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Humanus Defensor: Nickname given by the Gektar, used to refer to the average human of the Colonial Guard after they undergo the standard genetic boosting.

Normally, the average unaugmented human male weighs between 370 and 400 pounds (170 and 180 kilos) and stands at 7.9 feet (2.5 meters). When they join the Colonial Guard, an obligation every colony follows, they must go through genetic augmentation. A process that enhances all aspects of their bodily structure. The end result is a human that weighs more than 450 pounds (200 kilos) and stands at 9 feet (3 meters), who is capable of lifting twice his weight and enduring the harshest of physical tests, all of this without the need of powered armor. Also implanted is a second heart. This is mainly used to pump blood exclusively in or out of their heads when in extreme acceleration. It also delivers doses of adrenaline and other substances when needed.

Human females, however, are not required to join the Colonial Guard. Instead, they may continue with their studies and become professionals far before most men. If they choose otherwise, they must undergo a more subtle gene-boosting process in order to maintain their fertility. They usually fill the role of “Raiders”: light troops that often are the tip of the spear in most operations. Raiders are respected, and even feared due to their cunning skills in battle.

One more notable fact about humans is that they can quickly adapt to different types of environments and tasks, to the point that they can accomplish almost any given order or labor. It should also be noted that these physical changes are mostly subtle, such as slight modifications on bone and muscle density. Heavier changes, ranging into augmentation, will still require some form of advanced equipment to be viable.

Humans are loyal to their nickname and the USC. Remember, they are your defenders, and they are always there for you.

“Half of our army has been isolated...” one of the many generals sitting near the large table in the war room muttered, nervously running his hoof through his mane. “Cut off from our supply lines, everything...”

“The Gryphons are pounding us into the ground...”

“Don’t think like that, Honour,” a mare said, looking at the other pony with a worried expression. She turned to Celestia and Luna, her expression unchanged. “Princesses... what should we do?”

“We must keep fighting,” Luna said, rising up from her seat. “We have endured worse. This is but a stone in our path to victory.”

With a solemn nod, Celestia continued, “We must regroup and prepare to take Trottingham back. But we need a way to re-establish contact with the rest of the army...”

Luna sighed, taking her attention off of the conversation. She trotted over to the large window of the war chamber and looked up into her sky. Was it really hers anymore? Maybe, maybe not. She needed to focus on the war, but it was almost painful.

A single falling star lit up the night’s sky; a beacon of hope. She reminded herself not to lose faith, for there were many lives depending on her. A relaxed smile spread across her face as the star continued to fall. “Yes... there is hope.”

The star made a sharp turn, causing Luna to cock an eyebrow. Her mind reeled back to the meteor shower six or seven months ago, the time in which Equestria was changed forever. She silently watched as the star approached Canterlot...

This was more than hope.

She turned to the rest of the ponies once again, her smile twisting into a determined frown. “Incoming!” she yelled, before a loud explosion rocked the castle, causing the window behind her to break into hundreds of shards that then fell onto her. Celestia and the generals fell to their knees, shielding themselves from the coming glass.

Could they possibly be back?

Naught but a moment later, alarms began to sound. Luna could hear ponies moving through the halls of the castle, the noise of their armored hooves resonating through the entire castle. She shook the glass off of her coat, watching as Celestia and the generals stood back up, looking at the broken window. Pony soldiers pushed the door open, rushing into the chamber in numbers to make sure Luna and her sister were both safe. She ignored them, instead turning to the window, reaching into her own heart and gathering all the determination she could find.

“Luna, wait!” Celestia shouted as the younger sister leaped through the broken window.

With a loud thud, the Princess of the night landed into the palace’s courtyard, flattening the grass under her hooves. She caught a glimpse of a unicorn soldier firing beams of magic at an unknown target around a corner.

She galloped past the soldier and around the corner, finally seeing what had landed outside the palace.

It was surrounded by pony soldiers, being attacked by all sides. The beams of energy either bounced off of it or were just shrugged off. The spears and swords did little to its armored exterior, leaving dents and small gashes but no visible wounds. And it had just survived a fall from orbit, the proof being the large, smoldering crater in the spot in which it stood.

“They are back...” she whispered to herself, her eyes wide as she watched the hulking, massive figure of the biped turn to her whilst fending off various forms of attacks.

“Princess—” it began, but was interrupted as a magical beam hit its shoulder, leaving a scorch mark. “Oh, stop it already!”

Luna shook her head to clear her thoughts, then looked back at the human. “Halt! Ceasefire!” she called out, raising the volume of her voice in order to stand out from the cacophony of noise coming from the attacks.

The offending ponies froze in mid-attack, shakily returning back to their normal positions and backing away from the titanic human. They formed a circle around it and glared angrily, pawing the ground and readying their weapons, ready should it attempt anything.

“Phew, thanks...” it said, dusting off its armored suit, which had burn marks and dents in every area.

The Princess walked calmly over to it, the ponies stepping to the side to make way for the alicorn. “Before we proceed with anything, may I ask what your purpose is?” she asked as soon as she had pierced the barrier of soldiers.

The human shrugged. “Just wanted to talk.”

