Intergalactic conquest with an AI

"How safe is it for us to actually leave?"

"Once the preparations are done, it’ll be relatively safe. But without enough firepower for space combat, there’s always some risk."

"Now that you mention it, I’ve never fought in space before, then again, not on the ground either. So, what do we need to consider in a space battle?"

"It depends on the type of ship. For smaller ones, it’s all about the pilot’s skills. Even the smallest fighters are strong, but their shields and hulls can’t take a direct hit from an average missile, and they definitely can’t handle the defenses of larger ships."

"But there are enough types of fighters to make up for that. There’s one kind, bombers, that’s especially dangerous, even to bigger ships. While they can’t destroy a large vessel outright, they can take out engines or turbines, making it an easy target.

"For medium and large ships, it comes down to shield strength, firepower, and the type of ammunition you’re using. If the enemy’s shields are up, kinetic weapons like torpedoes, missiles, and cannons are the best option. Once the shields are down, we switch to lasers."

"Kinetic weapons deal heavy damage to shields, but not much to heavily armored ships. Lasers, though, cut right through armor. There are other kinds of weapons, but I’ll explain those if we ever face them."

Once Cleo finished her explanation, she turned to look at Rex and Carlos, a proud smile on her face since she felt she had explained everything perfectly. But her smile quickly vanished when she saw them both sound asleep in the cabin seats, mouths wide open.

Annoyed, Cleo sighed. She couldn’t do anything to Carlos, being a hologram and all, but Rex was a different story. With a mischievous glint in her eye, she pulled up a screen, tapped a few buttons, and closed it. A second later, Rex jumped out of his chair, scratching himself all over as he hit the floor.

"Ahhh, what the heck is happening? Why am I so itchy all of a sudden?"

Meanwhile, Carlos was still fast asleep, blissfully unaware of the chaos happening right next to him.

"That’s what you get for ignoring me," Cleo said smugly. "Enjoy the itching for another 10 minutes. Good luck." With that, she turned and walked out of the pilot cabin, heading to the second floor, where the small factory was located.

And so, the hours passed. Rex and Carlos spent their mornings doing non-stop target practice to improve their aim, and in the afternoons, they trained in close-quarters combat. Thanks to the martial arts Cleo had installed in Rex’s body, he ended up teaching Carlos the basics.

Evenings were the only time they got to relax, eat, and unwind. Cleo, on the other hand, had been busy the entire time repairing the flight engine and redirecting whatever energy she could spare to the shield generators. Three days passed like this, and by the third night, they were finally ready to leave the planet.

"Rex, everything’s set. We can leave whenever you’re ready. The only thing I’m wondering is... do you know where we’re heading?"

"Oh, I’ve got that covered. We’re going to Nakor. It’s where this bald guy’s son lives. Plus, it’s a commercial planet, so you’ll have no trouble finding the materials you need. The only issue will be figuring out how to make credits once we get there."

"Oh, I have an idea, Rex. I know a bar where mercenaries hang out. Now that you’re like a super-soldier, you could easily start bounty hunting on the planet."

"That sounds great and all," Rex replied, "but we don’t have a mercenary license to take bounty missions, and we don’t know anyone who could introduce us to the mercs."

Both Rex and Carlos fell into deep thought, until Cleo chimed in.

"Why don’t I just make you a mercenary ID? I can hack into their system and create one for you guys."

"Wait, you can really do that?" Rex asked, eyebrows raised. "Wouldn’t they figure out it’s fake?"

"Don’t worry, Rex. They won’t be fake. I’ll use their system to generate them. They’ll be legit."

Carlos grinned. "Well, isn’t she a fine lady? Where can I get one like her?"

"...."

The conversation continued for about an hour, with all their questions eventually answered. Now, it was time to leave the planet.

Cleo stood in front of the large reinforced window in the pilot cabin. After a bit of work on her usual screens, she turned to face Rex, who was sitting in the pilot’s seat, eyes glued to her... well, butt.

