Abandoned Space IV

Already the war effort was nearing its completion, as the united alien races had won victory after victory over the invaders that had forced them into their exile. All that remained were the ice planets, the planets on the very edges of the galaxy that the aliens considered the least threat of all - as their technological prowess was pitiful at best.

Still, they would waste no time subduing them, as their thirst for vengeance would not be quenched until the final human had been exterminated. Fortunately, the planets the final humans resided on had little strategic or natural value, so the aliens did not have to hold back their weapons so as to preserve them. Instead, they could destroy them entirely, and with that their revenge would be complete.

The aliens sent their dreadnoughts to the ice planets, mechanical beasts of unfathomable proportions. Each was designed to destroy a planet whole, a surgical beam that makes material implode in on itself, erasing it from existence. Each came equipped with a ballistic shield that rendered it practically impenetrable, save for advanced weaponry that only the aliens possessed.

The humans had little time to prepare, the few refugees that had fled to their planets providing what little intel they knew. There seemed no escape, no hope for tactical retreat. Only the dark unknown remained beyond their planets, at the very edge of their galaxy, and with that surely death.

The humans all flocked towards a single planet, each in the small, rudimentary spacecraft of their home planets, designed to navigate and drill through the ice plains native to their planets. They all gathered there perhaps as a concentration of force, or final last stand.

The dreadnought arrived at the planet, as did the other dreadnoughts at their respective planets. It loomed over it, impossibly large, an omen of death, and began to charge it's weapon.

All at once, thousands of ships emerged from the planet. They coalesced on the dreadnought in a haphazard fashion, and it fired on them, their small size and nimble speed proving effective in dodging the attacks. And yet, not a single ship fired on the dreadnought, perhaps realizing the futility in their actions. None could hope to penetrate the shield.

A few then flew directly at the dreadnought, full speed, in something akin to a kamikaze attack - and were immediately destroyed by the ballistic shield. It was an intelligent enough system to treat any object above a certain speed a threat, and would immediately activate and destroy it.

But then, unflinchingly and all at once, the ships converged on the dreadnought, forming a sphere around it. Using the wreckage of their fallen ships as a guide, just as they came to the outer limit of the shield, they slowed to a crawl. They moved through the invisible barrier without detection or destruction. All the while, the ship's weapons fired on them, massacring them in devastating numbers - but there were simply too much, too many. Crossing the shield's barrier, they descended on the dreadnought like ants onto a corpse, burrowing into its hull with startling efficiency. The ships were designed to drill into the hardest materials their galaxy had to offer, and made short work of the dreadnought's outer core.

The ship breached, the humans erupted from their ships, slaughtering the dreadnought's inhabitants without hesitation. While the alien technology was unmatched, their fighting prowess was poor at best; and perhaps through hubris or simple ineptitude, none were sufficiently equipped for a breach. The humans made short work of them, and soon found the ship's DNA security protocols easy to bypass with the detached limbs of their enemies. The few aliens that managed to flee in escape pods were gunned down mercilessly, as a single escaped soul would undoubtedly compromise their mission.

The humans had won their first victory since the arrival of the invaders, but no victory is without its cost. Despite the fact that they had commandeered the dreadnought, they still had to carry out the ship's mission. If their plan had any chance of succeeding at all, they would need to destroy their own planet so as to not arise suspicion. They had loaded their own spacecraft with the best and strongest humanity still had to offer - which invariably meant that the weak, the old, and even the children still remained on their home planet. Victory will not come without sacrifice, and there was no sacrifice more severe than this.

The humans charged the dreadnought as they sealed the hundreds of breaches in the hull, melting down their lodged spacecraft to form molten patchwork. The ship not only needed to be flight-worthy, but seemingly intact.

They watched as their home planet imploded in on itself, and in that moment, and that moment only, they allowed the anguish and pain to wash over themselves. They were now the last of their race, and that knowledge only served to harden their will.

The humans messaged the commander, reporting the planetary extermination a success, and then fired up the interstellar thrusters.

They then set forth, on to the alien capital, and on to the next phase of their improbable, irrevocable mission.