*According to the source, the Center Com has been defeated.* The smooth, slightly high-pitched voice sounded in our head.

Three battered chairs surrounded a round, antique table that was resting in the center of the miniature room. Three people sat on the chairs: Talus, Orb, and Wriik.

Me? I sat on the floor with my back against the wall. This wasn't a discussion that needed me to be involved.

"How?"

*The army of the Federation is now corrupted. Soldiers will do anything for money, women, and wealth. The new president and the murderer of the previous leader of our nation, Mak, have changed the ways of how a soldier would think. By giving them false hopes and unreliable promises, Mak has successfully turned the once-honest troops into a bunch of savages.* Orb stopped transmitting his thoughts as he looked into a blaster barrel. He blew into it, and cleaned the shaft with a frazzled cloth.

I continued to sit on the side with my back against the brown-colored wall. The floor was wooden, and it was dirty. But with the situation that we were now in, I cared not. I carved images on the floor with my claws. Wearing only a pair of long, black pants, I was naked above the waist. The area was too hot for my comfort.

I listened closely to what my companions had to say. I couldn't add anything valuable right now. I didn't know what Center Com was.

"Center Com is the strongest fortification on Earth! How in the world can it be crushed by those little humans?" Wriik frowned as he played with his bluish tendrils that were hanging from his arms. "From what I've heard a long time ago, Center Com is an important structure. It is responsible for the direct connections of communication consoles throughout the globe, the outer space, and the other planets. The whole facility covers about forty hundred thousand acres per square mile! The place is HUGE! Its defense is impregnable as well!"

Nodding, Orb rubbed his large eyes wearily. *That's true. But with the Tyr Department's newest invention - Dimensional Laser Cannons and Multi-Space-Flexing Missiles, the Six Layer Defense System of the Center Com just won't cut it. The layers of the reinforced shields shattered under the tremendous amount of power that those cannons and missiles have produced. I only know a little bit about it, so as for the exact damage of the those weapons, I really have no idea.*

Talus flipped a single One-Credit Coin in his hand. His hood was behind his back, allowing us to see his child-like face. His eyes were full of doubt, suspicion. He still didn't want to trust Orb.

"Are you lying to us?" His eyes were cold, unemotional.

Eyes wide with disbelief, Orb stood up in rage. *What are you talking about? Of course I am telling you the truth! I don't even want to lie to you for the Planetary God's sake!* His thoughts exploded through our heads. Wriik and I groaned as we rubbed our temples. Talus seemed as if he wasn't affected.

I observed the mood that was flooding into the dimly lit room with my golden eyes. There was only a single lamp producing dark, yellowish light. I couldn't see their expressions clearly. The air felt stuffy. The whole place was full of tension, distrust, and repugnance.

I couldn't blame Talus, really. I couldn't blame him for the skittish actions that he had made toward Orb. After all, Orb had tried to kill us just two weeks ago with this mega grenade. During that time, we thought it would be best if we executed the enemy right on the spot. But then Talus had disagreed. He deemed that Orb could tell us important data about the Federation. Now that he had received news about his home planet been destroyed, he was bent on revenge.

On the first week, Orb had tried every single way to escape us. He tried to bite through rope that had looped around his small, fragile body several times. That didn't work. Then he tried to trick us by saying he is having a nature call and needs to go to somewhere private to relieve himself. That didn't work. Well... almost. Talus somehow could see through Orb's trick. He stopped us before Wriik and I could walk forward and untie the rope. Orb had a poison pin in his cloak. I confiscated it. The Federation spy couldn't escape our watchful eyes.

At first, we didn't know how to get Orb to cooperate with us. He refused to say anything. He even spitted on the floor. He was an infiltrator on the rebel planet, Atarii, and he was loyal to the Federation.

It was what Wriik had done next that amazed me beyond belief. It was the first time that I could truly see Wriik's strength, his hidden weapon. He brainwashed Orb with his metaphysical mental efficacy. By alternating Orb's depraved thoughts and leaving his memory intact, Wriik had successfully turned the small, silver-colored alien into our ally.

