I stood on the back ramp of the insectoid dragonfly as space born infantry and homeworld defences troopers ran past me into the bay. In one corner of my eye I saw the telemetry data streaming in from the ships sensors. The Galactica is far behind us still on its deceleration burn.

Quoting the words of an ancient roman general I waved my armored hand at a platoon of stragglers. “Come on you apes you wanna live forever!”

Beside our dropship Ballista 6-2 two NE fighters prepped for their own launch. A weight suddenly pressed itself into my side as I hung on. Looking to my left I saw that is was Charlotte. We had been friends since I had inadvertently saved her from being stranded in PRC Pittsburgh 7 when we were kids.

“Good luck Fally don't die out there.” She said as her long blond braid drifted behind her. I gave her a pat on the back and a slight squeeze as to not smash her against the ceramic plates of my battle armor.

In militaries of the past such public displays of affection were frowned upon. But in age where death could come in many varieties of various flavors at any time such a concept has fallen to the wayside. Furthermore command in a shocking display of genius have at some point discovered that people will fight harder when someone they care about is actually there.

The relationship between the two of us is complicated. Because my grandmother received the medal of honor I am required to pair with someone else with a similar position. Now normally my father would have been the one to deal with this, but as he is a piece of shit who did not qualify the responsibly falls on me. And when we were kids Charlotte's parents were in a similar position with their daughter.

But as no one of standing would want to pair with a PRC rat from Pittsburgh. And Charlotte's parents didn't like the other candidates presented to their daughter. When the two of us met when we were kids my mother and her parents signed the pairing agreement. Years later when we were adults since neither of us wanted to settle down we just sent a lot of eggs and sperm as well as a single embryo out to Europa to be frozen just to get the governments off of our backs.

We had been thinking about getting back together since then. All of that changed when I met Miiora, and I had thought the two of them wouldn't get along but apparently that wasn't the case. Instead charlotte had taken to my former slave turned squadmate, turned girlfriend like the sister she never had.

Now don't get the wrong idea, charlotte is beautiful but she is like a sister to me. And I never really felt comfortable in a relationship with her since she comes from a very wealthy corporate family and I come from dirt poor PRC.

Drawing my mind back from the past and into the present I look across the flight deck. Several other public displays of affection were going on. I gave her a final awkward squeeze as I still had my new MOTH issue N-4 in my other hand before letting her drifting away and into the hold of the dragonfly.

When I was finally inside I received the whoops and hollers typical of troopers seeing this kind of thing and clicked my boots together. The boot's magnetics came online allowing me to walk to my horribly named crash couch. Whoever thought the idea of calling something a crash anything inside of a dropship needs to be shot in the face.

When I reached it I found Miiora sitting beside an empty seat wirh Trombley, Forbes, Levoy, Watkins, Bra'tac and Big dog on either side. Durge who was to big and too awkwardly shaped couldn't physically sit in a chair made for bipeds like us. Instead he hung from netting coming from the ceiling like a piece of cargo. To Durges credit the giants angry four armed tarantula hasn't said a word. Instead opting to eye everything with disdain and click his large fangs together.

Now I couldn't see Miiroa's face through the her older armors helmet visor but I could read her body language well enough. One of her right foots three talons scraped on the decking. Her lightly armored tail which was resting on her lap coiled slightly. Her head was tilted cutely to one side as she eyed me.

She emitted an almost inaudible hiss over our private channel and tapped the seat beside her with her tail. Taking my cue to I stowed my weapon beside my seat and proceeded to check every troopers kit on board to make sure it was secure before taking my seat.

Taking absentmindedly I rested my hand on Miioras’ before checking in with the dropships pilot. “Ballista 6-2 this is Snow Viper actual, hold is checked ready to go. mind if I get feed it gets a little boring back here.”

The pilot's voice came back almost immediately in that same calm collected tone used by all pilots. “Solid copy Snow Viper actual, we are in the queue. Request accepted, sending camera feeds enjoy the show.”

The battle plan here is rather simple. Because the UEC ships are a lot faster than our slow bulky ones we knew they would reach the station far faster than we could. It was decided that we would allow the UEC ships to land their ground forces and engage the rebels on board. While the ponys were distracted with the guys in front of them our ground troops would rush in from behind and catching them in the crossfire.

But in order to do that Galactica would need to to slow down just enough to be able to deploy its dropships without slowing enough as to leave it open to any of the stations defence. That is where manitoba and Donnager come.

The two annihilator siege breakers possess more powerful engines than the much larger custer class siege destroyer. As such the two siege breakers would disengage from their pads while Galactica commenced its turn and burn. The two ships would then rush ahead for costing cold dark and ballistic before flipping around and blasting their engines at full.

The maneuver would allow the two slightly smaller ships to slow just enough as to let the dropships and by extension their fighter escorts get into position without exposing the Galactica and its other docked ships to hostile fire. Before flipping back around and accelerating toward the station. If the UEC acted as predicted they would direct the two advancing ships and turn to engage as Manitoba and Donnager shot past the station..

While this happened the Gally being much would be in position by this point and using its two particle accelerator cannons would take the first two enemy ships out that disengage from the station. And then two options presented themselves. Option one being thay the remaining UEC ship attempts to run in which case the Galactica would pound it into next year. Or it could stay docked with the station and the ground troops would board and cease the ship.

Normally the second option would be suicide on any COG vessel. As their command crews have a nasty habit of overloading their reactors of it looks like they might lose the ship to boarders. But the UEC either does not have such a protocol, or their ships don't possess a self destruct because the COG has managed to capture several UEC ships in the past.

I felt the deck shake as I watched through the dropships external cameras. An arm descended grabbing hold of the dragonfly and moving it into position the drop shoot. To the dropships port side I saw Charlotte's fighter slide into a fighter launch tube. While on the Starboard I saw one of the weird lanky flayed fighters disappear into a launch tube of its own.

