Next day.

Inside the huge room filled with all sorts of books and devices.

Lucifer was punching hard on the string of a keyboard, a string of codes could be seen flashing past a computer screen from an era prior to Reboot every now and then. His expression frustrated and disoriented. Just then, the doors opened and Percy entered followed by Jason and James.

“How’s the progress?” Percy asked.

It had almost been a day since Lucifer was engrossed in establishing a direct-line of communication with Oracle. Usually it would not take him so much time, in something he was confident in. In short he was stuck.

“Pretty difficult. Although the device was just a prototype it should still be able to create a single qubit entanglement thus enabling me to establish a proper communication channel. But all the messages I transmitted have been bouncing back. The area seems to be shielded on a quantum scale.” Lucifer explained, still engrossed in punching lines of code on the keyboard.

“Explain it in simple terms, will you?” Jason said, noticing the puzzling look on Percy’s face who on the other hand was trying hard to hide it.

“Hmm.” Lucifer stopped and glanced back. He too noticed the situation.

“Ahem, in simple words, every form of communication we use would most probably bounce back to us. The shielding is like rubber, bouncing everything back.” Lucifer explained in what he thought to be easy-to-understand terms.

“So what now?” Percy asked.

“According to me, it is totally impossible to create a solid shielding area like this. I am guessing the technology uses a certain fixed pattern in order to bounce the signal back just like similar poles of a magnet. If we can decode that pattern and use the reverse order we might be able to send a single message before their system resets.” Lucifer said.

“How long will it take?” Jason asked.

[Six hours.] A voice which sounded as a mixture of male and female from an entity which went by the name Aria, replied.

Aria, was an Astral lifeform working with the team. Aria claimed that due to its astral nature, they had an efficiency which was far greater than the conventional quantum computers manufactured by the I-CA.

“Alright. Lucifer, prepare the equipment and the transport.” Percy commanded.

Lucifer stopped for a second, then his lips curled upwards in a grin. He pushed his glasses back on his nose and nodded.

After a couple of hours. Percy along with Jason and Lucifer were standing on the docking station which also acted as a shipyard located on the eastern side of the secondary base. In front of them was a battleship clamped with huge pliers with multiple robotic arms tending to it.

Created by reforming a Montana-class battleship’s framework from before the Reboot, it did not look or even perform like one. The battleship was coated in a layer of black to blend in with the darkness of the space, three-hundred meters in length with a fifteen meter draft and forty meter beam.

Cap. Brad could be seen moving towards them, along with him was James who seemed to be guiding him. Gazing at the huge construct Cap. Brad was jaw shocked.

He gazed at the sleek design and the armament loaded on the beast. Equipped with what seemed like four miniature-sized railguns on the top and bottom at the front of the ship, along with sixteen mini-cannons four in the middle and four in the back, on the top and bottom. The propulsion system and the thrusters were the only part that gave a heavy feel to the construct. Even though he was not able to guess what type of payload they used, the might of the rail-guns were never to be underestimated, especially when someone could miniaturize their design as these weapons were the only thing that could be utilized without having to worry about the recoil effect. Even the conventional I-CA Naval fleet had only the main battleships equipped with such rail-guns, due to the huge power consumption. He could only imagine what type of energy reactor could power such a behemoth.

“Isn’t it a beauty?” Lucifer said, with his gaze locked on the battleship.

Cap. Brad could only nod. He knew very well that in front of this behemoth, his battleship could might as well be called trash.

“This battleship is my latest creation. Created by using ancient technology and advanced quantum science, it is the best battleship we have. Would you like to know more about it?” He asked in anticipation.

“Lucifer, let’s get going.” Just when Cap. Brad was about to nod and ask more about this ‘ancient’ technology, Percy cut them in between.

“Che! Captain, you always disturb me.” Lucifer clicked his tongue in irritation and moved towards the battleship with the rest.

‘Poor fellow. Lucifer found a new target.’

Jason turned back and gave a pitiful look to Cap. Brad, whose eyes were still locked on the battleship.

-Swish-

Along with a swishing sound, an elevator descended from the center of the battleship. Once everyone boarded, it took them up, inside the battleship. The inside of the battleship was very well built, the central part had huge tubes.

“This is the engineering deck. The tubes here carry energy, fuel and power to the rest of the ship from the reactor located in the back. The engine room and reactor lay behind that door.” Lucifer explained pointing towards a door, sealed heavily by intense defensive layers.

