The Invasion

By Abigail Falanga

Rank upon rank, we stand ready.

Faces set and stern, wings unfurled, eyes locked forward, swords at our sides—though they will dance like flames in our hands at the first sign of trouble. We have seen battle, terrible and costly, against ruthless enemies. We will leap into combat again, if threatened, if met with resistance.

But that is not our mission.

Our new orders are to initiate something far more important. This is no territory skirmish. This is more imperative than the fate of a planet or the strategic scythe of a nebula.

The Invasion has begun.

The General approaches with a thunderous clap of his layered wings, shoulders set and movements swift and fiery. Anticipation pulses through my pinions as I leap to meet him.

“What news, sir?” I inquire. “Is the order given?”

“Not yet, Ronen. Not yet.” The eyes on every surface of General Lavi’s massive body peer out endlessly, seeing threats from afar as they form and roil. “The armies of the kings are still on the move, and the sentries report princes amassing resistance. Pieces have begun to fall into place, but… not yet.”

We discuss the strategy to deal with the new menace and once again review maneuvers my cohort has practiced again and again. Then General Lavi departs, and we continue our watch.

Time has no meaning outside the dimension of death, but the wait is heavy.

We are ready.

Concentric wheels driven by wind will carry us across the boundless spaces.

But we wait.

At last, General Lavi swoops into view from among the arches of the hall, draws his sword from its scabbard to hold it aloft, and cries, “The order is given! Depart!”

We rise into the air with a noise like a thousand drums and launch. I am at the head of our terrible squadrons—I have the central role in our most vital campaign, a responsibility which both appalls and brings fierce delight.

Sweeping through vast stretches of space, we roar in readiness. The Invasion has begun. The enemy armies stand no chance.

But they are not idle.

They meet us in force as we cross dimensional boundaries, but we are prepared. Two contingents break off from our main army and plunge through the dust of the nebula. They clash with clattering arms and cries, leaping fire and erupting fumes.

The enemy distracted, we push through their divided forces and fly on in redoubled speed.

As we near our destination, the mechanics of the Invasion are at last apparent. The spinning gravity and competing cosmic masses have clicked together into a beacon, signaling the Invasion’s coming.

We, however, carry on to the next stage.

Nearing the planet, we also face the next hurdle. The adversaries in all their cruel strength are gathered as thickly here as flies around a corpse. The vanguard of our army charges forward, meeting them in a fray. But our allies have done their work and, but for a few roaming bands directly ahead of us, the enemy is occupied elsewhere on the planet’s surface. Perhaps they don’t even suspect that the Invasion will be here on this part of the landmass, or that it will be now.

They are wrong.

Even now, it comes.

The dimensions of time and space slip into place around us as we enter the atmosphere. The planet’s star is on the far side, and here everything lies in darkness. The indigenous intelligent species lies still, latent through the night.

We pass cities where kings and emperors mass, scheme, and plot.

We pass armies, which rest untroubled.

We come to a desolate place, near a once-great city fallen into disrepair and occupied by hostile overlords.

Near a town where, to our extradimensional eyes, we can see the Invasion shaking the very fabric of this world.

We arrive in the restive silence, to a location where a few men remain wakeful.

There we stop.

My comrades, warlike and prepared, take up position over the surrounding hills.

I drop down upon the wakeful men and rip open their vision to realities beyond their comprehension.

This is the moment!

The Invasion has come.

And I speak: “Fear not! For see now—I bring you a good report of great joy, which shall be for all people. For this day in the city of David there has been born unto you a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

Can you guess which song inspired this story? (This month it could be any time period, any genre.) Share in the comments!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Abigail Falanga may be found in New Mexico creating magic in many ways – with fabric, food, paper, music, and especially with words! She’s loved fantasy ever since playing out epic adventures of swords, fairies, and monsters with her siblings, and loved sci-fi since her dad’s stories around the dinner table. Besides sharing mad little stories on Havok, she is busily trying to launch approximately five hundred novels into the world. Some of them are even finished!

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