Agent047

742 - "We Only Need to Win Once"

‘This is very weird,’ Seraphina thought to herself as she gazed at the scattered remains of the enemy soldiers now littering the floor. Fragments of metal, bone, roots, and remnants of mana floated in the air, their strange compositions scattered after the soldiers had exploded. She had effortlessly eliminated ea...

741 - Improvise, Die, Revive, Adapt, Die, Revive, Overcome, and Repeat.

The breaching pods launched by the stealth forces, despite being accompanied by missiles, weapons, and their own defenses, still had a very low success rate due to the advanced multi-target tracking systems of spacefaring civilizations. To counter this, the empire employed a tried-and-true strategy: overwhelming those systems...

740 - 1% Success

From a two-dimensional perspective, an observer witnessing this conflict would see two sides engaged in entirely different battles as a result of the ongoing attacks. The imperial forces remained focused on thwarting waves of incoming assaults, while the Conclave forces were also caught in a defensive struggle against attacks...

739 - A Distinction Forged by Necessity

The imperial first-line fleets reacted instantly as the incoming missiles and spells entered the point of no return. They launched their own counterattack, deploying smaller missiles, which were accompanied by a barrage of sleek, black spheres. These spheres spread out in all directions, tasked with intercepting the incoming ...

738 - The Eternal Flame of Pride

In the next five seconds, silence gripped the Conclave forces as they struggled to process what had just occurred. The concept of a black hole was something they had only studied from afar, a distant cosmic phenomenon at the center of the galaxy, safely observed but never experienced. Now, faced with the unimaginable reality ...

737 - Warning Shots

A brief silence fell over the battlefield as both sides took in the data that was still being collected by their sensors, with the other side immedialtely realizing that Xalthar the person who brought them here has already being captured, making their work harder than inntiatily expeted as not matter where he is they had take...

736 - This Part of the Galaxy

Time has a way of moving at exactly the wrong speed, especially for those who find themselves in a moment of anticipation. 

For the inhabitants of the solar system, it felt like time was speeding by when they desperately wished for it to slow down. In the blink of an eye, twelve days had passed, bringing them to th...

735 - The Good & Bad news

Once he sensed that the tension had reached a peak, he continued, “As a result, conflict erupted between the two sides... and by the end of the day, we achieved victory,” as he was saying that, he could almost hear the collective sigh of relief from those who had feared they were losing the fight.

He paused his spee...

734 - Post Assimilation

Aron stepped out of the pod after spending several hours inside, now far more knowledgeable about the Astral Conclave than before. With this newfound understanding, several uncertainties that had previously clouded his thoughts seemed to vanish, as though a fog had been lifted from his mind.

But despite his newfound kno...

733 - Preparations

"How about turning them against each other, making them compete to give you the technology?" Rina suggested, after taking a moment to gather her thoughts and reflect on everything she had learned.

That was all Aron needed to hear. He immediately grasped where Rina was heading with her explanation, but he didn't interrup...

732 - Discussion II

“Then at what point do you suggest we interfere? Do we wait until everything is settled between them and fight, or do we jump in amidst their skirmishes and attack all of them?” Youssef asked, now reconsidering his earlier stance.

"I suggest we act after issuing a formal warning once they make their move," John repl...

731 - Discussion

“We are fucked” would perfectly capture the situation for anyone who had reviewed the now-assembled information. Although much of it was still being processed and filtered to form a complete picture, certain revelations didn’t need further analysis—particularly the intel sourced from one individual: Xalthar. 

730 - The Spearhead Fleet's Technology

Ismail Maylander and his team had been advancing with relative ease, encountering opposition armed similarly to the previous groups they had already dealt with. Despite this, neither he nor the breaching forces aboard the ship let their guard down. Each of them carried a hard-earned lesson from their intensive VR training—b...

729 - Time to Leave

Within just half an hour, the material blocking the invading soldiers had completely melted away. Without hesitation, the soldiers resumed their takeover, moving swiftly and methodically. The crew aboard the ship, caught off guard by the sudden breakthrough, scrambled to return fire in a desperate attempt to buy time and rese...

728- Sealing the Deal

Xalthar stared at the figure on the screen, more surprised than angered by the unexpected turn of events.

