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. The original content can be pinpointed to n0v3lbin•
"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."
"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."