The Martial Unity

While Rui fought against the jellyfish-like alien, the laminar army charged through the solar system at high speed, aiming to destroy the world of Gaia in its entirety. The charging army was composed of a large number of individual laminar integument individuals and a large number of laminary fighter bogeys, frigates, cruisers, carriers, and destroyers. The army arranged itself in a very organized manner, undertaking a phenomenon that placed greater weight on heavy artillery, placing it at the center with smaller bogeys and individual laminar integuments flanking the approaching space formation.

It led to an army that seemed to stretch an enormous distance across space, creating an army front that spanned a distance larger than the diameter of planets. The formation, in laminar military doctrine, was known as ‘⎎⌰⏃⌿⌿⟟⋏☌ ⍙⟟⋏☌’

Which roughly translated to what could be interpreted as the ‘flapping wing formation’. It was called that because in order for the heavy space artillery on the large spaceship of the approaching army to bomb a planet of Gaia’s size into oblivion, it needed to be extremely close to the target world.

However, as was often the case with infected worlds, their natives were sometimes capable of fighting back when they got too close, thanks to the power of esoteric matter. The ‘wings’ of the formation, composed of individual laminar integuments and smaller bogeys, would intercept any attacks against the large shippage and the heavy artillery in a movement that resembled flapping wings.

It was a tried and tested military formation in all of the cleansing campaigns that the laminar integuments had led in the past.

However, it wasn’t just enough to destroy a planet; the laminar integuments needed to ensure that the destruction of the planet didn’t inadvertently lead to the explosion of alien virus seed across the cosmos. Even if Gaia wasn’t fully ripened by the standards of the alien virus, it still was extremely large and had a giant negatron core that, if unshackled, could allow esoteric matter to be propelled large distances at great speeds.

Thus, the act of cleansing was one that required caution and care lest they inadvertently do the alien virus a favor by allowing alien seeds to be launched upon the destruction of the infected world.

RUMBLE

The very fabric of space and time weighed underneath the rippling warp drives that propelled the laminar integuments forward. Every last bogey, frigate, and even individual laminar integument possessed the power to warp the very fabric of space as they traveled forth in space entirely unperturbed. It was the sight of a civilization that had mastered space travel to such an extent that they didn’t even need infrastructure to do so.

Individual laminar integuments pushed through space itself as they made their way to Gaia in a motion that remarkably resembled the motion of jellyfish. Their tendrils pushed against space itself, clad in negatron matter that allowed them to wield the power of antigravity to maneuver through space.

The sight of an approaching laminar army wider than the surface of planets coursing through the solar system naturally sent alarms through Gaia. The reports shook the leaders of humanity as emergency protocols were immediately deployed to mobilize any and all spacefare combat assets to intercept the incoming laminar army.

It wasn’t just the political leadership of Gaian Civilization, however, that had detected the tremendous threat that was approaching the planet. The amateur astronomy community of Gaia across all six civilizations had also detected the very conspicuous space army that coursed through the solar system, approaching Gaia.

It spread panic and shock through all of Gaian Civilization.

[Look, it’s an actual alien invasion!]

[What the hell? Are we all going to die???]

[Don’t be stupid! That image is clearly AI-generated!]

The interweb exploded with activity as information was disseminated among people very quickly. An initial wave of denial washed across people who began dismissing it as fake, perhaps for their own well-being, but with each passing minute, more and more people were able to individually identify the incoming alien army that coursed through their very solar system.

The myriad of images, streams, footage, and even sophisticated three-dimensional models of the incoming space army began proliferating through the internet as the full weight of reality bore down on each and every single citizen of the true world.

The most violent reaction, of course, swept through the Panama Continent as people exploded in a panic and burst of anxiety. They burst out into the streets, fully entering into either an existential crisis born from the fear of imminent destruction or perhaps even worse. Others ran away mindlessly in search of refuge, fearful of simply continuing to live their lives as if nothing had happened.

The leaders of Gaian Civilization were forced to address the emergency, declaring a national emergency and deploying their national emergency powers to shut down the interweb itself for a period of time to quell the fears of the people. But alas, it was too late.

“MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!”

“LET ME THROUGH!”

“I MUST GET TO SAFETY!”

A large flood of people gathered at each and every single shelter and bunker they could, overwhelming any and all security facilities that were meant for people to gather to in times of emergency. The air boiled with peril as the collective fear and terror of people seemed to spread and multiply at an infectious rate, straining the systems of emergency care and protection. All of civilization seemed to grind to a halt as each major and minor civilization experienced upheaval. The economy collapsed catastrophically as financial markets plummeted, firms and businesses closed, either voluntarily or due to emergency or martial law.

The entire system seemed to grind to a halt as the flow of civilization was disrupted. That was the sheer degree to which the invading laminar army threatened the survival of Gaia herself.

The attention and focus of the leaders of Gaian civilization was firmly fixed on the sky, however. No matter the upheavels and havoc that swept across the Gaian civilization, all of it could be dealt with and fixed as long as they survived.

But if they were destroyed by an invading alien army, then there was no chance of recovery. They focused all their attention on gathering intel while mobilizing for a war of existential importance.