Chapter 6
It had been a week since Kayjan's chat with Demetrius and he had begun to regain some of his confidence. He had gone back to talking to his squadron and began to become more accustomed to the people he was less familiar with. He had become friendly with Cameron and Triese and had started talking to Diego again. He couldn't however talk to Niaba. He felt that he had ruined that chance. He still felt guilty for what he had done to her. This proved that there was still some doubt in his mind about himself. However, the situation had become less tense since Kayjan had learned to lighten up. He also kept in good contact with Demetrius, Jericho and Sarandon too. It was the day that had been long talked about. They had the honour of discovering what had been secreted so long ago. They got to see the almost Legendary 'Fleet Command.' Kayjan was sitting in the Lounge with the rest of his squadron when the buzzer went to signal that they had to gather in the docking station.
As they arrived, they were told to line up on either side of the corridor in docking corridor 7. They were all formed up and ready as the same Captain who had greeted them before, now known as Captain Mataat, walked in. Everyone stood to attention.
"At ease," he said in a loud voice. There was a loud shuffle as the pilots relaxed their stance.
"Now, as you all know. This is an honour that is being bestowed upon you. You some of the very few who will every be privileged in this way. Being the greatest hope for our people, we believe that you deserve this honour as so I want you all to show the utmost respect and give a warm welcome to Karan Sjet. Your fleet command."
Many of the pilots began to look at each other. They couldn't understand what the Captain was talking about. Then, the docking door made a loud hiss as the blast doors opened to reveal a bright light on the other side. First, out stepped two soldiers if full combat and environmental gear and with large calibre weaponry, then, as the silhouette of a person appeared, Kayjan began felt a sharp pain run through his head and after a moment, he saw flashing images and words in his head. Then suddenly it became clear to him. Fleet command, was a person. She stepped out of the light and into clear sight. She was a young woman, thin, tall with emerald green eyes and smooth, flawlessly beautiful skin. The thing that was most astonishing about her though was that she had no hair. Her head had been completely shaved of hair and replaced with fibre optic wires that ran down from her head resembling hair. Deep, emerald green fibre optics that had lines of light running through them. Then, the most symbolic part of her was the symbol of Hiigara, the three circles and two wings, etched upon her forehead.
She walked down the corridor, followed by another two soldiers. Everyone was stunned at the sight of her. She seemed almost god-like as she glided down the corridor. This was the famous fleet command? This was the one entity that brought their people home across 300,000 light years? But that was impossible. No one could ever have lived that long. Eventually, she disappeared as she headed further down the corridor. The group just stood there. This was a very unreal situation for them. They couldn't understand what was going on. Was this a joke? Was it some kind of trick? What was going on?
Captain Mataat then broke the silence. "Well, what are you waiting for? Preliminary tests will be running in an hour. Suit up. Come on, Come on!"
Later, Kayjan was sitting in his room, sifting through the junk that he was going to remove from his room and packing away the items that he wouldn't require to live reasonably for the next few months. He packed away his books, his poster, his writings and his collectables. He needed to make sure his room was clear for when he would be moving in and out of it from now on. The Mothership was beginning the first of it's tests and trials before setting out into space for further trials and being part of Alpha squadron meant he would be on station constantly. He couldn't afford for unnecessary commodities to be in his way. As he reached his poster of his Grey Wolf though, he paused. He sat there for a while, and then pinned it back up on his wall. He couldn't let his spirit guide just be tucked away like that.
Then there was a knock on his door and Cameron called through, "Kayjan! The captain wants you us in the docking station A.S.A.P.!" With that, Kayjan dropped what he was doing and rushed through the door and followed Cameron to the hanger and from there to the pilot docking bays. When they got there, all five of the pilots lined up and stood to attention. As the captain walked in the five saluted.
"At ease," said the captain in his usual tone. "Now we are about to begin the first of the Mothership's main system tests and patch into the main command systems over face. You will be receiving orders from Mothership control upstairs. You will not address him by name, but you will follow the instructions he gives you and move to the designated locations without question. He will be watching over you from his Command interface system so he will keep track of the situation and be co-ordinating the fleet. Now, being Alpha squadron, the Pride of our forces thus far, you will all be fitted with a small earpiece that will keep you in touch with the changing face of this war. You will be in contact with Fleet command and Fleet intelligence so that you can hear the full effect of the situation. During the trials, Chimera station will be on perimeter awareness duty and will be ensuring the area remains secure, however this shouldn't be necessary. And by all means, look smart out there will you. We don't want to look like some rag-tag pirate fleet do we?"
