Imperial Legacy

"We have discovered incredibly important information recently, thanks to the help of Aston, and, the newest addition, Mecha Knight Nathan." The Department Head of Zone 3, Hugo, said foremost, "However, there are extreme dangers that we cannot face in the Astral Region we are currently in."

"Like what?" Lead Researcher Datura asked, "I did hear some word of a Leviathan, but even that doesn't sound as bad as what you are describing."

Department Head Hugo nodded.

"Remnant power of one of the five [[Gods of the Cosmos]], [[The All-Consuming Whirlpool]], was recently spewed across this Astral Region once again, which is not rare considering this Astral Region is a Star Nest of Leviathans."

Simultaneously, the eyes of everyone in that room dilated immediately, with a sole exception, Mecha Knight Akar.

The five Gods of the Cosmos were unfathomable, incomprehensible beings that were the origin and ancestors of multiple major species native to outer space. They wielded the power to eat anything and everything, but since their power was so immense, they rarely ever woke up from their slumbers, only doing so when they spewed out excess Ether and Aether Energy from their bodies.

The All-Consuming Whirlpool was one of these Gods, and they were the origin of the Leviathans and Space Sea Lords. They slumbered in a black hole and they were often called the Embodiment of Hunger and Greed by humans across entire galaxies.

"The remnant power of a God… if that touches the Psychic Stone, won't a whole herd of Leviathans come rushing over, even faster than the one heading towards us right now as we speak?" Lead Researcher Dahlia questioned, "Not only that but a Dimensional Fracture might appear… no wonder that Void Hunter was hanging around here before..."

"This is bad…" Aston spoke out, "Since we don't have our Mechas after they were all destroyed in the invasion of the Serpentine Planetoid, we don't have the means to fight even a single Leviathan, and that would be the same case even if the entire spaceship's personnel were brought back to life."

"Hah… this means our only option is to get the Main Zone operational again and book it. But, this also depends on where the location of the Psychic Stone is, so we can try and retrieve it also." Royal Knight Steven said, "So, Lead Researcher Aston, do you know where it is?"

Aston partially nodded.

"I do know that it is very close to the ship, since sir Nathan and I saw a few asteroids carrying some portions of its energy, but I couldn't find its exact position."

"That's fine. I can figure out where it is just from that anyway." Seban said, rising from his designated seat, "Since you said you saw the asteroids close enough to see traces of the Psychic Stone's energy, you must've been near Zone 15, Outer Layer, correct?"

Aston nodded, and then, Seban, alongside two other Lead Researchers, Samuel and Lily, cast a projection from the holographic screen at the very front of the room, showing a model of the spaceship.

"This is most likely where you were, right?" Samuel asked, pointing to Zone 15, "Then that means that the location that we estimated where the Serpentine Planetoid and the Psychic Stone were going to be, Zone 16, is most probable to be correct."

"Meaning that the location of the Psychic Stone is assumably so close to the Serpentine Planetoid that it leads me to believe that it is lodged impossibly deep into the Serpentine Planetoid at the moment."

Mecha Knight Akar nodded.

"Then first, we will focus on recovering the Main Zone, Zone 0, and the Primary Control Hub, and then, after we escape this danger zone, we will eradicate the Serpentine Planetoid using a Directed Energy Beam, and retrieve the Psychic Stone."

They weren't worried about the [[Directed Energy Beam]] destroying the Psychic Stone, as it couldn't be affected by any amount of concentrated energy. It was a power that bypassed most forms of nature and therefore was at the core of constant analysis and research.

"So, now that the most important discussions at hand are through, I hereby announce this meeting, over." Mecha Knight Akar announced, "All Lead Researchers and Department Heads will locate the Serpentine Planetoid and monitor their current activity."

"Meanwhile, all Royal Knights, and Mecha Knight Nathan, meet with me 1 system hour from now, for we are to set off immediately for the Main Zone. And, be warned. There is an injured Juvenile Space Sea Lord in the Main Zone that we will have to face."

They nodded in unison, and that concluded the meeting, right there and then.

But as Nathan rose from his seat, he noticed that Velvet had immediately disappeared completely. He went outside and looked for her, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh. Perhaps she just forgot or something…" Nathan murmured before he went to sit down by a metal wall somewhere close by.

He closed his eyes, visualizing an imaginary battle against Beta-1s to pass the time, until the words:

[Internal Systems AI - Name: Zoom - Initiation of Backup Information Restoration Completed - 100%.]

Echoed in his head.

"What… backup restoration completed? What does that mean?" Nathan said before his vision began to blur and an irritating sound began to torment him, just like that time when he met Aston. This lasted for exactly one minute, just before Zoom fully awoke.

[... It feels like I was in a long dream. How are you doing, Nate?]

"…?!" Nathan was both confused and befuddled at the same time, yet he felt a familiar feeling rise in his chest.

He did recall someone often calling him Nate, but… why was his internal systems AI calling him by that name?

[Don't you recall? I'm sure you still remember that time from before. Furthermore, what happened to your internal systems? I cannot access them at the moment...]

…What… what time are you referring to…?Nathan questioned in his own head.

[Hm… such an occurrence is odd. Forgetting such a crucial memory… Then, let me remind you. Don't you remember when she told you to become a little bit more relaxed sometimes, so she had you program me as your new best buddy!]

…

"Nathan…"

"Smile more…"

…

Nathan clutched his head, gritting his teeth. The voice was so familiar, yet he had no idea who it was.

I… I… who… who was that voice, Zoom?

[That voice, I believe it to be… hm? I can't seem to remember? My systems may be faulty too. Activating total system restart…]

Nathan shook his head.

"No need to do that, Zoom, it's probably not like that," Nathan said, sighing, "It doesn't matter anyway, since my memories are slowly coming back regardless. I'll be able to recognise the owner of that voice soon enough."

[…]

Nathan yawned, mentally exhausted and his thoughts in a mess from the amount of things he had gone through in a single day. Luckily, since cyborg models were incapable of being tired or even out of breath, he wasn't fatigued on top of that. But, unfortunately, he still needed to sleep, as that was one of the ways to relieve mental exhaustion.

"…Hey… are you gonna go to sleep? You're one of the strongest around here, so who's gonna replace you on the mission?" Velvet questioned, as she appeared right in front of him.

Ah…

Nathan only then realised why he called her a hypersensitivity freak, by total accident. Her senses were enhanced, far more so than normal, since she went through Psychic Enhancement and gained a True Ability:

[Hypersensitivity].

"Wait…"

"Ha… what do you want me to do? Carry you like a baby? Come on, let's go! It's almost time to start the mission!"