Intergalactic conquest with an AI

With that, Rex launched himself skyward again, flying back toward the Kaelzar defensive perimeter, where the next wave of enemy dropships was already beginning to land. Mini Cleo zipped along beside him, one of her drones popping out and starting to snap photos of Little Red in action.

"You really love getting her action shots, don't you?" Rex asked with a grin.

Mini Cleo nodded with serious enthusiasm. "I must update her profile for the Kaelzar Hall of Valor Archives. Also, she looks cool. Data records must reflect that."

Back near the front lines, Zanar, the massive mercenary powerhouse with his charming voice and unmatched strength, appeared like a ghost in front of Little Red, his presence alone causing cracks in the air around him.

"Well, well... if it isn't the roasted chicken herself. Finally decided to crawl out of hiding, huh?" he taunted her with a smirk, his heavy armor creaking as he cracked his knuckles.

Little Red didn't reply. She said nothing. No anger, no witty comeback, just silence.

Her answer came in the form of a low, humming vibration in the air as she dropped into an offensive stance. Her sleek red armor glowed faintly with crimson highlights as her stellar aura flared out, swirling like a cyclone of raw power.

Even without activating her full strength, the pressure she released could crush weaker warriors in an instant. Her eyes locked onto Zanar with undying determination.

And so, the first official clash between the generals of both armies began; it was a battle so intense it could've had its own movie trailer.

On one side was Zanar, a walking mountain of muscle and fury with his fists wrapped in raw stellar energy. Every punch he threw didn't just make a deafening sound; it cracked the very air, splitting space itself like glass under pressure.

On the other side was Little Red, swinging an axe so massive and blazing with fire made of pure stellar energy, it looked like a comet on a stick. The two collided midair like thunder gods having a very aggressive disagreement.

But they didn't just stick to up-close combat. Oh no. Every now and then they'd separate, hover at a distance, and start hurling ridiculously oversized attacks at each other.

Little Red flung fireballs the size of compact tanks, while Zanar whipped out crescent-shaped blasts of stellar energy so sharp they could slice an armored vehicle like a hot knife through butter.

And of course, because aiming is apparently optional at that level of power, most of these attacks missed their actual targets and instead crashed into the unfortunate battlefield below, sending soldiers on both sides running for cover while probably rethinking their career choices.

Standing safely on a nearby ridge, Rex let out a low whistle as he watched the two Tier 6 powerhouses turn the sky into a fireworks show.

"One day," he said while patting his chest with pride, "I'll be up there too, cracking space and ruining everyone's insurance."

Mini Cleo, who was floating beside him with her tiny holographic body, didn't even blink. She just stared at him with a flat poker face, like someone who'd heard this a lot before.

"Boss," she said, her robotic voice as serious as a spreadsheet, "I just got a ping from the Original. She says the enemy's making a big push on our right wing. And I mean big. We're talking full-brigade-level movement."

She pointed to a holographic map and even used her tiny finger for dramatic effect. Rex paused mid-nanobot recharge and tilted his head. "So... does that mean she wants me to intercept them with an epic, slow-mo entrance?"

Mini Cleo shook her head and pulled out a tiny signboard with a giant red X on it. "Nope! She reported it to me so I'm telling you to sit your shiny boots down until we figure out why they're suddenly attacking now. They've been playing defense until this point, remember?"

Rex sighed dramatically, like a kid being told he couldn't go to the toy store. "Fiiiine. I'll stay put…" he muttered while giving Mini Cleo a gentle pat on the head with one finger.

Mini Cleo closed her eyes and smiled, finally enjoying a moment of peace.

But that peace lasted exactly three minutes.

Because the next thing she knew, Rex was already blasting across the battlefield toward the enemy flank, with two wings of fighter drones zooming after him like they were in an action movie...

Mini Cleo blinked, then sighed as she crossed her arms and pouted like a disappointed little sister. "Boss… didn't you just say you'd stay put?"

Over comms, Rex's voice came back full of laughter. "Come on, little one! You should know by now that I say things, but I rarely mean them! Hahaha!"

To a stranger, Rex might've seemed like just another carefree lunatic with a big smile and an even bigger appetite for chaos, the kind of guy who laughed in the middle of a war zone and cracked jokes during orbital bombardments.