A siren blared in the hanger and lights flicked from white to yellow to red as air was vented from the bay. Below the dragonfly the twin doors on Manitoba's belly slid open leaving nothing between Ballista 6-2 and space.

“This is it people!” I called out on the company channel. Beside me Miiora fidgeted she had always been nervous during dropship deployments and it looks like this time would be no different.

“Woooohooo!” One of the marines further down the line hollered. “This shit is what I live for!” Another commented.

“Stand by for deceleration, here comes the juice.” The Manitoba's AI roland said in all of our helmets.

https://youtu.be/d8CDqX85rm4

Suddenly I felt several pricks as a stabilizing agent was injected into my body. The shipwrecked then as a crushing pressure pressed me down into my crash couch. The entire thing gimbaled to the side as Forbes cried out. ”One express elevator to hell coming up!”

Lieutenant Ficks voice cut through our banter like a sword. “This is it people game faces. When we hit dirt side, fall out by squads. Amplifiers out first, followed by Snow viper, and Pitbull, Revenants bring up the rear. Rally with the Templar and fire drakes they've got power armor they'll lead the way. After that our group will push up and find their engram servers and take them out.”

“Woah! Centurion two contacts just appeared coming in from the system's star.” An earth pony resistance fighter reported in a startled tone.

The resistance leader turned from another camera feed displaying the fighting across the station. “What? Where did they come from? More UEC ships they couldn't get get reinforcements this fast.”

“Umm it looks like they came in from sunward using the stars shadow to mask their approach. Sensor feedback coming in now.” The mare reported as the old breed changeling leaned over her station.

“What are those?” The grainy images of two bright blue lights appeared on the screens display.

“Drive plumes centurion. But if their drives are facing us why aren't those ships accelerating away from us?” Another resistance fighter a pegasus named Cloud Chaser commented coming over to see the image.

“Damaged inertial dampers? Mabey a broken drive coil, those engines are throwing off a lot of heat. Far more than they should and im not seeing any magical energy just drive fire.” The earth pony Babs Seed suggested. Reciting something she had once heard her cousins friend talking about before she joined the movement.

“Brighton Felt what do you think?” The unicorn turned from his station as new updated data came in. “It cant be, look at the drive configuration. Four drives in an X formation around a larger central drive cone… No… no ship I can think of has that kind of configuration.”

“Look two of the UECs cruisers are moving to investigate… looks like most of the escorts are going with them… wait something's happening.” The image updated to show a much clearer image of the approaching drive ploom. Before they watched as dozens of objects burst from its sides, turned and burned straight for the oncoming UEC cruisers, frigates and corvettes.

“Woah! Count twelve Vamponies leaving that ship. They emptied their magazine.” Babs commented on the running battle her voice becoming more excited. This was the first time any of the resistance fighters present had seen anypony actually engage the UECs ships so blatantly.

They watched as the now red missile icons blazed faster than any UEC missile should towards their targets. When the first frigate was hit it gold shields flared brilliantly as they absorbed the blow. Before a second missile broke apart mid flight sending three darts slicing through the shield to wrend its hull to scrap.

In response the UEC began firing missiles of their own and taking evasive maneuvers. Several of the ships suffered the same fate as the frigate until they drew close together overlapping their shields. The two cruisers began launching fighters in response to the unprovoked attack from the obviously hostile ships. Then it happened and Hive runners pupiless eyes grew wide as his command staff watched the two incoming ships finally move.

The unknowns fired long streams of flares into space as their droves cut out. Smaller bursts of gas and flame burst from the ship's grey hull as they flipped around on their Y axis using maneuvering thrusters.

The two ships somersaulted one hundred eighty degrees. Showing their enormous hulls bristling with turret like weapon mounts and dozens of rotary guns. Before the ships fired their engines again burning hard toward their target. Their utilitarian grey hulls were marked with white lettering the words NACS: Manitoba and NACS: Donnager glared back at the small ships as they advanced.

They were ugly a stark contrast to the sleek, flowing patterns and design of UEC vessels. These ships looked like buildings with engines attached to one side.

Rumors of of the war with the COG had hardly reached out this far. But most of them had mentioned that the humans possessed a class of ship that could vaporize most UEC vessels the siege breakers. “Holy celestia those are Earther ships!?”

The image updated once again showing the ironic charging of the siege breakers gauss cannon. As they watched massive glowing heat sinks extended from the ships along their hulls. Arks of heat crimson electricity sparked between the masove glowing bricks as the noses of the two ships seemed to shimmer and warp. First changing from red to blue and finally back to normal as a flash of pseudo motion escaped their barrels.

“That was kind of anticlimactic?” Cloud Chaser commented sounding kind of dissonance.

There was a titanic flash of light whiting out the sensor visual feed and filling the normal sensors with static. When the images game back the two cruisers had vanished being replaced by two small suns and clouds of expanding gas.

There was a titanic bang as the ships exploded courtesy of the stations sound synchronizing system. This was followed seconds later a distinct crack like that of a snipers rifle only much louder.

The missiles and fighters entered range next and immediately glowing streams of tracers lanced out from the earth ships to meet their attackers. From this distance the point defence fire resembled long spiraling strings of pearls as the two ships spiraled toward the station.

But despite the numerous streams of point defence fire coming from the ships several missiles still managed to strike their hulls. As we watched huge magic based and more conventional explosions wrocked the skins of the two massive ships.

Presumably seeing a weakness a wing of griffon, dragon, and Neo changeling frigates closed the gap intending to utalize their energy rakes on the much larger ships. In responce the fourteen forked guns along the ships hulls turned and traked their new targets. Red, blue and purple arked from between the forks before a pulse of super heated gas escaped the weapons as their railguns fired.

The golden dome shields of the frigates flickered under the assault before finaly shattering like glass. Their defence gone the humans rotary point defence guns swiveld on ther turret mounts and began tracing lines of fire across the smaller ships hulls.

Thousands of bullets from the point defence cannons shreaded the hulls of the friggates anywhere they hit. While the larger and less numerous railgun turrets continued to pound the smaller ships like a schoolyard bully.

