Arborvoid

Emma hunched over the prototype sensor, its faint hum filling the lab. It beeped erratically, then steadied, locking onto a Zogarian energy signature. She exhaled sharply, watching the readings stabilize. "It's not perfect," she admitted, scanning the data. "But it's picking up the residuals. We can detect them before they get too close."

Across the room, Adewale studied the device, arms crossed. His approval was grudging, but real. "Good work, Doctor. But identifying them isn't enough. We need to stop them."

Emma's gaze flickered toward the WoodDust samples stacked on her desk—small vials filled with a faintly glowing substance that pulsed under artificial light. She had spent **long nights** poring over its structure, testing reactions until exhaustion blurred the edges of her vision.

"Their energy weapons disrupt molecular bonds," she murmured, thinking aloud. "If we can counteract that… if we can reverse the disruption—"

She turned abruptly, focus narrowing on the samples beneath the microscope. The WoodDust shimmered—its energy signature pulsing like a heartbeat.

"It's not just fuel." Her voice dipped, edged with realization. "It's a catalyst."

Something clicked. The breakthrough snapped into place like a puzzle piece finally locking in.

Emma whirled toward Chloe, urgency lighting her eyes. "Chloe! I've found something! The WoodDust—it's not just an enhancement for them. It could be for us too!"

Chloe blinked, skeptical but intrigued. "Enhancement? Like… super strength?"

"Possibly," Emma said, her mind already racing ahead. "But more importantly, I think it can disrupt their technology. It's like a key—something that unlocks their weaknesses."

---

The military training facility buzzed with tense energy. Rows of soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder, their postures rigid, their expressions wavering between determination and doubt.

At the center, General Adewale briefed his troops, his deep voice cutting through the air. Each soldier held a modified weapon—and a small vial of concentrated WoodDust, its faint green glow catching the fluorescent light overhead.

Emma stepped forward, standing beside Adewale, her tone firm. "This isn't a weapon in the traditional sense," she explained, holding up a vial. "It's a disruptor. When combined with your standard weaponry, it should interfere with their energy fields."

Adewale turned the vial over in his hand, his skepticism plain. "Dust? We're fighting aliens with dust?"

Emma didn't flinch. "It's the key to their technology, General. Trust me."

---

Hours later, the battle raged in a forest scarred by conflict.

Gunfire cracked through the trees. The acrid scent of burning wood filled the air. Zogarian harvesters moved in calculated, predatory strides, their angular forms blending with the environment, shifting, adapting.

Then—the first strike.

A soldier fired. A green-tinged energy burst—laced with WoodDust—tore through the air. The blast crackled as it collided with the nearest harvester, the alien's sleek, shifting form flickering violently, its disguise unraveling.

"They're staggering!" someone shouted. "It's working!"

Emma watched from the ridge, heart hammering. For the first time since this invasion began, the Zogarians hesitated. Their technology—flawed. Their defenses—cracked.

WoodDust wasn't just their resource. It was their weakness.

And now, Earth had a fighting chance.