She saw Soldier variants devouring dozens of Drones to increase their size and strength to the point where they could stand face-to-face with an Assault Mech! It didn`t seem possible that the Vore, who appeared to be mindless beasts, were on the verge of defeating the Empire!

　　A streak of orange plasma shot out from an oversized Soldier`s cannon-like appendage situated on its turtle-like back. It was joined by dozens of others as the large object it was approaching drew closer.

　　The Vore had released gigantic, manta ray-like beasts to carry their forces close to the human Mechs. With a form of artificial gravity, these creatures could hold hundreds of thousands of Vore. Worse, it affected the space around them, drawing in Mechs and Ships with its gravity.

　　Pleiades dodged what it could before a stream of superheated plasma struck its shield. The temperature of the cockpit increased, and the overtaxed environmental systems made a squealing noise as they tried to compensate.