Chapter 3

A few days later, Marlow was officially a member of the Kiith Sjet navy. For you readers who are unsure of what a Kiith is, it's a country. Hiigarans don't fight one another, but they are not united, save for the navy. The people's last names reflect what Kiith they are in. For example, the doctor's name is Gefrey Sjet. He belongs to Kiith Sjet. Get it? Anyway, Marlow was now a member of the Sjet branch of the navy. He was now the leader of a squad of interceptors called the Avengers. Now, Marlow was to report to the briefing room to get his first mission. He opened the doors to the room and entered. This room, he saw, was huge. The seats were full of ship captains, admirals, squadron leaders like himself, and at the center of the room was the High Admiral, leader of the Hiigaran navy. Marlow took his seat and waited. Finally, the High Admiral spoke.

"As you know, the attacks on our space and our trade routes by raiders and Imperialists are increasing." He paused. "This does not only apply to us, but also to the Republic and to the Bentusi and the Galactic Council. The galaxy is slowly becoming a war zone and I fear that not only Hiigara, but also every domain controlled by the Galactic Council will fall if we don't take immediate action. Therefore, I, along with the other peaceful leaders of the galaxy, have declared war on the Imperialists and the Turanic Raider pirates. This mission will be called Operation: Galactic Cleansing. On the tables in front of you, a panel will emerge. Take it and read your individual missions. You may notice that this mission takes place all over the galaxy. That is because we hope to beat the enemy in a single battle. Good luck, and Godspeed."

The officers all stood up and ran to their stations. Marlow ran to meet his squad. They were in their meeting room waiting for him. He stood in the center of the room and pulled out the panel. He pressed a button and a map appeared.

"All right," said Marlow. "You may have heard that the entire Galactic Council has declared war on the pirates and Imperials. I'll tell you now that those rumors are true. Here's our mission plan."

He pointed to an asteroid field on the edge of the map.

"We are to strike here, at this asteroid belt. There will be other squads to assist us, so don't worry. Our mission is to clear the field of all resource collectors and controllers, as well as all cover fire. Then, we will dock with a carrier and be transported to a nearby planet, Saro Prime, and assist in the main battle. Let's go, everybody to your stations!"

They ran to the hangar as fast as they could. The other pilots were busy taking off when they got there. One by one, they filed into their interceptors and took off. They watched as Hiigara got smaller and smaller in their rearview screens. They met up with a carrier and docked. The carrier then shut off all engines and entered hyperspace. It appeared a few minutes later in the asteroid field. The dock command was issued and the pilots ejected from the bottom of the ship. They made their way into the field as Marlow turned on the intercom.

"Everybody, keep your eyes open. There's bound to be something here."

The Avengers grouped together in a delta formation. They continued through the belt and suddenly, an alert came up on the radar. There was an enemy resource group in front of them. The Avengers broke formation and set their ships to aggressive tactics. They battered the ships and struck at their engines. Marlow shot one and it exploded. His squadmates shot the controller and it burst open. The remaining ships tried to retreat but the Avengers were too quick. They kept shooting and the last of the ships fell.

"Good job," said Marlow. "Let's move on to another group."

Suddenly, a squad of Imperial fighters appeared right on top of them. They fired and one of Marlow's squadmates exploded. He ordered them to break formation and fire. The battle was fierce. Marlow shot one and it exploded. One of the Imperials shot and destroyed one of his men. Luckily, the pilots were wearing space suits and could eject from their ships, so none died. Marlow destroyed another ship and soon all the Imperialists were defeated. Marlow called in for a rescue team to load the downed pilots back onto the carrier. Shortly after, the Avengers received word that the mission was a success. Most of the other squads ran into the same fate as the Avengers and they were ready to assist in the main battle of Saro Prime.