The bunker under the capital city of the Caloxi shook under the explosions, its old walls slowly chipped away by the intense vibrations that came with the shockwaves. This great structure, although old, was built so that it could accommodate everyone living in the capital at the time and for the years to come, which unfortunately put nearly everyone in one place, concentrated. The leaders, the Elders were trying to contact their protector at all cost while the lower-ranking ones were on the top floors trying to calm down everyone, one of them even telling tales to the orphaned children, who didn't yet know of it.
Telling tales of their protector, because they will save them, because they are nearly here. Others were praying, singing, chanting, nearly drowning out the rhythmic bombing in the background.
"But why are the Arus attacking, what did we do?" one of the kits asked the elder.
"See, the Arus, they are inherently bad, evil is coursing through their veins, just like The Cursed." he said, "After they joined the galaxy, they looked and saw peaceful people, and after The Engineers didn't come to them, to greet them, to swear to protect them, they thought that they understood what was going on, they think that there's no Engineers that it's all a cult. Then they looked again and saw us living in riches, we had nearly everything, living peacefully for millennia, they, war-ridden, were living in poverty, using their resources mostly for their military, so they wanted what we had. They threatened us, and while others bent under their will, we stood up to them, speaking of our protector and they decided that they will make an example of us, but it will not be done, just wait. They're nearly here, Max will come, give them just a moment more."
A bomb fell nearly directly on top of them, dust falling off the ceiling and the walls and onto the floor, the floor shaking with the force of the explosion. Then it faded into silence. A silence that enveloped the whole bunker, the chants, singing and prayers stopped as did the bombing. The people inside were stricken with shock, they thought that they were going to be saved. They were ready to start up again, to celebrate, but just as they were ready to yell out in victory, a great hum of engines scorching the surface came through the ground.
The hum of the engines of the drop-ships full of soldiers, ready to kill on sight. And as they landed the bunker started shaking, as if an earthquake had come. And as it faded out, the happiness turned back into sad prayers, chanting and singing, in an effort to call their protector once again, hoping that they would come back. Because they promised, didn't they?
"You promised, Max..." the Elder said through tears.
The Arus soldiers slowly disloaded and came to the great doors of the bunker before they started to try to destroy, get through the metres of concrete and metal and ceramic. To make the Caloxi people perish in flames not seen for millennia. The sound of drills and explosive charges and torches scorching the doors came to the Caloxi ears. That door was the only thing protecting them from the Arus who only wanted one thing, to kill, and kill, and kill, and... kill... and... kill...
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Finally, the remains of the fallen door banged onto the floor, the thousands of tons worth of materials in ashes, some still where they originally were and some on the floor in piece cut out, the last layer, the last layer that was the only protection between them and the monsters.
The Caloxi now felt that they lost, some were still praying, some now crying, some even unconscious, and some, in shock and disbelief, but everyone had one simple feeling on their mind, unanimously... abandonment.
But the monsters... they didn't come, there was this one singular moment, as if a still frame, where everything and everyone just stood in one place, in this one singular moment, nothing moved, the whole system just froze in place.
That was before the fire started. The purple and black fire appeared and went as if it was wind through the entrance to the bunker, eating everything in its way. But the invasion on the bunker didn't come, the next minutes were full of... confusion.
Soon, the doors of the elevator to the entrance floor split, revealing two Caloxi, the bunker guards. What they saw was, astonishing.
In the great doorway and beyond, laid hundreds of corpses, charred corpses of the winged reptilians, some with the soul-drilling stare of the hunt still in their eyes, some with shock painted on their faces and in the back those with the sneer of cold command. Soon, many others joined the guards, and once they finally left the bunker, they looked up at the sky and saw... destruction and death not seen since the last days of the Tyraxi.
Many ships, as if falling stars, burned in the atmosphere, many in pieces, debris flying left and right, some ships even split in half as if by a knife. The commanding ship of the invasion fleet shined in the night sky, without a scratch, but definitely dead.
The people that once hid in the bunker were now on the surface, watching the light show, as if painted to say, "I'M BACK." When the Arus wanted to set an example, an example was set with them. But the image painted on the Caloxi night sky said one more thing, a thing that was said long ago, eons, that a handful of people now lived to tell the tale of, to remember what was said, the quote engraved in their minds, lodged deep in their minds as if it was yesterday, "We're the Engineers, look at our works, ye Mighty, and despair, for we take the rule of the mortal realm!" the tall, skinny, slender figures standing, their arms outstretched after their enemies fell under the power that was given to them so long ago.
The people started to celebrate, as one, then two, then four, then seven and slowly every other city woke up, their communications restored, and damages were reported, yet it wasn't all that important, because they, the people of the Caloxi, lived as they said they would. And the Arus soldiers burned in the eternal fire of The Engineers.
Everyone started to celebrate, that is, everyone but one singular individual, and even though the same thing was stuck in the minds of other Elders, this one especially was taken up by it.
"Where are you, Max?" he asked Max, but he didn't know where they were, so he just asked the night sky.
He didn't get an answer per se, but he saw a flash from the broken ships that reflected off a dark ship, slowly approaching, in between the falling stars, slowly falling out of the sky and he smiled, another tear escaping his eye, and he hoped that he would survive just a minute longer to finally meet them again.