Ruin

by Soccer Dude

In a world where hope has virtually vanished, a young man by the name of Taichi finds a way to live. But when he wanders into an unimaginable confilict, he learns the power of love, and the horrors of war. Taiora. Has cursing violence and adult themes

12. The Final Assult

Child cradled in her arms; Hikari raced with Lizarddramon up the stairs. Fortunately, the boy had gone from wailing for his mother to quiet snuffling.

They bumped into several soldiers, who were relived to see them back, but still condemned Hikari and Lizarddramon's recklessness.

"Listen, these things are deadly killers. We have to evacuate." Lizarddramon said. "They'll be coming in one by one and blowing themselves up before long. I think they're human controlled, they're too intelligent for these kinds of tasks."

"Homidon's already been considering this. Now we need you to return to the hangar, or…"

"I'm going, I'm going!" Hikari shoved by the pestering. She quickly located the family, who practically crushed her with gratitude.

Afterwards, Lizarddramon joined Agumon and Wex, while Hikari went to address the General, but he seemed to have disappeared among the crowd. A gathering of guards by the wall caught Hikari's attention. Meandering her way through the crowd, Hikari picked up a quiet conversation between the RAM troops.

"Staying here would kill everyone. Look at the structure."

"It's just as dangerous outside. The air would make everyone sick within a week."

"We have enough breath masks don't we?"

"We'll have to juggle them around."

"Who cares? I'd give this roof, two, maybe three days before it crumples."

"Has General Homidon been informed?"

"Yes, but he's not to keen on abandoning his base."

"I'm not to keen to it either."

Great. We have an infestation, and our house is falling down. Hikari thought to herself.

"You here something?" One of the soldiers asked.

Almost unintentionally, both of them drew their blasters. A faint, rumbling sound was reverberating through the wall. This was way too familiar for Hikari to be comfortable. "Get away!" She screamed, pulling back both of the troops. The throng of people and Digimon around her began getting nervous. Soldiers waved guns in the air, trying to herd away the crowd. It was unneeded though, because everyone began crying out and backing up as cracks began forming on the wall.

"Attention everyone, please head for the stairway in an orderly fashion! We are taking care of the problem!" Homidon's voice boomed throughout the hangar loudspeaker.

The Emerald Sunshine, Firescape, and Neptune's Trident, which had been finished with battle and space modifications, were being loaded to the maximum, and the engines were warming up.

Homidon have apparently given up with "orderly." "Everyone, head to the nearest capital ship. There's plenty of space for everyone!" Ram's Charge could squeeze in maybe, two thousand. His freighter was specifically designed to carry things. He wasn't sure about Benningway and his crews' ships. The Epees held just one pilot, but the Razorbacks needed two. It would be a tight fit. Better get to the bridge.

Mesati always felt anxious when in a meeting with Morhin. Video link or otherwise. And when he was anxious, his knuckles suffered.

As the screen flashed the word: "Connecting. Please stand by." He thought about what to say. Morhin's image abruptly appeared on screen. The supreme leader had a faint, disarming smile. His jet-black, braided hair hung back to reveal his pale, clear skin. His actual age was known to few, but Director Mesati suspected with the tyrant's wealth and technology, that he could be more than twice as old as he looked. "Russell Mesati, I was just about to call you."

"Yes sir, well, thanks to a stool pigeon, we recently squelched a revolt by the slaves. I decided to leave the punishment to Xantos for his actions."

"Xantos… the one I sent to work with the slaves?"

"Uh… yes sir. He ejected to of the leaders, which happened to be personal enemies, into space with no food or water."

Morhin grunted. "Messy, and with many unknown factors. But it was a good decision on your part. Rewards for impartiality."

"Well, the purpose of my contact is for… permission to use Omicron station's weapon. Another one of the leaders, which by some coincidence, was Xantos's lieutenant, is being punished by firing Omicron Station's laser at his hometown."

"Be my guest." Morhin said with a somber grin. "And while it's warmed up, fire at the center of the old city of San Francisco. The rebels there have wasted too many Black Widows."

"Affirmative sir. Omicron station, out." Mesati sighed with relief. That man sent shivers down his spine.

He opened another channel to the people working at Omicron station's core. "Maximum power to the superlaser." The laser had no real name, but Morhin would surely change that.

"Yes, sir." A voice crackled from his personal comm. "Power at ten percent."

Mesati switched to another channel. "Adjust the lens ten point sixteen degrees left, twenty seven point zero six degrees down."

"Adjusting position sir." Another voice replied.

Mesati made the short trip to the bridge. Inside, a grief-stricken Lee gazed out at Earth through a window that made up an entire wall. At the center of the room was a panel with several buttons, but at the center was the most important.

This part always gets me excited. Mesati fished a thin square of plastic out of his pocket. Along it was were a set of seemingly random marks and shapes, but this was the key to his station's terrifying power. He slid the object into a tiny slot. After a moment, the sensitive scanner approved Mesati's code, and a panel opened, revealing a plastic case.

"Power at seventy five percent." The weapons technician voice reported from the Director's comm.

Mesati motioned for Lee, who'd been released to fulfill his punishment. It was uncomfortably quiet while the superlaser slowly powered up.

A meter to the left of the case slowly oozed up. Ninety seven, ninety eight, ninety nine…

"Canon ready sir."

"Every one of the room's occupants watched Earth as it prepared to be scarred by Morhin's desire. Mesati felt a small wave of pity. Morhin would tear apart every forest to destroy even the smallest enemy. But he couldn't think of Earth's health now, duty calls. He lifted up the plastic case, revealing a simple, red button with the label "Fire" on it. Lee stared at the button like it was a glowing pile of nuclear radiation. He looked up and out to Earth, barely able to contain his rage, specifically towards Takeru, who stood behind him, probably smiling under his robes. He was a disturbed man who knew only revenge.

Lee hovered his palm above the panel. "Mom, Dad, Shiuchon, I'm sorry." He whispered a silent prayer, then gently depressed the trigger.

The laser fired in a heartbeat. All of Omicron station shuddered as the terrifying power shot out at blinding speed. The beam grew smaller in the distance, but a cloud above the area was pierced and incinerated, along with anything in a kilometer's distance. The laser continued it's terrible onslaught for ten seconds, then became thinner and thinner until it disappeared into a singularity.

Lee folded his arms down on the podium, then buried his face in it. The soldiers laughed and slapped each other on the back, then slowly filed out of the room. Mesati looked pityingly at Lee, and waited for a moment before allowing him to be taken away. In a few minutes, Omicron station would fire again at a different location. Mesati entered new coordinates for San Francisco, waited for awhile in silence, and then received the signal that the superweapon was ready. Xantos, the only other occupant, chuckled as he approached the button. He stood watching outside the window, then slammed the fire trigger without hesitation.

The evacuation of RAM HQ went surprisingly smoothly. A few hundred people had to go on foot, but they went outside without a spider-bot attack. Homidon went over his mental list again and again, but couldn't find anything he hadn't done yet. Except find a shelter. His freighter-turned-warship settled at the outskirts of the city, where buildings were scarce. A head count reported everyone was present. Most of the civilians tried to get some sleep, even in the morning sun.

Homidon looked in the general direction of his base. His castle. His home. Ridden with spiders now. He grunted in abhorrence, wishing he'd began his campaign earlier instead of waiting around. An idea formed in the General's mind. He, and four thousand people and Digimon were homeless. Why keep waiting for a moment grew less likely with every minute. Ram's Charge, Benningway's corvettes, all of the fighters, they could fight in space. He had several allies, who in turn had several more allies. It was all one disorganized network. That I need to bring together. He turned towards a slumbering comm officer. "Open me up a channel to Mt. Shasta."

The startled man quickly nodded and began the process, but tilted his head in confusion. "Uh, sir, there's… some kind of energy flux."

"What?"

"I can't get a signal through. It's caused usually from huge power sources absorbing the radio signal."

"Where would you find a huge power source around here?"

Homidon's question was answered with a blinding flash of light, hardly two kilometers away. It was like a flash of lightning that refused to retreat into the sky. White and yellow energy rained down from the heavens, incinerating anything that crossed its path. As quickly as it came, the beam, shrunk in on itself and disappeared.

The shock wave sent an Epee onto its side, and a thousand people were flung like toy dolls by the awesome power.

Over the course of ten seconds, the General's face went from shock, to pure rage. "Get that channel through. We're taking down that cowardly bastard!"

After the first half-hour of all-out crying, and another ten minutes of quiet sobbing, Sora began to calm down. Her nose ran like a faucet, so she just used her wrist as a tissue.

Taichi himself shed a few, silent tears. Hikari and Agumon could be dead, Peregrine was probably impounded and stripped down for parts, but someone would have to keep a steady head.

