NBR Writing Prompt: NASA, along with the government, created thunderstorms to cover up the sound of space battles.

Sirens trumpeted and echoed off the metal walls. Woken from our sleep, we dashed down the hall and slid around the corner. The station's strobe lights lit our way to the control room entrance.

"This in not a drill, ladies," the mission commander hollered.

I ground my teeth like I did every time he said that. No freaking kidding Sherlock. Got that when he dragged my butt out of bed. If he were so damn smart, you'd think he'd have figured out not all of us were girls. Katie elbowed my ribs snapping my attention back to the room.

The commander had stopped in front of me and was so close that the brim of his NASA cap almost touched my face. "Is there a problem Connor?"

What, besides that I hate you? "No."

Someone behind me snickered, and he looked up. His brows furrowed and his eyes went a steel-grey hue. "I don't know what you just said, but this isn't over." He lifted his head. "Now, you kids have work to do."

"NASA babysitter," I mumbled. I run this team, not him.

"Don't let him hear that," Jess said brushing past me. You'll get us in trouble, again.

At our stations, someone flipped on the main screen. Two Bendari ships were approaching fast, and they were only four light years away. Crap.

"More guests on the way." Katie switched two side screens on. Drekseno too? Double craptastic.

I pointed. "ETA on those Katie."

"Working on it."

Our communication implants chirped for the third time—annoying all of us. Raine, fed up, smacked his on, "What? We're a little busy here . . . Yes, I know who this is . . . Listen man. That's the only reason I'm here . . . Fine." He tapped his ear ending the call.

"What's the White House want this time?"

"Oh, the usual cover my butt stuff, with the added threat to our families. No wonder the conspiracy theorists stand outside the gate of Area 51 with their signs," he grumbled. "If people only knew what actually went on in there." He shook his head. "Good luck, with this stuff." He motioned to the screen. "Time to lay some groundcover."

He took a deep breath. His skin responded turning a vibrant blue and then evaporated into a thin mist that disappeared through the cabin wall. The Earth's sky changed to a dense gray cloud spanning the entire globe. Flashes of lightning appeared over the sphere.

When I looked up at the TV monitoring the Earth's news channels, the screen rotated through a series of unusual weather pattern reports. The ticker at the bottom of the display read: Worldwide thunderstorms. US Government claims ozone layer depletion responsible.

Ha! That's a laugh. With the genetic splicing experiments, they've done on the twelve of us? Technically, they're the ones who created that storm down there.

"Katie, where are we at?"

"The shuttles are ready." Her eyes flashed, then she looked out the window into space trying to get a read on the ships. "They're eight minutes out, but the Bandari are half of that."

"Connor . . ." She began to shake.

"Yeah, I hear him too. Put him on screen."

The Bandari leader's image flashed onto the communication monitor. His skin glowed and pulsed with the power he pulled from the core. Searching our group his eyes stopped on me. We are so screwed.

He grinned. "So, the Earthlings are sending children to do their bidding. Humph, I see that your primitive form has finally figured out how to tap into the greater power. Interesting."

I'm not a child. I threw my voice into his head. My hands tingled as I drew up a thread of energy.

His eyes narrowed, darted to Katie and then back to me. "I don't care how old you are. I have my own plan for you and your species." He cut the transmission.

"Pods everyone. Now!" I yelled.

I wrapped the core's power around me and transported myself to my pod. I buckled in, hit start and launched into the vast expanse of space. The Bandari ship it was so close that I could almost taste the negatively charged ions surrounding it. Trusting my instincts, I flipped my pod over and let loose two plasma blasts into space. They returned fire, plasma ripping past the tip of my wing. That was close.

All four enemy ships were now in view and our pods maneuvered to get a hold on one. "I'm taking this one out. I hate to crash and run but—" Jess announced over the intercom. A moment later her ship tore into the Drekseno, and they both exploded.

I felt her presence reform in the seat behind me. "Nice, Jess. Buckle in." I flipped the pod over and pulled up underneath the second Bandari ship and let loose three plasma shots as I flew by igniting its fuel cells. The cables surged and lit up in flames before blowing the ship to pieces.

Our enemy forced his words into my thoughts. Very good little one. There may be hope for your kind yet. But still, I think I've won this battle today.

He had Katie's pod locked in tow and she couldn't get out. When he launched into hyper-speed taking my girlfriend with him—all I could hear were her screams and his laughter.