. 02

"Attempting to stabilize." His plane shook violently, and black smoke visibly seeped from the engine.

"Jeramine, there is empty field beneath us. Touch down over there. I will cover you," Adel said.

"I am not going to make it. I cannot seem to gain control."

"If you have no other choice, eject, but be careful. The airspace is dangerous around here."

"Got a better plan. I have the control room in my sights. I am bringing this plane down and taking that entire ship with me," Jeramine said.

"Have you gone insane? That is suicide. Engage the autopilot."

"None of the guiding system controls are operational. I have to do this manually, Adel. With all these missiles, I can bring that thing down," Jeramine shouted.

"No, we will find another way," Adel said.

"This is the only way. Gentlemen, it has been an honor. Adel, tell Shyra that I am sorry for breaking my promise."

"Jeramine, no! Do not do it," his friend screamed.

Jeramine knew his sacrifice was noble, but in his last moments of life, he felt regret over breaking Shyra's heart with his death and never being able to feel the warmth of her love again. But the brave pilot did not decelerate; he drove his plane deep into the front of the control room. No one could confirm the damage, because the smoke acted like a screen. When the dust settled, it was clear that part of the control room was severely wrecked but still functioning.

"Damn you, Jeramine. Why did you do that?" cried Adel.

"Yes, but he did open up a shot," another pilot pointed out. "We will not let his sacrifice go in vain. All fighters open fire on that hole."

Before long, every available missile in the air force was sent into the small hole Jeramine had created. The very last warship made its descent; half of it was blown to pieces, while the other half spiraled down to the ground and crashed in the ocean.

The assault forces of the Zenakuu had entered the lower atmosphere. They had been stymied by the fighter jets launched from various hangers on the surface of Kalryn, but a large amount of the Zenakuu landing crafts with large, drop-down doors on the front had survived the defensive plasma cannons and missiles.

The majority of Kalryn's armed mobile forces stood at the ready, forming up around a gate that protected the center of the Savant's sanctuary under the once crystal-clear sky that was now turned horrid by black smoke. They understood the task that lay before them. Large portions of the Kalryn infantry were armed with guns, Lygokinetic swords, and shielded weapons. The mission was clear—they were to keep the enemy from bypassing the front line. If they failed, the chances of keeping the Savants safe would be next to zero. The commander of the infantry made a speech minutes before the bulk of the enemy ships would appear.

"My brothers in arms, hear me. This day we stand against the single greatest threat to freedom in the galaxy. You, however, are the best of the best, the greatest of the elites. Our planet has had many trials only to always come out victorious, but long years of victory do not preclude eventual defeat. Down there are our countrymen, children, friends, and family. We will not let them down this day. Failure is not an option! Today we fight for all that we hold dear. These Zenakuu bastards picked the wrong planet to mess with. Through this battle we achieve immortality. Today we seize glory! We are the chosen arm of destiny, and the enemy will not escape our righteous judgment. For Trifa and for Kalryn!"

In response, came a chorus of thunderous cheers. Kalrynian soldiers took their duty to the Savants seriously. His words ended not a second too soon, as the first of the crafts touched down. As the landing ship approached the ground, its cannons began to glow. Shots were fired all at once and colored the skies violet. The first assault took the lives of dozens of Kalryn soldiers. As the doors began to lower, the Chrentex began their counter assault.

Soldier after soldier charged forward only to be hacked down to size by the Kalrynian super elite. Both limbs and lives were lost as the Zenakuu boldly attempted to gain ground. The hostiles' numbers were heavily decreased as they continued forward. Several more troops were cut down when they charged the front line with Chrentex warriors who stood ready to defend. The first wave had been fended off rather easily. The cheers at their victory were cut off by the sounds of the orbital cannons opening up again, aiming at the ground troops.

"Men, the true battle is about to begin! It seems our final hour may yet be at hand," the commanding officer of the group stated, eliciting anxious noises from the men serving under him. Suddenly, a small squad of heavily armored support vehicles pulled in on the right side of the trenches. They turned their heavy cannons skyward and fired at the landing ships, adding to the Zenakuu casualties.

