12. Shoot the Moon

Complete story — includes the ending

Shortly after Tom and Lexi's departure, the 2nd Mass spreads their forces thinly to defend their territory. However when Dingaan's squadron are taken down by surprise, a Beamer drops a container on the 2nd Mass containing newly developed Harnesses which are able to Skitterize humans upon contact without the need for a factory. Meanwhile as Tom and Lexi make their approach to the Moon, their payload becomes ruptured due to the hull leak. When the Espheni power core finally comes into view however, their Beamer is captured by the burnt Overlord. After a skirmish, Tom manages to inject the Volm poison into the Overlord–killing him, but not before the Overlord destroys his ship's autopilot. Seeing no other alternative to destroy the power core, Lexi opts to manually pilot the Espheni ship on a collision course with the core. Meanwhile, the 2nd Mass puts up a valiant yet hopeless fight against the Harnesses. At the same time, after Tom and Lexi say their goodbyes, they are ambushed by a squadron of Beamers. However the Volm battleship arrives and takes the Beamers out, giving Lexi the opportunity to finally destroy the power core. The resulting explosion subsequently knocks Tom's Beamer into deep space while back on Earth, the Harnesses and all Espheni technology lose their power. The next morning, the 2nd Mass regroups and Cochise brings them the news of the success of the mission but that Tom may be lost to the depths of space. Despite this, Hal rallies the 2nd Mass to finally go on the offensive against the Espheni. Elsewhere, Tom awakens in a room aboard another spaceship and encounters a new alien who he seems to be acquainted with.