I Still Believe in You

As night fell on Rialga Palace, the standoff between species continued. Although damaged, the Albatrosses were still functional and under swift repairs while their medical supplies were put to good use. Ten dead and ten wounded, a significant loss for the small force. However, the Earthlings' advanced medical technology made simple bullet wounds easy to treat.

The palace garden was also easy to fortify, as it offered stairs to the higher balconies and access into the palace, where entrances were easily marked and choked off. With proper coverage, they only had to face one direction, the open ground that led to the throne room, where the Pandemians barricaded themselves. A long no man's land marked the boundary between each side.

Only the medics crossed this zone to offer their services to the enemy. It wasn't much, and the risk of them becoming hostages was almost inevitable, but their consciences wouldn't allow them to ignore such suffering. The small team was met with lines of bodies covering the throne room. One hundred nineteen dead with twice that wounded. These priests, administrators, and warriors would soon be transferred to the crypts below, buried with many of their ancestors, and any Earthling bodies they scavenged were taken by the priests for study, likely to remain on Pandema forever.

"Kinda scary, isn't it?" one medic noted as he sutured a bullet wound. "Traveling out this far, only to die like this?"

"That guy over there with the staticky hair got most of us," another noted. "That guy's a monster."

"Do you think it's Z-35B?"

"Probably. Either way, I ain't touching him."

The monster oversaw their procedures with caution, all while keeping an eye on the enemy camp. He was exhausted and weak, his body wrapped with gauze to seal the wound on his side, but he remained resolute for the Emperor.

"You sure you wanna stand out here in the open?" Yapul asked, offering a cup of water. "They can shoot you, y'know?"

"They're weak," Kalin replied. "They have no war spirit in them. One wrong move, and we'll pounce on them."

Back in the Earthling camp, the Emperor took to a bench and sulked.

"It's unfair. This garden was meant to be my fortress, not yours." He whimpered. "These new machines are getting out of hand! How will my nation defend itself against Devol at this rate?"

"Don't worry, my lord," said Daniel, the new commander of the strike force. "We won't bring any more harm. I'm sure we'll be able to sort everything out."

"What kind of empire are you!?" The Emperor slapped himself. "I'm a captured enemy commander! Do you realize how creepy you are, acting so nice? It's patronizing! Show me some dignity, at least!"

In the Albatross, Sam kept to herself. She blinked in and out of consciousness, watching the night leap forward with every twitch of her eye, yet she couldn't sleep. The guilt weighed upon her like a boulder. Once again, she had been the bringer of death, and this time, the evidence was readily available. She was now the villain, an enemy of the Emperor, of Kalin, and maybe of Pandema as a whole. If only she had come across more tyrannical rulers. At least then, she would've been more justified in bringing down the strike team, but she couldn't help but empathize with the enemy. No, she didn't want to consider them an enemy. It was unfair. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

"Sam! Sam!" The voice shouted, muffled through the vessel's hull. Barking orders drowned it out as a threat was detected outside. A lot of commotion came out of nowhere, and Sam's groggy head demanded that she sleep once more. "Sam, where are you!?"

Vinisnu made another pass on the battlements. His glider was running on fumes, and yet he banked around the intruders with reckless abandon, ignoring the rifles pointed at him.

"Back off, or we'll shoot!"

"Vinisoya, get out of here!"

"Where's Sam!?" He searched for a place to land and took no man's land as a suitable spot. The glider bounced off the stone on its landing gears and skidded to a halt in front of the massive hole in the wall. "What's going on? What happened?"

He was answered by an overwhelming deluge of shouting and rifle pointing.

"Vinisnu!" Uzalu shouted. "I knew you'd come! It's awful!"

"Move the glider, Vinisoya," a guard said. "The invaders have the Emperor hostage. You'll kill him!"

"Wait, one at a time, please!" Snu looked around like a lost child. "Am I doing something wrong?"

