[ WP ] The Human Empire has been pushed back by the combined might of a galactic union . Only Earth , the Final and greatest world remains . It is the last stand of humanity .

“ Soon it will all be over, ” I thought. It was truly an honour to lead the assault against the Empire ’ s last world, Earth. The attack plan was already discussed and approved, the fleet was functioning perfectly and we still had half an hour in hyperspace. The last thought put a wry smile on my face. We even adopted their time system. It was understandable; the bastards conquered half of the galaxy. 
 
 With nothing else to do, my mind drifted back into old memories. Zirmund, my home world, was one of their first targets. There was no declaration of war, no demands, and no negotiations. The humans simply wanted to claim everything we had and they succeeded, but Zirmund was by no means the last victim. The Empire ’ s rampage echoed throughout the galaxy as they claimed planet after planet, system after system. The Union was slow, indecisive, hesitant. No one wanted another galactic war. Everyone hoped that just one more world, just one more dot on the map will satisfy them. Only by the end we realised that these creatures lived the war. Their complete fixation on conquering and destroying everything in their path was like a collective madness that overtook the entire species. Nothing would stop them; no amount of reasoning could ever lead to a stable peace. Once we understood that, there was only one choice: destroy them completely. 
 
 “ Sir, we are exiting hyperspace in 5 minutes, arriving to Earth on schedule, ” one of the bridge officers reported. 
 
 “ Good, what ’ s the situation? ” I asked mostly out of habit. 
 
 “ Everything according to plan, the other four fleets of the Union will arrive shortly, but even our force is greater than what we expect near Earth, ” the officer answered back. 
 
 The last couple of battles crippled the enemy ’ s forces and all that was left is to finish the deal. For the first time, victory seemed close. And yet there was something more. Information from spies on other worlds and numerous interrogations hinted at a “ secret weapon ”, something the humans were building since the start of the Union ’ s counterattack. We tried numerous times to get special agents onto Earth, but all of those attempts failed. The Empire was hiding something back home, I was sure of it. 
 
 For a second it seemed like time itself slowed down to a crawl. I was used to the effect by now; it meant we arrived into real space. I walked over to the navigation panel and took a quick glance. We were off the mark. Earth was out of reach for the short range sensors; that was not supposed to happen. 
 
 “ Launch a long range scan, ” I ordered. 
 
 The bridge signal officer quickly made his way towards me, saluted and reported in a hasty manner: 
 
 “ Sir, there is an incoming signal from hyperspace. They are requesting communication. ” 
 
 “ Is it from one of the other fleets? ” I asked. 
 
 “ No, Sir, they identify themselves as a Human Empire military vessel, ” he replied nervously. 
 
 “ Accept, ” I answered, clenching my teeth. This did not bode well. 
 
 After a few seconds an image of a man in an Empire uniform appeared on the screen. He had short black hair with a few grey strands and dark-green eyes. The uniform had a few unfamiliar pieces. “ Probably means a high rank, ” I thought. For some reason, the man was smiling. 
 
 “ My name is Reiner Bernat. I am the supreme commander of the Human Empire ’ s military forces and captain of the battleship Terra. I am here to accept your unconditional surrender, ” the man calmly stated. 
 
 These games were tiring me. Resisting the temptation to turn off the communications, I simply answered: 
 
 “ My name is admiral Refiras. I refuse. ” 
 
 Captain Bernat nodded and the screen went dark. 
 
 “ Sir, a large ship is approaching from hyperspace. The readings don ’ t make any sense. They must be using some sort of cloaking technology to hide their actual size and location. I will attempt to… ” 
 
 The signal officer didn ’ t finish his thought. Everyone on the bridge was staring at the main display in silence. Even though no sound could traverse the vacuum outside, I could swear I heard the roar of a million hyperdrives as they propelled the huge mass forward. Gigantic weaponry rose in place of mountains and cities. The once blue and green surface was now covered in dark metal. Countless ships flew in and out like bees around their hive. More and more of “ battleship Terra ” appeared from hyperspace, casting its shadow upon us. The terrifying machine sprang into action, laying waste all around it. All I could do was look in disbelief as my fleet was torn to shreds by this monstrous monument to one civilization ’ s talent for destruction. There was nothing we could do. 
 
 Earth was approaching.
