Brave Varganna

The invasion continued and I began to admire the bravery and strength of the Vargannas.

It was not easy for me. I never thought there would be much stress to teleportation.

Boy, was I wrong.

Nothing was quite as exhausting as moving through time and space across an entire planet.

According to VIS a single trip would have gotten me tired, not even a hundred trips.

But as things were, and due to his dutiful monitoring of every event going on in this invasion, I knew that since I’d gotten the Matrix band I have used it to teleport 600,528 fucking times.

Whenever I grew tired the Matrix provided me with food for sustenance and stimulant drinks to boost my energy.

With the assistance of VIS and the Matrix, I strove to end this invasion and subsequent occupation as fast as I could.

VIS directed me to the most crucial points.

As night fell, the few remaining occupied cities, ravaged, became prisons, their inhabitants cowering beneath the alien yoke.

The world trembled, its future hanging in the balance.

The Starletons were agents of destruction, destroying indiscriminately and cities burned.

The Covian forces pushed deeper into these cities, their advance relentless. They moved in tactical squads, each warrior covering the others as they cleared buildings and secured key intersections.

In Tiv, a city on the Southernmost Continent, one of the military officers I’d met at the administration building rallied his troops for a last stand. They had managed to hold off the initial assault, but the alien reinforcements were pouring in.

I arrived just as they began struggling.

"Hold your fire until they're close!" The Varganna Officer yelled, their voice carrying over the din of battle. "Make every shot count!"

The Covians emerged from the smoke-filled streets, their energy shields glowing as they approached. Varganna soldiers opened fire, their blasts splashing against shields harmlessly.

A burst of plasma fire ripped through the Varganna ranks, as I readied myself to take action, sending soldiers screaming to the ground. The Officer, Gao's, returned fire with his blasters, but the Covians were too numerous.

Suddenly, I teleported into the Covians' ranks, touching as many of their weapons as I could, depriving them of their defenses and leaving them open to be wasted by the Vargannas.

The Officer's eyes locked onto me – my posture alert, my face smeared with soot and determination.

"Thank you Bastion, but I fear there are more of these bastards we need to destroy!" Gao's shouted.

"Not for longer. Dawn would rise to Varganna victory!” I replied, recuperating from the latest attack.

Together, we pushed forward, taking out Covian strongpoints and carving a path through the ruins.

Soon, I was on the move again, this time across the other side of the planet.

In Hag, their biggest trade zone. Another officer I knew from the administration building, Noo's, was leading a desperate counterattack. His troops fought bravely, but the Covians seemed endless.

I was just arriving as they fell back. The Officer spotted a Covian commander, the blue markings on the Covian’s helmet pulsing with energy. They targeted the commander, unleashing a barrage of blast bolts.

The commander stumbled, his shields faltering. Noo's seized the opportunity, charging forward with a cry of "Varganna!"

Their Varganna troops followed, overwhelming the Covian forces, as I moved in to tag their weapons, and retaking a crucial block of the city’s territory.

Victory was near. The Covians adapted, adjusting their tactics to crush Varganna resistance, but VIS made sure to inform me so I was always there to provide assistance.

As night fell, the battle-scarred cities burned, their defenders exhausted but winning.

The world teetered on the brink of weariness and victory.

The Covians regrouped, sensing their imminent defeat, their commander issuing silent commands across their private communication networks.

They formed a phalanx, advancing on Gao's position.

VIS informed me, sending me live clips of the battle. And I was on the move to reinforce them.

"Fall back to the secondary perimeter!" Gao's yelled, his voice hoarse from shouting orders.

My focus was on tagging as many Covians around me while paying a bit of attention to the Holographic footage the Matrix provided me of Gao's struggles.

Elite teams covered the retreat, their weapons firing in precise bursts. The Covians returned fire, their plasma bolts scorching the walls.

As they fell back, Gao's team took up positions in the ruined buildings. Snipers nested in upper floors, picking off Covian warriors.

But the Covians, once again, adapted, deploying gravity disruptors that shattered entire city blocks. Debris rained down, crushing human positions.

I hurried in my part of the continent, burning with the need to rush to the rescue.

"We need to take out those disruptors!" Gao’s shouted.

His 2IC nodded, already moving. They sprinted through the rubble, an energy cannon at the ready.

The Covians closed in, their energy shields glowing. Gao's soldiers fought bravely, but they were outnumbered.

Just as all seemed lost, the 2IC fired their cannon, striking a disruptor. The device exploded, sending Covians flying.

The Vargannas seized the opening, launching a fierce counterattack.

That situation was changed, so I continued my game of tag. The footage changed to what was happening in Hag, Noo’s’ forces pushed forward, retaking lost ground. But the Covians reinforced, pouring in troops from their orbiting ships, the troops that managed to get through the first two layers of defense.

The battle raged on, cities burning, armies clashing.

But things soon changed for the better as the entire planet brightened due to a series of explosions happening at once.

VIS provided me with the footage of what happened.

Apocalypse and Ultimate had just combined their powers, as alternate versions of myself and Blin had done once during my training program, and completely decimated the Covian star ships in space.

In a single attack they destroyed the entire Covian space fleet of over one hundred and eighty star ships.

I could only hope to be that powerful someday.

Now they were descending to assist with the last two layers of defenses.

I grinned, knowing that the battle was already over. I’d already taken care of over seven hundred cities, there were only twice the number left.

With all Bastions now able to focus on the ground forces of the Covians, Dawn would indeed arise to the victory of Varganna.