Operation Skybreak, part 10/11

The deafening resonance of the plasma cannons rang out one last time, unleashing radiant bolts that cascaded like stars in a fiery meteor shower. At that moment, Tia tasted the raw despair of facing an overwhelming firepower in a constricted space.

Before her stood a machine forged for warfare, for extermination. It boasted a firepower capable of forcing even her indomitable spirit to its knees.

The rubble and the thick concrete walls confined her, cocooning her in a suffocating tomb of hopelessness while cutting off any fast escape route.

Yet her spirit remained unbroken, her determination undiminished.

'I have face wyrms and wyverns! How can this metal piece of garbage be any different!'

Ideas whirred in her mind, each discarded as quickly as they emerged.

Breaching the walls or navigating the tight maze would eat up precious seconds she didn't have.

Also, directly blocking or even deflecting such firepower was impossible. Above her were two floors, yet they were both destroyed in a single salvo.

'No, there is one way left!'

In a final, resolute surge, she unleashed her momentum, propelling herself straight up through the gap in the ceiling with the aid of her telekinetic prowess. Her surroundings merged into a blue-hued whirlwind, with her silver hair flowing behind her like the trail of a shooting star.

'You have fought well.' She gave one last thought to the two imperial soldiers left behind. It was the grandest honor she could give them.

Ascending, the radiant halo of the plasma intensified with each meter she ascended. The searing heat burned her skin, and the blinding light torched her vision. Yet she kept rising higher and higher, her telekinesis carefully controlling her trajectory.

'Left!' She shifted at the last moment, and the blue-burning hell of the bolts blurred past her, bringing even more pain as she ground her teeth.

'Right.' A violent force jerked her to the side, her body screaming in protest as her black coat was singed by another bolt. Accompanied by new waves of pain, her muscles ruptured, the bones in her arms and legs broke, and her ribs cracked.

Only her cell adaptation, the special fabric of her clothes, the potions in her veins, and her pyrokinesis kept her conscious.

Above her, the canons brightened once more while more and more engines hummed around her as all the drones in the sky aimed at her.

'Higher, I need to go higher!'

With a blasting explosion, the barrage of plasma bolts landed on the building below her, and the melted concrete and metal were thrown into the air by the shockwave. The glass rang in every direction as the windows of the neighboring high-rise buildings shattered.

'She was on lower floors.' Seeing and even sensing the explosions on her own skin, Tia tried to calm her nerves, wanting to believe that her last true kin was well and alive.

She shook her head, suppressing all her worry and focusing her mind on her own survival.

Tia soared upwards with unrelenting speed, the gargantuan quadrocopter rapidly converging. Its gleaming hull caught the sun, contrasting with the encroaching azure blasts.

'I need to get closer.' She already knew what she needed to do; a clear plan was forming in her head.

In the periphery of her vision, drones peppered the sky, their weapons firing rhythmically, hurling the plasma bolts at her. As the slender needle penetrated her skin, a soothing relief washed over her, drowning out the pain. With every ounce of her being revitalized, she accelerated even more.

A wave of heat surged beneath her as she surged forward with newfound acceleration, leaving the bolts harmlessly pass below her, only their heat reaching them.

Finally, her fingers grazed the quadrocopter's heated, sleek surface, anchoring onto it with threads of unseen force. Like a spider, she caught onto it, gripping it as firmly as she could.

The luminous cannons pivoted and whirred in her direction, but a sigh of relief escaped her lips.

'Exactly like a drake. Blind an...' Her train of thought was abruptly interrupted as she coughed up blood droplets that shimmered with an eerie glow, immediately falling down.

A fierce determination ignited in her eyes. She brandished her gun with a grin smeared in her own luminescent blood. Runes on the weapon ignited, firing a bolt that danced with blue sparks upon the machine's engine.

The blue spark exploded as the superheated plasma collided with the thick alloy, only to leave small cracks and red spots behind.

'This would take too long!' Tia needed to move faster before the entire building would collapse. Regret filled her, knowing she had made a mistake. 'This is a war; why would I even think the Federation wouldn't simply destroy the entire building just to eliminate enemies inside?'

With her bones broken and muscles torn, she raised her arm up, each gesture guided by the sheer force of her telekinesis.

Power surged within her ring, summoning floating rifles that materialized around her in a synchronized dance. Each energy rifle targeted the quadrocopter, its azure luminescence casting reflections on its mirrored surface.

"Boom!" She declared, mentally pulling the triggers. A tempest of blue luminosity erupted, illuminating and flashing from every conceivable angle, reminiscent of lightning bolts piercing through storm-laden clouds.