“Fox Troops to battle stations. Repeat, Fox Troops to battle stations.” I was broken from my thoughts as I jumped up to my feet. I had been sitting at my desk, going through my cards when the alarm went off. “All combat personnel, to your posts.”

Slipping my cards back in my jacket, I opened the door and ran out into the hall. One of my hands slipped into a different pocket to retrieve the small stack of cards that represented my mech. The journey between my quarters and the hangar was actually quite short, and I had arrived in only a few seconds.

Pressing a concealed button along my collar caused a helmet to erupt from my suit, fully enclosing my head. As I saw that there were already those that had arrived before me, I walked over to an empty launch bay and inserted my cards into the slots. “Begin assembly for Fox Troop Six.” That said, I hastily climbed the nearby ladder as the unit was being created.

At the same time, the captain’s voice spoke up over the radios. “The enemy this time is a Silver Serpent. I’m sure you all remember the details. Everyone, equip bombardment cannons.”

It was actually pretty rare for us to fight the same monster twice, enough so that I was briefly taken aback by the announcement. However, given that we were still in the same general territory as before, it wasn’t too off. Once the cockpit had materialized in front of me, I jumped down into it and nodded my head. “Understood. Fox Troop Six, launching.”

The floor beneath my mech opened with a whoosh, ejecting me into the void of space. As soon as I had journeyed a safe distance, I placed one of my equipment cards into the slot. “Equipping bombardment cannon.”

While I turned my body to face the enemy behind the ship, a large cannon formed within the mech’s hands. Silver Serpent’s were at both times one of the most frightening creatures and one of the easiest to deal with that we had encountered. They were frightening because of their sheer size, which was great enough that it could swallow the entire Emergence if left alone.

At the same time, they were easy to deal with because their magic resistance was almost nonexistent. My mech, along with the other troops that had launched, all readied our cannons and aimed at the giant target. “Activating recoil flaps, preparing to fire.”

While my cannon began charging, I was preparing to watch the fireworks. Soon, a dozen fierce blasts would soar through the void to bombard the giant snake. Or at least, that was my expectation.

Before the cannons were able to finish firing, something else happened. Black lightning seemed to crackle through the void, forming a large circle. My first instinct was that it was some creature or vessel emerging from warp, using a technology unknown to us. “Captain! Are you seeing this?”

“Hold fire.” The voice that came over the comms seemed anxious, and I couldn’t help but recall back to what she had said in her announcement. Did Terra give her a premonition?

A thin beam of light pierced through the dark hole in the void, striking below the neck of the serpent before swinging upward in one simple motion. The silver serpent itself was stunned, its health emptying in a blink. Slowly, we were able to see its neck separating from its body, the two drifting apart.

“Put away your weapons before whatever that is comes out.” The captain ordered, clearly worried that whatever killed the creature would identify us as a hostile presence.

Although I was a bit unwilling to put away my weapon in front of such a clear threat, I knew I had to follow orders. Tapping another button, the equipment of the mech was recalled, returning to its original card form.

Moments later, we were able to see a silver structure floating out of the hole. I say structure because… it did not seem to be a normal ship. Instead, it appeared more like a giant, silver cube. And then in the next moment, it shifted into a sphere, its outer structure seeming to liquify.

“The Mother greets you, travelers from beyond the veil.” A voice spoke into my mind, seeming to translate itself. It was oddly soothing, but at the same time disconcerting due to the lack of any evident source. “I am Mother Lyra, acting Speaker of this vessel. I would like to make contact with your commander.”

“Everyone… return to the Emergence.” The captain commanded, clearly having heard this voice herself. “As for you, Mother Lyra, I am Captain Prestor of the Emergence. I’d like to thank you for your assistance just now, and ask what it is you would want in return.”

While the captain spoke, I brought my ship back to the hangar, but did not yet dismiss it. Something felt… off about this whole situation. Whether it was the sudden arrival of this new force, or the captain’s unusually anxious tone.

“Ah, greetings to you, Captain Prestor. I apologize if my manner of speech is unbecoming. I am gradually analyzing your language as we communicate, and using a simple translation spell in the interim.” Once again, the voice of Mother Lyra spoke directly into the minds of myself, and no doubt everyone aboard the Emergence.

“As this is our first interaction, and one of our early forays into your realm, it is only customary for us to perform an act of good faith. In this event, that would be to slay the creature designated XN-769. Apologies, you refer to it as… Silver Serpent? I have no doubt that your knights were capable of the feat, though I felt it would be best not to force you to waste your energy on this matter.”

“If we were to discuss something that we wanted, specifically from you and your people, then it would be quite simple. Through our scans, we have determined you to be a civilization with a minimum level of nine. As you are the first species we have interacted with to reach such an advanced level, we wished to extend an invitation for you to join the Network.”

“And what is this Network?” The captain asked tensely, while I kept my hands on the control mechanism for my mech. Thankfully, she was broadcasting her voice over the radio, so that we weren’t forced to listen to only one side of the conversation.

“The Network is our civilization, consisting of the Metongs and all races that we have invited to join us. By joining the Network, you would be allowed free access to knowledge beyond your own civilization in various fields. Similarly, you would be granted the protection of the Network, allowing us to become a unified force.”

This doesn’t sound right… I thought internally, with the captain voicing the same concerns. “And how does someone join this Network?”

