Alex realized that this battle might be lost. The rest of the Cerberus would

  require hours to be in the right place to land from orbit. For the first time, he felt

  desperation. He was absolutely sure that they were undefeatable at open war, but

  their lack of experience proved them weak. The enemy had been born in war; they

  feared nothing, and they adapted fast. The battle outside his walls was raging, and

  the Naga and Goblins were fighting with their backs at the wall of Argos. How long

  before they pass them and climb our walls? he thought. The Goblins can get through

  the hatches and will swarm in the city. Even if the Cerberus land in a few hours, there

  will be no way to fire at them in the city. He then stood up and ran outside, jumped

  the wall, and found Habo. “Are you ready for an attack?” he asked while hiding his

  fear with a smirk.

  “You mean fight together? Why? Go hide in your walls and use your

  machines when they have finished with us,” said Habo with pride.

  “Habo! You led your people to battle. Now lead them to life. Stop being

  stubborn and give me your word. We fight together?”

  “How will I live with this shame?” he asked and let out a desperate loud roar.

  “So be it, Alex! Help my people survive, and you will have an ally forever.”

  “Can I count on your friends there to do the same?”

  “They are noble on their word. I will speak to Prana.”

  Then Alex turned to his communicator. “Bara! If the Orcs and these Naga fall,

  we are doomed. We need to mount a counteroffensive while we can! Everyone, back

  out! Arm yourselves with courage and weapons, and try to avoid close combat! Orcs

  and Naga are our friends! Target only Goblins.”

  In the following hour, Habo acted as a wall for Alex, who was firing his

  weapons on the first line. As the battle was progressing more and more, Alex’s

  commands at the front made a difference. He maneuvered the strong Orcs to

  strengthen the sides of the front and used the Naga as a first line at the center. Their

  only job was to hold their shields and make a wall. Behind and in between them,

  humans would fire their weapons, protected from the shields, and slowly the lines

  progressed to victory. It looked as if they were carefully choreographed. The screams

  of Ags as he was losing the battle brought new courage toward the end of it. After the

  ceasefire, Ags was furious. Instead of calling for retreat and heading back to his city,

  he called forward Alex, Habo, and Prana, the leader of the Naga. “Get him here!” he

  yelled to one of his warriors. A small Orc prisoner was dragged to the front line.

  “Tiel!” yelled Habo. “This is my son, you filthy little Goblin.”

  “Take another step toward me and he dies, along with all the other prisoners

  you politely left for me back at your home,” said Ags. “The city was defenseless. You

  must have hated the humans a lot to take every soldier with you. Pity your hatred is

  stronger than your intelligence.”

  Habo looked devastated. His pride, his strength and now his family was on

  the line “Alex, do something! Use your magic and save my son! They will not let him

  live!” he said with tears.

  “Giuli,” said Alex into his communicator, “can you take the shot?”

  “Of course, I can take the shot,” answered Giuli, who was observing from the

  top of a building.

  “Don’t kill him. Only wound him. Then keep away from the kid anyone who

  approaches him. Fire!”

  The shot was surgical. The bullet found Ags on top of his shoulder while

  holding the large young Orc. Tiel began to run. Two Goblins who tried to get him got

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  shot down by Giuli, the merciless sniper.

  “Don’t move!” Alex yelled. “Anyone moves and the next shot will be on you.

  Let the boy come! Ags, the next will be on your head! Do as I say and come here so

  we can all talk!”

  Habo smiled watching Ags walking with his head down. “Yes, come here,

  coward! Now I will finally end you!”

  “No, you will not!” he said. “Do you understand this language as well?” he

  asked Prana in Orcish.

  “Yes, I do! My name is Prana. I am the leader of these soldiers. You are

  Alex.”

  “Great! Now we can all speak together.” He pointed at the Cerberus. “The

  metal giant you see there is called Cerberus. This one was not ready for war. We

  have a few more of those, and they will be able to land anywhere, even better

  prepared next time. I really suggest that you mark those words. Going to war with us

  is a mistake that should not be repeated.”

  “You saved my son, and for that I will remain your ally forever.”

  “The Goblins will never become your friends,” said Ags in anger while holding

  his wound. “I will never forget what you did to me and how your poison tongue tries to

  make everything sound innocent.”

  “Ags, send a message to your people to release Habo’s prisoners unharmed,”

  Alex said. “Also trying to attack us in such a sneaky manner will not go unpunished a

  second time.”

  “What of us?” asked Prana. “What will you do, Alex of the humans?”

  “I would like to talk with you. We are coming in peace, and it is hard for most

  to see this.”

  “But you are an invader. An invader who has killed more than our greatest

  enemies in such a small time. You have the ability to bring great misery. Your

  confidence does not have its source in kindness but in strength. Are we now taking

  our orders from you?” asked Prana calmly.

  “No. You do not take orders from us,” answered Alex. “We do not see

  ourselves as invaders. We will have this piece of land to call home, and we will be in

  peace with everyone else. Now, however, is not the time for this discussion. We will

  gather and speak in the following days. Now is the time to stop the madness.”

  Juuda and Bara looked at each other, feeling like they were in a tight spot.

  Humans were invading this planet, and it was hard to see it differently. After the

  meeting was over, everyone took their remaining men and carried their dead back

  home. Argos, the once-beautiful plan for human colonization and prosperity, was now

  painted red, green, and blue from blood. Like a twisted artist’s work, it had a sense of

  beauty, but nobody could see it. Although in victory, nobody was smiling. Nobody

  was celebrating. Everyone was coming out of the bunkers and moving aimlessly in

  the destruction. Those who had previously thought they were ready to face any

  enemy were the most silent of all. The fear of another battle became the most

  terrifying thought in everyone’s minds. As humans gathered their dead, they were in

  disbelief of what had just happened. The bodies of more than fifty of their people lay

  in front of them, and they were preparing a mass grave for them.

  “Are we to live with constant fear the rest of our lives?” asked Maria.

  “We have nothing to be afraid of. This will not repeat itself,” answered Jain.

  “How do you know that? How do you know that tomorrow they will not be

  back here with double the armies?” asked Maria again in panic.

  “We don’t know,” said Bara, “but we do know that they took a beating from a

  handful of people that they will never forget. If I was them, I would not dare come near

  again.”

  “You are not them! How can you guarantee that we are going to be safe?”

  Alex turned to face the crowd. “Guarantee? We are on an alien planet! We are

  invading those people, and our only way to survive is to be tough! You want guarantees?

  What more guarantee can you have than what you see around you? We thought we

  made friends here. We thought we would be able to live in peace. This expedition

  was supposed to be the continuation of humanity. As far as we know, we might only

  be able to survive through war. There are no guarantees! We will now start preparing

  for the worst. Our city will never be breached again. All Cerberus will be spread so

  that on short notice, they can land. We need a weapons-production facility and a silo

  to store them. We can’t trust anyone but ourselves. From now on, everyone will

  practice with weapons. Until we can be sure we are safe, we will prepare.”

  Juuda planned to 3-D print a memorial to the fallen of the city. Today’s events

  should never be repeated, he thought. We have to keep this day to our memory.

  Every human should remember that there is no war without losses and suffering.

  Then he turned to Alex. “Are you planning on taking them on?” he said.

  “I am planning to lose no more people in this hell.”

  “This is not hell. This is a paradise, just like Earth once was. Let’s just try to

  make it this way.”

  Alex smiled, the first smile he had in a while. “Although your optimism is, as

  always, great, it’s hard to think this way now. Thank you, though.”