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CHAPTER 51 The Third Offense Part I

Alarms echoed throughout Canis Major and R105. It was a rough awakening the one that both space mammals had experienced that morning.

All systems went haywire in both ships, oxygen levels dropped considerably and energy was very scarce. Zone managers from Canis Major, and Engineering Scientists from R105 worked hard to solve the problem. With much horror they discovered how both R105's and Canis Major's mainframe were completely erased and re-written with very strange algorithms that disabled them from having any control over the very ships that kept them alive.

"What's going on?" Young Bo came across with his Captain. His eyes wide opened, scared of seeing the lights of R105 flickering, pulsating and simply shutting off in various sectors of R105.

Silver didn't answer and kept on her way to the strategy room.

"R105 and Canis Major have been breached." She harshly replied after her offspring insisted.

"What, breached?" Bo demanded an explanation. The words he heard couldn't be possible. R105 was impenetrable both physically and into its systems.

"Listen to me, Bo. You need to go to Canis Major. The oxygen has been cut in both ships, but the vegetation in Canis Major is denser than in R105, giving better chances to breathe there if something went wrong. There are more chances to withstand an imminent attack there as well." Silver quickly replied without being very clear.

"What do you mean by attack?"

"Go to the hangar, get on a ship and get yourself in Canis Major right now, Bo!"

"What's going on, I don't understand!" Bo now yelled nervously as Silver gained more distance from him.

Silver suddenly stopped and rushed directly at Bo. Her glare was a menacing one. The fur on her neck was puffed.

"You are going to Canis Major right now, or I'll drag you there by force. Do I make myself clear?" Silver yelled at Bo.

Bo had never seen Silver so irritated. He understood the severity of the situation, and he had no choice but to obey. Frightened by what could happen, every part of his body demanded him to stay, but he knew that he would be an obstacle for his Captain if he did.

Soon after he turned away and walked to the Hangar, he felt a hand-paw on his shoulder. Before he could see who it was, someone took him in the warmest embrace. That scent and white fur could only belong to Silver.

"Keep your ComPod with you at all times." Silver whispered gently on Bo's ear. "You will inform the Evocanis of everything I tell you. Okay?"

"Yes, Silver." Bo replied. He buried himself deeper into Silver's warm fur and closed his eyes. A feeling of hopelessness invaded him, making him fear for what could happen.

"Be strong, okay?" Silver said while caressing the fur on Bo's neck.

"You be stronger, Silver." The young black eyed Retcan replied, hinting his desire to cry at that moment due to his tone.

Both Retcans finally let go of themselves. Bo obeyed and ran to the hangar.

"I love you, Bo." Silver whispered while she had a glance of her son disappearing from sight.

Immediately gaining her composure, Silver rushed into the strategy room which was now ran under an emergency protocol. Her main crew was already there discussing heavily on the current situation.

"Titan; status!" were the white furred Retcan's words. She walked with a strong pace until she reached her seat. But there was no time to even sit down.

"The oxygen levels have decreased, Silver. But our vegetation on board is keeping them stable for now. Our mainframe has been completely destroyed. I don't know how our attackers were able to do this, but they have succeeded." Titan reported.

"How do our defense systems stand after this?"

"Our backup systems can do very little after our energy source was compromised. I have a backup for all our defense protocols, but we need a stronger system to run them. I've spoken with Canis Major's engineers and they have successfully reactivated the ship's old mainframe. It's doing little to sustain the new Canis Major, but at least their security is still running."

"Can you bridge a connection between Canis Major and R105?" Silver suggested.

"Yes, but it will take time to adapt Canis Major's old mainframe to our ship."

"Do it as quick as you can. It's our only hope of keeping both ships functional enough to withstand an attack."

A grey Retcan suddenly rushed into the strategy room. It was Alpha who had no choice but to personally inform Silver of their situation due to their inner com systems being useless.

"Captain!" The red eyed Retcan barked. "Zonda and I have assembled our team at the hangar. We are awaiting orders."

"I want you to divide your team. One group is going to Canis Major; the other will go to space immediately."

"Understood, Captain."

"An attack is imminent right now. There is no doubt that the machines were always behind all this. They tricked us with that false message and lured us into a trap... and we fell for it." Silver said. "We have underestimated them heavily and for this we might pay greatly. I need you all to stay strong and protect the one besides you at all times. I won't accept any casualties from our side or from Canis Major's side." Silver was noticeably irritated, but she was definitely a different Retcan compared to the one that leaded R105 during their mission to the blue comet and later to that planet. Silver gave such a strong sense of confidence like never before.

"I need half of the general crew to head to Canis Major and seek refuge there at once." She also ordered.

Over at Canis Major, the situation wasn't any better. Hasky, Husky and Fx were still recovering from the brawl they had with their own brother Evocanis. Blitz was taken into custody even though his condition was uncertain. Ariska recovered from the attack, and thankfully she was going to be fine. But there were other things to worry about for now.

