Hello back in The Will of Revenge! Last time we've seen the aftermath of the attacks, which happened in the chapter before that. We've also seen Zorzal finally giving the order for his forces to move into action, but after few more hours. Not only that, but also his 'other' allies are about to start their attack. And soon, you will learn who these 'other' allies are.
But before that, reviews.
To last admiral: Interesting point of view.
To Supreme Supra: Yes.
Now, let's get to it. Begin!
Chapter 2
May 27, 2166
01:04
Unknown system, Dark Vengeance
Legatus Cassius No Polanius, which came here right after the last meeting with the inner circle, sat on the bridge of SoS' flagship. By the order of Emperor Zorzal, he was to lead the charge of the fleet into enemy territory, which begun just one jump from his current position. He looked at the tactical table in front of him, which presented the whole fleet around his vessel. Ships of all sizes and types, all of Erecan design, but adapted to SoS' needs. And Dark Vengeance was to be the very spearhead of the attack.
And now, the time has come for the operation to start.
He pressed the button on the side of his chair and spoke:
"Soldiers of the Sons of Sadera! The time has come for us to embark onto a journey to reclaim what is rightfully ours! For one and a half decade, we were hiding! We were preparing and arming ourselves! But this time is over! We will now start the operation, which will determine the future of not only you, but all the people enslaved by the Otherworlders and their puppets! We will regain the city, which was the symbol of our power for centuries! We will restore the Empire and we will bring it's glory back!"
From all the vessels that formed the flotilla, one could hear thousands of throats shouting out their approval for this. All soldiers, preparing for this time for years, were about to do the task they so hardly trained for.
In the mess hall of one of the transport vessels, tank crewmen of 1st Armored Legion just stopped clapping, Decimus, Jeos and Aulus among them.
"Now that was a speech and a half."Jeos stated.
"I don't know."Aulus threw up his arms."Seemed kinda shallow to me. I think we hear such talk from Oprichnina political officers all the time."
"Better stop talking like that."Decimus said, glancing at their company's political officer."Or he will tell everything to his higher ups."
"They can kiss my ass."Aulus snickered.
"You are hopeless…"Jeos stated."You really don't want to bring the glory to the Empire we all were all born in?"
"But this Empire doesn't exist and I joined only because I was forced to."
Decimus listened to his two colleagues arguing, before drifting away in his thoughts. For the first time in almost twenty years, he would see his home, on which he was born. At least he hoped so. His father, which was one of the soldiers that followed Zorzal after they escaped the grasp of Otherworlders, always told him about the beauty of their planet and the might of the Saderan Empire. This was the thing that mainly made him join the military, unlike most of his peers, which decided to just enjoy an easy life on their new home planet.
But except of the main reason he was coming back there, Decimus had his own agenda. He hoped, that after all this time, he will be able to see his little sister, Niva, which was left on the planet with their mother, which did not agree with their father's decision. He still remembered her as this cute, energetic five year old girl, which loved jumping on trees and hide in the bushes. He always had to take care of her, but he truly enjoyed it more, that training with his father. Decimus still wondered, who did she grow up to be. Did she got married? Did she became a beautiful young woman? Or maybe even a princess, which she always wanted to be? Who knew? Maybe, when they meet again, she will introduce his nieces or nephews to him?
"And what about you, Decimus?"Jeos asked.
His words tore Decimus out of his thoughts.
"What?"he asked.
"Were you even listening?"tank driver bristled."Aulus here thinks that this war won't be such a fast and decisive victory as higher ups think. I say, that everything will go according to plan."
"He says so, because his cousin is in Emperor's inner circle."Aulus put in.
"Yeah, yeah."Jeos waved if off."So, I wanted to know, what do you think about it?"
Tank commander threw up his arms.
"I don't know. However it goes, I just hope we will come out on top."Decimus replied.
"Whatever you say…"Jeos rolled his eyes.
"Stand up!"someone exclaimed."Colonel coming!"
Numerous chairs were quickly moved back, as soldiers stood up. Colonel Geded, commander of the regiment known as the 'Meat Grinder' due to his tendency to not watch the losses, came in, alongside major Relius and captain Julius, as well as some other commanders, came in. He stood in front of all the soldiers inside the mess hall and nodded his head.
"Soldiers!"Geded exclaimed."As you know, we're about to start the retaking of our homeworld! We waited for it for years and now, the time is nigh! General Margas himself asked me to wish you good luck in the upcoming battles!"
Soldiers looked at each other. 'Good luck' was not going to be much in middle of combat, but knowing the danger of Oprichnina knocking to the door of your tent, they decided to not say anything.
