Rising up from a Nobleman to Intergalactic Warlord!!

---3rd Person POV, Artemis Space Station, Ten Minutes Later---

Having established a secure perimeter around Yamato's bow, they had just started evacuating people when numerous unmarked vessels arrived. Teleporting thousands of Dahl soldiers and psychos aboard, the ships suddenly began firing on the station. Requesting immediate reinforcement from home, several dozen ships quickly arrived to assist Yamato. Drawing the Dahl ships off, after teleporting additional manpower aboard, both sides were now locked in a stalemate.

“Damn it, Victor. Where the hell are you?”, Clarice shouted into her radio. “The station is overrun with Dahl’s forces; civilians are being slaughtered left and right. If you do not get here soon, there will not be a station left to save!”

“This is going to sound crazy, but I am getting a major case of déjà vu right now. I am fairly certain I have killed the same people now over a dozen times. Anyone else noticing that?”, Samus commented.

“Phew… I am glad you said something. I was beginning to think I was losing my mind.”, Aela sighed with relief. “Do you think they have a mage that is reviving them?”

“They are not reviving people; all of the corpses are still strewn about out there.”, Deirdre refuted, blasting a psycho’s head off with her rifle.

Responding to Clarice’s complaint, Victor apologized profusely for not being there already. Informing them that he was preoccupied with a horde of Tyranids, he needed another five to ten minutes to get to them. Unhappy with that timetable, Olivia asked if there was something that could be done to minimize the civilian casualties in the meantime.

“Based on what you are seeing, it sounds like Dahl installed a respawn station somewhere near the docks. The device is about five to six feet tall and has a long antenna with a green light on top. If you destroy/disable it, their numbers will begin to drop steadily.”, Victor advised. “Also, the psychos you are fighting easily fall for simple taunts. You can draw their attention to you if you insult them.”

(AN: I know that respawn stations are a game mechanic, not canon. Just thought it would be cool if they were canon for the fanfic.)

“What is a respawn station? I have never heard of it before.”, Samus asked, ducking behind cover.

“It’s a highly illegal piece of technology utilized mostly by government organizations and large corporations. When a person dies, it makes a digital copy of their brain, digistructs them a nearly identical body, and uploads their mind to it.”, Victor answered. “Doombots, find the device and take it offline. Try not to damage it; we can use it as evidence against Dahl in a future lawsuit.”

Acknowledging their orders, the Doombots activated their cloaking fields and wandered off to begin their search. Asking Victor if the unit could be repurposed to resurrect the civilians that were being killed, he informed them that it was not possible. Only individuals registered with the device could be revived, and even then, he would not recommend it.

“They are illegal because the mass-produced units had a fatal flaw. Due to their corporate greed, Dahl and Hyperion skimped on critical parts to increase profit margins. These lower-quality parts degrade quickly, meaning only the first few resurrections are safe. After that, you run the risk of losing memories or having a deformed body.”, Victor said. “All those psychos used to be Dahl employees. They became messed up in the head after continued exposure to radiation, toxic chemicals, and thousands of respawn station uses.”

Horrified by this information, they understood now why Victor was so untrusting of Dahl. Releasing such a dangerous product to the public demonstrated just how little they cared about their customers. Feeling stupid for even bothering to negotiate with them, Samus cursed their name under her breath and returned her attention to the matter at hand.

“Alright, so all we have to do is hurl a few insults at them? I can handle that much.”, Samus snickered, poking her head out. “Hey assholes, I have seen animal shit better looking than you!”

“Yeah, and those masks are hideous.”, Aela joined in.

“All of you are big, fat meanies!”, Olivia proclaimed, quickly covering her face in shame afterwards.

Turning to Olivia with a sigh, Aela and Samus told her to come up with something better than big, fat meanie. Apologizing to them, she swore that was the best she could manage. Saying that insulting others was not in her nature, it took everything she had just to utter those words.

“Honestly, it’s quite adorable that big, fat meanie was the best you could do.”, Angelica teased her before turning her attention back to the enemy. “Victor, nothing we said got their attention. Any other suggestions?”

Having Cleare engage her external speakers, Victor told the women to hunker down as shit was about to hit the fan.

“Hey assholes, I hear your mother is a Claptrap and your father smells like skag shit. Sucks to be you!”, Victor shouted, knowing just how badly they hated the little guy.

(AN: Hehe, if you get the reference, high five!)

“What is a Claptrap?”, Deirdre inquired as the fighting began quieting down.

Turning their gazes toward Yamato, the psychos were uncertain if they had misheard him. Repeating what he said over Yamato’s external speakers, all hell broke loose as they began charging at them. Vehemently denying being the children of a Claptrap, only a few denied the comment about their father. Scrambling to their feet, the women began opening fire upon the encroaching horde of insanity.

<We have located the respawn station and shut it down. Please commence the bombardment of enemy forces again.> (Doombot 2)

“Finally, now we can start making some real progress!”, Clarice shouted excitedly. “All forces, start pushing Dahl’s mongrels off this station.”

Coming out from behind cover, the Helldivers deployed their forward-facing shields and began stampeding across the dock. Breaking formation, Dahl’s soldiers turned and fled while the many psychos primed their grenades. Gleefully throwing themselves at the approaching wall of muscle and steel, they flipped the hulking men the bird before detonating in their faces. Continuing forward unhindered by the explosions, the remaining enemies were swiftly crushed underfoot.

With the dock now free of enemy units, Olivia called out for the survivors to quickly get aboard Yamato. Scurrying out of their hiding places, thousands of civilians popped their heads out and began moving to them. Letting out a sigh of relief, Samus allowed herself to fall onto her backside and take a breather.