“It's almost beautiful… wait woah zoom into the bottom of those ships.” Brighten Felt commented pointing to the belly section of this Donnager. The image updated zooming into the selected before showing what looked like dozens large overly armed shuttles shooting out into space.

“Why would they be dropping shu…” Taking a breath Hive Runner shook with excitement mabey this little uprising on this backwater mining station might be successful after all.

Running back to his station Hive Runner opened a channel to the resistance fighters down in the settlement. “Hang on just a little longer everypony looks like we have some back up coming our way!”

As he ran back to the viewer he saw the image had been zoomed out showing a stream of fighters launching from tubes along the sides of the human vessels. Unfortunately at this point as the last of their smaller escorts vanished from violent missile strikes the two remaining cruisers larger destroyer began launching their own stream of fighters. Their intent was clear stop the earthers from boarding the station.

If the the timer was correct it would take almost two hours for the Humans to arrive if they made it through the gauntlet of UEC fighters. When he watched the final stragglers of the Earthers shuttles launched into space rocketing toward the station the glare from the two ships drive plumes flared brighter. The stations navigational computer updated showing the two ships were accelerating intent on passing by the station rather than getting into a protracted fight against a swarm of UEC fighters.

Minutes passed then hours as Hive runner and his command crew watched the tactical display with held breath. The icons on the display marking the Earther fighters and dropships crawled closer and closer to the UECs fighters.

Then a swarm of blinking red contacts appeared from the Earther fighter screen reaching out and wiping almost the entire first wave of UEC fighters from the board.

‘This is it.’ Hive Runner thought to himself as he watched the display where the furthest ahead icons were beginning to overlap.

In the distance I can see the absolutely massive Mining station we had found out was called Galimare. It looked like someone took an asteroid cut off the top and welded a huge thirty mile fish bowl onto it. The fighting inside must be intense because even from here I can see the distinct flashes of explosions inside the dome when I zoom in.

Panning my view around as the dropship rocked violently to one side I watched Charlotte's fighter corkscrew between a series of dumbfire missiles. I heard her curse in french before her twin gatlings spat out a stream of grenades into the lead fighter in a UEC squadron.

In the distance I could see one of Donnagers dragonfly dropships explode as four missiles struck its fuselage. Then I was bucked hard to the left as our dragonfly rolled over two oncoming bolts of pink and gold energy. Before the wing mounted missile pods belched out four missiles in response.

The Air to air missiles corkscrewed toward their targets. With the first two slamming into the first fighters magical shield overloading its shield with the first impact and fragging it with the second. The third and forth however missed their targets streaking off into space before turning around and chasing after the fleeing fighter.

The pilot's choice of direction to flee however was quite flawed as it took the pegasus fighter straight into Charlotte's sights. Where she blew it to pieces with her gatlings.

“Hold on back there!” The pilots voice came over the intercom as the chin mounted chain gun spun up. As I watched I shared the images of our dropship stitching a line of forty millimeter grenades across the hull of a UEC heavy fighter.

“Ooh that's gotta be embarrassing!” The dropships crew chief called out over the cheers in the hold.

“This is banshee two-six! Ive got three on me I can't shake ‘em!” A voice called out in a panic. “This is Viper six-one Im o…’

“There's to many of em! Aaaagh…’

On the tactical display I watched as the final dropship crossed the UEC fighter line. Of the sixteen dropships sent out thirteen made it out. That moment we were already one hundred and fifty short. While that were good statistics it still made my stomach do a flip.

I watched the UEC fighters bank and begin pursuing our comparatively slow drop shipst wandering which dropship would be the first to get a missile up the tailpipe. ‘Black knight one, black knight one, all fighters turn and burn.’

On my buckets display I watched as all of the fighters flipped around flying backwards as their engines flared behind them.

‘Here they come…’ one of the flayed fighters giggled. What resulted was no longer an almost completely fair fight.

As the UECs fighters came into range again our own fighters were able slow enough to engage them without having to commit as many of their number to protect us. Our fighters jinked around randomly firing streams of missiles and gatling fire into the enemy formation.

I watched dozens of pony contacts blink out before the two groups of fighters meet again. I could tell almost right away that their pilots had probably never fought humans before as they hung to far from their targets.

With their fighters operating like atmospheric craft our fighters were able to fly circles around them. On more than one occasion I watched a UEC fighter streak passt one of ours only for the COG craft to simply flip around and put a missile in its back.

Unfortunately that doesn't mean we didn't take any losses. There were simply too many fighters out there for us not to. As I watched a flight of two SRA akulas were out maneuvered as six cocatrice split up and flanked them. It seemed that for every three or four we took down they managed to destroy one of ours.

But then I heard It as I watched Charlotte's fighter transition from fighter to valkyrie mode and gun down two fighters. “Thirty seconds!” The dropships pilot called out as I watched the dogfight draw in around the station itself.

Switching back to a frontal view I saw the gaping docking bay of the mining station rushing up to meet us. “This is what we get paid for people! Keep your heads down and get the hell out of the dropship. Amplifiers are you ready!?” Fick called out as we all tensed up.

Amp a fellow member of MOTH team-1 sent his confirmation. As I disengage the external camera feeds felt a pressure on my hand. Turning I see Miiora had been holding my hand in a vice grip the entire time. Shaking my hand loose of my girlfriends grip I grabbed my N-4, engaged my mag boots and took a hand hold. Taking a deep breath I stood up and entered sergeant mode.

“Alright fuck faces! Magazines in!” Around the hold marines and soldiers plucked their weapons from the racks beside their seats and slapped in magazines.

“If I see anyone rack a bolt before the buss lands I will fucking shoot you in the face do you understand!” Harris shouted standing up himself hefting his own N-4.