The escape pod slowly spun in space and it was doomed to do so for as long as it was in space. Sora watched out the window each time Earth appeared. After the fifth time, she leaned over on Taichi, and wrapped her arms around him. Why not? We're dead anyway.

Taichi was a little surprised, but returned the light hug. She looks so small and fragile.

Sora felt safe and secure in Taichi's arms, as though it was some kind of haven in the sea of hopelessness. "Taichi… what'll it be like?"

"What?"

"When we run out of air. What's it like to suffocate?"

"Depends. If it goes slowly, then we'll probably feel dizzy, fall down, and slowly fall asleep. If it gets cut off suddenly…" He paused. "It's like a thousand needles stabbing at your lungs."

Sora pulled him a little closer. She couldn't hold it in. "Taichi… Tai-kun, I… I…" she whispered into his ear.

Taichi nearly gasped, but silenced his breath. He gently squeezed her, and brought his chin onto her head and whispered. "I love you too." He firmly planted a kiss on her head, then moved down to her mouth, and locked lips for a moment.

Sora's feelings began to stir. She pulled even closer, trying to harness the emotion and chase away the dread.

The two went on for several minutes, kissing hungrily and sharing their passion. Sora became braver. Taichi shifted uncomfortably, and with cheeks thoroughly flushed, allowed Sora to sit on his lap and touched bodies.

Loosing track of time, Taichi decided to go further, and moved down to her neck, making tiny, red marks. Sora felt warmth, which flooded out the cold in heart. She never realized how frozen she'd felt until now. Until I met Taichi.

Taichi coolly began touching her bare skin. Sora shivered slightly, but didn't brush away his hand. She wanted his love; she never wanted this moment to end.

An unknown amount of time later, Sora and Taichi felt nothing but love for each other. Both temporarily forgot all of their troubles, and fell asleep in each other's arms.

Sora opened her eyes, for the first time in a while, slowly and comfortably. That is, until she recollected her memories. Revolt… capture… Omicron station… the escape pod… Taichi… Oh God… She suddenly felt much more awake. She looked down at herself, blushed tremendously, and got out of Taichi's grip. She paused to look out of the window before getting dressed. Earth looked much smaller now and didn't fill the window. She must've been asleep for a good twelve hours. The escape pods were meant to get away from action quickly, and were launched at a very high speed. Earth disappeared in the void, and so did Sora's hope. Despite last night's (or was it morning's?)… events… the dread had seeped back.

On the small console, Sora eyed the row of buttons and lights. Taichi was a total whiz at computers. Maybe he could…

Taichi stirred. The body warmth of Sora had been replaced with stale, cool air. He rubbed his forehead with his hand, and groaned softly as he awoke. If anything, his cheeks were even more crimson than Sora's had been. He quickly put on his clothes, and joined Sora at the computer as casually as possible. "What're you looking at?"

Sora pointed at the screen. "Is there anything we can do?"

Taichi looked for some kind of "ON" switch. He pressed just about every button on the console, but nothing happened. "Looks like they disabled all if the systems but the comm. It's a pretty old one too. They didn't expect us to call anyone."

A pit formed in Sora's stomach. "You can't adjust the air?"

Taichi glanced back at her. "Why would we?"

"Because I don't want to sit around for another day and a half!" Sora suddenly blurted out. "I want to get it over with!"

The pilot turned back around, looking for some kind of control. "I don't see anything that works."

Sora balled her hands, turned to the window, and beat it furiously, screaming, "Break! Break! Just let me die!" Her fists burnt as she uselessly battered the thick panel.

Taichi tried to calm her down. "Sora!" He pulled her away before she hurt herself. "Listen to me, wasn't it you that said, 'What's wrong with looking on the bright side?' Do you still think this is all destiny?"

Tears lined Sora's eyes. She couldn't find what to say, so she just buried her face in his chest. "So many people have died because of me." She said between sobs. "My mother, that child, now everyone at RAM, the Digimon and you."

Taichi decided to let her cry herself out, though he didn't know why she had gone from passionate to suicidal in such a short time. Woman and their mood swings. He waited for a little while before Sora broke away and sat on the curved couch. Outside of the window, she saw the Moon, large and full. A question tickled at the back of her head. "Taichi, you don't think we'll hit the Moon, do you?"

"For both of our sake's, I hope not."

"Why?"

Taichi joined her at the window. "About two hundred years ago, the U.S set up a base on the Moon. They called it Project Eden. There was something on the Moon though, something not right. The people acted like robots. Lost the tone in their voices, and eventually broke away from Earth. I heard they've laid all kinds of traps. Space mines, and radio reflectors, anything to keep invaders out."

"But I don't see any buildings."

"Maybe they're on the other side."

A short time passed, and then a faint, fuzzy sound came from the computer. Taichi went over to it, and studied the controls. "Weird. Looks like someone is trying to contact us… but…"

A voice that sounded like a zombie echoed through the cabin. Occasional bursts of static obscured his voice, but his words were clearly heard. "Intruder. Intruder."

Another voice that sounded like it came from a preteen boy came from the comm. "We must destroy all intruders." Two dots outside the window quickly became thumb sized.

Taichi frantically tried to communicate with the two pilots. "Wait, wait! Please! The two of us were just launched out here to die! We're unarmed, and we have no food and water! We didn't mean to intrude!"

The wait, which lasted almost ten minutes, was unbearable. Finally the younger pilot replied. "We help. We help. I will shoot a towing beam."

Taichi got a good look at the ships, which were nothing like he'd seen before. Both had a round, tinted glass cockpits, which had three four-meter long fins jutting out at forty five-degree intervals from the port side. A curved fuselage with a trio of unknown type lasers connected the three fins. The fighters resembled a portion of a bike wheel.

From the ball cockpit, a white beam cracked outward like a lightning bolt and latched onto the escape pod. The sudden change of direction threw off Taichi and Sora's balance, but within a few seconds, they were going along at a steady pace.

Sora felt like she'd been thawed out of a sub-zero freezer. "Taichi?"

"What?"

"Destiny can kiss my ass. Luck is my new friend."

Homidon surprised even himself. Within two days, four thousand people had been moved to Mt. Shasta. Many more arrived in the spacious fortress. The Mt. Shasta resistance had invited the DDRG, the Digimon from Refuge, and many, many other smaller groups to a grand meeting. The oval room contained twelve ambassadors in all, including Homidon. The leaders were a mixed bag of men, woman, and Digimon of all ages. Chalca Walleck, the chief of the Mt. Shasta resistance, a tall, handsome man with sandy hair in a crew cut sat on a lavish chair, and after formalities were exchanged, asked for quiet among the chatting leaders. Homidon was located between Chalca and an elderly woman with an odd sense of formal wear. He'd learned her name was Maxine.

"Quiet, quiet please." Chalca Walleck called for attention. "As you've all been informed, Morhin's new weapon, Omicron station, is fully operational. Currently, the station has minimal armament, according to our scouts. Because we cannot risk being eradicated one by one, General Skot Homidon of RAM has called for a motion. Is everyone in agreement that we must ally into one group?"

All of the leaders nodded unanimously.

"Then our question is: how will we attack?"

"We should go frontal assault. The base has few defenses, and we can strike at his heart!" A gray streaked man suggested.

"Are you suicidal?" Maxine interrupted him. "We would be taken out by that infernal laser. A stealthy attack is much more logical." Several others, including Homidon, murmured agreement, but an equal number didn't.

"A complex strategy will take too long to develop!"

"That laser could be targeting us even now!"

"We don't have unlimited resources, we need to preserve!"

Shouts began filling the hall. Chalca raised the volume on his microphone, and boomed a single word. "Silence!"

The hall quieted instantly.

"Arguing will get us nowhere. We must solve this as calmly as possible." At the center of the oval seating was a holoprojecter. Chalca brought it up to a picture with a quarter of Earth visible and a tiny Omicron station motionless above it.

"I have been plotting for a mission like this for quite some time." Chalca went through his whole plan. Many eyebrows arched when it finally completed with: "Omicron station is destroyed, and we sweep up whatever's left."

"Mr. Walleck, the plan is clever, but what about the danger of the…" A younger woman straight across from Homidon started.

"We'll be traveling too fast for anything to catch us. And it's the only way we can come in quietly and hammer Omicron station. Compromise, see?"

The ambassadors looked among each other and silently agreed. "We will go along with the plan." Homidon spoke for everyone.

Chalca smiled warmly. "This plan will be downloaded into every computer of every ship. We'll need five days to prepare before we launch Operation: Boomerang. Thank you."

Taichi and Sora were aghast at the huge, smooth curves of the buildings and enormous shipyards that had been blanketed with some kind of projection. Clear tubes connected buildings like veins in a body, and a vast amount of ships flew by like a metropolis at rush hour. A bubble, much like the pressure screen from the hanger at Omicron station, kept air and pressure up, and wiggled about as they were hauled into it. After they landed, Taichi got a look at the two pilots that had saved them as they pried open the compartment. The air that rushed in was quite a bit under room temperature. The rescuers were almost as surprising a sight as their ships.

