Chapter 4: Epilogue
6 months later:
Cold winds blew. Celene's teeth chattered. Clasping two pistols, she shivered in the makeshift camp, a small cluster of camouflaged tents and ships half-buried in ice. Hills of frost towered above the flat ice plain. H'toh's frigid ice-dust swirled. Kabba was next to her. "The Dejah have us surrounded. We have an escape route, but I don't know how long we can keep running. We can't do this forever. We have to take a stand at some point!" Ken shook his head.
"Plo is off on K'lah, trying to secure some more support. We need all the help we can get, and he's our best bet at getting that. He has quite a few connections from the Republic days. On the flip side, our best fighter, strategist, pilot, and diplomat is gone." Kabba nodded.
Marik ran into the scene, blaster still emitting a barely visible trail from a recent shot. "We need some more support…. maybe Earth could help us. We did save them, after all. I know they don't have warp drives, but they could send us food and manpower, at least."
Shena shook her head. "They have democracy. They haven't seen what the Dejah Empire does, what crimes and injustices it commits, the suppression of the people. They won't send anything. They want to stay out of the conflict. Not only do they have no stake in it, they don't want to concern themselves with this war, instead focusing on their own affairs. They've made it clear that they won't help us. They said they won't help the Dejah either, but we can't invade and force the people of Earth to do whatever we want. The Imperials can."
Celene spoke. "We could have, before, when we had ships. Even our five might have been enough to take the planet."
Jabba looked at her sharply. "It was physically possible, yes. But what separates us from the Dejah Empire, what stops us from being the terrorists they claim we are... is that we don't force. We have morals, ideals. Democracy is what we fight for. If we betray those ideals… is it still worth it? Do we have the right to preach peace when we bend indigenous peoples into submission? The end is never worth the means."
Esques walked out of a tent, a Stetson-like hat perched on his cranium. "I think, pardners, we should call Ana. She's got skills, armor, weapons… and, well, it would be nice to see her again. " His twang grew even more noticable. Ken looked at him.
"She seemed pretty conflicted when she left. But she did leave. Do you think she would give up living on Earth to join us… well, not permanently, but until this war is over, one way or another?", he said.
Celene spoke, settling it. "We can try."
I was on a swing at the park. The stars glowed a fierce white, sparks in velvet. They welcomed me, thanked me. I remembered when they changed into streaks, glowing like comets. When I soared among them. I just looked onward, tears pooling in my eyes. Partly out of joy, partly of sorrow. A bittersweet smile graced my lips. I just swung gently. As I did, I remembered. The journey of a lifetime, of a millennium, of all of human history.
The battles, the history, the expressions of the peoples we freed, the Empire. Celene, Ken, Marik, Esques, and Shena. The times after Terxis, when we lounged in luxury, strategizing away. Running while firing, flying. I had so many memories on the other side of the atmosphere. An entire year among the stars. I was somewhat famous, but that didn't affect me. The memories were all the reward I needed.
The next morning, I woke up. It was a Friday morning, and I was looking forward to the weekend. I was already fantasizing about my journey to see the majestic Griffin and its door at the Zoo of England, or to see a megalodon at the Jaws Aquarium, or to experience the thrill of nearly slamming into the cold, barren Earth at Six Flags, or I could just go eat the scrumptious blue chocolate chip cookies at Grandma's House. I had missed those while in space.
But first, I had to endure through these last 12 hours of intolerable torture. After waking up at 5:45 A.M, I went through my routine, culminating in a 15-minute jog at 6:30.
As I was running through an urban jungle of buildings and asphalt rivers, I noticed something was off. Call it instinct, Jedi premonitions, 6th sense, whatever you like, but the very air and ground seemed to emanate warmth and friendship. Something was going to happen, I was sure of it. The street was deserted. There wasn't a single soul in sight, not even that annoying bird that's always chirping or any cars driving by.
Suddenly, there it was. Sleek and shiny with red stripes. Without warning, everything took on a greenish glow. In clear and seemingly impossible defiance of the laws of gravity, I began to levitate towards the vessel. I smiled. So many similarities between my abductions, yet so many differences. One was welcome, the other not.
Another adventure among the stars. The odds were… astronomical. I could almost see Celene waving, Ken's smile. Just a few more seconds. My mind suddenly shifted into worry. What kind of dire state must the rebels be in to call me back? I smiled. Cool confidence and calm washed over me like a tsunami. We'd face it together, and do what was right. We would honor the Alkazari Republic. Pride was a blaze brewing in my heart. I'm no diplomat, but I think being lifted up towards a vessel without your consent means, in the context of this vessel, their intentions very much are friendly. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for glorious escapades in the cool, calm tapestry of space. When I reached the vessel…. I, I'm sorry to say, promptly blacked out.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Reaper_of_Souls
Reaper_of_Souls Thank you for reading Operation: Planetfall. I hope you enjoyed it. I may release some more chapters when I feel like it, but they will no longer follow the current storyline and be in the auxiliary volume or volume 0.
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