Captain Rydian of the Human Galactic Unit

I paced the living room as the others watched. Rubi was panicked, "What do we do?! We can't take on that thing!"

I sighed, "You could, but it wouldn't end well. Not for anyone. Since the klitons don't understand, they won't know how to surrender or negotiate! If they don't do one of those things, and fast, the Armada will take it as defiance and attack. Then the war begins."

Lillian was terrified, "We have to do something! Anything! We can't let a war start!"

Cleo nodded, "Especially when Earth is far more advanced than us. They could destroy Klicta with that thing!"

I sighed, "I'm afraid to say you're right, Cleo. If they see Klicta fighting back, they might decide it’s too dangerous and simply wipe it out." The others gasped in horror.

I rubbed my chin, "We need to do something, now." I turned to Vanessa, "I need connection into the Armada. Can you put me through?"

She shook her head, "I tried, but it’s no use. Either they're too far up for my range, or someone cut off all frequencies to the Armada."

I groaned, "At this point, either wouldn't surprise me." I sighed, "Ok, so we need another way up there. If I can just talk to the Commander, I can stop this."

Rubi scoffed, "How!?"

I smiled, "I am Earth's hero, and she still owes me. She'll at least listen to me."

Lillian was still worried, "But she abandoned you. How can you be sure she won't this time too?"

I felt confident, "Right now, it’s our only chance." They knew I was right.

I looked over them, "Anyone know how we can get to the Capital fast?"

Orville was surprised, "The Capital?"

I nodded, "We need one last piece for the ship. If I can get that last piece, I can fly the ship up to the Armada."

Rubi threw up his arms, "Are you insane!? You'll never make it! The Enforcers Station is one of the most heavily guarded places on Klicta! You'll be lucky if you make it within five feet of that place!"

I sighed, "Again, this is our only chance to stop this." I grinned, "Besides, I highly doubt they secured it against alien lifeforms and their advanced technology." I turned to Alphonse, "I need everything and anything useful that we've got."

I grinned, "I'm breaking into the Enforcers Station."

In the Armada, General Terron watched below as klitons ran and screamed from the alien ships above. She felt deep guilt as she watched, knowing it was her fault. She was about to be responsible for the down fall of an entire civilization.

Hands laid on her shoulders from behind, "There you are, my darling."

She pulled away, "Remove your hands." She turned to General Coin, "What do you think you're doing?"

He shrugged, "Trying to relax you."

She wasn't amused, "I'm talking about that." She pointed at the screens watching below, "This is madness. We're about to start a war!" She glared at him, "All because of your foolish jealousy!"

He smirked, "Really? Because I don't recall leaving the boy stranded on Klicta. I also can't remember lying to the Commander about Rydian being dead." He grinned coldly, "Thanks to you, my dear, I will be the new hero of Earth. I'll have wiped out the most dangerous civilization on this side of the universe!"

She scoffed, "Three things wrong with that, dear. One, the person who with get the credit is the Commander. Two, we're not here to wipe out Klicta, only take control of it. And three, none of that can happen at all because the current hero, the one who will know everything, is right below us somewhere."

He laughed, "Very true, my lovely wife. Though, seeing as he's technically already dead, no one will mind if I verify it. So long as he lives, he's a threat." His smile turned cruel, "And thanks to you, I now realise so is our dear Commander."

General Terron paled, "Coin, you can't mean that. That's mutiny. Not only against the Commander, but against all of Earth."

General Coin smirked, "I'm sorry, my angel, but it must be done. I've taken orders for far too long, and for what? To lose my greatest achievement to a child? All because that little girl they call a Commander owes him or respects him, or even because she has some crush on him? I won't have it!"

General Terron stepped back from him, "What's happened to you?" She looked angry, "If you do this, Coin, I will never forgive you. And I certainly won't help you."

He shrugged, "I can live with that." He turned and walked out. He grinned from outside the door, "Goodbye, my darling. When you come out, Earth will be under a new Commander." General Terron ran for the door, but they closed in front of her and locked her in.

General Coin smiled, "Now, to deal with the runt and the girl." He turned and walked away, ignoring the pounding of his angry wife on the metal doors.

I watched everyone running amok below from my roof. Alphonse was setting up two impressive white hoverbikes for Orville, Rubi, Cleo, and myself. The plan was for the four of us to get the part while Lillian stayed with Vanessa and Alphonse to create a way to stall the Armada if need be.

Alphonse spoke, "They're ready, sir."

I walked over. I had on my battle suit pod, my old cadet belt full of different tools I might need, and my old cadet goggles, just in case. I climbed onto one, "Thanks, Alphonse."