The younger pilot had boyish features, but was nearly as tall as Taichi and his companion looked middle aged, but towered at more than two meters. Both had pale skin, glassy looks to their dark eyes, and basic, dark blue flight suits. The older pilot spoke with little feeling. "Stay here. We will bring you nourishment. Do not leave."

"Do not leave." The younger pilot agreed as they both departed.

Taichi stepped outside, and bounced on his toes. "Woah, hey!" He found himself falling in slow motion as he tripped. The bump sent him careening up two feet. "They haven't figured out artificial gravity yet?"

"Apparently not." Sora stepped outside the stronger gravity field of the escape pod, with more caution. She grabbed Taichi around the waist, hoisted him up like he was a toddler and managed to throw him a little ways back into the escape pod. He landed heavily back on the hard floor. "They told us to stay in there."

"You're a scream Sora."

"There's not much gravity here, and that puts less strain on their bodies, so that's why they're so tall."

"Kinda creepy, a kid that's a good foot taller than he should be."

Sora nodded. All was quiet for a moment, save for the odd ship making an entrance. "Taichi, do you think we can contact RAM from here? And maybe convince them to work with Homidon?"

"Yes and no. They probably prefer to keep to themselves."

Another uncomfortable silence passed. A question nagged in Sora's head. "Taichi, Takeru said… you killed his brother."

"I don't know where he got that idea." Taichi quickly let out "It was a race gone bad. Yamato had a new ship, the Windrider. I couldn't help but challenge him, and his controls failed. I spent hours searching among the wreckage, but grabbed a piece of the hull instead. I thought his family would understand, but his father went ballistic, I got a slap from his mother, and Takeru shamelessly burst into tears." His head descended. "He was my only true friend, until Agumon, at least. I've occasionally been plagued with nightmares, really vivid ones." He quickly cleared his throat. "But I don't know where Takeru got the notion I killed his brother."

The two pilots returned later with, carrying several containers. "Eat." The boy said.

Taichi peeled open a container, and found rows of insects. "What are these?"

Sora glanced over. "Roasted crickets. Just like from home." She stole one from the multitude and stuffed it in her mouth with the fresh wheat bread and tender steak. After washing it down with cold milk, she asked, "Is everything here home-grown?"

The two Moon people nodded in almost simultaneously.

"Wow. So you guys are pretty self-sufficient." Taichi didn't bother to swallow before talking.

"Yes. We make everything here." The older pilot said. Neither of them left for a minute, and Sora became curious.

"Uh, why are you waiting?"

"Mother wants to see you." The younger pilot replied.

"Mother?"

"Mother is our leader. She seized control and helped through everything. She was in the first generation of the Luna."

"Um…" Taichi searched for the right words. "We may have to learn a few things about your culture."

Taichi and Sora walked down a large tube with Nammu and Ki`raga. The two Lunas had revealed their names along the way, along with many important things to remember when addressing Mother.

"Do not stare in her eyes for a long time. It is a sign of challenge, a rude one at that." Nammu, the younger one, advised.

"And when speaking, do not raise your voice. You must lean on one knee and wait for her approval to rise. Be sure to speak humbly, and do not groan or growl, even if you do not agree with what she says." Ki`raga picked up from Nammu's lesson

Taichi whispered to Sora. "I just thought of something, this Mother of theirs, she's like a dictator, right?"

"I guess."

"Well just look at how they've flourished under a tyrant." They reached a wide door that silently swished open.

"You're saying Morhin is really a good guy?"

"Later."

The surprises seemed to never end on the Moon. Based on information from Nammu and Ki`raga, Mother was easily two hundred years old, but she didn't look a day over thirty. Light wrinkles lined her face, but her pale, decorated face covered most of the trenches. Her fashion was a mixture of dark and light garments. She wore a milky white gown under a layer of soft, dark robes. Much of her jewelry had synthetic diamonds that could've been easily mistaken for real ones, and rainbow gems that sparkled in the light. On both of her cheeks, a pair of polished stones had been adhered to her skin, and the braids in her red hair were expertly done.

Taichi and Sora did as they were instructed earlier, and knelt before the queen's throne. For a moment, Mother said nothing, then faintly smiled. Her voice wasn't like everyone else's. She spoke with a wide variety of tones. "Earthlings. You should be glad Nammu and Ki'raga trusted you. Others may have incinerated your feeble ship."

Taichi exhibited his expert sense of sweet-talking. "Your majesty, our arrival was completely accidental. We did not intend to invade. If you could just provide us with a ship outbound…"

"Provide you, mere Earthlings, with one of our ships? The idea!" She laughed aloud, so did every other Luna present. She became serious again. "Rise Earthlings, and reveal your names."

Taichi spoke first. "Taichi Ya…"

"Silence!" Mother snapped. "How dare you disallow a woman to speak first?"

Startled, Taichi took a step back. "Uh… apologies. I have few facts about your civilization."

The queen glared lasers at Taichi, but smiled and nodded toward Sora. "Your name?"

"Sora Takenouchi."

A murmur went through the crowd, and the queen looked slightly aghast. "Sora?" Mother echoed

"Is… there… something wrong with it?"

Mother gnawed on her lip. "Nothing." She snapped out of her reverie. "I suddenly feel unwell." She turned to one of the men standing by her. "Mircs, please escort these two to a proper room."

A man easily two and half meters tall with heavy armor and a nasty looking scythe approached them. Silently, he motioned for them to follow. Taichi and Sora were lead through a clear tube leading out of the grand chamber. Along the way, he spoke in a rumbling bass voice. "The reason you were excused was Sora's name. It is a legend from the ministers. A woman named Sora would come and bring a vast war to the Luna, followed by a long prosperity. It said nothing about her being an Earthling."

"Well it must be a coincidence. I've done nothing special." Sora's tone easily suggested she hadn't bounced back from her grief.

"Mother is superstitious."

"Yeah, about Mother, how can she be two hundred years old?" Taichi asked.

"Of this few know."

"Could it have been genetic splicing? I heard it was possible to slow down the aging process."

Mircs grunted. "Toying with life is a Luna sin." They reached another building, much lower and blander than the previous, and turned at the first door. "Your room."

A full wall was transparent glass, probably tinted from its dark shade. Outside was a spectacular view of the scattered buildings and tubes, and a fat crescent of Earth. Sora lay down on the bed, and stared out of the window, wondering if Homidon and Wex and Hikari and Lizarddramon and everyone else at RAM were even alive.

Three days after arriving at Mt. Shasta, two more rebel groups had shown up and added their firepower and Operation: Boomerang was anxiously waiting to be carried out. Tacticians and computers had been crunching numbers and figuring odds. Despite their work, there were a million ways the mission could go wrong, and even the strongest computer couldn't factor in so many variables. Size was important though, and Chalca's scientists were putting together a radio message to invite any other faction to assist.

At this point, the Rebel Armada, as many people had been calling it lately, was counted at six cruisers, twenty frigates, twenty-two destroyers, thirty-nine corvettes, two squadrons of gunboats, and one hundred and seventy five, or three and a half wings, of fighters. That was barely a tenth of Morhin's forces, but the Rebel Armada would have the element of surprise, in more than one way.

Wex, Agumon, and Lizarddramon were a blur of motion as they checked, double-checked, and triple-checked every ship with two dozen other mechanics. The trio had reserved an SGG-71 Warhammer for the upcoming battle. They made sure to make special modifications on their very own ship.

Agumon didn't appear very thrilled. He worked slowly, deliberately, like he hadn't had an hour of sleep in days.

Wex was the first to notice Agumon didn't have the glint in his eye the way he usually did when cross wiring 3rd party systems into a ship. "Agumon, what's been happening?" Wex asked while replacing an old targeting computer with a custom-made model he'd spent weeks on. "You've been pretty quiet, and I haven't seen you scarf yourself lately."

Agumon began unscrewing a panel even slower than he already was. "I've…" He sighed deeply. "Been wondering how long it'll be before I see Taichi again. If he even comes back."

"Of course he'll come back." Wex removed the apple-sized CPU of the targeting computer. "Taichi's too stubborn to die."

The Digimon managed to crack a wan smile. "Yeah, we've been through a lot." The last screw finally came out, but Agumon didn't bother to catch the plate as it fell out. "Half my energy comes from Taichi. He's always there when pirates are chasing us, or we're being targeted by gangs, or slapped with a huge bill. But now, it's like the shields of security are down. And the enemy is closing in…"

Wex carefully matched up the wires and laced them together. "Well, I suppose during Operation: Boomerang, we can look up prison files later, maybe find some clue as to where he is."

"And Sora."

"Right. Sora too."

