Thragg hovered in the void, arms crossed over his chest, the cold silence of space wrapping around him. His cape floated weightlessly behind him, a faint ripple against the nothingness. Stars blinked in the distance, indifferent to the chaos unfolding below. He could hold his breath for nearly a month if he pushed himself, but he still needed to breathe eventually. And for that, he needed a planet.
This one would do.
He tilted his head, brow furrowing as he scanned the surface. Massive cities stretched across continents, their lights flickering like dying embers. Smoke rose in thick plumes from craters that scarred the surface, the remains of shattered towers and obliterated defenses. Explosions dotted the planet, brief bursts of orange and white against the shadows of destruction. The humans were fighting. They were losing.
His gaze shifted to the attackers. Hulking, green-skinned creatures rampaged across the surface, their monstrous forms tearing through human defenses with terrifying ease. They wielded crude weapons that belched fire and smoke, their vehicles rumbling forward like beasts given metal flesh. And yet, there was a strange cohesion to their madness, an undeniable effectiveness to their crude technology.
Thragg narrowed his eyes. The alien fleet in orbit was equally baffling. Ships that looked like patchwork disasters drifted above the planet, their jagged silhouettes glowing faintly with the energy of their engines. Their designs were chaotic, as though assembled from scraps found in a scrapyard. Plates overlapped haphazardly, exposed wiring sparked, and engines sputtered unevenly. Yet they moved, firing coordinated volleys that battered the human fleet.
More puzzling was the largest vessel. It dominated the orbit, a grotesque amalgamation of rust and machinery, vast enough to cast a shadow over an entire city. Its engines flared with bursts of green light, pushing it through the void with an eerie grace. Somehow, that monstrosity was FTL-capable. Thragg's lip curled slightly. It defied logic.
Below, the planet burned. Human armies scrambled to defend their cities, their soldiers dwarfed by the aliens. Tanks rolled through streets, their turrets swiveling to fire, only to be ripped apart by alien beasts wielding jagged weapons. Fighter jets screamed overhead, releasing missiles that struck home but did little to stem the tide. The humans' efforts were valiant, but the outcome was clear.
The green-skinned creatures were relentless. They overran the humans with sheer ferocity, swarming through defenses with brutal speed. Entire districts fell in hours, reduced to rubble and corpses. Thragg traced their advance with his eyes, noting the uncoordinated but effective way they attacked. These creatures weren't disciplined, but they didn't need to be. Their sheer numbers and brute strength were enough to overwhelm.
Thragg exhaled softly, the faintest hint of condensation forming around his face before dissipating into the void. By his calculation, the planet had a month left. Maybe less. The humans were resilient, but they lacked the firepower to push back. The green-skinned horde would drown them in blood.
He adjusted his position slightly, watching the battle unfold. A smaller human ship broke away from its formation, engines flaring as it made a desperate attempt to escape the carnage. The alien vessels reacted instantly, spewing fire and debris as they pursued. The human ship didn't make it far before it was engulfed in flames, its wreckage spiraling down toward the planet.
Thragg's eyes narrowed further. The humans were losing, yes, but this wasn't incompetence. They were advanced, far more so than the humans from Nareena's world. These humans had planet-spanning cities, formal armies, and a functioning air and space force. They fought with precision, their soldiers organized, their weapons deadly and uniform in performance.
Yet it wasn't enough.
He glanced back at the alien fleet. Their ships moved with a chaotic grace, as though their very existence defied the laws of nature. They were crude but functional, held together by some impossible force that made logic irrelevant. Glue, rusted nails, prayers – whatever it was, it worked.
Thragg smirked faintly. Interesting.
This wasn't his fight. Not yet. He was here for one thing: air. But as he turned his gaze back to the planet, watching the green tide surge forward, another thought crossed his mind.
Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to intervene. Nareena had been human and he loved her all the same. He wasn't particularly attached to humanity, but he'd grown somewhat fond of them during his time in Nareena's world. After all, he'd made friends with a few of the neighbors and had even become somewhat acquainted with them, forming bonds that may have been close to friendship. In contrast, Thragg didn't care about the green-skinned brutes that now threatened this branch of humanity. So, how best to intervene and aid the humans without winning their war for them?
It seemed like the greatest advantage held by the green-skinned aliens lay in their orbital supremacy. Somehow, their ramshackle vessels had more firepower than the human ships.
Thragg made his decision. He surged forward, faster than any eye could track, a blur of motion invisible even to the alien fleet's sensors. He collided with the first ramshackle vessel, slicing through its hull as though it were paper. The ship buckled under the impact, its jagged edges breaking apart in a shower of debris and fire.
Before the explosion could fully bloom, Thragg was already moving, a streak of destruction tearing through the void. Another ship shattered in his wake, its massive body splitting in two, spilling molten metal and atmosphere into space. One by one, he demolished the alien fleet. The vessels, crude and enormous, crumbled under the sheer force of his speed and strength. Their makeshift weapons fired blindly, trying to hit a target they couldn't see, only for their shots to vanish into empty space.