“By accepting the Metongs into yourself.” Mother Lyra spoke as if it were a joyous thing. “As we interface with your organic brain, we are able to leave behind a part of ourselves, permanently connecting you with the Network.”

“I’ll have to decline your invitation.” The captain spoke in a more firm tone. “I don’t know how it was for the races that you encountered previously. However, for us, accepting an unknown device to connect to our minds sounds no different from giving up our freedom. After all, if this Network is truly able to connect all minds, then that means it is able to perceive our thoughts as well?”

“But of course.” The Mother spoke naturally. “It is a crucial step for our security. Organic minds are often prone to ideas of chaos and revolution. If such thoughts were to be left alone, it would damage the Network. Naturally, we must protect those who have placed their trust in us.”

There was silence over the radio, but I could feel the brief jerk as the ship activated its warp drive. Yet, that did not stop the voice from entering my mind again. “It is a pity that you have rejected us. Unfortunately, I do not have access to the Unspoken Word. However, within this realm, I am the High Mother. By my authority, if you will not join us, then it is crucial to prevent you from spreading false claims of our race.”

False claims? More like you don’t want us to warn everyone. I thought internally, realizing why this all felt so wrong. I knew that the captain was a follower of Terra. Moreover, people who followed Terra had a rather unique quality about them. They were able to sense danger ahead of time.

A follower of Terra would not know when the danger would appear, or what form it would take. They wouldn’t know how to escape it, or how severe it would be. Sometimes, they would prepare for days to fight back against a specific danger, only for the sensation to randomly vanish. It could be as simple as taking a right turn instead of a left turn on the way to work, leading to a horrific accident.

Or in this case, the fated danger would be the appearance of the Metongs. In such a random encounter as this, it was useless to try to prepare. Although the simple act of changing our course seems like it would have done the job… I was able to recall that we had changed our course once per day since our departure. Somehow, this danger had found us despite those measures to avoid it.

I had never heard of this Metong race before. However, if we were discussing a race of metallic individuals… There was the March. The golem race that had connected to Deckan. Yet, the characteristics of the two races seemed far apart from one another.

“Fox Troop Six, why have you remained in your machine?” The captain’s voice spoke up in my ear. However, there was a quietness in her tone that suggested this was a private channel.

“I had a bad feeling about the situation, and wished to maintain readiness in the event of an emergency.” I spoke honestly to the captain, feeling no need to hide my intentions.

“Good man… I’m sending the priestess sisters to you. Take care of them.”

“Captain?” I blinked, surprised at this revelation. “Didn’t we get away?”

“No, the danger is still there. And you heard them speaking up after we entered warp. Most likely, even this channel is being monitored. That’s why I’m preparing a few surprises on my end. All you need to know is that they’re coming. When they get there, things will be a little cramped, but bear with it.”

“I’ll try to save as many people as I can. Right now, everyone that can is heading for an escape pod. If I’m right… the Metongs will have a way to intercept those pods. So when they launch, I’m going to be buying time for them to escape.”

As she said that, I heard a knock on the cockpit. Looking up, I saw Casey and Jocelyn looking at me with worried gazes. In Casey’s hand was an unfamiliar card, likely one of the surprises that the captain was talking about. “I feel like there’s something wrong with this situation. Call it my last ditch hope. You’re the only combat unit currently prepped. Our best way out of this situation is for them to survive. And their best chance of survival is with you. Once you launch, immediately activate your Over Drive and use the card I gave them.”

I opened the hatch for my cockpit, allowing the two of them inside. Sure enough, it was indeed cramped with all three of us in here. Although Casey’s hands looked firm, I was able to notice the card shaking subtly as I took it from her, whereas Jocelyn was trembling.

“As I said, Captain Prestor, I cannot allow you to spread false claims about our people.” The voice of the Metong appeared in my mind again, and Casey yelped in shock. “As you have surmised, we did not lose track of you in warp. You will find that resistance is irrelevant. Your warp drive will soon run out of power, and we will be moments behind you. As you place such importance in these specific individuals, it is only natural that they shall be the first to be targeted.”

“Mother Lyra, was it?” The captain’s calm voice spoke up on the radio channel. “There are two things you need to know about me. One, I have never been one to accept an inevitability. And two… I have all of the primary controls for the Emergence within arm’s reach. Including launch platforms and weapons.”

The moment she said that, I felt the jerk of exiting warp. At the same time, the floor beneath me opened, and I felt myself falling into the void. Remembering the orders of the captain, I didn’t wait to reach a ‘safe distance’ from the ship. Immediately upon exiting, I activated the Over Drive.

A burst of power ran through me as I slid the unknown card into the slot for equipment. On the screen, I was able to see the name of the card while the system ran over it. Escape Plan Three… just how many preparations did the captain make?

One second, I saw the space behind the ship opening up. A giant, silver face emerged, its eyes staring at the ship that just seemed so insignificant in comparison. The next, a pulse ran through the machine, and I let out a hiss from the bright light shining into the cockpit.

At first, I thought it was the light of the ship’s lasers firing, until I heard Jocelyn gasp. “Caesar, pull up!”

Pull up? I opened my eyes to ask what she was talking about, before my vision was filled with a vast blue… ocean? Why was I looking at an ocean? More to the point, why was it getting bigger?

Right, gravity. Reaching for the controls, and doing my best to not touch anywhere indecent in the process, I stopped our descent. Now to find out where we were, and how to get back home.