A fellow engineer came onto the Warhammer. "Hey you two, Chalca has compressed the schedule. Seems Omicron station is firing non-stop. Tomorrow, at six PM. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll spread the word." Wex waved a hand to dismiss the messenger. He locked in the new targeting computer core and replaced the covering. "Now, let's see how my handiwork paid off." Wex stood up from under the command console and flipped a few switches.

The computer booted up, but printed out on the screen: "New software detected. Unable to install, components not compatible."

"Piece a` crap." Wex mumbled as he slammed a palm down on the command console. "Well, I hope Chalca knows what he's doing. We're going to the mat on this one."

Sora was summoned not an hour later by another immense guard. She walked down the hall with the silent trooper; back to Mother's room. There, she found the inside mostly empty. She was led to a door by the side of the fancy throne, and into Mother's own room. Inside, silk curtains hung from a three-meter high ceiling. Trinkets of every kind of color were lined up neatly on a finely polished wood stand. Paintings, some wild swirls of color, others, portraits of unknown people, took up more space than the deep red walls. A faint, sweet odor wafted through the air. Outside one window was a grand view of the Luna's bizarre sense of building design. At a bed, Mother herself sat up and gazed out of the window. She turned at the sound of the door opening, and smiled like a true politician.

"Sora, please sit down." She motioned to a pure white, overstuffed armchair. "Ramma, go fetch us a tray of tea."

The sentry nodded curtly then exited the room.

"Sora, I understand you've come a long way to get here. Please, tell me what incidents caused you to wind up in such a remote place."

It was such a long story, Sora had to take a moment to gather up the facts and organize them. "Well, I was fighting for a rebellion on Earth, in the U.S, or Morhin Union. I was captured in a sniping attack against one of his top men, and they put Taichi and me in a slave camp. Then we moved into a huge space post, called Omicron station. There was a revolt there, and I was caught in it. I was launched into space in that escape pod, and by some stroke of luck, got picked up by two pilots."

The queen nodded and took Sora's entire story in. "Do you know of a legend in our culture, more of a folktale, in where a woman with the exact same name as you comes and brings a great disaster to our people, then a golden age will follow."

"Well, it must have a one in a trillion chance a woman named Sora would show up here. I really would like to get back to Earth."

The door opened, with the guard who had returned with a silver platter. He gently set it down on a table and left without a word. The queen filled a painted teacup with the steaming liquid. Not wanting to be rude, Sora did the same. She never cared for anything besides water.

Mother carried on the conversation. "You say you came from a rebellion?"

"Yes."

"A rebellion against whom?"

"Well, there's a monarch down on Earth. Taichi and me wandered into the whole thing by accident, and we felt obliged to help."

Mother took a sip of the hot drink, and suddenly changed the topic. "This Taichi, is he your mate?"

Sora reddened. "Well, I… guess you could say we're… you know… in a relationship."

The ruler nodded, then just as abruptly changed the subject again. "You spoke of a space station?"

"Omicron station." Sora confirmed.

"Is it capable of reaching the Moon?"

"I don't know, but Morhin has a firm grip of power. It could be only a little while before he controls Earth."

"Yes, I understand the planet has been scarred by a space rock."

Sora began pushing for an idea that had sprung up. "You know, he may go through Earth's supplies quickly. The Moon may be his next target."

Mother nearly choked as she sipped. "I would not allow it." She said firmly.

"I don't mean to be look down on your civilization, but think about it. It'd be easier to destroy something before it grows too large."

The queen seamed to consider this, then put down her cup and stood up. She walked over to a wall and removed a picture of a woman from it. Behind the picture was a five by five gird of lights. Mother pressed them in a seemingly random order. The wall suddenly split apart in that area, revealing a single object in it. "I shudder to think of the losses we may encounter, but I hope for the best in the period afterwards." She retrieved the object and held it in front of Sora with an open palm. It was a key. A simple, old style, metal key. "This is the one thing that separates you from the ascendancy chamber. It has been rarely used, but gives you complete control of the Luna fleet."

"You're giving me all of it?" Sora's eyes grew wide.

"Yes, and I'm confident you'll do well with it."

"No, no I can't! It's impossible for me to command so many ships!"

Mother grabbed Sora's shoulders. She seemed strong for a two hundred-year-old woman. "Listen to me. After six husbands, fifty children, and two centuries of building and ruling, I find nothing is impossible."

"But… what happens if I mess up?" Sora asked weakly.

"Then we will rebuild, and try again. There is always that first uncertain step. And if you don't take it, you might as well surrender."

Sora looked uncertainly at the key. It dared her to take it, dared her to fight, dared her to cause more blood and violence. Too much blood covered her hands. Yet, more lives would be taken if Morhin lived. The death of a few to save many. Maybe that's what it means to be a warrior. Sora clutched the key tightly in her hand. "I have to keep the death toll as low as possible. And if that means one huge battle, then I'll do it."

The next evening, at mess hall, the air of tension at Mt. Shasta could be sliced with a knife. Eager pilots wolfed down their dinner, and stuck leftovers in their pockets. They knew it would be a long night and day ahead of them, and piled on the food. Wex, Lizarddramon, and Agumon reported to their gunboat. Agumon piloted, while the other Digimon took the port turret and Wex manned the starboard. As soon as every person and Digimon were in their cockpits, Chalca Wallack's voice came in over a public comm.

"All units, we've gone over Operation: Boomerang many times. Let's go over it once more." Every computer in Mt. Shasta played the exact same sequence at once. A grid of lines appeared, with Omicron station at the bottom left corner. "At this point, Omicron station is located over New York City. We will launch on an outward vector, as far from the station as possible." The plan showed a bundle of ships taking off and making a wide turn, putting a good 40,000 kilometers between the armada and the station. "We will rendezvous together, check in, then head on a beeline course for the Moon, which will be in just the right spot for our attack. The sling shot effect will give us a boost to surprise our enemy. No ship could possibly catch us at the speed we will be going." The mass of ships rocketed around the circle representing the Moon. "We have six Haul class heavy lifters in our possession, designated Infiltrator Group. Under a disguised signature, they will attach power sappers to the hull of Omicron station. This in turn will leave all systems cold for ten minutes. Those are the ten most critical minutes. Also equipped in Infiltrator Group are system scramblers. They will allow us to take control of Omicron station, and fire at our own will. We have the Detroit Shipyards and Charleston Harbor on our list. We need to strike a blow, both in supplies, and morale. The mission must be completed. Once we have everything important destroyed, we'll bring down Omicron station. Plans after that are yet to be made." The demo ended.

"Every one of you here will make a difference in this battle. We need everyone to give everything they have and more. I promise you, Morhin will be taken down. We will conquer this tyrant, and we will make a safe future for our children. God bless all of us, and let us all hope, we return to a free world."

Sora stood with Taichi and Mother outside of the thick metal door which led to the ascendancy chamber. She looked uncertainly at Taichi, and back at the door. That lump that had formed in her stomach far too many times was there again. Mother stood to her left, placed hand on the other woman's shoulder and nodded. Taichi made a much less formal thumb's up, and flashed a grin. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Sora opened the palm of her hand. The simple key challenged her, and Sora met it head on. "I'll see you later Taichi." She gave a light kiss on Taichi's cheek, then turned to the queen. "And thank you, for trusting me with this."

She turned around, back to the door, and pushed in the key. The door opened without the key even turning. Sora stepped through the door as it split apart. Taichi leaned to look inside, but the door snapped shut before he could get a glance.

Taichi was left alone with Mother. "So, uh… any chance an Earthling like me could grab a ship?"

Mother threw up her hands. "First they want a ride home, now they command over seven hundred capital ships and fighters. I swear you humans are out to conquer everything!"

Inside the chamber, Sora found a single chair under a beam of light. Foreboding as it was, Sora didn't hesitate to sit in it. The chair molded into her form like it was jelly, and a pair of gloves presented themselves from he armrests. A hood dangled down from above, and Sora put it on as well. Immediately, the room brightened, revealing just simple white walls in a small, round room. In front of her, an enormous holographic map appeared, and Sora's chair suddenly became airborne. Why does this feel so familiar? How do I know what to do? By moving the gloves a certain way, she could select ships, move them, tell them to attack or retreat, or zoom in and out. What's more, the chair beneath her would direct her attention by moving to the most important parts of battle. It was so utterly sophisticated; Sora was unsure what to do first.

Invaders! The map zoomed out a great distance, then back in on a small swarm of ships. Wait… she stared closely, and saw the outline of one. Ram's Charge? But how? Something in Sora told her to attack and overwhelm the enemies, but her consciousness pushed it back. Homidon is alive! So is everyone else! And they have made many allies! She was shocked that she'd almost ordered an attack on them. It's like I'm becoming a Luna, using this. I have to keep my head clear.

Sora selected all of the rebellion ships with a subtle motion, and turned them from red to green with one word. "Ally." The 3-D map zoomed out. Sora focused it in again on a large object. Omicron station. Twice as big as the Mobile Gun Platform Dragoon. Sora gave up on trying to figure out how she knew these facts.

