Tonight we will meet Marik a 19 year old fighter pilot fighting a gruesome war. Like many soldiers in a war he has preconceived notions about his enemy. Soon he will learn what his enemy is really like and the truth will lead him to The Size Zone and beyond... 

I'm busy inspecting my M-1 Vindicator fighter so I don't hear any of the support crew talking. This bird has seen a lot of action. How many sorties have I been in with her? 100 maybe? No, look at the micro meteor hits. That takes time. 21 kills painted on my hull. That's 21 ships not actual personnel kills. The Hunons pack their ships with crew to maximize their efficiency. One of the reasons it's so risky taking on their destroyers and cruisers with just fighters. Damn things are literally bristling with weapons. What I've found works best is come at them from where their engines are. Blind spot there. It's no exaggeration to say I've killed at least 12,000 of them. But that's a drop in the bucket compared to how many have died on both sides of this war. This war has been raging since the time of my great grandfather. An entire century of slaughter.  

They say the Hunons started it first when they encountered a survey team on an unexplored planet and killed them all. When a scout ship went to see why the survey team failed to report back they found a Hunon destroyer in orbit along with the survey ship debris. We destroyed it within seconds. They then had a heavy cruiser check on them when they failed to report back. It was the first real battle between the Hunons and us the Manonites. It was a victory for them but our scout ship was able to jump out of the system before being destroyed. Every attempt at peaceful solutions has failed. Ever since it has been a kill on sight order. What’s so unnerving is how similar they look to us. This is a big universe and the only alien life we find looks exactly like us except they're only 4 inches tall. What they lose in size they make up for in weapons and population. They can breed faster than us. It only takes 9 months for a Hunon to gestate. 2 years for us. That means they can replace troops faster than we can unless... 

Well, that's the question isn't it? How far will you go to kill your enemy? We used orbital nukes to take out bases at first then we moved onto outposts and then any town that had the slightest sign of Hunon military presence. After 30 years we were wiping out whole cities just to be sure. Historians call the first 30 years The First Campaign. Grandad said he grew up hearing how we would take out a city and then lose one of ours in retaliation. As more battles broke out the borders were better drawn. The border worlds suffered the most. Oceania was once the jewel of the Manonite Federation. Now it's just a radioactive graveyard for 3 billion people. As the war dragged on more worlds were destroyed by conflict. It became so bad that both sides had to retreat to their core worlds.       

That was The Second Campaign. Battlegroups had to be formed to fight of the wolf pack formations of the Hunons. This upped the casualties on both sides. Entire areas of space unnavigable due to the size of debris fields. Hundreds, sometimes thousands of ships locked in battle. 15 years ago one brave man spoke out concerning the war. He said that fighting would lead to mutual extinction and we had to renew efforts to find a road to peace. His shuttle mysteriously exploded one day as it ferried him and his family to his home space colony.  One of the most fucked up things about this war is many of us having never seen a Hunon in person. Ship to ship combat can be thanked for that. The veterans though have seen Hunons. This was before orbital bombardment tactics was used. Back when ground combat was necessary to hold or take planets.

Our first flight instructor was a vet from the First Campaign. Crazy old coot he was but his stories were always good to hear. He told us one time he was assigned air patrols on Mercuris, a mostly water planet in the Ventris Cluster. He spotted land assault scout force one day coming over a ridge as he was taking a piss. He used his laser pistol to soften them up. He was worried about that heavy tank they had taking point. Hunons use the nastiest of weapons and I can't blame them. We are damn near 40 times their size. He said he saw that tank barrel glow bright orange and he dove for the sand. The gamma discharge was so close his hair was singed. It impacted not far from him pulverizing the sand to glass. It takes a minute for those barrels to cool and he used them. Firing off laser shots finished off the tank. He carefully got closer making sure the tank squad was dead.

All of them were except for a Hunon woman playing dead. As soon as his back was turned she fired her rifle. The old man said that was how he got that fucked up scar in the back of his neck. He said he was so pissed he grabbed her up and fucking ate her. "Hunons are the assholes of the galaxy but man they fucking taste good" he said to us. Could I eat a Hunon? It's different when your food can talk and shit. I hope I never have to know. People say I'm strange seeing how I don't want to kill every Hunon I see. If I had the choice I'd just kill the solders. That rep made it so nobody wanted to be my copilot. But I'm getting ahead of myself here. Right now we're in the middle of the Third Campaign. The worst one...

It began 3 years ago. I had just joined the academy and was stationed on L3. A colony orbiting our homeworld. Shelter sirens went off one day and we were ordered to take shelter. We didn't know what was happening until an instructor who was with us told us what was happening. A Hunon ship, a ship a thousand times bigger than anything ever encountered some out of jump space near lunar orbit. Our fleet guarding our planet was small. Most of our fleets were busy guarding the border. This was no ordinary ship. What was reported was no torpedo tubes or massive gamma laser cannons. A long tube made up the spine of the ship. The Instructor was able to see what monitoring stations did. An arc of energy shot along the ship till something not quite there flew out the end. I say that because you couldn't see it but the stars rippled as it moved.

Then as it crossed in front of the planet we began to realize what it was. A black hole. The ship had fired a black hole at our world. We watched helplessly as it hit our home. Our planet shattered like a crystal ball. For an entire day we watched chucks of our world the size of nations fall into nothingness. Our world was gone. Our home for millions of years exploded and crushed to the size of a proton. We had no home left. No colony worlds or border planets. Just ships to house and protect what was left of our species and that wasn't much. The estimate on how many of us were left was about 16 million. A far cry from 11 billion. As crazy as it sounds, there was a silver lining to that day. We were able to capture the ship. The fucked up gravity fields made it impossible to jump out and we were able to knock out its weakened defenses.

Can you imagine what we did to the crew? It was carrying crew of 30,000. After interrogations there were only 100 left alive but they did tell us what we wanted. The ship was called a singularly cannon. Damn thing really did fire black holes. The biggest design flaw was it didn't have a self-destruct device. A bad oversight for them that cost them dearly. Their interrogators, gods above, figured out how to operate it. I can imagine it didn't take much for those hundred to spill everything. I heard stories of how the interrogators didn't eat any meals or changed shoes often during that month of trying to find out what they wanted to know. You don't have to be a genius to guess what forms of intimidation they used.

We were able to remote pilot the cannon and they set course for their homeworld. It was further away than expected. Their own navcomm led us right to it. A philosopher once said that revenge is a dish best served cold and it's very cold in space. The Hunon homeworld suffered the same fate as ours with their own weapon. We made sure to destroy that cursed weapon. It was too dangerous to risk losing. Hopeful thinking really. We knew not one habitable planet to colonize now...until recently. A faraway planet orbiting a yellow star was found buried in a salvaged navcomm found on an abandoned scout ship after a skirmish. The Hunons had found a world they could live on and our leaders decided they'll be damned if they let the Hunons get it. So we're racing to this planet now. It's so critical that we secure this world we've thrown together almost all of our ships we got left. This explains why I'm looking over my fighter.

