Aldred's bedroom became an emergency meeting room as they gathered around a holographic display where Shuzib was translating the ancient texts word by word. The translation revealed the crucial details about the Eclipse ritual.
The atmosphere became tense as they read the translation and horrifying details.
"In order to activate the Eclipse, the Xenos must create a Xenorph Patriarch, and only then could they call out for the Xenomorph Fleet. But the creation of a Patriarch require a lot of sacrifice, especially human babies. It will take them a long time to summon a patriarch while hiding from detection," Shuzib said, fixing his glasses.
He now wore a proper scholar attire with a golden frame glasses and connected to a thin ropes that hang around his neck.
"So what is our plan?" Aldred asked.
"Our plan is to fake the creation of a patriarch and pretend to activate the Eclipse. When it begin, the Xenomorph will reveal itself prematurely. That's when we Captain Gaius Vallon swoop in and reinforce us."
Salamander frowned. "That's too simple. I am sure there are challenges in executing this plan."
Shuzib nodded. "Our biggest challenge is mimicking the patriarch of a Xenomorph. I have never seen one in my life before."
"Then how do we do it?"
Shuzib grabbed another paper which surprised everyone as paper were quite rare. Thankfully, this one wasn't made with elven skin so Elralya did not pass out again.
"Written here is a detailed glyphs of the rituals along with its phonetic symbols written down to the shape of tongue and the level of stress required for each word, syllables, consonant, and vowels."
"We need to study this?"
"Not all of us. I need one super to study this. The patriarch release some kind of immaterial wave when it tried to call the Eclipse. This is quite similar to when super used their power, but super usually release this wave in low frequency. I need someone with a stronger super ability."
They all looked at Aldred.
Shuzib glanced at him too. "I've heard of your power. You are the one who defeated the alien queen."
Aldred knew that he was left with no choice. It was a fact that the he had the strongest magical ability in this team.
"Alright," Aldred said, his voice steady despite the turmoil inside him. "I'll study the glyphs and master the pronunciation. We don't have time to waste. Every second counts."
With that, the group sprang into action. Shuzib handed Aldred the paper with the intricate glyphs, his fingers tracing the lines of the ancient language. The room was silent, save for the occasional rustle of paper and the scratching of Aldred's pen as he painstakingly copied down the symbols.
As Aldred and Shuzib studied the alien texts, Salamander invited everyone to leave the room.
"We don't want to disrupt his study," Salamander said. "Instead of staying in the room, all of us should train and prepare ourself for the battle ahead. I am going to transfer you 50k Galactic Credits each."
Shinari was surprised when she really received the credit. "Where did you get this money?"
"The captain of this ship rewarded us a lot of money for fighting against the alien."
"How much do we got?"
"Enough to get a Corvette-Class ship."
"You didn't tell Aldred about this?"
"Maybe later. If he know about this, he will tell us to buy the ship. For now, I will use it to build something."
"What are you going to build?"
"I will show you when it's done. For now, keep it a secret."
Salamander left and entered his workshop as he began to work. There were a lot of mess in the workshop and dozens of computer still on, revealing thousands of text regarding biology, technology, and dimensional wave.
"This has to be worth it or Aldred will get really mad at me for spending a lot of money."
For the next days, Salamander never left his room as the sound of clanging, banging, and tinkering reverberated.
Meanwhile, Shinari was sweating in the training room. A screen projected on the wall, revealing that he had trained for 34 hours straight without resting.
The robot dummies were cleaned and a new set of dummies entered the room.
Shinari punched forward, and a shadow with the form of her fist lunged towards the dummies, shattering them into pieces.
She then rushed forward with incredible speed, like a cheetah at full speed while maneuvering left and right.
The dummies' low-level sensor failed to read her movements, causing their attacks to miss their marks.
Shinari was slashing forward, but the dummies behind here were cut in half as well. For a split second, an ethereal image of her would appear in other place, swiftly attacking the dummies before vanishing.
In less than 2 seconds, all twelve dummies were destroyed.
