Fifty thousand military Alliance ships, both rge and small, slowly floated through outer space. In the direct middle and being protected by an escort were four strangely designed vessels, each one the size of a city. Despite their immense size, they weren’t outfitted for weapons besides one. A perfectly circur shaped ring situated on the belly of the ship near the front. These were the Pnet Crackers, spacecraft specialized for destroying all life on a pnet by shifting the tectonic ptes and splitting the world apart, hence it's name. All life would perish and the world itself lost any chance of making a comeback.

  Near the front of this massive fleet was the Cruiser Css Capital Ship, Justice. Sitting on his command chair inside the Bridge, Admiral Yaka emotionlessly stared out the main window. Even though he had been through many battles and countless awful events, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of fear and anxiety. The Bck Virus’s rampage across their gaxy isn’t something he could easily forget.

  Watching friends and family members turn into stark raving lunatics, all lunging at him. Just to tear out some flesh and devour him. Not exactly fond and hallmark memories. Even now, they sometimes haunted his dreams. Especially the horrifying cries of both fellow soldiers and civilians. The wails and pleas for help echoed within his ears. Those monsters which tore them to pieces with brute like ferocity, dyeing the ground in innocent blood. The countless worlds lost, trillions dead and turned into literal mountains of corpses. Stacked so high-

  He closed his eyes and rubbed the top of his head, trying to remove those unnecessary thoughts. Staying like this would be detrimental in the heat of battle, possibly causing his soldiers to die a needless death. A clear mind was needed for the troubles ahead.

  “How close are we to Theia?” At his words the Bridge quieted down. A fellow Lorkin officer stood up to address him.

  “Sir, we shall arrive in the system soon. Estimated a rotation or two based on our current course.” Yaka nodded and was about to give orders when someone spoke up.

  "Uh, Admiral? I have 13 Cruiser Css sized ships coming out of Warp Space all around us. And one of them is absolutely massive.” The random officer’s words made him pause for a moment. An ominous and foreboding sensation began building inside him.

  “Can you recognize their markings?” The officer shook his head.

  “No sir, they’re like nothing I’ve ever seen. Actually-“ He paused, an unsure expression on his face. This got Yaka incredibly interested.

  “Speak.”

  “Well Admiral, the computer is saying… they’re biological lifeforms.” The Bridge went quiet, a subtle tension forming.

  The first thought that went through Yaka’s mind included the Varnids. But then he shook his head. There had been no reports of such activity in this sector. Though it might be possible, it was incredibly unlikely for the simple fact this area held no strategic gain. Unless they were here for destruction and chaos only.

  ‘What then?’ Something was wrong, he could sense it through his many years serving in the Navy. An instinct built over numerous experiences.

  “Have all hands man their battle stations immediately and charge the cannons! Be ready for anything!" As everyone got to work and a voice spread throughout the whole fleet, Yaka’s Vice Admiral Jakkcie arrived by his chair and questioned him.

  “You think they’re enemies?”

  “Not sure. Better to be cautious-“ Before he could finish, thirteen white tunnels emerged around the entire fleet. Only a second ter, giant city sized creatures with tentacles exited from them.

  Yaka instantly stood up and looked on with shock, as did most others in the Bridge. Never before did they see something like this besides what the Varnids used. But it was clear to even an idiot, they weren’t here on friendly terms from the way they surrounded them. As if that wasn’t bad enough, a robotic voice emerged. One which could be heard on every ship in the fleet.

  “Warning, unknown strain of Bck Virus detected. Raising the Isotion Shields.” Against their control, every single ship had their shields up. But they couldn’t worry about that. Panic spread throughout the Bridge as Yaka realized the virus had become advanced enough for intergactic travel.

  ‘But it took almost two years for the st one to do so.’ However, he soon threw away thoughts like that and started directing his men.

  As soon as he did so, countless flying monsters exited the enemy's craft and approached them with ill intent. At the forefront was a gigantic fiery bird, soundlessly roaring out towards them. It was certainly the rgest lifeform any of them had ever seen up close, when not including the Leviathans of course.

  Their numbers were in the tens of millions, looking like a swarm of giant locusts. Yaka, though initially stunned, instantly sent his own squadrons out to combat them. The rest of the fleet copied his action and did the same. Despite being purely made out of flesh, their skin was incredibly tough and resisted many attacks before dying. Meanwhile, the armor on his fighter’s ships were torn to shreds by their mere cws and teeth. If that wasn’t bad enough, they even shot out this strange beam from their mouths. Yaka could never understand how lifeforms developed to become like this. How it was even possible in the first pce.