It appeared the throng of ships would swing around the Moon and surprise the Morhin station. Omicron station won't know what hit it.

Chalca's voice came from his personal ship, the Jupiter. "Alright, all units report in before we go."

Each of the squadron leaders checked in with their pilots. All of the pilots went through a systematic check and reported back to their leader. One by one, each of the twenty squadrons reported in.

"Griffin squadron, standing by."

"Freedom squadron, standing by."

"Lance squadron, standing by."

"Valor squadron, standing by."

"Ibex squadron, standing by."

"Gold squadron, standing by."

The lengthy list of squadrons finished. The leaders were free to name their own squadrons, and some were fairly original. They were quickly followed by capital ships.

The Jupiter reported in, followed by the Hammerhead, Ursa Major, Ram's Charge, MetalSeadramon, Emerald Sunshine, Lion's Pride, Orion, and many others. The battle officer at Chalca's right spoke. "All units are ready and accounted for."

Chalca quickly wiped a bead of sweat. One word and the operation would begin. He could not stop until they succeeded, or were destroyed. Should he send so many people to their possible death to try a risky but beneficial mission? Ha. What a no-brainer. "Go."

Three hundred and twenty ships turned on their engines at the exact same time, and went at the exact same speed for five seconds, then shut them off. The vacuum of space let every ship drift at an identical velocity, along a carefully planned route that would swing them around the Moon.

The eighteen-hour flight would mostly be spent sleeping, and the hour-long return to Earth would be spent powering up. At an estimated breakneck speed of a hundred kilometers a second, they'd fairly pounce Omicron station. Agumon, Wex, and Lizarddramon all settled down for a long nap in the gunboat Axe 7. Each hoped it wouldn't be their last.

"Director, I'm picking up something vague on the radar."

Mesati moved towards the large screen. "What are those things? Focus in on them." Omicron station's radar had a unique ability to concentrate on a specific spot. It left them blind everywhere else for a minute, but could detect even the tiniest objects thousands of kilometers away.

"They appear to be ships. The radar signature isn't ours."

The Director turned and headed for his office. "Something is amiss. I will contact Morhin."

Despite almost half a day in the Ascendancy Chamber, Sora felt neither hungry nor tired. The Luna ships were plentiful, but hadn't been used in many years. The dormant engines had difficulty reactivating. The fact the Luna pilots didn't like to be bossed by an Earthling didn't help.

Please, hurry up. My friends will be slaughtered without your help.

The message tickled the back of every Luna pilot, but still they worked slowly. Sora knew Homidon and the others were on a suicide mission. Again, she encouraged the Moon people to make haste. Morhin will conquer the Moon too, over time. If you destroy him now, he will not be a threat for your children. That helped a little. Sora had obviously hit the right spot. Even so, it would take about eight more hours before the fleet could organize and take off. The computer predicted that the approaching flotilla would swing around the Moon in a tried-and-true slingshot course. They'd have to fend themselves for half an hour before she could help.

Hurry, please. My friends will be here soon.

"So far, so good sir." The battle tactics officer under Chalca reported. The Moon was large and round now. The General from Mt. Shasta had assessed the risk of the Moon people, but was confident in the armada's speed. Besides, the surface looked as dead as ever.

"Steady as she goes, Lieutenant."

"Roger that." The bridge was silent, save for a few beeps from on board computers and yawns from waking officers. "One minute to Phase Three."

"All units, I hope you had an enjoyable rest. Check all systems, and prepare for some heavy G's. Full throttle in one minute." Chalca turned to a nearby officer. "Prepare for a hundred percent throttle on my mark."

The minute passed by impossibly fast. A screen in front of Chalca displayed a heavy white line. As soon as all of the Jupiter, represented by a rough outline, was past that stripe, they'd rocket off and put the boomerang in Operation: Boomerang.

"Mark."

Even with an advanced anti-inertia system, Chalca was nearly knocked down by the force. The Moon grew ten times as fast now. The computer painted a long, square tube on the huge window, showing the best route for them to follow. Minute nudges of the cruiser's trajectory kept it on track, and in its wake, sixteen score ships followed. Ranging from tiny interceptors to two-kilometer long brutes. The G's continued to mount, and Chalca rode through it with both white-knuckled hands gripping a rail.

"Situation is going as planned." The strained voice of a female tactician reached Chalca's ears. Even so, the groans of his ship made both Generals tense. Homidon's freighter was taking a lot of strain, but the officer at his right assured him it was normal. The Moon swung by faster than Homidon had ever seen. The velocity meter was growing so fast, the numbers at the end appeared a blur. Chalca predicted they'd be going about one thousandth of the speed of light. The small number was immense at this point.

"We've reached maximum estimated speed!" An excited voice came from somewhere on the bridge. "Speed is still climbing!"

They were around the Moon now, and Earth was back in sight. Alarmingly, it was visibly growing. "We're going to be a bit early." Chalca informed everyone. "Re-check all systems. Remember, this is the big one."

Do not shoot, do not shoot, do not shoot! Sora screamed this to every Luna who could here. They obeyed without question, but felt stressed at the invader's presence. Sora tried to soothe their fears. Don't worry. They are our friends. We will help them in destroying Morhin. The fleet was going over one last check. A tenth of the ships would stay home to protect the Luna cities. Some of the ships attacking were Mobile Gun Platforms. Only three existed, but three might be all she needed. They were saucer shaped, with a long needle jutting out underneath. The entire outside of the disk was dedicated to guns. There were fifty strong, powerful cannons, and a variety of warhead launchers. The shields on the grand battleships were very thick, and could take a lot of punishment. Other attackers would be four Heavy Carriers. Two kilometers long, and a compliment of a hundred and fifty fighters each. They could easily carry every one of the six hundred fighters. Also included were a multitude of assorted ships. Each one was slightly different.

A light flashed over the huge hangar that housed most of the Luna's fleet. They're ready to assemble! Sora unconsciously moved her chair closer to the scene. She selected all of them with a wave of her right hand, then pointed at a spot on the 3-D map. Form up there. Quickly, please. The reluctant Luna complied. Please, hold on Homidon.

"We're approaching Omicron station, get ready." Major Harold Zizix, who commanded Infiltrator 1, announced to the other five Haul-class heavy lifters. In the cargo compartment of the egg shaped ships were six power sappers to draw energy to the space tugs, and system scramblers, to gain control of the station's laser. The Detroit shipyards were the biggest known. Over a quarter of the Morhin fleet was located there. Charleston Harbor was also held a lot of factories.

"We're in range, activate the comm!"

"Beetle 1 to Omicron station, we have a shipment of food coming in. Requesting clearance."

"Food? We did not order any food. And why are you approaching from the opposite direction of Earth?"

"I don't copy, please repeat."

The traffic controller's voice was abruptly switched. "Beetles 1 through 6, you are invading Morhin space. Exit or be destroyed."

"Sorry, I can't hear you." Major Zizix said with a snicker on his face.

"Perhaps this will grab your attention."

Behind Omicron station, no small percentage of Morhin's fleet lurked. They were hidden by the space station's bulk. First, a multitude of ships swarmed out, followed by medium sized corvettes and frigates. Finally, the noses of gargantuan cruisers peeked out.

"All units! Break off! I repeat, break off! It's a trap!"

At its current speed, the tow vehicle would take a lot of time and space to turn. Even the brakes did little to slow down the ship. Infiltrator 4 had gotten too eager and moved farther ahead, but was blasted apart by a hail of lasers. The Rebel Armada is going to hit a wall. Beetle 1 was splattered with gunfire. "Shields down!" screamed an officer aboard.

"Infiltrator 1 to Jupiter. Slow down and turn back! They're lying in wait!" Those were the last words out of the Major's mouth. Infiltrator 1 exploded under a torrent of fire.

"Do not break off!" Chalca shouted to every fighter and capital ship. He whirled around to a tactician. "Ship count!"

"Not good." The officer woefully shook his head. "We've got ten cruiser classes, forty frigates, fifty five destroyers, nearly a hundred corvettes, and enough fighters to make a big blob on the screen."

"All units, continue with mission! Hammer Omicron station!"

The loyal fighters surged ahead. Not a single one ran away.

"Attack formation! Pattern: Y slash!"

Y slash was an aggressive attack, where fighters would fire mercilessly on the target, then forked off in two directions, making a Y shape.

"We're almost in range. Open fire in five…"

Wex tightened his grip on the joystick. Lizarddramon similarly locked his claws around the trigger.

"Four…"

Agumon wiped a bead of sweat that trickled down his scaly forehead.

"Three…"

Homidon gripped the armrests on his chair.

"Two…"

Chalca drew in a breath, anticipating what would happen next.

"One… fire!"

