77%... 78%.
"Come on, come on," Perseus muttered to the computer, his voice tense with urgency as he watched the file upload slowly to the drive plugged into the computer. The file contained crucial information that would ensure a chance for the survival of the Martians remained.
Outside the room, there was a loud, relentless banging, like the sound of fish against metal, echoing like the drumbeat of an approaching doom. The door was beginning to cave under the assault, its frame buckling with each hit.
Perseus glanced at the door, his eyes narrowing at the sight of the metal warping. He clicked his tongue in frustration and looked back to the screen.
80%.
"Damn it!" he cursed, slamming his fist onto the table. The metal table bent under the force of his strike, leaving a fist-sized dent and making the computer almost fall off.
A voice from behind him broke through his irritation, "You're going to destroy the computer before those abominable creatures have a chance to do it if you keep banging the table like that."
Perseus turned to see his daughter, Athena, lounging lazily on a sofa in the corner of the room, casually tossing a ball into the air and catching it. He was unnerved by her calm demeanor; there were several K'tharr forcing their way into the room at that very moment, and she didn't look bothered in the slightest. Her composure was that of a seasoned war veteran, not of a 17-year-old.
No matter how much of a fighting genius she was, he thought to himself, she scared him sometimes. But she was the future of Mars, completely embodying what it meant to be Martian to the very core. With her and Ares, Mars had a chance to survive, and the file he was uploading would be their guiding light.
He looked back at the computer. 83%. He sighed.
The banging grew louder, each strike resonating like thunder, shaking the very walls. It was clear now that just a few more hits and the door would be utterly destroyed.
Athena spoke up again, stating matter-of-factly, "Father, they'll break through in 7 more bangs. What do you want to do?"
Bang.
Perseus clicked his tongue in frustration. He needed to keep his thumb on the sensor on the computer for the files to finish uploading; he couldn't fight and manage that task simultaneously. He knew what he had to do, even if he didn't like it.
Bang.
He remembered Elysia and the promise to keep their children safe, one already broken with Ares. He bowed his head, muttering, "Elysia, forgive me."
Bang.
Turning back to Athena, he shouted, "Cadet Athena!"
Athena immediately stood and saluted, knowing he was addressing her in that moment as her instructor, and not her father.
"Yes, sir," she responded crisply, her salute sharp and professional.
Bang.
Perseus studied her for a moment, then nodded with a heavy heart. "Buy me time," he commanded.
A maniacal smile spread across Athena's face as she turned to face the door, now on the verge of breaking.
Bang.
Perseus shivered, his voice barely audible as he muttered, "Poor K'tharrs."
Bang.
Perseus watched as Athena removed her guns from their holsters, her movements fluid and practiced. She charged up the weapons, her pose remaining relaxed, almost as if she was inviting the K'tharr to come at her.
Bang.
The door gave way, fragments of metal and debris flying into the room. The first two K'tharr to enter were immediately felled, slumping to the ground as energy blasts pierced straight through the middle of their foreheads.
Perseus thought, as he had many times before, that he was never not amazed by her aim. In all of the academy's history, Athena boasted the best aim of any cadet ever, with a hundred percent record; no one else had achieved such perfection.
A third K'tharr lunged at her, its clawed hand reaching out for her throat. With precision, she blew its hand off, the creature's mouth opening in a pained shriek.
Without missing a beat, Athena shoved one of her guns into its gaping maw, her voice cold and steady as she said, "Too noisy," before pulling the trigger, obliterating the creature's head into a splatter of brain matter and bones.
More K'tharr came, drawn by the scent of blood and the promise of prey, but none managed to get past Athena.
She moved with a deadly grace, each shot, each movement, a testament to her skill. Perseus thought she had it under control and decided to focus on the computer, watching the percentage climb to 93%. He muttered to himself, "Come on, come on."
But then, a sound sliced through his concentration, a sound that sent a cold dread down his spine—the unmistakable whine of a dying charge on a gun. He whirled his head around, his eyes catching the sight of Athena's guns sputtering as she aimed them at another charging K'tharr. His heart sank.
Fuck.
With urgency, Perseus removed his gun from his holster and threw it towards Athena. However, the K'tharr, with its elongated, agile arms, snatched the gun out of the air before it reached her, its jaw clamping down with a sickening crunch, breaking the weapon into pieces.
The K'tharr, now focused on the weaponless Athena, swung a punch at her. Perseus screamed, "Dodge!"
But instead of evading, Athena took the hit head-on, using her arms to block the blow. The sheer force of the impact sent her flying backward, crashing into the wall with a thud that echoed through the room.
Perseus screamed her name, "Athena!"
The K'tharr that struck Athena hissed in triumph. As if summoned by this display of dominance, more K'tharr poured through the broken doorway, clambering over one another in their eagerness to join the fray.