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## This is my entry for Tyger’s Electric Dreams Short Story Contest 17

Maybe it’s not so short but I get excited (*and maybe embarrassed too*) with it and got a little longer

<center>https://i.imgur.com/6XCG35Q.jpg<br>Image from <a href="https://pixabay.com/es/users/tombud-1908037/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=1951536">Thomas Budach</a> at <a href="https://pixabay.com/es/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=1951536">Pixabay</a></center>

The lights in the hibernation chamber came on automatically, waking up the five Voyager crew members from their long sleep. They had completed their expedition to Europa, the smallest of the four Galilean moons orbiting Jupiter, and they were finally returning home. The captain was the first to wake up, immediately asked for a general report to the artificial intelligence that took care of the ship and the safety of the crew.

Clair indicated that they were 12 hours from the lunar orbit; during the return trip there was no anomaly of any kind; however, despite her continuous attempts, she had not been able to establish communication with the Earth command centre.

After the crew recovered from the effects of hibernation, the captain ordered the telecommunications engineer to verify all systems. Unfortunately, Joey found something much worse than communications damage.

Long-distance scanners spotted a series of unidentified objects inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, encircling the planet in almost its entirety. But this wasn't the most worrying thing. Evidence of fulminant impacts detonated on every city in the world left the entire Voyager crew speechless.

Even though they were scientists trained to deal with all kinds of situations, most did not accept the fact that they had lost all their loved ones.

Petra, an astrophysicist, suggested hiding Voyager behind the moon's hidden face. Fortunately, the aliens didn't detect their presence.

The captain tried to lift their spirits by suggesting a plan to enter the planet undetected and determine what happened to the human race.

"Don't you know what happens when an advanced civilization hits an inferior one? "asked rhetorically Jane, the crew physician.

"Extinction," replied Petra, keeping her eyes on the screen.

The captain knew very well the history of the planet, the encounter of the Spaniards and English with the primitive civilizations of indigenous people who populated the American continent. Many of these became extinct and others segregated and separated from society. The strongest overcomes the weak.

The captain remembered the period of slavery and the outrages done to an African race, submitted to the will of a superior species.

Mike, a mechanical engineer, plunged into his thoughts, putting his head between his hands. Wondering what was much worse: the fate of humanity or what happened to their families.

After a while, everyone agreed that the best way to deal with the problem was to distract the mind, focusing on correcting the details necessary to implement the captain's plan.

A random selection of personnel was carried out, Jane and Joey were fortunate to be part of the team that would accompany the captain on the trip to Earth.

<center>https://i.imgur.com/WqKqLZM.png</center>

Using two of Voyager's escape pods, they entered the planet's atmosphere hidden behind the remains of satellites destroyed by aliens and the scrap metal wandering around the stratosphere.
 
One of the alien spacecraft detected the capsule where the captain was traveling, alerting two others. The captain informed Joey to descend as soon as possible while distracting enemy ships.

Jane and Joey managed to make a crash landing, near the ruins of a city, unharmed. During the shock of avoiding discovery, the two passengers separated and hid behind the rubble of several buildings. Joey walked into a room where there was a dead man in a bathtub. One of the enemy ships approached in search of survivors, Joey had no choice but to hide inside the bathtub next to the corpse. After a short period of exploration, the aliens gave up their attempts and moved far enough to send a couple of missiles to where the capsule had landed.

Joey thanked his unfortunate partner for saving his life. But like Jane, they didn't know the intentions of their enemies.

Fortunately, moments before the capsule was destroyed by the alien spacecraft, other survivors, members of the Earth resistance, appeared in time to help both crew members, taking them to safe places before being exterminated.

Both were driven through underground tunnels to a safe shelter, where thousands of earthlings survived the first attacks. Many of them claimed that the newly arrived crew represented the hope of humanity, a legend that ran from mouth to mouth, about strangers coming from heaven and who would put an end, once and for all, to the extraterrestrial invasion.

Jane explained that she was part of an expedition that had long since departed for Jupiter and had just returned.

Many of the survivors who were part of the resistance were saddened to hear the news. However, the leaders decided to keep the secret of the origin of the newcomers in order to keep the hope of the other survivors.