"Everything meet your standards?" Belis asked behind me. Belis is my weapons officer and sits as copilot with me. She's the only one who would. "It looks good to me. Hull integrity checks out. They ready to load the torpedoes yet?" I asked. "Not yet.  They're busy making sure the catapult is ready" she replied. Belis always had this smile on her like nothing got to her. I like that smile. She was my age with her black hair cut short regulation style. Pity, I'd bet she'd be sexy as shit with her hair long. "They need to step it up. We're supposed to head out in 12 minutes" I said. "Easy flyboy. They got their hands full. This is the biggest operation in history. Shit did you see how young that one boy was carrying the fuel hose?" she asked. "Unfortunately yes. Kid looked no older than 13" I said. Belis sighed. "Ever since we lost our homeworld the recruits have gotten younger and younger. A third of the people serving are under the age of 15" she said. "I know what you mean. The Hunons have to be hurting too like us. I really think we might fight ourselves to extinction" I said.

"Better stow that talk" she said sternly. "Ignoring the possibility won't change things. I'm not saying we will lose. I'm saying there won't be anyone left alive who will care or claim victory. Manonite or Hunon" I said. Belis looked at our fighter. She was a smart girl and knew I wasn't just talking. A hundred years ago we numbered over 50 billion now what's left of us live in ships that comb the stars looking for water and 

vegetation. If we don't take this world I don't see a future for my species. As they loaded our torpedoes I thought about my family. All of them were dead except my little sister who served on a battlecruiser in the 201st group. Will I see her again? Me and Belis climbed into the cockpit and readied the fighter. We did our flight check as usual and watched the countdown clock winding down. "Coming out of jumpspace in 3...2...1...jump out" the con officer said over the speaker. It's feels weird when that happens. Popping back into normal space. It's like looking at a picture taken when something was moving fast. Things blur around you.

Immediately something was wrong. Alarms blared. The ship had gone to red alert. "Belis! Look into the war net and tell me what the fuck happened!" I yelled. She accessed the war net, an interlinked information system that gave enemy locations, friendly strength, communications updates, and battle flow data. "We came out right in the middle of a Hunon fleet! They must have got here minutes before us! Gods above Marik. They're so many!" she said. "How many?!" I asked. “Counting over 13,500 ships out there" she said softly. "They outnumber us 2 to 1" I said. "Fighter squadrons 1-15. Prepare for launch. Fighter squadrons 16-31. Standby" a voice said over the comm. We watched our comrades fly off the catapult. We were squadron 17 so we had to wait. Waiting is agony in times like this. The ship shudders as it was hit by a torpedo. The lights dim as the shields absorb the hit. The ship shudders again and again. Finally we are granted launch permission.

We're pushed into our seats as we fly out of the launch tube. Immediately we see the carnage. Ship vs. ship, fighter vs. whatever engaged in battle.  I spot a cruiser of ours just splinter and then explode. A Hunon ship went up in a fireball as it’s struck by the explosion. It's obvious how they're fighting they're as desperate as we are. I see my first target. A cruiser on fire limping toward a friendly battleship. "A suicide run" Belis said. "I see it and it ain't happening" I said banking toward it. I fire my laser Gatling vulcan scoring hits along the hull. Its shields had been depleted so it was a nice target. I fire again targeting the engines. Their defenses so weak I had no trouble destroying the main engine. The ship listed propelled by the explosion. I take out the bridge next. She's helpless now. A spread of torpedoes hits a critical area and we see explosions ripple along the hull. I punch the throttle to get clear. A few escape pods jet from the doomed ship just before it explodes.

I gun down those pods. War is a dirty business and I try not to think about those helpless crew members on board. "Get me another target" I tell Belis. She chooses two scout ships making hit and runs on a damaged battlecruiser.  I get close to one of the scouts and let lose a volley of laser fire. Its shields held firm but now they know I'm on their tail. They drop mines to protect their rear. A tiny burst of fire detonates a mine causing a chain reaction. My fighter shutters as shrapnel hits the shields. It slows me down but I'm not letting them go. I wait for that high pitched whine of lock on. I hear it and pull the trigger. A swarm of torpedoes erupt from my fighter hitting the rear of the ship. Their shields fail and he last few torpedoes that get through tear into their hull. What I think is shrapnel fly into my path and hit the front part of my shield. Small pops of blood appear and I realize what I'm hitting are Hunon crew sucked into space.

I concentrate fire on the damaged hull like adding salt to the wound. The ship begins to explode and I pull back. The explosion rocks my fighter. "Dammit Marik! That blast took our shields down to 25%! Don't fly up their ass to attack them!" Belis yelled. "Tell that to the asshole making their point defense system!" I yelled. I glance over and see the other scout ship. Its lasers are priming to chew up that battlecruiser. "Alert that battlecruiser that they got a bogey about to have them for breakfast!" I yelled. Belis tried hailing the ship. "I'm not getting a response. Either their comm array is down or the crew is too busy!" she said. "Try the war net! Someone in there has to be monitoring it!" I said. I punched the throttle to catch up. The scout ship fired a charged laser blast slicing into the hull. The blast cut through the ship and out the other side.

The battlecruiser began to drift. Power was failing on it. As we needed that neared the stricken ship I saw to my horror its painted call sign. "MFS-331? Oh gods that's my sister's ship!" I yelled. I slammed the throttle as far as it would go kicking in the after burner. The scout was just coming into laser lock range. I fired my vulcan hoping it would shake them. It didn't. They kept firing laser cannon shots into her. "They're getting a guidance lock! They're gonna fire torpedoes!" Belis yelled. I locked on with my own torpedoes. It was a long range shot and the ship was veering trying to avoid defense laser cannons. I fired.

The last of my torpedoes raced to the scout. They had enough time to drop ECM and they took out two thirds of my volley. The other third slammed into the ship making it veer to the right. No soon enough though. Their torpedoes launched and I watched helpless as they went right into a large gaping hole in MFS-331. The blasts rippled around the hole until a massive bright explosion tore the ship in half. The scout seeing its target go boom veered toward its front line for safety. "YOU BASTARDS! YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!" I yelled. I kept pace with the ship that took my sister's life. "Marik I feel bad too but they're heading right for their front line!" Belis yelled. I didn't give one shit. I took pot shots at the ship. Its shields were gone and their engines were damaged. A lucky hit struck an engine and knocked it out. I easily closed the distance.  

With its last engine it tried to make for safety. Our path took us very close to this planet we were dying for. Laser shots from the defenses hit our fighter. I held the trigger down and just tore into it. The vulcan overheated just as a shot hit their bridge. The ship careened toward the planet. It's gravity well sucking it down. Pieces tore off the ship from atmospheric drag hitting us. "Main engine hit. We're losing thrust!" Belis. We were falling as well now. "Hold on! I'll try using maneuvering thrusters to level us off!" I said. I corrected our angle so we didn't break up but we were coming down fast. I barely saw that scout through the air plasma. I gave a smile as I saw it break apart. We came through the upper atmosphere and saw the ground coming up. I jerked the throttle and got what engine power was left to slow us down. "Transfer weapon power to forward shields!" I yelled. That ground was coming up fast.

