Max's POV

A week has gone by.

Everyday, we receive more and more news about the conquest and decimation of Federation planets and systems, the spread of the influence of the Klingons and the Dark Order, and the decreasing strength of our allies.

We were being hunted down,massacred, murdered. Elders, women, children- death engulfed them all. Humans were killed in thousands daily. It seemed as if the worst nightmares of hell itself had descended upon us.

The realms were drawn into the horror and desolation of war. Wherever we went, we saw nothing but destruction, desolation, death. Bodies covered the ground, their anguished expressions silently screaming for mercy. Rivers ran red with blood.

This is the condition of the universe. With the coming of Thanos to power, the universe was plunged into darkness. The light of hope was snuffed out as fast as it spread. After we fled, the Klingons had attacked the Federation. Proving to be no match against the advanced weaponry of the Klingons, a lot of humans sacrificed themselves to cover the retreat of the minority, to come here, to Lyra.

We decided that this was the safest place for the time being. The planet was totally out of the way of the other systems, so my fear of being discovered accidentally washed out. Strange's temple, as he called it, was built to withstand large-scale assaults, and his cloaking spells shielded us from attacks and probes.

We were one of the few ships that made it out of the massacre of Earth. Although my heart was heavy with the death of the Captain, I was glad to see Glen, Jim and Tania alive.

So few of us were left.

We spent the whole week healing, tending to the wounded, doing inventory, and secretly transmitting any allies left to regroup here. We took a big hit, and we need to cope up.

With a heavy heart and a burdened soul, I stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking the temple. The breath-taking view, which covered a vast expense of forest-land, did little to calm my conflicted mind.

"You slipped without telling anyone." I heard a soft voice from behind. I smiled but didn't turn around.

"I needed to calm my mind. I hoped this view could." I said.

"And does it?" She asked.
"No."

Tania walked up to me. We stood side by side in silence, looking down at the vast expense before us. She shifted closer.

"Let me." She said softly as she snuggled against my chest. I smiled and put my arm around her waist. I owed my life to her, and I was glad to see her alive. I knew that underneath her snarky self, she was truly kind and compassionate.

"Has anyone told you that you have really nice curls?" I asked as I played with her hair.

She laughed and shook my hand away. "You're ruining the moment, idiot."

We looked out into the horizon in comfortable silence, her head on my chest. The sun was setting, casting a golden glow over everything.

In that moment,with the warmth of the sun streaming down all around me, I felt a powerful upwelling deep within myself. It was an emotion I had never felt this profoundly in my entire life.

Hope.

We would rise again. We would find a way to defeat Thanos and his allies. We would regroup and call upon our allies. We would honour to sacrifices of the martyrs, and make sure their deaths weren't happy in vain. We would defeat him, and bring peace and order back to the galaxies. The light of hope shall shine again.

Strange once told the Captain that destiny has dire plans for him.

Well, I have dire plans for destiny.

This is the uprising. This is the revolution. This is us, striking back against the darkness.

This is retaliation.

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Steve's POV

Pain. Utter pain. To the point of being unbearable.

It felt as if my body was slowly burning from the inside. Like someone had the brilliant idea of pouring sticky oil over my insides and letting it burn slowly. I couldn't feel my legs or my hands, and the constant buzz in my head was killing me.

Yeah, death sucks.

I tried to open my eyes but couldn't. My right eye wasn't responding and my left one cracked open a bit. I could feel the dried-up blood caked over my eyebrow. A cloth was flung loosely over my eye.

" He'ssssss alive, Massster." A snakey voice said, putting emphasis on the 's' sound.

I heard a shuffling, and a famaliar deep voice boomed." What use is he to me? He is a pathetic human."

"But Massster," they hissed." This one sssurvived the blast. He is the only one. We fished him out."

"His figure is burnt and mutilated. He's lost part of his body. Yet, you say he lives?"

"Yessss, Massster." They hiss." This one is ssstrong."

I suddenly felt a searing pain through my chest. As if a toxic needle was drilling its way to my heart. I opened my mouth to scream, but was choked by the cloth across my mouth. "Arghhh! Urghgh!"

I struggled against my restaints, kicking, punching with force I never felt before. My eyeballs were literally popping out of their place.

"Oh, my God! What's happening?" I heard someone gasp.

" He's mutating." A calmer, feminine voice replied.

I heard a smirk, and felt a famaliar radiance of power." Prep him. I want him in, for the Nemesis program."

And so. This is it.
The end(sniff) of my very first novella.
CLIFFHANGER AT THE END. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?? BUAHHAH!
It seems only a few days ago that I resolved to wrote this story. It took one and a half months actually. Pretty fast, I think, owing to frequent updates. I'm sad as you are,that this interesting story is finished.
Wait? Did I say finished?
Naaah.
Not by a long shot.
This is the end of book one. Book O-N-E...
There's a sequel! Yay!
Yup, you read it correctly. There will be a sequel, which will focus on the story with a slightly different angle. With more twists and plots!
I will start on it after the final exams are over,meaning from mid-March. Stay tuned! Thanks a lot to you guys, especially EmzemB, CrazyGuy030601,Vector4567 and SubhraHowlett. Your support was overwhelming! Thanks a lot guys!
See you all soon!
Please don't forget to vote and comment.