However, when a Zenakuu cruiser dropped out of the atmosphere and began firing on the ground troops, even the most courageous warriors lost heart. They crashed down, scorching the skies and vaporizing everything in their paths. The greatest lost was Tribus, who died when a blood vessel in his brain ruptured as he attempted to put up a barrier over the entire battlefield and overexerted his parietal lobe. The act that cost him his life shielded the Kalryn troops momentarily, but the cover that the Kalrynian infantry had been using was now partially destroyed, just in time for half a dozen landing crafts to touch down and drop open.

"Sir, Chrentex Tribus has gone offline," a soldier back at the base announced.

"Dammit. This is exactly what I was afraid of. We cannot afford to lose anymore. Reclaim all the Chrentex and make sure that dead suit is recovered," the commanding officer ordered.

"Yes, sir." As the Zenakuu advanced, they fired Zurekium cannon shells and small arms at the demoralized Kalryn. A single soldier stood and watched her comrades lose their lives. She observed one man get maimed as he lost his intestine, while another was ripped open from a grenade that exploded near his torso and sent shrapnel through his body. She began to scream, a single, feminine screech of fury. All the pain, all those gruesome deaths—it was expressed in that single outburst of emotion from the female-born Kalryn. That one voice seemed to be the only noise on the battlefield for the four seconds that it lasted before she leaped out from behind her cover and led a charge down the Zenakuu's throat.

The half or so of the remaining troopers admired her passion and rallied behind her, giving battle cries of their own. At that single moment, the empire's assault soldiers finally realized who they were up against—soldiers who were not even afraid of death. Unfortunately for them, they found out just a little too late, as the grenades thrown by the charging Kalryn landed, filling the enemy ranks literally full of holes.

The Zenakuu Empire that had declared war stood no chance against extremely zealous warriors fighting for one of the few things that mattered to them—their survival. As the larger Zenakuu soldiers fell to the ground from the counterattack, they spilled their sage green blood everywhere. Suddenly, the hostiles found themselves outmatched and frightened. There was no hope for them; their reinforcements were being cut off in orbit.

All because of one courageous charge and more than two dozen grenades, the newest attack force in the galaxy was being forced to retreat. Ground troops whimpered in a variety of languages. They screamed and pleaded for mercy, but there was none. Others threw down their weapons in hopes of surrender but only earned a more agonizing slaying. Heads of innocent

Kalrynian rolled that day, so forgiveness was no longer an option.

Kalrynian soldiers began to reclaim their positions in the trenches, and even though they were battered and bruised, a handful of them had survived the brutal fight. Some were only kids who never knew of true battle. They'd only read of it in their history books, but on that day they were forced to grow up. They finally saw what harsh battle really was. The remaining forces feared the worst—that their friends and family who also fought or tried to hide may not have survived the fight. The battle on this sector of the planet was done. Meanwhile, it was still raging on other parts of the planet and in space.

Elsewhere, the Kalryn defenses were rushing to regain control of the upper space area of their planet and block any more approaching Zenakuu armada.

"This is Captain Kody. I am located near sector 1-40-7. I need immediate assistance. I repeat—immediate assistance," said a voice over the radio, which was heard through the main command center of the base. Kody had served proudly in the military for many years, had seen many battles on domestic and foreign worlds, and even had bionic limbs for his legs, which he'd lost when he was unfortunate enough to step on a land mine in the years of combat.

"Captain Kody, this is General Yendero. What is the emergency?" General Yendero asked.

"We have detected three Zenakuu warships coming in at our position. We do not have the forces to fight them at this moment. A large Zenakuu fleet has approached from sector 1-40-1-10. My men met them in combat about ten minutes ago, and we narrowly beat them. We need assistance immediately."

General Yendero turned to his men in the command center. "You heard him. The Zenakuu are approaching on the city of Vourn, and we are the reinforcements. Let us move, men. Get four command ships over to the city now!" Vourn was forty miles away, but for a Kalryn command ship, it would only take twenty minutes to get there. Four command ships left the base and headed for Vourn. When they were about halfway there, they got the message.

"We have pushed them back. I repeat—we have pushed them back," Captain Kody informed. With no more need for them, the command ships flew up into the air. When they saw space open up before them, there was a battle raging to their right. They darted in to bring aid to the space units. Fighters raced out of the hanger of Kody Kadeem's ship.

