For an entire week, they travelled through the space between layers and worked on the analysis of the ancient Mecha that Sylvie had programmed into her system. She had everything up to Emperor Class Mecha, the Titan Class equivalent, but not even a hint of what it took to make a God Class Mecha.
Max knew that they existed in her time, but the data she had said that the Emperor Class was the design limit of the style of construction they used.
That left Max at a dead end. Their custom Titan Class units were already on par with the Emperor Class units, and were even more heavily armed, but there was something that he was missing, a final link that was preventing him from making the transition to a God Class unit.
He had searched through everything that he could find in her records, even the combat logs she was programmed with that featured the presence of a God Class Mecha had been no help. They had the visual image, but all other details and sensor data about the units had been scrubbed before this copy had been made, so there was nothing for him to recover and try to piece together what the distinction was that caused such a huge gap in capability.
He was sure that there was something he was missing, something that was not about the Mecha itself, but when he tried to recall it, the memories seemed foggy and vague. Not many memories did that to him anymore, he could recall almost the entirety of his previous life, but when he attempted to recall the actual details about Gloriana, they were gone.
It was driving him slightly crazy that there was still something hidden in his memory even after all this time, while he was so close to remembering everything and finally getting to the point where he would be able to take on the Greater Energy Beings on their terms and win.
This so-called Eternal Battlefield had seen enough bloodshed, and it was past time to end the ambitions of the Great Enemy.
The location where they were supposed to be transferring back into their home layer was close to an ongoing battle, but far enough from the star that they wouldn't risk landing right in the middle of it with a vessel that neither side would recognize.
There weren't any of the Reaver ships at this particular engagement, and the defenders had been slowly losing ground when they lost contact a week ago. Hopefully, they would still be holding on when he arrived.
[Attention all Personnel, we will be completing our journey in fifteen minutes, please be prepared for the transition between layers.] Sylvie finally announced, marking the end of their journey.
[All android staff to combat positions. There is a possibility that the area will be under control of the Great Enemy when we arrive.]
"Are you ready if we have to use that contingency I warned you about?" Max asked Sylvie, whose avatar was standing next to his chair, awaiting orders.
"Everything is prepared. All the Mecha are in the Deployment vessels, the weapons are charged, and the Thunderbird Paratroopers are primed with chaff trail generators." She agreed.
The World Ship entered their home layer, and a split second later, weapon impacts were hitting the Void Shields.
"Good thing we upgraded those. Android Mecha, deploy now to defend the ship. Sylvie, full output defensive fire. Give them everything that we have, even using primary propulsion energy if needed." Max ordered.
Thousands of energy beams lanced out from the spherical hull of the World Ship, tearing apart the Cathedral Ships that had gathered around them.
"I want a status report. How did they know we were coming?" Max demanded.
"Analyzing. Portal formation from the boundary takes four seconds. The first arrival was two seconds before our transition. They have developed a method of telling where we will appear since this vessel was created." Sylvie replied.
"Well Feth. Alright then, I am calling in the reinforcements. How is the shield doing?"
"Ninety six percent. Losing one half percent per second."
That wasn't much time, but the number of enemy vessels was falling fast as the Mecha joined the battle and unleashed both variable frequency Orbital Lances and Warp Torpedoes against them, in addition to the Thunder Guns Nuclear payloads.
For the next thirty seconds, space was filled with miniature stars and flying debris, while the amount of firepower that the Cathedral ships could field dropped dramatically.
Their payload was still engaged on the surface, so they didn't have a support force to come deal with the Mecha.
[Shields regaining power. Eighty Four Percent and climbing.] Sylvie reported.
"The Seventeenth Android Expeditionary Fleet is ten seconds out. Three Colony Ships with Fifty Destroyer Class escorts." Nico reported.
The AI on the Colony Ships had recognized their arrival, and they were eager to meet Sylvie, so they had left as soon as they got the first report of an attack on her ship. But they weren't the only ones. Multiple portals to the other layers were opening, disgorging hundreds more Destroyer Class Cathedral Ships, along with their full complements of escorts.
"I get the feeling that they hold a grudge." Max noted as the Great Enemy began to pour out of the portals.
[Deploying Antimatter Torpedoes!] Nico cheered as she saw the opportunity to cause a billion casualties a second and couldn't resist anymore.
The torpedoes raced out into space before anyone could stop her, and the world seemed to warp around them as the unconventional weapons detonated.
[What in the seven Golden Monarchs was that?] Sylvie shouted over every speaker in the ship, too shocked to remember to speak through an avatar.
"Antimatter Torpedoes. They destabilize portals between the layers. With a few minor side effects." Max noted dryly as the world around them continued to fluctuate, as if the layers were merging and then separating again.
"I think that was one too many." Nico informed them as the powerful energy signature of a wounded and enraged Greater Energy Being was pulled into reality at the same time that the Seventeenth Fleet arrived with their guns blazing.
"Or maybe two." Sylvie agreed as the surrounding space filled with a nightmarish red energy storm from the other layer.
"Yes, two for sure. Good call."