I smiled thirty-four basic troops with M-66 rifles. twelve of which had incinerator attachments fixed to the under mount. Affew opting for the chainsaw on the off chance that we had to kill a kleese or something. But most had the dial of pain, or 40mm grenade launcher that came stock with the rifle. That left five basics with the SAW, five with PDWs, Durge with the MK32, and five MOTHs and one onyx with our N-4s.

A connection request flashed across my helmets peripheral. “Hud on.” My implant flickered to life outlining my eyes in red as I saw Douglas was marked as “Rook” today. “Kill team report.” The man's voice was calm a stark contrast to the troopers around us.

The first to check in was Tyrus Rechs or “Wraith” followed by Andrew Grayson II “Amp”, then Tolan “Big Dog” Harris, Nick “Hijack” Skryer, and finally myself Avery Fallon “Iceman” or “20s” depending on who you asked.

“Alright Apex, Let's show the basics how its done boys.” Rook said over our private squad channel. Each of us stood up our new jet black legionnaire battle armor a stark contrast to the older tan or green battle armor of the SI and HD troopers around us.

The dragonfly shook and I felt the pull of gravity again as we entered the loading bay. We must have come in shooting because already I can hear the chin and wing guns firing. Taking a deep breath I opened a shouted over the platoon channel as the ramp cracked open. “Rack ‘em back! Live forever apes!”

“Haoooh!” Everyone in the hold shouted as the ramp slammed down shooting sparks everywhere as we came to a skidding halt.

When our squad sprinted out of the hold the fight was already in full swing. I glanced around scanning for something to shoot and saw the huge fucking hanger door behind us. A glowing cobalt shield hung separating us from space and behind it I could see a gungnir marked as “Icequeen” hovering in infantry mode outside.

Both of its arms were out spewing grenade at something I couldn't see before it transformed and rocketed away. “Trombley head in the game!” Gunny Fallon shouted as he violently rolled a gryphon hen over his shoulder and onto the deck before shooting her in the face.

Nodding I sprinted forward with Miiora, Durge, Forbes and Levoy by my side. With a grunt I dropped prone to the deck beside a large container as sis slammed into cover beside me.

About forty yards to our left a second dropship comes in hot suppressing the UEC with its chainguns, rocket pods, and mars launchers. The green bulk of Banshee sixt-three belches out streams of fire and tracers before slamming its rear hatch down. In a rush third platoon rushes out from the dragonfly before finding cover and returning fire.

Miiora linked her helmets feed to my HUD and began marking targets as she fired her PDW in short bursts. “Ru'alaka!” She barked as she marked a group of UEC marines coming from a hatchway.

‘Die motherfucker die… die motherfucker die…’ I said to myself as I fired the saw in short five round bursts. As I watched the group of ten marines folded. Their shity kevlar body armor like the kind you would see in kind 20th century did nothing to protect them from the tungsten flechettes our weapons fire.

An actual honest to god bullet sparked off the deck beside me showering me and Miiora in sparks. Taking the hint the two of us ducked behind the metal box as a hail of bullets came down on where we had just been.

That's when I heard the steady boom, boom, boom! Of a mark 32 behind us followed by screams and a series of explosions. Instantly the incoming fire stopped and I glanced backward to see Durge scuttle his way forward.

He held the successor of the old US Mark-19 like a rifle in three of his four huge hands. His entire upper body rocks with the weapons recoil and I watch him rack the bolt on a jam with his fourth free hand. Beside him Forbes and Levoy crab walked low firing their M-66s in a cool stecado alternating fire like a metronome.

“Sis, I'll never get tired of seeing that.” I say to Miiora who nods. “Yes Michael Trombley it is quite awe inspiring.”

On that Miiora leaned out again and I rolled out into a firing positions. As we laid down suppressing fire Durge walked the usually vehicle mounted weapon across the bay forcing the clops to keep their heads down as more of our dropships arrived. ‘Die motherfucker die… die motherfucker die…’

A burst of movement and a flash of red drew my attention and I saw that Bra'tac guy and the MOTH kill team were already halfway to the bay entrance. They moved like a well oiled machine covering every angle of attack from their position beside another container farther up.

As I watched a grenade bounce on the ground beside them. Rather than panic and scramble out of the way one of them gave it a disgusted tilt of the head. Wraith angeled his armored jump jets, spun around and kicked the grenade like a goley sending it back to exploded in the throwers face.

Hearing the distinctive clip clop of hooves on metal I glanced to my side to see Aryanne and Gutsy part of Ficks command team and snowvper two slide into cover beside us. The earth pony and unicorn looked kind of weird in our battle armor but whatever. ‘Die motherfucker die… die motherfucker die…’

“How did I know Fallon was gonna be up there huh?” Fick commented beside Veteran Watkins who was crabbing around our beach head kicking and yelling at privates like he was daring the clops bullets to hit him.

‘Die motherfucker die… die motherfucker die… Die motherfucker die… die motherfucker die!…’

“Snow Viper, Templars are down get ready to move.” Fallon sent over the squad channel as he crouched low firing two bolts of electrified energy into a charging minotaur. The first shot blew straight through the super cows chest charing flesh and organs as it went. The second struck the cow in the face blowing its head away in a shower of chard bone and brain mater.

“Deusvault!” An electronically amplified voice called out over the din of combat.

Instantly most of the incoming fire shifted from us to fourteen suits of power armor marked with red templar crosses that were rushing the enemy line. The power armored MOTH team-9 lifted their left arms in front if them as they ran deploying ballistic shields. While with their other hand they pointed their fists towards the clop line. The distinct brrrrt of the power armors arm gatlings.

Flesh, bones, and metal seemed to disintegrate as a fucking wall of 5mm flechettes hit the UEC troops. That is when one of the templars exploded as a rocket from as yet untouched UEC fireteam struck her dead in the chest.

In response the templar leader “Crux” formed his team up in a kind of shield wall as they began activating their cherub mounts. Instantly an arm unfolded from their power armors backs. Some had another gatling on the implant controlled arm that stitched lines of tracers into the missile team. But others had missile pods that poked out of the shield wall before blasting away at the entrance to the bay as UEC reinforcements start streaming in.