Every part of space between the fleets was instantly lit. A rainbow of lasers crisscrossed each other, then headed for the kill. In one wave, a Rebel Armada frigate was overwhelmed and silently screamed as its reactor was punctured. Two corvettes suffered the same fate. A dozen fighters from various squadrons were incinerated in the flood of lasers. The Morhin fleet had much less damage to their bigger ships, because the screen of fighters took most of the punch.

Gunfire lanced out towards Omicron station. All of the cannons were focused on the huge space station. Massive shields absorbed all of them. Still, the strong hail of fire put large dents in the clear screen.

The speed of the Rebel Armada was a disadvantage in some ways. They had to stop firing and turn at an extremely far distance to avoid ramming the station. Some fresh pilots forgot this fact and became human missiles as they viciously rammed into the invisible cloak. It made a bright green flash as the unintentionally suicidal pilots crashed into it at several dozen kilometers per second. Their sacrifices made it easier for their live comrades though, as some portions of Omicron station became exposed.

"Regroup and attack!" Chalca commanded. The fighters complied, and swung around for another pass. At a much slower speed, they got in more hits. Morhin fighters began falling to Earth as barrages of laser fire intercepted them. The Morhin space station was reeling from the sudden attack. Its shields had been nearly halved in strength as the Rebel Armada completed its second wave.

The celebration of the rebels was short lived as they met with huge cruisers. The Morhin capital ships dropped Rebel ships with grim accuracy. Chalca could only listen as the war channel was filled with battle chatter.

"This is Gold 4, I've picked up an enemy!"

"My shields are down!"

"Thanks Eagle 8."

"Hold on, I'm coming!"

"Axe 2 to anyone, we're floating dead in space!"

"He's right on my six! Get him off! Augh!"

"That's another one down."

"We've lost Freedom 5!"

"I'm in trouble!"

"Griffin 4 and 9, form on my wing."

"I've lost my shields!"

"Woah! He's history!"

"Help! Augh!"

"Valor squadron has been destroyed!"

"My computer won't respond!"

"Stay on target… fire!"

"Mace 7, you've got a pair of bogeys on you!"

"Gold leader has been killed!"

"Thanks 2, I see him."

The clutter of messages rang in everyone's ears. "What's our ship count?" Chalca asked more calmly than he felt.

"Valor and Nova squadrons have been destroyed, Eagle is down to two, Axe, four, Hornet, Avenger, and Rhino are at three, the rest of the squadrons have half or more. We're down to four cruisers, ten frigates, eighteen destroyers, two thirds of the corvettes, and two and a quarter wings."

"Omicron station's shields are down to thirty three percent!"

"Keep hammering that station!" Chalca yelled. The Rebel Armada was losing its momentum. At first, they'd had the advantage, but now it was turning into one huge dogfight. Every second, another explosion occurred.

"Yee-haw! Look at that cruiser go down!" A phrase from the jumble of messages caught Chalca's attention. One of the bigger Morhin star ships was beginning to spurt atmosphere and bodies in multiple places as it's engines failed and began tumbling to the planet beneath. Before it could get very far, a blast from within incinerated most of the capital ship. A Morhin frigate that was backing up the destroyed cruiser was badly burnt by the brief fire. The shields, which had been focused towards the battle, did nothing to protect the hull as jets of flame scorched metal plates.

"How are we doing Walleck?" General Homidon's voice crackled on Chalca's personal comm.

"Not good. We've lost between a quarter and a third of our forces."

"We should've spent more time planning. Their ships are organized into squadrons, ours are cobbled to together."

"I'm aware. If we keep firing at Omicron station, perhaps the Morhin fleet will lose it's moral. Morhin put over three trillion dollars into that monster."

"Sir!" An officer interrupted Chalca's conversation. "Jupiter is getting hit hard! We're down to half shields!"

"What's hitting us? There's nothing out there for kilometers!"

"It's the destroyers! They're taking long range shots at us!"

That's the key. Those destroyers have long-range cannons! "All units, focus on the destroyer analogs!"

"Come again, General?" More than one confused voice asked.

"The destroyers are long range, but a few warheads and lasers will take them down! That's why they're hanging back!"

"Attacking destroyers."

Yet another explosion caught Chalca's eye. Ursa Major, the third largest ship in the Rebel Armada, had been slain by rows of bombers. The Morhin fleet was incredibly efficient.

This is a fine mess I've gotten into.

Taichi sat back in a chair much to big for him, inside the cockpit of a Clawcraft, otherwise known as a Squinty. Their odd nickname came from the cockpit. It itself was a spherical, but the windshield was a long, wide rectangle. It gave the appearance of an eyeball. Four wings, forming a perfect X, jutted out and ended with heavy laser cannons. At the sides of the main fuselage were two Magna missile launchers. Taichi couldn't help but suspect the Luna had intentionally given him the bad one of the bunch.

The Luna must've had some sort of telekinetic ability, because Taichi heard voices from an unknown source. One caught his ears sharply. All ships take off. It was Sora's voice, or at least her mind.

Taichi was surprised at how little effort it took to shove the joystick forward. He'd been given a short lecture on how to control the Clawcraft. They'd designed it with simplicity in mind, and Taichi got used to familiar systems.

The dim lights of a battle over Earth could be easily seen. Homidon finally worked up the nerve to attack.

We're ready. Go. Taichi flicked the throttle, which was all it took to throw it into high gear. Fighters attack first. Pound the station. Capital ships will follow in a similar style. We should be able to deliver the finishing blow.

Taichi gritted his teeth. "Hold on Homidon. We're coming to help.

Up! Down! Veer left! Hook right! Roll starboard! These commands were just a few that whizzed by in Agumon's head. Axe 7 was holding it's own at near full shields. Wex and Lizarddramon shot straight and true. The kill count on the computer registered four for Wex, and six for Lizarddramon. At the helm, Agumon had taken down two with the double space torpedoes, and a trio of guns in front.

A sudden shudder on the gunboat left its shields dangerously thin. "I'm gonna take some energy from you guys, OK?"

"Right." Two voices said at once. Agumon re-directed laser energy to the shield recharge system. The bands around the defense indicator morphed from sickly yellow to deep green.

With less power in their guns, Wex and Lizarddramon had to take more shots. The gunboat's strong punches became light jabs. No kills were scored for a long time, until the order to attack Morhin destroyers came in. Agumon swung the SGG-17 Warhammer around, targeting the nearest capital ships. Destroyers were properly named; they had as many laser batteries as a cruiser.

"I'll spare you guys as much power as possible." Agumon shunted energy back to the turrets.

"The destroyers spread their guns out along the front and back. Attack from the side." One brave fighter released what he'd discovered to everyone in the Rebel Armada.

Agumon adjusted their flight path, then opened fire with wave upon wave of lasers and missiles. The gunboats had been fitted with a pair of Pulsar Space Bombs. The huge explosives could make a blast a half-kilometer wide. The Digimon in the cockpit wished so desperately to use them, but the destroyer was already in its death throes. It erupted in a flash of light. Agumon swung around, finding another destroyer. No, that's just an empty shell! He targeted another of the mid-sized capital ships. Ah, this one's fresh. Agumon shoved the throttle forward. Before he could get into firing range, a stream of lasers spewed from unknown turrets Earthward, and punched a hole into the overwhelmed the destroyer.

Where did that come from?

A thrilled voice in the comm answered Agumon's thought. "It's the Moses! The Moses is attacking!"

The site of a three-kilometer long capital ship, with dozens of Angeleyes pouring out was truly grand

"Minister, glad to see you help." Homidon welcomed the Peace Reformer's leader.

The Moses acted like the man it was named after. Wherever the chip went, Morhin ships scattered.

"Victory favors the one with the most allies, General. Seize the opportunity, we're still but two forces with a common enemy."

Mesati was getting nervous. He was down to just ten destroyers, and the arrival of that huge ship rallied the Rebels. "Morhin, we need reinforcements! The tide of battle is reversing!"

"I've already sent you a quarter of the fleet! You have a superweapon sitting right under you. I'll send another twenty five percent, but no more."

"You approve shooting it into space?"

Morhin sighed with much exasperation. "Yes! Shoot the God damned Rebels down!"

The Director nodded quickly. "Of course, right away, sir!"

Homidon was growing weary of the battle. Even though Moses had shown up, they were still the underdog. Apparently, no one informed the freedom fighters of this, because they were fiercer than ever. Omicron station's shields had restored their power a little, but for once in the past few minutes, the shield indicator was dropping.

Ram's Charge was going through strafe after strafe. Rocketing by, opening fire, then turning around and repeating. The shields were holding strong, and the reactor was still stable, despite the turret's unceasing fire.

"Sir, I'm picking up a huge energy source! From Omicron station!" A radar officer cried out.

"Are they activating it?"

"I'd bet my life they're turning it on us!"

