The Collective threw all they had at the giant octopus, but it just wasn't enough. It swatted the Firebirds out of the sky like flies and skewered the Kraken with no apparent effort.
In the end, the Kraken's crew decided to try to take the monster out with them, detonating the payload the Kraken keeps in its tail, along with every single piece of ammunition still unused.
The octopus only lost two legs. While its left side was now blacked and charred, and it seemed to be screeching, it seemed more angry than hurt. But now, the soldiers on the ground had no way home and no air support. Sergeant Robert used his emergency Ex Ear and contacted Mystar for reinforcements, but the answer he got back wasn't inspiring in the slightest.
"What do you mean, three days?! What about the base on Bulgar III?"
"Compromised," said the man on the other end. "Destroyed. Nearest base that can help is on Myst I."
"So you expect us to hold off this *thing* for three whole days? It pierced through the Phoenix like fucking paper!"
"I'm sorry, but my hands are tied. I suggest you find somewhere to hide."
Robert ended the call, appearing frustrated. Looking up at his squad, he said "well, you heard him. Let's find somewhere to hunker down before that thing starts to think we're snacks. Anyone got any ideas?"
"There's a mine a few miles south of here," replied Tom. "Deep enough underground that we should be safe. May even have provisions."
"Alright, then lead the way."
The battalion marched in the direction of the mine, throwing pensive glances at the octopus all the while. Luckily, it seemed content to gnaw on the Phoenix's remains. Fate made sure to make a mental note of that.
A few hours later, they found the entrance to the mine. They could still see the octopus if they looked back due to its sheer size, but they were far enough away to have a few minutes if it tried to go after them. The mine entrance was rather wide, to accommodate mining vehicles, and the tunnels were the same.
Still, it wasn't wide enough for the entire battalion to enter at once, so they were forced to enter in groups of six. Due to the size of the battalion (about 800 soldiers were still alive), it took about an hour to get everyone in, with them all marching in one group after the other.
To the relief of them all, about a thousand feet in the mineshaft opened into a large cavern, and they saw glimpses of more through other tunnels. The soldiers spread out to secure these caverns, and when they were sure they were safe, the sergeant started assigning squads to certain caverns, to make sure everyone had enough room.
Then he set up groups to guard the entrance in shifts, and other groups to patrol and scout the many tunnels inside. He hoped that they could find a source of food; he had heard tales of many kinds of underground creatures that lived on the mine worlds.
At Tom's suggestion, he had Tom and Fate, along with a few soldiers, break apart the machines inside the caverns and use them to fortify the entrances and unexplored tunnels, making waist-high barricades at each one. When that was done, they got as comfortable as they could and waited. Many went to sleep, using their helmets or military jackets as pillows.
They found no food on the first day, but the second day yielded better results. One of the patrol squads reported they found a cavern as big as an Old Earth city, miles wide and many more miles long. In it, the soldiers found snails as tall as they were, moles as large as bears, and worms as long and thick as boa constrictors. Naturally, he organized hunting parties and redoubled the guard for the tunnels that lead there.
Like this, they went through the second day.
And the third.
On the fourth day, they had lost thirty-three men to the aggressive moles, and the men were getting tired of the same disgusting meat. About halfway through the day, Sergeant Robert's Ex Ear beeped, indicating he was getting a call.
Knowing that the cavern would give less-than-stellar reception, he chanced going outside. When he looked up, the octopus was nowhere to be found. He pressed his Ex-Ear's button, accepting the call.
"Sergeant Robert, reporting."
A gruff man's voice sounded through the Ex-Ear. "This is Captain Romero. We're your reinforcements. Where's this octopus thing I heard about?"
"It left, sir. I suppose it got tired of munching on debris."
"Hm. How many survivors you got with ya?"
"No one in the air survived, sir, but we have nearly all our men on the ground still with us. Eight hundred and seventy-three, to be exact."
"Then we have more than enough room for all of you. Where are you? We'll land nearby."
Sergeant Robert used his eyes and the button on his Ex Ear to share his location with the captain through GPS, that is, Galaxy Positioning System. A Short while later, he heard, "Got it. We'll be there in ten minutes. Make sure you're ready by then."
"Yes sir."
They ended the call, and Robert went in to get everyone ready to leave. Not long later, they were outside the mine, watching the Phoenix land a few thousand feet away. A few ramps extended, big enough to fit a tank, and the men climbed aboard.
Once inside, they were all assigned rooms, with four to each room, and Robert was debriefed by Captain Romero. Tom and Fate were on the bridge with Sergeant Romero as well, doing the same. The four spent about forty minutes talking about their experiences.
Just when they were about to activate their Kozmos Drive, they heard a piercing *screeeeeeyaaaaaaa*, and a large, sharp bone pierced through the bridge, pinning Captain Romero against the far wall.
They could hear the sounds of other parts of the ship experiencing the same. Fate looked at the long bone, sharp enough to somehow pierce through the mighty shields of a Phoenix, and saw what he thought Styx had rid the galaxy of forever: An A with a circle around each point, engraved into the side of the blade.
The Advanced were back.