"Sir, we'll do our best sir," said Diego.
"Glad to hear it. Trials begins in three hours, you will rendezvous here at that time. Dismissed." They all saluted and then began to head back to the crew areas. As they were walking, Kayjan turned to the other and asked, "Where's Demetrius? I haven't seen him yet today."
"Not sure," said Diego.
"I know," replied Triese. "He told me he was being sent over to Chimera station to inspect the station's status before the trials began."
"Oh right. Although, I wonder why they sent him."
"Who knows Kay? Probably because he was the most trust worthy pilot in Beta squadron," said Diego.
"Yeah, I guess your right," replied Kayjan.
It had been a couple of hours and some of the pilots were sitting in the mess having a few drinks before they were called on station. All of the pilots from Alpha and Beta squadron were sitting around a table having a discussion. As Demetrius walked over to them, he could hear Triese say out loud "You can't be serious Kayjan. That's impossible."
"What's impossible," said Demetrius. They all turned quickly to look at him.
"Oh, Hi Demetrius. Finished annoying the Chimera crews ay?"
"Yeah. They seem pretty up to scratch. Nothing to worry about. Now, what's this that is so impossible?"
"Go on, tell him Kayjan," said Cameron.
"Well as you know, I am a very boring person so I've been doing some calculations and from what I have dug up, it seems that Karan S'jet, a.k.a. Fleet Command, is approximately six thousand years old."
"That can't be can it?" said Demetrius.
"Well, if she is the same Fleet Command then she has to be. I mean it is possible isn't it? We all saw the technological implants on her. It is very possible."
"Well, I do remember digging up an old Taiidan archive that suggested the Emperor knew who the original Fleet Command was, and he referred to it as Karan, so it might be possible as you say."
"Yeah. See, I'm not so boring after all am I?" said Kayjan.
"Yeah, you're still boring," said Jericho. They all laughed at this humourless statement. Then Cameron looked at the clock.
"Sajuuk, is that the time?" We'd better get moving at some point." As they all stood up, they began to head toward the door. Kayjan stopped as he reached the door and turned around to find the others standing in a circle a bit further behind.
"Aren't you guys coming?" asked Kayjan.
"Yeah, in a sec, we're gonna just finish up the last of our free time here before heading down," said Jericho.
"Well you'd better hurry up, it a long journey down to the docking bays."
"Yeah, if we were to walk like you do," said Sarandon.
"You know you're not supposed to ride the service lifts. They're for authorised personal only, and besides, what if someone decides to actually use it for heavy equipment? You're stuck then."
"Whatever!" replied Jericho in an uncaring voice. Kayjan made the decision to wait a bit longer for them, however this didn't last long. As he watched, the conversation continued onto relationships and the group began to get more and more into it. Then suddenly, as Niaba was making a statement, Diego leaned down ad kissed her on the cheek. The group stood there stunned for a moment. Niaba froze mid sentence but the one hit hardest was Kayjan. He couldn't believe this was happening. How could it? Then he did something he though he never would. He began to smile. He thought to himself "I'm glad this has finally happened. Now I know that Niaba will be happy. I'm glad that she is with Diego. He will take good care of her." With that Kayjan turned around and walked out the door toward the first flight of stairs that he would need to take. As he did, he continued to smile as a small, lonely tear ran down his cheek.
As both Alpha and Beta squadrons lined up outside the bay door leading to where the fighter launch bay was. The pilots were leaning up against the walls or standing in a relaxed position. They were waiting for the call to move out. Meanwhile, Kayjan was listening to the chatter coming from his earpiece. He was curious as to what was going on outside the ship. He heard the collector crews swarming around, finishing the lasting of the welding of the ship's hull and returning back to the ship. He then heard voices drowning out the comm. chatter. They began with the voice of Karan S'jet. Her soft-spoken words rang in Kayjan head. The trial had begun.
"This is fleet command. Prepare for Hyperspace core transfer." Then the voice of one of the service crew came on.
"Containment unit online, all power signatures in the green. Primary couplings released." Then another crewman came on and announced as the Core was released from Tanis.
"Trajectory is good. The hyperspace core is away." There was then comm. chatter again as the core was transported to the open launch panel on the far side of the ship.
