'It's OK honey, I'll be home soon,' said Jake Swame not really believing the words he was telling his wife on the phone. 'I know darling but, how did this happen, your fighting someone else's war, and on another planet! Baby, you can't know what's going to happen.'

'Don't worry, I'm sorry but I....' the phone cut out and was replaced with the shrieking blare of an alarm. Jake didn't know what this alarm meant and he was beginning not to care. The phone calls from his wife had driven him mad with nostalgia, longing for his home planet. Now that the phone call was over, Jake was dragged back into the real world. He turned away from the phone to see the familiar long, wooden hallways of the barracks, soldiers scrambling for their guns in the weapons room. Jake halted a passing soldier who seemed to be fairly calm.

'Status report soldier,' ordered Jake.

'They're attacking the base, sir' said the soldier with a brisk salute. 'All men to their battle stations as the general ordered sir.'

'What, here? Now?'

'Yes sir, their entire army, land and sky battalions are all converging to this base.'

'How did they get here, we've been following their every move.' said Jake a little too loud.

'They should be on the other side of the planet.' A heavy thud followed by a scream sent the army into panic.

'They must have tricked us, sir.' The soldier let out a heavy sob 'Oh, God, we can't survive this.' he whispered. From somewhere outside the building a voice echoed.

'We need all men outside now, this is it gentlemen we are at war.'

'That's the general,' said the soldier. 'They're outside.'

'This is the final battle; the war will be over after this,' Jake thought. He looked across the line of brave men, some ready to face fate, others close to tears but all had their heads high and guns cocked.

'I didn't have a choice.' thought Jake.

'That's why I'm here.' Jake remembered the news on the television the night before, interviewing members of the protest group, the Tauntin Diadem they called themselves, threatening that they were going to do something about the war. In his heart, Jake wished that they would.

In front of Jake, standing in the line was the reason for this pointless war. The aliens were well built, serpentine, and nearly double the size of the human soldiers. They made a horrible hiss whenever they spoke. The general had spoken with the leader of the alien army and arranged a final fight to the death, the 'final battle' the general called it.

The only good thing about the battle was that no civilians were going to get hurt; the army base was far away from any town.

A strange tittering laugh interrupted Jake's thoughts. The soldiers and the aliens alike turned in confusion to try to find the source of the noise; it seemed to be coming from everywhere.

'Gentlemen, soldiers, noble Perathoon.' yelled the voice. Finally, they knew the name of the creatures they were about to face.

'This must be the general,' Jake whispered to the soldier next to him. 'He's going to announce the start of the war.' The unknown voice made another childish laugh, as if it knew something that they didn't.

'Today this war stops, yet it does not finish. There need be no more death.'

'That's not the general.' whispered the soldier next to him. Jake looked around, the same face of confusion displayed by everyone, humans and otherwise.

'We have been called upon by the people to stop this war and we intend to do so.' said the voice with a hint of malice.

'We are the Tauntin Diadem and you,...' he paused for what seemed forever. '...you people will live forever.' In the background, Jake could hear the mystery man give an order. There was a low grumbling coming from above, still confused, Jake craned his neck skywards. A large blue light, a perfect circle came plummeting towards the very ground that they were standing on. It reminded Jake of his home planet, Earth. As the sphere passed them, every alien ship hovering above the battle site turned a bright blue and began falling to the ground with it.

'If we are to die today,' one of the Perathoon yelled, his shaking voice told everyone listening that there was no 'if' about it.

'We shall die fighting!' With that, both human and Perathoon armies charged at each other, faces wet with tears. The leader of Tauntin Diadem cackling with laughter as the bomb fell.