"Attention, all pilots meet at the aft hanger."

"What?"

"Commander Jay F. Devroe, You are to report to the aft hanger now."

Jay sits up in bed and checks his clock. It's two PM space central time.

"Damnit, how could I have slept so late?"

"Commander you were up late last night attending the party for the first voyage into the Forbidden sector Zeta/Zeta. You consumed massive amounts of alcoholic beverages and returned here with two females: Ensign Falkirk and Ensign Lohret." "Well that explains that. "

"Computer, upload the news while I am getting ready. Last night might be my last night in the milky way, hell it might be my last night ever depending.."

June 25th, 2812 - Juveral Klonov, scientist currently living on Jupiter discovered a anamoly in the Zeta/Zeta quadrant of space while checking up on an errant ship. While he was tracing the emissions left over from the freighter he encountered the anamoly now known as the Green Portal. Two hours later, working with the Saturn Dynasty, fifty probes were sent out to the Portal. Twenty-two returned with a full mapping of a brand new star system. Seventeen planets circulating around two Suns, over forty moons were detected. Upon learning of the new discovery all eight planets planned how they would divide the new territory among themselves and began sending more probes to discover if there was any intelligent life.

June 28th, 2812 - The new system was announced to all inhabitants of the solar system and was named The Klonov System. A newly formed council of planetary leaders went into effect which ordered a fleet of the finest fighters to go into the Green Portal and secure a mobile space station. Four days later the Cruiser Ascendant, flanked by two destroyers led five thousand men to their death. After losing contact with the Ascendant more probes were sent into the Portal and found no trace of life. The council met again and decided to set up one hundred thousand troops and every ship to stand guard at the portal.

May 3rd, 2815 - After three years of every planet creating new space-faring ships and training anyone who had the desire to fight the UED, United Earth Directorate, was ready to send in over two million troops as an invasion force of the unseen enemy. Praying that there was no repeat of the last failure the troops were set to leave at 2:15 Space Central...

Dropping his Captain pips to the floor.. "If only I had'nt.."

"Commander, you are going to be late."

"Yeah I know, who the hell programmed such a naggy computer?"

"Datalynx Corp. User 1435.."

"Yeah I know! Quiet!" Jay muttered. Picking up his tags and zipping his suit up Jay began to run towards the aft hanger where he would be spearheading the attack into an unknown sector where thousands of his kind had died in a matter of hours. "Well, not my kind really. I am only a Class C Human afterall, born to no parents.. made to perfection and implated with more bioware at birth then most humans achieve in a lifetime. Hard to believe i'm worth a million credits sometimes. "

December 2790 - Genetically perfect, implanted with the highest level technology and trained from birth how to fight and fly. The first crop of one hundred men was created, matured to the approximate age of fifteen. Two died during implantation, ten from training and four from emotional problems.

"Not quite genetically perfect, but that's not what they told the public of course."

Core Unit: Eighty four men.

Specifications:

Height: Six Foot-Two

Weight: Two hundred and twenty pounds

Life Expectancy: Thirty years

Implants:

ZioMatrix Harddrive implanted into the skull with Spinal Jack

Kinitik Muscle Enhancers

Noise Filters

Low-light Optics

Abilities:

Able to connect to any computer and ship

Lightning Reflexes with enhanced strength

Edict Memory

"They should have just called us sterile jocks with a pain in the ass computer talking in your head all the time."

"Please connect helix operating system." Lights on the control panels began to dully glow as the computer warms up. The Echo-Class snubfighter is the state of the art long range fighter is the latest in Martian technology which supports four hardpoints for eight Vtec missiles, three lancer lasers and a Level 4 shield.

"Which in lamen terms means a floating piece of metal that shoots stuff, I got ya."

"Yes, Sir?" the comm buzzed.

"Oh yeah, my squadron. Let's find out who is going to die with me tonight." Jay coughed into his mouthpiece.

"Commander Jay Devroe, Squadron leader of The Javelins it says here. Please sign off as I was to lazy to memorize your names." Jay mused to himself, knocking himself on the head. "Of course I have an edict memory how could I forget?" The comm buzzed and the engines began to heat up and hum.

"Wonder how they get by without these wonderful noise filters? It's good to be perfect."