"Now, as our first landings will become in few hours, I want you to move to your vehicles and wait for orders!"Geded continued."Move!"
"Sir, yes, sir!"soldiers replied.
They quickly started leaving the mess hall and all turned towards the cargo bay of the ship, where their vehicles, which they started manning immediately.
At the same time, ships activated their hyperspace drives and jumped into the hyperspace.
Now, there was no turning back.
May 27
01:21
Pentrum Station, Taurus III's orbit
Pentrum Station was the biggest military facility in the orbit of the planet. Built immediately after the first colonies were placed on the surface, it was Soutland's first line of defense against any attacks on their C.Z. It was crewed by a compartment of one hundred marines and twenty workers, making sure that everything on the station worked properly.
Commanding this facility was captain Deril Rosen, a Soutlandian Marine, which came through training alongside USMC. He was also a veteran of the Campaigns and fought against Zander's rule as a one of the resistance, which was ultimately scattered by Alantian intervention. Now, he held his position with pride, as he knew, that if his station falls, nothing will stop the enemy, whoever or whatever the enemy may be, from bombing Leender and the rest of Soutlandian C.Z.
Currently, he was in conversation with the boss of civilian workers, when he was interrupted by one of the Marines sitting at the radar.
"Hey, sir, could you come up here?"the Marine asked.
Rosen stopped the conversation and approached the Marine, looking at the radar over his shoulder.
"What is it, soldier?"captain asked.
"Something weird is happening."soldier replied.
"What do you mean by that?"
"By that, I mean that our sensors are detecting some kind of disturbance, normally occurring during hyperspace jumps."
Rosen risen his eyebrow. Following the events on the surface, all shipping was stopped and there shouldn't be any ship coming.
"Where is this ship coming from?
"If sensors are right…"Marine started shaking and gulped."…from beyond the system."
"What do you mean by 'from beyond the system'?"Rosen asked, not expecting such an answer. Andromeda Branch still didn't have any territory beyond Taurus and Narum systems.
His thoughts were interrupted by alarms, that sounded all across the station. Soon, from twenty to thirty distortions appeared before the station and before anyone could say anything, a fleet of starships of unknown design appeared in the place of distortions. They were all colored in black, with hints of purple, with slender bodies and wing-like structures on their sides. Everyone watched them in shock and disbelief.
Captain was the first to regain composure. He turned to some Marines guarding the bridge.
"Inform everyone to get ready for battle!"he ordered."We…!"
"Sir!"communication officer exclaimed."Enemy fleet is hailing us!"
Rosen looked at the fleet.
"Accept the call."
"Yes, sir."
Comms officer pressed some buttons and soon, holoprojector in the middle of the bridge came to life, as it started to form a figure. And when the figure stopped forming, Rosen was shocked to see, that it was a Human.
"What the fuck?"radar officer said.
"Soldiers of Soutland Marine Corp."the hologram said, in Saderan, what was even more surprising."My name is captain Darius Io Portius, captain of Sons of Sadera Battlecruiser Molt Sol Augustus. By the order of Emperor Zorzal El Caasar, we demand your surrender. You have exactly ten minutes to make a decision. If you surrender, you will be treated as our friends. But if you don't, know, that you will suffer as long as possible. We will await your answer."
And just like that, the hologram vanished, as the call was canceled. Everyone present on the bridge looked at each other, very confused about what they just heard and witnessed. Again, Rosen was the first to regain his composure.
"Captain?"comms officer asked."What are your orders?"
Rosen looked at his men.
"Are we surrendering?"he asked.
"Never!"they immediately replied.
"That's the spirit!"Rosen hit his open hand with his fist.
Of course, soldiers knew, that this decision would cause their deaths, but they knew their task and were not letting anyone just scare them.
"Then ready the weapons."Rosen ordered.
Meanwhile, aboard his ship, captain Portius sat in his chair, smiling and looking at the station in front of his fleet. His ships were, of course, aiming their weapons at the station, while some platoons of Marines were already prepared to board it. He wasn't going to leave anyone alive, as he knew, that prisoners were nothing but trouble. So it was better to just get rid of them.
"How long do you think they will think, my lord?"his First Officer asked.
Captain just threw up his arms.
"I gave them ten minutes. I'm pretty sure that…"
Sound of incoming call surprised him.
"Already?"Portius asked.
"Maybe it's general Margas?"FO asked.
This could be true, as Portius' ships were escorting transports that carried entire 1st Armored Legion.
