The Rain: The End by Marietta Standlee (good summer reads TXT) 📕

no matter if they are human or alien, but this what they forced on us. They forced us into a corner, and we have to fight our way out of it, any way we can. We tried to play by the rules, we tried diplomacy, but all of us saw the writing on the wall. Which would have ended up in enslavement for us, for what is left of the human race. We would have been forced to live somewhere in outer space after Earth would have become completely uninhabitable.

In an ice-cold, dead voice, Briggs gives the command, "Fire at will."

Her soldiers are trained well; they do their jobs with masks of concentration. They know what the missiles and bombs they are about to unleash will do, but they're just as determined as we are. Nobody here was forced to be on this mission; everybody knew from the start what they were in for.

Fingers fly over screens just before the first missiles break through the blackness surrounding us. Their first targets will be the space colonies the Gorongiaths built to outsource their population and now circle the three planets.

Those colonies are huge and fragile. They house thousands of people and orbit without any protection the three planets. Our intelligence gathered information on the Gorongiath anti-aircraft missiles on and around the planets. This is the beauty of our plan of using their own ships against them. Their computers will recognize their ships and will let us come in close. Once we begin firing it will take live bodies to overwrite their program to fire at their stolen vessels.

By then, Briggs and her crew will have a complete read on the anti-missile locations and will destroy those as well.

Of course, we understand that we'll not go unscathed, we will lose ships and soldiers, maybe even our own lives, but each one of us has made our peace with it.

And so, it begins.

Chapter 8

The colonies around the planets are humongous. They appear just like the space station I was held on, only bigger. Like Christmas ornaments. Long spheres, with bulging middle parts. The first missile strikes one of the colonies, I can't take my eyes off the horrifying spectacle we create.

The missile goes in, seems suspended for a moment before an explosion takes place, creating a chain reaction, climbing up and down the sphere, leaving a sparkling electrical trail in its wake before the entire colony bursts apart.

Parts, small and large, are catapulted into the universe and atmosphere, where I imagine they'll either rain down on the planet below or burn up in the process.

"Ready, Commander," somebody announces.

"Fire at will," Briggs responds.

I watch in horror and awe as the next missile strikes another colony while others are hit by the rest of our fleet as they close in. I send a quick prayer out, asking to be forgiven for the murder of so many lives. No matter how much I try to justify what we're doing, the loss of these lives will haunt me for the rest of my life. No matter how much I hate the Gorongiaths, killing innocent civilians weighs heavily on me.

The blackness all around us is lit up as more and more colonies explode. Something shoots at one of our ships, and it, too, explodes. Briggs points at a small dot on a soldier's screen, another missile leaves our craft, and something smaller detonates.

She explains, "That was one of their anti-airstrike missile silos."

Now I can see what looks like rockets shooting up from the planets below us; they activated their defenses. Briggs sees my worried look. "Don't worry, watch."

I do as she suggests and observe the rocket, leaving a trail of smoke, getting closer to another one of our ships. It seems like it's going to be hit, but at the last second, the pilot not only evades it but ejects something that shoots out into the darkness. The Gorongiath rocket zooms in on it, and seconds later, both explode.

"We have some tricks up our sleeves as well." Briggs looks smug, and I nod at her.

"Let's go," Colin says between clenched teeth.

Our ship banks, and with bated breath, I watch as we enter the atmosphere of the planet closest to us. Cenlar.

My hands grab hold of somebody's chair, holding it so tight I can see the white of my knuckles. Through the large windows, I watch as we break through the cloud coverage, getting closer to the city below us. We stay far above the tallest skyscrapers as Briggs unleashes the first bombs, hitting the buildings below. Detached; I watch the oval shape of the Council building I visited several times crumble, and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

My heart rate picks up, and beads of sweat form on my forehead, despite the alien neither hot nor cold environment on the ship. Part of me rejoices; I don't associate any happy memories with this building, only feelings of betrayal. Even though I can't think of a more deserving place to fall, I think of the Council members who were actually on our side.

No, if they had been on our side, they would have stopped the atrocities on Earth a long time ago. No, I will not feel sorry for them. They are all getting what they deserve.

Something hot flashes through my body, and it takes me a second to recognize the feelings for what they are, satisfaction, revenge, and payback.

We're way too far above to make out any people, and I'm glad for it. I'm painfully aware that living, breathing people—alien and human, are in those buildings; I don't need to see the terror we are unleashing. Unfortunately, this is the price they have to pay for our freedom.

Suddenly our ship makes a sharp turn; had I not been holding on to the chair, I would have been thrown against the desk. As it is, both Colin and Briggs stumble for a second before grabbing on to something as well. To my right, I