-1Chapter 3

It didn't take much time for Cronian and Lysander to get to the hangar; a hangar that was rectangular in shape with solid steel walls that were crisscrossed with pipes, hoses, cabling and with enough floor space to house dozens of fighter craft. That alone, the sheer size of the hangar bay, dazzled Cronian as he attempted to take it all in, so much so that he almost failed to notice the crowd of people wearing flight suits walking past him. I think next time I read a plaque that says 'Hangar', I'll assume they're being overtly modest about the size of the thing, he thought to himself.

Its definitely a pretty good sized hanger, isn't it," Lysander said in his thick accent, obviously amused by Cronians stunned stare.

Pretty big? Yeah, you could say that," Cronian replied in disbelief, nodding down to the hangar floor that filled with pilots, deck crew, and space craft. "I'm going to get lost down there."

"No worries, no doubt there's somebody down there waiting to get you to where you need to be."

"I hope so," Cronian swallowed to clear his throat. "Where is it ,exactly, that you need to be?"

"Me? Oh, well, my squad-mates are actively engaged in a defensive action over the mining rock Torrential," Lyander said, gesturing out in to space. "In fact there's a couple of us on that rock helping aid in evacuation of the people living there, since the Boraxians have landed on the thing for some reason and we're short of ground troops in the area…"

"They actually landed on the thing?"

"Ja, weird, isn't it? Normally they'd blow it up. Maybe they want our mining facility intact, who knows…

"Maybe," Cronian said, perplexed. "Do you mind if I help?"

Lysander hoisted his own duffle on to his shoulder and sized Cronian up.

"Well, it's not like we require much outside assistance," Lysander said with a half smile. "But, ja, I wouldn't mind having your help. You not part of a squadron, are you?"

"No, haven't been assigned to one yet."

"Assigned," Lysander laughed. "You pick the squadron or they pick you. You don't get assigned unless its absolutely necessary, but we'll go over that later. There's a war to fight you know. I'll meet you in orbit in fifteen or so; buy you some time for you to get reacquainted with your bird."

With that Lysander walked quickly away down the flight of stairs, where at the end a technician shook his hand, pointed his hand in the direction they needed to go and they both walked in to the bustling mass of activity. With a shrug, Cronian proceeded down the black stairs, scanning the hangar floor in front of him, wondering why it was so busy here before he was hit by the realization that he had certainly not been the only one that had emerged out of tub of white jello. The sheer number of pilots emerging on to the hangar floor was staggering, and Cronian was nearly at a loss as to what to think of them all. We must have taken a severe beating out there, he thought to himself dismally. I hope Diamonblade didn't get killed as well…

"Mister Cronian?"

Cronian looked to where the voice was coming from.

"Mister Cronian, I'm Chief Westen," the man in the dark stained working trousers said, not standing far from where the flight of stairs ended. "I'm here to show you to your fighter, sir. We don't have much time, as you can see we have a lot of you pilots that need to get back up there."

"Right," Cronian said, shaking the mans hand, and hoisting his duffle over his shoulder with his other. "Lead the way Chief."

Westen nodded, turned and walked towards open end of the hangar with Cronian in tow, ducking under the wing of a large, steel grey fighter that was called the Goliath for its tough skin and heavy armament. Winding threw the bustling crowd of pilots and assorted deck crew they made their way it became apparent to Cronian that he had walked by every single space craft that the Ajaxian Legion had in service, and couldn't help but be reminded that the Ajaxian casualty rate at the opening stages of the war had been far worse then anybody had previously expected.

"Chief," Cronian said, stepping over a hose that was trailing towards an unseen ship that was being fueled. "How bad were we hit out there? This all looks like we were totally overran."

"It does look that way doesn't it, sir," Westen said. "Several thousand pilots were shot down in the initial fighting in the 'Roids, most ended up showing up here shortly after the LC was chosen to lead. Just so happened that the other three Legions were able to get organized much quicker then we were."