"Lieutenant James Camron, I am your medical officer sir." James mumbled.

"He must be nervous, heard great stories about the great fighter pilot Captain Devroe..."

"Lieutenant Brenda Market, I am a Mistress of Magic, specializing in light and fire spheres."

"A Sorceress? What?! No way, not on my squad. They can't fight! Everyone remembers what happened at the Magician wars, how could they let them in again? Computer, how many mages are currently enlisted?"

"Commander, there are currently seven magic using pilots enlisted. Six of which are being detained at Saturn defense headquarters for further training."

"How did I know i'd get the only one in the entire force? You make one little mistake..."

Lieutenant Fredrick Tomas, Johan Knvor, Dweht Marcus, Loranne Yvight.

"All top of their grade pilots with no bad marks on their records. A good squadron except for the mage I suppose."

The intercomm system lit up and blared it's commands: "Soldiers, men and women of the UED I am proud this day to announce we have entered the Portal and are forming up our defences and will be ready to attack the first planet which we have spotted. It is time for us to show these miserable beings that attacked us we will not just sit idly by.

"Okay, we will be the first to be deployed, I want you all to stay close to me in phallanx formation." Jay said in his most commanding tone.

"Anyone care to make a bet who racks up the most kills today?" Tomas said.

Camron snorted into the comm, "I doubt you will get any with me here!"

"Oh, is that so?" Marcus cut in.

"Boys, boys, we all know that females are better pilots." Market replied.

Sounds of explosions echoed off the hulls and alarms began blazing their warning. "Enemy ships have closed in on us, they are everywhere! Squadrons launch in order, quickly! Activating Friend or Foe systems." The intercomm voice yelled in a shrill voice.

"We are over a million strong with 50 cruisers! What could scare him? Maybe he is new and acting irrationally."

"Javelins, LAUNCH!" Jay screamed into the sound of engines and explosions. The Squadron juked through the doors into a mass of enemy ships and laser fire. Jay's ship systems began alerting for locks immediately which signalled the unloading of countermeasures. "Stay with me!" he said while cutting a path through two enemy fighters.

"No shields on them, they seem to be about even to us Commander." Yvight added.

"I was hit by a strange beam, no physical damage to shields or hull but my engine is overheating sir!" Knvor said.

"Cut weapons energy and add the extra supply to the radiator now!" Jay replied.

"Rookies."

"WARNING: Shields low"

The ship rocked from heavy fire on all sides and the computer sent pulses to his brain and limbs shocking him and relaying a multitude of errors and damage reports which were thrown together with commands from the captial ship and the dying screams of his own men. Jay had been in losing situations before where he had come out alive due to his genetics and he planned to make it through this as well.

"ERROR: Shield energy delepted. ERROR: Engine heat critical. ERROR: Cooling unit shut down." Jay flipped his comm to his squadron on and saw that he had lost three pilots already.

"How?.."

"Okay, evasive pattern alpha, follow me. We will try to circle the capital ship and come back for an offensive and give cover to those still launching!" Jay barked.

Private communication signal bleeped into his ear. "Commander, Capital ship Defender Admiral Holst here.. We are pulling back, you and unit two through eight will provide us with cover while we retreat." the comm crackled.

Jay knew he should have been shocked but after recieving an order like this before he should have known. Five pilots shown dead on his computer screen, the fighter was faltering in all systems and had taken heavy damage. There was only one thing to do. "Affirmative, Sir." he replied stiffly. "Rerouting energy, ship integrity is at 20%, reccomendation for retreat." the ship warned. "Negative Computer. Men, let's lead them away from the main force to..." Jay pulls up his mapping program and finds a small moon nearby. "...this moon, i'm entering the coordinates. Try to bring as many of them as you can!"

Jay disengaged his attack status, fired a few shots into the melee and banked hard away from the engagement, just in time to see his capital ship implode. Shockwaves and debris crashed into his ship sending him spinning through space. He pulled on the yoke and activated full throttle to try to bring the snubfighter back under his control, hoping to at least aim it towards the moon. "WARNING: Lock aquired. WARNING: Countermeasures depleted."

"So it is to be like this, death comes swiftly on angels wings..."

Back to http://www.snakepeople.net