[Music] the alien Commander sneered bearing his Jagged teeth if this is the best Earth has to offer then we may as well conquer your planet blindfolded his laughter rippled through the chamber echoed by the guttural chuckles of his subordinates Lieutenant Park standing with arms crossed and a rifle slung over his shoulder didn't blink the smirk on his face calm and collected seemed out of place in the face of an enemy that had dismantled Earth's orbital defenses in a matter of hours the thians a race of Warriors from the farthest reaches of the Andromeda galaxy thrived
on Conquest their ships hovered in earth's sky like silver leviathans their might unmatched and now they were here to prove Humanity's worthlessness the alien Commander's multifaceted eyes glinted as he gestured toward a shooting range hastily constructed inside the alien Mother Ship human soldiers and threat and Elites stood in neat rows on the far end a 100 met away were 10 small glowing spheres suspended in the air these were thian Target drones known for their agility and speed each Soldier was handed a standard issue thian pulse rifle your technology is primitive the commander declared we will
grant you the honor of testing our weapons perhaps you will entertain us before we decide to annihilate your cities Corporal Anders stepped forward his tall frame and confident stride were betrayed only by the faintest twitch of his fingers he glanced at the rifle his lips quirking upward as he waited in his hands nice craftsmanship he said bit heavy for my taste though heavy one of the thians growled only an Earthling would complain about a weapon designed for precision and power Park raised an eyebrow signaling Anders to Let It Go the Corporal Shrugged and took his
position the targets began to move erratically zipping back back and forth up and down they glowed brighter with each movement teasing the shooters to take Aim Anders tracked one for a moment exhaled slowly and fired the pulse beam missed by a good two feet streaking harmlessly into the air the thians burst into laughter their booming voices filling the chamber Anders frowned and took another shot and another each missed spectacularly is this the might of Earth's Warriors the commander sneered you cannot even hit a stationary planet with your missiles and now you cannot hit a mere
drone with one of our weapons Anders stepped back his face carefully neutral and handed the rifle to the next Soldier one by one the human contingent took their turns shots went wide beams grazed the edges of the targets and the thians jeered louder with every failure when Park stepped up the room grew quieter there was something about the Lieutenant's relaxed stance an that caught their attention he gripped the rifle like it was an old friend not a foreign piece of alien engineering the targets moved even faster now almost invisible blurs against the distant wall he
fired once the beam streaked out and nicked the edge of a sphere which blinked red and dropped to the floor he fired again missing the second target but grazing the third the thians chuckled but there was a flicker of unease among them acceptable the commander said his voice dripping with condescension for a species so under evolved it is remarkable you can see the drones at all Park lowered the rifle and met the Commander's gaze the thing is he said his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather these aren't really our kind of
targets the Commander's grin faltered excuse me Earth doesn't train its soldiers to hit spheres that Bob around for fun park said we focus on different applications the chamber went silent axian officer barked are you implying our drills are inadequate no Park said just different we prefer to think bigger Anders who had been leaning against the wall chimed in a lot bigger the commander straightened his imposing frame looming over the humans bigger targets how quaint is this your excuse for failure Enlighten us then what do you consider a worthy Target Park gestured toward the Towering viewport
at the far end of the chamber where Earth hung like a fragile Blue Marble against the vast darkness of space his eyes narrowed his expression sharpening with a hint of challenge you see that Moon up there the moon the commander snorted you would waste your limited technology aiming at a dead Rock not waste part corrected repurpose a low murmur spread among the thians they were accustomed to a an but there was something disconcerting about the human's calm the commander tilted his head his antenna twitching this is your strategy to Target celestial bodies how pedestrian Park
didn't answer instead he exchanged a knowing glance with Anders whose grin had grown wider you wanted a demonstration Park said give us a chance to show you what we're really aiming for the commander barked in order and a holographic interface materialized in the center of the room very well he said you will demonstrate but I warn you if this is some ploy to stall your Inevitable Defeat it's not Park interrupted just watch the soldiers began to move their confidence unnerving the alien Spectators they activated devices strapped to their wrists summoning holographic panels that displayed streams
of data thran Engineers watched curiously as the humans worked quickly their fingers flying over the controls the air in the chamber grew tense what are they doing one of the thran whispered they're targeting something another replied his voice uncertain the commander stepped forward his eyes narrowing explain yourselves Lieutenant Park what is the meaning of this park glanced at the holographic projection where a bright red marker had appeared on the lunar surface you wanted to see us hit something so we're going to hit something for the first time the Commander's bravado wavered he stared at the
humans their focus unyielding and then at the projection the moon once a symbol of Earth's scientific achievements now bore the mark of their audacity the humans didn't fire not yet but the thians for all their technological superiority were beginning to realize that the true Target had never been the glowing drones it was something far more profound something they had underestimated entirely the Commander's unease deepened as he scrutinized the holographic projection the red marker on the moon wasn't random the Precision the deliberate focus it was all too calculated for a species he had dismissed as primitive