"I did notice that," Cronian said, thinking back on how he had been caught nearly all alone against a much larger Krilgorian force far away from where a significant effort to counter would have been able to take place. "Spread out and unorganized…"

"Pretty much sir," Westen said, taking a right turn to walk around a series of craft that were parked close enough together that walking through them would have been out of the question.

"Are those repair ships?" Cronian asked, as he looked over the large, rectangular space craft that they were walking around. "How old are those things?"

"Older then we'd like, but we're short on resources right now to be able to mass produce the new birds fast enough to get them where they're needed," the Chief said, turning left once he cleared the last repair ship. "And those old reppers are the best thing we have right now to support fleet ops and gather the immediate resources to remedy our construction needs."

"Ah, I guess that makes sense," Cronian replied, following Westen close as to not lose him in the crowded room they were traversing. "Wow, I sound like I haven't a clue as to whats going on, huh?"

"No worries, sir," Westen chuckled. "Its my job to know, and yours to kill the bad guys."

"Right, I'll keep that in mind. Oh, is this one mine?" He asked as they stopped in front a Flight of Independence, one that looked like it had shiny fresh coat of paint applied to it.

"Yes, sir," Westen nodded. "She's the basic fighter, straight out of the factory. No modular upgrades, because quite frankly at the moment their hard to come by for the pilots coming out of the cloning bays. So we're forced to give you the raw thing until you can manage to get a hold of another Chief who may be able to help you out."

"Parts supply low for the mods?"

"No, sir," Westen cracked a smile. "Just extreme reluctance to give them out to pilots coming out of this hangar…"

"Oh, so in other words, we don't get the cool toys until we learn to keep our ships in one piece when we go out there," Cronian said, somewhat grudgingly. "Makes sense, I think. Alright, anything else I should know?"

"Only that you're AI…"

"AI?"

"…yes, you're AI has insisted she now has the rights to override the controls that allow herself to be heard. I guess she didn't much enjoy you getting blown up."

"I have an AI?"

"Yes, you didn't know?"

"Had no idea."

"That would explain why she wanted those overrides."

"I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with that."

"Oh," Westen smiled. "She was much too convincing to ignore."

"Ok," Cronian sighed. "Anything else?"

"Her name is Le'ael.'

"Le'ael?"

"Yes, it's a good idea for pilots to know the names of the AI's. Other then that though, your helmet is in your seat," Westen said, shaking Cronians hand. "Good luck sir."

"Thanks, you too."

"Hah, ground crews will be available for when you're ready to take off, in the meantime I have more pilots to get to."

"Right," Cronian said, nodding in agreement. "That's why I wished you luck as well."

Westen just chuckled and walked off.

Cronian repositioned his duffle on his shoulder and walked up to the fighter, running his hands over its smooth surface, moving his fingers deftly under the fuselage as he inspected for possible stress fractures that could be present--incase the fighters was pulled from an old warehouse somewhere in the rush to get fighters in to space. Finding no such cracks, he looked over the gun mounts positioned between the wing and the fuselage and directly behind the cockpit ensuring they were properly mounted. Satisfied, he turned back to the cockpit, climbed up the attached ladder, tossed the duffle in behind the seat, placed a foot on the floor, and grabbed his helmet as he slid in to the seat to get ready to take off.

"Easy," a woman's voice came from a pair of speakers built in to his chair. "There's some sensitive equipment back there."

"Huh," Cronian said, looking around inside the cockpit, looking for the AI. "Sorry, usually there's room back there…"

"There is room, I'm just saying be careful."

In front of Cronian, on what appeared to be a small holo-projector built in to left side of the cockpit, flickered in to existence a three inch tall woman dressed in well fitting pilots uniform with long, bright violet hair that was done up in a long braid that reached down to her knees. Had he not already met one holographic AI since his 'rebirth', Cronian may have been a little more surprised to see another too-good-looking glowing AI looking right at him with her arms crossed over her chest.

"You must be Le'ael."

"And you must be Cronian,"Le'ael said a with a hint of anger in her voice. "Before I tell you the condition of our Flight…"

"Our Flight?"