Shinari smiled. "I am getting closer to Aldred's cloning abilities. I can do this!"
Not only Shinari, Cleome was determined to train too. She boarded a small spacecraft to leave the cruise ship and landed on a gravity bound asteroid.
Large spaceships sometimes would use their grav-rope to pull an asteroid along with them in order to mine its materials or fuel. They will then use this materials either to repair the ship or sell it to nearby station. The fuel could be used for further journey, so they didn't have to buy fuel.
Massive ships required a vast amount of resources to operate. Without this function, the cruise ship would require an excessive amount of cost to run.
However, grav-rope engine require a lot of space, so a lot of military battleships still refuse to use them and instead add more energy cannons to the ship.
Huge military battleships were usually accompanied by smaller auxiliary ships, and they could extract materials from nearby asteroids. Besides, the military ships were funded by the government, so cost were out of the question.
Cleome arrived on the asteroid with her full gear.
"Madam, are you sure you want to train in this place?" The pilot asked. "This place is not safe. Although the asteroid is being pulled by the grav-rope machine, there is a chance that the machine can malfunction."
"Yes, leave this place immediately and don't return until I told you to."
The pilot smiled bitterly when Cleome ignored his warning.
When the spacecraft left the asteroid, Cleome looked at the barren land in front of her. The mining robots were on the other side of the asteroid, so she could train here without worry.
"Let me see my limit." Cleome's eyes shone with lightning as electricity coursed through her body.
As Cleome focused her energy, lightning crackled around her, illuminating the asteroid's barren surface. With a deep breath, she sprinted forward, her movements precise and calculated. Her agility and speed were awe-inspiring, a testament to her dedication to mastering her powers.
She leaped high into the air, performing a series of flips and twists before landing gracefully on a rock formation. From there, she launched herself again, her body enveloped in electric energy. She moved with such fluidity and grace that it seemed like she was dancing with the elements themselves.
Meanwhile, in Aldred's makeshift study, he and Shuzib continued their intense study of the ancient glyphs. Aldred's eyes were focused, his concentration unwavering. He repeated the ritualistic words, trying to mimic the resonance and power of the Xenomorph Patriarch's immaterial wave.
Shuzib observed Aldred closely, noting the nuances of his pronunciation and the way his magical aura responded to the words. "Your control over your power is impressive," Shuzib commented. "But we need to make sure it matches the exact frequency and intensity required by the ritual."
Shuzib was truly impressed. He didn't expect Aldred to learn so quickly.
Aldred nodded, his brow furrowed in concentration. He delved deeper into his magical abilities, pushing his limits to match the ancient power described in the glyphs.
Salamander was putting the Galactic Credits to good use. Inside his workshop, a magnificent creation was taking shape. It was a device of intricate design, a fusion of advanced technology and mystical elements. Salamander's hands moved with expertise as he calibrated the device, ensuring its precision and effectiveness.
"This should do the trick," Salamander muttered to himself, his eyes alight with determination. He had crafted a device capable of amplifying Aldred's power to the level required for the ritual.
Back on the asteroid, Cleome continued her training, pushing her abilities to the limit. Electricity surged around her, forming a protective aura. With a focused mind and unwavering determination, she increased the intensity of her electric attacks.
The mining robots, usually silent and methodical, paused in their work, their sensors detecting the extraordinary energy emanating from Cleome.
They thought it was a threat at first, but the command center confirmed that Cleome was an ally, so the robots continued their work.
Weeks passed, and Aldred, Cleome, and Salamander honed their abilities, each in their own way. Their determination was unyielding, fueled by the knowledge that Quintesa's fate rested on their shoulders.
As the day turned into night, the team reconvened in Aldred's room turned war room. Aldred's eyes shone with newfound power, Cleome crackled with electric energy, and Salamander held the newly crafted device in his hands.
Aldred could see that that his friends had reborn anew these last few weeks.
"We're ready," Aldred said, his voice filled with confidence. "Let's lure out the Xenomorphs and save Quintesa."
