Nessah and Cyrix reacted the moment they noticed that the three immense ships that were the center of the swarm were on the move and scrambled to organize the fleet to properly defend against the sudden change in the course of the battle. Ships were deployed from planet-side bases and from the flagships as a response, but they weren’t fast enough to prevent the gru’ul from splitting up and making it a three-front battle near Verilia.

  The motherships glowed faintly in the heat of the battle. At first, Nessah and Cyrix dismissed it as a result of the gru’ul’s shields blocking incoming damage. It was only when Nessah received an emergency report that analysts had detected three growing energy signatures. Originally dismissed given how chaotic the fighting was, now they had reached such staggering heights that they couldn’t be ignored. The three signatures were like blazing bonfires next to tiny, insignificant fireflies.

  Nessah called Cyrix directly to deliver the update.

  “They’re going to glass the planet,” Cyrix realized when he heard the news. Nessah’s eyes widened in surprise. The fighting had been intense in the recent hours in which it raged and the gru’ul’s positioning had changed so rapidly while the smaller ships protected the motherships with a fervor they hadn’t seen yet. Those facts clued Cyrix in to the gru’ul’s plans.

  “Can we survive not one but three attacks powerful enough to glass a planet?” Nessah asked. “I doubt it takes three motherships to do so. I would assume each ship had the capacity for such destruction independently from the others.”

  “I’m forwarding the information to the Tribunal as we speak,” Cyrix said hurriedly. “Elder Maraz was in charge of designing and implementing the planetary defense system, surely he would know.” Not one minute he’d sent off the information did both he and Nessah receive an emergency summons from the Tribunal.

  In the blink of an eye, both army commanders were before their superiors. “Do you truly believe the gru’ul to be attempting to flat out destroy us?” Kaius asked, wasting no time. Maraz was glued to his data slate, running calculations based on the readings he was receiving directly from the army’s analysts.

  “I’d rather think not,” Nessah responded, “but given the sheer scope of energy being concentrated in one spot, it can’t be anything other than a weapon of catastrophic proportions.”

  “Maraz,” Kaius barked, “give us an answer. Will the planetary shields prevail against three attempts to glass us?”

  Maraz furrowed his brow and gestured for the others to wait a moment. When the results came in from his analysis, he spoke up. “If the combined energy output doesn’t surpass our threshold, then yes.” He proceeded to explain, in simple terms, just how much power would be needed to breach their shields.

  “Are they close to attaining that amount of power?” Kaius asked. Not even he could keep the worry out of his voice as he hoped for the best. Normally, he would send a small prayer to the gods in times of great difficulty, but he refused to pay homage to the very creatures seeking their eradication.

  “They’re dangerously close,” Maraz said fearfully. If they keep charging at their current rate, then in twenty minutes they will have enough power to breach our shields.”

  “If we survive, what state will the defense system be in?” Kaius asked, hounding Maraz for answers.

  “A horrible one,” Maraz admitted. “There will be holes in the shields that will take some time to repair. We’ll be able to fix them, but the gru’ul will surely be able to penetrate them and attack our populace directly.”

  “They don’t have enough ships for that,” Darros pointed out. “Their initial fleet, while massive, has been chipped away at by our forces. Yes, the casualty rate has been steep, but it’s an affordable one to repel their offensive.”

  “Darros is right,” Maraz said. “Even if they manage to make it past our fleet and enter the atmosphere, we still have plenty of forces spread around Verilia to be able to handle them.”

  “That still puts the people at risk,” Orryn pointed out. “Is there truly no other way?”

  “It’s either we allow a few deaths while we patch up the shields or we all die,” Maraz said grimly. “If the shields won’t hold, losing a few cities won’t be an issue, since we’ll all be dead.”

  “They’re going to blame us for this,” Orryn said. “Once they start feeling the deaths, they’ll resent us all.”

  “I welcome their resentment,” Darros said. “Because that means we’ll live to see the day where our people are free.”

  Orryn frowned at the statement, the thought of risking many of the lives they were supposed to protect abhorrent. Rationally, she understood the logic. She didn’t have to like it, even if she ultimately agreed with it.

  “Elders,” Nessah interrupted, “we have a problem.”

  “What is it, General?” Kaius urged.