"This is Tanis control. We have visual contact with the core. Proceed with transfer."
"Trajectory and alignment confirmed. Take it to one fifteen and initiate capture procedures."
After a few seconds, the monitoring crews began the integration procedure. Soon an announcement came over.
"The Mothership recognizes the core and confirms signal lock."
There soon was a loud clang and the core attached itself inside the Mothership and another as the launch bay sealed behind it. Then the voice of Karan S'jet returned.
"Fleet Command online. Mothership status report. Engineering online. Standby to initiate main engine sequence." There was a dull roaring noise as the ship's engines flared up. The pilots then were thrown to their sides slightly as the ship shuddered forwards. After a few seconds, the process ended as quickly as it had started. Then Fleet Command spoke again.
"Main engines online. All standard drives are operational. Navigation online. The Mothership is standing by."
Soon another voice dominated the radio waves. It became aparant that he was speaking to the so-called 'Mothership Control.'
"This is Fleet intelligence. Our task is to analyse sensor data and generate mission objectives. Before we launch the Mothership, we must conduct a series of trials to ensure all critical systems are operational. Throughout these trials, the Mothership will be running with a minimal crew and will remain docked with Tanis. Once these trials are complete, we will launch the Mothership and test the Hyperspace core."
With that, fleet command went on to tell Mothership control about the resourcing system and how to instruct craft to scavenge and how to move them in the holographic view. Once one supply crate was dropped off, it went through phase beam processing to remove all the quantity that could be used.
Fleet command then stated "Resourcing systems fully operational. Trial successful." Then they reached the subject of production, Mothership control was instructed to build a fighter facility subsystem from his holographic construction list. This order was then passed down to then crews in the hanger who began to pull out the necessary components. Due to the parts already having been assembled, it was merely a case of welding the m together on the outside of the ship. This took about twenty-five seconds. When the process was finished, fleet command announced,
"Fighter facility subsystem complete. Engineering is online and ready for fighter production." Then the voice of Fleet Intel came over again.
"To test basic combat abilities, construct an Interceptor squadron." This was where Kayjan came in. As the parts were being fitted together, the docking bay doors opened and Alpha squadron ran through them into the docking bay. They all rushed up to their ships as they were fitted together and by the time they reached them the assembly had been completed. They either climbed or jumped into their cockpits, flicked their cockpit control switches and the five of them flew out in a row from the Mothership's fighter bay.
"Construction complete," said Fleet Command. Then Fleet Intel said,
"Standby to begin combat trials." As they left the ship, the pilots disabled their launch thrusters and engaged their primary thrusters, which allowed them to travel faster in space, and left a blue trail of pressurized radiation fuel from their space engines. The five of them formed up into a V formation with Diego at the head and fell into position in front of the Mothership.
"Perimeter station Chimera will assist by providing target drones," came over their cockpit radio system from Fleet Intel. Then he moved back to instructing Mothership control while keeping his transmission on open channels so all within the Tanis perimeter could hear.
"The drones are located here. Use the Interceptors to destroy the target drones." Soon a waypoint appeared on all the pilot's screens and their target indicator was filled with nine drones.
"Ok Alpha wing, form up and let's go," said Diego over the comm. channel. The five then flew in formation toward the nine awaiting drones. When they reached them, they waited just until the first drone was in range and then Diego gave the order to fire. They let out a burst of machine gun fire as they tore the drone apart. Staying in formation, they move through the group of drones.
"You're getting too far out Alpha 5, fall in," said Diego.
"Roger, sorry Alpha 1," replied Kayjan.
"Triese, watch the left turn. Don't go too tight."
"Roger Alpha 1." They continued to cut up the drones until there was only one left.
"Fall back into formation, group. Now fire." As they did, the drone exploded and the ships came to a halt in V formation.
"Enemy neutralized. Awaiting orders," said Diego.
Just then, the comm. channel was interrupted as a burst transmition came in on all frequencies.
"Attention Tanis control. This is perimeter station Chimera. We have multiple unidentified units detected. Signal indicates Vaygr bomber strike force." Quickly, everyone's attention turned to the faint silhouettes of the Vaygr bombers in the distance. They could be seen swarming in between each other, heading in the direction of Chimera.