‘Die motherfucker die… die motherfucker die…’

Then it happened not even five minutes in and explosion behind us blew everyone in the bay flat to the deck. We watched as one of the dropships went up in flames as it came into the bay. The dragonflies pilot must have had some semblance of control still cause he managed to fly low and drop the back hatch.

As we watched several marines jumped out of the damaged drop ship before a landing strut slammed into the deck. And the entire bird flipped onto its back and slammed down drawing a line of debris and burning fuel in its wake. Slid for several yards before coming to a rest under some conex boxes.

“This is Fire Drake one one, we are combat ineffective.” A voice called out over company chat. As the side door of the downed drop ship exploded out and several obviously injured troopers in power armor fell or jumped out.

“Fuck!” The Lt shouted as we watched the injured moth team drag their wounded away from the burning dropship before it went up in brilliant orange fireball. “God damn it that was the last drop shop coming to this landing bay! We need to break out before we get overrun! Third and forth squads get ready to push up.”

A cry of pain to my right made my blood run cold. Three marines were down with very familiar puncture wounds in their armor. Following the tragedy back to the source as another marine was hit in the face plate I saw ten UEC marines in old NAC battle armor coming out of a side entrance.

“Calebs at the south entrance!” As I spoke a hail of flechettes peppered the fireteam to our right. As I watched the nail like flechettes slammed through their battle armor in red puffs. Most Calebs like these ones are human collaborators who sided with the UEC when they took over Camelot about eighty years back. But others are traitors, defectors who left the cog to throw their lot in with the clops.

“Fragger out!” One of Fallons kill team shouted over the company chat before taking a step back and and baseball pitching a grenade towards the calebs.

The grenade sailed through the air smack into the faceplate of one of the calebs knocking her off of her feet before exploding in her face. Half a second later the second stage of the fragger air burst over the crowd of traitors. ‘Die motherfucker die… die motherfucker die…’

Fragments of armor and shrapnel exploded in every direction. But even this seemed to do little to the UECs morale. Soon I don't know when but soon our assault turned into a defencive firefight. With one hundred fifty troopers down we should have been able to push up. But our battle plan hinged on two teams of moths in power armor rushing the enemy line. Now with one pinned down, and the other half dead we weren't going to be able to do much beside fight to survive.

“Auxiliary inbound.” There was a loud noise like a thunder crack behind us. Having rolled behind another box to avoid another hail of bullets I saw a flash of light outside the bay shield in the black of space.

When the flash was gone I saw that a flayed fighter had appeared out of nowhere. The organic black and red lanky fighter flew straight into the shield and into the bay coming to hover over our defensive line. As it flew its engines made an early buzzing noise as its launched twin glowing red missiles into the UEC troops.

That's when four “doors” eyeressed open at its sides and four wendigo with black numbers painted on their white skin jumped out. They came down like paratroopers trailing a glistaning umbilical behind them before cutting the cord and falling out.

The wendigos towered six feet over the heads of our tallest guys. The Lanky ground troops let out an ear splitting screech that sounded vaguely like a warning siren before slamming their hands to the ground dropping into a quadrupedal stance.

The leader 1 let out a chirp that caused our helmets to cut out noise to protect our hearing as the lankys dropped their head crests. As one the lankys slowly marched towards the UEC as bullets and grenades from the UEC marines bounced off of their thick hides.

When they were almost fifty feet from the line they broke ranks they changed tactics. The lankys stood up to their full height and charged them. We watched as one of the twelve foot tall lankys 4 picked up a handful of deck plating and hull it at a squad of panicking unicorns as they fired spells into its hide.

3 the largest of the bunch batted aside a charging centaur like a toy before a rocket struck it in the face. Fragments of bone colored head crest exploded from the smoke before the celebrating earth pony and his support were snatched up by a huge pair four clawed hands.

3 loomed out of the smoke and roared so loud I saw several of our troopers trying and failing to cover their ears. The wounded lanky eyed the pony with the launcher before opening its beak and blighting the unfortunate fuck in half. Seeing the fate of its buddy the other pony actually drew its side arm and started shooting the lanky in the face.

3 either not noticing or not caring about the bullets striking its flesh simply flung the panicking pony over its shoulder. I followed the pony with my sight as it sailed across the bay before slamming into a bulkhead with a sickening crack as every bone in its body exploded.

So far the only one of the wendigo to actually use its weapons as 2 who stomped down on the lower half of a gryphon who was attempting to crawl away. Pointing its clawed fist an airborne pegasus the lanky fired a microscopically barbed bone spike that squerard the pony before impaling it to the ceiling.

In fifty seconds, four lankys did what we weren't able to do with ten minutes and one hundred and fifty troopers. And in the face of the lankys bloody assault and our steady advance the UEC ranks broke retreating by squads farther into the station.

“Alright people! Lets move, snowviper, pitbull on point!” Fick yelled to our platoon.

“Doll, surveillez vos six, venez au point neuf cinq, je vous les enlèverai.” My fighter bucked as I kicked in the afterburner.

Ahead of me Dolls fighter rolled low hugging the deck of the stations hull. Behind her two UEC fighters banked in trying to score hits with their condensers. As I watched they were slowly bracketing her fighter in and soon they would have her dead to rights.

[Missile locked on, missile locked on.]

“Merde!” Pulling out of my dive I jinked my fighter to the right firing flares and chaff. Eyeing the sensor screen I saw the missile was still on my tail banking around to try for another strike. The damn thing is to close for me to shoot down safely.

‘Ten seconds Charlotte, that's all you need to get this thing off your back.’ I told myself, after that the ponys missile would run out of fuel and cost ballistic. Stuck on its final trajectory until the end of time or until it hit something.

“Dont worry Icequeen, i've got dolls back.” An American pilot called out before streaking past. As it fired it afterburners the F/A-74's forward sweped wings folded forward untill they were flush with its body.