Jane and Joey investigated more about the alien invasion. According to the testimony of the survivors, the extraterrestrials had arrived three years ago, wiping out all military defenses and destroying the world's major cities and leaders. All communication systems had been eliminated, as their electrical systems. Apparently, the alien race's only mission was to exterminate human life.

<center>https://i.imgur.com/WqKqLZM.png</center>

The captain performed evasive maneuvers to avoid the constant bombardment of the enemy ship, managed to evade them long enough for the other capsule to land safely. Soon the enemy fire hit one of the engines in the captain's capsule, so the captain was forced to make a forced landing on a mountainous area.

The captain rushed out of the capsule. Seeing that the enemy ship was restrained from opening fire, the captain raised both hands and offered no resistance to possible capture.

"Come closer, God damn it!" whispered the captain.
 
The alien ship began to approach slowly; when it was close enough, the captain triggered a detonator and an electromagnetic pulse (improved by Joey) fried all electrical circuits on both captain’s ship and the enemy’s. The latter collapsed like a brick, making a loud noise as it crashed into the ground. The impact of the PEM stunned the captain, but not enough to get up and go after the pilot of the enemy ship.

The alien spacecraft's security system opened the main gate, exposing the pilot at the captain's expense. The captain drew a gun willing to blow the enemy's brains out. But she stopped suddenly when she realized that both she and her enemy were examples of the feminine genus of their species.

Soon, she heard the sound of other enemy ships approaching. She rushed to get her backpack and carried the pilot's body with her.

She managed to reach the entrance of a cave, not before realizing that the enemy ships had opened fire to both her capsule and the pilot's ship, destroying them with a couple of shots. The impact threw them both into the cavern, causing a collapse and sealing the entrance and possibly their only exit.

<center>https://i.imgur.com/WqKqLZM.png</center>

The captain turned on an emergency light to assess the situation. The dust raised by the explosion made it difficult to breathe. She rose to look for her backpack when the enemy pilot lunged at her.

Fortunately, the captain knew martial arts, so she quickly dominated her opponent, causing her to lose consciousness in the process.

The pilot came to her senses and was enraged to see that she was bound and leaning against a rock. She began to make a series of high and low sounds, along with growls in the direction of the captain.

"Neither am I glad to be by your side. Doesn't your super-advanced species have universal language translators?" She asked.

The captain sighed and improvised a small bonfire with some branches. Then she set out to look for a way out of the natural prison where they were. But her journey was shortened by the echoes of the pilot singing a kind of rhythmic melody, which gave her a bad feeling. She returned accelerating her pace, intuiting what her improvised hostage intended to do.

Undoubtedly the pilot was preparing to eliminate her own life with a dagger of three spikes. The captain was quick enough to kick the dagger and disarm the pilot, preventing her from committing suicide. The pilot again uttered a series of screams and roars, enraged with tears on her face.

For the first time, the captain detailed the feelings of her enemy and even more so the face of her opponent. In spite of its peculiar green color, apart from that, the pilot was not badly resembled.

"For you, it's killing or dying, isn't it? " She said, looking directly into her eyes.

The pilot snorted and closed her mouth, wiping her tears with the sleeves of her uniform and looked away.
 
The captain was going to tell her something, but the skin on her neck was bristly at the grunt of a beast that was not the one in front of her. Evidently, their words had caught the attention of the bear that lived in the cave. The pilot got up scared, the captain took one of the branches of the improvised bonfire.

The bear stood on its two hind legs and hit the pilot hard, who had tried to escape. To the pilot's surprise, the captain came between her and the beast.

"Run!" Shouted the captain as she distracted the bear, which furiously lunged. Seeing that she didn’t understand her, the captain pushed the pilot aside and attacked the animal with her branch in flames. This one threw a couple of blows that the captain dodged. But the animal was furious, and threw all its weight on the captain, knocking her down. The captain was fast enough to avoid the teeth and claws of the animal using as a defense the branch, which would not take long to yield. Seeing that she had lost her weapon, the captain tried to reach the small knife in her boot, but the animal prevented it.

Without understanding what happened next, the bear lost its balance and fell inert to one side of her. The pilot had nailed the dagger to the side of the animal and it had died instantly.

