Chapter 6

"No no no NO NO!!!" Wally's yells could be heard echoing down the halls of Husky Squadron's quarters. "Why the hell do I always have to be right?!?!"

"Dammit Wal, I know! Shut up already!" Francine slapped the back of Wally's head.

But the Meerkat just kept on yelling. "This is a joke right? PLEASE TELL ME IT'S A JOKE!!!"

"For fuck's sake Wal, SHUT UP! You're scaring the kids!"

Indeed, the younger members of Husky Squadron were eyeing Wally nervously, and the vile looks he was giving all of them did not help. None of them had seen how well he had reacted to life on deployment in the last war.

"That's right young'uns! I've lost it! I've completely flipped!" He flung his arms up in frustration. "I hope you're ready! You'd better be good fliers! We're going to war! WHOOP!" He mimed throwing an object in the air, then imitated the sound of an explosion. "That's right…" He muttered, "You've never been there. I guess you'll see…" He walked into the briefing room, shaking his head.

"Everyone here?"

The four squadrons under Bill Grey's command, all based at Katina City Starfighter Base, were ready and waiting in the base's main briefing hall.

"Sir, all present and accounted for."

"Right." Bill took a deep breath. These would be hard words for his pilots to hear, and even harder words for him to say. " Listen up everyone. The rumors are true. We are going to war."

Groans and murmurs rippled through the hall.

I know how you feel, guys. "Quiet. In two minutes we'll be receiving a general announcement from High Command. Following that you'll have one day to finish squaring away your things and tying up loose ends with relatives and friends. You'll report back here at 1900 hours tomorrow to get deployment orders. Extra fuel and droptanks are being shipped in as I speak, so we'll be flying ourselves to wherever we're going. To Fang and Demon squadrons; I'm sorry but you won't be receiving your new fighters beforehand. They'll be delivered to our deployment, wherever that may be. Leave is permitted overnight, but anyone not here at 1900 hours tomorrow will be considered AWOL and be thrown in the brig when found, or worse. Now we're just waiting on the transmission."

Side talk resumed, quieter, but more solemn, more reasoned. Some were complaining about having just the one day to get set. Others simply asked each other what the hell they were doing there. Bill shook his head. Times were going to get a lot worse than this.

A minute later, the base's communications room picked up a transmission that was forwarded to the briefing room projector.

A hologram of General Rathcoat's somber face materialized before the assembled pilots.

"This is an address to the Armed Forces of Katina.

Barely one hour ago, an unknown invader descended upon Venom, destroying the Cornerian flotilla stationed there, and to the best of our knowledge is probably overrunning Cornerian Bases and strongpoints on the planet's surface at this moment.

All communications with Venom have been lost and deepest concern is held for its citizens and the soldiers stationed there.

The death toll of the space battle alone is estimated at around 5700 Cornerians and 200 Katinians, due to the loss of our destroyer stationed there, the Emerald City.

We must act now to halt this threat before it advances further. The Cornerians are already moving to blockade Venom space and we will assist. Fortuna has promised aid and Macbeth is initiating defensive measures.

Together we can shatter this foe before it claims any of our planets. Good luck to all of you."

The transmission ended and the briefing hall erupted in an uproar.

"QUIET!" Bill shouted. "You have your orders. I expect to see you all here tomorrow at 1900 hours. Dismissed!"