At first, I had my doubts as well. After all, I got tricked once by that innocent-looking face and I wouldn't be tricked again. But then seeing how Orb was so desired to tell us everything, I began to loosen my guard. Talus, however, still refused to slack off a little. His left hand would always be resting on top of the handle of the hand-held blaster.

The day that Orb became our friend (he now understood our cause), that same night I told Wriik in the darkness that I was astonished at his ability to be able to morph a being's beliefs, thoughts, and feelings. In between the snoring from Talus, and the snoring in our mind from Orb, Wriik chuckled weakly as he explained the move that he had cast upon Orb had drained a lot of energy from him. It wasn't perfect, and certainly couldn't be used for more than once per week. Then he fell asleep, without waiting for further comments from me. I sighed as I too, drifted off into a deep slumber.

"So now what are we going to do? My home planet is destroyed, and the Federation even has an indestructible starship," Talus comments as he disallowed himself replying to Orb's latest retort: Planet Butt-Kissing Loser.

Wriik appeared to be thoughtful as he stretched. The afternoon was not a pleasant one. What, with the situation dawning on us, we couldn't enjoy the warm afternoon sunshine outside. We had to hole up in this rotten room, with guns primed and armed. A motion sensor was planted near the door for extra precaution.

"You know..." Wriik started as he scratched his head. "Isn't the rebels planning to strike back against the Federation army?"

*They're already waging war against the army a year ago. And also, the Federation army now goes by another name: Mak Empire Army. The size of this battalion is big enough to render six Dome Cities into ruins. People are now fleeing into the Capital Dome for safety. It is also where Mak is currently located, sitting on his throne, acting all high-and-mighty-like.*

"The hell?" Talus said as he shifted into another position on the chair. "Then why hasn't anyone forming an army of their own to go against Mak's army? Surely, the rebels have enough people to go against a military force like that, right?"

*No. Mak Empire Army consists of five million troops. At most, the rebels can only produce three million. As for the civilians... they are not experienced enough to go into the battlefield. It would be suicide for them.*

"Oh man..." Wriik moaned with tiredness as he slumped back into his chair's back-support.

I cleared my throat once before I added in my own comment: "Mak's soldiers count up to five million, right? But that doesn't mean we can't win this war."

"What are you suggesting?" Talus now looked interested. His face had remained bored and unperturbed for the past two hours.

Standing up, the wooden planks creaked under my weight. One of my spikes on my back scraped the wall accidentally, leaving a huge streak in the aged barrier.

"Here's what I think," I started. "We can plan out some tactics to go against the Mak Empire Army. Sure they have a huge number, but that doesn't mean they will win. We can win by being smarter than they are. For instance, I've noticed how Talus can move like a wind. His attacks are fast and furious-"

"Now. Imagine we get Talus' people to join us. They can create havoc among the military camps. They are short - sorry Talus, but it's the truth - so they can percolate through the defense barrier set up at each night at the camps. Talus and his people can do a night strike, limit down the enemy's number a little, and most importantly, frustrating them and wearing them out."

"That, won't work," Talus said bitterly. "My people is dead already."

"Are you sure your information is correct, Orb?" I asked the alien as I turned to face him.

*It should be. I am a spy after all. So it is my job to obtain infallible data*

I bit my lower lip with my long, sharp canine teeth. "I don't think so. It is pretty hard to find and wipe out the Cave People-"

"Detarii People, darn it!" Wriik interrupted with slight annoyance.

"Whatever. I think they are still alive. The Federation won't go and waste their precious resources just to bomb an empty planet with nothing growing or moving on the surface."

Suddenly, a large beeping sound exploded into the air. Wriik, Talus, and I brought out our blasters. Orb flashed out his crescent-shaped knife. The door that led into our room was open ajar. In the center stood a bruised human with a midget beside him that wore the same cloak as Talus except darker gray.