"What makes you think we're ready—or even willing—to surrender?" he asked calmly, showing no sign of worry as he was on the cusp of completing the deal that would come to his rescue. In his mind, he was already ...

727- Cold and Calculative

Xalthar sat in silence while waiting for the AI to receive and filter the requests to ensure they met his criteria. During this time, he was informed that the insulation had effectively halted the enemy forces on the outside. This was confirmed by the surveillance system, which displayed the enemy forces as a blob on the othe...

726 - A Call from the Organisation

As the AI began sorting through the flood of requests for the star system's coordinates, ensuring only those who promised aid within the set timeframe were considered, Xalthar’s communicator buzzed. The heads of his organization were contacting him with remarkable speed, a clear sign they were far from pleased with his rece...

725 - An Offer of Unparalleled Worth

“I’m going to use every means of torture known in existence before I allow you to die,” Xalthar's voice echoed ominously from his chair, a chilling promise that was muffled by the soundproof insulation of the room and thus unheard by those in the control room below.

While Quorani's measures to seal off the passage...

724 - Xalthar's Dilemma

[A/N: All of Xalthar's thoughts and communications go through humanity's language filter to avoid further complicating the situation.]

If looks could kill, thousands might have perished under Xalthar's gaze alone. But for him, he didn’t need his eyes to end lives—his hands were more than capable. The proo...

723 - Responsibility Without Authority

Before the front doors of the breach pods opened, all of the pods that had successfully penetrated the ship simultaneously launched small, specialized disks toward the openings they had created. The disks powered up in perfect unison the moment they were thrown, activating immediately upon contact with the surface.

Each...

722 - Opening Punches

“Since there is a limit on how quickly we can transfer information through our current means of communication, we are two hours away from completing the transmission. It should take about another twelve hours for it to arrive, but since they can review it as they start receiving it, we expect answers within twenty-four hour...

721 - Enjoying the Process

Aron paused for a moment, taking a deep breath to gather his thoughts and process the information he had just absorbed. The weight of what he had learned required a moment of reflection before he could continue reading.

Although much of the information appeared legitimate, Aron remained cautious. He didn't consider it t...

720 - "F*ck"

After five hours, the data transfer from the other side was completed. The transfer of information about humans only required about two hours, but it was intentionally extended by including filler and other white noise to conclude simultaneously with the other side’s transfer. This delay was a deliberate strategy to ensure ...

719 - Probing and Conversation II

For the next few days, there was no direct communication between the two sides. They were either exchanging technical manuals and codes for building the necessary communication technology or receiving them.

Once the transfer was complete, a response came from the other side, stating that they would have the device ready...

718 - Probing and Conversation I

“So, how is it going to work? Are there things I need to keep in mind during our conversation?” the ship’s captain asked the AI, concerned that the script might need revision. The captain wanted to ensure that there were no limitations or special considerations for communication, given the AI's understanding of the othe...

717 - Watching from a Distance

The back-and-forth between the two AIs continued as they worked to establish a common foundation for communication. 

Although this could have been an ideal moment to probe each other, neither side attempted to do so, recognizing that the limitations of the communication medium made such efforts futile.

To ens...

716 - Speculation Amidst Silence

Outer space.

In the ship’s control room, an air of tense silence prevailed as they awaited a response from the other side.

Half an hour passed without a reply. Then an hour, three hours, and finally five hours went by with no indication of contact from the Visitors.

“Is it possible t...

715 - How to Comunicate with Alliens 101

Earth, CUBE.

In the expansive room atop the highest floor of the CUBE, Aron, Rina, Henry, his parents, her parents—his father recently released from prison a few months ago—the heads of the three ministries, Sarah, Felix, the head of all agencies collaborating with ARES on first contact, were gathered. <...

714 - Arrival

In the silent darkness of space, if one focused on a specific point with utmost precision, they might notice the faintest distortion in the light—a subtle bending, almost imperceptible to the naked eye. It resembled the phenomenon of gravitational lensing, where light curves around a massive object. Yet, this was no ordinar...

713 - The Fifth Imperial Council Meeting IV

Councilor Ross's report followed the usual pattern but highlighted a notable development: the percentage of awakened individuals among humans had increased from the initial two percent to ten percent. This was a significant rise, reflecting the raising in the age of people who were awakening due to the continual increase of m...