around him the thran officers shifted uncomfortably their earlier laughter Fading Into A tense silence what exactly do you hope to accomplish by targeting your own Moon the commander demanded his tone carried a forced Authority but there was an undercurrent of genuine curiosity Park didn't answer right away instead he motioned to Anders who tapped a final sequence on his wrist device the holographic interface updated now displaying a dense web of coordinates and trajectories it was sophisticated enough to make even the threx and Engineers glance at each other in confusion accomplish Park said at last his voice
calm and steady we're not just targeting the moon we're showing you what we can do when we're forced to think bigger the Commander's mandibles twitched in frustration you're cryptic responses are tiresome Lieutenant explain Park sighed almost as if he pied the alien all right you wanted to see our real aim watch closely he raised his hand gesturing toward a human technician who had been standing quietly in the corner the man stepped forward his face unreadable and activated a compact device a pulse of energy emanated from it sinking with the human wrist panels on the holographic
projection the moon began to shift not physically but the data overlaid on its surface transformed into a Cascade of models and simulations one of the thian engineers growled what is this some kind of Earthling trick no trick Anders replied just math lots of math the Commander's eyes narrowed his patience wearing thin your theatrics are meaningless if this is your idea of stalling a new display interrupted him emerging above the moon's hologram it was a simulation of Earth's surface overlaid with intricate patterns cities oceans and continents were marked with faint grids the thran recognized them as
Target acquisition zones wait one of the alien officers murmured are they Park nodded you asked us to demonstrate our Aim so we're aiming everywhere the room fell silent the magnitude of what the humans were suggesting began to sink in the red marker on the moon wasn't just just a Target it was the starting point of a much larger strategy using the moon's gravitational pull they were calculating a way to impact Earth itself not as an act of Destruction but as a show of control the commander recovered quickly though his voice lacked its earlier bravado and
what do you intend to achieve by threatening your own Planet threaten Park tilted his head figting surprise we're not threatening Earth We're protecting it the Commander's antenna twitched in confusion protecting it by risking its destruction your logic is as flawed as your aim Park's expression darkened his easygoing demeanor replaced by something colder you don't get it do you you think this is about the moon or the planet or even us it's not it's about you me the commander took a step back instinctively reaching for the weapon holstered at his side the humans hadn't made any
over vertly aggressive moves but the atmosphere in the room had shifted the aliens for all their physical and technological superiority were suddenly on the defensive you came here to mock US Park continued his voice unwavering to humiliate us you thought we were just another primitive species to conquer but what you don't understand is that humans don't aim the way you do we don't think in straight lines we think in arcs in trajectories in outcomes you can't the holographic projection shifted again this time zooming out to show the entire Earth Moon system the trajectories now extended
beyond the planet forming a complex lattice of potential strike points in orbit it was a network of possibilities each one calculated to exploit the thran fleet's positioning the realization dawned on the alien Engineers first one of them his they're targeting us the commander froze his multifaceted eyes darting between the humans and the projection impossible your technology couldn't couldn't what Anders interrupted outthink you outmaneuver you let me guess you thought because we haven't colonized half the Galaxy we couldn't possibly figure out how to turn the situation to our advantage the Commander's voice Rose tinged with desperation
you're bluffing this is a crude display meant to distract us your species doesn't have the capability to you're right park said we don't have the capability not yet anyway but we have the will and that's something you can't calculate the thian officers exchanged uneasy glances for all their technological dominance they had never encountered a species that thought like this the humans weren't relying on brute strength or Superior Firepower they were leveraging their limited resources in ways the thran couldn't predict enough of this the commander barked though his voice wavered deactivate the demonstration confiscate their devices
we will before he could finish a sharp alarm blared through the chamber the projection flickered then stabilized now showing a new set of trajectories this time they weren't simulations they were live calculations updated in real time the moon marker glowed brighter and a small Ripple appeared in its holographic surface the thran stared their confusion giving way to alarm as they realized what was happening they're using the moon's orbit one of the engineers muttered as a launch Point Park nodded his expression unreadable it's funny you mocked our aim but you never stopped to ask why we
were aiming in the first place the Commander's mandibles clicked furiously as he tried to process the situation you wouldn't dare dare Anders cut in this isn't about daring it's about survival you thought you were teaching us a lesson turns out we're the ones teaching you the holographic projection zoomed in on the thian fleet now surrounded by the lattice of calculated strike points the humans hadn't fired a single shot they didn't need to the message was clear Earth wasn't as helpless as it seemed and for the first time the thians felt a flicker of doubt