Cleo hopped on behind me as I started it up and it began to hover. I handed Cleo a head band that opened up into a red helmet when she put it on. She cleared her throat, "So, none of your human clothing changes color?"

I smiled, "Nope. That's the fun part."

Orville started up the second one while Rubi held on, sitting behind him. Orville smiled as it started to hover, "Cool." He looked over at me, "When this is all over, can I keep this?"

I shrugged, "Sure, why not?" He grinned big and shot off on it, making Rubi scream like a little girl. I laughed, "For that, he can totally keep it!" I looked over at Alphonse, Lillian, and Vanessa, "I'll be back as soon as I can! Wish us luck!" With that, I shot off too.

Lillian smiled, "Good luck, Rydian! And be careful!"

Rubi sighed as he held on to Orville, "She does remember the rest of us are coming too, right?"

I grinned and zoomed ahead. Orville followed after me. I yelled over the screaming klitons and the other noises around me to Orville, "You remember the way to the Capital?"

He nodded, "Just follow me!" He shot ahead and I followed.

I glanced into my side mirror to see the Armada. I could only hope this worked. If it didn't, all of Klicta would suffer. I glared at the ship. If anything happened to Klicta, I was gonna make the General pay.

On the Armada, the Commander sat in her chair in the large command center of the ship. She looked stern as she watched the screens. She watched klitons screaming and running in the streets. Something made her feel guilt in bringing so much terror. Was she really making the right choice?

Then General Coin walked in, "Commander, how are things? Have you gotten a surrender yet?"

She glanced at him, "Are you certain they can contact us? They are evolved, but are they advanced enough?"

He smiled, "Yes, sir. I looked into all our files on this planet and I am confident they can. I think they are simply stubborn. In fact, there was a signal somewhere down below. I think their leader is there."

She turned to him, "Are you sure it was a response?"

He sighed, "I couldn't be sure, sir. Perhaps you should take a few sentries with you and take a look. I can watch things from here. If they attempt any attack, I will have backup for you." He gave a salute.

She glanced at the door, then at him, "Where is General Terron?"

He shrugged, "I haven't seen her. I was just out looking for her. I fear this may be a bit much for her. After the last war that nearly took her life, I'm afraid the fears from that day have begun to haunt her."

The Commander looked sympathetic, "I know how she feels. I can't shake the feeling that I'm wrong about this."

He looked at her, "What about Rydian? What they did to him was wrong too."

She sighed, "I know, but does that make this right? Would even he do something like this?" She remembered the few times she and I had together. She just couldn't see me hurting an entire planet for one life, even one that was important to me or to anyone else. It seemed almost hypocritical.

General Coin smiled, laying a kind hand on her shoulder, "I know it is a difficult decision, sir, but I know you will make the right choice. For now, we should see about meeting with their leaders."

She nodded, "Yes, you're right. Perhaps we can negotiate things properly." She stood up, "I need four sentries to go down with me. Also, I need the exact location the signal was from."

General Coin gave a salute, "Yes, sir." But the cold grin he had as she turned away proved that he had other plans.

Back with Orville, Rubi, Cleo, and I, we had just reached the Capital, and it was in as much disarray as Tintale Town. Enforcers were everywhere, trying to keep everyone calm. I was glad I had used my disguise as we rode carefully past. I followed Orville through alleys and back roads where the Enforcers wouldn't see us. We couldn't afford the trouble.

Soon we came out in front of a tall fence around an enormous black building. I climbed off my bike and searched through my belt, "This is where we have to be fast and careful. You three ready?" They nodded, determined.

I pulled out a laser and started cutting an opening in the fence. Once it was open, we slipped in. I pulled out a gun and shot down any cameras I saw. I could only hope no one was bothering to watch the cameras with how hectic things were. We soon reached the door and I hacked the lock with a couple little tools I used a lot as a cadet.

We made our way through hall after hall. The place seemed totally empty, and big. I was starting to worry we wouldn't find the part in time.

Orville was thinking the same thing, "This place is too big. We need a way to find it quickly so we can get out of here."

I looked at the tiny screen on my wrist, "Vanessa, can you read me?"

She appeared, though a little fuzzy, "I'm here, sir."

I spoke, "Is there any way you can give us a more direct route to the part?"

She nodded, "I think so. Give me a moment." She disappeared as we continued walking.

Suddenly, alarms started blaring and red lights flashed above. I groaned, "Great."

Vanessa appeared, "I am so sorry, sir. I was looking into maps and accidentally set off the alarms."

I sighed, "It’s alright. Did you get the map?"

She nodded, "Yes, sir." She disappeared and a map appeared.

