743  Doomsday On Earth (3)

Since all the efforts were focused on the war, Ashton couldn't throw a proper party for everyone there. Not that he was a fan of extravagant events. Even though it wasn't anything special, the makeshift party at Ashton and Anna's place buzzed with joy and laughter. Colourful lights adorned the room, and the atmosphere was filled with the clinking of glasses and the sound of cheerful conversations. A rare sight, considering how down everyone had been feeling a few hours ago. It seemed that everyone had forgotten about the source of their problems. Seeing Ashton and Anna beaming with happiness made everyone happy and hopeful that maybe it wasn't the end like they had believed. Even During the celebration, someone had to keep an eye out for irregularities, and Tarik volunteered to do it because he wasn't a party guy himself. Just like that, instead of drinking and laughing like everyone else, Tarik found a quiet corner and got to monitor the satellites that orbited above Earth. He wasn't expecting anything to catch his attention, but he was wrong.

Suddenly, a distress signal cut through the lively ambience, silencing the room. Tarik's expression darkened as he focused on the data streaming in. he couldn't believe his eyes and analysed the readings again, but the feed wasn't lying. "What's going on, Tarik?" Sensing the shift in the room, Ashton approached Tarik with a raised eyebrow. "Everything okay there?"

"I'm afraid not," Tarik's eyes were glued to the data on the screen. "We've got a problem. A big one."

"What is it?" Ashton's jovial expression transformed into a serious one as he rushed to Tarik's side. "One of the stealth ships was destroyed, and this is the last feed they sent," Tarik pointed at the video. "Precursor fleet, heading our way and fast."

Ashton's eyes widened as he hadn't expected Kro'Han to make a move so soon.

"How fast are we talking?"

"Very fast," Tarik hesitated momentarily before replying, "They are already near Mars and at the speed they are moving, they'll be here in a couple of hours."

The gravity of the situation sank in. Ashton had anticipated an attack, but the speed at which the Precursor fleet was approaching caught him off guard.

Ashton had a reason for placing the ships at the far end of the solar universe, as they would notice the ships from far away, which would give them months or even a year to build a plan of action against them.

But since the Precursor ships were already around Mars, his plans got spoiled even before he could do anything. "Near Mars already?" Ashton repeated, trying to wrap his head around the unexpected threat. "How the hell did they cross half the solar system without anyone noticing!?"

"There's something strange. These Precursor ships aren't like anything I've seen before," Tarik nodded solemnly. He continued, "Instead of making a big space jump or using stealth, they're making continuous small space jumps. That's probably why our satellites and stealth ships didn't pick them up earlier."

Ashton thought about the situation. Kro'Han or Astaroth, whoever was in those ships, his decision to make small space jumps was odd and used up a lot of energy. But the more he thought, the more it made sense.

Typically, when a ship makes a big space jump, it creates 'ripples' that can be detected by radar, warning others about the jump. However, The size of these ripples depends on how far the leap is. So, even though making many small jumps would waste energy, the ripples would be too small to be noticed.

As awful as it was to think about it, Ashton couldn't help but thank his stars that the Precursor fleet encountered the stealth ship. While those aboard the vessel met their end, it allowed rest to try and fight back. He turned to the room full of people to give them the bad news. But it seemed everyone already knew or expected what Ashton would reveal. "Everyone, listen up! We've got trouble... The Precursor fleet is here," Ashton calmly informed them. "I know things are moving faster than we had anticipated, but there's nothing we can do to change it, so let's do our best and continue this party after we beat those prehistoric asses!"

The room roared with battle cries as everyone rushed to execute their pre-determined roles. "Tarik, get the Xyran ships ready," Ashton instructed the scientist, leaving the ships' master keys with him. "Blow them into oblivion as soon as those Precursor ships are in range. Got it?"

"Don't worry about me," Tarik nodded, firing up the ships stationed around the planet.

Just like Ashton had predicted, Anna wanted to join the fight with him. While he didn't want to deny her, he was concerned for her safety and for their unborn child. But since he wasn't going to deny her help, he thought it would be best to assign her a safer duty. "Anna, help mom with evac. Once that's done, you can join us." Ashton could see Anna wasn't pleased but realised what he was doing. "Vimur, take some Ghosts and stick with her." "Roger that!" Vimur replied, gesturing to Anna to get going, but she didn't leave Ashton before kissing his lips.

"I'll give you the rest after you win this damn war," she replied before rushing away. Now focused on the impending battle, Ashton discarded his liquor glass. Just then, Mazton approached him clad in armour Ashton had never seen before.

"Mazton, where did you disappear?" Ashton asked with curiosity mingled in his voice. "Also, what's with the new armour?"

"It's the same armour I wore in the last war against the Precursors," Mazton adjusted the armour, a grim expression on his face. "I didn't think I'd survive long enough to wear it again, but here we are..."

"Last war? What was it like?" Ashton asked while equipping his Precursor armour and summoning everything he had in his arsenal.

Mazton's gaze hardened, and he uttered a single word, "Horrible."