  One on one, his fighters were definitely superior by far. Better pilots and more lethal weapons. However the problem were the sheer numbers the enemy had, outstripping their own by millions. Then there was the fiery bird. All attacks against it were useless and anything in it's path was destroyed. Only the main guns on the higher css ships will damage it.

  “All ships fire at will when in range. Have the Justice and other Cruisers aim at the fiery bird. Use our strongest shells.” At his order, thousands of higher css ships shot at the Leviathans. Beautiful colors painted space as they traveled to their targets. But Yaka ‘frowned’ when seeing the minimal damage done to the giant creature’s thick hide. At least the fiery bird was injured, so that was something.

  In response to their barrage of attacks, the Leviathans roared painfully and swiftly closed the distance, moving far faster than their rge forms suggested. Yaka ordered the formation to break apart and not be so clumped up together. As soon as he said that, an officer got his attention.

  "Sir? I have some strange electromagnetic readings here, coming from the rgest one.” Yaka looked out of the window and his eyes scanned the chaotic battlefield.

  Suddenly, he noticed something. From what seemed to be the enemy’s Capital Ship due to it's sheer size, a different kind of creature emerged from it. In comparison to the tens of millions of fighters and the fiery bird, this one looked… harmless almost. It slowly floated through space, ignoring anything it came across. Yet Yaka knew from his experience that looks can be deceiving.

  “Aim for whatever that ugly thing is. Order our squadrons to-“ Before he could continue, the creature started shaking wildly. Then to their shock, it blew up.

  Ignoring the blood and guts, a blue electric bubble spread outwards from it’s position. The distance it covered was immense, moving at a speed faster than what they could dodge. Any ship caught in it’s path randomly shut down, all power gone. The enemy fighters took this chance to rip their defenseless ones to pieces. Especially the fiery bird which was a menace on the battlefield, easily killing tens of thousands by itself despite it's injuries.

  “Brace for impact!” Yaka yelled out as the massive blue field enveloped them. The Justice shook greatly as if struck by a hammer.

  Then all of a sudden, the lights turned off. A few gasps spread out as the Bridge fell into an eerie darkness. But the worst part? The shield protecting them from the virus had been disabled.

  “Status report!” The Bridge scrambled to answer Yaka.

  “Sir, all systems have been disabled! Even our life support is temporarily shut down!”

  “Well get it back online! Now!” It shouldn’t take long for his crew to get the power up and running. He had already seen the earlier hit ships start firing again. However, the enemy simply deployed another of those suicidal creatures.

  While it exploded and sent another blue field outwards, Yaka noticed the giant creatures had closed the distance and approached the closest Cruisers. Then he watched with wide eyes as the tentacles on the side shoved themselves into the ship's hull. He didn’t know what they were doing, but he was about to find out. One had come to the side of the Justice.

  A random cough drew his attention. He looked over and saw one of his officers fall out of his seat. His eyes were bleeding badly and his body convulsed like a seizure. Dread filling his heart, he grabbed his psma revolver and aimed at the poor soul’s head. Without hesitation he pulled the trigger, sending a blue bolt out. It effortlessly went through his brain and ended his life.

  Silence filled the Bridge and a few audible gulps could he heard. A heavy tension filled the air, along with a startling amount of fear. Thankfully, the lights soon turned on and power was restored. Yaka sighed and holstered his weapon.

  “Inform the entire crew to prepare for boarding. Do not fire on that thing or you’ll kill us all. And order everyone to wear their Vaar issued protection gear.” As soon as he said that, the Justice shook badly as a few tentacles smmed into the hull.

  .

  .

  .

  .

  The entire hallway was dead silent, besides a loud arm, as soldiers pointed their weapons at a giant hole. It was almost pitch bck, it’s fleshy walls seemingly leading to nowhere. Each of them were fully geared against the virus. Protective suits and masks to block the airborne effect, along with a lean body armor against their bites. Behind said masks, sweat dripped down their pale and terrified faces.

  “Hey, what do you thinks down there?” A young Lorkin tried to alleviate his fear with some talking. His friend next to him didn’t move an inch, his sight aimed at the hole.

  “Nothing good obviously.” Just as he was about to reply, an older Pran’hu in front of them spoke up.

  “You kids ever fight the infected before?” They shook their heads, causing him to chuckle.

  “Listen here, it’s gonna be real scary. First time I came face to face with those monsters, I nearly shat myself. Just turn off that brain of yours and fire your weapon.” His words did little in helping their fears and instead only heightened it further. But he wasn’t finished and continued on with a chuckle.