Captain accepted the call, but instead of general Margas, he saw commander of enemy troops manning the station. He smirked.
"Ah, I see that you finally made your decision."Portius stated."And?"
"Our answer is as follows."Marine cleared his throat and said, elegantly:"Sons of Sadera warship, go fuck yourself."
Portius' face twitched a bit, but he held his composure. He nodded in understanding.
"I understand."he said."Then I'm sorry, but It seems we're gonna have to kill you."
"Understandable."Rosen said."Goodbye, good sir."
Rosen disconnected, while Portius turned to the comms officer.
"Tell all warships to open…"
"Incoming barrage!"radar officer exclaimed in shock.
This news was so sudden, that Portius needed to wait for it to sink in. At the same time, numerous missiles were being fired from the batteries mounted on the station. Several Frigates and Corvettes, which flew too close to the station, were struck by them and exploded. But, as Portius noticed, most of the missiles were directed towards his ship.
"Quick! Point defense! Now!"he ordered.
"It's still heating up!"weapons officer replied.
"Then make them heat faster!"
"It's impossible!"
"Then make it…!"
Before Portius could finish, missiles started colliding with his ship's hull. Some of them even managed to pierce the armor and flew deeper, until they were lucky enough to reach the machine room, where they struck the reactor, causing it to explode. Ball of energy expanded, destroying majority of the ship, including the bridge.
Immediately, seeing the destruction of their flagship, the fleet responded with fire, aimed straight at the space station.
At the same time…
Leender, C.Z. Operational HQ
General Harlen Ordell was sitting in his office in the building. It's been a lot of time since the events that happened during the Offworld Storm. The whole area of the exercises was carefully searched but nobody was found, meaning that the culprit had already left. Not only that, but the assassin managed to cover all his tracks, which meant, that he could already be gone offworld. Which was a huge problem.
But what bothered Harlen was not only that, but also the fate of other C.Z.'s governors. Following the death of Sen, they were quickly loaded onto their dropships to be moved back to their offices. These dropships didn't even leave the Soutlandian airspace, when their engines failed and all spacecraft crashed, killing their passengers. Now, the highest ranking military commanders played the roles of governors in each C.Z., which meant that he was now in charge of Soutlandian one.
And then came the problem of these attacks about which they were informed. Because of that, all space traffic was closed for the time being, which meant, that there was no way they were getting off this planet in nearest time. Harlen just sighed.
"Is something wrong, Harlen?"Tim asked, entering the room with two cups of hot tea.
Tim was taken by Harlen to play the role of adjutant for the time being. The reason for this was that Tim was currently the most trustful person Harlen knew.
"I would scold you for such a stupid question if I had the strength to."general smirked."Of course something is wrong. We're stuck here, with assassin running around the planet and literal terrorist crisis. Not to mention, that there is an actual war at our threshold and any minute, Milky Way can change into a literal bloodbath."
"I know what you mean."Marine nodded."I've been through one galactic-scale war and the last thing I want is another one."
"It would certainly also be the first for us. No doubt, that sooner or later, our forces will be called to the frontlines."
"And we still haven't caught the one responsible for the death of the governor."
"Let alone all the other governors."
This time, they both sighed deeply and started sipping their tea.
"Any new clues?"Harlen asked.
"None."Tim shook his head."Whoever did it, was great at covering his tracks. We didn't find anything at the position the shot was taken, nor in the forest surrounding it. Everything seemed like there simply wasn't anyone, ever."
"There has to be something."
"Humans just don't disappear into thin air."
"And if it wasn't Human?"
Harlen risen his eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"What if the assassin wasn't Human? I know at least five alien species, which can dissolve their body structure and seemingly vanish into the thin air."
"The names?"
"We can certainly exclude E're-o. They are stubborn pacifists, which didn't side with neither UN block or Concordance. We can also exclude Grio. They are our allies."
"And the other three?"
"Yiy, Porlo and Qer-por. All three allied with Laconia."
"And what about bounty hunters? That might be a clue too."
"Yes, it might."
Their further conversation was cut short by a sound of someone running. They looked towards the entrance and saw a single Soutlandian Marine running into the room, right towards them. He quickly stopped and saluted, but he couldn't hide his completely pale face, decorated with fear.
"G-General, s-s-sir!"soldier said.
"Calm down, soldier, what is it?"Harlen asked.
"Something…in the sky…I…"
Harlen and Tim looked at each other.
"Lead."Tim said.
