[ WP ] War has been raging for years upon years now . You are a reporter embedded in a famous military unit among your newest allies in this war , humanity .

I had just received my job placement when the war first started. Those first few weeks were filled with mindless political chatter and interest pieces. I craved for excitement and, wicked as it may be, I found myself kneeling at my temple and asking for a disaster, a virus, anything that would make my work worth doing. I had no idea how the Gods would answer. 
 
 The reports started coming in. First, they came through unnamed informants and other back channels. The government was producing weapons, something that had not been done in over 2 centuries. The accounts seemed so ludicrous that politicians did n't even feel the need to acknowledge them in their weekly addresses. 
 
 Then they started recruiting us into government service. They began to assign us to the `` Signal Division'' of the government. Some were kept in isolation from their families. After a while, there was public outcry to know where our young men and women had gone. I was given governmental orders not to report on the protests but it would n't be long until the truth came out. 
 
 The first warship came out of slip space so close to our planet's orbit that it wiped out half the planet's communications. Then we saw fireballs in the sky as the invasion began. The invaders were terrifying. Their eyes had adapted to space travel by becoming huge and keen. Their black skin had grown callous to the touch. They walked upright like us but made unnatural noises as they dropped their four arms to the ground and moved at an unnatural speed- almost like an insects wings fluttering. The first hours of the invasion resulted in one billion deaths, approximately 5 % of our species. Only then did we find out where our young had gone. 
 
 They appeared seemingly out of nowhere. They wore armor, they flew ships, they carried weapons and they were everything we needed them to be. Our young had left to become or guardian angels, and returned just in time. The battle of Crassus was waged over 4 months and cost the lives of 3 billion of our people, and approximately 4 billion of theirs. 
 
 Those first soldiers were called the 4th brigade. It is said they were the 4th because the first three did not survive selection and training. As we pushed the invaders back into space, more of us were taken into the signal division. The 4th brigade were quickly joined by the 5th and 6th. When the invaders attacked our colony planets, the 4th brigade lead the charge to liberate them- and I was embedded. 
 
 For the next 2 years the brigades fought a cat and mouse war with the invaders whom we named the Batoro, a word that means `` fleas'' in my language. They would invade a colony, the brigades would respond, and the fleas would jump away back into slip space. I began taking pleasure watching bullets and sonic blasts tear Batoro soldiers apart. They made a hideous scream right before they died that the soldiers affectionately referred to as `` The moan.'' 
 
 They never won a definitive victory against us but it soon became apparent that they did n't need to. On Crassus our fighting force of 2 billion met their invasion of 1.5 billion. The first battle on the colonies our forces numbered 3 billion to their 3 billion. After 2 years of war, the fleas began to severely outnumber our forces. 
 
 The first colony fell so fast we did n't know it was under attack until it was too late. The brigades were engaged on Echo 2, believing that victory was close at hand despite being outnumbered 2:1. That's when a force of 4 billion strong descended on Solaris and slaughtered the colonists there. Our forces responded but could n't retake the planet. Only then did we realize that we had actually been losing the war the whole time. 
 
 While the fleet was regrouping, we received a transmission from the central government: Do not fire on any unidentified ships in the next 8 hours. The message bore the executive's confirmation code but we all wondered if it could be trusted. I was told not to record anything in that time frame. Solaris had opened our eyes to how vulnerable we were, perhaps we missed the real war entirely? Maybe the fleas had taken over from the inside. We all waited to make contact with... something. We wondered if the commanders would follow the dubious orders. Would an unidentified ship come out of slip space and destroy the brigades without losing a single soldier? Inside the fleet, as word spread of the strange message, the halls grew eerily silent. Then they came. 
 
 50 slip space ruptures lit up space all around our fleet. Ships we had never seen before encircled our fleet. They were black in color, as dark as the flea's skin. They blended into space and could only be easily seen when they passed in front of a star. As we studied them, the first thing that stood out were their cannons. Each ship was outfitted with 2 cannons mounted forward, the cannons themselves were as big as our ships. We all shook with fear wondering if those cannons would tear our hulls apart without any warning and send us all to a noiseless death- but they did n't. 
 
 The first time I saw a human I did n't think much of them. Even their most capable warriors are smaller than us in every way. Nor are they particularly advanced. Their enormous cannons concealed how inefficient their weapon systems are. One of our cruisers had more firepower than 2 or 3 of theirs. All the same, we were told they were allies and we desperately needed help. 
 
 Our fleets joined together and then divided into two: Each fleet half human and half Atani. When the fleas attacked next, one would respond and one would remain mobile. 
 
 On the battle field, humans are spectacular. A Batoro invasion usually took a week to beat back. With the humans along side us, they destroyed the invaders in under a day. They also kept them from retreating. As the first Batoro cruiser crashed down to the planet below, they raised their weapons in the air and let out a cry the likes of which I've never heard. In their black armor, they stood as tall as us. They covered their faces with horrifying visages. Covered in blood from Atani, Batoro, and their own soldiers, they were truly terrifying... and they made that noise. 
 
 The wake of that battle was unlike anything I've ever seen. The humans did n't kill the rival soldiers. They restrained them with chains, chords, or broke their limbs to prevent them from moving. Some were nailed to walls or foliage. The humans would interrogate the fallen soldiers for hours, sometimes days. Sometimes they would ask no questions. They made `` the moan'' stretch out for hours as they removed body parts, gouged out the fleas' huge eyes, or forced chemicals down their throats. I nearly felt bad for the fleas. 
 
 After that first battle, humans took command. A human captain was appointed to each Atani ship. We helped them repel 2 more invasions, then they decided that it was time to go on the offensive. 
 
 We received the order that we would be returning to Solaris. The Atani on board were overjoyed to be returning to our lost colony. My sources told us that this was part of the deal our government made with the humans: that they would return our colony and defeat the Batoro once and for all. I have no idea what they were promised in return. 
 
 We came out of slip-space in orbit around Solaris. The 4th brigade made their way to their drop ships as usual. Then we heard the human ships fire and I'm not sure what happened next. In a matter of minutes, the atmosphere on Solaris was destroyed. From our view in orbit, it was as if the whole planet lit up brightly, then turned dark grey. Feeds from the planet showed enormous cloud formations rising from the ground before they cut out. 
 
 There was no invasion after that, we just left. 
 
 The following months passed slowly. We waited for another flea invasion but it never came. Slowly our people began returning to their pursuits. Soldiers conducted research, engineered, and began catching up on years worth of reading while awaiting the next battle. We saw little of the humans during that time. We would see them training in their armor, still bearing dried blood and damage from battle. We heard their yelling as they beat each other, and tore rooms apart in their armor. 
 
 To date, the Batoro seem to be defeated. Only time will tell if it was worth the cost.