  “A second wave has arrived,” Nessah said, her face pallid.

  A supernova lit up the night sky as Adrian and Reya were disembarking from the ship at the military base they’d been ordered to shelter at, blinding them. A shimmering blue force field appeared, enveloping the planet and straining under the raw power it was hammered with.

  A sonorous crack similar to thunder, only far louder, deafened everybody for several seconds. Adrian’s ears rang as he fought off the daze of having two of his senses violently assaulted so suddenly. The harsh scent of ozone lingered in the air. Blinking away the spots in his vision, he saw that he was not the only one clutching his head.

  Several military officers recovered swiftly and yelled for everybody to take cover inside the compound. Adrian’s hearing returned in full, and he grabbed Reya, eager to comply with the orders and get inside somewhere safe.

  The couple, along with the rest of the team, made haste off the tarmac and into the building. Right before entering, Adrian chanced one last look at the night sky, only to observe patches in the now-dim force field around the planet. Straining his eyes, he made out many tiny specks of light growing larger. As though they were approaching the planet. He didn’t have time to ponder the strange phenomenon further as he was ushered inside and promptly directed into an underground bunker.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  It wasn’t long until Adrian and Reya were safely secured deep underground, with a litany of soldiers between them and the world above. “Do you think we’re safe here?” Reya asked, her worry evident in her voice. “They shouldn’t be able to find us this far underground.”

  “Nowhere is safe now that the gru’ul are here,” Jyn said grimly. “This is a heavily guarded compound, and we should be safe from any bombs. There’s an emergency exit if the main entrance into the bunker gets damaged.”

  “What happens if we can’t leave through either exit?” Adrian asked.

  Jyn shrugged. “We’ll probably die unless General Nessah spares some troops to rescue us. I expect the fighting to intensify and that every possible soldiers that can be spared will need to help fight.” His words did nothing to appease Reya’s fears. Stress radiated off of her, subtly affecting everyone present.

  Adrian put his arms around her. “We’ll be fine,” he said gently. “They don’t know we’re here. The army will protect us if anything happens.” Reya clung to him desperately, his calming presence helping her release some of her tension.

  The team took up positions, with Beor, Rann and Eimir guarding the entrance on the other side of the doors. Even Kell was present and armed for combat, though he remained in the room with everybody else.

  Minutes ticked by at a crawl, everybody on edge. They didn’t know how long they would have until something happened. Silently, they all wished that guarding against an empty threat was all that would happen.

  A thunderous explosion rocked the compound without warning, the vibrations felt even in spite of how deep underground they were. More shots peppered the buildings as alarms blared and all the soldiers got into position, ready to fight.

  Jyn received a ping on his comms, informing him that both the main entrance and the emergency exits had collapsed, trapping everybody inside. He swore loudly and inquired whether any of the soldiers underground with them had been injured.

  Several casualties from the collapsing rubble were confirmed as still more shots hammered into the surface above. “They’re razing the building,” Reya realized. “Isn’t their goal supposed to be Adrian? Why would they so utterly destroy the place he’s supposed to be?”

  “Could they want him dead instead?” Jyn asked. He received surprised looks and a dirty glare from both Adrian and Reya. Jyn put his hands in the air placatingly. “I’m just saying, if their goal is to wipe out the compound, Adrian included, that means we were also indirectly targets.”

  “The Tribunal believes they want Adrian alive,” Ava said. “They must have another plan in mind.”

  Minutes stretched on, the bombardment continuing to destroy whatever was left of the original buildings. At last, the explosions stopped, and everyone let out a sigh of relief they didn’t know they’d been holding in. Their optimism was short lived, however. Large whirring sounds on the surface sent vibrations throughout the bunker and were reported in multiple locations. The sounds only grew, whatever it was coming closer with each passing second.

  “We have a breach!” came a voice over Jyn’s comm. Followed by three more reports of the bunker caving in and leaving immense holes directly linked to the surface. Jyn paled. “They dug their way underground,” he informed the rest. “I don’t know how the gru’ul knew, but we need to get ready. Everybody prepare for combat,” he shouted. “Reya, Adrian, take cover.”

