The Olympus chamber felt smaller than ever.
On the central screen, the alien Hunter warship loomed above Earth like a shadow of war.
Length: 1.8 kilometers.
A floating fortress.
Adrian stared at it slowly rotating in orbit.
"Well," he muttered, "that's definitely the boss."
Elara stood silently beside the console, her connection with Olympus flooding her mind with data.
The warship's engines burned with a strange violet glow.
Energy nodes pulsed along its hull like a heartbeat.
Weapon ports opened across its surface.
Adrian sighed.
"And it brought a lot of guns."
Olympus finished its analysis.
The results appeared across the screen.
ACTIVE WEAPON SYSTEMS: 19
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
"Only nineteen?"
He shrugged.
"Guess the other four are still warming up."
But the numbers didn't matter.
Even one of those weapons could devastate Earth's defenses.
The council channel opened again.
This time every world leader seemed to be watching.
Secretary-General Kovac spoke quietly.
"The hunter has entered orbit."
Elara nodded.
"Yes."
A military commander asked the question everyone feared.
"Can Helios destroy it?"
Adrian looked at the damaged platform.
Solar panels torn.
Support beams bent.
Power core unstable.
He sighed.
"Maybe."
Elara checked the energy levels.
"Olympus estimates Helios has enough power for one full shot."
"Just one?"
"Yes."
Adrian folded his arms.
"So we better not miss."
The alien warship suddenly transmitted a signal.
Olympus translated instantly.
The message appeared across the screens.
Adrian read it slowly.
"Planetary resistance confirmed."
Another line appeared.
"Command node identified: Olympus network."
Adrian pointed at himself.
"Still us."
The final line appeared.
BEGIN ERADICATION
The hunter warship moved.
Its massive body rotated slowly until its weapons faced Earth.
Adrian's expression hardened.
"That can't be good."
Elara analyzed the targeting beam.
"It's locking onto Olympus again."
Adrian sighed.
"Yeah, I had a feeling."
The alien cannon began charging.
Energy swirled across the weapon port.
The same attack they had barely stopped before.
But this one looked far stronger.
Elara whispered,
"Olympus estimates the blast radius could destroy this entire region."
Adrian stared at the charging cannon.
"So if that fires…"
"Olympus ends."
Another alert appeared.
WEAPON CHARGE: 18%
The council erupted again.
"Evacuate the facility!"
"Relocate Olympus servers!"
Adrian shook his head.
"Too late for that."
Elara looked at Helios again.
The laser platform drifted in orbit, damaged but functional.
It was their only weapon capable of destroying the hunter.
"Olympus," she said quietly.
The system responded instantly.
HELIOS TARGETING READY
Adrian glanced at the energy gauge.
"One shot."
"Yes."
"And if we miss?"
She didn't answer.
The alien weapon charge climbed.
WEAPON CHARGE: 34%
Adrian cracked his neck.
"Well."
He looked at the screen.
"Let's aim carefully."
Elara aligned the Helios targeting system.
The laser platform rotated slowly in orbit.
The beam indicator locked onto the alien warship.
But something was wrong.
Adrian noticed it first.
"Why is the hunter moving?"
The alien vessel began drifting sideways.
Not randomly.
Deliberately.
Elara frowned.
"It's dodging."
"How?"
"Olympus thinks it predicted the Helios firing angle."
Adrian stared at the screen.
"You're telling me it already knows how our weapon works?"
"Yes."
The hunter warship accelerated slightly.
Its engines glowing brighter.
The targeting reticle struggled to keep up.
Adrian muttered,
"Smart alien battleship. Fantastic."
The alien weapon charge climbed again.
WEAPON CHARGE: 52%
Elara's eyes moved rapidly across the interface.
She adjusted the targeting algorithm.
"Olympus, predictive tracking."
The laser reticle recalculated the warship's movement.
Adrian nodded.
"That's better."
But the alien ship reacted again.
It launched several countermeasures.
Small metallic spheres exploded outward.
Adrian frowned.
"What are those?"
Elara zoomed in.
"Energy reflectors."
"Reflectors?"
"They're designed to scatter laser beams."
Adrian stared at the floating spheres.
"You're kidding."
The hunter warship had brought defenses specifically for energy weapons.
Adrian sighed.
"So they were ready for Helios."
"Yes."
The alien weapon charge climbed higher.
WEAPON CHARGE: 71%
Adrian leaned closer.
"We need a new angle."
Elara's mind raced.
Then suddenly—
She saw something.
"Olympus… zoom into the engine cluster."
The display shifted.
The alien warship's engines burned intensely.
Massive energy reactors powered the propulsion system.
Adrian frowned.
"What are you thinking?"
"The engines."
"What about them?"
"They generate enormous heat."
He blinked.
"And?"
"If Helios hits them…"
"Chain reaction?"
"Yes."
Adrian's eyes widened.
"You want to blow up the engines."
"It's the weakest point."
He grinned slightly.
"Risky."
"Yes."
"But it might work."
The alien weapon charge climbed again.
WEAPON CHARGE: 86%
Adrian pointed at the engine cluster.
"Then aim there."
Elara adjusted the targeting system.
Helios rotated slightly.
The beam lined up with the warship's engines.
But the alien ship moved again.
Adrian cursed.
"It's still dodging."
Elara's mind connected deeper with Olympus.
Hundreds of simulations ran in seconds.
Then—
She found the solution.
"Olympus… gravitational slingshot."
Adrian blinked.
"What?"
She adjusted the Helios orbit slightly.
The platform used Earth's gravity to alter its angle.
The laser reticle shifted unexpectedly.
The alien ship didn't anticipate the new trajectory.
Adrian grinned.
"Nice trick."
The alien weapon reached maximum charge.
WEAPON CHARGE: 100%
Adrian whispered,
"Now."
Elara raised her hand.
"Olympus… fire."
The Helios cannon unleashed its full power.
A blinding beam of solar energy cut across space.
The hunter warship fired its weapon at the same time.
Two beams crossed the darkness.
One heading for Olympus.
The other heading for the alien ship.
Adrian held his breath.
The Helios beam struck first.
It slammed directly into the warship's engine cluster.
For a second—
Nothing happened.
Then the engines exploded.
A massive fireball erupted across the ship's rear section.
The hunter warship's weapon flickered violently.
Its beam veered off course.
The blast missed Olympus by kilometers.
Adrian exhaled loudly.
"Yes!"
The alien warship spun out of control.
Flames burst from its damaged engines.
Debris scattered across orbit.
Adrian watched the feed.
"Did we kill it?"
Elara checked the scans.
The ship's energy readings dropped rapidly.
Then Olympus confirmed.
HUNTER WARSHIP — DESTROYED
Adrian laughed in disbelief.
"Humanity just killed its first alien battleship."
But the victory celebration lasted only seconds.
Because Olympus detected something else.
The eleven alien scouts were still approaching.
And they had just witnessed the destruction of their warship.
A new signal arrived.
The translation appeared slowly.
Adrian read it quietly.
"Hunter unit destroyed."
Another line appeared.
"Planetary threat level updated."
The final message appeared.
And it made Adrian's smile disappear.
INITIATING EXTERMINATION PROTOCOL
The alien scouts accelerated again.
And this time—
They were no longer coming to study Earth.
They were coming to wipe it out.