The black and red avenger interceptor streaked down to fall behind the two fighters bracketing Doll. Before firing its novering jets and skimming the deck as its wings unfolded. Another series of jinks and a slammed me against the harness as I fought to avoid the much faster missile.

‘Three… two… one.’ Finishings my countdown I jinked out if the missiles trajectory before flipping one eighty and fired my gatlings into the pony who had fired that missile. Seeing an the small burst of flame on my sensors I scanned the area before burning after the avengers' transponder.

Nearing the deck I rolled low hugging the hull as I wove between antennas. A flash of light from up ahead marked the destruction of the first fighter as the avenger my hud marked as “Snow” blew thenfirst fighter on Dolls tail to pieces with his autocannon.

That's when a series of blazing pink bolts of magical energy leaped out from behind my fighter. Craning my neck I looked behind me to see a flight of three cocatrice ganing on my six they planned to bracket me like they tried to do to doll.

A decent plan for a bunch of nuggets, a great plan in fact but… “Pas assez bon!”

Nearing a clear spot on the hull I flicked the toggle to valkyrie mode and braced as I was thrown against the seat. In the corner of my eye I could see the wireframe of my fighter start to shift as I felt the juice being injected.

On rails my fighters main engines snapped forward into legs as the main deceleration thruster folded back. Then the duel rotary cannon mounts disconnected pivoting out as I slowed enough to slam a clawed hand into the hull.

My sudden violent deceleration caused the three fighters chasing me to rocket off ahead of me forcing them to bank back around. As the first came in from my three I worked the pedals in my cockpit making my fighter kick its legs out causing it strafe to the side.

Another warning came into from my nine so I turned the strafe into a circle as I activated Infantry mode. My machine shifted again from a fighter jet with arms and legs to its mech mode as I pointed my fist at the offending cocatrice sending twin streams of grenades into its cockpit.

“Coming in on your six/on your twelve” Doll and Vixen called out over our squadron channel. I watched my wingmen make their ingress as I drifted in a circle firing both arm gatlings toward the two circling fighters.

Dolls white and green fighter slammed its back into mine before being followed by Vixen's own white and rust gungnir. And within seconds we were spiraling in an NE maneuver unimaginably called a defences spiral.

Our six arm gatlings made short work of the remaining two fighters before we shifted back to fighter mode and rocketed off into the black.

“Squadron leaders this is Galactica Cruisers decoupling, deceleration complete. Stand by for fire support, clear marked sectors. Firing in ten.”

“You heard the man people! Scramble!” The flight leader called out.

“Don't have to tell us twice. Valkyrie break, break!” dancing my fingers across the throttle I rolled my fighter before firing the afterburner.

The tactical plot showed that the two UEC cruisers that had been docked with the station were indeed disconnecting. Intending to chase after the annihilators as they made their turn around, they had their sensors locked on the two siege breakers failing to look sunward.

As we burned hard away from the red cone marking the projected path of the Galacticas main guns I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she missed and hit the station. But as it turned out my concerns were unwarranted because just as the final fighters cleared the path Galactica fired its two big six barreled guns.

As we watched it was as if someone had taken a gigantic hole punch to the UEC cruisers. Three of the six beams burned themselves straight through the ships as they turned taking the hits amidships. Armor buckled burning white hot before evaporating. Entire bulkhead simply disappeared before the invisible beams shoot out of the back of the ships in clouds of superheated plasma.

The two ships seemed to hang there gutted for several seconds before erupting in brilliant bursts of particles as their unstable magic based reactors exploded. Then in a display of futility and probably sheer importance the sole Destroyer raised and expanded its shields around the station probably hoping to use its shields as a buffer against the Gallys state of the art particle cannons.

“Alert zero second fire, coils overloaded on that one.” The Galactica's gunnery operator called out.

“Are you fucking serious?” one of the UAF pilots shouted over the channel.

“Leave it to the cog to go with the lowest fucking bidder! No wonder we are losing this war. With equipment this unreliable the ponys might as well just sit there and let us blow ourselves up.” another NAC pilot called out.

“Stow that shit lieutenant.”

“I'm just saying cap that's the second time in a week Galacticas weapons haven't worked as advertised.”

“You know crashdown is right we should have kept the receipt.”

“Leave it to your government to use flashy weapons that don't work NAC see if your ship were designed by…” One of my NE pilots makes the stupid choice of joining in on the conversation.

“You shut your fucking mouth nordic. Don't talk to us about flashy shit you dick. You literally fly around in a goddamn transforming fighter that turns into a shity mech. Thats stupid, it's absolutely ridiculous. Fuck you and the horse you rode in on.” Another NAC pilot schemes in throwing in his two cents.

‘What an asshole this guy is.’ I say to myself as I shoot down another UEC fighter.

“Anyone else notice that we’re not even fighting the B team right now. These pilots are closer to the fucking K team. What, did they just graduate flight school before they threw them out here?”

“I wouldn't know, buAAAGH!”

“WOAH! What the fu…”

“I can't see'em!”

“I've got eyes on. New group of fighters incoming from mark Z.376.” Switching my sensors in that direction I see the second wave of UEC fighters launching from the station and lone destroyer.

“Woah check out the leading fighters, ain't seen that make before.” The four fighters in question look like something that would have flown before the end of the 21st century. Resembling a mixture of the NACs F-72 Shrike and an old United States F-22 Raptor. The UEC fighters possessed two condenser engines near their aft sections marked by the glowing gold rings on the bottom of the craft furthermore, they possessed two cannon like protrusions under their fuselage as well as a single larger cannon under the chin.

“Doll, Vixen, Snow on me.” As I flipped and burned toward the UEC fighters I watched the lead fire bolts of cobalt energy into one of the Gungnirs from Donnager.

The pilots must have noticed their extra attention and banked their new fighters toward my squadron. As we neared one another we began exchanging ranging shots the NAC pilot Snow sent a message over the squadron comm. “Lets see how the A team is.”

