Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System

For the next day, the Hunters worked on modifying a series of probes that they would send out in an array pattern to test every part of the region around the planet that they were on. If they could find an easy exit to more stable space, then they could begin exploring further abroad than the single planet they had been defending, which would hopefully let them prevent the Myceloids from receiving any further reinforcements.

Once they were sure that there were no more of them coming, then more aggressive actions could be taken to cleanse the other continents while they brought the one with the Anomaly under control and maintained the situation there at a manageable state.

That seemed more realistic than trying to wipe the species out completely and would lead to much less blowback from the Alliance, who already had knowledge of their intelligent status.

So, the work progressed until they had a thousand probes ready to launch and send out in a spherical pattern around the planet and into the far reaches of space, where they would hopefully be able to find a change in whatever disturbance had caused this issue with warp bubble stability.

But back on Absolution, the research into the layers continued, with some surprising results.

Max read the message that he had received, then read it again to make sure that he understood what he was seeing before he relayed the information to the Huntresses.

[Commanders, please find attached data that we have obtained on the nature of the layers of space. As we were studying the issues with Warp Field Stability, we came across an interesting theory, and we think that we have enough data to prove our hypothesis valid.

The layers of space are all part of the same whole, created at the same time, but not all of them are complete. The nature of the forces that caused the creation of the universe caused the essential laws to expand faster than they could integrate. So, while they are all part of the same universe, each layer is missing something.

As you know, in our layer, time is linear, but as we experimented with the layers, we found that time in the other layer that we have stabilized access to is not. Part of the current that affects it in Koleska space is, in fact, time.

It still seems linear there, as it only ran forward in the data we compiled from the various trips that your vessel took, but the rate is not set, and it fluctuated millions of times during your time caught in the currents.

So, we took the liberty of analyzing the data from the Hunters again, and we found that while most of the universal rules were functioning properly, the rules regarding space were not. In that region, and therefore presumably in one of the layers, space is a static effect and cannot be manipulated.

We have compiled evidence that another layer is affecting the rules of reality there, and it is not the same one that is close to the surface in Koleska space, where portals and antimatter both create instability, but both warp space as expected.

It meshes with the earliest data and theories we compiled, but we don't yet have a way to access that layer. What we do have is included.

Thank you for your time.

Researcher Moon]

Max sent the message and the data over to the Huntresses and waited to see what they would make of it.

The eager light in their eyes said that they were as excited about the news as Nico was, and they were already making plans to alter their probes' data collection.

Regular attempts to manipulate space were going to be added to the flight so that they could measure the effects of the interference in a coordinated grid pattern and create a map of the unstable area, from which they could estimate the extent of the changes and where they could expect another relatively normal portion of space to start.

If this experiment worked, then they would do the same from the human deployment in Koleska space so that they could test the changes in the interference there and start building a larger regional map.

Communications had been cut off between regions for so long, and the effects of the nebula-type material in Koleska space were causing sensor data to be so limited that nobody knew where the two were in relation to each other, but at the very least, they could start rebuilding a map for whatever upcoming conflict might happen.

Not only Max and Nico but all of the Hunters were now convinced that there was something big happening in the background after the incident with the being in the other layer, and if they couldn't get away from it, they wanted to do everything that they could to at least divert or delay it.

But until they fully understood the battlefield that they were going to be on, there was little chance that they could actually make a difference in such a massive-scale battle.

It would be the same as willingly walking themselves into an ambush blindfolded, knowing that it was going to happen.

"The probes' new programming is ready, and we're about to launch," Khan informed the room only seconds before the pulse of energy from the launch shuttle could be felt through the camp.

This was their best hope to get some real answers, and Max we looking forward to everyone having something to do that wasn't waiting for the Myceloids to attack. The last few days had been incredibly slow, and everyone seemed to be settling into their positions well.

In fact, it was so calm that he almost felt like it would be a shame to disrupt the area with another round of expansions. They had plenty of warning about incoming large attacks now that they had satellite footage, and the situation on their continent was increasingly stable, even though the others seemed to be in utter chaos.