Even in our dire circumstances, Wade had been unable to resist boasting about how the military had chartered him to New York on a fighter jet; it seemed to make the law enforcement primal quite giddy, though I couldn’t identify the reasons. I never got the impression that Barron liked killing, so machines tailored to it shouldn’t have been up his alley on paper. There was a whole host of artillery fortifying the base, with many nations sending resources to the defense—even rival countries like China were patrolling right alongside the Americans.
It’s said that the primals can’t cooperate, but they put aside their differences in a hurry when faced with an outside threat. I can’t believe they’re all willing to defend me, but hopefully, the Council decides I’m not worth it.
It was difficult to make myself believe that Komadale would abandon his pursuit, after he’d already contacted the primals; the Clydid captain and his superiors would want to make an example of me. The thought of losing my dear human friends left a burning sensation in my chest, as I looked across the cluttered room. Kaitlin had hurried over some portable machines that NASA crafted, while we set up shop at the heart of a military base. She was monitoring screens that had multiple views across the facility, right alongside Wade.
The primals were taking up positions and barricading doorways; fighter jets prowled overhead in flybys, searching for any signs of the Council. I was positioned in a safe room underground, to be shielded from any demolition attempts or mortar strikes. Wade was wearing a bulletproof vest, as were Finley and Terry, and the humans had fashioned heated protective gear for me. They were sweet creatures. Kaitlin, however, had refused the vest, insisting that it was “too heavy” for her to manage. It truly wasn’t that burdensome, when it could save her life! What was up with her?
“Give me a gun,” a tense Finley barked at Wade.
Barron scowled. “Not a chance in hell. You’re a civilian—and according to the stories I’ve heard, you can’t shoot.”
“You could deputize me,” Terry suggested. “We’ll make it like the Alamo.”
“This might be Texas, but that shouldn’t be our goal. Look, if shit happens, a few guns won’t make a difference at that point. We need to get Craun out and down the tunnels, and…pray.”
Kaitlin pursed her lips. “The Council have ignored our messages, but we’re sending them up until the last. All they have to do is connect us to the Saphnos.”
“The Saphnos who barely exist anymore.” I gazed out at the screens, feeling trepidation at how many primals were risking their lives and making a stand here for me. “It’s funny. They don’t think you could be reasoned with, but humans are the ones trying while they stand uncompromising. You can’t compromise on being given the rights of people. I would gladly fight for a little more time with you.”
Terry cracked his knuckles. “Feeling’s clearly mutual, buddy. For animals, I think we have some mighty expensive missiles to sling at them. Let’s hope we can run them off.”
“I wanna fight,” Finley growled. “I wanna do something to help!”
I looked into his terrified green eyes, and pressed a hand to his shaking wrist. “You’re back to hiding and running with me again. You’ve already helped so much. Please, just stay by my side. I don’t want to lose you.”
“Oh, Craun. No matter what happens, I ain’t leaving you or letting anyone take you away from me! I’ll be with you to hell and back. I love you always.”
“I love you too.”
The atmosphere was choked and nervous while we waited, as all eyes watched the 24-hour timer tick under a minute left; the humans had measured the deadline with exactness. The moment of truth was drawing closer with each passing breath, and each primal’s head was tilted skyward—uncertain whether the Clydid would follow through or keep them guessing, and unsure how their weaponry stacked up. The shaking of Kaitlin’s hands was near uncontrollable, while Barron looked stiff and determined. Finley blinked several times, as Terry clapped his best friend and myself on the back.
One last look at the fiercely loyal, gentle, courageous beasts, who are far more than anyone thought possible. If I’m the only one who recognizes the real humanity, then I’m lucky to have known them. I can’t believe I once feared these people.
I found it difficult to breathe as we all watched the number hit zero, but glancing at Wade, I decided to try to lighten the mood. “First invasion?”
The FBI agent flashed his teeth, laughing. “Yeah. There’s a first time for everything.”
“Even Finley getting asked out,” Terry purred.
“With anger management flowers,” the farmer spat, shoving his friend. “Sometimes, I wanna do construction on your face.”
“Which is why you needed the flowers. Maybe the Council needs them too!”
Kaitlin arched an eyebrow. “Well, the deadline has passed, and nothing—”
“Kaitlin.” My eye crystals shook, as I spotted pods warping in across the military base’s exterior. “I…believe you spoke prematurely.”
The NASA scientist whirled around in time to see the six carbon races pouring out of the pods in harmony, while startled human soldiers wasted no time unloading bullets and blasting the landing sites. The primals had been caught off-guard by the Council appearing so closely within their midsts, and their jets raked around in an attempt to provide air support. The invaders wore plate armor, which reflected the projectiles like child’s play.
Wait. The humans’ hand-held kinetics aren’t armor-piercing? Then they’re not going to stand a chance against the Council. It’s too late to get them to surrender—and they’re already angry and fighting. For me.
The bite was taken out of human kinetics, unless the primals could hit weak points or degrade the armor with enough strikes to rip it open. Earth’s military forces switched to lobbing grenades, after seeing how ineffective their munitions were; explosives proved more damaging, between the blast waves and the shrapnel. The Council pressed forward against a sea of bullets, and raised armored shields with mail slots for their weapons—adding more defenses to what was already impenetrable. It was their turn to open fire on the primals.
Wade pressed his hands to his head, horrified. “Dear God. Armor people real…Craun! Why didn’t you warn us about them being fucking bulletproof?!”
