I look towards the hazy surroundings, fires burning in the distance from the ships that came crashing down onto this planet three days ago. I cough with a heavy chest and weary heart, eyes stinging, unsure about how to progress past this point. As the leader of this new society, I should be the one who knows what to do, not the one unable to believe the horrors of the war that has just happened.

Water stings my hot cheeks. Even though we won the war, I've lost almost everything. The one who raised me, who cared for me when I was a monster, who taught me everything I know... gone. Just a corpse in some cemetery. Same fate as my little sister, who I didn't know I had until recently. She was condemned because of me. My brother, part of the other side, died by the orders that I gave. I understand why he was with them, but I had to issue those orders. Once I made that decision, I basically chose to murder him. But what other option was there to get to a time of peace? This peace that, as the fire proves as it becomes even more chaotic, came at a high cost.

I wipe the tears away, taking a few deep breaths. Everyone has lost something or someone. I need to appear strong so that everyone else can continue. Putting my hands in my pockets, I turn around, noticing my best friend coming up the stairs to join me on the roof of the tallest building in this city.

He puts his hand on my shoulder. "So," he sighs. "We won."

"I thought it'd feel great finishing this war. I thought I'd be excited, ready to celebrate the end of the oppressive government." My gaze drifts to the destroyed ships as my eyebrows become furrowed. "But this, it doesn't feel like a victory. I keep thinking that this destruction proves that we lost."

"I know Nimrah." He tries to smile but fails.

"Stop it. Just stop it." The fire blazes, just like the passion I once had for fighting. "I don't want to be reminded about the time when I thought war was noble and not a waste of life."

"How are you holding up after your operation?" He guides me to one of the roof chairs.

"I should have died." A bout of coughing hits me. "Maybe it'd be better if I did. Our leader would still be alive if I died. I'm just the second best."

"Don't say that." He helps me into the chair. "You just need more experience, that's all. It'll come with time."

"No. I know what I must do." I groan as I get up. "I know the risks, but it has to be done."

"Don't." He says, his voice strong and unwavering, unlike how it's been for a long time. "You could start another war."

"What choice do I have?" I go down the stairs. Inside, he grabs my wrist.

"I'm sorry. You've put me in this position." He swallows. "You have another choice. Change your mind and I won't have to do what I'm about to do."

"You're my best friend. I'm asking you, as friends, as the only person that I know left, let me go. Let me do this. It needs to be done." I say, sorrow and determination hitting me like a wave. The fire emphasises my emotions by suddenly becoming larger, before quickly calming down a bit.

"I... I can't." A tear rolls down his right cheek. His voice becomes quiet. "You know I can't. I have a duty to prevent another war happening. I have people who rely on me to do that."

"Would you really be able to do that to me? Your friend?" Strength enters my voice, along with a challenge to my best friend.

"I would... have... to." Rain comes out of the grey clouds that are his eyes. "Please, don't make me. Please change your mind."

"Everyone needs me to make the right choice and, in the long run, this is it." I free my wrist from his grasp.

"You... you know... what... I..." He takes a shaky breath. "What I have to do. I'm sorry. I can't show favouritism."

"Fine. I'll do what I must." I look out the window, unable to look him in the eye.

"Please, don't."

"What will you do if I don't?" My eyes fixate on my hands fiddling with my dress.

"You know what I'll do. I'll be able to do it even if you do what you may do." He slowly prepares to contact the people and other life forms in his alien organisation.

"Guards, come to floor 16 of the Niceosia War Memoriam Tower and seize Klirin. Lock the building down to everyone once you have entered." I call into my wrist communication device.

"Please, don't become your old self again. You can end this. Don't become like them." Klirin says in a calm and sad voice.

Reflected off of the window, I see a faint mirror image of myself. "This has to be done. The people of your organisation don't understand artificial life. You know it was artificial, don't you? What did it ever do wrong?"

"I know, but..." I see him coming towards me through the reflection in the window. He stops.

"But what? Why can't I be allowed to recreate it? To have it with me again?"