The old systems of Canis Major were made to control the old ship's technology and not the newly installed by the Retcans, so it was getting hard for it to maintain the colony's functionality. The outer security systems were disengaged, as well as the outer shell unlocked. There was nothing that could stop anything or anyone from entering Canis Major now. The ship was as vulnerable as it was years before they met the Retcans.

Back in H2, things were out of control. Being the Sector that had direct contact with R105, they were in charge of controlling situations like this together with Sector Zero. There was very little that could be done since even though the old Canis Major mainframe was able to keep the com systems functional, there was little control over security systems. All they could do was to inform everyone to stay in their Zone Complexes and seal them manually.

It was frustrating not to know what came next. They were preparing for the unknown. Could this be the attack itself, or was it the prelude to something greater? What to do? Focus on repairing Canis Major's systems, or prepare for battle? As Silver suggested, there was no doubt that the machines were behind all this. They lured them into the hive and went as low as using the lives of three innocent Evocanis to perform their wretched scheme.

"Has everyone gotten into their complexes?" Rika yelled desperately. She was talking with Luke who was making his way to H2 along with the huskies and Fx.

"I have informed as many Zone keepers as I could." Luke desperately replied.

"What is going to happen now, Luke?"

"I don't know, Rika... I really don't know. Our priority is to keep the ship alive. The old mainframe has been activated after 13 years of inactivity. It is working, but limited. The oxygen levels have normalized thankfully, but we still have serious problems with our energy sources. The old mainframe can barely hold on managing the Blue Crystal power, so the guys at Sector Zero had to shut down 70% of Canis Major so we didn't fry the old computer."

"Just hurry up, Luke. I need you here."

"Don't worry, Rika. Everything is going to be okay."

Hours passed. The situation hadn't gotten any better. Many Retcans arrived at Canis Major in search for refuge in the almost moon-sized ship by orders of their captain, now that their ship was nothing more than a sitting duck. R105 had been connected to Canis Major successfully, which enabled some of its defense systems, but at the cost of forcing the old Canis Major's mainframe to its limits. There was so much it would hold, but they hoped it gave them enough time to restore the systems.

"Anything yet?" Silver demanded at the bridge.

"It will take me more time, Silver. I don't know how the machines did this. They had to know how our systems worked from the beginning. There is no way they could just drop a viral bomb and wipe out our entire mainframe without knowing how to bypass all our firewalls and security measures."

"They have been planning this for long." A deep voice said behind them. The old Retcan Shadow was standing in the darkness of the room. "They had it all planned since who knows when. They have probably been spying us for years, waiting for that opportunity. They have gotten smarter; they know they are no match for us on a direct attack. They planned this carefully and the situation we went through on that planet was the perfect opportunity to lure us into their trap."

"It makes sense." Titan whispered. "That would be a good explanation of how they managed to know about Alpha and Zonda."

"We fell for it. And now we must fight to destroy this menace once and for all; for the sake of R105 and the Evocanis." Shadow added.

With the current conditions in which both ships were, a battle like the one that occurred 13 years in the past didn't look too good for them. It is true that they had an overwhelming victory over the machines, but they were not in this situation. And for what they saw at the hive, the machines had grown exponentially in numbers.

A group of fighter pilots from R105 had been flying around Canis Major and R105, patrolling the black depths of space around them. There was nothing that suggested an imminent attack for now, but they could sense deep inside them how something was very wrong.

"Team Beta leader Zonda reporting; the outer shell of Canis Major has been closed. Unfortunately there is no way to lock it into place. Theta team has been sent to Canis Major and will make sure nothing breaches the colony further than its hangar." General Zonda informed. His voice was weak and the pain was noticeable in his tone. The wounds he suffered at Harena Sanguis were far from being healed and sitting in that ship with the armor snugged against his sore body was pushing his limits of resistance.

"Understood general. Keep your patrol route. We will stay in contact." Silver responded. The communications were difficult, but they were better now that the old Canis Major's mainframe was in control.

The hours kept on passing, increasing the tension with every second that ticked. They soon realized that this attack wouldn't end with just their systems being destroyed. If the enemy knew how to do this much harm, they would know that Canis Major and R105 would withstand the destruction of their mainframe and recover somehow. It would be a waste of effort to just drop that viral bomb and not take advantage of both ships being in this vulnerable state.

And so it happened...

"What was that, pilot Newt?" Zonda replied to one of his squad members after a confusing message.

"General... I think I saw something." The female Retcan said.

"Send the coordinates immediately."

"I don't know, General. It could've been my imagination."

"We are not taking any chances, Newt. Send me the coordinates." Zonda ordered.

Her explanation wasn't very clear. She describes as if a group of stars suddenly disappeared in the distance. Double checking the radars, nothing showed as being abnormal. But a closer look did reveal something worrying.

"Boost the radar's reach. We might have hostile activity closing on us!" Zonda alerted his squad. Something that he saw worried him greatly. The adrenaline rush made his pain go for a while.

"I see something, General!" Another Retcan spoke into the open channel. Immediately he sent the coordinates.

Zonda didn't wait and activated the visual enhancers. He didn't care about what the radar showed; he wanted to see it with his own eyes. It didn't take long to confirm what his partners were talking about.