The captain moved away from the beast as she calmed her rapid breathing. She looked at the pilot and nodded, grateful. The pilot emulated her greeting. A thought ran through the captain's mind «*Perhaps humanity would have hope*».

After that experience, they decided to look for a way out together. Soon they found an opening that signaled an exit to the outside. Thanks to the joint effort, both managed to leave the cave through a crack that extended to the top of the mountain where they were. They climbed up from each other's backs, intertwining their arms. Making a great effort, they managed to reach the surface, the captain held tightly to a root of a tree and swayed the pilot to throw her out of the hole where they were. For a moment she doubted her decision when she saw that her companion had fled because she was out of danger. However, soon a feeling of relief calmed her concern, the pilot had gone to look for a liana to tie herself to the tree and be able, safely, to offer her hand to the captain and take her out of the hole.

The pilot's pull was so strong that both were shot out of the hole, falling on their faces on top of each other, hitting both bodies. They stayed in that position, staring at each other very closely. The pilot touched the captain's face and she soon broke into a nervous laugh, lying next to a confused pilot, still holding her hand.

"It's hot, isn't it?" She asked, looking away.

«*What the hell is wrong with me, am I feeling something for this alien?*» asked the captain to herself. 

«*Then save some of your composure*» She scolded herself.

The captain looked at the pilot again.

"Sharon", she pronounced touching her chest. She repeated the same signal several times until the pilot understood, pronouncing "Sharon" with difficulty.
 
The pilot made the same gesture, but this time she pronounces something like "Tak". The pilot nodded proudly when the captain repeated her name.

The captain closed her eyes and felt happy to take the first step on the long road to a possible solution to the war or perhaps a possible peace treaty between her race and the extraterrestrial.

<center>https://i.imgur.com/WqKqLZM.png</center>

The captain remembered her crewmates on Voyager. She looked at the position of the sun and searched for the southeast and made her way in that direction, searching for the approximate place where they would have made their crash landing.

However, she noticed that her new friend was lying on the floor doing nothing. The captain stopped and thought that perhaps the pilot's rank had been dismissed by her defeat and for that reason, her life would no longer have any meaning.

Sharon turned back to the pilot's side and offered her outstretched hand. At first, she did not understand, but the constant insistence of the captain, extending her arm over and over towards her, made her understand and take her hand. Immediately the captain pulled the pilot and stood her up.

"The road is long and I think your company would make it more pleasant," commented the captain. Her expression of defeat had changed. Perhaps she was beginning to understand that there were more reasons to live than just winning and defeat.

They walked together on rocky trails, climbing steep slopes and hills. To make her passage more entertaining, the captain explained to her companion, the name of each object that was in their way: trees, rocks, leaves, birds, etc.

They had spent more than two days walking through trees and bushes in the forest to avoid detection by enemy ships when the sound of a river finally caught the captain's attention. Tired, Sharon hastened along and crawled wearily to the shore and collapsed on it, dipping her head in the river and drinking water directly from her lips.

She was going to signal her companion to drink some water, but to her surprise, the pilot had stripped herself of all her clothes and had thrown herself into the river. For a moment longer than the normal human time, which seemed eternal to the captain, the pilot remained submerged. Then she came to the surface and started splashing and having fun with the freshness of the water.

The pilot enjoyed her contact with the precious liquid to such an extent that she seemed almost ecstatic. Her rejoicing was contagious, without a second thought, the captain also stripped off her uniform and threw herself into the water.

For the captain it was gratifying to dive back into the water of a river, after spending years on Voyager, a dip gave her back a vitality she had forgotten. The pure forest air was also a delight.

The captain's mind began to suspect the main reason for the extraterrestrials' arrival.
 
The pilot's body, even though she had many scars from battles, was very attractive, although a bit particular. At the end of her back, she had an appendage in the form of a long tail, which rolled up at her waist and for that reason, she had not noticed before.

"Fascinating," whispered the captain.

The pilot noticed her comment and responded with a smile. Somehow empathetically, they began to understand each other.

After washing her clothes, the captain lay down on a rock, waiting for them to dry. She really needed to be exposed to the sun because of her pallor and lack of vitamin D, due to her confinement inside Voyager.