"Snu," Kalin commanded his attention, walking out into the desert air. The chatter died down. "Your little visitor called an attack on the throne room. Several of our friends are dead." Kalin listed them, and Vinisnu's eyes widened with each name. "Thank you for coming so fast, but those people over there are our enemy. Stay with me until we resolve this."

"But-...Right." The boy's words were delayed, thoughts swirling in his head on what could've transpired until his father got him moving the glider. It could be folded and brought inside for safekeeping, refueled, and prepared for a flight home. This was for the best. Kalin could tell his son wasn't ready for the situation at hand.

Snu was halfway through the gap when the Earthlings began shouting.

"No, stop! Stay back!" Daniel grunted. "You're gonna get yourself killed!"

Sam burst from the barricades. Tensions spiked as she beelined toward the boy. Rydians prepared to fire on her, and then the Earthlings trained sights on them. Szeer stood to his feet in shock. Yapul leaped into the standstill. Kalin sparked to life, ready to intercept, but was too slow to move. Who was going to fire first? Should they attack now? For five seconds, the conflict was on the cusp of reigniting until the girl reached her target and hugged him.

There was a little twirl, a little squeeze, and then they were both putty in each other's arms, and just like that, neither side wanted to fight anymore.

"I'm so sorry, Snu!" she sobbed. "Everything happened so fast! I thought I-! It's all my fault, I-!" She couldn't find the words. She repeated herself over and over. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"I'm glad you're okay!" All doubt was removed from his mind. "I thought Dad killed you! Thanks for staying alive!"

They held each other for a long time, enough for everyone to calm down. The princess did not. If she had the authority, she would've had them both shot at this point. Szeer was half that bloodthirsty, but with the threat of a bullet in his back, he withheld any judgment.

Sam pulled herself from his chest, her sense of urgency taking control. "Snu, the EVO are here!""The what?"

"They're aliens! They're going to invade Pandema!"

"Don't believe him, boy!" Szeer shouted, suddenly feeling bold. "She's trying to steal you away from us!"

"No, Snu! It's real!" Sam asserted. "We're in serious trouble!"

"Snu, listen to your elders!"

"Kill her, Snu!" shouted Uzalu.

"Vinisnu," Kalin separated the two. The children could feel the spark in his hands. "Remember where you are. There's a hostage situation going on. Are you going to abandon Uncle Szeer?""B-But, the aliens-."

Almost every Pandemian within earshot shouted him down. To think he would believe it so quickly. It was remarkably plausible, but his spirit was tested at that moment. Family, friends, country. They were all against him for fraternizing. For a moment, he wavered.

"That's enough, back off!" The Earthlings took aim and were ready to fire. The Pandemian Captain was getting too close to their VIP. Officer Daniel vaulted over the barricade to fetch her personally. "Sam, come with me. This area is dangerous."

The Earthling tugged on her to move, but she wouldn't budge. She couldn't leave without Snu's validation, but he turned to her somberly.

"Sorry, Sam," he said. "I need to check with everyone and pay my respects."

Sam's heart broke in two.

"Uncle!" Snu shouted. "I'll stay in Zula's room. Is that alright?"

The old father pumped his fist. "Yes, you have my permission."

Snu checked with his father, and he responded with a simple nod. It would have to do.

As Vinisnu released his grip on Sam, he leaned in with a whisper so quiet no one caught it. "Meet me in the back corner where the window is." He then turned around, folded up the glider wings, and went inside with a princess eager to make a claim on him.

This left Sam and Daniel alone in no man's land, and for their safety, they quickly retreated. For a while, Sam waited until attention was turned away from her, all while she rocked anxiously on the Albatross. Once guards were shifted around, she snuck out to the back of the garden where, as he said, an openable window undetected by the Earthlings lay waiting for her, and a moment later, a sneaky Snu emerged from it, his face brimming with excitement. Sam couldn't help but smile too. She didn't know how, but they were going to save the world.