"F-Follow me…"
The three quickly left the room and soldier led them out of the building, into the main courtyard. There, they saw numerous soldiers and workers of the building looking in the sky. When Harlen heard an explosion and saw a yellow light fly over them, he also looked up and widened his eyes, seeing the spectacle.
"Dear God…"he said, as pale as the soldier that brought them here.
Few seconds later, sirens sounded all over the city.
At the same time, in other part of the city, in Terion Hotel, Dora was abruptly awoken from her dream. She grabbed her head, which hurt after tonight's 'negotiations' with the client, which she was taking part in since she came to the city. The bastard was the hardest client to negotiate with she ever had, so she had to approach him some different way.
So, she challenged him to a drinking contest in the hotel's bar. And then it turned out, that he had a strong head, too. It took her at least three hours to make him drunk and sign the contract. Sharkline had the first contract in Andromeda, but at the cost of Dora's strongest headache ever. And now, there were these goddamn sirens shouting.
"Fuuuuuuck…"Dora moaned.
She stood up from the bed and wobbly came up to the window covers, which she slammed shut so the light of planet's two moons wouldn't annoy her. So, she grabbed the covers and slid them open.
And immediately sobered up, when she saw the reason why the sirens came to life.
Rocketing down towards the ground were numerous chunks of space station, so big that they were easily recognizable. After making it through the atmosphere, they were now covered in fire. They fell down like the shooting stars. They were leaving a yellow glow after themselves. Most fell beyond the city's limits, but clearly some crashed into the buildings, as some were damaged, and one of the bigger chunks, after heating, caused a small earthquake which manage to get Dora off her legs. She quickly stood back up and watched in disbelief, as parts of space station continued to fall.
It ended three minutes later, but the destruction didn't. When space station stopped falling, Dora saw a purple beam fall from the sky and hit somewhere in the city. Knowing the plan and layout of the city, for work reasons, she knew, that the beam, and few others that came after, hit the areas taken by city's AATIS system.
Knowing this, there was no other option: Taurus III was attack. By who? She didn't know. But one thing was certain. She looked at the photo of her, Ester and the twins, which she put on the night stand next to the bed.
"Sorry Ester, girls."she said."But it seems I won't be coming back for some more time."
Few minutes later, she was walking down the stairs, hoping, that she could help somehow in taking care of the damage.
May 27
02:11
Jade Palace, Sadera
Pina was awoken from her sleep by someone shaking her by the shoulder. She opened her eyes and sat up on the bed. Hamilton was standing next to the bed, moving her hands in various ways, which meant that she was stressed.
"Hamilton?"Pina asked, still half asleep."What is it?"
"Your Highness…"assistant said with shaking voice."We…we need you in the command center…"
"What happened."Queen livened up immediately.
"There is…a possible crisis on our hands…"
Pina didn't waste time. She quickly stood up and dressed her everyday attire. Then, Hamilton led her out of the room, down the corridor leading towards the command center. On the way, she could see numerous Rose Knights walking around in different directions, with worried expressions on their faces, which made her worry, too. Because of Rose Knights worry, situation had to be bad.
They reached the command center, where numerous analysts were checking something on their computers. Guards saluted, seeing her enter, while she turned towards the blond haired Knight, acting as the Platinum Rose.
"Bozes, what's going on?"she asked.
Bozes turned to Pina and queen could see, that her long time friend also had a worried expression.
"Pina."Bozes said, taking a deep breath."I won't be bluffing, I just say it straight. We were possibly attacked."
Hearing those words, Pina's mouth immediately went dry, her legs became wobbly and face became pale. Seeing this, Hamilton quickly fetched her a chair. Queen fell on it without a word and held her head in her hands.
"Is…is it confirmed…?"she asked.
"An hour ago, we started losing contact with our space stations."Bozes replied.
"Are you sure this could mean an attack?"
"It would be very interesting if all our stations in Narum and Taurus suddenly went silent without reason."
"Wait. Taurus? Narum? How did Laconians get there?"
Bozes looked away from Pina and corrected her collar. Queen immediately understood, that something was wrong.
"Bozes? Because we were attacked by Laconians, right?"Pina squinted her eyes.
"That's the thing…"Platinum Rose took a deep breath."Before some of these stations went dark, they managed to give us an information about the enemy attack directions. They came from deeper into Andromeda and continued to move towards Narum Prime, Taurus III and Flareian System."
Panic within Pina started growing larger and larger. If she was truly scared of something, it was the possibility of some unknown alien race coming from Andromeda only to attack them. After all, Alantian had their Lords, which were destroyed by something. And whatever it was, who knew, if it didn't lurk somewhere in the dark, galactic void. Now, this possibility became true and this scared her even more.