  “Think of them as pieces of meat you need to carve up. That’s all they are now. Raving maniacs who only resemble their former selves. In fact, you’re doing them a favor by ending their miserable lives. Well, that’s how I see it anyway. Takes the guilt away."

  Suddenly, everyone tensed up. Listening closely they could hear the sound of something running inside the dark hole. Pitter patter of footsteps, increasing in number and getting closer every second.

  “Once you see them, open fire!” A captain ordered, and they all nodded. Their fingers were already on the trigger, waiting for just a slight glimpse.

  After a painfully long period of time, the footsteps stopped out of nowhere. The noise ended right at the entrance of the hole, like it was all a dream. However, the deafening silence only heightened their nerves. A few even started shaking a bit, breaths becoming heavier as they backed up.

  A foul roar from the depths of Hell itself sounded out. It echoed harshly in the soldier’s ears, increasing the fear inside them immensely. An infected human rushed out and dashed for the closest alien, complete disregard for it’s own safety. Though stunned at first, he immediately opened fire and bsted it’s chest wide open. However, the infected kept coming, acting like the damage was nothing.

  Just as the infected was about to lunge into the freaked soldier, a psma bolt came from behind him and went straight through the infected’s head. As it colpsed to the ground, the soldier turned and saw an older Lorkin lower his rifle.

  “Make sure you aim for the brain. Only way these monsters-“ Before he could continue, and as if sensing the death of their comrade, countless roars came from within the dark hole.

  At the same time, infected poured out of the hole in the dozens like a tsunami. The soldiers immediately opened fire, each one aiming for the head. The psma bolts instantly shredded through the infected’s skin without difficulty and easily ended their pitiful lives. This emboldened the soldiers and caused their morale to skyrocket! They could do it-!

  But… they just kept coming. A never ending horde of bodies which always repced the st. No fear or hesitation within these lunatics. Just foaming mouths and bloodshot eyes full of madness. The hallway was flooded with corpses, both soldiers and infected. The former had to reload occasionally, giving the swift monsters plenty of time to close the distance and rip into them. As soon as the infected reached them, it was over. The strength these things possessed exceeded their own. Not to an insane degree, but plenty enough to overpower the soldiers except the tall Lorkins. Though the armor and personal shields they wore protected them briefly, they weren't immune to damage and soon failed.

  From the hole, twenty common infected flew out and smmed into the nearby wall. Their bodies were crushed and only a few still twitched, yet quite clearly on the cusp of death. A massive humanoid monster stepped out, barely able to stand within the hallway without crouching slightly. Immediately, even an idiot could tell this thing was bred purely for war. It had incredibly dense and rge muscles. The sheer size alone dwarfed any other infected and caused some terror amongst the soldiers.

  Someone shot at it’s head, but missed. The bolt traveled through the air swiftly and crashed into the beast’s chest. To everyone’s shock, it only grazed the skin and lightly charred it. The Marauder looked down the right hallway and roared so loudly, they felt like their ears might burst. He charged like a bull, uncaring for the common infected in his path as he crushed them under his feet.

  The soldiers concentrated their fire on him, but it did little damage, only causing superficial wounds. Once close, the Marauder punched out with his right fist. The first aliens turned into blood mists as their bodies blew apart. But the power of his attack didn’t stop there and kept going, the wind knocking many off their feet. This led to the common infected jumping on top of them and taking chunks out of their flesh.

  Then, despair hit the soldiers. Another Marauder exited the hole, followed by two more. They charged down the hallways and sughtered the aliens like farmers harvesting their crops. The common infected themselves never stopped coming from the hole. Occasionally, a special infected joined their ranks, each exhibiting far more strength than their common counterparts.

  How could mere soldiers using basic weapons hold them off? They were soon overwhelmed as the infected started spreading outwards. And this was only one tentacle out of many currently flooding the Justice with infected. That's not even mentioning how the virus seeped into the ship beforehand and already infected some of the crew.

  Back in the Bridge, Yaka watched the floating screens grimly with the other crew members. He saw the horrible scenes of his soldiers being ripped to shreds by the infected monsters. Even from where they were, they could hear the screams of the crew and roars of infected. To say they were scared is an understatement.

  “What of the fleet?” Yaka’s words woke them up. Someone swiftly replied to him.

  “Not… good sir. The attack from that EMP creature knocked out the shields and allowed the virus to slip in. Ninety percent of the fleet is reporting infected among their crew. And-“

  “And what?”

  “A few have gone dark.” They all knew what those words meant. Gone dark, as in no one was left to communicate.

