Chapter 18:
Astrolabe Rebirth
A-KA HAD ONCE READ in a book that sometimes, some species would propel themselves en masse in a mad rush toward certain death. For example, mice in the depths of the desert would be compelled to leave their native habitats to race toward the ocean. Fish shining with light that lived in the depths of the ocean would, one day, swarm to the shore in the hundreds of thousands, only to strand themselves there. The pods of whales that had existed in ancient times, whose history spanned longer than that of the humans’, had sought out land on their own when their whole pod’s survival was no longer possible. They offered up their own lives as the price for ensuring that the rest of their pod would live on.
Seeing the countless battlecraft both large and small assembled to move out, A-Ka could not help comparing today’s scene to what he had read. They looked like a courageous school of fish speeding to their deaths on the shore of the City of Steel—their fierce assault one last attempt at buying their species a chance for survival.
All of the clones’ firepower had come forth. The flashing ships were deep-sea fish whose scales glowed with light. As that gloomy sky filled with lightning, they obstructed the view of the horizon.
The defenses along the outer perimeter of the City of Steel had already been bolstered with mechanical guards. The fighter robots rose into the sky to face down the clones’ fierce firepower in their charge toward the city. Heishi and A-Ka stood on the bridge, watching the glow of the explosions and the bright blazes that spanned the sky.
After the Revolution of the Clones, much of Father’s body had been ruined beyond repair, and a section of it had been entirely whittled away. In this half year, the peak of the rebuilt tower was still nothing more than steel cables and exposed wiring, which sparked against the backdrop of the sky. However, the City of Steel had the greatest military strength on the Third Mainland, and its flying robots were like a legion of termites that couldn’t be fully exterminated.
They swarmed toward the battleship division.
A loud bang, and emergency lights flashed through the ship’s interior. “Warning. The right flank has been hit. Emergency situation.”
“Prepare to abandon ship,” Heishi said. “A-Ka, are you ready?”
A-Ka nodded, Father’s distant form reflected in his eyes as it gathered its energy. A-Ka pulled the mic to his mouth, shouting, “Feiluo! Do you hear me?”
“I’m here.” Karna’s voice came from beside his ear. “What is it?”
“Father has started charging energy,” A-Ka said. “Tell them to not get any closer, or the electromagnetic winds will destroy all of the battleships!”
“But you’re moving out now?”
The battleship shuddered and shook violently. A-Ka rushed past the ladder, entering the hangar. Instantly, the entire battleship swung around.
Heishi reached an arm out just in time, wrapping it around A-Ka’s waist. “Be careful!”
A-Ka took a seat in the small aircraft, squeezing into the cabin alongside Heishi. “We can’t wait for them to get any closer. Let’s fly in right away.”
Another laser hit the ship. The red clouds from the explosion signaled its collapse, and a small aircraft flew out from within the debris.
“Father is currently intercepting all your communications to try and track your location, Heishi,” Karna’s voice said in the communicator. “To avoid exposing your flight path, all communications will be cut off. I wish you both luck.”
“Good luck to you too,” A-Ka replied.
The aircraft sped through multiple explosions, avoiding the shrapnel and bullets going every which way.
Heishi grabbed the joystick. “Switch to manual mode.”
As A-Ka flipped the switch, Heishi pulled the joystick to one side. The aircraft did a loop in the air, avoiding a collision with the huge metallic robot and clone battleship that were speeding their way.
“I’m only now realizing,” a voice drawled lazily from the communicator, “that our clone brothers really aren’t afraid of death.”
“Shahuang!” A-Ka cheered.
More and more of the Iron and Steel Corps battle machines floated up and sailed toward them. Once A-Ka and Heishi started their approach toward the Nucleus region, their aircraft had become the only target for the might of the robots, but a squadron of human-piloted aircraft soon came zooming toward them from within the chaos of the dogfight. Right after reaching them, the squadron split in a well-practiced move, forming two flanks that veered off to each side, protecting the aircraft that the two of them were in.
“Because they all know what’s at stake,” Huixiong’s strong voice said. “It’s just like what Liber said. The entire people are like one person.”
“Then do they exchange wives among themselves?” Shahuang asked.
Instantly, a chorus of raucous laughter came from the communicator. Huixiong continued, “Right now, allow us humans to act as the last escort for the Son of God!”
Over the communication frequency, countless mercenaries from Phoenix City cheered loudly in agreement. A-Ka couldn’t help the burst of pride he felt at that.
“Bring us toward the center!” he shouted. “Find where it’s flashing! That will lead directly to the Nucleus!”
Just as the words came out of his mouth, Father’s imposing figure flashed. The blue light strobed, and all of them were temporarily blinded.
In that fleeting instant, the entirety of Father’s structure appeared in front of A-Ka’s eyes. It was a miraculous moment that would never be repeated again, as if the hand of a god had pinned the destiny of everything in this world on this particular fixed point in time and space. The thoughts that flashed through A-Ka’s mind were not about Father, the battle, or this fantastical power of his, but rather his own fate as a sacrificial offering.
Like a bolt from the blue, he seemed to understand everything. He had been born exactly for this. His destiny, from the moment where the heavenly bodies themselves aligned to make this happen, was to shoulder this heavy burden.
“Percy, I understand now.” A-Ka’s pupils swiftly contracted, locking themselves on a certain spot ahead.
“What?” Heishi said. “Watch out!”
A huge steel slab spun toward them. Their aircraft swerved to the left, but not soon enough—the slab managed to clip a bit of the wingtip off. Smoke poured out of the damaged wing, and with a loud rumble, they began to spiral toward Father’s body.
“Have you guys found the entrance?” Shahuang asked. “You’d best be quick about it. I can’t guarantee…”
“Make a spiral descent!” A-Ka shouted. “The entrance is at a distance of 720 feet off the ground! I can already see it!”
That entrance was situated at the center of the firing range of four photon cannons.