The fighter hit the ground and bounced. Three more bounces and the nose dug into the dirt. We skidded to a stop. "You okay back there!" I yelled. Belis groaned. I popped my seatbelt and looked behind me. She was gripping her leg. I popped the canopy. "It's broke" she said pointing to her right leg. "Hold on. This is gonna hurt" I said. I pulled her out of the fighter trying to ignore her cries. I sat her down on the mossy ground. I pulled out the emergency aid pack and scanned her leg. "It's broke alright. Not shattered though. Clean break" I said. "No thanks to you" she said coldly. "I deserve that. I just..."

"Just what? Lost your shit?" she said pissed. "Well you would too if you just saw the last family member of yours get vaporized in a 100 megaton blast" I said. She gasped. "You don't mean Mara was on that ship do you?" she asked. She knew my sister. She met her during her academy graduation. Mara looked up to her like a big sister. She even teased me and Belis should get married. "Yeah" I said looking at the dirt. "We should try to radio for help" Belis said. I tried radioing but all I got was mixed chaotic static. "No go. The comm lines are flooded with commands and distress calls. Worse yet the navcomm is fried. Probably when we dumped weapon power into the shields. System couldn't handle the load. We're stuck" I said. "We'll just wait then" she said. I gave her painkillers to help her out. I set the bone like I was taught in the academy and used a strange collection of short plants with hard stems to use as splints. Belis drifted off to sleep as the sun set. The stars were pretty here but were crowded with tiny flashes of orange, white, and yellow. No doubt exploding ships.     

A beeping sound from the fighter woke me up. Belis was cuddling me for warmth. She woke up and blushed seeing what she was doing. I politely excused myself and checked to see what the sound was. "A distress beacon!" I said looking at the console. "One of ours?" Belis asked. "Don't know. It's transmitting universal" I said looking at the frequency. "So what do we do?" she asked. "Go and find it. They might have better provisions than us including a better comm array. There's a catch. It's 20 kapols away*" I said. "You shitting me?" she asked. "I shit you not. I'm going to have to carry you" I said. "As long as you give me some drugs I guess I'll be fine" she said. "That's the spirt" I said smiling.

(Authors note: one kapol is equal to 10 miles)

I carried her for a few hours till we stopped by a small stream. "I'm hungry" she said. We both were. "Wait here. I'll try to find something" I said. "Like I have a choice. Be careful. We don't know what's on this planet" she said. True. We didn't. As far as we knew there were man eating monsters out there. A short walk from her I found the strangest things. Tiny mammals. Some with horns and others with long noses. They took off running as I got close. I was able to grab a bunch of them and shove them into my pockets. I came back and Belis was soaking her feet in the stream. "Found something" I said taking out a tiny animal with a long nose. "Freaky" she said poking it. The animal made a trumpet like squeak when she did. "Everything here is small as I can see. Like the planet is overrun with vermin. Even the vegetation is small. What I thought was shrubs are some kind of tiny tree" I said. She frowned at the animal. "You hungry or not?" I asked. She sighed and put the thing inner mouth. She chewed it up noisily and grimaced.

"Damn near broke a tooth on these" she said taking out what looked like two long teeth. "How did it taste?" I asked. "Tough but good" she replied. I sat down and made a circle with my legs. I pulled outshot I had caught. We found the horny animals better tasting but less filling. Belis patted her stomach and belched. She laid back and unzipped her flight top a little. I couldn't help but look at her cleavage. She glanced over and I quickly looked through the other way. I heard her giggle. "Well we made 3 kapols today" I said trying to change the subject. "That's good seeing how you had to carry my heavy ass" she said. "You're not heavy. Just right for your size" I said. She looked at me. "I'm okay. For my size you mean?" she asked. "Y-yeah just right" I stammered.

"Can you help me with my top? The sweat is causing a rash" she said. She lifted her arms and I pulled her top off. Her skin was red from sweat and chafing. Her skin glistened in the sunlight. "Feel better?" I asked. "Much" she replied smiling. Was she flirting with me? After a bit more rest we began tracking toward the signal. Surprisingly we made it just as the sun was setting. "Well I'll be damned" I said. "Looks like we're not alone" Belis said. What we were tracking wasn't a Manonite homing beacon. It was a homing beacon from a Hunon shuttle. It was damaged and obviously wasn't going to fly anymore. "Think anyone is in there?" Belis asked. I sat her down and pulled out my pistol. With one hand I pried back the tear in the hull. I peeked inside. Bloodstains were on the walls and floor. It didn't land nicely like we did.

"No bodies but there is blood in here" I said. "Survivors then?" she asked. "Probably. Look over there" I said pointing a few feet away. She looked and saw that there were small bumps in the dirt. 4 of them in fact. "Graves" Belis said. "Yeah and that means survivors to bury the dead" I replied. "So what now?" she asked. "We head back" I said. "And leave these Hunon around here?" she asked surprised. "What choice is there? You're banged up and we need rescue. We don't have time to wage our own war down here" I said. She was quiet. We didn't get far when we smelled smoke. As the light dimmed we saw a tiny fire over the hill. "Hunons" I said. "We can't leave them there. What if they track the fighter homing beacon like we did their shuttle?" she asked. Good point.

"Wait here" I said about to put her down. "No I'm coming too. Two guns are better than one" she said. We looked pathetic as I limped her closer to their camp. As we got near and we aimed our pistols a crack of thunder resounded overhead. The Hunons looked up and then saw us. They drew down on us. There were 3 of them. Two female and one male. All of us held our breath. Who would take the first shot? "Drop your weapons!" I yelled. "Bullshit Manonite! You drop yours!" a female yelled. We stood there in a standoff for a good five minutes. "Just you guys here?" I asked. "Enough to take out man eating scum like you two" the male said. "Fuck you say tiny man!" Belis said. Any minute the shooting would start. More sounds of thunder overhead. We glanced up carefully not wanting to be caught off guard. What we all saw that night wasn't lightning.

"Shooting stars?" the other female asked. "...no. Orbital debris burning up in reentry. Those booms are the air being superheated" I said. More debris burned up to the point the sky glowed. "Gods above. How many ships did it take to do this?" I asked. "Let them go guys. We have no time for this" the older female said. "Are you nuts Eloise? Look at what we're dealing with here!" the male yelled. "And what do your propose we do. Stand here like this till help comes?!" Eloise yelled. "What makes you so sure help is coming?" Belis asked. "Someone will come for us giant woman!" the female yelled. "No, she's right. It's been a whole day since that battle began. Shit, you saw that debris" I said. "What if the battle was still going on?" the female asked. "I don't think so. Last night I saw flickers of orange that indicated explosions in space. I don't see a single one tonight" I said. "So who won?" Belis asked. "No clue. It's possible both sides retreated" I said.

