Reborn: My Two Systems at War

Chapter 124: Chaos on the ship, part 1/3

Tia's lilac irises narrowed to predatory slits, glaring into the heart of the pulsating purple death ray hurtling toward her. In a cataclysmic explosion of sparks, the beam hit the barrier, its essence of deflection wrenching the ray of its lethal course.

With a thought as sharp as a razor's edge, invisible tendrils of kinetic force, like serpents of pure energy, erupted from her gloved fingertips. They coiled mercilessly around the armored soldier like an invisible anaconda squeezing its prey.

"Die!" The word was a venomous hiss, Tia's eyes blazing with a ferocity that outshone the chaos around her. Her hand, encased in the sleek glove, clenched into a merciless fist. A symphony of groaning, warping metal, and crushing bones reverberated between the marble walls of the hallway.

"Ahhh!" The soldier's guttural scream echoed through the corridor. Then he crumpled like a broken doll in a twisted heap, and blood seeped through the fissures of his contorted armor. His limbs gave a final, feeble twitch.

Even Tia found herself taken aback by the ferocity of her reaction; the raw savagery and swift brutality of her assault left her momentarily stunnedit was her pent-up frustration and anger finding release.

'Traitors on the ship or...'

Tia, still reeling slightly from the raw power she had just unleashed, lifted her gaze. Her eyes, still glowing faintly, swept over the scene.

More guards, their glowing visors staring at the scene, hesitantly aimed their weapons at her, their hands trembling. The air was thick with tension, a palpable uncertainty hovering over them as they wavered between Tia and the contorted form of the fallen soldier.

'This must look bad. Are they also enemies or not?' Tia analyzed the situation in a split second. 'No, they seem to be as confused as me, so they are most likely not enemies, at least not the entire squad.'

With a calmness that belied the storm of emotions inside her, Tia's voice cut through the silence. "This man was a traitor," she stated, and her gaze swept over the soldiers.

The guards, recognizing the insignia of command on her uniform, slowly began to lower their weapons.

Just as she wanted to relax, a blinding light flashed between the group of soldiers. On instinct, Tia swiftly moved to the side, her barrier reforming and sending visible ripples through the air.

A purple ray shot from the back of the soldier group, instantly burning a hole through another soldier. The smell of scorched flesh and metal hit the air as he dropped dead.

Reacting instantly, the guards spun around, training their weapons on the new threat.

The sharp hissing of the energy weapons blended with the thuds of collapsing bodies, creating a cacophony of battle. Blasts of light crisscrossed the space, reflecting on the polished dark marble and metallic engravings. The soldiers shot at each other.

"For the emperor! For the empire!" The cries were almost lost in the tumult.

Tia's mind was a whirlwind of strategy and survival. 'I need to get to the bridge,' she thought amidst the chaos, unsure who to trust. The command room was the key to the control of the ship and, in her opinion, the main target of the enemies, 'If I let them take control of the ship, that will be bad.'

Catapulting herself forward with her telekinesis, she turned into a living bullet, ignoring the battle behind her. The purple rays shot past her, her kinetic sensing web expanding out as she slightly shifted her trajectory, narrowly dodging another one.

Behind her, a storm of purplish sparks erupted as her barrier deflected the relentless barrage she couldn't avoid, searing marks into the corridor walls.

'No time for this.'

Her heart pounded as she sped even further, turning into a dark blur hurling down the corridor and the flashes of energy weapons receded into the distance

Decorative marble pillars and the monotone black walls and floor blurred into streaks as she dashed past them. The force of her movement caused the flags draped along the corridor walls to flutter and billow.

As she ran, Tia's mind worked furiously to piece together the puzzle. 'Something's wrong with the shipan external attack or someone is pushing the engines and the reactor to their limits. With these infiltrators, it's more likely the second one. I must get to the bridge, confront them, regain command if it was lost, and protect it if it wasn't.'

She spotted a corner and immediately paired it with the plan of the ship she saw before: 'The command center and the bridge should be there. She slowed down, clearing her mind of useless thoughts as she prepared for the fight.

Rounding the sharp corner, she raised her barrier, ready to deflect any attack that might come.

The formidable blast doors of black metal tightly sealed her path. A squad of Imperial soldiers in black hulking exoskeletons glittering with silver ornaments stood and kneeled along the last stretch of the corridor, their massive purple-glowing rifles aimed in both directions of the bridge and the entrance corridor.

Intense sparks showered the air as even more of them worked furiously to slice through the door's thick metal, their cutting tools emitting a fierce, bright glare.

'They are elite commandos.' She instantly recognized the elite soldiers from the battle in the skyscraper by their equipment. She hesitated, unsure if they were allies or enemies.