Hours later, a massive crowd of civilians came to the base. As they stood outside the gates, Carter soon came to meet them. But as he saw Daisy limp and filthy in one of their arms, unconscious, his heart nearly stopped! His promise to Mary echoed through his mind as he hurried to her aid.

"What happened to Damara? Were you attacked?"

"No, General Carter. Damara worked relentlessly around the city, saving people. We don't even think she took the time to eat or drink. So when she finally collapsed, we brought her here!"

“We had to come here anyway! But Damara’s health made it more urgent!”

Carter swiftly took Daisy out of the civilian's arms into his own. His gratitude for them was apparent as he tightly gripped her body.

"Thank you! Now, please come in and wait for instructions. We need to get you all to safety!"

Later, the sunset over the desperate battle of planet Aqua. In the infirmary, the overworked staff ran about caring for the hundreds. And Daisy awakened from her slumber to jump out of bed in fright.

"The people?" Daisy shouted.

A nurse came to calm Daisy."Damara, be calm! The evacuations are running as we speak. Please get back into bed!"

Daisy heeded the nurse's orders, and as she sat down, she noticed Carter, sitting in a chair beside her, asleep.

"Carter, I mean General Carter! H-how long has he been here?"

"He didn't leave your side since you came!” The nurse giggled. “I'm not one to gossip, but I and the other nurses think our handsome general has a crush!"

Daisy giggled."I’m flattered!"

With Sarah sleeping by his bedside, Daisy spotted Lucas hooked up to life support, unconscious.

Daisy stared at Lucas with somber concern, pointing towards him."My friend over there. Will he be okay?"

"That pilot suffered a concussion, and one of his broken ribs punctured a lung. He might not have made it this far if we operated any later!"

"But he'll make a full recovery?"

"I-I don't know!"

Daisy took a deep breath."Whose in command right now?"

"General Favian!"

"Has he ordered any action against the enemy?"

"None that I know of!"

"Thank you for your diligent care. But I have to go now!" Daisy got up from the bed and zoomed out of the room.

Later, Yara guided Daisy to Favian in his office. The place was a mess, with his trident on the floor amongst broken pieces of furniture from the attack. As she saw him, shock covered her face. He sat on his desk, devoid of all hope, awaiting death with a frown. But still, she ran to him with dire urgency.

"General Favian, what are we doing to repel the enemy?"

"It doesn't matter!"

"W-what do you mean?"

"We don't have enough troops left to attack the fortress. And I can't call in reinforcements because the nemesis ships are coming back. If I move them now, we risk losing more territory. I knew the retreat from earlier was a trap, but I still fell for it!"

"Why can't we call for help from General Lev or Róngyù?"

"Neither would get here in time!"

Seeing Favian's hopelessness, anger flared in Daisy. And she quickly pulled him off the desk, trying to shake sense into him!

"Listen to me, man! As long as there's time and breath in our bodies, we can't give up!"

”Damara, I’ve been dedicated to the cause for years!” Favian pushed Daisy away. “I’ve forsaken my very culture to keep going in this vile war. But it's never enough!”

Daisy looked at Favian with confusion about his statement, awaiting more information. As he saw her, he sighed, struggling to force his mouth to surrender the painful details.

“I still remember the dark day as a child. You need to understand my people champion pacifism. We find the taking of any life to be unforgivable. So, we were unprepared when the nemesis attacked the first time!” Favian sat on his desk again, placing his hand over his face. “For those who they took prisoner, madman Zola subjected them to unspeakable experiments. It was only by the gods that Orion arrived in time. I swore, even if I had to forsake every value I held, I would never let that evil befall anyone again!"

"I understand. Yara, please give me and the general a little privacy?"

Yara fulfilled Daisy's request and swiftly left. Daisy searched the room as she was gone, ensuring no prying eyes and ears. Favian looked at her bewildered, rummaging through the debris. He wondered what she was doing. But he soon received his answer as Daisy finished her search, locking the door. She reverted from Damara to her original form before Favian's eyes. And he nearly jumped out of his blue skin as he saw the transformation.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"Please, be calm, General Favian. It's still me, but I'm in my true form! And my real name is Daisy David!"

"Orion did say there were details about your identity we couldn't know. So why are you telling me this?"

"I needed to tell you we were in the same boat. I was an ordinary seamstress, and I didn't think I had the strength to be a warrior!” Daisy pulled Favian to his feet. “But when the time came to do the right thing, I had to soldier on, no matter how much it tore me apart. Please don't give up, Favian!"

Favian gazed at Daisy in disbelief. Her genuine form appeared like fragile porcelain. The hero of the galaxy was a young human woman who looked as weary as he was. Her words reverberated through his mind, becoming louder and louder as he thought about them. And he took up his trident from the floor with his will to fight reignited!

"Let's go!"

Daisy and Favian hurried into Eugene's lab. And they found him recording something on a holophone panel.

"Eugene, what are you doing?"

"Well, Damara, seeing that I'm going to die here. I decided to write my will for the family on Earth!"

"Don't send it just yet! We can still win this, and we need you to pull it off!"

"W-why, how?"

"We can fend off the legion of nemesis ships coming here! But we need you to fix your guardian barrier!"

"I-it doesn't matter! With that stupid fortress up, it can pop again like a balloon!"

“Eugene, we’re going to take it down. We’ll use every power, every weapon, every drop of strength! But it’ll mean nothing without your help, so please!”