"This is a scramble alert, all pilots to their stations," said the Captain of Chimera station. Quickly, on after the other, five fighters took off from inside Chimera base and circled over it heading in the direction of the Vaygr bombers.
"Chimera base. This is blue leader. All targets locked in. Awaiting orders."
"Tanis is under attack," came the voice of fleet Intel. "All units to combat alert. This is not a test. Fighters have been launched from perimeter station Chimera. The enemy must be eliminated. Order all Interceptors to destroy the Vaygr bombers." Within moments, the situation at Tanis had become both desperate and completely unorganized. The Mothership began to hastily build Interceptors for the remaining crews to fly and Alpha squadron was ordered to engage the bombers alongside Blue squadron.
"Al right we have our orders. Double time!" shouted Diego. "Go in hard and fast. Once you open fire, break. Pick your targets at will and make sure they all are destroyed."
"Roger Alpha leader!" replied Alpha wing. Alpha squadron caught up blue squadron and both flew in V formations head on toward the bombers.
"Ok guys, they've got six per squadron, making a total of twelve. That's at least on target each. Do this right and we'll finish them off quick." As they flew straight toward them, new fighters were being released from the Mothership and were falling into a guard stance around the Mothership.
As the bomber came closer and closer, the pilots became more and more tense. Then the bomber came into range and Diego yelled "FIRE!" The fighters showered the bombers with fire and caught three of them as they burst into flames. One spiralled off and as the Interceptors broke formation, the flaming wreck smashed into an Interceptor from Blue squadron, obliterating it.
"Damn it!" came over the comm. The Interceptors swung back around expecting to engage the bombers again but instead the bombers carried on their path. They were making as best speed as they could toward Chimera.
"They're going after Chimera!" yelled Blue leader.
"Fall back into formation fleet, we're gonna cut them apart from the rear," said Diego. However, Kayjan did not fall back into formation. He pushed his throttle as far as he could.
"Alpha 5, get back into formation!" shouted Diego.
"Negative Alpha leader. I'm taking her in!" said Kayjan. He felt overcome by honour and the need to prove himself. He flew the ship right in the trail of the bombers.
"Damn you Kayjan. Get back here! Right, all fighters, Engage! Engage!" With that all the fighters broke away and swung in behind the bombers. Meanwhile, Kayjan waited for just the right moment to fire, then he pressed the trigger on his joystick. A spray of fire consumed one of the bombers and it's wreckage span off hitting and destroying another. Kayjan managed to damage another one, which fell out of formation and began to lose control. Then Kayjan's fighter overtook the bombers and he flew his Interceptor right through their formation. The other followed behind him but they could not reach the group in time. The bomber began a decent and within seconds, battered the outer hull of Chimera with blue plasma fire. The station fire back with its limited guns but couldn't hit the fast moving ships.
Then as the bombers turned around, the other Interceptors flew head on into the bombers, cutting down another three. Meanwhile, Kayjan had turned his ship around and was swinging back toward the bombers. As he neared them, they swung back toward Chimera again. Just as Kayjan pressed the trigger of his ships guns, Diego flipped his ship over and opened fire on the closest bomber. As they did, the bombers began to fire their guns and this time, the plasma smashed into the weaker, more open rear of Chimera where the docking bays were. This hit many of the decks of the open Chimera walkways and caused extensive damage and fire. During this frenzy, Diego and Kayjan hit the last three bombers and destroyed them. However, even though one exploded instantly, the other two simply caught fire and collided with Chimera.
"Damn!" said Diego as the Interceptors reformed into V formations.
Just then, a message came over the comm. from Fleet Intel.
"Chimera station is offline. The Vaygr have breached the Tanis perimeter."
Fleet Command said despairingly "The Mothership is under attack." Then she made a wide burst transmition. "We cannot stay her any longer. Emergency launch underway."
Tanis control then announced, "Release crews stand by for emergency launch."
Release control then said "Roger that Tanis." Then the giant arc of the Mothership began to sail away from Tanis. Once it was clear, Release control announced, "Primary couplings released. She's looking good. Greenline confirmed."
Then Fleet command said, "The Mothership has cleared Tanis. We are away." While this was happening, the Interceptors around the Mothership began to engage the enemy Fighters and Bombers around her. Also, the two defence gun stations in front of Tanis, which had previously been silent, opened up anti-fighter fire onto the Vaygr strike craft. However there weaponry couldn't scratch the hull of the heavy missile frigate launching missiles at the Mothership. The repair crews did the best they could to patch up the hull where it was struck by missiles, but the damage was becoming extensive.
