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The squad of black Haros Imperial Fighters swept over the nebula. They were small, with twin lascannons hung under each wing and a double headed Imperial Eagle emblazoned on their backs. The ships swung around the deep nebula reaches, scanning twirling sensors for any signs of life. Pilot Groen Adan, a veteran Haros Fighter for over twenty years, checked his data-map several times before he was assured that the nebula was empty. With a smooth turn of his flight handle, his fighter dipped smoothly down, flipping and gliding out of the nebula.

Adan tapped his com-link. "Blackshard squad this is Shard one, what's the readings on scanners?"

Several moments passed before his question reached the ears of the others.

"Shard one this is shard two, negative, no signs of any life."

"Shard three, same, no signs."

"Shard four, negative here as well."

"Shard five, negative."

Adan glanced back at the holo-map, Shard five was too far in the nebula. "Shard five, you're too far out of reach. Get out of the nebula now, there is no telling what could happening to your fighter once the gasses touch your plating."

"Shard one, roger that, I was checking out the reaches, making sure nothing was sneaking their way through." Adan smirked in his visor, "I admire your cautiousness Shard five, but there's no way a fleet of Chaos would move through that entire stretch of Nebula without our ships' knowledge. Their damage would be horrendous."

"Point taken, Shard one."

Adan saw the small black craft slowly skim out of the nebula, there was no visible damage, but he'd have it checked once they docked again. "Okay, get one last sweep in and we'll regroup to head back to the fleet." The ships flashed around Adan's, gliding through the bleakness of space. Adran turned the flight handle, feeling the smoothness as the fighter banked, turning like a U and retracing his former steps.

Adan felt his com-link vibrate slightly, "Shard one this is shard five, I'm tracing the outer rims of the nebula again, I don't...by the Emperor what is that!" Adan jerked his craft to the side, aiming for the Nebula. He had to squint to see even through the 'glass' of his view sheet. Inside the nebula, dark shadows were moving, and fast. One slid in front of Shard five, and opened fire, Adan roared a warning, but it was nothing compared to the speed of the blasts. The front of Shard Five's craft exploded in a shower of black metal, his hold of fuel and munitions caught fire and erupted in a flash of burning blue light. In his sealed cockpit Adan could feel the heat from the death of him.

"By the Emperor! Thrusters maximum power, get me a status report" Adan adjusted the throttle, the pilot's seat shook as the engine at the back of the craft heated up and pushed forward. Adan yanked on the flight handle and banked heavily to the right, prepping his guns. "Where's that status report?"

"Shard two sir! All systems operational!"

"Shard three sir! All systems operational!"

"Shard four sir! All systems operational!"

"How many fighters? Get me a straight number!" Adan screamed into his com-link, he pulled up behind a fighter. The enemy craft was a smaller model than his own, painted blood red with cruel chaos markings that made him sick, it was armed with a single auto cannon below its cockpit. They should be easy alone, as long as they didn't pack numbers.

"Sir, approximately eight of them! They're small lightly armed craft, but they're faster than hell!"

"Noted Shard three! Aright boys, thrusters at full power, outmaneuver these guys, fire at will!" Adan didn't wait for the others, he pressed down on his firing mechanism. A second later, the two lascannons opened fire, bolts of bright blue light unleashing from their barrels and smashing into the other fighter. For several moments the shield held, but it was nothing compared to the guns, the shield disappeared and the back of the ship collapsed and exploded as open space touched the inside and unbalanced its fuel tanks.

Adan pulled to the side flying past the burning wreckage and unleashing his twin guns on a second Chaos ship. With half of its side blown out, the burning fighter fell, where it went, Adan didn't want to know. A loud blaring sound caught Adan off guard, he had been locked in as a target. He glanced to the side, two fighters were breathing down his neck. "What the...Shard thr...Yare I thought you said it was only eight!"

The reply was strained as 'Shard Three' tried to loose pursuers. "There were! More and more of em are flying out of the nebula! They must be an advance force!"

Adan swore, diving down into a nose dive and flying down. The other fights pursued, after several breathtaking moments Adan yanked down the thrusters. The engines screamed in protest as the thrusters stopped, for a few more moments momentum carried him down, but the other crafts flew straight past him, caught off guard by the maneuver. Adan slammed the thrusters back on and opened fire with his lascannons. The first craft was ripped apart by Adan's sustained lasfire, the second was winged badly and flew out of control. Adan finished it off quickly with several quick bursts.

With the two ships off of him, Adan returned to the fray, he took out another Chaos ship with a target locked missile. "Status report, how are we doing?"

"Shard two sir! My shields are at half power, but I'm shaking em off of me!"

"Shard three sir! My shields and ammo are good, but I'm nearly out of missiles."

"Shard four sir! I got a couple on my tail and...I'm hit! My left wing is blown, shields are out, I might be able too...AHHH!" Adan winced as he heard Shard four's screams as his back was blown and the fires from his fuel burnt him up, the ship wouldn't explode unless the fuel was hit with another explosion, a shot like that from a Chaos craft merely ignited them into flames. Adan gulped as the pilot's screams increased as his skin was burnt and liquid in his eyes boiled. Adan shut him off his com-link, swung in behind his falling craft, and shot it too pieces with his lascannons.

