Intergalactic conquest with an AI

Rex cautiously scanned the room, his plasma short sword humming faintly in his hand. His eyes darted to every corner, every shadow, but there was nothing—no movement, no heat signatures, no signs of the noise he'd heard earlier.

"Mini Cleo, did you find anything with the scanner?" he asked, his voice steady but laced with tension.

"Negative, Master," Mini Cleo chirped, sitting cross-legged on his shoulder like a smug little sentinel. "There's nothing here except you, me, and the crowbar." She gestured toward the tools in his hands as if to prove her point.

Rex frowned, still unconvinced. "Hmm... well, change of plans. I'll just destroy the wall," he said, letting out a small sigh.

Mini Cleo gave an excited cheer. "Yay! Destruction time!"

Without hesitation, Rex deconstructed his plasma short sword, reshaping the energy into his favored plasma claymore. The glowing blade grew in size, its edges crackling with dangerous heat.

The weapon now looked almost comically oversized for the confined space of the engine room, but that didn't seem to bother Rex.

"Alright, let's see what's behind Door Number Two," Rex muttered, gripping the hilt tightly.

With a few heavy, precise swings, the plasma claymore sliced into the sunken section of the wall, sparks flying as the blade cut through the reinforced metal like butter. In moments, the wall fell away in chunks, revealing the hidden compartment behind it.

"Well, that was way easier than I expected," Rex said, shrinking the claymore back into its short sword form. The plasma hissed softly as the blade condensed into a more manageable size. "Should've done that from the start. Guess I wasted time with the crowbar."

Mini Cleo floated in front of him, placing her tiny hands on her hips proudly. "Indeed, Master! I was just about to suggest using your sword, but when I saw you craft the crowbar, I didn't want to ruin your fun. The original said, You can be silly sometimes, so I should let you enjoy yourself."

Rex gave her a blank stare, his disbelief practically radiating off his face. "You're calling me silly? When you're the one who literally acts like a hyperactive child half the time?"

Mini Cleo puffed up her tiny chest, placing a hand on her chin as if deep in thought. "Hmm, that's true. But Master, don't worry! I'll keep your silliness a secret. It's only you and me here! I'm really good at keeping secrets," she said, wagging her finger at him with an exaggeratedly smug expression, as if scolding him for being a naughty child.

Rex ran a hand down his face, exhaling deeply. "Yeah, alright, whatever you say, Mini Cleo. Let's just focus. There has to be something important in this room if it was hidden this well."

Mini Cleo floated back to his shoulder, waving her hand dismissively. "Of course, Master! I'm always focused!"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Rex shook his head but couldn't help the small smirk creeping onto his face. Despite her antics, Mini Cleo's cheerfulness was oddly comforting in this tense situation.

As he stepped into the hidden compartment, his enhanced vision quickly locked onto the centerpiece of the room; it was a massive white cube reinforced with black iron-like plating. The object hummed faintly, its smooth surface unmarred except for a few small panels and what looked like severed cables hanging from its side.

"Mini Cleo, what is this thing?" Rex asked, gesturing toward the cube with his free hand.

Mini Cleo floated down to the object, her eyes glowing faintly as she scanned it. "This is a space-shelf external battery, Master," she explained. "It's an emergency power supply system! Normally, these are used when a ship's main energy core goes offline. They can temporarily restore vital systems like lights, gravity, or oxygen generation."

Rex kneeled beside the cube, inspecting the severed cables. "Yeah, well, it doesn't look like it's doing much right now. These cables have been cut clean." He held up one end of the cable, the frayed wires sparking faintly. "This wasn't an accident. Someone did this on purpose."

Mini Cleo floated closer, inspecting the damage. "Hmm... you're right, Master. This was a deliberate sabotage. But if we reconnect the cables, it should restore emergency power to the ship!"

Rex raised an eyebrow. "Should? That's not exactly comforting."

Mini Cleo gave him a thumbs-up. "Don't worry, Master! I'm pretty sure it'll work!"

Rex sighed, shaking his head. "Alright, fine. I'll hold the cables steady; you fix them. I don't know the first thing about repairing this kind of stuff, and the last thing we need is for me to cause some kind of energy discharge."

Mini Cleo gave him a cheeky salute. "Leave it to me! I'm an expert at fixing things!"

