With every step closer to the machine, fear warmed within her until it burned like a fiery sun. Her breathing became erratic, and her body trembled as they now stood at the entrance to the Matter Shaper. The General was at her side supporting her the entire way.

“You will not enter until you are ready,” said the General in a supportive tone. His face showed admiration as he knew the terror that this machine holds. Tharros was not from his world but, she was willing to sacrifice herself to save the billions of souls that faced the dread that was coming.

After a few long moments, her breathing stabilized, and the trembling had become but a minor shake. “I think I am ready to continue,” whispered Tharros in a very nervous tone. There was still a white light emitting from the entrance and sparks of lightning were still pulsating up through the glass tubes that lead through the ceiling and out to the top of the mountain. Clouds continued to orbit around the mountain top and thunder and lightning could be heard for miles around. From a distance, observers would think heaven was descending upon the mountain as white light emitted up into the sky.

“Upon entering through the glass doors,” explained the General, “walk to the center of the floor and face the front. I will then continue to communicate with you through this device which you place in your ear.” He handed her what looked like a small white orb with a point at one end. Tharros placed the device in her ear with shaking hands. She then took what seemed like a few thousand deep breaths and then nervously walked through the glass doors into the white light. She shaded her eyes and walked slowly as if pushing through a storm of powerful brightness. Upon reaching the center, she turned and faced the front.

“Do you hear me, Tharros?” asked the General through the earpiece in her ear.

It was comforting that she could hear him so clearly with what seemed like a vortex of wind surrounding her and the loud humming of the machine. Nervously she spoke, “I do.”

“Perfect. I am going to begin the program. There will be an increasingly loud noise and the light will intensify. Do not worry, it will not harm you,” explained the General. Tharros noticed that his tone made her think that he was not certain. “You will feel a light sensation beginning to intensify throughout your body. You will begin to feel like you are floating away. After that, you will begin to see images in your mind and then you will…blackout.”

Tharros’s heart began to beat even faster as she became even more nervous on hearing what events were to happen next. Blacking out was not something she wanted to hear. “What happens after I blackout?” she asked nervously. Her body was trembling again from fright, and she was beginning to have second thoughts for the hundredth time.

“You will awake, of course, but your mind will be somewhere else, but your physical body will be here. Where your mind takes you is different for everyone. Usually, the most significant memories that mean most to you is where you go. These memories will feel very real, and it will be hard to know that you are not really there. Once the program is finished, you will then return to full consciousness and then…you will walk out feeling quite incredible.” The General did not want to mention that he had no idea if that would be the actual outcome. He then asked, “Are you ready?”

Tharros took a few very long breaths, but the trembling and the fear did not stop. Then it felt as if something had enveloped her, and she felt peace. Her mind was clear, and she knew that she was ready. She closed her eyes and quietly whispered, “Yes.”

The General pushed a few buttons on the glass screen and then clicked the button that said, “Execute” in his native language. The lightning strikes within the glass tubes began to intensify. The white light began to brighten. The whole room became like they were standing within a giant star. Others in the room looked up and saw more clouds forming and huge lightning strikes all around the mountain top. The whole room shook as the thunder roared outside. The white light emitting from the top of the mountain now could be seen from space.

Inside the device, Tharros could feel that the wind had picked up greatly. She could feel the heat of the light upon her body. She began feeling the light sensation around her entire body, but it was more than a light sensation. It felt as if she was about to be ripped apart. Then the sensation was gone, and she was floating away, and she could not keep herself awake and then she saw nothing but pure blackness.

She opened her eyes and standing in front of her was her father. She was outside her home on her planet and everything around her looked as beautiful and peaceful as she remembered it. They were high up on the side of a mountain overlooking the beautiful valley below. Her first thought upon seeing her father was that he was alive, but then memories came rushing in and she felt like she was forced to say what came into her mind.

“I have to go,” said Tharros.