More crafts appeared around them, Adan cursed, mutli-locking on several targets and unleashed some missiles from his stock. The dogfight was in full fury now, the massively outnumbered Haros Imperial Fighters were pushed to their limits as they tried to maneuver against the Chaos crafts. Adan glanced to the side, looping around and locking on several more of the ships. Loud sharp sounds came from his bay, his missiles hunting down the small lighter crafts and taking them out in explosions of ripping scarlet light.

Adan forced his engine, whipping around the nebula lascannons blazing. Bolts ripped apart one craft, destroying the wing and sensors of another. He saw a thick orange light out of his the corner of his eye, and forced a look. Shard three's engine was ablaze, and three cultist crafts was on his tail. "Shard three! Keep your thrusters on full power, I'm coming 'round for you!"

Adan's com-link buzzed, "Negative Shard one! I'm too hot, stay away! I need to unload on them!"

Adan closed his eyes, unloading meant stopping and detonating his entire supply of missiles. He wanted to yell for the pilot to stop, but it was useless, Shard three wouldn't last long even without a fight. The ship had took too much damage. "Permission granted Shard three! Give em hell for me!"

Shard three's engines purred, the large black thrusters dimming as the fire that fueled them was taken away. For several moments nothing happened, than two incoming Chaos fighters destroyed Shard three's craft, blowing Shard three to shards before he could detonate the missile stockpile. Adan roared in anger, ripping his thrusters to max and jetting towards the fighters. The first two fighters he locked and took out with missiles. Three others scattered, Adan pursued them like the wrath of the Emperor, his lascannons glowing bright blue as their barrels reached super heated temperatures as he hunted down and eradicated the fleeing crafts. A loud crack like a flare reached his ears and Adan swore loudly, the lascannons had overheated and were cooling down, and now the remaining crafts took the opening.

Adan's craft jerked as he tried to outrun the crazed fighters. He wanted to call for help, but it was only him and Shard two left, and two was busy fending off a horde of the Chaos foes. Adan slammed thrusters too mid-power, jerking back and laughing as the other fighters overshot him. Had his lascannons been online he could have ripped into them and took them out, that wasn't the case. In a minute the cultist had veered around and were coming at him, firing rapidly. Adan eased the thrusters back on to high-power, trying not to destroy his engines from stress.

The Imperial Fighter slid past the incoming Chaos fighters, Adan could only sigh, wishing he could have fired his missiles, but he didn't have time to lock the fighers as targets. A loud click resounded throughout the cockpit, with a smirk, Adan slid, the nose of his fighter facing the incoming ships once more. This time Adan let loose his lascannons, the duel weapons destroying three of the crafts and winging the remaining two. Adan let out a prayer of thanks to the Emperor that his experience had saved him so far. He glanced to the side, Shard two was shaken, and from his data slide to the side he could see it had taken some hits. "Shard two, we can wrap this up now, we got most of them."

Shard two looped around, lascannons blazing at several fleeing crafts. Adan heard a sound like a thunder clap back on Paran his home planet, storms had been daily life back than. A blue shockwave erupted where Shard two's craft had been a millisecond before, they were being targeted by something else. Adan forced himself to look in the nebula, dark shadows, shaped like frigates and cruisers of all sizes were appearing. For the entire battle with the Chaos fighters they could have fled and warned the fleet about the encroaching Chaos ships. "Shard two! Fall back! They've got a fleet incoming, I'll try to distract em while you head back to command."

The laughing voice of Shard two followed, it was strained and hoarse, but it was genuine. "Sorry, sir. My ship is a bit more beat up, and I've got a bigger missile stockpile left along with a power surplus for my lascannons. I've always said if I was going to die in the Emperors service, I didn't want it to be in a regular dogfight where I became a statistic, I wanted to die in glory. So Adam, take your ship and flee, I'll deal with this fleet."

Adan shook his head, Shard two was lying, even gloriously no one wanted to die. There would be no persuading this day though, Shard two had made up his mind that he was willing to die. "Thank you Shard two, the Emperor protects..." The customary reply came back, and Adan jerked off course, fleeing opposite of the nebula.

Pilot Yulan Maroza smiled grimly as he approached the incoming Chaos fleet. He yanked off his vision mask, leaving everything to pure sight alone. He tapped several runes to his side, "All missile systems prepared to launch. All reserve power to lascannons, all shield power to engines except for section three, five, and eight." The fighter slid into the nebula, the Chaos ships were closer now, and far more massive and intimidating. They would no doubt laugh at him in their cruel twisted tongue, but they would not find him easy pray. He would be as quick as he had too, he would not go down easily.

Maroza grinned wickedly at the cruel ships that would bring his death and made the sign of the aquilla. "Emperor, guide my craft from your throne. Guide my weapons, and guide my judgment. And above all O Emperor, guide my enemies to my targeting sensors." Maroza chuckled lightly, the ships were fifty meters, forty, thirty, twenty, fifteen, ten, he gunned the throttle...