Battle for Terra

Mala and her friend Senn are young creatures of an alien race inhabiting Terra, a peaceful planet in a star system in the Milky Way galaxy. When a large object partially obscures Terra's sun, Mala defies Terrian rules forbidding unapproved technology and builds a telescope. She discovers that the object, the Ark, is launching recon ships that abduct Terrians, some of whom willingly surrender themselves, believing the humans to be new "gods". After Mala's father, Roven, is abducted, she lures a ship into a trap and rescues its human pilot, Lieutenant James "Jim" Stanton. With help from Jim's personal robot assistant, Giddy, she creates an oxygen-filled shelter for him and learns human language. Giddy explains that humans previously terraformed and colonised Mars and Venus, but their demands for independence from Earth led to a war that made all three planets uninhabitable. The Ark, a generation ship carrying the surviving humans, has spent generations searching for a new home and named the planet Terra upon arrival. Mala agrees to repair Jim's ship so that she can rescue Roven, but discovers it has been moved. Mala, Jim and Giddy trace the ship to a secret underground military facility where the elders and council leader Doron preserve technology from earlier conflicts. After repairing it, they travel to the Ark, where General Hemmer, commander of the human army, seizes control in a coup and declares war on Terra. Mala finds Roven but is captured. During the ensuing struggle, Roven accidentally causes a decompression that kills both himself and several guards. Hemmer reveals his plan to transform Terra into a new Earth using the Terraformer, a machine that will create an Earth-like atmosphere but annihilate the Terrians. He tests Jim's loyalty by forcing him to choose between Mala and his younger brother Stewart. Jim saves Stewart while secretly ordering Giddy to rescue Mala. Hemmer then assigns Jim to defend the Terraformer and personally oversees its deployment. Doron and the elders allow the Terrians to use their military technology against the human forces, but they are heavily outnumbered. The Terraformer begins poisoning Terra with oxygen. When Jim sees Mala fighting Stewart after Stewart shot down Senn, he realises the destruction of the Terrians is unjust. He turns against Hemmer and destroys the Terraformer with missiles, killing Hemmer. Mala, Giddy and Stewart escape the resulting fireball, but Jim's critically damaged ship is consumed, and he accepts his death peacefully. With the Terraformer destroyed, humans and Terrians agree to live in peace. The humans abandon the Ark and establish a city-sized, oxygen-filled tent colony on Terra. A giant statue is erected in Jim's honour.

Plot from Battle for TerraCC BY-SA 4.0