Sharon invited the pilot to take a sunbath next to her. They both lay on the rock and fell asleep.

<center>https://i.imgur.com/WqKqLZM.png</center>

The captain woke up hugging the pilot, however, did not have time to process what happened, as she had felt the cold barrel of a rifle that pushed her naked back.

Both stood up in front of the strangers around them. There were more than 10 extraterrestrial warriors, which the captain could quickly count. Both her uniform and backpack were too far away to reach.

However, the soldiers had not opened fire, fortunately, they were too confused by what they were seeing and even more so when the pilot came between them and the captain. They immediately exchanged a series of orders; at least they had the decorum to let both of them get dressed.

One of the warriors, apparently the most senior, began shouting orders to each other and to the pilot. They did not make any movement, remaining excessively speechless when the pilot took Sharon's hand and entangled her fingers. An action that also surprised the captain.

What happened next happened quickly. The warrior with the highest rank, drew a weapon, the same type that the pilot had used inside the cave and attacked her, but she was faster and in a quick movement, had stuck it into the throat of the enemy leading him to death immediately.

The other soldiers lowered their weapons, recognizing the command of their new leader. The pilot approached one of the warriors and took a device, which she fitted into her own uniform.

"I think now, it will be easier to communicate with each other," said the pilot in perfect English.

<center>https://i.imgur.com/WqKqLZM.png</center>

Soldiers led them to an enemy ship. This one was even bigger than the ones the captain had dealt with. It had custom cabins for the warriors of higher rank and one general for the others.

The pilot, whose name had been reduced to "Tak", invited the captain to a hall, where there were a large table and some chairs. They both sat down and started a dialogue.
 
Tak explained that they were an alien race programmed for war. Battling was the only thing they knew and gave meaning to their lives. Their mission was to conquer new worlds and exterminate their inhabitants.

"Sadly, your race is doomed to extinction," Tak pronounced seriously. 

"Will they even eliminate the children?" Sharon asked.

The pilot didn't understand what the captain meant.

Sharon explained the process and motive of human reproduction, from her point of view. This not only gave rise to new humans but also created and originated from a very strong empathic bond between humans, which she called "love". The parents and their offspring loved each other, this love extended to all subsequent generations, creating what they called "families", the fundamental nucleus of society.

Tek was interested in this process and the so-called "offspring". Unlike humans, their race was genetically created in autonomous gestation capsules, controlled by artificial intelligence. All the knowledge was acquired during their formation, implanted in their genes. Ranks, functions, and senses were decided by the same artificial intelligence.

The captain did not understand how there could be a differentiation in the sex of the extraterrestrial species when it was artificially created. However, there was something else she wanted to know.

"Why didn't you destroy my ship when you could?" asked the captain.

"I tried, but a malfunction in my controls prevented me from opening fire on you," Tak replied.

Sharon was surprised to see how lucky she was at that moment. Maybe it wasn't luck. Even though she was not a fully religious person, she believed in God and was thankful for her. But another question from her extraterrestrial companion took her out of her thoughts.

"Why did you save me?" asked Tak.

The captain explained that she had never imagined that her opponent was a woman, but this was not the reason, for the captain, all life was important.

That last sentence stunned Tak. Her mind couldn't conceive of that concept.

"The only thing important to us is the empire and our assigned mission," Tak replied.

The captain explained to the pilot that most human beings, like her, believed in a benevolent deity, creator of all that is visible and not visible, whom they call "God" and whose son, many years ago, had taught them that life is precious and that everyone, however perverse they were, had the right to redeem themselves through repentance and good deeds.

The captain showed her a crucifix tied to her neck. 

“This is a symbol of what we did to Him and yet He forgave us. Now it represents our belief in Him. It's a way of remembering that He will always be with me”

"He taught us the true concept of love, hope and respect for one's own life and that of others." 

"The theory of that earthling sounds interesting," Tak replied.

"We are not perfect," continued the captain, "we also kill and harm our fellow people. But there are many good people on our planet and I know that God will never allow our race to go extinct as long as one of us keeps hope and faith in their heart. He will always give us the courage, the strength to overcome obstacles and sort out any setbacks."