He moved with precision, each strike deliberate. A smaller frigate cracked down the middle as he passed through its core. The hulking flagship, which dwarfed the others, disintegrated as he plowed through its engines and bridge in a single sweep. The broken wrecks of the alien vessels floated aimlessly, adrift in the void. Fires flickered in the vacuum before being snuffed out, leaving only the silence of destruction.
Thragg came to a stop, drifting amidst the chaos he'd wrought. He surveyed the remnants, his expression neutral. The aliens no longer had orbital superiority. The field was leveled.
Why do you waste your time with these primitives?
The voice echoed in his mind, distant yet familiar. Nashara. Thragg descended slowly, entering the planet's atmosphere. He took a long breath, the oxygen filling his lungs, his body relaxed. He exhaled, a faint mist visible in the cold upper air.
"I have grown rather fond of humans," he said, his voice calm. His gaze lingered on the world below, its sprawling cities now visible in greater detail. Fires dotted the landscape, and plumes of smoke rose like dark scars on the surface. "I see now why my brothers and sisters were so enamored by them."
You wish to save them from annihilation?
Thragg's lips twitched slightly, a faint trace of amusement.
"Not entirely." He watched the human vessels below, their movements frantic. They scrambled across the battlefield, clearly confused by the sudden absence of their enemies. "I merely leveled the playing field. Now, they have a chance to save themselves. If they fail, even with this advantage, then they deserve their fate. Survival must be earned."
It baffles me. You look identical to these humans, yet you stand so far above them. To them, you are a god. And they are little more than insects.
Thragg's brow furrowed slightly. He looked down at his hands, the faint gleam of starlight reflecting off his skin. "I've wondered that myself. It became more puzzling when we discovered that, of all the species in the universe, humans were the most compatible with Viltrumites for offspring."
And the answer?
"We never found one," Thragg said, shrugging. "Perhaps it's mere chance. Perhaps humans are what Viltrumites would have been, had we followed a different path. Or perhaps it's the other way around. I no longer care to dwell on it."
An interesting possibility. And now? You could do more. Save them. Become their hero, their god-king. They would worship you for what you've done.
Thragg shook his head, his voice quiet but firm.
"I've done what needs to be done. I will do no more for them." He watched as human ships began to regroup, their weapons scanning the void for threats that no longer existed. "And I no longer have any interest in conquering."
As you will.
Thragg turned away, rising back into the void. He moved quickly, leaving the planet behind without a second glance. He didn't notice the human ships tracking his retreating form, or the faint glow of their cameras capturing his image. He didn't see the stunned expressions of the humans who stared at the recordings, their voices whispering of salvation, of a being who tore apart their enemies like a god of vengeance.
The image of him, a solitary figure amidst the chaos, would linger in their minds for generations.
He visited other worlds as the need arose, descending only when he required air. Some were barren, others teeming with life. Often, he found humans under siege. Alien monstrosities rampaged across their cities, their armies outmatched and their defenses crumbling. Thragg acted when it suited him, destroying alien fleets with the same ruthless efficiency. He never lingered. He never sought their gratitude. His actions were surgical, calculated, a brief interference to balance the scales before he moved on.
World after world, he saved humans from annihilation, their attackers falling under his strength. Yet he remained detached, watching from afar as they struggled to reclaim their futures. For all his power, he wanted them to fight for themselves. He wanted them to prove their worth.
But always, his thoughts returned to Nareena's world. To his children. To Syreen, whose mortality weighed on him more than he cared to admit. Time pressed forward relentlessly, and he knew he couldn't stay away for long.
Thragg rose from another burning world, his breath steady, his mind resolute. He moved forward, the stars blurring as he surged through the void. He was close now. By Nashara's estimate, Thragg was only a few months away from reaching his home. His purpose was clear.
"He cannot be saved. This device has taken over large portions of his brain. Removing it would be fatal."
"I figured as much. It didn't look like anything that could be removed."
"If that is the case, then why did you- ah, I see. You wish to employ a method similar to Bio-Transference. You are aware that we never quite succeeded in that regard, yes? The last attempt permanently damaged the Phaeron himself. Doing so to this poor creature would likely result in its death."
"It may be possible to refine the process, somewhat, just enough to allow for his survival. If it fails, then he dies and it won't matter anyway."
"The Phaeron has granted you quite a bit of leeway when it comes to these things and... I believe I know you well enough by this point, Argall. So, you shall be granted access to whatever you require for this little forray – within reason. Though, I must admit, I am curious as to whether or not it will work as you intend. If it does, then even I will be impressed."
"I believe that I may be able to use the Genesis Chamber, together with your experimental Soul Furnace to create an entirely new body. I believe your Phaeron would be greatly interested in this process as well – same as you, Cryptek Jzath."
"Quite true. It has long been the dream of many of our race to undo the Bio-Transference. The information we can gather from your experiment would prove very useful. Then, it is settled. I shall activate the Soul Furnace. You may make use of it as soon as you return."
"Thank you for your aid, Cyptek Jzath. And please give my thanks to the benevolent Phaeron Khoteph as well."
"Your thanks is noted."
AN: Chapter 56 is out on (Pat)reon!