"R105. This is Team Beta leader Zonda. We have a visual." Zonda's piercing yellow eyes never looked away from the target. No one could really give a solid identification of what they saw, but it was sure that something approached... really fast.

A confirmation was given by a noticeably nervous Titan.

"Indeed, Zonda. We have it on radar. Hostile activity is approaching our location at a great speed. It is... there are... many."

"Zonda. Do what it's needed to prevent the enemy to approach our perimeter." Silver then spoke. "I will not admit any casualties, is that clear?"

"Understood, Captain." Zonda responded very sure of himself.

"Alright warriors of Lusceonis; the time has come! We will fight with all our strength. Let not a single one get within reach of R105 or Canis Major. We are the first line of defense; we are the wall that will protect both ships no matter how much they throw at us. Today it ends for those machines!"

Zonda's powerful voice thundered through each and every one of the one thousand Retcan fighter ship's com systems. His yellow eyes filled with rage; his fangs and claws waiting anxiously to burry deep into his enemy. There was no way back now. A new battle had begun.

They knew something was coming. A strange blurriness that spread hundreds of kilometers across started to make itself visible.

"What is that?" Some of the fighter pilots asked to themselves. It was very unclear. According to Titan, there were many. But 'many' of what?

Soon, the strange cloud was clearly visible. That cloud was a swarm of metallic spheres flying at a tremendous speed towards them.

"No signs of those things reducing speed! What are they?" A fighter pilot informed.

"They are heading to us. We'll get hit!" Another yelled though the open channel.

"Keep your positions, warriors! Be ready to open fire at my signal." Zonda ordered.

Those things were not ships. They were approaching as a ballistic projectile would. The computer of the S series fighters showed a rough identification of the objects. They appeared as solid spheres. It was obvious those objects wouldn't stop.

"General! We need to act now!" A Retcan pilot directed to Zonda.

"I said wait!" He replied harshly without taking his glare of the massive swarm of metallic spheres.

Calculating the number of the hostile objects was extremely difficult, but it was now clear that they were outnumbered by almost a thousand fold. The swarm was so big that if it reached them it would simply shred through the Retcan Team Beta. And the speed of the objects never decreased.

"General!"

"Now! Fire at will!" General Zonda ordered when he realized the danger of the situation.

There was no way they could destroy all of the targets and Zonda realized this. It was now just a matter of surviving this wave of destruction that was heading towards them. The thick armor plating of both Canis Major and R105 could withstand the force of a hit from those objects.

But something strange happened. The objects did reduce speed considerably when Team Beta opened fire. These were not ballistic projectiles. The objects started to spread around the battle zone, making it harder for the fighter pilots to hit. Some of the spheres were destroyed, but others strangely made it through the Retcan ships and continued towards R105 and Canis Major. Their first objective was now a failure. The enemy had easily made its way through the first line of defense.

"They are too many! R105, the enemy is heading your way. Send team Epsilon to space."

"Negative, Zonda. Team Epsilon will guard R105 is it's breached by the enemy!" Silver responded. "Destroy as many as you can!"

"There are thousands of them. My team can't do this alone!"

It took time for Silver to respond. Their numbers were limited, and she knew it. But it was her job to keep the enemy from taking over R105. Team Epsilon was larger, but it was necessary to keep it inside the ship.

"Alright; I'll send Epsilon into your command, Zonda. But you have to destroy as much enemies as you can."

"Wait!" Titan interrupted. "The enemy has made it to our perimeter. They are over R105 and Canis Major!"

"What? No!" Silver exclaimed.

"Those spheres; they were not projectiles after all..."

There were too many. Somehow hundreds of those spheres had made it into both ship's perimeter very quickly. What was stranger, those spheres had stopped completely.

"Keep your position, General!" Silver ordered as she approached the screen. "What are those things, Titan?"

The spheres suddenly exploded, but not strong enough to damage both ship's hull. Those spheres released something.

From inside of them, a strange ball of what appeared to be metallic scraps soon unfolded and two of those assassin machines came out of it. There was no doubt about it now. The machines had started a new attack.

"Those things were not projectiles; those things were transport capsules! We have the enemy onboard both R105 and Canis Major!" Titan was a strong Retcan, but not even he could hide the fear of what he was witnessing. Zonda and his team had completely lost control over the enemy and now thousands of those spheres were unloading two assassin machines each. Not only they were overwhelmed by the surprise attack, but now they were surely overwhelmed on numbers. And the spheres kept on coming.

"Team Epsilon, be ready for a breach! Stand strong, my brothers, for they are much more than us." With her voice starting o loose strength, Silver had no choice but to order the last team to stay on R105. Team Theta which was lead by Alpha had just arrived at Canis Major and they had no choice but to stay there and keep the disaster from 13 years ago to happen again.

"Where are you going, Silver?" Titan yelled at his sister when he saw her leaving the bridge. "We need you here!"

"R105 belongs to me. I am the Captain of this ship. And I will give my life to protect it and every Retcan on board of it." Silver softly uttered.

With a last smile, Silver disappeared from sight, leaving Titan no choice but to lead the battle all alone for now...