Rex crouched beside the battery, holding the severed ends of the cables just close enough for Mini Cleo to work. "Okay, but be careful. If this thing explodes, I'm blaming you."

Mini Cleo giggled, pulling out a set of holographic tools from her small storage unit. She began manipulating the wires with precision, her tiny hands moving almost too fast for Rex to follow.

"Almost done, Master!" she chirped.

As Mini Cleo worked, Rex couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. His enhanced hearing picked up faint creaks and groans from the engine room behind him, but when he glanced over his shoulder, there was nothing there.

"Mini Cleo," Rex said quietly, his voice tense. "Are you picking up any movement? Anything at all?"

Mini Cleo paused for a moment, her holographic tools hovering mid-air. Her eyes flickered as she scanned the surrounding area. "Hmm... nothing on my end, Master. The jamming field is still messing with my sensors, so I can't detect much beyond this room."

Rex nodded slowly, though his grip on his plasma sword tightened. "Alright. Just keep working. Let's get this done and get the hell out of here."

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Mini Cleo finished reconnecting the cables with a triumphant cheer. "Done! Try it now, Master!"

Rex stepped back, letting the cables touch the battery. Sparks flew for a moment, and the battery hummed to life, glowing faintly as it powered up.

Suddenly, the room's lights flickered back on, illuminating the space in harsh white light. The hum of the ship's systems returning to life filled the air, and the slight weightlessness Rex had been feeling disappeared as gravity was restored.

"Good job, Mini Cleo," Rex said with a small smile.

Before Mini Cleo could respond, a loud, mechanical screech echoed from deeper within the engine bay. The sound was followed by the heavy clanging of metal against metal, growing louder and closer with each passing second.

"Uh-oh," Mini Cleo said, her voice trembling slightly.

The moment Mini Cleo finished cheering and the battery's hum filled the room, the ship's engines detonated with a catastrophic roar. The engine bay was consumed in an instant by an eruption of black flames, their hue so dark they seemed to devour the surrounding light.

The explosion ripped through the engine bay with a deafening roar, a shockwave of black flames, and searing heat, consuming everything in its path.

The volatile space fuel ignited with such force that it seemed as though the entire ship would split apart. The metallic walls warped and melted, machinery was shredded to pieces, and Rex stood at the epicenter of it all.

"Master!" Mini Cleo shrieked, her voice filled with both fear and determination. Without hesitation, her tiny form shimmered with golden light as she rapidly crafted a series of dome-shaped energy barriers around Rex.

Each barrier activated in succession, layering themselves in front of him like shields of pure light.

The first barrier held for only a fraction of a second before the black flames tore through it as though it were made of paper.

Mini Cleo crafted another and then another, pouring every ounce of energy from Rex's reserves into the defenses. Sparks flew from her glowing hands as she worked frantically, her face twisted in desperate concentration.

The black flames licked at the shields with an unnatural hunger, their heat so intense that it was warping the very air. "Master, it's not enough! The energy reserves are dropping too fast!" Mini Cleo warned, her voice trembling as her holographic form flickered erratically.

"Shiiit!" Rex roared, his voice cutting through the chaos as he activated Overdrive mode. His golden halo flared to life, spinning rapidly behind him as he channeled every ounce of strength he had left into the fight for survival.

His body surged with raw power, and he drew even more nanomaterial from his dwindling storage reserves.

Despite his efforts, the explosion's sheer power was too much. One by one, the energy shields failed, their golden glow consumed by the inky black flames. Mini Cleo's form flickered one final time before vanishing completely.

"Master, I'm sorry..." Mini Cleo whispered before disappearing into the void, leaving Rex alone.

Her disappearance was a dire signal that his energy reserves had dropped below 15%. He was running on a tiny line.

The black flames reached him, searing through his honeycomb shield layer by layer, sending waves of blistering pain through his body. The metallic floor beneath him melted into slag, and the air itself felt like molten lead pressing down on his chest.

He reached into his space storage, pulling out a glowing energy battery that hummed ominously with unstable power. The green light from the battery flickered erratically, like a warning beacon, but Rex didn't hesitate

"I swear... I'll find the motherf***er who did this," Rex snarled through gritted teeth, his eyes blazing with fury. "And I'll shove space fuel straight up his ass to see if he likes it!"