"No way. We need this planet for our survival!" the female yelled. "Lelis! They don't need to know that!" the man said. "Oh shit up Canin! What harm could it do for them to know?" Lelis said. "It's alright. It's the same for us too" I said. Belis looked at me funny. "You don't think both sides destroyed each other?" Elois asked. "Did you try radioing for help?" I asked. "First thing after crashing. Just chatter" she replied. "Can you try now?" I asked. Everyone looked at me. "What are you doing?" Belis whispered. "Trying to be friendly. I'd rather not be shot on a foreign planet" I said. Elois touched her wrist and frowned. She typed faster and faster until she stopped. "I tried every frequency. Nothing" she said. "Try ours" I said. "I did. Even your encoded ones to see if anything was there. Just static. Nobody is up there" she said. With that news I lowered my gun. Elois and Lelis did the same. "What are you doing?!" Canin yelled. "For gods sake Canin" Elois muttered. Canin lowered his gun as did Belis. The reality of us stranded here sunk in. "If only our shuttle was damaged we could escape" Lelis said. "If only we had or navcomm we could jump out" I said. "Funny, our navcomm is fine" Elois said. We looked at each other.

"Maybe...maybe we could help each other” I said. "You must have hit your head in the crash. I know you didn't just ask these things to help us" Belis asked. "Watch it lady" Canin said. "Why the hell not? We can't be worse off if we try" I said. "Sounds good to me" Elois said. Her two friends looked at her like she was crazy. "Relax, the navcomm is coded. Only one of us can unlock it. They can't harm us" she said. "And if we pull this off what then?" Lelis asked. "We have a drop beacon on our fighter. You can use that as an escape pod. Our fighter was designed for long range sorties so it can jump pretty far out" I said. "And what's stopping you from jumping to your friends and leaving us at their mercy?" Canin asked. "If this is to work we have to start trusting each other. Might as well start here" I said. "Agreed. We can start pulling off the navcomm in the morning. Might as well get some sleep" Elois said.

"Easy for you to say" Canin said walking off. None of us slept soundly that night. That morning Lelis yanked out the navcomm. A tiny thing is was but the key to our salvation. It would take more time to return. I didn't dare ask if they wanted to be carried. Things were tense as it was. We barely spoke to each other. We only made two kapols that day. They made a fire and we sat down. I gave them one of those horny mammal things I caught the other day. They frowned at the smell but they were too hungry to complain. Belis was dead asleep as well as Lelis and even Canin. I and Elois were awake. "They're still falling" she said pointing up. They were. Debris was still raining down. "You look young to be in the service" I said. "No choice. Conscription begins at 13. I'll be 15 next month" she said. The firelight illuminated her. She was very cute. Sandy blonde hair that flowed in the breeze. Her skin lightly tanned. She was so small. This was the closest I've ever seen a Hunon. She was no taller than 4 inches.

"What about you?" she asked pulling off her boots. "I'm 17. Got my wings when I was 15" I replied. She rubbed her sore tiny feet. "Any family?" she asked. "Lost my parents when my home world was destroyed. My sister...my sister was killed when a scout ship destroyed the ship she was on two days ago. I chased it and the fight caused me to crash down here" I said quietly. She looked at me and realized how loaded that question was. "Sorry for your loss" she muttered. "Thanks...so what happened? Looks like your landing weren’t all that great" I said. "Our ship began falling into the atmosphere just as we were trying to regroup with our fleet. Everything began to break apart and I and 6 others happened to be in the hangar bay. We jumped into a shuttle and took off. A piece of hull hit us as we were leveling out. The hull ruptured and the shuttle began to break up. We were able to avoid slamming into the ground. Three of us though weren't so lucky. The safety harnesses failed and they were thrown around inside. Only me, Lelis, and Canin survived" she said.

"Sorry for asking" I said. A screeching boom filled the air. I felt Elois hug my leg. A fireball crashed not far from us. Elois realized she was clinging to me and backed away. I could tell she was blushing. It felt nice feeling her tiny body on me. "Wait here" I said. "No I want to come too" she said. "In that case ride in here" I said pointing to my pocket. She looked at me cautiously. "In case whatever is dangerous and we need to get away fast" I said. She eased a little. I carefully picked her up. It was the first time I ever held a Hunon. They felt so fragile. I dropped her in my chest pocket and walked toward the burning wreck. "When are you going?" Belis shouted. "Going to check out whatever that was!" I replied. She muttered something. I guess Belis had been watching us and didn't approve of my casualness with this tiny girl. As we got near we saw it was a large hull plate. "....001 Alcoia" I said making out what wasn't scorched and missing on the metal. "Oh no. That's the name of our mothership. She must have...." she said trailing off. I felt her shaking in my pocket. I heard tiny squeaks. I glanced down and saw she was crying.

"Elois I'm so sorry" I said. "Why would you say that? Aren't we your enemy?" she said. "Nobody deserves to die so far away from those you love. Enemy or not" I said. She looked at me astonished. "You're not like any Manonite I've ever heard of" she said.  "What have you heard of us?" I asked. I was curious to know. What did the enemy think of us? "We were taught that Manonites wish to enslave us. That your kind old would use us as playthings. I grew up being told that your people eat us for fun and do dirty things to us for pleasure" she said. I blushed at the last part. In the early days of the war it was common for Manonites to let off steam after conquering a Hunon city. Troops ate Hunons constantly to the point that rations became nonessential for the first week. Crazy enough Manonite pregnancies went up during a conquest. I didn't realize why until I got older. Male troops used them as bribes for sex when they found a female soldier they wanted to fuck.

"Do you think that about me?" I asked. "I see you're kind. You even said sorry for me" she said. "Thanks...I guess" I said. My heartbeat got faster hearing praise from her. What was wrong with me? She's a Hunon for gods sake. "What about Hunons? What have you heard about us?" she asked. "Well...um I heard you are a race who kills anything you meet. You use monstrous weapons to fight and breed like vermin" I said. She was quiet. "What do you think?" she asked. "I think this war has gone on for so long we know nothing about who the other race is truly like. Besides I think you're too cute to be vermin" I said. I put my hand over my mouth realizing I blurted something embarrassing and possibly treasonous. "You think I'm cute?" she asked. I nodded. "Thanks. I think you're cute too" she said. "Hey what's the hell is taking so long?!" Belis yelled. We walked back in awkward silence.

Canin and Lelis didn't take the news of their lost mothership as well as Elois. Canin yelled and pulled his gun on me and Belis. Elois had to remind him that they needed our help. Lelis just sat there catatonic. The reality of the possible destruction of both fleets was crashing down on her. I felt sorry for the girl. In the middle of the night I heard Belis calling my name.  She gestured me to come over. "Yeah what is it?" I asked. She awkwardly stood up and gestured me to follow her. She was having trouble walking with just one good leg but she didn't ask for my help. We had walked a good distance from the others before she stopped and sat down. "What's going on with you?" I asked siting down. She reached over and unzipped my fly. "What are you..."

"Shhh...." She said freeing my cock. She began sucking me off right here. Why was she doing this?! Right now of all things?! Belis bobbed up and down on my cock. She was sucking me harder and harder. At one point I felt my dickhead hit her throat. "Belis stop. I going to cum!" I said. Her eyes met mine and she sucked as hard as she could. I blew into her mouth a load so big it made her choke. She gulped it down though. She wiped her mouth. "Can a Hunon do that?" she asked smiling. She began fumbling for the buttons on her pants until I stopped her. "Is this what this is about? Are you actually jealous of that girl?" I asked. "I saw how you look at her" she replied. "Oh come on! I felt sorry for her is all! Damn Belis! Seriously. You give me head because you're jealous?!" I yelled. "How else was I supposed to get your attention?! I love you you fucking moron! I hoped we might get closer during this and I see you smiling and talking to that...that thing!" Belis yelled. "She's not a thing Belis! She's a person who lost all her friends two days ago. Like us!" I yelled.