"…yes, our Flight. This flying weapon you so callously threw away just happens to be my home, and your fighter. So yes, our Flight. May I continue?"

Cronian was slightly taken aback, but nodded anyways.

"Before I tell you the status of this fighter, I need you to swear to me that you will do everything within your abilities to not get us blown up--again."

"I did everything I could last time--" Cronian said, feeling the need to defend himself.

"No, you didn't. You sat around and let yourself get overwhelmed by superior numbers; and failed to use the hyper drive to jump to the nearest friendly controlled stargate or outpost for repair. You instead tried to out fly a much faster and more heavily armed Microw Fighter!"

"…hyper drive? In the middle of all those rocks?"

"Yes, the hyper drive! A quick straight shot away from the asteroids would have been safer then sitting out there with all those hungry Krilgorian sharks," she fumed. Shaking her head before tucking a strand of loose hair back behind her ear before she continued. "But we're steering away from what I was asking of you. Will you swear to do everything in your power to ensure that this fighter does not come to serious harm."

Cronian stared at her in surprise at the tone behind her demand.

"Ok, ok, I swear…I swear," he said, raising his hands in surrender as she shot him a look that could kill. "…sorry for blowing us up earlier…"

"Great, now that that's over with…" she sighed. "This Flight is, as far as I can tell from my diagnostics, as new as they come. Which makes sense, since they've been pumping fighters and the like out of the factories as fast as they can. Everything checks out on my end, navigation, weapons, comms, thrusters, and hyper drive. All that needs to be done is for you to test everything manually when we get out there."

"Ok," Cronian said, slipping his helmet on. "We'll be testing all that shortly I'd imagine. We're heading back to the 'Roids," he said, motioning to a deckhand to disconnect the ladder from the cockpit. Once the ladder was removed, Cronian flipped a switch and the cockpits bubble canopy slid down, hissed closed and the fighter woke as a sleeping dragon would with the primary and secondary thrusters activating for lift off.

Everybody who was near the Flight of Independence quickly scattered, giving the now levitating fighter a wide berth as to avoid being accidentally knocked down by the crafts maneuvering thrusters. After a moment, the fighter was safely above the milling crowd, and after quickly checking the air space around him for any other spacecraft that may have lifted off at the same time he had, Cronian throttled forward, kicking the main forward thrusters in to action, propelling the vehicle quickly out of the hangar and in to the open air. Once he was safely clear of the hangar, Cronian spared a look down at the massive megalopolis that was Ajaxus Prime. Even though this planet was his home, he never ceased to be amazed by the sheer size of the planet-wide city, and couldn't help but admire it from afar for even as he climbed in altitude, accelerating towards the vacume of space, the city continued to stretch over the horizon and in to the darkness forming a dazzling view of lights that spanned the planets one and only continent. Despite his admiration for the way Ajaxus Prime looked from afar, Cronian much preferred to be in his fighter, flying through the vast emptiness of space and engaging the enemy whenever possible. He was in his element out here, and he loved it.

"You have an incoming message, Cronian, from Lysander," Le'Ael said as she once again flickered in to existence, looking at Cronian with her arms comfortably crossed.

"Oh," Cronian said, looking up as a dark blue, compact looking craft, called the Blue Bird Bomber swung up and positioned itself off his starboard wing. "Go ahead and put it through."

"Hey Cronian," Lysanders thick accented voice came through loud and clear within the cockpit. "The stargate to the 'Roids is active right now; lets go ahead and use it, it will cut down a considerable amount out of our travel time."

"Acknowledged, Lysander," Cronian said, nodding towards the dark cockpit of the Blue Bird Bomber. "Lead the way and I'll meet you there."

"Roger, Lysander out," he said and moments later the Blue Bird's aft engines flashed a brilliant white, propelling the ship forward to where it vanished in a flash of light.

"Hmph, showoff," Le'Ael muttered.

"Huh? Lysander?" Cronian asked, puzzled.

"No, his pretty AI," she said in a mocking tone. "She set those jump coordinates for him to exit very close to the gate."

