I lay on a medical cot, watching the ordeal for several hours. Twice, my cot had to be quickly escorted away as a chunk of the sky landed where I was situated. During the entire time, not a single piece of artillery ever stopped firing. I watched as more and more of the sky disappeared. What was left behind was what appeared to be a very thin layer of material, which was a translucent blue that flickered like a fluorescent light in its last throes of life.

"What's your name?" I asked the medic as he came back to check on me. I noticed that his hands and arms were covered in traces of the fibrous material that the sky was made up of.

"My name is Jerh. I am the third in command of the medical team, but there are only four of us left, so it doesn't amount to much," he said with a shrug.

"Well Jerh, what happens when you break through the sky?" I asked, nervously watching as the more remnants of the sky fell at an increasing rate.

"We will be drawn into the realms of the Torvanites as soon as we shatter the final layer. Then we will colonize the glorious worlds that lay beyond this one."

"What if there is no breathable air in the realm of the Torvanites?"

"Oh, there's nothing to worry about. We'll be wearing the special suits we developed. We stole the design from those blasted Torvanites. In fact, everyone but you is currently wearing one as we speak. We're just waiting until we get ready to crack the final layer before we put on the helmets. I'll grab a suit for you."

Jerh headed towards a supply tent to find a suit, and I chose this moment to stand up and take a short stroll around. I kept glancing at the sky, noticing that by now, there were just a few patches of sky left, which made things momentarily safer for walking around. Soldiers were quickly wheeling a number of artillery machines towards a common point, which I assumed would be where they made the final assault.

"Here's a suit that should fit you," stated Jerh, handing me a suit that looked just like one that everyone else was wearing. Jerh also handed me a helmet, which appeared to lock into the suit at the opening for the neck. After fumbling with the various switches, Jerh quickly helped me into the suit and showed me how to fasten the connectors and check the various readings. The suits were actually much more advanced than they had previously looked.

"All clear! Commence final assault!" exclaimed a tall man with a beard that consisted of a single strip of hair running from his chin to the base of his neck, overlaid by a perpendicular strip going around the front half of his throat. It gave him the appearance of having a large cross shape on his throat. Upon further inspection, I guessed that he was the leader of this group, as he began giving a series of orders, occasionally gesturing to nearby soldiers as he coordinated the positioning of the weaponry.

Within minutes, all the weapons had been positioned tightly together in a circular formation. Each one was aimed straight up at the flickering sky barrier. Troops went through the final steps of checking their suits and putting their helmets on. The viewport of the helmet had an appearance of mercury, and patterns would randomly swirl about like oil on water. I donned my helmet, latched it securely, and noticed that the soldiers had all lined up to launch the artillery at the same time.

The leader counted down from ten, and at the end of the countdown, a synchronized blast from the weaponry caused a blast louder than any thunderstorm I had ever experienced. I watched in awe as the sky barrier simply shattered, and within seconds, a powerful rushing force literally pulled everyone and everything upwards.