I smiled, "That'll do. Thanks, Vanessa. We'll take it from here." I turned to the others, "Let's hurry. If we're fast enough, we just might get out of here." We ran for the part.

It didn't take long to reach the large storage room. Tables and shelves around the room were covered in parts, tech, and other things. I looked around, "Ok, we need to find the part. Vanessa, give me a picture to work with."

A little picture appeared next to the map. It looked like a fat corkscrew with a glowing cylinder in the middle and a tiny plug in the tip. I sighed, "That shouldn't be too hard to find."

"Found it!" was Rubi's immediate words as he held up the part.

I smiled, "Good work, now let's get out of here. The only reason we haven't had trouble is because everyone was out in town. They're bound to be here soon." We hurried out.

Just as we came out of the room, there were Enforcers coming from down the hall. I grabbed Cleo's hand and ran the other way, "Come on!" Orville and Rubi hurried after me.

We ran as fast as we could, following the map to get to an exit. I groaned, "I hope they didn't find our bikes, otherwise I just might have to hijack a car."

Rubi was surprised, "You can do that?"

Orville grinned, "By this point, you're honestly surprised? We just broke into the Enforcers Station!"

Rubi shrugged, "True."

I grinned, "There's the exit! We make a break for the bikes and... oh shoot." We skidded to a stop as we were met by about twenty Enforcers with guns aimed at us right outside the exit.

I groaned, "Wonderful."

The one at the lead, a red kliton man, spoke, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

I sighed, "We needed a part." I pointed up at the ship, "I think I can stop that ship, but I need a part to get up there."

He didn't look convinced, "Why would you be able to?"

I sighed and clicked a button on my arm to remove my helmet, then I changed my appearance to normal. The Enforcers gasped in surprise. I sighed, "Because I'm one of them. If you just..."

An Enforcer cut me off, "We need to take him in. If he's one of them, maybe we can stop that ship."

I stepped back as they cocked their guns, "You don't want to do that. That'll only make things worse. They'll see it as a threat and attack. You'll be starting a war, and Klicta isn't advanced enough to stand a chance."

Then another kliton walked over. I groaned, "Hilary."

She grinned coldly, "Told you I'd get you." She turned to the Enforcers, "Don't listen to him. He's one of them. He's no doubt here to steal that engine for his race. We can't let him leave!" The four of us backed together from the Enforcers as they closed in.

"Wait!"

We all turned to see, to my surprise, Professor Nick. He sighed, "Just wait."

Then someone stepped up next to him. It was Lady Lavender. She looked as incredible as ever. We all bowed.

She spoke in her enchanting voice, "Rydian, please stand." I sighed and did as she said.

She looked me over, "So, you are one of them?"

I nodded, "Yes, Lady Lavender. We're humans from planet Earth."

She was calm, "I know. The professor already told me everything."

I sighed, "Look, I know he doesn't like me, and that's fair. I did lie, but I'm not evil. I've never hurt anyone. The only reason I broke in was because I knew no one would listen to me. He proved that all too well." Professor Nick didn't look at me.

Lady Lavender nodded, "I know. He's told me all that also."

Before I could say anything else, something shot at me, knocking me back. If I wasn't wearing my suit, that would have been a very ugly picture. We all looked to see about thirty sentries surrounding us. The Enforcers aimed at them, but tiny red pointers appeared on them in turn.

I spoke up, "Wait! Nobody shoot!" I stepped forward, "I am Space Captain Rydian of the Human Galactic Unit. I demand you stand down!"

One of the sentries spoke, "There is no longer a Captain Rydian. You are a traitor and will be executed by order of General Coin."

I smirked, "Called it." I jumped back as one shot at me again.

Lady Lavender stepped in the way, "Rydian, take the part. Do what you can to stop this. If you really can stop this, then I am asking you to do so. For Klicta."

I nodded, "I'll do whatever it takes." I turned to the others, "We need to get back and finish the ship. Come on!" We hurried off as sentries started attacking. In only two seconds, the Enforcers and the sentries were in an all-out battle.

We jumped on our hoverbikes, dodging stray shots as we went. I glanced back at Lady Lavender as she commanded her Enforcers. She reminded me of Commander Mayn on a battlefield, powerful and confident.

As we started up our bikes, Professor Nick hurried over. I sighed, "Thanks for getting Lady Lavender, professor. I'm sure Lillian will be happy to hear about it."

He looked worried, "Please watch out for her, Rydian. I know she's going to help you, even if things get too dangerous. I'm begging you to protect her."

I nodded, "I will. I promise." With that, I zoomed off and Orville followed.

Now General Coin was really gonna get it.