"Well," Cronian raised an eyebrow, smiling at the whole thing. "Can you do better?"

"Hah," she exclaimed. "Of course I can."

She paused for a mere second before continuing.

"Coordinates set, may I activate the hyper dive, or do you want that privilege?"

Cronian couldn't help but laugh.

"Go ahead, engage…or something."

If Le'Aeal was at all surprised by his reaction, she only showed it for a second or two, but did what she was given permission to do and the stars around the cockpit suddenly stretched and then vanished, replaced by a shimmering blue tunnel. Cronian looked down at Le'Aeal and watched her as she stared out ahead of the Flight, concentrating strongly on the jump coordinates that she had entered in to the nav computer. Its good to see she takes her job seriously, he thought, knowing full well that whatever she was exactly concentrating was beyond his simple mind to figure out.

"Leaving hyperspace in five," she said. "Three, two, one."

The instant she finished her count down the shimmering tunneled suddenly seemed to open up at the end and directly ahead the large, ancient stargate that glowed and flickered as it's the several rings that comprised it rotated in opposite directions from each other, seemed to throw itself at Cronian and Le'Ael as they exited hyperspace, and before Cronian could let out a startled exclamation he found they had came to rest between two of the seven large, ominously spinning rings.

Without saying a word, Cronian looked at Le'Ael in wide eyed admiration. "Told you I could do better."

"I'm just glad you know what your doing," he said.

That prompted a smug smile out of the AI.

"Oh, Lysander's calling again," she said, nodding to him as she opened the channel.

"Go ahead Lysander," Cronian said.

"Cut it a little close there," Lysander said, "Miscalculate your jump?"

Cronian grinned in spite of the fact that a minute ago he almost was in need of a new pair of underpants.

"No," he said, winking at Le'Ael before taking a look outside the cockpit and taking note of the many, many running lights of other spacecraft milling about not too far from the gate "I assure you those coordinates were intentional."

"Hm, nicely done then, you first I suppose, since you managed to cut ahead of the line that's forming out here."

Cronian looked down at Le'Ael who was doing her best to control her giggling.

"Roger, see you on the other side, Cronian out," he said, nodding to Le'Aeal. "Get us to the 'Roids then."

"Already working on it," she replied and in seconds a solid beam of light hit the Flight, quickly enveloped it, and in the blink of an eye the stargate shot the Flight of Independence out in to the vast reaches of space.

Cronian opened his eyes, and blinked several times, allowing his eyes to recover from the brilliant light that had just a moment ago filled his cockpit. Once his vision cleared he peered out the bubble canopy and found himself watching an asteroid lazily drifting by, as if it was making an attempt at sneaking out of the asteroid field without being detected by the other asteroids.

"We're here," Le'Ael said, off handedly confirming what Cronian already guessd himself. "All systems are good to go, hyper drive is in standby charging, and clock is re-synced back to normal time."

Cronian looked at the clock that was between his knees and directly below the HUD and watched a count down timer go from one second to a three hour interval, with an indicator next to the timer switching from T-7 to T-8. Only twenty four hours in to this war, he thought shortly before multiple ships flashed in to existence nearby and floated in place for a few moments before accelerating forward and disappearing in to the large expanse of asteroids in the distance. Soon, Lysander and his Blue Bird arrived in a similar show of light and took up position in front of Cronians Flight.

"That took longer then I liked," Lysander popped up, Le'Ael automatically putting him through on the comms. "But there was a couple others who managed to get closer to the gate then we did as well."

"Ah, it happens" Cronian said. "Would your navigator like to swap notes with my navigator?"

Lysander laughed.

"She says no thanks. Anyway, just follow my lead, we'll show you where my squad is fighting. At least until our hyper drives charge back up, then we can jump there. Should be about five minutes."

"Roger," Cronian replied, and matched Lysanders course and speed as he thrusted forward towards the asteroid field. "I take it your navigator has a safe jumping corridor to get to that rock?"

"She assures me she does," Lysander replied.

"Hah, roger that, on your six. Lead the way."