"Okay, Captain Kody. We will take the ones to the left," the squad leader said.

"Uh, Kody, what are those?" a lieutenant asked. He pointed out to the left of the battle. Captain Kody Kadeem looked out and saw three more enemy ships advancing. "Squad 11-2, go for the—" A large explosion erupted near them and sent the ship rocking. Captain Kody looked out and saw that three large fleets approached. "Dear God," he cried.

"Captain, they are all over us!" the deployed squad leader shouted. "We cannot ... Ah!" The captain looked out at the fighters. To his horror, the insurmountable Zenakuu squad had taken down the entire squadron. "They have surrounded us!" Captain Kody shouted.

The only Kalryn fighters in the air at that moment were the four command ships that came from Kazda and three command ships from Vourn. The Zenakuu fleets had pushed them in and surrounded them. They had no escape.

"Mayday!" came a voice over Captain Kody's radio.

"This is the captain of the 5-11 commander ship. We are going down. I repeat—we are going down!" Captain Kody looked out and saw the command ship in flames, plummeting to Kalryn as a fiery heap of metal. Then, Kody looked over at his crew. "Contact home base. Tell them if we do not get back-up soon, do not bother. We will be dead by the time they reach us."

"Captain! Two Zenakuu warships are on our left," a crew member warned.

From their left came the two ships bellowing through space. From small crevasses in the ship came little orb devices. At least a thousand of them shot to Kody's ship. When they hit the command ship, they stuck like ticks to a hairy beast. Sparks began to fly as they started to eat their way into the ship.

"Sir, our ship is falling apart fast. We cannot—" The crew member's attention was turned to a red blinking screen. "Sir! Our engines are off-line."

"Everyone, prepare to abandon ship," Captain Kody ordered.

"Sir, we will not make it to the escape pods. Those things have made holes all over our ship. We will be sucked into space before we get to our pods."

"Those smart, little—" the Captain started. He felt like sitting there and cursing the Zenakuu until he ran out of breath, but he knew that wouldn't do any good. Instead, he took a deep breath and then continued, "Okay, if we are going down, we are taking them with us. Compress the drag fins. We are going to run right into those godforsaken creatures," he ordered.

"Sir, here comes the Kalryn forces. We are saved." Kody looked out and saw a large fleet of Kalryn. No doubt they would be able to push these guys out.

"This is the Global Kalryn Forces. We are coming in. Hold your position; we are sending a rescue team," they announced over the radio. It wasn't long before a rescue team got the others out of there. They took them back to base. Then the general of the third command ship took part in the fight. As he stood at the bridge of his command ship, he got a message.

"General, we have spotted enemy forces coming in quickly," a control operator said.

"Get all the squads in your command and send them after the ships that have already arrived. Destroying those things is our top priority," the general responded.

"Yes, sir. We will have them down in no time," he replied. At that moment, four squads moved into attack formation. They flew near the first fleet.

"Okay, this is it!" the squad leader said. "S-57, you go in at the right. Everyone else, stay behind me."

As they flew in, the Zenakuu quickly engaged them.

"Here they come!" a squad member said. The two Zenakuu reached the Kalryn fighters first, but they were quickly shot out of the air by two missiles. Then the real Zenakuu squad flew in. The Kalryn were quickly split up and thrown into a dogfight, scrambling for dear life in the cold vacuum of space.

"Good job! First one down," the leader shouted.

"Do not give them time to breathe. Go for the next one."

"We are on it, General." The General now stood looking out at the battle. He was thinking of victory. It seemed like they would win easily. Then he got the message.

"General, uh ... there is another fleet headed our way. They have surrounded us."

"What!" the general shouted.

"Sir, if we do not make a move, we are done for," a crew member said.

"Okay, here is what we will do. We will split our fleet up. Half go for one side; half go for the other, pushing their fleet away. Okay, we need some more fighters to take out those ships. Those are our main priority." The orders were given, and they were ready.

As the battle above Kalryn got hotter, it seemed like every time they took down a Zenakuu command ship, another showed up. And after about three hours of fighting, the general got another call. "Sir, our fighters are down. I repeat—our fighters are down. Another Zenakuu ship has approached at sector 7-40. Sir, we are not going to hold much longer."