"It's just... wrong. Allowing that privilege to those with the power and money, while everyone else has to die. Every life form has its time to live, to achieve, to make mistakes." Klirin hugs me. "I know it's hard, but you have to accept it."

I shrug him off. "What harm could it do?"

"It sacrificed itself for you. This has never been done. We don't know what the consequences could be, other than people fighting over the philosophy of taking such an action. Do you think it'd want that? Don't you think starting a war for it would be disrespectful to its sacrifice to end one?" I hear a lot of passion and emotion behind those words.

"If you had the choice to have another life when you died, would you take it?"

"No. None of the people who died fighting got that choice. It just... wouldn't be right." Klirin steps in front of me. "But if it means that for me to have another life, many people die without another chance at another life in another war, I wouldn't want that life."

I nod, turning back to the window to see the city below and the burning in the distance. "Guards, call off the seize of Klirin in the Niceosia War Memoriam Tower."

"Thank you. You're saving so many lives." Klirin goes down the stairs, leaving me alone.

I place my hand against the window, the fire dancing. I allow myself to let it all out. The hurt, the loss and the betrayal of the past months. I peer through the smoke, seeing the Moon faintly glowing in the sky. The haze quickly obscures it once more as the fire reaches up to it.

"Ziellio, I need you to come up to floor 16 of the NWMT. I have a request to ask of you. Don't let Klirin find out." I turn around, leaning against the window.

"Coming Nimrah." I wait for a few minutes. A humanoid alien with reflective scales appears. "What do you want Nimrah?"

I get up, returning to my confident persona. "A favour. Make sure to keep this at the highest level of secrecy. I don't want anyone apart from those necessary to find out." I whisper into Ziellio's ear. I step back. "Did you get all that?"

"Yes. I'll get onto it right away." Ziellio bows and rushes down the stairs. I stay up here, on my own, the fire picking up the rhythm of my betrayal and dancing behind me.

***********************************

Two engineers work on Project Bagong Buhay, isolated from society for a number of months. This project requires maximum security to avoid a war. They can't allow any information spreading to anyone outside of themselves and their bosses. The humanoid one sighs, with hands on its chin. "This creation was a disaster."

A short, red haired, 4-legged alien gets up. "Well, we've tried to do what was asked of us."

The grey humanoid one gets up and walks around. "What should we do?"

The short alien jumps up on the table. "Throw it away. We failed. It's a huge mistake of what it should have been." It touches the unconscious bunch of technological cells. "But we must take it to an uninhabitable place. We can't have her know about what has happened."

"What if it is alive?" The humanoid alien looks at the machinery registering life signs.

"Well, how alive was the other one?" The red alien laughs with sharp teeth showing. "Apparently it wasn't made naturally, but I doubt they had the technology to really do a good job with that." The alien leaps down onto the floor. "So, this one can't really be considered alive."

The humanoid studies the creation, it seeming to breath in a way that would suggest sleep. "Uh, okay. But you know what she thinks about us doing such a thing as this." The humanoid's eyes gaze deeply into the alien's eyes. She told us to report to her when one of the creations has any signs of life.

"You know, her knowledge does have limits, even if it seems like it doesn't." The alien responds in an agitated way. "This one is just a prototype she will never find out about."

The humanoid alien goes back behind the machinery, gesturing to the life signs. "She gave us specific instructions..."

"She can't find out we didn't follow them."

The door opens. A girl in her 20s enters the room. "You're making a big mistake."

The humanoid alien steps backwards, hands covering its mouth. The red alien goes onto the counter and faces the girl. "Who are you?" The red alien orders.

The girl remains calm, seemingly distant from the current situation. "The future. The past. The present. The one who has experienced time and space, over and over again. Listen to me when I say this because I only want to help." She swallows. My old friend, long gone are you now, but you deserve this help that they could let me give you. Tears come out of her eyes while the rest of her face and body retains a sense of composure. "You're making a big mistake. But this will lead to a future of peace."