ATHANATOS

Lucifer

On this day, the council had planned its final strategy meeting. After months of detailed planning and simulation, one final review of the plan would be conducted and then within a few days executed. The team was already enroute to Terra where the plan would be finished. They gathered in the cockpit of the Aurora and activated the holographic desk.

Ryan was now about five foot eleven inches now. His voice was deeper and his hair longer but his personality remained nearly unchanged. Sam and Alex looked almost the same except for their heights of course. Zack now had a beard and brushed back hair. Ethan now had finally decided to turn his bushy beard into a goatee. Other than that, everyone was the same.

"Ok, so here's the entire plan." said Ryan. He tapped the desk and a 3-D image of Terra appeared. "The Aurora will fly by Terra on a diplomatic mission. While you talk to them, my team will airdrop onto the Spire using these weird flying fish looking baseball bats." he gestured to the absurd design of the vessel they were going to use to enter the Terran atmosphere.

"Ooh, not scared of heights anymore?" asked Alex, jokingly.

"C'mon Alex." he replied, then he quietly said "Just don't put me on a glass bridge."

"Moving on..." said Sam. "We then climb down to Lucifer's floor, attack him and pin him down. Ryan insisted, so he'll be the one to do this."

"Finally the job will be finished by these-" he said gesturing to the spear like object being projected from the table. "This spear, just in case someone wasn't listening for the past few months, is made out of a tough titanium tip."

"But, Lucifer is immortal. How-" said a cadet before being interrupted.

"And he is the reason I'm going over this plan again for the hundredth time." said Ryan. "This spear can cut through a human body and reach Lucifer's stone. When that happens the outer part of the spear will melt away revealing my dad's stone. The stones will cut through each other and Lucifer will die."

"Then, Ryan will activate the Spire using these activation codes that we uncovered after tracking down one of the assassins on Ares." said Sam holding a small flash drive. She sighed.

"By this time, all battleships heading towards Lucifer's army near Ares will change course and head for Skotadi. Africa was evacuated last week and is enroute." continued Ryan.

"When the spire is activated, within about eight minutes, the beam will reach the Sun. If anyone or anything is on Terra, they will be vaporized instantly along with the planet. We will get off the planet and remotely activate it giving us enough time to get out of the blast radius. Once the process is complete, a crystal-like object will appear in the place of the Sun. If we enter the correct combination, it would be usable without there having to be an organism to use it. The power of the stone will open a fragment, instantly teleporting us to the rest of humanity." said Ethan.

Everyone stayed quiet. The plan was risky and was their only shot. If Lucifer survived, they would fail. If the spire backfired, they would be incinerated. However even if it worked, humanity would be out in the universe exposed to the harsh and unforgiving forces of the cosmos.

"One last mission, guys." said Ryan. "Let's do this."

He turned around and headed for the elevator. He quietly returned to his room and lay down on the bed. He was extremely nervous. They would arrive the next day and he'd have to face the man who killed his mentor and his brother. The survival of the human race hung on the shoulders of four seventeen years olds. His train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door. His head shot up.

"It's me, Sam." she said from the other side of the door.

"Come in!"

The iron door slid open and Sam walked in. Her hairstyle changed from open to braided. Ryan just looked at three braids that hung in front of her face. "So... what's up?" he said.