"D... Dantri?" Talus stammered as his gun clattered onto the floor.

"Oh! Elder! We've found you finally!" Dantri, one of Talus' people, rushed to greet his bellwether. Both of them hugged each other joyfully.

The man leaned against the doorframe as he coughed. Wriik picked up the fallen weapon as he put away his own. I relaxed a little as I clicked the safety on. Orb sheathed his blade.

"You okay?" Wriik grabbed the frail man, as he was about to fall over.

Nodding, the stranger coughed again. His face was covered with dirt and dust. Cuts were around his legs and arms and some on his back. His long, black hair was messy. His skin was olive-colored. My eyes grew wide when I saw the Federation uniform on his body: dark green colored pants and shirt all united in one. A Federation banner was printed on the left chest. Black belt around his thick waist, and black boots. My face became instantly cold.

"You are a Federation?" I said as I stalked toward my enemy.

He stared at me with his light-purplish eyes as he weakly shook his head. I let Wriik carried the guy to the bedside. Laying him down onto the soft mattress, my friend made the newcomer drank some water. The human fell asleep within minutes. I continued to stare at him. What had happened to him? He looked as if he had been in a terrible battle.

Orb walked across the small room and closed the door. He reset the sensor and grabbed a chair to set up a sentry spot. I nodded in appreciation and he gave me a wink.

"What... what happened to you guys?" Talus began to speak in his native tongue.

"A few weeks ago, the whole planet is shaking. We heard explosions above the ground and we placed the women and children deeper into the tunnels."

"But... you guys should be dead already!"

"No. No. Whoever is attacking out there has left quickly. It was after an hour or so before we sent a scout to check out the status. We've found an alien collapsing near one of our main entrance holes. After we searched him thoroughly for any concealed weapons, we brought him into the cave and tried to figure out what to do." Then Dantri stared at his Elder for a while. "Honored Elder! You've shown your face to these people here! But isn't it against our laws that-"

"Hey! Here, our laws don't apply. This is not our home. This is not our planet. We can't follow nor do things with our old rules. Besides, how can I make friends with Wriik and Jake and many others if I won't even allow them to see my true appearance?"

*What are they talking about?* Orb asked telepathically as he tried to understand the Detarii Language.

"It's their way of talking. Nothing special," I shrugged as I stood beside him, watching thoughtfully.

Wriik tended to the man's wounds. He busily applied medications on the cuts and bruises.

Finally, Talus shifted his attention to the human on the bed. Gesturing to the foreigner, he asked: "Why is the Federation scum here?"

Looking slightly troubled, Dantri said: "After he has regained consciousness, he gave us this translator and told us about his misfortune. He said that his commander on board of this flying ship slaughtered all of his friends. The flying ship is capable of blowing our planet up, but they had to leave soon for some where else."

I listened carefully while digesting the new information. Why all the leaders on Earth were a bunch of egoistic and irrational people? Hadn't they got any feelings? The more I thought about it, the more it angered me. I vowed the day when I could see one of them squirming beneath my foot, screaming for mercy.

"So now he wants to help us?" Talus seemed surprised as he narrowed his eyes greatly. "Are you sure he would not betray us?"

"Absolutely. He has told us to put the Tattoo of Pledge on his back to show us that he meant every single word that he said," Dantri replied with great confidence.

Talus seemed pleased. Then he frowned. Staring at his clan member sternly, he inquired: "How did you find us here?"

Sheepishly, Dantri brought out a small device from the pocket of his cloak. He held it up. It was a small, round, crystal ball with several light orange-colored lines that branched out from the center of the sphere. On each of the line, there was a mark at the tip of it. It looked like a writing of some kind. There was a black, metallic needle that could shift its position whenever Dantri moved the ball.

"I used the sacred Guide Globe to located you." Then Dantri knelt down and placed his forehead against the hard, oak boards. "I am truly sorry!"