"C-commander, Void Depth Dive registered as incomplete!! We are getting pulled back to surface space!!" the young man on the post of the engine announces with terror in his voice, after all, even such a young personnel like him is well aware of the only thing that can pull out a star vessel when it is already inside Void Depth.
Before they can even respond to the words of the young man, every single person in the Hegemon felt a loud thud, followed by a crashing sound, along with the loud warning and a repeated, cold mechanical voice stating the same line every few seconds.
"Warning, Star Vessel's inner hull is compromised, main engines one to four are all severely damaged, secondary reactors are all severely damaged, main reactor is rebooting… the Star Vessel is currently running on backup power…"
"Warning, Star Vessel's Weapon and Defense Routing Segments are compromised, the Star Vessel is now completely exposed to any outside threat…"
As these notifications resounded in everyone's ears, all of them realized that something bad was just befalling them, the most horrified ones being the officers in the command room, the ones who have full knowledge of what is happening right now as they watch on the large display in front of them.
In the vast emptiness of space, a grotesque and terrifying marvel of a creature is floating, casting fuel of nightmare to everyone in the command room seeing it for the first time; all of them, despite not encountering it other than here in all of their entire lives, are completely aware of what this thing is.
'Apocalypse-class Decadent!!!' they all thought in their mind as they watches the grotesque horror of flesh and veins contorts itself every time it attempts to move, what appears to be a mixture of blood and oil oozing out from its skin creating a dark imagery that one who are lucky enough not to witness such sight will not even be able to imagine about it, and in the surface of this massive behemoth, dwarfing even the larger-than-Earth Hegemon in comparison, multiple critters are coming out of it as if it is just molding its skin, these molds being the Decadent that they are fighting against previously.
"C-commander… countless of classless… and… well… millions of Disaster-class, tens of thousands of Destruction-class, hundreds of Devastation-class, and over a dozen of Calamity-class Decadent are heading our way…" at the end of his words, the young man who is tasked with identifying the enemies they have, already began accepting his inevitable fate, hence why the fear and hesitation gradually dissolves in his voice, the only remaining thing being the will to leave a bang before he turns into food for these monstrosities.
"Is the common line working?" hearing the words of his subordinate, the commander asked with his voice steeled with an insurmountable resolve, the smile of confidence and assurance never leaving his face once amidst the adversity they are facing right now, yet, these people around him, people that he had known for years, knows that this is nothing but a mere façade to make sure that they feel assured as well.
"The common line is partially damaged in some places, however, those places are not usually where crew will go, Commander" another person said with a grave tone in his voice, knowing that this commander of theirs will only speak towards everyone in this Star Vessel that had become their home for years now, for only one more time, before they spend all of their remaining abilities to deal as much damage as they can to this monster.
Hearing the response, the commander presses a button right in front of him, and the next moment, his voice is already being heard by everyone, well, at least the ones still alive, his voice assuring them despite every single one of them already having an idea of what is going to befall their entire crew today.
"My soldiers, there are several more things that I have wanted to accomplish before I retire my ship and my crew to anyone else, and one of those is to make sure that each and every single one of my people will go home safe, and grow old with their loved ones…"
Everyone heard his words and couldn't help but feel blood rushing through their entire body, a peculiar feeling empowering them as they are well aware of the fact just stated by the one leading them in this ship.
"Of course, given the current situation, I can only apologize for not being able to do that…" the commander said as he looked at his subordinates, these officials being battle-trained on the front line fighting with him for years now, people who earn his respect, even more than he earns theirs.
Seeing the apologetic look on their commander's eyes, these crew members merely shake their heads before they reveal an upbeat smile on their faces, making sure that the last moment of this big family of theirs will be as happy as it will be brilliant.
"Come on, Leon, cheer up a little, leave a happy message to everyone in the Vessel before we become legends!!!"
"Hahaha, that's right, you kid, this isn't sacrifice, this is making sure that we make our marks in the history…"
"I hate to admit it but this fucking dumb rock is right, Leon, we all will eventually die even if we have longer life span than normal humans, so dying isn't really scary, what's scary is the second death… without having anyone to remember you anymore, and well, this is completely opposite from that, hahaha!!!"
As other officials chimed in, the commander couldn't help but look at them with immense appreciation in his eyes before he continued his words. Unbeknownst to them, the crew still alive on the ship was already laughing, all while some of them cried in pride, hearing their entire conversation.
"Then, scratch that, this is not an apology anymore, everyone, but rather, an invitation, an invitation to join me in creating a mark that will last for all eternity of the Sapient Order, no, the Human Race as a whole, or better yet, the entire vastness of the void!!!"
"My fellow brothers and sisters in arms, let's set history today! Let us wreak as much havoc as we can on this thing that will terrorize not only our beloved Human Race, but also every other race in existence!! Hahaha!! Let us be bold, bolder than what we have ever been in the past!! This moment, we will defy the heavens, this moment, we will make a god bleed!!"
The commander speaks passionately about the upcoming suicidal last stand that they will attempt just shortly, pausing his speech as he allows a moment of respite for his crew, his people, before they send their own lives to the pits of hell, only continuing his speech as he feels the blood boiling in his vessels starting to calm down once again.
"Men, we aren't born to inherit the stars, but we will live to fight for them!!" the young Commander spoke with a tone of pride in his full voice, a smile on his face that disappeared as his expression turned serious before leaving one final line that made everyone's hair stand on their very end.
"And should we fall, others behind us will pick up our track for us, until the entire bright heavens are in the palm of our hands."
The commander of one of the entire Human Race's few Universe Class Star Vessel, Hegemon, Leon Crimsonstar, leaves those words as his last speech for war before he goes to his death, words that will be carried by the heart of all of humanity for all eternity to come.