"Those things aren't people! People aren't 4 inches tall! They are a subspecies!" Belis yelled. I was taken aback by her hatred. "That line of thinking is what might doom both of our people to extinction. Hatred doesn't solve shit and it won't help us here" I said. "Did you ever think that these three might be crew mates from the scout ship that blew up your sister?" Belis said. I was speechless. I'd never considered that. That scout did fall within the same trajectory as we did. It's possible. It even fits with Elois' story. "This conversation is over. Goodnight" I said walking away.

The next morning Elois was able to convince Lelis to ride in my pocket to make better time. Canin refused of course. I noticed his eyes were locked on Belis. He must have been still pissed about their mothership. As the day got longer we were stopped by a wildfire. It must have been caused by a debris impact. "So what now?" I asked. "Let's try north. The wind is blowing from there. That way we don't risk getting trapped by a fire" Elois said. That's what we did. We trekked north and the scenery changed. It was grassland and then forest. Well it was forest to them anyway. This was better overall. Way easier to find food but water was becoming an issue. We stopped for a second to rest. "Here" I said emptying a tiny bit of water into my hand. Elois drank it up without hesitation. She was getting very accustomed to me. So cute how she tossed her hair out of her face to lap up the water. Damn, was Belis right about me?

Lelis didn't move. She hadn't said one word since she found out about that ship. Elois had to carry some water in her hand to get her to drink. "Is she alright?" I asked. Elois sighed. "Her husband and child where onboard" she replied. "What? Why would they have families on board?!" I asked. "When we lost our home world we began living on any ship we had. Lelis had a two year old son" she said. "She's looks so young to have a kid" I said. "We...we were encouraged to have children as soon as possible to prevent extinction" she said. "Do you have kids?" I asked. "...no. Never got around to that" she replied.  "Our species is in the same boat. After losing our world most of our population had to live in space colonies. Problem is that many people can be supported without outside help. We need this world. Hell, until we can colonize this place having more kids just digs a deeper hole. Ironic isn't it? Having more kids puts us closer to extinction" I said.

"It seems we're more alike than different doesn't it?" she asked. "Come on. We're burning daylight" Canin said. I felt myself being drawn to Elois more and more as we talked. She was like me. Tired of killing. Tired of the endless fighting. She just wanted a home where she could live with her family in peace. After walking another kapol we heard a roaring sound. "Fuck is that?" Bells asked. "I don't know. It's coming from over that hill. Watch out for each other while we check it out" I said. "I'm tired of you two wandering off!" Belis said. "Just fucking do it weapons officer!" I yelled. She looked like I had slapped her. She angrily rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth. I regretted speaking so harshly. "Belis, look I'm..."

"Do what you need to do Lt." she said coldly. I looked down and then toward the roaring sound. As we got over the hill I was astounded by what I saw. A waterfall. A majestic, incredibly beautiful waterfall. I hadn't seen one since I was a small boy. "It's like a chunk of paradise landed here. Lelis come see this! “Elois said pulling her friend up. Lelis was silent. She just stared at it. Now I was really worried about her. "So what was it?" Belis asked still pissed. "The most beautiful thing I've ever seen" I replied. I led her and Canin to it. They were awestruck just as we were. "Guess we camp here. I'll forage for food. You guys can take care of water" I said. Canin and Belis looked at each other with slight disdain.  I returned with not much. Our approach must have frightened off the local wildlife. I chased down some of those horny mammals as well as two tiny felines. I easily snapped their necks with my fingers. The sun began to set.

Elois began to walk to the waterfall. "Where are you going?" I asked. "Going to wash some of this dirt and sweat off" she replied. "Okay be careful I hear something out there" I replied. She smiled and walked out of sight. Canin sat next to Belis polishing his gun. Belis imitated him. Like a silent pissing contest, each one brandished a weapon. "You kill anyone with that pea shooter?" Belis asked. "Yep. A Manonite charged out of the front lines a few years ago. Shot him in the forehead. Considered this baby a lucky charm since. You?" he said. "No, I haven't" she replied. "I figured you to be cold killer" he said. "Keep pushing and I will be" she smirked. I saw he didn't know to take that as a threat or joke. Well at least they're talking. "How old are you?" she asked. "17. How old are you?" he asked. "16" she replied. "Ha! I figured you to be 14 with that body!" he laughed. "Fuck does that mean?!" Belis yelled.

"Means you're not that big in the chest" he said. Canin you dumb motherfucker. You're playing with fire. "They're more than enough for you tiny man" he glared. "Whatever" Canin said. The air was tense and quiet. Just then a small scream pierced the night air. I quickly got up and ran as fast as I could. It took just three seconds to get to Elois. I know it was her screaming. The moonlight illuminated her and the water. She was naked and trying to swim to shore desperately. Something was behind her. It was moving closer. I grabbed for it and yanked it out of the water. "What the shit?" I said not knowing what manner of creature it was. "Some kind of reptile with a long mouth. A meat eater most likely" I said. The thing was trying to roll around in my grip. I realized it had planned to eat Elois. I got pissed and squeezed my grip. The creature growled and wheezed until I felt a series of snaps and pops. It went limp. I crushed the life out of it.

"That was a close one huh?" I said glancing at Elois. The tiny girl was scared out of her mind. She was shaking and hugging my ankle. I picked her up in my hand. I couldn't help but feel aroused having her wet naked ass resting on my palm. She felt so helpless and vulnerable. "It's okay. You're safe now. I won't let anything hurt you" I said. She burst into tears. I lifted her close to my mouth and kissed her. She hugged my lips for a second and looked up at me. She had tiny eyes of course but I saw what was in them. She kissed me back. My cock got hard as I kissed her body. We were both getting into that special moment between a man and woman when I heard Belis yell. "Everything alright?" she asked. I sighed. Elois looked away and blushed. "Hey, I don't regret how I feel. Do you?" I asked Elois. She looked at me and smiled. "No" she replied. We went back to camp. Belis' look of concern evaporated as soon as she saw Elois naked in my hand.

"I've must have been a fucking fool to be worried" she hissed. She got up and stumbled. I went over to help her and she shoved me away. "Don't fucking touch me!" she said stumbling off. "What's wrong with her?" Elois asked. "She wants me to be something I'm not" I replied. "What's that?" Elois asked. "Her mate" I replied. I sat down and Elois got dressed. Lelis was asleep and Canin stared in the direction of Belis. After some time Canin got up. "I'm going to take a shit" he said getting up. He walked off. After a minute Elois spoke. "Is it okay for us to be in love?" she asked quietly. I didn't know how to respond. "I think love is where you find it" I replied. She walked over to me. "Can you hold me? I felt safe in your hands" she said. Poor girl was blushing. "Sure" I said picking her up. I lay back on the ground with her resting on my chest. My right hand over her body gently stroking it. "We shouldn't get involved. What will happen when you drop us off?" she asked. In my rush to fall in love I hadn't thought of that.

