"Astra Falkov, you’re surrounded! Step out of the ch with your hands up and return the tech to us!" an echoing voice filled the cockpit as sweat trickled down Astra’s brow. Her fingers flew over the controls in a frantic attempt to coax life out of the failing machine.
"Co on! You piece of junk!" she snarled, slamming her fist against the unresponsive control panel. The system sputtered, and sparks were sent flying as the monitors’ shrill alarms started out one by one.
Then, silence.
The cockpit plunged into darkness, save for the faint red glow of a dying monitor—a grim reminder of her failure.
"Great," Astra muttered, leaning back in the chair with a defeated sigh. She covered her eyes with one hand, struggling to think.
"Co on, you idiot... think—" Her tattered bag shook slightly, catching her attention. Her gaze narrowed, and a sly smile spread across her face. Without hesitation, she snatched the bag and reached for the latch above her.
The sudden burst of light made her squint as she scrambled to the top of the ch, a cold gust brushing against her midnight-blue hair.
The sight was bleak: an endless wasteland, cracked and barren, with only the scattered chs encircling hers offering any sign of life. Searchlights pinned her in their blinding beams, casting long, jagged shadows across the ground.
How had she ended up in this situation? The thought flickered through Astra’s mind as she scanned the hostile scene.
"You’re under arrest for illegally manning a ch, stealing interstellar tech from the governnt, and resisting capture!" a stern female voice bood, sharp and commanding. "Do you have anything to say for yourself, Anomaly?!"
Was all this worth her curiosity? Had she gained anything from it at all?
The wind whipped at the tattered rags Astra called clothes. Her gaze dropped to the rusted tal beneath her feet. Slowly, she raised her hands, the weight of inevitability sinking in.
I guess not...
"I give up," she muttered, the words barely audible, lost to the barren winds. "Take your dumb thing and get out of here—"
Maybe... maybe in the end...
"Check her," the woman commanded, one of the chs stepping closer as a hatch opened. A guard cautiously climbed onto the shoulder of Astra’s dead ch.
"Here." She shoved the bag into his hands. He flinched at her sudden action but grabbed it, his expression a mix of weariness and disgust.
The scene stilled as he peered into the bag. Suddenly, it shifted in his hands.
"What’s going on?!" the woman barked.
"I—I don’t know—" The guard’s words were cut off as the bag flew upward, striking him square in the jaw. He tumbled from the ch’s shoulder with a startled yell.
"Whoa, careful! This isn’t a playground, kids!" Astra taunted, catching the falling bag and bolting toward the now-unoccupied ch.
The hatch sealed shut behind her as she grinned at their stunned faces.
"Why are you all just standing there like idiots? Attack!" the woman roared, her voice rising over the cacophony of chaos as the chs stord toward Astra.
Inside, Astra’s eyes darted around the pristine control board. The interior was a stark contrast to the battered, cobbled-together machines she was used to. This was sleek, efficient, and gleaming with state-of-the-art technology, clearly a high-grade piece of governnt-issued machinery.
The control board stretched before her in an organized array of glowing panels, their interfaces pulsating with a cool, blue light. Various holograms projected critical information—fuel levels, weapon status, and targeting systems—into the air above the console, shifting dynamically as she moved. Her eyes finally landed on a keyhole.
"All right, let’s give this puppy a spin, huh, Yu?" she muttered, the head of a drone bot popping out of the bag, taking in its new surroundings.
Astra rested her hand on the keyhole, her mind reeling as the system blared nonstop alerts:
[Notice: New tech detected!]
[IP N.o.v.a Corp ch, model J7421 #2000078]
Energy: 75%
Burst: 50%
Shield: 100%
All systems seem to be functional. The ch bears no issues! Here are its functions:
Energy shield!
Energy blade!
Energy blasters located on the arms and back of the ch!
Bear in mind these consu energy!]
[Would you like to modify it?]
"Yes."
[Loading...]
The ch thrashed as enemy fire struck its shield. Outside, the other chs relentlessly bombarded her position.
"Co on, hurry up!" Astra growled, gripping the controls tightly.
[Notice: ch takeover complete!]
"Finally! Hold on tight, Yu!" she roared, slamming the levers to their apex. The cockpit erupted into a symphony of alarms as the monitors around her flickered, their calming blue shifting to an ominous neon green that bathed the interior in an eerie glow. "This is it!"
The ch’s fra groaned under the strain, its feet anchoring into the cracked earth as molten tal began to bubble around them. The thrusters roared to life, their intense heat shimring in the air like the breath of a dragon awakened. The ground trembled violently, fissures spider webbing outward as seismic force rattled the surrounding chs.
"Put everything into the thrusters!" she bellowed.
[System Alert: Thrusters now operating at 100% energy output! Overload imminent!]
Astra ignored the cold, chanical voice.
The earth seed to ignite beneath the ch, the raw heat liquefying dirt into glowing rivers of magma. Flas licked at the edges of its legs, consuming the wasteland with blinding light and searing winds.
"Co on!" she snarled, gripping the controls as the force of the thrusters pressed her back into the seat. Sweat poured down her face, but she refused to let go.
The ch surged upward, tearing free from the earth with a violent blast that sent shockwaves rippling through the air. A swirling vortex of fire and debris engulfed the landscape below, the last remnants of the wasteland disappearing beneath the sheer force of her ascent.
For a heartbeat, it felt as if the entire universe held its breath. Then, with a final burst of energy, the ch shot toward the heavens, leaving only a trail of incandescent light in its wake.
"How is it moving that fast!?" A woman with long black hair slamd her fist against the cockpit of her ch, the face of a guy with brown scruffy hair appearing in her peripheral vision.
"Ms, Seraphine! It appears Astra Falkov had already used the Interstellar tech on herself, how should we respond!" He reports, his voice urgent as he pushes up his glasses to stop it from falling.
"Don’t bother, she’s already too far gone– she has one of our chs doesn’t she? Track her down!" She commanded, watching as the young man jolted, startled by her boisterous nature.
"R-right away ma’am!"
All the chs around her began to fly up to the sky, leaving her remaining on the poor, crusted soil. Her ch turning towards the shattered earth before her, from the sight alone she couldn’t help but snarl.
"Damned, Anomaly—"
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