"How many stations did go dark?"she asked.
"As of now?"Bozes looked at her tablet."Majority within Taurus System and all within Narum System. It shouldn't be surprising, as we only had twenty stations in that system."
"How did it happen so fast?"
"These stations were mainly civilian research stations, simple transit stations or shipyards, which often held only a platoon or two of Marines. Military stations had bigger garrisons, but I fear, that most of them were destroyed."
"And did the enemy try to make any contact?"
"None. At least none that we know of."
If the enemy was the kind that shoots first and asks questions later, they were completely screwed.
Suddenly, all screens in the command center changed color from blue to purple, as streams of data and reports were changed by a purple logo showing a familiar shape of a wyvern, similar to the one on Falmartian flag. Everyone looked around, not knowing what this meant.
"What's going on?"Bozes asked.
"Sir!"one of the analysts exclaimed."We're being hacked!"
"Hacked?!"Pina exclaimed."By who!?"
"We…!"
Before the analyst managed to end, the holo-table in the middle of the room came to life. It started projecting a hologram of a man, dressed in rich looking robes and with clearly visible uniform under the robes. He looked at the whole room with arrogant smirk and happy sparks in his eyes. Finally, his eyes landed on Pina and he smiled even wider.
"Hello, sister."Zorzal said with venom in his voice.
Meanwhile, everyone in the room looked at the hologram in shock and disbelief. Zorzal El Caesar, a rebellious former Crown Prince of Saderan Empire, long presumed dead by the whole planet. And now, this long presumed dead man, showed himself as a hologram, with arrogant expression, mocking Pina with his very presence.
"Im…impossible…"Pina said, trying to make her voice sound sure, but with little result."You…you are dead! You and all your followers are dead! You went missing fifteen years ago and were not heard of ever since!"
Hearing those words, Zorzal exploded with laughter. After few seconds, he stopped and looked at his sister again.
"Me? Dead?"He additionally giggled."It's that's what you wanted to believe, then alright. But, we were never died. We just received some…outside help. You were too focused on dealing with the mess left behind by the previous war, that you didn't notice it."
"Outside help? From who?"Bozes asked.
"Would you like to know."Zorzal scoffed."You only need to know, that with this help, we're not so helpless against Otherworlder weapons anymore. We too have starships! We have tanks! APCs, IFVs, you name it! We have it all! And the best thing? We had almost two decades to learn how to use all of this! And we committed to it with our whole."
"You're just talking big!"Hamilton stated."We also have help! We have UNSA Milky Way Branch, we have Nashini, Chakdrik, Shakayans and more! When it comes to it, they will come to help us!"
This gave them another wave of laughter from Zorzal.
"Oh, how adorable."he said."You really think that they will help you? Sorry, but I think, that they will be a bit…occupied in a bit. Our 'other' allies will deal with them."
Pina frowned after hearing those words. But after a short time of thinking, she realized, what 'other' allies was her brother talking about.
"No…"queen said."You can't mean…?"
"You think that how many agents did we sent into Milky Way by all these years?"Zorzal smiled wickedly."Tekrionis became a very important partner for us. After all, he supplied us with tanks, most of our armored vehicles and infantry equipment. Or, rather, his agents smuggled the plans for our allies here, in Andromeda, so they could produce it at place."
Everyone just couldn't believe, that all of this was actually happening. Not only did Zorzal and his followers return, but they additionally had access to the same, or, Gods forbid, even better technologies than they did.
"So I guess these attacks on our assets…?"she risked.
"Yes. It's our doing."Zorzal confirmed."Now, you should know, that we waited for far too long. Our vengeance is about to be served and you will not like what will come. Not only you and Diablo, but everyone else on this godsforsaken planet will know how it ends, when you humiliate the Empire. Sons of Sadera will prevail!"
And with that, the hologram disappeared, while everyone in the command center looked, shocked and still unable to comprehend what just happened. Fortunately, the screens returned to normal, but some analysts quickly breathed deeply.
"Your Highness…"one of them said.
"What is it?"Pina turned to them.
"The Intergalactic Gate…"
"What about it?"
"It…was closed…"
Pina immediately stood up and ran to the console as fast as possible. On it, she could see the current state of Intergalactic Gate and, much to her shock, she saw that it was indeed closed.
"Who gave the order?"she asked.
"Nobody from our side."analyst replied."The order came from Milky Way side."
"Why would Milky Way order such a thing?"Hamilton asked.
Analyst just threw up his arms.