"Then we'll just make the most of it" I said. We just enjoyed each other's company for an hour when I realized Canin wasn't back yet.  I pulled Elois off me. "Something wrong?" she asked. "Our resident asshole isn't back yet. Either he's taking the longest shit in history or something happened" I said. I walked the direction he took. After a minute I heard rustling near my feet. I couldn't see well. I raised my foot just in case it was another creature looking for dinner. "Whoa motherfucker!" Canin yelled. "Gods above Canin! I thought you were one of those reptile things! Fuck have you been!?" I yelled. "Just looking around" he replied. I noticed he was wet. "You fall into some water?" I asked. "Yeah...a water hole not far from here" he replied. "Come on back and dry off. We head out at daybreak" I said. Canin seemed calmer now. That must have been some shit...

We were back on the trail again. Belis didn't even look at me. Canin actually rode in her pocket now. Good. This way we could cover more ground and that we did. We covered 10 kapols that day. Only 5 more to go. That night Canin got up and said he was going for a walk. I and Elois saw that he was heading for the direction of Belis. "You know he seems calmer in the last two days. He even rode in Belis' pocket" she said. "I know. He was a loud asshole before but now he seems...quieter. You don't think..." I said pointing to their direction. "That they're fucking?" Elois asked. "One way to find out" I said. "You want to spy on them?" Elois asked surprised. "Yep. Each one voiced how much they hate each other. Hell, Belis is so jealous of you she can't stand it. Nice to be able to show how hypocritical they are" I said. Why did I do that? Was I so pissed she didn't approve of us?

I and Elois snuck toward where Belis and Canin were. He had been gone for 30 minutes. We heard moaning. "Fucking called it" Elois said. We could hear both of them going at it. "You like that bitch?!" Canin yelled fucking her pussy. "You can't satisfy me tiny man!" she growled. It looked like she was being fucked by a small action figure. "I'll make you cry out tonight you giant slut!" he said thrusting into her. Within a matter of minutes he came. He stood there panting until she snatched him up. "You think you're done? Not by half" she said. She trusted thruster him in and out of her mouth like a Popsicle. The man was gasping and groaning. She pulled him out of her mouth. "You've been staring at me. Leering at me and last night I found you raping my toes. You hating Manonites is just a front isn't it? Deep down you want a Manonite woman to use you. To fuck you don't you?" she said playing with his dick. "Yes..." Canin whined.

"Well too bad. It was more fun when you fought back. Now that you're like this...whatever. Go away" she said putting him down. I and Elois looked at each other. "You fucking bitch. You think you can play with me?!" Canin yelled. We watched him run toward his clothes and pull out his gun. "Oh shit!" I yelled. I ran toward him just as he fired. A bright red laser beam struck Belis in her right chest. She felt the wound with her hand and reached for Canin. Canin was frozen by the sight and was caught. She crushed him in her grasp. His screams became gurgles as blood and entrails erupted from his mouth. Elois screamed and covered her eyes. Belis smirked and then saw me. "Never trust a Hunon..." She said before falling to the ground. I turned her over and see she wasn't breathing. I performed CPR on her it was obvious that the wound had collapsed her lung. Her heart stopped and she was dead.

I sat there lost in what had happened. Part of me blamed myself for pushing her away. "We uhh...we need to bury them. The local wildlife might try to scavenge them." I said. "Marik?" Elois asked concerned about me. I dug shallow graves for them as my mind was lost in a daze. Canin' grave was dug with just one scoopful of dirt. After cover I got them up I just stood there. “I could have prevented this. Just one word could've prevented this. If I was just nicer to her! Said I loved her!" I yelled crying. Elois patted my chest as she silently cried. I stopped crying and just looked at the mounds. "It would've been a lie if you did. What happened was horrible but not your fault Marik. A century of hate is to blame for this" she said to me. We silently walked back to camp. Lelis was still sleeping. "What do we say to her?" Elois asked. I had no answer. I fell asleep wondering what we should say. This girl was teetering on insanity already. Hearing how her friend was killed might send her over the edge.

Elois woke her up as I got water and food squared away. "Where is Canin and Belis?" Lelis asked. The first words from her in days and I decided to answer her with a lie. "Canin was attacked by a reptile creature. Belis dove in to rescue him but she couldn't swim with her broken leg. She drowned. They're...they're both dead" I said. Elois looked at me and her. "Let me see them" she said quietly. We led her to the graves. "Here they are" I said pointing to two mounds. They were still dark and moist from being dug. "I want to see them" Lelis said. "Honey you shouldn't. They won't look good" Elois said touching her shoulder. Lelis yanked her shoulder away. "I SAID I WANT TO SEE THEM!" Lelis screamed. I bent down and uncovered Belis making sure not to expose that telltale laser wound in her chest. Lelis sighed. I used my finger to pull away the dirt on Canin. Since he died far worse he looked terrible. I didn't clean him up beyond the entrails coming out of his mouth. She saw the blood caked around his mouth which was frozen mid scream. Lelis began to laugh.

"Ha ha ha! HA HA HA HAHAHAHA!" she cackled. "It's just a matter of time. It's just a matter of time till we die here! I'll never see my husband and child again!" she yelled sobbing and laughing. Poor girl had lost it. She thought her family was still alive waiting for her. "We will get off this rock but your family is gone" Elois said. "NO THEY'RE NOT! They had to have made it into an escape pod. We made it didn't we?!" she yelled. Lelis began walking toward our destination. I and Elois looked at each other knowing that her hope was the only thing left keeping her remotely sane. I put Elois in my pocket and reached for Lelis. She actually struggled in my grip. "Put me down. I'll walk there myself!" she yelled. I brought her up to my face. Tiny girl was so driven we couldn't help her. "The faster we get to my fighter e faster we can look for your family" I said. She stopped struggling. I felt ashamed helping her buy into her fantasy. 

Nobody said anything as I walked. Elois tried to lighten the mood by signing a Hunon song. I complimented her on her voice. She smiled up at me saying I was flattering her. Our happiness was soured with the fact we would have to part ways soon. At last we made it back to my fighter. "Wow you built them to last" Elois said. "Got lucky really. That scout was more focused on running away than shooting me. Had just enough power for a soft landing" I said. "Do you think that scout survived" she asked. "Actually, Belis thought your ship was the scout I attacked" I said. "Wait I thought you said that the scout you fought killed your sister" Elois said. "Yeah, yeah I did. I'm going to put you guys down over here while I dig the nose out of the dirt" I said quietly.  I could feel her tiny eyes on me. After an hour or two I was able to clear the dirt away. I climbed on top of the fighter and jumped up and down. My weight was able to tilt the fighter level enough for takeoff.