“And that side is the cabin quarters and armory and ahead of that lies the command deck.” Lucifer said as he moved towards the cabin quarters.

The doors on the ship opened automatically as they neared. The living area of the team was divided into two parts, the kitchen which included a cooking counter, storage area and dining table, the other part was the dorm of the team which included four rooms with two people in each. The dorms were not that big but were installed with a washroom and shower along with a wardrobe.

Ahead of the living area was the armory. The group hurriedly left the area and entered the command deck. The command deck of the battleship was different from the ones in the I-CA Naval battleships. There were only two seats with a console. One for pilot and other for co-pilot, unlike the I-CA one’s which had multiple consoles responsible for multiple things. Apart from that, there were five seats placed horizontally behind a certain distance.

“Aria, it’s time.” Lucifer said as they entered the command deck.

[Affirmative.]

Aria replied as the engines in the back started humming and the reactor started pumping out energy for the behemoth. Despite the distance they could feel the trembling from the engines and the reactor.

“System check.” Lucifer said as he took one of the seats on the command deck.

[Performing diagnostic. Reactor output climbing steadily. Defensive systems online. Weapons systems online. Diverting power to the communication and detection systems. Communication and Detection systems online. Rector power stable. System check complete. Awaiting confirmation to divert the power to the terrain propulsion systems.]

“Where to, Captain?” Lucifer turned his chair and asked.

Percy gazed at the display screens on the front which depicted the outer environment. His eyes narrowed as he opened his mouth.

“I-CA High Command, Moon.” He said, with a solid tone.

“Roger. Plotting a course to I-CA High Command.” Lucifer said, fiddling with the console, inputting parameters and target coordinates.

Soon everyone could feel a surge of power being transferred from the reactor to the propulsion system. The thrusters located on the bottom of the ship gave a roaring sound as purple flames gushed out of them. The pliers holding the battleships and the robotic arms detached themselves at the same time.

“Aria, how are we down there?” Lucifer asked.

[Output stable.] Aria replied.

“Roger, then let’s take this baby on tour.” Lucifer said, pushing his glasses back on his nose and using the other hand to swipe upwards on the console.

The battleship moved vertically upwards as the secondary thrusters pumped out enough force to propel the battleship at a certain angle. One at a certain elevation, the secondary thrusters shut down and the primary thrusters roared into life, pushing the huge battleship away from the planet.

“Shall we get ready to greet the guests now?” James said with excitement.

“What’s the progress?” Percy nodded and asked Lucifer.

“Aria, should be done in a few minutes. We might need to stop a bit near the EDS in order to monitor the process.” Lucifer said.

“Alright, we shall get ready by then.” Percy said.

Lucifer nodded as everyone once again turned and headed towards the armory.

Cap. Brad was the only one left on the command deck. Seeing that Lucifer was once again busy, he turned and followed the rest to the armory.

And once again, he drowned in nostalgia. In front of him were seven combat suits placed behind transparent containers.

Percy, Jason and James were wearing a skinsuit which seemed to be made of carbon fiber and had different patterns which seemed like circuits inscribed on it. They were opening up containers which contained weapons. After that they moved towards the combat suits. Picking up the parts for the torso and other body parts, they placed them on the skinsuit and it stuck on them like a magnet.

Once they were equipped with all the parts of the combat suits, they looked like mechanical soldiers. The combat suits were made with some unknown material which looked light but definitely weren’t just for show. After equipping the combat suit, they moved towards a secluded corner where seven suitcases were placed in a circular manner.

Finding the ones with their name on it, they removed the lock and opened it. Inside it lay different cold weapons, the one in front of Jason was a one feet long combat blade totally black in color. Meanwhile James held a small one feet long rectangular shield and Percy had a two feet long saber with a hilt which almost took half a feet. Equipping their weapons on their combat suits, they locked them. Next they took the helmets which seemed just like the one’s the I-CA Special Forces wore, but Cap. Brad knew there must be more to it than it looked like.

By this time, Cap. Brad knew that whatever the I-CA had, may it be the huge battleships, technology and weapons were all derived from the ones in front of him. Or maybe it was shared by the team in front of him.

[Captain, we are about to reach.] Lucifer’s voice reverberated on the speaker as the group left the armory and headed towards the command deck.

On the command deck.

“Display it on the screen.” Percy said.

The screens lit up once again as outside was visible. The battleship had long left the atmosphere and was now stationed on low-earth orbit, near the EDS.