“If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything”, added Sharon

“Maybe this will help you understand what I mean”

The captain took out a little bible and showed it to the pilot. She took a device and scanned the contents of the book and returned it to the captain.

"I'll keep an eye on it," said the pilot.

The pilot assimilated the new information she heard. The concept of "love" was totally unknown to her, however, she began to think that the strange empathy she felt for the human could be symptoms of that concept.

The pilot couldn't conceive of a life that wasn't fighting or winning battles.

"If you come with me, I'll show you a different life than the one you know.”, the captain said.

A plan was beginning to machine itself in Sharon's mind.

“I want to go looking for my teammates if you don’t mind," Sharon added.

The pilot after meditating decided to give a chance to know Sharon’s world.

<center>https://i.imgur.com/WqKqLZM.png</center>

Both went to the landing site of Sharon's companion's capsule. They drove an alien fighter ship. Sensors didn't detect any signs of life around there. Sharon wanted to go down to examine the remains, but a signal received indicated to the pilot that a squadron of four ships was attacking a group of the human resistance, 50 kilometers from where they were.

The four ships opened fire without mercy against a group of rebels cornered in the ruins of a factory. 

"Do something. Let's help them!" Sharon shouted. 

Tak opened fire on the ships, knocking them down two without giving them time to respond to the fire.

Then she maneuvered to evade the other two. She drove them far enough away from the resistance group so that they would come out unharmed from where they were. With Sharon's help, they shot down the other two ships.

After destroying the other two ships, they returned in search of survivors. The resistance group was surprised to see that an enemy ship had saved them. The ship landed near where they were. To everyone's surprise, Captain Sharon came out of it, warning that they were out of danger.

Fortunately, among them was Joey, who ran to the captain instantly, releasing tears of joy. He was so glad to see her that he embraced her tightly, forgetting the ranks that differentiated them.

Sharon explained what had happened to her during her arrival on Earth. Then she introduced Tak, but most of those representing resistance were reluctant to approach. Joey greeted the pilot, giving her a strong handshake. Thanking them for saving their lives. 

They were looking for food and Joey had gone out looking for materials to build a communication system to send messages to the Voyager. When they were discovered by enemy ships.
 
After presentations with members of the group accompanying Joey, the captain requested a meeting with resistance leaders in order to put in place a plan to ensure the survival of the human race and establish peace among the species. There was a lot of mistrust between the humans and the captain's relationship with the pilot. However, she managed to schedule a meeting as soon as possible in a small village establishment. Away from the real human dwelling places, as a precaution.

<center>https://i.imgur.com/WqKqLZM.png</center>

On the day of the meeting, the captain along with Tak arrived at the agreed site. Even though it was a small village hidden in the forest, there were children among them. Tak could see with her own eyes the "children" (as Sharon called them) playing with a small dog. One of the little girls approached Tak and gave her a flower that matched the blue color of her hair. She knelt down to take it and the girl touched her hair and noticed that aliens were not the monsters that told the old legends. The girl smiled and ran away when her mother called her. The latter looked at the alien with distrust.

She remembered that Sharon had told her that they would probably find rejection from humans, but mistrust came from fear. So she had to try to understand this new feeling. The girl's smile was imbued in her memory.

In the meeting with the resistance leaders, one part of it was in favor of creating an alliance with the rebellious extraterrestrials to stop the war once and for all. But another, even greater part, was suspicious of the intentions of the aliens, rebellious or not.

The meeting lasted all day and in the end, they didn't convince all the leaders. Sharon wanted to establish a path of peace between species, but the hatred that had grown in the hearts and minds of the survivors prevented them from accepting peace. She could see vengeful feelings, pain, and fear in the eyes of the leaders. Sharon thought to herself, that maybe she also would be just as well not to be because she was not during the first 3 years of terror infused by the extraterrestrial attack. She knew that it was no coincidence what had happened to her and if there was at least one sign of finding a peace treaty, she would do everything possible to achieve it.

She knew they were at a great disadvantage in the face of advanced alien technology. And the best way to avoid extinction was peace and understanding.