During this time, Alpha and Blue squadrons were racing desperately toward Tanis. Then Fleet Intel made an announcement to Mothership control.
"Multiple enemy reinforcements detected. Estimated time before contact, two minutes. Begin the construction of bombers to deal with this new threat. Bombers are required to defend the Mothership." With that, a new production queue was sent down by Mothership control to the Hanger and bomber squadrons began to be produced.
By now, both Alpha and Blue squadron closed in on the battle. There were dozens of Vaygr craft swarming in and out of the Hiigaran ones and small balls of fire were erupting everywhere. "Alright, break and engage on my mark!" said Diego. The fighters drew closer and closer as the tension built.
"Wait...Wait, wait for it...NOW!" The fighters suddenly separated and opened fire on their nearest targets. As the battle ensued, Kayjan saw two fighters making a break for the gap between the Mothership and Tanis. He pursued them and as they tried to get in range of the Mothership's engines, Kayjan fired upon them, annihilating one of them and causing the other to break off. He then pursued the other, as it tried to loose him is the Tanis scaffolding. His paths consisted of many sharp turns and having split second decisions as to where to turn. Then, when he had the shot, Kayjan tore up the left side of the fighter. It swerved to its left and careered into the scaffold arms of Tanis. Kayjan then quickly pulled back out to join the battle.
Meanwhile, Cameron and Triese were chasing a pair of bombers making a run on the Mothership. They quickly opened up on them and caused them to burst into flames before they could get a shot off. Then suddenly Triese's craft exploded as a hail of fire came in behind them. After killing Triese, the five Vaygr assault craft concentrated on Cameron, but Blue squadron fell back into formation behind them and tore two apart while the other three broke away.
Demetrius, Jericho and Sarandon tried to swing in behind a group of strike craft but they lost them as they flew under one of the Tanis gun stations and were then engaged from behind. However when the ships fired on them, they only hit the two other pilots in the squadron as they tried to swerve out. Then a fighter flew in behind them and took one of them out and the other Vaygr pilots pulled out.
By now, two squadrons of bombers were produced and the ten ships sailed out of the Mothership. As they did, a missile crashed into the edge of the launch bay opening, spraying some of the ships with debris. One of the bombers lost control and crashed into the side of the launch tunnel as it came out.
"Echo 4 is down, Echo 4 is down!" shouted Echo leader. But the call fell of deaf ears because the comm. waves were already full of conversation and distress calls. The reminders of Delta squadron made a desperate run on the Vaygr frigate, but as they did, it's anti-fighter missile system fired a missile that destroyed the squadron leader, causing the others to pull away from the exploding wreck as its debris shattered outwards. Then both Echo and Foxtrot squadrons brought their plasma bombs to bear and the nine of them struck the whole side of the ship with flaming blue plasma bombs. By now the frigate had reloaded its anti-fighter missile and fired upon one of the bombers, setting it alight. As the other bomber then flew over, around and under the frigate at the of their attack run, the bomber wreckage collided with the damaged side of the frigate, splitting its hull open. The ship's hull then began to explode and it was suddenly engulfed in a spherical, blue explosion as its reactor overloaded. This spelt the end for this wave of Vaygr's chances at success. Soon, the rest of the enemies force followed and soon the whole assault force was destroyed.
Despite this stunning victory, the fleet had take heavy losses. Then, just as the squadron leaders activated their reform beacons, an announcement came from Fleet Intel.
"Priority alert. The Vaygr are using Hyperspace gates." As he said this, three large devices emerged from Hyperspace a few hundred metres away from Tanis. Large, probes with a radiation engine on the back and four, leg like, quantum waveform generator mounted sticking out of the front.
"If they are not destroyed, the enemy can deploy reinforcements through them. These gates must be destroyed."
Quickly, Mothership control assigned the different squadrons to their targets. But a terrible blow was done to the pilot's morale when dozens of small Hyperspace signature appeared and an untold amount of fighters and bombers passed through. These ships quickly made a break for the Mothership so all Interceptor squadrons were assigned to eliminate as many as possible before they could de any damage. Meanwhile, the bombers were assigned to attack each Hyperspace gate in turn.
