Shaalu'mei

The calm had returned.
Not perfect calm. But a heavy one, like the aftermath of a storm. The bodies were still there, ashes clung to the air, memories engraved into every stone, every blackened trunk.
The Drakomite leader screamed as he was taken into custody. The base’s ships landed. 
Matt limped forward as Ken leapt from one of the vessels, nearly knocking him over.
— "So… you didn’t have too much fun without me, I hope?" Ken said, laughing.
— "Not a chance," Matt replied.
— "How did you get here?" Matt asked, perplexed, watching as base soldiers tended to the wounded.
Ken's expression darkened as he motioned toward Commander Ledger.
Matt stepped up to the commander, his gaze steady.
— "Thank you. You stopped a genocide."
— "Oh. Don’t thank me. It was your friends who convinced everyone."
Ledger paused. 
— "But I will have to answer for my actions… And so will you, Rogers. The High Command will know you stole a weapon and orchestrated a war without authorization."
Matt closed his eyes for a moment, then slowly nodded.
— "Then I’ll take responsibility. But I didn’t betray Earth. I chose justice."
Behind him, Isabella, Sébastien, and the others watched in silence. The words carried weight, but the moment was stronger than all else.


The next day, a gathering was held in the village center. The Shivenars, the Voskovians, and even a few humans stood together. In the middle, Matt and Sehr’mana faced the crowd.
— "This planet was nearly destroyed by greed," Matt said. "But it resisted. Thanks to all of you. And thanks to her."
He turned toward Sehr’mana.
She wore a white robe woven from jungle fibers, a crown of vines and feathers resting on her head. Her scar gleamed in the morning light—not as a mark of shame, but as a badge of honor.
— "My exile is over," she said firmly. "I am no longer a pariah. I am a daughter of this land. A guardian of Elora."
The crowd erupted into cheers.
Then Matt looked at her. For a moment, everything else faded away.
— "I have to go, Sehr’mana. I have to plead our case before the Hall of United Planets. I will do everything I can to secure protected status for your world. For… our world."
Her gaze met his, glistening with emotion.
— "I know. This is what you must do. And I will wait for you."
A silence. Then, without hesitation, without fear, they kissed. In front of everyone. No shame, no lies.
— "Shaalu'mei," she said in her language.
— "Shaalu'mei," he echoed. "I love you."
And with that, he climbed aboard the diplomatic vessel. The ramp lifted. The engines roared.
Matt disappeared into the skies.


The Hall of United Planets was far from welcoming—cold walls, rigid seats, a constant undercurrent of tension.
Matt Rogers, dressed in plain formal attire, stood alone before dozens of ambassadors from worlds unknown to him.
— "I am not here to speak as a soldier," he declared. "Nor even as a human. I am here as a witness. A witness to a living, rich, complex world. A world they wanted to erase for profit."
He displayed a hologram of Elora—fluorescent trees, rivers pulsing with life, creatures of wonder… and faces. Clara. Ken. Sébastien. Isabella. And Sehr’mana.
— "If we allow things like this to happen, then we do not deserve to explore the universe."
A long silence followed his words.
Then the Council stood.


Several weeks later…
A warm wind swept over the golden grasses of Sehr’mana’s village. Children played by the rivers. The elders sang beneath the trees.
Sehr’mana stood on the hill, gazing at the sky. She had forgotten nothing. But she had learned patience.
Then, she heard it.
The sound of an engine, then the warm rush of air. A ship touched down at the jungle’s edge.
She ran.
Without thinking.
And when the ramp lowered, she saw him.
— "Shaalu'mei!" she cried.
He ran too. And in a rush of emotion, they collided into each other’s arms.
Nothing else mattered. Not laws, not distances, not time.
They were here.
Finally together.
And Elora-49 breathed again.
The End.