I then began looking at my engines. "A loose manifold. That's what caused the engine failure. My emergency repair kit can take care of that. How are you two?" I asked. "I'm fine and Lelis is...okay. Marik about earlier, please know I had nothing to do whit your sister's death. I'm just a maintenance officer" she said. I put down my sonic driver. "I don't hate you Elois. Just like I hope you don't hate me for shooting down your ship and killing the crew. War is a dirty fucking business. Always have been. Too many have died because of hate. It claimed my family and possibly my species.  I won't let it claim my soul. Now get that cute tiny ass of yours into my cockpit and hook up your navcomm" I said.  She looked so relieved at I swore she skipped like a schoolgirl to the fighter. I carefully dropped her in.

The engines were repaired. It took longer to jury rig the navcomm. They ran on different power systems. They spoke different OS languages. Thank god the calculation system was the same. Species might be different but math isn't. Elois wasn't just cute she was brilliant. Girl calls herself "just a maintenance officer". She thinks too little of herself. I was worried though she might fry herself touching s wrong wire. The kind of power running through them would turn her to smoking jerky. "You okay in there?" I asked. "For the seventh time yes!" she said annoyed. She was behind my console so I could see her. "I'm just worried for you is all" I said. I heard her stop moving. She poked her tiny head out. Her pretty face was covered in grime and dust. "Thanks for caring" she said smiling. I stroked her face. "Of course I'd care" I said. I heard Lelis tapping her tiny foot on the flooring. She was getting impatient with us. She demanded to get in not long after Elois did.

"Alright. It's installed. Time to fire it up" she said typing in her passcode. The tiny screen flickered on and my nav screen displayed a jump route just outside of planetary orbit. "It works!" Eloise said. We all smiled including Lelis. I closed the cockpit. "I need you to hold onto these cables. Sorry I don't have seats in your size" I said. "It's fine. It's only for a little while till we climb into your drop beacon" Elois said. "Yeah..." I said sad that she will be leaving me. "Firing up engines. Engines check. Firing launch thrusters. Retracting landing gears" I said. The fighter titled up and I pushed the throttle forward. The fighter rocketed into the sky.  

"Hmm..." I said. "Is...there...a problem!" Eloise shouted over the roar of engine and squeaking hull. "We got only 40% fuel left. No worries. We only need that for sublight flight anyway. More than enough for what we need to do" I said. The sky turned from bright light blue to dark blue. Then the sky disappeared and was black. We had breached the atmosphere but we didn't see stars. Actually we could but they were mostly blocked. "Oh gods no" I said. "What? What is it?" Eloise asked. "I was so afraid of this. Kessler Syndrome. The goddamned battle caused Kessler Syndrome!" I yelled slamming my fist on my console. "What's that?" Eloise asked. "It's like those debris fields near the border except what happens near a planet. When you have this much debris it becomes trapped in orbit. One big piece hit another piece and creates 100 smaller pieces. It keeps going on and on until the orbit is choked with lethal flying debris making space travel impossible from the planet*" I said. "How long does that last?!" Eloise asked. "Years even decades usually but the battle that was here? I don't know. We're talking over 20,000 ships. Eloise...this could last centuries. I can't navigate this. Trying would be suicide. We're...were stuck here" I said.

(Authors note: Kessler Syndrome is real. As of 2014, there are over 2,000 satellites in orbit with 300,000 pieces of space junk flying around zipping by as fast as Mach 20. Some junk is as small as a peanut or as big as a beach ball. Every year at least one satellite is destroyed by space junk.)

"NO! I have to get back to my family! They're out there waiting for me. At least look for their escape pod!" Lelis screamed. "You heard him we can't! They’re gone Lelis. Like everyone else! I'm sorry but you have to face reality!" Elois yelled.  I heard rustling behind me. The girls were grunting. "What's going on!?" I yelled. "She's trying to climb into the beacon! She's trying to launch herself!" Elois yelled. "That's crazy! Stop her!" I yelled. "What the fuck you think I'm trying to do?!" she yelled. "Knock her out before she kills herself!" I yelled. I heard a tiny smack and then a thump. "She's out. Are you serious that we're stuck here?" Elois asked. "I scanned 180 degrees by 180 degrees. Flight path totally obscured" I said. "So now what?" she asked. "It's best she doesn't hear this but I think no ships survived the battle. The reason we can't jump would be the same for them. Most of this shit settled into orbit within the last few days. They were stranded here just as we are."

"I'm not detecting any IFF. They probably fought to the last ship. If only...if only they cooperated like we did" I said. Elois was silent. "I'm taking us back to the surface. No point of looking at this graveyard" I hissed. I took us back to the surface and landed nearby that waterfall. I put Elois down and picked up Lelis. She was still out. Her fragile body matched her fragile mind in my hand. We didn't speak until the sun set. "Tomorrow I'll build a shelter for us in that cave formation.  I can use the hull here as a wall" I said. "So we're going to live here?" Elois asked. "It's either that or die. Elois, we're probably going to be the last of our kind. Escape pods only have a week of air and our colonies were dependent on supplies. They'll last maybe 6 months before they...I don't want to think about it" I said. I was no fool. I knew what would happen to them eventually. Food will give out first and then the population would turn to cannibalism. Water or lack of water would be what will doom them. A once great race that lived among stars would sputter into cannibalism and thirst. War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing.

Dawn broke and I started on dismantling the fighter. Lelis just stared into the edge of the forest. She didn't eat or drink anything. Elois wanted to help me as best as she could but it wasn't much a girl her size could do. I let her. It was the only thing keeping her sane. Around noon the next day I was busy welding two pieces of hull together for a wall when I felt a tapping on my bare foot. "Keep back Elois. This is dangerous honey" I said. More tapping. “Baby I’ll spend time with you tonight I promise” I said looking down. I was surprised to see it wasn’t Elois. It was Lelis. “Oh Lelis. Are you feeling better? Is anything you need? I’m planning to go hunting in a few hours of you’re hungry” I said hoping she was in a better place. “Can I talk to you alone tonight after Elois goes to sleep?” she asked. An odd question but maybe she just wanted to talk in private. “Yeah sure no problem” I replied. Later that night Lelis left the cave. I glanced over at Elois who was asleep. I followed Lelis curious to what she wanted to talk about.

She was sitting down looking at the stars. “Hey you wanted to talk to me?” I asked. She motioned for me to sit down. I did. I watched her. She began talking off her dirty clothes. “Whoa Lelis. What are you doing?” I said. She stripped nude and stood up. She walked over to me. The moonlight made her form easy enough to see. She had bigger tits than Elois. No surprise since she was a mother. She began to climb up my leg. I’m embarrassed to say I got hard when she sat right on my crotch. “Look Lelis. You’re a nice girl but I love Elois. Besides, you’re in a bad place right now. It wouldn’t be right” I said. She turned to me and began fingering herself. “I want you to use me. Use my body and give me pleasure. I want to feel” she said begging. She started gasping as she finger fucked herself. “No means no Lelis” I said sternly. She stopped. “fuck you. FUCK YOU! You kill my friends. Your people killed my family! And you! You couldn’t even get me home! I’m stuck on this backward planet and have to watch you and her play house while I just sit her alone! I wanted to feel good not marry you you useless fuck!” she yelled.