Anyone watching him for the first time would assume his anger was short-lived, his spirit unbreakable, and his brain... maybe not fully wired in.

But those who truly knew him, like Cleo and Carlos, understood the truth. Behind the easy smiles and reckless heroism, Rex carried enough pain and responsibility to crush a normal person ten times over.

While others saw a fearless warrior, his close companions knew he was still, at his core, just a man who had once sat at a desk, battling spreadsheets and stubborn printers, not alien empires and death machines.

Back then, life was simple. Stressful, yes, since office meetings were their own kind of warfare but even so, they were manageable. Things changed the day he fused with Cleo, the ancient AI with a royal past, and was thrown into a new life of endless battles, galactic politics, and terrifying power.

He had his fair share of mental breakdowns along the way, dark nights where the silence screamed louder than explosions. Because no matter how many upgrades he got or how strong he became, Rex was still human. And humans have limits.

If it hadn't been for Cleo... and the past emperor's intervention that sealed away some of his more dangerous emotions, Rex might've spiraled into a pit darker than space itself.

But funny enough, humans have their own weird survival instincts. Some people cry. Others shut down. Rex? He laughed. He joked. He acted like a clown in a warzone.

That was his armor, not the nanotech or the energy shields, but humor. Silly talk. Dumb plans. It helped him keep moving when his soul wanted to stop.

"Boss, we've got incoming! Enemy's locked onto us! dodge!" Mini Cleo suddenly shouted, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Enemy anti-air defenses lit up the sky like a twisted light show. Beams and bullets sliced through the air as Rex spun, dived, and rolled through the chaos, his fighter instincts kicking in. He moved like a leaf in a storm... a very angry, heavily armed leaf.

But even for him, the cluster bombs with proximity sensors were annoying. They were designed for air superiority takedowns, and whoever programmed them had a personal grudge against anything that flew.

"Mini Cleo! Send our coordinates to my legion! Mobilize an entire division! the whole 15,000 troops! I want these bastards wiped off the map. We're punching through their left flank!" Rex shouted mid-dive, landing hard with a sonic boom that turned a nearby hill into modern art.

"Coordinates sent. Division's moving. You do know you're not exactly being subtle, right?" Mini Cleo replied while pointing at the rising smoke with a tiny sigh.

Meanwhile, on the enemy side, panic erupted.

"The enemy general just landed! Open fire! Focus everything on him!"

"Use the heavy guns! High-caliber rounds, explosive shells! throw the entire manual at him!" shouted a Lieutenant Colonel from his command tank, which promptly launched a massive shell at Rex.

It hit. Or rather, it tried to.

Normal laser and kinetic rounds bounced off his armor like toy darts, and the tank shell was stopped mid-air by a glowing honeycomb barrier that pulsed once, then absorbed the entire impact like it was nothing but a warm breeze.

"Nice try," Rex said casually while brushing some imaginary dust off his shoulder. "Alright, Little One, if you've been itching to blow something up, now's your moment. I hereby give you full permission to go wild."

Mini Cleo's eyes sparkled. "Really?! You mean it?! Thank you, Boss!" She twirled in place with glee.

Suddenly, her small body flickered as she sent the request.

[Requesting mobilization of battle doll unit… Awaiting confirmation.]

[Authorization granted by royal command… Deploying battle doll to designated coordinates.]

From deep within the Cleopatra Fortress, a drop pod launched. Wrapped in honeycomb shielding and cloaked with stealth tech, it soared like a silent meteor across the battlefield. Seconds later, it smashed into the middle of enemy lines, sending soldiers flying like bowling pins hit by a divine strike.

"There it is! Eeeee~ I'm heading out! Don't miss me too much!" Mini Cleo giggled while vanishing in a swirl of glowing white particles.

[Battle doll activation confirmed… Systems nominal. Energy reserves: 100%. Soft barrier deployed… Combat protocols unlocked… Deploying battle armor…]

Inside the drop pod, Mini Cleo's consciousness settled into her physical doll body. She opened her eyes that were glowing like emeralds that cut through the smoke and fire; she then smirked like a kid given free rein in a candy store.

"Battle armor, Veracruz! activate!" she shouted with a grin, stepping out of the pod in a dramatic blast of steam and light.