As the two forces drew closer, it became obvious that this was not going to be an easy victory for either side. Both fleets flew directly at each other and when Diego gave the order, almost every ship on both sides fired at the same time. Then, the fire struck ships on both sides as the two fleet swarmed through each other. Many ships on both sides were cut down or incinerated. Kayjan threw his ship through the gap lefty by some of the Vaygr ships and as he did so, a stray shot glanced off his cockpit, cracking the glass slightly. He then swung his ship around and began to chase the bombers trying to escape through to the Mothership. Then, as he was piloting his craft, he heard Niaba call over the comm.
"This is Alpha 2, I'm under heavy fire, being pursued heavily by Vaygr, requesting assistance." Kayjan quickly pulled on his joystick and flipped the craft over to head back the other way. He searched through the maelstrom until he saw her fly overhead with three fighters behind her. As he moved to engage them, he saw another fighter swing in to save her and was destroyed by a fighter that it didn't see tailing the group. Kayjan took this opportunity to catch this guarding fighter off guard and flew right up behind it, firing his guns as he got within range, cutting it to pieces. The he quickly dispatched the fighters on Niaba's tail.
"This is Alpha 5, your clear Alpha 2." With that he pulled away from her and back to the battle.
With the combat increasing, the only hope for the fleet was for the bombers to finish the two remaining Hyperspace gates, yet this was becoming difficult because after the destruction of the first gate, the bombers had drawn in some unwanted attention. Fighters had cut many of them down and only a handful remained.
"Right, move to 5-74 and make another pass. Stay loose. Don't let them g..." The message was cut short when Echo leader was destroyed.
"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh, We're gonna die!" yelled Echo 5.
"Don't even think of braking formation Echo 5. The two of us are gonna finish this. Fire at the arms of the gate and we'll take it offline," said Danteus Nabaal, pilot Echo 2. They swung their ships around and fired another burst at the already damaged gate. They tore through three of the arms before the gate's hull gave in and it exploded.
"Yeah sir, we really..." Echo 5's message was cut short when his ship was destroyed. Danteus panicked and swerved his bomber to the left just as enemy fire came flying in. He then swerved his way around them as they turned back to face him. He locked in and targeted the last gate for a head-on course. He lined his bomber up to fire at the very centre of the gate, but suddenly, another dozen hyperspace signatures appeared and two squadrons of Vaygr fighters soon blocked his path. But this did not deter Danteus from finishing the job. He flew straight toward them and just as they passed through the gates completely and began to fly toward him, he used his best agility to swerve his way through. He then lined up his ship and let two plasma bombs fly, which tore straight into the main bulk of the shattered the hull from the inside.
"This is Echo 2. All targets down!" Said Danteus over the comm, however, there was still much to do.
As the Interceptors were moping up the remaining Vaygr, Fleet Intl interrupted the comm. channels,
"Long-range sensors have detected multiple enemy signals converging on Tanis. All ships initiate docking procedures and standby by for Hyperspace." As he said this, the loud hum of multiple Hyperspace tunnels began to ring out. All the surviving pilots began to make a run back to the Mothership and dock as quickly as possible. As they were doing this, hundreds of small Hyperspace tunnels opened, allowing hundreds of fighters and bombers to pour out and countless dozens of larger tunnels opened, revealing a giant space armada of frigates, destroyers and the menacing hulls of Vaygr Battlecruisers. The fleet did not stand a chance against such overwhelming odds.
"The Vaygr have arrived," announced Fleet Command.
What was left of the Tanis defence force now fired upon these new enemy ships, but when the Vaygr returned fire, there seemed little hope that they could hold them back for long.
"Emergency Hyperspace procedures initiated, course set for the Homeworld...
The Mothership must survive," said Fleet Command as the hull of the Mothership disappeared into its Hyperspace tunnel. Meanwhile, the Vaygr armada unleashed torpedoes, rockets, missiles, plasma and shells of every kind on both the gun stations and on Tanis itself. For those not on the Mothership, there was no hope left. They were doomed. As the ship disappeared through the gate, the pilots caught a last grim view of Tanis as it was torn apart under the hail of fire from the Vaygr armada.
"What the hell's happening?" yelled Diego as he walked into the assembly area being the last living pilot to arrive. Everyone just stood or sat in silence and disbelief and trauma at what had just happened. Then one voice broke the silence. Kayjan looked up from his chair and said, "It has begun."