Homidon gritted his teeth, then opened a comm with Chalca. "General Walleck, inform all units to stay well away from the station's laser."

"Copy that General Homidon."

"Sir!" The same officer shouted. "The station's turning! On the Moses!"

Homidon stared in shock outside of the bridge. The Morhin space station was turning faster than anything its size could've, and aimed right at the giant cruiser.

"Moses! Get out of the laser's direction! Run!" Homidon bellowed into comm so loud, that the Minister probably heard just a loud wail.

The brilliant flash landed square at the port hull. Omicron station discharged its deadly shaft of light. Moses, the craft that had brought a spark of hope, was impaled on the broad laser. The ship, miraculously, did not explode, but the wound was lethal. Precious air was sucked out into the cold expanse of outer space. Quickly, the lasers from it died down. The grand cruiser became snared by the gravity Earth, and would float for weeks or months before hitting atmosphere.

Perhaps, Homidon considered to himself, they could find a way to leave it in space, as a great memorial to this battle, if they succeeded. Yeah right. We're floundering now. Options were presented and turned down in the General's mind. "General Walleck, do you have any ideas?"

"How many Infiltrator's do we have left?"

"Just two, I believe. Infiltrator 6 was severely damaged though, but 2 is still operational."

"It's the dogfight of the century out there. We couldn't get them within five kilometers."

"Enemy reinforcements are arriving sir. Three cruisers, eight frigates, a dozen corvettes and destroyers, and another two wings of fighters." A squad leader reported in.

"We're being bombarded General! Shields at thirty-three percent!" An officer shouted above the racket.

Homidon stood silent for a moment. Memories long forgotten suddenly resurfaced. He remembered his youth in the military, his late wife, the meteor falling, the U.S crumbling, building RAM, fighting in this battle… Then it came to him, the perfect idea. He could free his troubled soul, and make a difference in the war.

"Shields at twenty percent! General?"

Homidon grabbed his comm, and set it to be heard throughout the ship. "All units, head for the nearest escape pods, and eject. I will not be joining you."

Officers and technicians gasped. "Sir…" One piped up. "You're not thinking of…"

"Get to the nearest escape pod." Skot Homidon interjected firmly.

The other people and Digimon looked painfully at each other, then glumly went out of the room.

"Ship computer, inform me when all other units are off." Homidon spoke aloud when everyone was gone. Ten minutes, and ten more destroyed Rebel capital ships later, the female computer voice confirmed everyone else was gone.

"Revert all energy to ship engines and forward shields. Including life support and lights." Hopefully, the final run would kill him before the lack of oxygen did. The lights dimmed, and the air vent silenced. "Now plot a straight course to the center of Omicron station. Override all safeties."

"Confirmed."

Ram's Charge blasted off like a Greymon with it's tail on fire. Morhin ships took occasional pot shots, but failed to rupture the suicidal ship.

Chalca finally noticed how close to Omicron station Homidon's freighter was. "Homidon, have you looked out the bridge window lately?"

"I know what I'm doing. Omicron station must be taken down. You said it yourself, the mission must be completed."

Chalca didn't reply for several moments. "You're an extraordinary man Homidon. Stupid, but extraordinary."

"Been nice working with you General Walleck. I'll know you failed if I see you in hell not long from now." Ram's Charge was a broad missile in space now. Ships tried to fire on it, but with shields in front and a determined man at the bridge, it was futile.

A new transmission came in from an unknown place. "Homidon, what are you doing!?"

The voice made the General's eyes widen. "Taichi?"

"The one and only. Sora's alive, just back on the Moon. You're close enough to Omicron station to hit it with a rock!"

"A captain must go down with his ship. A tradition old as time itself. I'm and old man Taichi, I just hope it'll be a nice funeral."

"But I have fresh ships! People from the Moon!"

Homidon was undaunted. "Good, then I can rest assured Morhin will be taken down."

Taichi's voice wavered. "General…"

"It's good to hear your voice one last time Taichi."

Ram's Charge impacted. The shield around Omicron station buckled and collapsed. Steel grated against steel on the hulls as they collided and twisted. Homidon's freighter pierced the gray armor of its enormous foe, making a chain of explosions. They continually grew larger, until one final detonation blew a four hundred meter hole in the center of Omicron station. Atmosphere rushed out like blood from a deep cut. Homidon's last act of selfless opposition wrenched everyone's heart.

Within his borrowed Clawcraft, Taichi shamelessly let the tears well up in his eyes. "Godspeed Homidon." The pilot whispered.

The pilots of the Rebel Armada were losing their confidence fast. "General Walleck, this is insane! We've lost almost half of our ships! Homidon and the Moses are gone!"

"We have to retreat, before we're completely wiped out."

"Do not fall back! We can do this!"

"You want us to kill ourselves! Like Homidon!"

"Keep fighting!" Chalca sternly replied to the reluctant pilot.

"He's right, keep fighting." Taichi's voice echoed to every ship in the Rebel Armada. "Even in the darkest times, don't go down believing you've failed. I know most of you friends and family down on Earth, waiting for you, but if we don't finish the job, they're just more casualties of this war. If you won't fight for your leaders, fight for your wives, husbands, sons, daughters, or anyone else you have. If you have no one, just fight to know you helped save countless people's lives. But most importantly, keep fighting."

None of the pilots questioned where the voice came from, or why they should listen to him. Everyone stared at the approaching wall of ships. Hundred upon hundreds of ships flew in at incredible speeds, with Taichi leading the charge.

Attack! Attack! Destroy that station! Sora's voice echoed among the fighters.

"Big invader, big invader." One mesmerized Luna spoke aloud.

"Crack it open." Another uttered with equal monotone.

"Crack it open." Many voices agreed randomly.

Everything was chaotic in Omicron station. The ruptured section was sealed off as quick as possible, but a good thousand had been instantly incinerated or sucked out. All the while, Lee sat down in a hallway, knees drawn up. He had hardly eaten anything in the past few days. Takeru happened to pass by, no longer hiding his face or identity. He was still angered by his former friend's traitorous actions, but couldn't stand to see him in such a pitiful state.

"How long are you planning on staying there?"

Lee looked up. His eyes appeared sunken, and the pupils were mere dots in the sea of gray. "You murderer." His voice was scratchy, like he hadn't used it in days. "You're a filthy, murdering, God damned bastard!" With the rage only a man who had nothing to lose, Lee pounced. Takeru didn't anticipate the move even though it was the second time Lee had attacked him, and tumbled to the floor with Lee pulling no punches. Any officer passing by ignored them, focusing only on which escape pod was not taken already.

Takeru kept his cool, and kicked the frenzied man off of him. He swiftly counter-jabbed, and had the advantage. He itched for his stiletto to pop out, but thought it to be too early. "You're a fool Lee. Betrayal is the worst thing to toy with."

"I didn't want to join this empire." Lee's teeth gritted in frustration. "They dragged me out of my house without so much as a goodbye to my family."

"Even so, you should know your place."

"My place is with my family!" Lee found some hidden inner strength and kicked Takeru off. The blonde-haired man roughly hit the wall, but regained his footing. "Are you a beast under those scars?" Lee wiped a stain of blood that trickled down his chin.

Takeru rebounded and grappled with Lee. "You wouldn't understand what I've gone through."

"Like hell I wouldn't! I lost my whole village, because of you!"

Takeru hadn't put the two ideas together before. Taichi killed my brother, and I killed him. Lee's town too. Taichi deserved it, but Lee… His grip began to weaken. "All of your people are gone…" He suddenly pushed back, harder this time. "You deserved it! You double crossed Morhin!"

"For good reason! Don't you understand Takeru? What'll Morhin do once he crushes the rebels? He probably has his sights set on the world. Everything is in shambles, it wouldn't take long. What do you think he'll do with his officers?"

Takeru raised a gold eyebrow.

"They'll be mindless slaves, working in the factories, or worm food in the dirt. He's making the transition from human to machine, and only a few lucky or loyal people will be up there with him."

Lee was winning the battle, and he knew it. Takeru began faltering. It made so much sense now; the future was dark down Morhin's path. How could he have been so nearsighted?

"Don't you get it? You're his pet now. Don't you remember the shuttle? There's no way he could've 'slipped up' with something that important." Lee's voice was hushed. "He was trying to kill you. You were just the first of a series of 'accidents' that were bound to happen."

"No… no, he wouldn't."

"And what's the deal with Taichi? Blood for blood? I heard the whole thing with you and Taichi. I talked to him, he's a sage compared to you, now he's floating dead in space. Didn't he apologize? Didn't he?"

Takeru's mind was going into uncharted waters. His memory then was faint at that point of time. He struggled to remember. "He, he showed up at my door, and…"

Lee sucked in his breath. Takeru did the same. "He did apologize."

"Why would he apologize for shooting down your brother? Unless, perhaps, he didn't shoot Yamato down."