Eugene gazed deeply into Daisy’s eyes. He saw sincerity as well as unrelenting determination. They pierced through his despair with their strong emotions. And as he punched his forehead, he made a reluctant decision.

"I guess it's time to be a man. I still think we're doomed, but I'll do what I can either way!"

As she heard Eugene, the happiest smile overtook Daisy's face. Quickly, she hugged him tightly, pressing him against her breasts. And being so close to the beautiful Damara made him blush bright red, becoming as stiff as a board!

"Thank you, Eugene!"

"N-no problem! Now, please, let go of me! My heart is about to burst!"

Meanwhile, at darkhold, another explosion went off. A small ship flew away from the fortress. The nemesis was in hot pursuit, firing at it. Inside, freed slaves cowered in fear as their savior struggled to evade the enemy forces. It was the female human slave Cymbeline argued with on Placentia, Anastasia. But the enemy hit them, sending them all crashing into a swamp!

At the base, Yara ran up to Daisy and Favian, short of breath.

"Thank the lawgiver I found you two. We have a new problem!"

"What could it possibly be now?"

"It's a distress signal, General Favian. And according to our readings, it's the United Planets code. But get this, it's coming from a swamp near darkhold!"

"Do they think we're that foolish? It's a trap!"

"B-but what if it's not? The initial onslaught did a lot of damage," Daisy said.

"You want to make sure, don't you?"

Daisy nodded yes to Favian's question.

"Very well then, Damara. Verify this signal and then get back here quickly. In the meantime, we'll rally our remaining forces, agreed?"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

A few minutes later, Daisy sneaked through the dense vegetation of the swamp. As she neared her destination, she pulled out a pair of binoculars to survey the area. And to her shock, she spotted Anastasia and the other slaves near their crashed ship. Seeing the injured in their group, Daisy dashed over. But as she reached them, she stepped on a twig, alerting Anastasia to her presence. Thinking a nemesis attack was imminent, she shot at Daisy with her plasma gun. However, regret swept across her face, seeing Daisy guarding behind her shield from the attack.

“I-I am so incredibly sorry!” Anastasia said in Russian.

“I’m not familiar with that language! Can you please speak novice?”

“I was apologizing for almost shooting you, Damara. Truly amateur work," Anastasia said in novice.

Daisy looked at Anastasia's clothes and recognized their design from her enslavement.

"You're a human slave. But how can this be? I thought you were all liberated!"

"It all started a little before you saved the earth. My government gave us a mission to infiltrate the enemy and transmit any vital information. We knew that the high-ranking officers got slaves. So we took it as an opportunity to get close to their secrets. I’ve had to do quite a few dirty things!"

"They treated all of you like animals, didn't they?"

"Worst than animals. But it was worth it to get this!" Anatasia pulled a small black chip from her hair and handed it to Daisy."This chip contains the secret to destroying a fully charged darkhold fortress!"

"Really? What is it?"

"I don't know. The file I got is encrypted. I had to get myself and these people out before General Cymbeline burned us to ash!"

"I don't know how to thank you for your bravery and sacrifice!"

"Win this war, and that will be gratitude enough!"

Suddenly, a roaring sound filled the air. Anastasia looked for the source, and she spotted the terrifying answer. A squadron of nemesis ships had found them! The enemy swiftly initiated an air strike, bombarding them with plasma. But Daisy grew her shield to a giant size, protecting everyone on the ground from the attack!

"Damara, listen to me! Abandon us and get the chip to the United Planets!"

"You're insane! I would never!"

"We're dead weight, and before we escaped, I overheard them say the repairs on the fortress were almost complete!"

As the bombardment increased in intensity, a realization plagued Daisy's mind. It would be impossible to get them to safely, riding Flaremane. The squadron would pick them off like lambs to the slaughter. And she couldn’t stay and fight either. Every passing second drew the darkhold fortress closer to raining terror again. But as she glanced at the crashed ship, she made a gamble in her stubbornness to protect everyone.

"Everyone, please get into your ship over there quickly!"

"What?"

"I beg you, trust me!"

As she fought her skepticism, Anastasia led the slaves into the ship. As they were all inside, Daisy summoned flaremane. She hurried to her stallion, picking up the crashed ship. She swiftly launched her shield at the attacking forces. And as they evaded the assault, Daisy raced away with the slaves through the air.

The squadron promptly gave chase to Daisy, shooting at her. One of their shots grazed the ship, and Daisy quickly called back her shield. When it came to Daisy, it cleaved through some of them, leaving the rest to continue the attack. But as the shield blocked their onslaught, Daisy pulled on flaremane's reigns, summoning his speed to escape!

Later, at the base, Daisy arrived with the slaves in hand. As she dismounted from flaremane, she gently placed the ship on the ground. The slaves soon exited the vessel, but Anastasia walked up to Daisy in shock.

"Damara, why did you risk the information for us? Don't you comprehend what's at stake?"

"Of course I do, but the one thing worse than losing this war would be a Cadmean victory. The moment we deem it acceptable to sacrifice innocents is when we lose!"

Anastasia's eyes widened as she heard Daisy. At that moment, her shock doubled in strength, bewildered at someone not desperate for victory. But the shock on her face became a smile, accepting reality.

"My name is Anastasia Nikolaev. During training, they taught us to keep our names secret. So please consider this gratitude for everything you did!"

"I'm honored!"

Like thunder, Daisy heard something big collapse. The sounds of rioters followed, and she dashed to the commotion to learn why. And as she found the source, she looked on in dismay. The United Planets personnel was in a fight with the nemesis defectors!