  ‘Already? It’s only been a few minutes. This new strain is far more faster acting and-‘ Yaka gnced at the screens. Blood and organs painted the walls and floor. Something straight out of a horror movie.

  ‘-way more lethal than previously. What if they had more time to grow?’

  “Sir? There's something happening there.” Jakkcie got his attention and pointed at one of the screens closest to the Bridge.

  A lifeless hallway filled with the blood and bodies of aliens and infected. For some strange reason, the infected stopped pouring out of this tentacle, yet the others were still going strong. Then, a new creature stepped out. Far different than anything which had come before. Unlike the others, a high degree of intelligence radiated out of his pores. There was also the fact he had clothes.

  The humanoid creature had six arms, same number of bone spikes on his back, and three heads. Strangely, each one seemed to have a mind of their own, gncing around the hallway curiously. Suddenly, all three looked directly at the camera. It was almost as if he was staring at Admiral Yaka. After a few moments of standing there, the three headed creature began walking away. As soon as he left, infected began pouring out of the tentacle once again.

  “Sir? You okay?” Jakkcie was worried at her Admiral’s silence. She could see him gripping the seat with his hands so tightly his knuckles went white.

  “Initiate self destruct. Order the other ships with being boarded to do the same.” His solemn words shocked them all. Yet, not a single one of them spoke up to say otherwise.

  They could understand the seriousness of the situation. Especially when seeing the reports come in from the boarded ships. They were doing far worse than them. One was even on the cusp of being eradicated completely, only a few still alive by holding up in their Bridge. They needed to stop the virus here and now before it has the chance to grow and prosper further. The Alliance couldn't fight war on two fronts. The Varnids alone were proving too much for them. Add in the Bck Virus, and would they not crumble?

  The crew followed his command to the letter, informing the other ships to self destruct. Just as they did so and an arm resounded through the entire ship, Jakkcie widened her eyes and pointed.

  "Sir! Look!" On the screens, the same three headed creature from before rushed through the Justice like a madman. He ignored everything in his path, heading straight... for the Bridge.

  "Put up the bst shields and activate the automated defenses!"

  A few moments after the bst shields covered the door, a loud bang rang out. To everyone's shock and horror, a massive dent appeared on the door. If one hit did this much damage, what about another?

  "Grab your weap-!" It was too te. A loud bang erupted and the bst shields were torn apart. A figure stepped through, the same three headed infected.

  However, he didn't attack immediately like the others. His eyes wandered over their terrified forms and eventually stopped on Yaka.

  "You must be the leader." All three heads spoke at once. Despite having different voices, they all weaved together seamlessly.

  He walked forwards a bit, his steps heavy and powerful. Everyone could feel their bones shake with just his movements alone. In response to his words, Yaka pulled out his psma revolver and bsted Asura in the center head. Yet the bolt bounced off harmlessly.

  "We'll take that as a yes. Deactivate the self destruct and order your other ships to do the same. Inform them of reinforcements coming to save your worthless lives." Yaka sneered and quipped back.

  "And why would I do such a thing, monster?" His fearlessness in the face of death made the crew respect him.

  Asura hummed lightly and pulled out a small circur ball from his pocket.

  "Because you have no choice. All must serve the Master, regardless of whatever your will is." Smiling, he pressed a button on the side. It beeped a few times before suddenly exploding.

  No ball of fire followed. Instead, a bck and slightly purple gas exited at a fast pace and filled the entire Bridge. Despite the masks on their faces, the gas infiltrated it without issue. Yaka and the rest were forced to their knees, coughing extremely harshly as their eyes started to bleed.

  "Breathe." The left head said.

  "It." Next was the center.

  "In." And stly the right head. Asura watched eagerly as his Master's empowered virus quickly infected the whole Bridge in the span of a few seconds. It was a wonder to behold.

  Soon, they all stood back up, newly transformed by the virus. Neither were they common or special infected. Instead, they were Chosen. It was unfortunate that his Master couldn't mass produce such a unique strain. According to him, it took a long time to even create one and drained his body of strength. The other bombs filled with his supercharged virus strain however were much easier to make. All they needed was a Mimic to enter a city and detonate it. From there, the world is already theirs. This is what makes them a true terror.

  "Now, you know what to do." Asura smiled as the former Admiral Yaka was forced against his will. He contacted all the ships and ordered them to cancel the self destruct. He even spread lies about how reinforcements are coming.

  He wanted to resist! He tried to with all his might! Yet he couldn't fight against the overwhelming presence in his mind. Almost as if he were fighting a God.