“Listen, ladies… I am sorry for dragging you all into this mess.”, Samus stated, removing her helmet. “Next time I disregard what Victor is telling me, feel free to smack me. Had I heeded his warning, we could have come here better prepared for their shenanigans.”

“To be fair, it is partially his fault for not fully disclosing their heinous actions. If he had, all of us would have been more inclined to listen to him.”, Angelica remarked, handing her a bottle of water with a grin.

“Haha, fair enough.”, Samus laughed, amused by how quickly she hung her husband out to dry. “It would appear the situation is under control now; we should be safe to tell him not to worry about coming here. Would you agree?”

Before anyone could reply, howling noises began coming from the ship that Dahl’s lawyers arrived on. Having left the luxury space yacht alone, as they hoped it contained additional evidence, Samus leapt to her feet and prepared for another fight. Shouting at Olivia to get her magical barrier up, the other women formed up alongside Samus. Just as the bounty hunter got her helmet back on, a stream of acid began spewing out of the yacht. Leaping out of the disintegrating vessel, a giant corrosive Skag released a loud howl as its midget rider laughed with delight.

“HAHA, NOW IT IS OUR TURN TO HAVE SOME FUN.”, the midget cackled. “Cower in fear before the terrifying Big Haus and Lil’ Petey!!”

“I agree that Big Haus is quite terrifying, but… It is hard to be afraid of someone named Lil’ Petey.”, Deirdre said, struggling to maintain a straight face.

“NO, YOU DUMB, BLONDE BITCH!! I AM BIG HAUS, HE IS LIL’ PETEY!!”, the midget spat, enraged that she made such a stupid mistake.

Unable to contain themselves anymore, the women began laughing uncontrollably at him. Shaking their heads in rejection, they told him to stop lying to them, as he was clearly the smaller of the two. Seething with anger now, he ordered his mount to turn them into piles of acidic goop. Doing as his rider commanded, Lil’ Petey vomited a shipping container full of acid at them. Taking to the sky immediately, they narrowly avoided the corrosive liquid as it splashed all over the place.

Eating through the metal framework in seconds, Olivia’s barrier held fast, but the mana drain nearly made her faint. Pleading with everyone to kite it away from Yamato, she told them that her reserves could not sustain another direct hit like that. Acknowledging her, Samus began raining down a missile barrage while Aela and Roxanne got in close to wound the beast. Aiming for its vulnerable joints and underbelly, all the damage they did quickly mended itself in seconds.

“What the hell?! Why are our attacks not doing anything to it?”, Aela shouted in annoyance.

<It would appear this mutant creature possesses a powerful regenerative ability. I recommend exhausting it with sustained attacks or overwhelming its regenerative factor.> (Cleare)

“Yamato, we need some fire support, please!”, Clarice requested. “Angelica, Deirdre, time to give the Unibeams a test.”

“Right!”, they acknowledged.

Flying high above the dock, the three women linked hands and initiated the weapon’s charging sequence. Buying them time, Samus rapidly fired her plasma cannon as Yamato used her railguns to hammer away at it. Darting around underneath it at high speed, Aela and Roxanne continued hacking away at its joints to prevent it from moving. Frustrated that his mount was helpless to do anything, Big Haus pulled out his comedically big pistol and started taking potshots at Aela and Roxanne.

“Stop moving and let me shoot you, damn it!”, Big Haus shouted as his shots continued to miss.

“I have seen Horkers with better aim than you.”, Aela mocked him.

“Come up here and say that to my face.”, Big Haus spat.

“As you wish.”, Roxanne replied, appearing behind him. “Goodbye!”

Lopping his head off with a flick of her Energy Sword, Roxanne kicked it away as his tiny body slumped over and fell off the giant monster. Sensing the rider’s death, the Corrosive Skag began to go wild as its instincts kicked in. Spewing its acid over its head, Aela, Roxanne, and Samus had to break off to avoid being hit by the droplets. Expanding her barrier to shield an approaching group of civilians, Olivia bit her lower lip in pain as her magical power began to run out.

“Everyone, cover your eyes and ears!”, Clarice shouted, giving them only a few seconds to prepare.

Firing their Unibeams in perfect sync, the beams slammed into the Skag with a bright flash and loud roar. Completely depleting her mana reserves, Olivia collapsed to her knees as the battering winds broke through the failed barrier. Lying face down on the ground, civilians clung to each other and the floor as the air pressure threatened to throw them overboard.

“FORM A WALL!!”, a Helldiver captain commanded. “PROTECT THE CIVILIANS!!”

Getting into formation in front of them, the large men buried part of their shields into the ground and leaned into them. Shouting at Olivia to get behind them, her body refused to move as she was utterly spent. Jumping over the barricade, Roxanne ran over and scooped her up. Carrying Olivia back to safety, she began searching around for where she was injured.

“Tell me, where does it hurt?”, Roxanne requested, unable to see any visible damage.

“I am fine… I just… Ran out of mana…”, Olivia panted, giving her a smile. “Thank you for saving me.”

“Of course, that is what friends do.”, Roxanne said, happy to hear it was nothing serious.

As the cannons began powering down, the civilians rose to their feet and sprinted toward the ship. Believing they had succeeded in killing the monster, Angelica, Clarice, and Deirdre warily descended to see what remained. As they neared the dust cloud, the severely wounded creature leapt out with its maw agape. Unable to get clear in time, just as the beast was about to slam its jaw shut, a beam of rainbow-colored light came down from the heavens. Eviscerating the creature on contact, Victor appeared from within the beam wearing an ecstatic grin.