“I thought you had more sophisticated kinetics. You said you had bulletproofing technology, and I assumed that the course of your violence would’ve directed you to find ways to fight around it.”
Barron clutched at his vest with a hand, his brown eyes blank and almost frozen. “Kevlar. We have Kevlar.”
“Perhaps you should beg for mercy.”
“I’d rather die than beg for their ‘mercy!’” Finley spat.
“Don’t talk like that!”
Kaitlin cleared her throat. “They attacked us and invaded our world without provocation. We’ve come this far. We have one job, and it’s to keep you safe. Whatever they’ll say about us, they’ll see that humanity stood for something.”
I gazed in horror, as laser weapons burned through the primals’ ranks and coated them in smoking red blood. My jaw quavered, seeing helpless humans lying in their leaking fluids; their guns were still clutched in their hands, and their faces were afraid and pained. How many lives were being lost, all because of my decision to come here and bring this upon their innocent heads? I couldn’t let them die in a pointless fight—the guilt was untenable. They were sweet and empathetic: so eager to help and so ill-equipped to oppose the Council.
“What the fuck? They’re kidnapping the bodies!” Finley shouted. “They’re stopping us from treating anyone.”
True to the farmer’s word, the Council soldiers were swooping in to snatch the fallen primals; they dragged the gravely-injured humans to a pod, functioning as a collection site, before warping them away with their final charge. I didn’t know what they were playing at, but even if these were primals, I didn’t believe they were needlessly cruel. Komadale couldn’t want to kill any of the natives that he didn’t “have to.” This was a conservation world, so why prevent medics from treating them?
I can see the Council medics tending to the small number of their own injuries in the field, but they’re completely ignoring the wounded humans. These poor people…
The exterior line of human defenses around my building had collapsed, and the Council scorched a hole through the wall, bypassing the door’s barricade. Screams came from cowering scientists and diplomats, who were huddled together with raised hands. Wade’s face curled into something visceral and animalistic when the invaders pointed guns at the unarmed civilians, who cried and pleaded. I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding, when the Council turned away and disregarded them altogether.
“They don’t kill noncombatants?” Kaitlin noted, her voice fraught with fear.
I hugged Finley, feeling my chest shake with fear. “No. Only those who directly oppose them. No reason to gun down…primals who don’t pose a threat.”
The Council pressed closer toward the tunnel to our shelter, accepting a handful of surrenders from shellacked primal soldiers. Their explanation for that human behavior was likely that fear was stronger than anger, rather than that they maintained their wits enough to lay down their arms. Those instances of submission had stalled the invaders long enough for the US military to pass out new munitions to a handful of defenders. They’d fetched something called anti-materiel rifles, and set up choke points to stall the invasion.
My heart leapt with renewed hope, as the primals’ weapons tore through the armor; humans were always forward-thinking with contingency planning, in the time I’d known them! The Council seemed surprised, as a handful of clean shots tore off limbs or peaked through walls from the side. If the humans had such artillery all along, why had they started with weaker firearms?! The local military began holding the line, hunkered down behind barriers that absorbed some of the laser’s firepower.
Wade fist-pumped, with a sudden whoop of energy. “We can get them! That’s what I’m talking about.”
“Maybe we should try to capture their wounded back,” Terry suggested.
“That’s not who we are,” Kaitlin spat, a surprising vehemence in her voice. “We only have to live with ourselves. Our job is to protect Craun.”
“Agreed.” Agent Barron nodded, zooming in on a retreating Council soldier talking and adjusting their weapons. “Craun. Can you tell what they’re saying?”
I moved closer to the human, and was able to pick up a few of the Kexin officer’s orders: enough to glean a key bit of information about how they were fighting. “Um, Wade?”
“…um, Craun?”
“They’re shooting their laser weapons at 60% power, so that they’ll be less lethal…”
Barron’s eyes bulged. “…that’s not full power?!”
“No.”
“…well, fuck.”
The Council soldiers began increasing the dials on their guns to max power, as the humans appeared too capable of pushing back to allow the resistance to gain traction. Lasers incinerated the holdouts’ defenses, while the primals churned through ammunition with devious shots. The natives were making the Council work to breach the tunnel, and I had to give them credit for mounting such a spirited resistance. They’d done their best, and I felt more terrible than ever that they’d needed to.
That said, the fact that the invaders had been going “easy” on humanity had knocked the wind out of Barron’s sails. The battle in the hallway was a bloody affair, with a full blast laser shot liquefying clean through a human’s torso. The Council kept the lethal, amplified weapons at max power long enough to regain control of the situation, before cranking their settings back down as the primals’ numbers dwindled.
The invaders had no intention of a needless slaughter, using only what force was necessary to clear the path to my underground hideout. It was unclear how long the humans could hold this chokepoint, but I suspected their defeat was inevitable given enough time. If the primals still wanted to get me out of here, which I wasn’t sure they should try, it might be best to start that evacuation now.
A/N - 37! The deadline passes, and the Council arrives in full force to reclaim Craun from the military base. Humans weren’t warned about the Council’s armor capacity in time to have armor-piercing munitions ready out of the gate, and our narrator also notes that the invaders have dialed down their weapons to avoid lethality. Kaitlin is relieved that the scientists and surrendering noncombatants are spared and ignored; wanton death isn’t desirable.
Do humans even have a chance of getting Craun out of the military base alive? What do you think of how the Council is fighting us and trying to avoid killing us?
As always, thank you for reading and supporting!