“Listen to me you lazy fucks! Get that fucking rifle up!” One of the human resistance fighters yelled slapping me in the back of the head.Before crouch walking to another window. “Trixie! What the hell are you doing, get that fucking shield back up!”

“I can't! I don't have enough energy left!” The blue furred unicorn yelled back holding her head like she had a headache.

In response I watched the human Kyle something walk over to one of our squads dead unicorns. With a grunt he snatched the dead mares horn in one hand before bucking his leg out. There was a sickening crack as his armored boot snapped the horn off at the base. With a nod he took the bleeding stump and slid the amplifier ring off before tossing it to the scared Trixie.

“There now get that fucking shield up!” Kyle yelled before crawling to an open store front window and firing his bulky human rifle at something. “O-ok i'll try.”

“Buck! Jamed!” I cried out ducking back down working the bolt of my rifle. “Covering!” Pipsqeak, Snips, and Snails, shouted standing and firing their rifles into the street.

In response a hail of bullets came back to meet them. Pipsqueak and Snails were able to duck back in time but snips was caught out in the open. His body jerked back as dozens of wounds peppard his chest before collapsing to the ground in a heap.

There was a dull magenta glow from the center of the room before a dome of that same colored magic surrounded us. “Damn it Trixie couldn't you have done that just a little faster!” Snails shouted crawling over to his dead friend and looting the magazines from his vest.

In a war where most of your troops come back to life eventually if they are lucky respect for the dead has kind of disappeared. With a snort the chubby guy pressed a button on Snipa's vest broadcasting his death to the servers before returning to his spot by the window.

There was explosion outside and somepony in family of slaves hiding in the back room cried out as the building shook. “Movement up the road! Incoming!” I heard Twist shout from across the street.

Hearing the sound of my rifle releasing the jammed bullet I racked the slide back and crab walked to the window beside Kyle. Unlike us he wore old human armor past down from his grandparents to his parents then to him. “See anything adjunct!?”

“Loyalist squad incoming through the smoke.” He said leaning out of his window slightly to get a better look. “I count mabey twelve…”

There was a crack and was knocked off of his feet and onto his butt. A huge dent had appeared in his breastplate. “Fuck sniper stay down!”

Kyle gave himself a once over before pressing his back to the bottom of the window and raising his weapons nose over the edge. “Come on fuckwad where are you?..”

There was another crack and someone on the radio began screaming for a medic. Kicking my hoof our I crunched on a piece of broken glass and getting an idea I snatched it up holding it at an angle to the window. Using the improvised mirror i scanned the rooftops, then as another shot rang out I saw the muzzle flash. “Kyle, red house, two floors down from the roof, third window to the left.”

“Got him.” Kyle shifted his awkward hold on his weapon as he held it above his head. His rifle gave its hoars report and I watched the sniper move into view holding her throat.

Blood oozed from between her fingers before two more shots from kyle hit her chest and the mare flopped out falling head first out of the window. “Fuck you.”

With the sniper down we leaned to engage the advancing Loyalists only to see six of them peppered by bolts of crackling red energy. The rest took whatever cover they could as we began firing on them drawing their attention away from whoever was attacking them. “Changing!” Pipsqueak yelled jerking our an empty magazine.

“Covering!” We shouted as I saw two cylindrical grenades slide out from under a skiff to their right.

There was thundurus boom and a split second later a ball propelled into the air by the first explosion exploded itself. “Holy shit, what the fuck was that?”

As the decimated loyalists crawled around in various states of agonized death two groups of fighters in tan armor rushed their position. The leaders of the two groups of soldiers surged forward bounding over debris and damaged skiffs. Their jet black armor was very different from their compatriots giving them a distinctively intimidating look.

But as they drew closer I could see very slight differences in the armor worn by the two. The slightly slower and smaller of the two had letters KTF painted in red on the side of his helmet as well as a knife attached to his breastplate near his left shoulder. While the larger of the two had what looked like a shotgun slung over his shoulder.

“Who the fuck are these guys?” Kyle asked noone in particular as the two black armored humans began executing the injured and dying loyalists.

As we watched they did not use their guns to do the deed. Instead they used knives.

‘To save ammo’ I told myself, as the one with KTF on his helmet slashed open the throat of a writhing pony. Because if that isn't why then I don't want to know what would make them do such a vicious thing.

As they killed the others in their group moved up. Not a word was said as they did this, their entire group was deathly quiet. As I saw what looked like two tymerians, two ponies a unicorn and an earth pony, and a kleese move up with the rest of the group.

Then without mitering a word, without giving any sign they knew where we were the unknowns soldiers turned as a group. Leveling their weapons on our positions and taking cover.

“Ident!” A human voice called out into the silence.

“What do you think snails?” I asked reloading my rifle. As Kyle awkwardly groped at the dent in his breastplate. “No idea. If they wanted to kill us they could have just let the Loyalist do that for them.

As i watched one of the tymerians a female judging by the general body structure crouche walked forward. Its stance making it look for all the world like some kind of saurian as it drew near to the smaller of the two killers in black. The two seemed to converse wordlessly before the reptile backed off returning to its post beside a skiff.

“Identity!” The same cold menacing voice called out. With my piece of window I saw the two leaders were becoming agitated.

Then the sound of claws on metal cut through the air. I saw the door one of the store fronts near the newcomers slide open and a tiny filly probably three equestrian years or about twelve human years stagger out.

In response the human who talked to the tymerian before took one hand off of his strange rifle to gesture at the filly. The unicorn in the group nodded before lowering her weapon and attempting to shoo the child back into the store. From here I could hear the filly's parents attempting to call their child back, that is until the leaders saw movement at the end of the street.

“Buck, loyalists heading down the…” Changing windows I saw a group of what looked like five centaurs, two young dragons, four oxen, and two unicorns round a corner.

