Reborn: My Two Systems at War

Chapter 128: Descent

Tia's breath was steady as she sprinted down the ominously dark corridor, the same path she had come in earlier. The heavy thuds of the soldiers' boots echoed behind her in the otherwise suffocating silence. The dim light of their weapons cast eerie purple reflections on the polished marble walls.

From behind her, the soldier's voice, muffled and urgent, reached her ears: "The ship can be controlled only from the main bridge and the secondary backup control room."

"Can't we just access it through some terminal?" She shot back, her voice tinged with frustration.

"Miss, that would be a security threat," came the reply, equally tense.

'Well, that makes sense... The main one just blew up. That leaves only the backup one.' Her mind raced, calculating the fastest route and the impending risks.

Suddenly, the corridor was bathed in a sinister red light, plunging the atmosphere into an even more foreboding state as the crimson emergency lights lit up.

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Then, a cold mechanical voice resonated through the corridor, sending a chill down her spine: "This is an automatic announcement system. Warning, the ship is on a collision course with a planet!"

'So the situation becomes even worse.' Tia felt like cursing at how cruel life was for constantly throwing her into dangerous situations.

Just a fraction of a second, scanning the multiple pathways ahead. Her inhumanly fast mind quickly mapped out the most direct route to the backup control roomthe only place from where she could retake control over the ship.

"Left wing, two corridors down. Move!" Tia commanded, her voice slicing through the tension like a blade. The soldiers, responsive to her lead, picked up their pace, their heavy boots pounding in unison against the cold floor.

However, almost immediately, the cold mechanical voice resounded again: "Warning, the collision is imminent; prepare for an impact in thirty seconds."

Tia immediately halted in her steps, pale as she realized how bad it was. Thirty seconds was too few to do anything, and she was trapped in a giant metal coffin, falling to its doom. She clenched her fists, hating and cursing at the idea of dying for something she couldn't control.

'Escape modules? No, they are also too far. The engine room? Even further away.' As the various scenarios flashed before her eyes, her desperation grew.

'No, it doesn't add up. Overloading the reactor would have been the obvious choice for destruction. There's another motive here,' Tia thought, her mind racing through possibilities. Frustration gnawed at her as the attackers' true intentions were still shrouded in mystery.

Suddenly, a spark of realization ignited within her. 'The shields! The emergency brakes! If they truly do not want to destroy this ship, then they likely didn't disable them. There's still a chance that ship will not shatter on impact.'

Her eyes blazed with fierce determination, reflecting the glimmer of hope that had just taken root in her mind. Pressing her back against the cool, unyielding wall, she pieced together a new plan. 'The bridge... It's built to withstand the worst.'

With no time to spare, Tia burst into flight amidst the pulsating red glow of the emergency lights. Harnessing her telekinetic powers, she soared through the corridor with a speed that defied physics, darting back toward the bridge. The armored commandos she passed were like mere statues in her peripheral vision, frozen in time as she sped by.

"Warning, the collision is imminent; prepare for an impact in fifteen seconds."

Her voice, urgent and commanding, rang out to the soldiers. "Retreat toward the bridge!" But she didn't wait to see if they followed; her focus was singularthe devastated command center, which was the safest location nearby.

With the speed of an arrow, she passed through the widely open door, entered the devasted control room, and rapidly halted. The walls, scorched and radiating warmth, bore the scars of the previous explosion.

"Warning, the collision is imminent; prepare for an impact in ten seconds." The mechanical voice counted down, bringing a sense of threat with it.

Tia stood resolute amidst the chaos, her eyes closed in acceptance. The feeling of helplessness gnawed at her as she was reduced to a mere spectator in the face of an impending disaster.

'If I survive this,' she vowed silently, 'I will become stronger. I refuse to be powerless again.'

"Warning, the collision is imminent; prepare for an impact in five seconds." The voice's final countdown reverberated through the room, and a deep, unsettling vibration coursed through the floor, the groaning of stressed metal filling the air. The debris from the explosion trembled as the ship likely entered the atmosphere.