It was almost dark, so they decided to continue with the meeting the next morning. Both decided to go to sleep in a shed, far from the mistrust and fear of the majority. However, there were many curious people who wished to see the extraterrestrial, many of them wished to find a peaceful solution to the war, usually the older ones.

The captain hoped to have better luck in the morning. However, she could not go to sleep when a familiar face approached her. It was Jane. Her crew doctor, who was glad to see her captain. The feeling was mutual. In fact, a faded hope was reborn within Jane. If anyone could survive an extraterrestrial attack, that was Sharon.
 
Unfortunately, Jane brought bad news. She had learned of the true intentions of the resistance leaders. They were creating a weapon of mass destruction that would wipe out all aliens. But the effect would be so lethal that this weapon would also destroy the Earth's atmosphere along with human life. Jane had already spent more time with the leaders and was sure they would be willing to lose their lives in an attempt to kill the aliens. Sharon thought that threat would have to wait.

Sharon realized she'd be wasting her time with another day of the meeting. So she gave orders to Joey and Jane, to gather a group of trustworthy people. Which should wait for her at a certain place and date. To those that she would need to complete her plan, must be willing to give their best during the next few days, for the good of humanity.

Even though it was night, Tak was fascinated by how children enjoyed playing and laughing, no matter what the future, no matter what their ranks or missions. Their laughter was intoxicating. An overwhelming feeling flooded her being, she found herself wondering if it would be possible for her to beget a child in the future as well.

Sharon indicated to Tak that they should leave. Tak was saddened to leave that fantasy place.

<center>https://i.imgur.com/WqKqLZM.png</center>

The captain's plan was simple, consisting of two main parts. She wanted to reunite the group of survivors along with the group of rebellious aliens.

Jane and Joey had taken advantage of the legend about the hope that would come from heaven. And they convinced many of the refugees to join Sharon's plan. Many accepted, they had faith that this was the opportunity they had been waiting for so long. They could gather over 500 people of all ages, races, and creeds.

The world no longer had borders, there were only earthlings and extraterrestrials.

On the other hand, Tak had brought more than 300 curious rebels who wished to know more about the terrestrials. Tak was surprised to learn that they had, for a year now, a group of aliens who had established contact with humans and had prevented them from dying, both by feeding them and by preventing the high command from discovering them. This made the meeting more enjoyable for both parties.

It was imperative for Sharon that aliens know the human culture. To notice that war wasn't the only activity in their lives. She wanted to take the opportunity to introduce them to music, poems, paintings, sculptures, fashion, everything that corresponds to everyday human life.

Many aliens were unaware of this aspect of life. Many of them knew only battles, weapons and preparation schedules. In showing them this new world, they marveled at having contact with art in all its forms.

Three days were enough to integrate the forces of both species. Holding the meeting by a lake calmed the initial tensions, ensuring the success of the meeting. The effect of alcoholic beverages was the final catalyst.

Sharon had accomplished her mission. Humans and aliens had managed to establish a peaceful contact that would allow the coexistence of both species. It was time to begin the second part of her plan.

During the meeting, Jane had told Joey about the Captain's strange empathy for the alien, not to say "attraction”. Joey didn't care about the captain's sexual tendencies, he also found the pilot attractive, and if they were going to share the planet with the aliens, he wouldn't mind saying one day in the future: "Joey enjoyed his weekly Sunday romp with the green street Hookers”. Jane took a disapproving look at Joey. He laughed.

<center>https://i.imgur.com/WqKqLZM.png</center>
 
The second part of the plan was to attack the main fleet surrounding the planet. However, the attack would not only have weapons and projectiles.

All the enemy ships converged in one place immediately upon discovering the squadron of ships that the captain and pilot had prepared.

The battle began sooner than anticipated. Both sides opened fire immediately, hundreds of ships circulated the earth's sky, opening fire between them. Soon the enemy ships, began to lose control, suffering inconveniences with the communication system. Joey had managed to broadcast the recording.

Each enemy ship began to receive a transmission of the previously held meeting between humans and aliens. The pilots were stunned when they saw their compatriots, having fun and laughing with the humans, living together in a peaceful manner. A feeling of joy was drawn on the faces of the extraterrestrials who cohabited with humans, a feeling that was not born of the success of exterminating an adversary.

