Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer

The spires on the distance give an illusion of peace. It’s only when you get closer you can see they’re gutted frames sticking up like headstones. We used to call the city Heltarvon. It was the trading capital of Briss, the biggest hierarchy on our eastern continent.
Earthers thought we’d cave in after they rained projectiles down on it. We didn’t. The cries of defiance became louder. So the Earthers struck Eldia, the equivalent city in Gunhol, the biggest hierarchy of the northern continent. The outcome was the same. All the while, they kept on demanding obedience. Next they struck the twin cities of Cathtar and Ruriden, even bringing down the bridge that linked them across the Solantan Deep.
We weren’t sitting targets for this, evacuating urban centres as best we could. But Earther strike ships started roaming the countryside around the burning cities, killing anything that moved.
That’s what did it. Despite the elegant speeches, Earthers are nothing but bullies addicted to power. Even if we’d acquiesced, their demands would have escalated until they could justify murder.
Mordun broadcast the night the twin cities died.
“The Earthers are irredeemable. I release us all from the Nentaruloth.”
While the Earthers puzzled over this, we opened the caverns to anyone who wanted to reach in. Nenta is the hardest material discovered so far, and it’s only found on Silum. Nodules of it range between the size of a fist and the size of a small aircraft. Earthers covet it. Their entire campaign was based on seizing it.
Released from our restraint, we gave them what they wanted.
As a race, we Getren have telekinetic powers. Some of us can only lift fist-size stones. The most powerful can lift entire aircraft or medium-size buildings. Any of us can accelerate what we lift. We can also combine our powers.
The first warning the Earthers received was when their flagship, the Admiral Benson, was struck by an aircraft-sized nodule of Nenta travelling at a tenth of one percent of the speed of light, impelled by several million very angry Getren.
Earthers then learned we maintain control of accelerated objects, although the turning circles of faster or bigger nodules can be immense. The nodule that tore through the Admiral Benson returned to smash their Orbital Headquarters into pieces. After that, their communications turned panicky.
Meanwhile, groups of Getren were using Earther strike ships for target practice, while others shielded them from sporadic attempts to fight back using chunks of buildings originally destroyed by the Earthers.
When Mordun strode into the Earther Ground Headquarters, shielded by a whirling cloud of Nenta shards, they quickly discovered our greatest can shape Nenta by will alone. He slew any who tried to confront or delay him from reaching Ambassador Sarrick.
The recording of that meeting became an interplanetary sensation. He stood there, dressed in a blood-streaked silver bodysuit, Nenta shards spinning so fast around him they made a constant humming noise.
“You came to exploit. You’ll not come again. We will trade Nenta via the Bangulon, a race you already have trade agreements with. For now, there will be limits on the annual amount available to Earth. Your remaining forces have two hours from when I quit this place to depart. Any who have not done so will die. Am I clear?”
Ambassador Sarrick cleared his throat.
“Ahem. Yes. But-”
“No. This is over.”
A shard curved wide. There was a wet, tearing noise. The shard returned darker. Mordun left.
The Earthers made it off Silum with eight minutes to spare.