"Rex, I’ve uploaded the coordinates from the cargo ship logs onto the galaxy map terminal. Select Nakor so you can see the path we need to follow. It’s time to get off this rock."

Rex, snapping out of his trance, cleared his throat awkwardly and opened the screen, selecting the planet. A blue line appeared on the cabin’s window, tracing the route they needed to take to reach Nakor.

"Alright," Rex said, hands gripping the controls. "Let’s get this baby off the ground. I won’t lie, I’m pretty excited."

Carlos leaned back, grinning. "You’re not the only one, my friend. I’m excited and a little nervous. The only time I’ve been on a ship was a few days ago, crammed into a cargo bay with no windows. Now, here I am, flying in first class."

"Well, I can’t exactly say we’ve made it big now that we’re diving headfirst into the chaos of mercenary life."

"True, but come on, Rex. As long as we’re together, there’s nothing we can’t do! Look at everything we’ve already done. We’ve been fighting against adversity since we were kids. This won’t stop us; think of it like we just got a promotion."

"Haha, yeah, sure, promoted from being slave officers to top mercenaries. I’ll be the boss, and you’ll be my right-hand man. And, of course, we can’t forget our sexy secretary, Cleo, who’ll be sitting on my lap one of these days."

"I see the host didn’t learn his lesson the first time," Cleo said, voice flat.

"W-Wait! Hold on! It was just a joke! Don’t you dare do that again!"

"Hmph."

Rex let out a sigh of relief when Cleo didn’t follow through with another punishment. The memory of itching all over his body was a hellish experience he wasn’t eager to repeat anytime soon. As they were chatting, the ship finally broke through the planet’s atmosphere, slowly ascending into space.

Suddenly, a warning flashed across the console:

[Warning: Multiple wormhole signatures detected.]

"Rex, focus. This is too much of a coincidence, ships appearing just as we leave the planet? Something’s off."

Right in front of them, a massive wormhole opened, and from it emerged a large battleship. Several other wormholes, smaller in size, began to open all around them.

[Executor-Class Dreadnought is attempting to contact us; should I accept the call?]

Rex exchanged a glance with Carlos and Cleo before giving a nod. A screen materialized on the large window, but the image was blurred, clearly on purpose, probably to hide the identity of the caller.

Despite the visual distortion, Rex could see enough to be surprised. Instead of a face, the screen showed three blue, mannequin-like figures sitting in chairs.

"This is Strategos Delun Trolotov," a voice said through the static. "Our scanners have detected that your ship is carrying something that belongs to us. Power down your engines and prepare to be boarded."

"Since when do we have something that belongs to them!? Baldy, what did you steal?"

"W-What? Why me?! Oh, wait… They’re probably here because of those chips you told me to steal!"

"Oh, that actually makes sense. Ahem, dear Strategos Delun, I wasn’t the one who stole the chips; it was this bald guy right here!"

"W-What?! What chips? What are you talking about?!" Delun’s voice turned icy. "Enough with the nonsense. Power down your engines; this is your final warning."

Rex leaned back and whispered into his mic, "Cleo, is the wormhole ready?"

"Yes, whenever you’re ready, we can leave."

Rex glanced at Carlos with a sly grin. Carlos, picking up on his signal, stood up from his seat and made sure the figures on the call could see him clearly.

"Dear gentlemen, no need to be so hasty. After much discussion with the captain here, we’ve come to a decision that I believe will truly please you."

"Cleo, now!"

Carlos smirked and flipped them the bird. "Kiss my ass!"

In that instant, the ship lurched forward, accelerating to its top speed as a wormhole opened in front of them.

"Shoot that ship! Bring it down!" one of the blue mannequins shouted in panic.

But before they could react, the mannequin in the center swung his fist, punching the loud one in the face.

"Are you an idiot?!" he barked. "Do you even know what’s on that ship?! You want to get us all killed?!"

Unable to fire on Rex’s ship without risking their own destruction, they watched helplessly as it disappeared into the wormhole, escaping safely into the vastness of space.