“Lelis, I know you’re hurt and frustrated but I’m doing the best I can with what we have to work with. I’m sorry you feel lonely. We didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. We can be a family you, me, and Elois” I said trying not to be offended. “Family!? With someone like you?! How could I possibly be family with a Manonite?! It makes me sick to see Elois fawning over you. Want to know a secret? I was the weapons officer on my ship. It was sheer luck I was near the hangar bay helping the point defense team when you shot us down! You get it yet? I was the one who blew you sister to fucking bits!” she screamed. I grabbed her so fast even I didn’t realize it.

My pulse raced. My heartbeat pumped in my ears. This tiny girl killed my sister. I wanted her to die. I opened my mouth. “Yeah that’s it you useless fuck. Take you revenge! Eat me! FUCKING EAT ME!” she screamed. I jammed her into my mouth. I could taste her stale salty sweat on my tongue. I sucked on her and gently chewed her. I wanted her to suffer. She wasn’t moving around. She wasn’t fighting at all. In fact I felt her moving toward my throat. Just before I was about to swallow her whole a somber realization flashed in my mind. I held up my hand and spat her out.

“Nice try but I won’t do it. I won’t help you commit suicide” I said putting her back onto the ground. I stood up. “Don’t you walk away! Eat me you fucking coward! Don’t you want revenge?!” she screamed. I didn’t even respond. I walked back to the cave and lay down. The next day was one we’d never forget. Lelis was back to just staring off. Her hope of me killing her was gone. Elois was pulling out some cable to use as makeshift lighting for our home when I saw something off in the distance. I quickly pulled out my binoculars. “See something?” she asked. “Yeah. Something unbelievable. I think I see the local dominant species. Elois they look like you” I said. “What?! Let me see” she said.  I put my binoculars on the ground. She looked through. “They do not look like me!” she said. “Bullshit! Yeah they’re hairy but they’re your size and have a similar body frame. I’m no scientist but I’d say they’re following a similar evolutionary path our species took” I said. “So they’re like us?” she asked. “More like you like I said. I doubt they will evolve to my size” I said. We were both surprised when Lelis walked past us. She was walking toward these hairy mammals that looked like Hunons!

“Lelis what are you doing?!” Elois yelled. “Stop! They might be dangerous!” I yelled. She turned to us and smiled. We both went to get her but stopped in our tracks when she pointed a gun at us. “She has my pistol” Elois said. “Lelis please don’t do this. Last night told me you need help. Serious help. This isn’t the way” I said. “Last night? Elois asked. “She tried tricking me into eating her so she could assist me in killing her” I said. Elois gasped. We yelled for her to stop but she kept walking till she got near them. They didn’t attack her. In fact they seemed to be in awe of her. We watched as they walked away. Elois cried that night. I told her she wasn’t alone and I’d never leave her. I finished our home that week. A simple home with simple lighting. The fusion cell from the fighter would last for many years before dying.

We celebrated by making love for the first time. “I know I’m not big like you so I hope I’m enough” she said. I gently scooped her up and placed her on my upper chest. “You’re more than enough for me” I said. She climbed onto my chin and began kissing me. We gently kissed each other until I decided I wanted more. I kissed her chest licking her cute tits. I moved my tongue down and parted her thighs. She moaned as I licked her pussy enjoying the sweet flavors. She was wet and I was hard. Time to make love to my chosen mate. I had to control myself. Lose control and I could crush her along my shaft. I stroked her up and down along my cock. “I’m not that fragile! Stroke harder!” she said. I stroked her harder and harder. She was about to cum seeing how she was moaning and shuddering. “Damn I’m gonna cum!” I yelled. “Try shooting it in me!” she yelled. That might be hard. “Hold on baby!” I yelled. I held her pussy dead onto my pisshole. I came. I damn near let her fly out of my grip.  I saw her abdomen bulge as my semen filled her uterus to the brim and then fucking some. I laid her on my chest. She was exhausted and was leaking cum.

“You’re not hurt are you?” I asked. “Stop worrying about me. I’ve been through worse” she said. “I’m serious. You’re the only thing keeping me sane” I said turning her head with my finger. She kissed it. “I’m fine really” she replied. “Good. Hurting my wife by fucking her doesn’t sound like something a good husband would do” I said. She looked up at me. “Wife? Husband?” she asked. “If you will have me” I replied. “As if there was anyone else” she said smiling and crying. And that was how we married ourselves.

We passed the time exploring and fucking. Two months later I got another shock of my life. “I’m pregnant” she said. I sat there mind blown. “How is this possible? Okay I know how but you know what I mean” I said. “You said yourself that our species took a similar evolutionary path. Similar enough to breed I guess. Have you ever heard of a Hunon/Manonite hybrid?” she asked. “No, Hunons never lived that long in captivity with us” I replied. It’s true. They didn’t. They either were crushed, eaten, or mutilated. There was a rumor once of trying to breed them but was quickly denied.

Since that day we stayed in our home. I took no chances with her getting hurt or losing the baby. Months passed and she got bigger. She got all weird on me crying at any moment. Upset and calling herself fat. Hunon females can be weird. I caressed and rubbed her belly telling her she was just as beautiful as the day we met. She loved it when I sucked the milk from her swollen breasts and rubbed and sucked her swollen feet. Then that day came for her to have the baby. She was sitting in my hand naked enjoying the sun when suddenly I felt wetness. “Marik my water broke. It’s time” she said. I nearly had a panic attack. She had to calm me down. We chose to have a water birth. It was the only way since I couldn’t really help her. I was so scared. I was crying begging the gods not to take them from my life. That tiny, tiny little cry told me I was a father. Thank the gods my medicine worked on her. I made sure well beforehand to get the dosage right. Math strikes again.

The next day I watched my wife breastfeed our son. “What should we name him? His species for that matter” she said. “Species? Oh, the first of his kind isn’t he? What about Human? Hu from Hunon and Man from Manonite?” I asked. “Sounds good. What about a name for him though” she said. “I really don’t know” I said. “Wish Lelis was here. She was good with names. Did you know her name mean First Daughter?” she said. “No I didn’t. We have a name that means First Daughter. It’s Lilith” I said. “Sounds pretty. What does Marik mean?” she asked. “First Son actually. Dad wanted a lot of sons” I replied. “We have a name like that too. It’s Adam” she said. “I like Adam. Rolls off the tongue better than Marik. What’s you name mean?” I asked. “It means the night before greatness. I was born the night before our most holy holiday” she said. “We got a name like that. It’s Eve” I said.

She started laughing. “Funny how our names from our enemy sound better to us. Call me Eve” she said. “Then you call me Adam. And this little guy…hmm…Abel? It means Beloved Son” I said. “I think it sounds lovely don’t you think so little Abel?” she said stroking my son’s forehead. I didn’t know what our future held but I did know that I would face it with my Hunon wife and hybrid son. Our species would disappear but out of the ashes one would emerge. I just hope my son’s species won’t make the same mistake…

Around 60,000 year ago something happened to the Earth leaving our ancestors on the brink of extinction. Also around that time human evolution leaped forward again most especially concerning loss of hair and rapid brain growth. Scientists don’t know why this happened or how it’s connected to each other. Maybe the answers aren’t here on Earth but are somewhere…out there. This has been an episode of The Size Zone.