“O-Oh...” She craned her neck to the side and shot a burning glare at the ponies, who shrunk away under her gaze. “On behalf of Equestria,” she said, turning back to the human, “I am deeply sorry for any pain we may have caused to you.” The last thing she needed was more conflict, especially against the humans.

“I was just expecting spears... not fucking laser beams.” He finished by looking at the soldiers and releasing a low, distorted growl, making their fear increase tenfold.

Luna sighed, “I’m sorry, but we are quite on edge these days, thanks to the war.”

“I figured,” the human said, looking down at his scorched armor, then back at Luna. “I am Divisional Commander Atlas of the USS Vector.” He extended a hand at the Princess. “It is a pleasure to see you again.”

Luna reached up with her hoof, and the human gently wrapped its enormous hand around it, shaking it with a surprising amount of gentleness. “I do not recall meeting you before, may you refresh my mind?”

“I accompanied Admiral Becker six months ago, when our species first met.”

“Ah,” Luna said, giving the human a warm smile as he let go of her hoof. “You were one of his guards, I see.”

The man looked over at the ever increasing crowd of ponies. “I am here to talk to both you and your sister... privately.”

“You do understand that we have a war to attend to?” Luna asked, looking up at the hulking man and tilting her head to the side.

“This is bigger than your war,” the human said. He began walking, the crowd of ponies parting itself to make way for him. “Trust me.”

Luna huffed and began following him, leaving the entire group of confused ponies behind. “My sister should be in our war room. I will lead the way.”

“Lead on, then.” Atlas slowed his pace, letting the Princess take point.

She briefly wondered what the man’s purpose was. Where was the Vector? What could possibly be more important than the war? She hoped they had a good reason for causing that much chaos in the first place.

The Princess and the bipedal beast soon reached the door to the war room. With her magic, she gently slid it open, peeking inside before letting Atlas in. The generals were still inside, some of them being aided by nurses in order to take some shards of glass off of their flesh, while Celestia sat solemnly at the head of the table.

“Luna?” her sister said as she saw her. “Luna, what happened?” She stood up and trotted over to the door.

“Oh, it was nothing...” Luna sighed, “We just have a rather... unexpected guest.” She pushed the door open, exposing Atlas to everypony in the room. His hulking figure crouched through the doorway and into the chamber, eliciting gasps from several of the generals and nurses.

“What is that...?” one of the nurses mumbled.

The man folded his arms. “I’m a human.”

Celestia approached him, her expression demeaning anger. “Are you the one that caused all of this disorder? May I have a reason as to why you did this?”

Atlas huffed. “Because I have an offer.” He reached up to his head, removing his faceplate and revealing a smirk. “One that I do not believe you’ll refuse.”

The white alicorn looked up at him, eyebrow raised. She then pushed through the door, followed by Luna and Atlas. The three began walking through the palace, Celestia and Luna leading the way.

“And what does this offer consist of?” Luna asked.

“That depends on you.” The man stopped walking, prompting the sisters to stop and turn to him. “We can end your war. We’ll finish what we started.”

Luna craned her neck backwards out of surprise. Her sister, however, remained completely stoic.

“I suppose you want something in return...” Celestia said.

Atlas nodded, smiling. “Food. Everything you can spare, including any meat you can get, as well as a spot for us to build a colony.”

The two sisters remained silent until Luna spoke up, “And how much food are we talking about?”

“Enough for five billion humans.”

“What!?” Celestia exclaimed. “You cannot be serious-”

“It is the price for saving the lives of your people. This will be the difference between the lives of billions of ponies. It’s your choice.” He shrugged.

Luna nudged her sister, gesturing for her to follow. She led Celestia away from the human, enough for him not to listen.

“What do you think of this, sister?” Luna whispered.

“It’s atrocious, there is absolutely no way that we can accomplish—”

“Yes, we can,” Luna added. “You just don’t like them, do you?”

Celestia sighed, “They are dangerous, Luna. You and I have both caught glimpses of their power, and we have barely scratched the surface.”

“Exactly! We can end this war right now, and save the lives of our ponies! I, for one, agree with their terms.”

The elder sister stared longingly at Luna, before turning back to the human, who had leaned against a nearby wall and folded his arms. They both walked over to him, Celestia frowning.

“So...” the human began, looking down at the alicorns.

“We... agree with your terms,” Celestia sighed out, causing Luna to smile to herself.

Atlas stood upright again. “Good! Now, when do we—”

“But!” Celestia interrupted him. “Before you take any part in this conflict, you will allow my sister to... visit your ship. We must know what we will be seeing before making any true moves.”

The human grumbled, “Very well...” He brought his hand to the side of his helmet afterwards.

Admiral Becker stood in the middle of the Vector’s command bridge, surrounded by consoles and screens. He looked at the main virtual window, overseeing the planet the ship was orbiting.

“Yes, copy that. I’ll be sending a dropship your way.” He sighed and folded his arms, staring worriedly at the planet.

One of the technicians got up from her console and walked over to him, clutching both of her hands together. “Sir, permission to speak freely?” she asked, receiving a nod from the Admiral. “Are we making the right decision?”

“Was there even a decision to be made?”