“Why?” asked her father. “Why can’t we just leave? You know our defenses will not be enough. They have taken over all other planets in this region. Many have bowed to their rule in order to survive. Our governments are foolish to think we can fight them.”

“You have no courage, Father!” yelled Tharros. “I will not allow them to take over our world! If we stand and fight, we can beat them!”

“I know when I see a fight that I cannot win…and sometimes it takes more courage to walk away and live then die with no purpose.”

“No purpose!” shouted Tharros. “You believe that dying to defend our planet, our homes is dying without a purpose!? How can you say that!?”

“When you know you have no way to win, why fight? Their forces are too strong. We can leave and find a way to fight them when we have the power to win.”

“You disappoint me, Father! I am going to take my post with our planet’s security forces like I said I would and defend our planet! I refuse to stay here any longer and talk to someone who has no courage!”

She turned and entered the vehicle that was waiting for her. It lifted off the ground and headed into the air towards the military bases. As the ship departed, she could see her father standing there watching her leave. He did not turn away or cry out, but just watched her leave. Her eyes closed and darkness appeared.

She opened her eyes to find herself now in one of her planet’s many spaceships racing towards a large Elite Kraken Warship. Many smaller Kraken ships were flying towards her and her planet’s security forces. “That this day be known as the day we send these devils back to their eternal hell!” she yelled into her ship’s communication device. She heard the supportive yells of her fellow soldiers. “Eliletas, take your squadron and flank them on the right! Taras, your squadron will attack them from above! My squadron will attack that Warship to draw their fire! May the great god Zeus bless our efforts! Give these Kraken devils everything we got!” She heard her squadron leaders answer in the affirmative and then she slammed her ship’s throttle forward. Blue fire flamed from the rear thrusters as she felt the force pulling her into her chair.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

As she approached the giant Warship with her squadron, she saw that her plan was working as laser fire began exploding around her, and not around her fellow soldiers. She hoped that this would give the other squadrons the time to take out the smaller Kraken ships. The laser fire intensified even more as she saw one of her squadron ships ignite sending shrapnel into her path. She flew through it making her ship shake hard. She heard the cries of others in her squadron as they felt the power this Warship had. Then another explosion followed by another.

“Scramble! Scramble! Scramble!” she yelled into communicator. It meant break formation and that you are on your own. Hundreds of ships broke off into different directions trying to dodge the incoming fire. More explosions were seen and felt. Tharros could not believe the firing power of this dreaded Kraken vessel. She tried to fly through the constant explosions around her, hoping that she may be able to attack the Warship and take out a few of their guns. Others in her squadron tried the same technique and many failed. She broke off her flight pattern, knowing now it was hopeless.

She now found herself in a dogfight with many of the smaller Kraken ships. Her ship passed through many debris fields of other ships from her planet’s security forces that had fallen. These other squadrons were being eliminated as fast as her own. Her ship was hit with more laser fire, and she was closed to losing all shields. Many alerts on her ship’s controls were warning her of many dangers. She did not feel she was going to make it out of this battle alive.

She quickly maneuvered away from more incoming smaller Kraken ships and then used her skills in flying to get behind them. She fired with full power and took down two. She evaded right, then back left and then she fired again destroying another incoming Kraken ship and then flew right through the explosion of that ship. She checked her power in her shields and other auxiliaries, and it did not look good. She saw her planet in the distance and decided that running away was the best course of action as she saw more of her fellow fighters destroyed. They stood no chance at the incredible power of this enemy. Exactly what her father had told her.

She engaged her thrusters to their fullest power and raced back towards the planet. She saw Kraken ships beginning to enter the atmosphere. Their defenses stood no chance. Cities were being hit and explosions were everywhere. Large rockets and heavy laser fire were seen coming from large Kraken ships. As they hit, massive explosions were seen. Tharros descended into the planet’s atmosphere and headed towards her home. She could see thousands of Kraken Soldiers leaving from landed Kraken vessels and firing upon fleeing species of her planet. They were using large laser rifles, plasma guns, but the most effective of the weapons was a mini plasma rocket launcher that left many dead with each explosion. She did not stop to help but kept flying towards her home. She took more incoming laser fire and fire ignited around her rear thrusters. She was going down. She quickly hit the eject button and found herself pushing upward into the sky. She saw her ship smash into the ground below with a large explosion sending debris in every direction. She then extended her wings and began soaring through the skies like her species was meant to.