Takeru's face contorted into one of pain. "Why would he apologize for killing my brother?" He speculated aloud. "Anyone would've kept it a secret, unless they were insane."

"Taichi's not insane, is he?"

Takeru had stopped pushing altogether now. "No." His memory began unraveling like a crumpled piece of paper. "Taichi came to our house, with a piece of Windrider. He said… he said… that… it was an accident. A race… that killed Yamato."

"It wasn't his fault."

"You're right, not his fault." Takeru sobbed slightly. "And I just killed him. Directly, with my own hands."

"That's right, and my family." Lee said coldly. Takeru was obviously done fighting, so Lee released him.

"I never thought about it. When that grenade exploded in my hand, I must've hit my head. Healing all of my wounds, I could only think about what I would do with Taichi. After awhile, I forgot why I wanted to rip out his throat." Takeru buried his face in both his real hand, and the artificial implant. "Lee, I'm sorry. I've been a monster, thirsty only for revenge. Revenge I didn't deserve." He was silent, save for a brief sob. "Lee, how can I make up what I've done? I caused so much pain. For you, Taichi, Sora, so many people."

"There is a way." Lee said with sympathy. "Morhin caused pain too, but he doesn't realize his mistake. That's what sets you apart from him. Kill that tyrant, and many people will remember you as the person who saved Earth from injustice." Lee wanly smiled. "And we can call ourselves even."

"Yes, yes, I can do that, but Taichi…"

"Will be a memory. Another scar to the ones you have already. Scars can be covered though."

"Lee… I… I'm sorry."

Lee closed his eyes and breathed heavily. "Just promise me this. If we both escape, we'll be friends."

"A friend, yes, that's what I need."

A speaker above them crackled to life. The voice was thickly lined with static. "Attention all personnel, our leader, Morhin has come aboard to oversee the rest of the mission. Please report to the bridge for a proper greeting."

Lee and Takeru looked at each other and grinned simultaneously.

Omicron station was beginning to collapse. Hordes of fighters pounded the shields, and gargantuan ships obliterated the dazed Morhin forces. The Luna fought like war veterans, and, coupled with their strong, fast starfighters, were nearly untouchable. Sora directed them impossibly fast in the Ascendancy Chamber. Her wishes were immediately granted via some kind telepathy. There was a downside to this closeness with the ships though, because every time a Luna ship was destroyed, she felt a spark of pain. Sora deftly commanded them to go in defensive formations, to avoid her fighters, no, her children, from dying.

Children? God, I've been in here too long. Yet she felt neither exhausted nor hungry.

The map suddenly focused in on a small shuttle coming to Omicron station. It quickly scurried to the huge space station, which was beginning to turn around. Sora was suddenly drawn away a pain in her head. A mid-sized capital ship was destroyed under a deluge of lasers. She was still suspicious of the station, because it was still turning around toward the Moon. The scene of battle suddenly sped up, showing Omicron station pointing toward a battalion of capital ships, and…

And firing… If the laser were powerful enough, it would hit the Moon!

All units find some way of turning that space station! Pound it with missiles or lasers, anything to stop it!

"Over here?"

"Farther."

"Here?"

"More."

"I'm practically at the door of the bridge!"

"Alright, I just want to make sure I get him."

"I thought this bomb was 'extremely powerful' "

Takeru's prowess with bombs and Lee's lightning agility worked well together. In the space of ten minutes, they'd planted an explosive no bigger than a fist on an outside wall near the bridge. In five minutes, it would detonate and make another hull breach.

"Run for the hangar! Omicron station won't last long." Takeru easily led the way with an enhanced spinal system.

Four minutes later, the two renewed friends were in a shuttle someone had left behind. Takeru coaxed every ounce of power out of the shuttle, but the engine had been started for the first time in probably days.

"C'mon, hurry up." Takeru urged the shuttle, but it still refused to give a standing-by signal.

"Hey, look down there!" Lee pointed too a gaggle of Digimon, and human soldiers. "Lower the ramp, we have to save them!"

Takeru rushed away from his chair, and jammed the release button. Digimon rushed onto the shuttle, and found something to hold on to. Terriermon, who happened to be in that pack, bared his teeth at Takeru. "If I hated you anymore, I'd rather walk away right now."

"I've changed." Takeru replied simply.

"It's true." Lee called from the front of the shuttle.

Terriermon's featured softened. "I'm still suspicious, but right now, Omicron station is the last place I want to be right now." He joined the group of Morhin defectors and Digimon.

"OK, the engines are started, we're outta here!"

With no mercy to the stick that controlled the throttle, Lee raced out of Omicron station.

At the bridge of Omicron station, Morhin impatiently waited for his station to power up, and for more reinforcements. He'd ordered all but a tenth of his ships to attack.

"I don't know where those ships came from, but they're going down in a beam of light." Morhin drummed his fingers next to the 'Fire' button.

It was a good five minutes, and series of orders on Morhin's part, before the light registered 100%. He snatched the key from the Director, jammed it in then lifted the cover. "No matter what, I always win." He said, voice dripping with pride. He jammed the button down.

Not twenty meters away, Takeru and Lee's bomb went off.

Omicron station fired its only weapon. A hundred Luna and Rebel Armada ships were instantly destroyed. The bomb made Omicron station pitch downwards, making a long curve in the superlaser's beam. Dozens more were caught in the blast, others flung away by near misses. It was Omicron station's final shot. The bridge, its Director, and its creator were all gone in the blink of an eye.

Lee, Takeru, and three dozen other people and Digimon, were aghast at the violence. Outside, the doomed station, the grandest melee anyone had ever seen took place. Ships had forgotten formation and simply fired upon whatever wasn't their own. Explosion occurred every few seconds, and ships either burst into flames in the atmosphere of Earth, or winked out of existence in a flash of fire.

"Well, we've gone from the engine into the reactor." Takeru muttered as he took control of ship.

Suddenly, every ship in the vicinity slowed down, and stopped firing completely. Takeru and Lee looked around for what was so engrossing. Lee spotted it first, and found out why it was worth looking at.

On the Moon, Sora openly screamed in pain as so many Luna were slaughtered in an instant. For a moment, she felt paralyzed and numb, then eventually regained herself, and slowly returned to reality. Only to have another wave of suffering slap her in the face, this time, closer to home.

Much closer.

Outside, buildings melted under intense heat. Over a distance of twenty kilometers, a deep gash in the Luna cities was formed. Death racked upon death, and nearly drove Sora out of consciousness. It wasn't for several minutes of labored breathing that she could open her eyes. Much later, Sora's pulse slowed down, and she began to return to commanding, just after one of the greatest sites in her life.

Agumon was fatigued after nearly an hour of endless fighting. His wrists were stiff, his trigger finger was sore, and a veritable puddle of sweat stained his seat. Axe-7 was running low on fuel, and its weapons barely maintained half-power. Swinging around Earthward, Agumon saw the spectacular site, and laid down his weary claw. Lizarddramon and Wex did so as well, taking a break from their long shootout.

The bomb that was planted did more damage than expected. Bridgeless, Omicron station lost all control of engines, weapons, shields, everything. Warheads that were meant to take down shields now ruptured the hull. Hundreds of small breaches all mounted at once and sucked the life out of Omicron station. With no engines, the gravity of Earth pulled in its biggest catch yet. Chains of explosions erupted outward, dotting the expired space station. All the while, rows of escape pods shot out with lucky survivors, who'd have quite a tale to tell.

The core of the laser went off, creating a huge shock wave of energy that rocked even the biggest cruisers. Fire burnt for about three seconds, then disappeared. Omicron station began burning up again, this time, in the atmosphere as a skeleton of what it once was. Down on Earth, over the Detroit Shipyards, soldiers pulled off their helmets, workers stopped building, and every voice was hushed as the glory of Morhin fell from the heavens. Millions of people watched as Omicron station, once an unbeatable weapon, now a fiery ember in the sky, crash with terrible energy onto a desolated space in the Great Plains. Throughout space, and from thousands of oppressed cities, all was silent.

Then, a grand cheer roared up from the coast to coast and from Earth to the Moon.

Morhin was dead. His superweapon was dead. The Rebels had won.

Chalca quickly took the situation's opportunity. "Attention all persons that are part of the late Morhin's army. You may swear your allegiance to the newly formed United States, or be hunted down the hard way."

His message was reflected to Mt. Shasta and sent to thousands of comm frequencies. It was planned days before the mission, and worked perfectly. The General was sure almost everyone heard his message.

The Morhin soldiers proved sharper than Chalca had expected. All of the capital ships powered down, and the fighters turned off their weapons and began boarding onto Rebel Armada ships.

"Sir, we have reports of anti-Morhin revolts everywhere! We really did it!"

Chalca nodded with a grin that seemed like it had been pasted on his face.

"What do we do now sir?"

"Let's go home. Home to our family and friends." Unanimous agreement filled the bridge's comm.