  Reya and Adrian huddled in the back corner of the room, away from the door and out of a clear line of sight from it. Ava joined them, unwilling to be in the line of fire once the fighting began, “We’ve got hostiles confirmed,” Beor said over the comms. “Everybody brace yourselves for contact.”

  Jyn looked around the room. With no other entrance to the room apart from the door, he ordered Tassie and Kell to assist Rann and Beor defending the entrance. Jyn, for his part, took position and aimed his gun at the door.

  A faint whirring sound continued, barely heard over the sounds of the fighting happening around the compound and various reports coming in as to enemy positions. Adrian yelled to Jyn to inform him about the persistent sound that was growing closer, but his shout was cut off by Beor confirming that the gru’ul had breached the final corridor leading towards the room.

  Jyn called out to the other teams, demanding a status update but only received silence. A cold fear washed over him when he realized that his team were the only survivors, and the only ones left to defend the entire bunker.

  Jyn could hear the shots and shouts over his comms and hoped dearly that everybody would be alright. He steadied his breathing and focused on his task of keeping Reya and Adrian safe. Adrian once again warned him of the whirring sound that continued to grow closer, and Jyn realized that they were tunneling directly into the final room. Before he could give any orders, part of the ceiling cave in, separating him from Reya and Adrian.

  Dust and debris blew across the room, reducing visibility for a moment as a large machine landed on the ground with heavy impact. He heard Reya shout as he scrambled to get around the caved in section and help. It was but mere moments until he arrived. Ava stood behind Adrian as he desperately fought against a gru’ul to get to Reya, who was surrounded by three others. One of the gru’ul held a silver orb and shrieked into it when it noticed Jyn’s presence.

  “Halt, a’vaare,” the orb said. “Do not move or the female dies.”

  Jyn noticed that two of the three gru’ul surrounding Reya had their weapons pointed right at her. He froze in his tracks and his gaze flicked towards Adrian, who had dismembered several of his opponents limbs and was bleeding from various cuts, soaking his clothes in his silver-pink blood.

  “You too, human,” the orb said. Adrian disengaged from the gru’ul he was facing and froze when he saw that Reya was a hostage. “We only seek to return with you, human. Come with us willingly and the female shall live.”

  “How can I trust that you won’t kill her the moment I’m taken away with you?” Adrian asked, his heart pounding in his chest. He didn’t know why the gru’ul wanted him so badly, but he would go with them in a heartbeat if it meant Reya would remain unharmed.

  “Your trust is irrelevant,” the gru’ul shrieked. “Do as we say, or she dies.”

  Any fight Adrian had left in him died on the spot. “I surrender,” he said.

  “Sensible. Now enter the vessel and we shall leave,” the gru’ul instructed through the translator.

  Adrian looked at Reya one last time, burning he image into his mind. “Adrian!” Reya shrieked as he turned and boarded the strange vehicle. The gru’ul with the translator joined Adrian. “No!” Reya’s voice broke. “Adrian!” she yelled one last time as the hull of the vessel materialized out of thin air, blocking her vision of him.

  Adrian missed Jyn take advantage of the split second everybody’s attention was on Adrian to shoot the two gru’ul holding Reya hostage in the head, dive out of the way from the return fire, and proceed to eliminate the other one Adrian had injured before they killed Reya.

  Instead, Adrian felt a small prick in the back of his neck and lost all feeling in his body as everything warmed to a constant temperature. He fell to the ground in a boneless heap and was roughly picked up by the gru’ul behind him and place deeper inside. The ship he was on quick ascended out of the underground bunker and nestled into a larger one waiting above the ruined military compound.

  That ship sped off back towards the mothership the moment Adrian’s vessel was secured and flew off into space uncontested. Adrian was left on the ground, helpless and unable to move for a period of time he couldn’t define.

  After an eternity, he was picked back up by the gru’ul and carried out of the ship he was on. Adrian looked around, noting that wherever he was closely resembled the research facility where he’d been experimented on. He was brought through a maze of corridors and lost all sense of direction in his strange environment. His eyes widened when he saw a pod, identical to the one he’d be put in stasis, so many years ago.

  He was dropped into the pod and the gru’ul that carried him made minimal effort to place his body and limbs somewhat straight. Adrian defiantly stared down the gru’ul with eyes full of hatred as his world turned blue once more.