Vree was not having a good day.

“Look out!”

He ducked at Human-Amir’s shout just in time as fire roared past him, engulfing the nearest pack of aliens before they could overwhelm Vree’s protected spot. Seeing an opportunity, Vree waited until Human-Amir’s fire faded, and then took several precise shots with his blaster.

The invasion, which began with the murder of Human-Luka’s emperor-father, was fully underway. Ships, as massive as any human destroyer, appeared in droves, attacking key targets, pushing ever-farther into the territory of the Human Galactic Empire. The humans rallied, and forced them back, but there was no question that, for once, humanity had found an opponent able to fight them on even footing.

They called themselves the Houm, and they bred so fast that they needed habitable new worlds to call their own.

Their numbers and power rivaled that of the humans and dwarfed that of nearly every other race. Fighting them was an insurmountable challenge, that even the greatest cultures of Vree’s home galaxy could not face.

Humanity, being who and what it was, took the loss of their emperor as a personal challenge. They emptied their worlds into the black of space, each ship a floating battle-point as they met the attacks with their own.

The Alliance watched, and trembled as the two titans battled, each determined to shatter the strength of the other. The last time Humanity had poured out her army, it was in defense of her allies. Now, with the war brought to their home front, and having taken a terrible blow, the humans were rising to the cause.

All seven Carriers were turned out, sometimes in pairs, sometimes alone, great beacons of destruction and accompanied by armadas of destroyers. The human general, LaShan, had told the Alliance that the force sent to face the Thraxxis was a battalion, but until this time, the truth of that statement was never truly seen.

The Empire, as it turned out, had trillion upon trillion of humans sheltered within their galaxy, and those trillions, enraged by the driving loss of their own, were angry.

The Hoem, however, had trillions of their own. They gained ground and lost it. Won battles, and lost them, and somehow, even with the humans and their brutal fleet released upon them, held their own.

Vree was, naturally, somewhat in the middle of things, and not terribly pleased about it.

“These guys just don’t give up,” Human-Amir said as he threw rolling balls of fire down the walkway. They were defending an outpost that was supposed to contain vital information for the Empire. It was too valuable to lose, but they were badly outnumbered. Vree was beginning to get concerned, even with the more destructive of his human’s abilities unleashed. “Come on!”

“Would you, in their position?” Vree asked and dropped his ears flat just in time to save them from a particularly good shot. Human-Amir snapped his fingers and wreathed the walkway in flame long enough to buy them both time to reload. “They are getting more accurate.”

“Not the point!”

By the time the alien invaders were down, Human-Amir had ducked down into Vree’s shelter, a blaster in one hand, and a fireball in the other. His face was dusty and dirty with soot, but his mouth was set into a stubborn line that Vree knew well.

“How many of them are there?” the human demanded, more offended than actually questioning, and peered out of their cover before firing several precise shots down the walkway. “They’re trying to take the command center.”

“They must not be allowed to do so,” Vree replied, and reached for his belt, and the grenades that hung there. For once, they were properly armed for the occasion. A pleasant change from their usual affairs. “Are you ready?”

“Yup.”

“Good.”

As one, they swarmed out of hiding and onto the walkway, trading shots and blasts of fire as they pushed forward, soon joined by Human-Luka, and several of his bodyguards.

The bodyguards looked decidedly stressed that their emperor was in the line of fire.

Human-Luka, garbed in close-fitting black pants and a striking red jacket, looked decidedly furious.

“You shouldn’t be here!” Human-Amir scolded his younger cousin even as he unceremoniously shoved the young emperor behind a pile of crates. Vree approved, pulled the pins on two pulse grenades, and hurled them down the walkway. “You are supposed to be up in the tactical center!”

“I’m not hiding while other people do the fighting!” Human-Luka snarled back, fierce, and unexpectedly alarming against the explosions of Vree’s grenades. “They think they can steamroll over us and take what they please. I refuse to allow it!”

“You’re supposed to be a figurehead! A symbol,” Human-Amir said, and pulled out a second blaster for Human-Luka, who took it, checked the charge, and opened fire like he was born with a blaster in hand. “Like a flag, but more annoying!”

Human-Luka glared at him and picked off a few of the bolder Houm who ran at them. “I refuse to be that sort of ruler.”

“You’ll be a dead sort of ruler if you get killed!”

“Well then I won’t have to explain it to Mother, will I?”

“Oh you little sh-“

“We need to get to better cover,” Vree interjected before Human-Amir could begin cursing in earnest. Now was not the time, and this was not the place. “Human-Amir, if you do not mind.”

“Yeah, I got it,” Human-Amir grumbled, and braced himself. “We ready to move?”

“Yes,” Human-Luka confirmed, and reached his hand towards the doors. Electricity danced over his skin and Vree stifled a hiss. He did not know that Human-Luka was Human-Other, and clearly a different classification than Human-Amir. “Door will be open by the time we get there.”

Vree, knowing humans a little too well at this point, saw no reason to doubt him. Humans tended to be at their best in the most unlikely situations. His faith was proved when Human-Luka slapped a hand down on the metal plating beside them. Another snap of static brought all the formerly-deactivated turrets online. They immediately began firing on the Hoem, and forced the oncoming wave of bodies back. Of course, it couldn’t last, but the respite was more welcome than Vree liked to admit.

Human-Amir stepped out of cover, lit himself on fire, and sent a huge, rolling wall of flame down the walkway. Screams of panic echoed off the walls as it forced the Houm ahead of it and left those who were not fast enough dead in its wake.

Human-Luka snapped his electrified fingers demandingly. The doors glided open as if they had never been locked. Vree was not particularly surprised, but did file away this strange new human ability for later. If they survived this, maybe Human-Luka would explain it to him.

As soon as they were all through the doors, they slammed shut again, and everyone took a minute to catch their breath.

Vree eyed his humans, decided they were intact, and got to work reloading his blaster with fresh charge-cartridges.

“Where to?” Human-Amir asked, and tossed a box of cartridges to his cousin, who took a handful and passed them to his bodyguards. “Do we have reinforcements coming?”

“The worst of our nightmares turned out for the occasion,” Human-Luka confirmed after a glance at his comm. He looked up as the doors slid open again. Vree tensed, ready for a fight, but no. It was a tall, powerfully built human man, followed by several dozen very pale soldiers, whose eyes glowed an eerie red from under their ancient-style helms. “Hello, Lord Tepes.”

“Lukas,” Lord Tepes said, and offered a nod of respect to Human-Luka, but did not bow. “Dracula Coven stands ready to repel these invaders from our home.”