boombox
KrankysFirebrand48
(Oof, guess a lack of time and motivatian can lead to quite some delay, huh? 😓 At least allowed me to decide on an ending and thing it through...)
"You will pay for this. All of you!"
Gabriels voice booms through the heads even of the soldiers onboard the GSR ships, as anything within a lightyear around the planet feels an enormous telekinetic grip. He prepares to crush all invaders, as Michael activates his ships dimensional shielding and starts giving some commands to its mainframe. Heard by noone but the ships computer, he activates his last resort, a device created hundrets of throusands of years in the future.
"Highest security link, 'Mainframe Omega'. Syncronise, give direct access. Initiate absolute emergency protocol 'Eternal darkness', phase 2 only. Transmit target and execute command. Cut link. Erase all traces of access."
The computer has no time to answer before the entire planet is engulfed by a space-time disruption, which instantly disappears again, taking every last trace of the virus/black matter with it and transporting all beeings on the planet into their ships.
"... Connection closed. Space-time adjusted."
The crewmen on the second colony flagship are shocked as the advanced-looking robot, looking like it is coated in quicksilver and shining from the gaps in its armor in the colors of a sun (but not with the intensity), that just appeared out of thin air together with their soldiers starts greeting them in galactic standart, besides beeing marked with alien signs.
"Greetings, humanoid lifeforms. Please do not feel threatened or act hostile, I did not appear here out of my free will and I'm only a simple analysis and observation unit. My designation is 'Observer unit 0021' and I will gladly answer any questions you might have, as this situation must be as confusing to you as it is to me."
Meanwhile, Michael leans back in the commanders chair of his ship, looking at the kneeling beeing in front of him with both amusement and pity. The deformed human, now nothing more than a human soul covered in black virus cells, raises his head and starts speaking in an unfittingly smooth voice.
"It is great to see you again, supreme leader. How may I help your cause?"
"Stop the formalities, Gabriel. It's been ages since you've talked to me like that and you know I don't want us speaking like that when we're alone."
"Sorry Michael. It's just... Guess I'm happy to have the guiding light of all our efforts back.
How has everyone been doing since I ended up here?"
"Well, dear secondary leader, as you might remember, I disappeared before you did.
I only returned recently and found our forces splintered and lost. We desperately lack facilities, ships and troops. The remaining forces I contacted so far are doing their best to rebuild, but that won't be enough."
"It took ages to get so far, how could he let this happen?"
"We had to learn one last thing, maybe just another thing. Let me teach you the lesson you've missed. We shall share our memories again."
"As direct as ever Michael, sometimes I wonder whether you really are nothing more than a machine."
They both step forward and put their right hands on the head of the other, before Gabriel suddenly collapses, Michael still manages to return and sit down, but is extremely worn out too. He closes his eye and leans back as he finally manages to speak again.
"There's one last thing I should tell you. It's nothing big and you probably know it already, but I became a member of the GSR, a high ranking one at that. How about letting them know we've finished and are ready to return to the coreworlds? And don't forget to declare this rock a deadzone for anyone still in the area. The tech on this planet is too powerful to allow anyone to use it."
Gabriel raises and does as told, sending some drones to mark the entire area as deadzone, before sending a message to the waiting GSR fleet.
/Transmission start/
"Großadmiral Michael beordert alle Schiffe zurück in die Blockade, der Kampf ist vorbei.
Sein neues Flagschiff benötigt dringende Reparaturen und die alten Verteidigungseinrichtungen müssen überprüft, gewartet und reaktiviert werden.
Der Ressourcenabbau wird, vorerst noch in begrenztem Maße, eingeleitet.
Zuletzt sollen alle mitgenommenen Fahrzeuge, Waffen oder andere Entwicklungen wieder im Bunker verstaut werden.
Admiral Gabriel unter Großadmiral Michael ende."
/Transmission end/
(It's noteworthy you still have the option of one of your characters deciding to bring some of the tech back to GSR space and allow them to use it. Michael obviously won't be happy should that happen, but the decision is up to you.)