It had cost a massive amount of resources to build such a place, but Ves never felt more grateful about his decision to invest so much in a protective measure that might never be put to use if not for the current emergency. "Papa! You're here!" "I'm scared, papa!" "Miaaaaow!"
The vault could easily accommodate hundreds of the most important members of the Larkinson Clan. It was at roughly 30 percent capacity by the time Ves arrived.
He ignored the urgent inquiries of General Verle and Chief Minister Abigail Evern and moved straight to his wife and children.
Each of them had already changed into their protective suits, though Ves was not really satisfied with the level of protection that they offered.
At least their children were wearing their first-class shield generators that he had bought for them in the past.
Aurelia, Andraste and Marvaine briefly left their mother's side in order to hug Ves' solid form. "It's alright, children. Your father is here. Nothing will happen to you while I am here. We will all be safe." "Meow meow."
Miaow.
The two cats puffed themselves up as if to say that they could protect the children as well! "Do you know what is happening, Ves?" Gloriana asked as she moved closer.
Ves shook his head. "Nope. I have a few guesses, but it won't change anything. I think that this won't last too long, though. The aliens are expending such an enormous effort that they are probably expending massive amounts of energy at an unsustainable rate."
The Phase King kept track of the spatial disturbances and sensed that it was rising to a crescendo.
At this time, even Ves could feel as if he could join the choir in his own power! "Just stay calm, okay? I don't think the phase whales are attempting to destroy their entire dwarf galaxy... 1 think." "YOU THINK!?"
Ves ignored the rising concern of his wife and turned around to check how his clan and everyone was faring.
The data feeds showed that the vast majority of his clansmen had entered their designated shelters. The few Larkinsons left outside had undertaken various essential duties such as operating the control centers and piloting the mechs assigned to defend the Cat Nest.
All of the expert pilots of the Larkinson Clan had chosen to deploy around the Cat Nest or the expeditionary fleet in orbit depending on where they were stationed.
Even Venerable Jannzi Larkinson and Venerable Zimro Belson had opted to hop inside the cockpits of their new mechs and activate them straight away!
In this deepest state of emergency, the two expert pilots had chosen to put their trust in their new and largely untested machines rather than the sturdy shelters.
Ves quickly activated a communication channel to both the Dullahan Project and the Phobos! "Keep your mechs in place! Don't emerge on the surface unless 1 give the orders or until you deem it necessary to deploy outside. 1 don't know what is about to happen, but please do not expose our new trump cards prematurely, alright?" "Roger that, Ves." Jannzi answered. "I can deploy outside without anyone taking notice if I activate the stealth system." Zimro spoke. "Hmmm... the stealth capabilities of your Phobos haven't been tested as of yet. Let's not take any chances. Remain underground unless the situation changes, have I made myself clear?" "Yes... sir."
Ves briefly checked with the state of his fleet. Fortunately, most of his spacers were consummate professionals who knew exactly what they needed to do in the outbreak of a crisis.
His allies were doing fairly good as well. The Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan had experienced so many dangers alongside the Larkinson Clan that their emergency responses were all quick and efficient.
The recently joined Adelaide Third Fleet and the Boojay Family were a bit slower to complete their emergency measures, but they were not that bad compared to other pioneering groups.
As for the rest of the people and organizations in Davute... they were a mixed bag at best. Rioting had already erupted in a couple of cities while masses of confused civilians did not know what to do after they learned about the state of emergency that dropped out of the blue.
None of this mattered to Ves. He and his clan had already did everything they could.
Powerful shield generators came to life. The Cat Nest became surrounded by several layers of energy shields. This was the final guarantee that could save the main base of the Larkinson Clan on this planet from a crashing asteroid or starship.
Many people across the Red Ocean were taking shelter in their own way.
Patriarch Reginald for example chose to pilot his Mars and fly high in the skies as if daring for the aliens to take a shot! "COME AT ME, YOU FILTHY ALIENS! I AM NOT AFRAID!"
Master Benedict Cortez made the much more sensible choice of retreating to an underground shelter that was only moderately less defensible than the Larkinson Clan's best vault.
He let out a tired breath as he monitored the situation. "Is there no place in the cosmos where I can find peace?"
Many other people throughout Davute took shelter as well. Even President Yenames Clive had been evacuated from his floating palace so that he could take shelter in the Davute Pocket Space that his state had recently taken over! "Are you sure that it is wise to hide inside a pocket space when the aliens are in the process of disturbing the space around us?" The man questioned his protectors. "If anything happens to you, the vice-president shall take over your office." Madame Reina Kernsk remarked.
Many more humans across the new frontier made their own preparations.
On the planet of New Scimitar IV, Matriarch Xiaphna Wodin, Constance Wodin, Amarintha Wodin, Kellandra Wodin and many other members of the Wodin Dynasty had retreated to several deep shelters.
Despite the distressing situation, none of the Hexers gave in to their despair!
Compared to the disastrous fall of their original home state, the latest emergency did not sound so bad.
Many of the Hexers who had entered the shelters spontaneously fell to their knees and began to pray to the Supreme Mother. "Please, oh great Mother, give us your blessing and protect us from the threat posed by the aliens and the Fridaymen."
Far away in an entirely different zone, the Polymath remained impassive as she remained rooted in her base of operations.
Her mind was connected to a vast network that enabled her to keep track of a lot of developments and issue many different instructions.
At no point did she ever stop doing what she could to make this better for the humans in the Red Ocean!
As for Divine Irene Mox who had only recently arrived in the Red Ocean, she could only growl impatiently as her Ragnarök flew towards the nearest source of disturbance.
It was a pity that it would take too long for her god mech to arrive and make any difference! "I SHOULD HAVE COME SOONER AND BLOWN ALL OF THOSE PHASE WHALES INTO PIECES." She growled.
As the people of the Red Ocean continued to get ready for what was about to come, the humans who were in the Milky Way grew concerned as well.
Many of their friends and families had relocated to the new frontier! To find out that a danger had arisen that would have a massive effect on the dwarf galaxy distressed them as well!
Of course, many of the people left behind in the old galaxy also felt incredibly grateful that they hadn't acted impulsively.
Back inside the strongest vault of the Larkinson Clan, Ves suddenly looked up as he sensed a drastic change in the fabric of space. "IT'S HAPPENING!" Ves shouted in warning just seconds before the great event took place!
Far away from Davute, twenty-seven primary Tide Stations and an unknown amount of phase whales and phase lords all exerted their power in total harmony!
Each and every piece of phasewater in the Red Ocean activated to a small extent.
This included the minute concentration of phasewater in Ves' bloodstream!
His eyes widened as he could feel as if he was connected to a grand web that the native aliens had weaved throughout the entirety of the Red Ocean! "AHHH!" He screamed as he felt as if the web had ripped a lot of energy from him all of a sudden! "AAAAAAAAHH!"
Everyone else screamed as they felt as if they were pushed through a blender!
Space itself seemed to convulse and vomit for a couple of seconds before everything turned stable again!
The lights briefly flickered as the various electronic systems received various degrees of disturbances.
Though all of the systems appeared to be working fine, the same could not be said for all of the people that had just lived through a violent spatial event of massive proportions! "Ughh..."