But Pina quickly realized, what was the reason. Zorzal did say that Tekrionis was his ally, somehow. And if Intergalactic Gate was closed from Milky Way's side, then it could mean only two things: it was either endangered…or, what Pina didn't want to believe, but knew was possible, Laconians managed to take control of it, somehow.
Queen looked back at everyone in the command room. Everyone looked back at her. She took a deep breath.
"Ladies and gentlemen…"she said with shaking voice."…I fear, that we're all alone in it."
Temperature in the room fell to below zero in a fraction of a second, as everyone realized, that the words spoken by their leader, were true. And in their current state, none of them knew, what will happen next.
May 27
02:28
Hel Peninsula, Poland, Earth
Today's section of training for the Falmartian Fighter Infantry covered night fights without help of night vision. Currently, Delilah and Emmy led a team of Fighter Infantry through a forest inside a virtual reality chamber. They watched all directions, knowing, that somewhere, an ambush could await them.
"Any news from the scouts?"Emmy asked.
Several minutes ago, they sent two scouts forward to see what awaits them in the forest, but they still didn't report.
"None, sir."Dwarf Fighter Infantry soldier said.
"What should we do?"Cat soldier asked.
Delilah looked at Emmy.
"Stop."Delilah ordered.
Soldiers quickly stopped and knelt on one knee. They formed a perimeter and scanned the area with their riffles, while Delilah started thinking about their possible options. There wasn't many, as they were in the middle of the forest.
"Any ideas?"Emmy asked.
"None."Delilah shook her head."If the scouts haven't reported after all this time, we have to assume they're gone."
"And how far are we from the LZ?"
The target of their group was to get to a marked LZ, while the other team was supposed to stop them from that.
"We should have at least a kilometer or two to go."1st Warrior Bunnies leader replied."Maybe we…"
But before she could finish, they heard a shot and one of the soldiers forming the perimeter fell. Everyone quickly laid down on the ground, aiming their weapons around. They waited for another shot, but it didn't come.
"Did anyone see where that came from!?"Emmy asked.
"No, sir!"
"Hold the line!"Delilah ordered."Watch for any movement or listen to every noise! If you think that you see the enemy, you are free to fire!"
"Yes, sir!"soldiers replied.
They laid like that for few more seconds, before everything broke loose.
Before they orientated, fire started coming from every direction possible. Delilah and Emmy's soldiers quickly replied with fire, but in the dark, they could not spot the enemy. They fired blindly, hoping, that they could score a hit, but judging from the constant intensity of the fire, they were not very successful.
And soon, other soldiers started getting hit. Slowly, the defenders were losing their ground and their fire started to become weaker. Meanwhile, rustling of the grass and leaves told them, that enemy started to get closer to their position.
"Do you see them?!"Emmy shouted.
"No!"Delilah replied."Continue…!"
"Checkmate."Ves said, putting the barrel to the back of Delilah's head.
Warrior Bunny quickly let go of her weapon and put her hands in the air. Emmy did the same, with Macy standing over her. They both slowly stood up, with barrels still pointed at them.
"Training's over."a voice said in the speakers."Ambush team wins."
"Fuck."Emmy growled.
"Hey, don't get sour about."Macy said with smile, as the holographic forest around them disassembled itself."Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose."
"But I never lose!"Emmy exclaimed.
"Deal with it."Delilah waved her hand."They win, we lose. It's normal."
1st Warrior Bunnies second-in-command just growled dangerously. At the same time, soldiers that 'died' in the fight, started getting up, while soldiers hiding in the forest now became visible. They approached the rest of the group and the winners started raising the spirits of the losing team.
Six original members of the 1st Warrior Bunnies gathered together.
"That was fun."Macy stated.
"Not for Emmy, as always."Kenya noticed.
"Come on, you cheated!"Emmy stated."How come we didn't hit you and you simply massacred us?"
"We just had a good cover."Ves threw up her arms.
Emmy decided not to argue anymore, as she just knew, that they would find more excuses why they won.
Delilah turned to the rest of the soldiers, which already gathered in elegant double row. She eyed all of them with satisfaction and nodded.
"Attention!"she exclaimed.
All soldiers performed the order.
"This concludes today's, or should I say, yesterday's training session. You are now allowed to go get some rest. But remember, that later today, you have another session, starting 1300 hours. You have to be rested and ready to action by then. Understood?"
"Sir, yes, sir!"soldiers replied.
"Good! Dismissed!"
With that, soldiers started leaving the building, with six Warrior Bunnies following closely behind them. They all exited into the starry, night sky. Immediately, a cold breeze enveloped them. Macy, Ves and Heley yawned.