After a signal from Tak, the rebels stopped the fire.

At the end of transmission, a new feed began; Sharon and Tak appeared asking for a cessation of hostilities, also asking for mediation to achieve peace between the species.

"Our species can live together in peace," they said in unison. Both held hands, in front of the camera and in front of all the eyes of the beings of the planet, including the enemies. They smiled and interlocked their fingers from their hands and lifted them as a symbol of the union between the two races.

All enemy ships ceased the attack.

Soon, a mother ship appeared on the planet's horizon, it was the enemy general command. Who immediately ordered the extermination and annihilation of all life on the planet, alien or not.

Faced with expectation, the captain in a last peaceful attempt, let go of her hands and took the pilot's face and kissed her lips. After a few seconds, it was reciprocated by its counterpart.

This stopped the main one, giving enough time for the rebel ships to open fire on her, weakening her force field.

"Heresy!" Shouted the council of the enemy high command. At that moment they gave a master order and the ship began to open a gigantic gate.

The main weapon would be activated, as Tak would have envisioned.

"Imminent collision in 30 seconds," council ship bridge personnel impromptu reported. Voyager had appeared from an unknown area and was heading directly for them, carrying all nuclear weapons seized from the hands of Earth resistance leaders.
 
The captain and the pilot were inside Voyager. From that moment on, everything happened quickly. The captain lost consciousness without knowing why.

24 hours later, Sharon woke up restlessly in search of Voyager's controls but was in an unknown room. Jane was sitting close to her, waiting for her to wake up.

"What happened?" asked the captain. 

"We won," that's all Jane answered.

Tears streamed from Sharon’s eyes, her hand moved to her chest in search of her crucifix, but she didn’t find it. At that moment, she asked again

"Tak?"

Jake hesitated to answer. She knew the captain felt much more than friendship towards the pilot. After a few seconds, she explained that Tak was the one who had knocked her unconscious, in order to put her in an escape capsule and not perish during the collision with the enemy ship. Everyone agreed with Tak.

New tears streamed from her eyes, Sharon didn't know what to feel knowing that her friend offered her life to defend a totally alien planet, against all her programming. 

Jane retired from the room.

There was a small tape recorder on the table next to her bed and a photo of them: Sharon and Tak along with Jane and Joey, during their meeting.

She played the recorder. It was Tak's voice.

"Thank you for giving a new meaning to my life. This will be the first time I do something for the right reason. I cannot allow the Earth to be left alone, the presence of a leader is necessary to maintain the course of the new society that will arise from both species. I can't imagine anything better than you. But don’t worry, I won't be alone, your friend from Earth accompanies me."

Sharon touched her chest again. 

She took a deep breath and was immersed in the memories of her mind, seeing how cheerful those people looked in the photo. Again, she wipes away the tears that ran down her cheeks.

Moments later, she left the room. She was on an alien ship. A platoon stood firm in her presence. An officer approached her and greeted her

"Captain, we wait for your orders."

<center>https://i.imgur.com/WqKqLZM.png</center>

The years passed. Technologies were assimilated and extraterrestrials accepted human customs as their own. Peace reigned again. A union between countries and extraterrestrials was created. A space federation was born and the defenses of the planet were reinforced. Humanity learned to value its own planet, making good use of its natural resources. Reducing pollution as well.

Five years later, a command of spacecraft led by Sharon, now Admiral, was on its way to the distant alien planet with the aim of establishing peaceful mediation.

<center>https://i.imgur.com/WqKqLZM.png</center>

### A missing part:
 
The captain had ordered Petra and Mike to go down to Earth to deal with the imminent threat of weapons developed by land resistance leaders. Petra had to make the decision to eliminate those who were blinded by the desire for revenge, who in a kamikaze attempt wished to destroy the invasion along with everything and planet, regardless of the future of the human race.

Mike would be in charge of placing the weapons inside Voyager to be used as a last resort in battle. Clair was in charge of transmitting the videos through the channels configured by Joey


<center>https://i.imgur.com/JromQXz.png</center>

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https://steemit.com/electricdreams/@tygertyger/tyger-s-electric-dreams-short-story-contest-17-and-winners-of-16-win-sbd
 
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