She tried to keep out of sight of the attacking forces, but she was spotted, and more laser fire came her direction. She took a direct hit on her arm which sent her falling. She crashed hard and she knew instantly that her arm was broken, and she was bleeding badly from a gash on her side. This did not stop her. She got up and began running towards her home.

Almost forty-five minutes later, Tharros could see her home high on the mountain side. It was still there, but there were explosions all around. She ran as quickly as she could. She was out of breath and very close to passing out. She knew that she needed to fly to reach her home but did not know if she had the strength. She had to try. Tharros launched into the air. The pain was almost too unbearable, but she made it to the cliffside of her home and landed hard. Everywhere she looked was death and destruction happening. “Death could just take it all away,” she thought as she laid on the cliffside overlooking a sight she had looked upon hundreds of times. Now all of it gone and here she would take her last breath.

“This is not how it will end!” Tharros yelled with all her strength. She got up and dragged herself forward towards her home. Tharros could see her family through the windows. She called out and her father recognized her voice. He came to the door, swung it open and began frantically look around and then he saw her. A large giant smile caressed his face. He began to run towards her. She pulled herself forward with all the strength she had. They were so close to touching, but then there was an explosion that sent her and her father flying backwards. She awoke screaming with a scream that only her species could do. It was a scream of pure horror. When she finally stopped, she felt fear pulsating through her whole body, and her breathing was very erratic. Then she realized that someone was holding her hands. At first, she felt that it was her father, and the fear began to disperse. Then she saw before her the General holding her hands with the same calm face as her father. A small smile appeared on her face.

“I know,” the General calmy stated. “I know the pain you went through. The program is finished. Now, you will have peace.”

She stood there in the middle of the device trying to understand what had happened. The light had dimmed immensely and the power running through the device was much quieter. She looked all around and could see everyone outside the machine, staring in with looks of fear. She then looked at the General and he gave her a warm smile.

“It is over. Please come with me,” asked the General with a calm voice. She obeyed and they both walked out of the device together through the large glass doors.

Upon leaving, she heard everyone asking at the same time, “Tharros, are you ok?” “How are you feeling?” She did not respond for a moment because she was trying to collect her thoughts. Then, her breathing normalized, and she noticed that her eyesight had greatly improved. Her hearing was incredible. She lifted up her arms and she could feel power racing though them. The pain that always seemed to be where she broke her arm, was now gone. She moved her legs and could feel the strength within them. They had never felt this powerful before. She spread her wings which surprised everyone. She flapped them a couple of times which brought a smile to the General’s face. She could feel the power in her wings, and it was spectacular. The wind from her flapping the wings pushed everybody back. A face of amazement appeared on her face when she realized that there was not an ounce of pain in all her body for the first time in forever.

“Tharros?” asked Igetis with a kind warm smile as she approached her. “Are you ok?” She did not reply, but her face still showed the same face as before. “Tharros?” he asked again. “How are you feeling?”

Tharros gave a huge smile and said in a small whisper, “I feel absolutely…” she paused thinking of what word to use, then she held out her hands and looked to the ceiling. She launched into the air with speed and precision. The force from her takeoff pushed Igetis sliding across the floor. He reacted with a sly smile as he watched her fly. Tharros could not believe the power she felt as she soared around the large room. Everyone below was shouting and hollering with excitement. She took sharp corners with ease. She made loops in the air and other amazing tricks as everyone continued to shout and holler as they watched the show with pure enthusiasm. She then landed on her feet with a spectacular smash, which rattled the ground. She then stood straight up and simply replied with one word, “Amazing!”

The General looked around at everyone and asked, “Who’s next?”