"You really are tired."Emmy stated.
"Why are you surprised?"Heley asked."We didn't get any shuteye for over sixteen hours. And remember how many physical activities we did by that time?"
"I know, I know."
They watched the soldiers going to the armory, where they had to put their weapons and uniforms, when they suddenly noticed one of the base's crews. Base was still operated by local personnel, as per request of Intermarium and during their numerous visits, 1st Warrior Bunnies managed to meet all of the personnel. This particular guy was Oleh, a Ukrainian mechanic, which always looked after their fighters, when they were here.
He quickly ran up to them, but as they noticed, he had a worried face.
"Hey, what's the rush, Oleh?"Macy asked.
"There is something I need to show you!"Oleh replied.
He pulled out his phone and showed them the screen. The six looked at it and were shocked, seeing the headline of the article: 'LACONIAN NAVY TAKES OVER INTERGALACTIC GATE'.
"Wh…What sick joke is this…?"Emmy asked.
"This can't be true…"Heley said."Right?"
"Unfortunately…"Oleh replied.
He rolled through the article, until he stopped on a video from Twitter. He pressed and it started playing, showing a view from some transport ship. Video showed several ships, surrounding Intergalactic Gate in Angier System. Next, what seemed to be unbelievable, Gate closed. And although the video was of not good quality, they all could recognize Laconian colors and markings on these ships.
"No fucking way…"Kenya said.
"How long ago did that happen?"Delilah asked.
"From around an hour ago?"Oleh replied.
"And we were informed about it just now?"Emmy exclaimed."Unbelievable!"
Heley, in the meantime, rubbed her chin.
"Show me the video again."she said.
Oleh risen an eyebrow, but did what he was told. The video played one more time, before Warrior Bunny risen a hand.
"Stop."Heley said."Now, everyone, look closely at the ship designs."
Everyone did what they were told and upon closer inspection, they noticed, what did Heley was talking about. All of them recognized the ship designs that were visible on the video, and although different markings, they all were familiar.
"These…"Ves said."These are Holy Order ships!"
"Well, not anymore."Kenya stated."Seems like Laconians took them as their own."
"But how?"Macy wondered.
Delilah then frowned.
"Hey. You remember, that Laconians were boasting about eliminating some HO Remnant everyday, only sometimes having more trouble with them?"she asked.
"Yes, it was always on the news."Emmy replied."What about it?"
"What if they didn't eliminate these Remnants?"1st Warrior Bunnies leader guessed."What if instead, Laconians took them under their wings? And the ones they had 'more trouble' with, were the ones that didn't want to join them?"
"So you're saying"her deputy said"that Lacos were secretly building a fleet and an army by recruiting former soldiers of HO?"
"Pretty much."Delilah threw up her arms.
"Un-fucking-believable."Emmy muttered."These motherfuckers simply built up their power and we didn't notice anything."
"Hey, guys?"Macy said, looking into the sky."I think we might have a problem."
"What problem?"Heley asked.
"Look up."
She pointed in the said direction and everyone looked. They saw several lights high in the sky, too close to be stars, so they activated the zoom in their helmets' visors. And when they did, they were shocked at what they saw.
Hovering in low Earth's orbit, was a fleet of around thirty vessels, a mix between old Earthen designs and Holy Order's. They all had clearly visible Laconian markings and some shots were being fired from them, their target possibly being one of Home Fleet's anchorages over Earth. Immediately, questions appeared in Warrior Bunnies' minds. Where did that fleet come from? How did they get so close to Earth seemingly unnoticed? And why are more appearing right in front of their eyes.
As the size of the fleet grew to number over one hundred and soon, smaller lights started leaving their insides. These smaller lights soon turned in numerous directions.
Including this base.
Delilah quickly bit her lip and looked at her team.
"Everyone get, ready to fight."she ordered."Emmy, go and get the recruits. Heley, Kenya, find a good firing position. Rest, let's gather the base's security."
"Deli, does that mean…?"Word couldn't leave Macy's mouth.
Delilah nodded.
"Yes, Macy. Galactic Concordance just declared war on us."
May 27
02:57
Dortmund AFB
Explosion, which broke the windows in Ester's office, in which she was, doing a night shift, almost threw her out of her chair. She needed a few seconds to understand what just happened, because it was so sudden. When she did, she quickly ran out of her office and into the corridor. She almost collided with Elsa, which stood behind the first turn, with terrified expression, pale face and shaking.
"S-Sir…!"Elsa yelped.
"Elsa, what's going on?!"Ester demanded to know.