Cap. Brad gazed at the screen. There he could see the vast entity which was widely known as the central module of the Extraterrestrial Defensive System or EDS by the higher ups in the I-CA Naval Command. EDS was one of the reasons why the I-CA was afraid of the legendary seven-person team.

It was said the EDS was equipped with a special weapon system which required no ammunition system and used the charged ions present in the atmosphere to launch concentrated particle beams which could vaporize its target without much effort. The science behind it was too advanced. But just a single weapon was not the main reason for their fear. The main reason was the scope of this weapon which covered the entire human domain. The vast entity was the central module which was covered in a radiation field from its reactor. This radiation field could somehow penetrate the I-CA Naval Command ships hulls, neutralize and interfere with the electronic systems, thus rendering any kind of intrusion difficult. The higher ups in the I-CA Central Command also thought of rendering the module to ashes, but then it was nearly impossible, because the EDS was a part of many small modules placed all around the low-earth orbit enabling it to target any location on the planet.

Of course it was possible to bombard it from space, but due to space being the domain of I-CA High Command it was close to impossible.

On the command deck of the battleship.

[Decryption completed.]

Aria’s voice reverberated on the deck.

“Alright. Let’s get it done. Captain, we only have a limited duration once we establish a channel. You better be fast.” Lucifer said, punching in various commands on the console.

On the screen, one could see a wave of energy radiating from the EDS. This wave of energy soon gathered at a central point of the EDS on the huge antenna shaped structure downwards.

“Alright. Once the energy waves start pulsating that is your cue, Captain.” Lucifer said as he swiped his fingers on the console in a horizontal manner.

The wave of energy soon started pulsating like a heart, sending minute vibrations in the fabric of space.

Lucifer turned back and nodded towards Percy.

Percy cleared his throat and his eyes turned cold. The temperature on the command deck started to drop rapidly creating a strain on the temperature control systems.

Cap. Brad placed his hand hurriedly on his chest. He had a feeling as if his heart would burst if he even moved a muscle.

Then everything turned to normal as Percy uttered a sentence.

“Diane and Sophie, this is Percy. You better stay put where you are. We are headed towards you. Whatever it is, we shall explore it together. I repeat this is a command. Do not do anything. Just stay put and divert all your power to defense. This is my command--”

Before he could continue, the pulsation stopped and the EDS returned to normal.

“That’s it Captain. We lost the connection.” Lucifer said.

“Did the message reach?” Percy asked.

“I believe they should have received the message.” Lucifer said.

“Very well, continue towards our destination.” Percy added.

Meanwhile on the northern hemisphere of Earth, inside the I-CA Central Command’s Command Center.

Just when the battleship reached the vicinity of the EDS, the Command Center received a transmission from the space-station located near the EDS.

The people inside the Command Center hurriedly relayed their message to the higher ups.

Inside a certain room located on the highest floor of the I-CA Central Command, an old man was seated on the chair behind his desk. The walls of the room were made of ballistic grade transparent material, enabling him to overlook the entire I-CA Central Command from the air.

This man was the one with the highest authority. There were only a few people on the same authority as him and none above him. He was Admiral Khuraymah. The leader of one of the factions which constituted the I-CA Senate.

-Beep Beep-

The intercom rang as Admiral Khuraymah picked it up.

[Reporting sir, an unknown battleship has entered the range of the EDS. The battleship is not registered under the I-CA. Awaiting your instruction, sir.]

“Understood. Keep a watch on them for now and let me know if there is any other disturbance.” Admiral Khuraymah ordered.

[Acknowledged sir.]

Admiral Khuraymah turned his chair and below at the clouds and the huge Central Command.

‘Finally they are back.”

He thought.

Just then after a few minutes, the intercom rang once again. This time it was another voice.

[You heard the report?]

The voice sounded authoritative and had the same demeanor as Admiral Khuraymah.

“Yes, I did.” Admiral Khurayman replied.

[Do you think it is them?]

The voice said.

“I believe it is them.” He said.

[So, what now?] The voice on the intercom asked.

“Let’s wait and watch. This time we cannot act hastily.” Admiral Khuraymah said.

[Alright.] The voice replied and the call disconnected.

‘This time, there cannot be any margin for error. There can only be one ruler of the planet and it shall be us. The I-CA will be under our control very soon and I shall have my revenge.’

Admiral Khuraymah thought as he moved his fingers on his chest. The contours on the skin were visible from the clothes. It seemed like a huge scar from a vicious battle, which had not yet healed.