Chapter 89: The Siege of the Enclave
The red alert alarm blared through the ancient habitat, a frantic, screaming pulse that resound the frantic, terrified beating of Ryan’s own heart.
Outside, the Void Marauder fleet had formed a ring of death around the small, fragile Enclave. They were like a pack of colossal, metal sharks circling a single, wounded swimmer.
"They’re hailing us," Zara said, her voice tight as she sprinted back onto the "Odyssey’s" bridge. A face appeared on the main viewscreen. It was a creature that was half-reptilian, half-machine, its lips curled back in a cruel sneer that showed off rows of sharp, metallic teeth.
"You have something that belongs to us, little mice," the Marauder captain hissed, its voice a gravelly distortion. "The shining bauble. Give it to us, and we might let you live as our slaves. Resist, and we will peel this little tin can open and take it from your cooling corpses."
Ryan didn’t even have to think about it. "Emma, tell him his ship is ugly and his mother dresses him funny."
Emma blinked, then a small, fierce smile touched her lips. "With pleasure." She cut the channel.
The response from the Marauders was immediate and violent. A storm of raw, angry energy erupted from their fleet. Crude but powerful plasma cannons, missiles made of scrap metal and volatile minerals, and beams of crackling, chaotic energy slammed into the Enclave’s failing shields.
The entire habitat shuddered, the ancient metal groaning under the assault. The lights flickered wildly, threatening to go out completely.
"Shields at forty percent!" Emma yelled from the "Odyssey’s" bridge. "They’re not going to hold for long!"
The battle for the last hope of the Precursors had begun. It was a desperate, impossible fight.
Lyra, the First Weaver, and the other four Precursors glided to the center of the Enclave. They raised their faint, translucent hands, and a soft, silver light flowed from them, wrapping around the habitat.