"L-Laconians! T-T-They're here!"
"What?!"shocked Ester exclaimed."How?!"
"We don't know! They just appeared in the orbit and their dropships just appeared over the base!"
"How many?"
"Around twenty, all filled with troops! But some were shot down before they managed to touch down!"
Sounds of firefight just reached Ester's ears.
"Marines and base's security are repelling the attack!"Elsa continued.
"Lead me there."Ester ordered.
"WHAT?!"shocked Elsa exclaimed."You want to go OUT THERE?!"
"Yes! I won't let these Lacons take over MY base! So lead!"
"Y-Yes!"
The two then ran down the corridors, sometimes ducking down, when some bullets pierced the wall and zipped over their heads. Sounds of firefight were becoming louder and louder, as well as the explosions that came. Finally, they met some Marines, which ran into them suddenly. Soldiers saluted.
"Sir!"
"No need for pleasantries!"Ester stated."Why are you here?"
"Our commander ordered us to get you to safety!"first Marine said.
"Take me to him!"Ester ordered.
"But…"second Marine protested.
"No buts! Also, give us riffles, if you have some to spare!"
Hearing this, Elsa widened her eyes.
"Wait, what?!"she squeaked."But I…I can't…!"
Before she could finish, Ester grabbed her shoulders and looked at her with fire in her eyes. Assistant gulped.
"S-Sir…?"
"Listen! You're a soldier, Elsa! And soldiers fight if they want to protect things, that are important to them! You understand?"
"I do, but…"
"I said, 'no buts'! Are you soldier, or not?!"
"I-I am!"
"Then you grab the weapon and go!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Now, you two!"Ester turned back to the Marines."We go! Lead us to your commander!"
"As you order, sir!"Marines replied.
Next, the four of them made their way towards the exit of the building. And when they did, they were hit by the light and heat of the fires coming from destroyed buildings and vehicles. They ran past a shot down Laconian dropship and destroyed Fennek, before reaching a group of Marines, which were hiding behind a wall of a hangar. One of the Marines, with major's epaulettes, turned towards them.
"Florian, I told you to get the colonel out of here!"major said.
"But sir!"Marine named Florian rebuked."Colonel demanded to get her to you!"
"For God's sake!"
"What's your name, major?!"Ester exclaimed through the gunfire sounds.
"Major Norrine Bauer!"major replied.
"Give be the status!"
"Around three platoons of Lacos dropped into the base! Most of them are already dead, but they still have air support!"
"Did you contact any support?!"
"There is a company of Army troops coming from Münster!"
"How long before they arrive?"
"Twenty minutes, if nothing stops them!"
"Great! Now, give us some spare guns!"
Norrine clearly looked at Ester with confused look.
"You got two?"Ester asked.
"But sir…"Norrine protested.
"Want me to say it again? Do you have any to spare?!"
Major sighed and nodded at two of her Marines.
"Give them your weapons and fall back."she ordered.
"Yes, sir."Marines replied.
They given their weapons, along with some spare mags and left.
"Okay now! Let's show these Lacos how are we greeting invaders on Earth!"Ester exclaimed.
"Yes, sir!"Marines, base's security and Elsa exclaimed.
And so, Ester led the soldiers in defense of the base. However, they were not aware of the grander scale of things.
While Laconian troops landed in Dortmund and on Hel Peninsula, more Laconian fleets appeared in orbit of Earth, with thousands Laconian Marines and Army soldiers landing in different sections of the world. Videos of Laconian soldiers fighting against Earthen defenders came from Europe, Asia, Americas, Australia, Africa and even both poles, marking the beginning of Siege of Earth.
But Earth was not the only planet attacked.
Laconian troops swept through Angier System, taking it over quickly. At the same time, more Laconian fleets appeared in orbit of Mars, laying siege to both most important planets of humanity. UNSA's allies also found themselves under fire, as fleets of Laconia and it's allies crossed into spaces controlled by Nashini, Chakdrik, Shakayans and others. Numerous planets and space stations already reported heavy fighting.
Second Galactic War has begun.
XXX
And there it is! The cannons finally sounded! Now both Milky Way and Andromeda are at war. Laconians, somehow, managed to make their way right to Earth and took over Intergalactic Gate, while the rest of Galactic Concordance invaded UNSA's allies. At the same time, Sons of Sadera launched their invasion of Andromeda Branch, with second phase of their plan. What will come out of it? We're gonna see in the future.
Until then, see you!
As always, remember to leave a review, like and favorite. It will be highly appreciated! Bye!