The general stood in thought and then finally said, "We need to retreat. We will not last up here. Call the base near Kazda; tell them to get all the turrets ready. We are not going down without a fight."

"General, this is Captain Matokay. We will hold off as much as we can. You and your men retreat. If we all run at the same time, most of the fleet will be destroyed." Captain Kody responded, "You are a good man, Captain Matokay."

"I have about six fighters jets in the hanger. They will help."

"Okay, everyone," the general said as he contacted every personnel on board. "Everyone, this is your captain speaking. I am issuing a full-scale retreat. All hands on deck; prepare for departure. We are pulling out of here. Good luck, Captain." The Kalryn ship pulled away. As they neared the planet's surface, they noticed that the Zenakuu were not following. Captain Matokay's ship flew down in the atmosphere, so they stood in the way of the Zenakuu. As the Captain waited for the Zenakuu to show, he told all the fighters to get in defensive positions and prepare to attack the Zenakuu on sight.

"Here they come!" the squad leader warned. "But they did not bring the whole fleet, not even half. They must expect an ambush."

"This just makes our job a little easier. Kill them all!" the captain said. His staff sergeant turned to him and asked, "We are not making it out of this, sir, are we?"

With a somber face, Captain Matokay turned to his fellow soldier and told him what he was taught in boot camp during his early years. "Son, go into battle determined to die, and you will survive. Go into battle praying to live, and surely you shall not."

The staff sergeant thought about his words for a moment and responded with a passionate, "Yes, sir!" He looked around at the crew, which now had all eyes on him. "The rest of you men, you heard him—prepare yourselves. Hell's hounds draw near, but this is where we leave our mark in the pages of history. My life for Kalryn!"

The Kalryn fighters approached and began to pick off the invaders. Then four Zenakuu Command ships came into view.

"Here comes trouble," one of the Kalryn pilots said to himself.

The Zenakuu warships let out two more squads of fighters. The Kalryn fighters were quickly taken care of, and the four warships attacked the only ship standing between them and the Kalryn planet. Back on the ground, the general asked for contact to the captain who stayed behind.

"Sir, we have lost contact. They must have been destroyed," a crew member informed.

"So they have. Okay, the Zenakuu will be here any minute. Everyone get—" The general paused as he looked up in the sky and saw three Zenakuu command ships darting to Kalryn and covered in flames. One was even broken in two pieces.

"He took three ships with him. That crew's sacrifice will not go to waste. Finish them off, men! When these monsters arrive at the gates of the underworld, they will tell the gate guards that Kalryn gives their regards!"

The battle raged on for what seemed like an eternity. So many Kalrynian lives were needlessly lost that day. Parts of the planets lay in ruins, and the slaughtered remains of people piled in the streets as far as the eye could see. Truly, this was a day that would forever lie in infamy. An entire planet too prideful and arrogant to believe that they would ever fall victim to an attack from a world that they believed to be dead was nearly destroyed that day.

The entire time Kalryn believed that Zenakuu were done for, they were actually recuperating from the Myriad attack. The Zenakuu bided their time and spent many years repopulating their planet and building advanced weaponry to seek their revenge. They used that initial attack to gauge the strength of Kalryn.

Word got out to the Savants that the battle neared its end. Kalryn was battered but victorious, and they began to surface from the panic room. The Savants were made up of seven nominated and usually elder Kalrynians and included Unarec, Kagoli, Nabire, Iyendo, Rayvaar, Tejourne, and Hartell. Even though Rayvaar was the youngest, he quickly climbed the ranks to be revered as the wisest and most tactical of them all, so naturally, all eyes averted to him.

"What are we to do? City hall is ruined, and the capital of this entire planet and neighboring cities are in shambles. I even heard that there were not only Zenakuu on those ships, but other races as well," Tejourne said.

"The Zenakuu have always looked upon us with distain and a jaundiced eye, but who could have helped them attack us?" asked Kagoli, one of the few female Savants.

"I need not guess. Surely it was the planet Purix; they are the next closest," Hartell attested.

"This is not a time to lose composure. We need to hold a meeting to assess the damage done," Rayvaar replied.