The loyalist soldiers seemed stunned for a fraction of a second before as a group opening fire. The reaction was instant, the second the bullets flew in their direction KTF seemed to fire some kind of jetpack. Rocketing to the side the black armored human snatched up the filly before hugging her close to his chest and diving through a window.

With the civilian out of the line of fire the newcomers began returning fire in earnest. The sole remaining black armored soldier on the street raised his rifle firing bolts of crimson energy as he fell back behind an overturned skiff.

“I've got a shot, Kyle what do we do?” Twist shouted from across the street. Down in the street it was like tartarus on equis as bullets, spells and flechettes flew through the air. Punctuated by the occasional red bolt or golden beam/bolt of magical energy from the male tymerians projector staff.

“You know what! Screw it, let's help em out. Twist, Swarm Herald, on my fire.” The human barked before standing up to a low crouch.

Sighting along my rifle I picked out a particularly careless centaur who was standing just a little to far from his chosen bit of cover. Instead of a verbal cue Kyle just let loose with his weapon adding its hoarse deport to those of the humans below.

That's when our radios crackled to life and a new voice spoke up. “Good to know we won't have to kill you. Thanks for the help, switch coms to mike 6” Glancing over to Kyle as I reloaded my rifle all I got was a shrug. “Fuck it why not.”

Looking over my shoulder at Snails, Pipsqueak, and Trixie who shrugged as well we did as the voice suggested. Immediately a chorus of different voices came into our headsets.

“Come'en out!” Suddenly a window one stor over shattered. A black shape rolled out into the street before firing its rifle one handed as it crossed the street taking cover behind a stores support pillar.

“Fighters, keep em pinned. Snowviper bounding overwatch fire and advance. Fragger out.” The cold voice said as KTF tossed one of those cylindrical frag grenades toward the loyalists.

“Yeah baby get some!” A younger human voice called out followed closely by a hail of flechettes striking the skiff three of the oxen were using as cover. Armor piercing nails punched through the skiffs thin metal skin with little orange sparks before tearing the soldiers behind it to pieces.

“Fireteam one go!”

I bank low as another volley of tracers race past my canopy before pirouetting my fighter between two missiles. I have seen the vids and heard the stories about the distant earthers and their crack fighter pilots.

An explosion washes over my shields as I shoot down another earther pilot. “Where are you? Where is their ace?”

Scanning the field I suddenly see four of my fighter wing explode. Arching an eyebrow I zoom the image in and see an Ice blue and white human flake fighter spiral out of an explosion firing its rotary guns.

Its rear most thrusters and forward facing wangs are marked with a red and white snowflake as with thirty two silhouettes of Cocatrice and pegasus fighters under its noseless, windowless, dome of a cockpit.

“Im on leader.” Jamming the throttle forward I am slammed back into my seat as I dash forward. Behind me the twin condenser engines fire a stream of golden particles as I close the gap and bring up my targeting key.

‘Come on, earther just a little longer.’ Firing my maneuvering jets I manage to keep the lazily moving fighter in my sights until I hear the ping of a target lock. “Good bye.”

Depressing the firing stud my fighter shakes as two missiles pop from the racks and rocket forward. I watch as the two naga missiles streak toward their target with a small smile. ‘If this was their best then the rest should…’

At the last second the earther craft sprouts legs and strafes in a circle firing on the missiles. The pilot manages to destroy one of the nagas and its flares fool the other causing it to spiral off into space and explode.

In response the largest eye on the humans’ dome cockpit slides open revealing another cannon. Eyes wide as the human levels its “nose” and wrist weapons on me I yank back on the stick. “Buck!”

Rolling over the streams of tracers I loop back around hugging the deck before firing my condenser guns toward the human. Who angles its legs to the side dashing to the right as I shoot past it.

[Missile lock, missile lock]

Banking hard I flip both my chaff and flares as the powerful human missiles race out of that fighters pods. The first of which slams into my shield spiraling me to the left and into the path of a second.

But the sudden movement must have messed with the targeting of the third as it flew into the cloud of flares and exploded. Getting ready to turn back around I a stream of tracers explodes against my shield and flies past my cockpit window.

Craning my neck and almost standing in my seat I manage to look behind my flight seat. There is that ice blue fighter burning hard to stay on my tail. “Your good human but you don't have six hundred of your years of experience.”

Kicking the pedals and yanking back on the throttle and yoke I manage to drift my fighter around a sensor cluster and through an external maintenance path. ‘Lets see if you.!’ A small explosion rocks my fighter sending my shields down to thirty percent.

“Still back there huh? Your better than I thought.”

Bracing myself I see a flicker of light and yank back on the stick. In response my fighter goes into a sharp and violent double backflip decreasing speed and allowing the human to rocket past me and toward the blast door.

But as I watch the human shifts its fighter again. The legs and arms pop out again before the fuel salauge shifts into a torso. The wings fold into is back forming a kind of backpack as main thrusters split and become its feet. I have heard about these types of things the earthers use… mechs I think they are called.

the headless mech seems to slide moving its thruster feet toward the rapidly approaching door. Magenta plumes flair brilliantly as the human decelerates so violently that i'm surprised the pilot hasn't had a stroke. It comes to a stop before retrieving what looks like a rifle from one of its weapon missile racks.

“Shit!” Seeing only one solution I lock on fire two my remaining missiles. The desperate act throws off the mechs aim forcing it to throw itself down firing flares, chaff, and what looks like shotgun blasts of shrapnel from its chassis.

The missiles miss their target and strike the door blasting it off of its moorings and sending an alarm blaring through the station. There is a violent rush of air as I fly into the stations main habitat.

‘I'm so bucked if I make it out of this.’

“!” three streams of tracers reach out to meet me from the streets below. Switching to atmosphere flight and banking rolling low I manage to avoid the incoming fire. “How the hell did they…”

The exploding upper half of a building ahead of me gave me my answer. Through the smoke came an ugly obscenely armed insectoid human shuttle. The green hovering beast lets loose with its twin rotary nose guns and six rockets from its launchers forcing me to turn away or die.

[Missile lock, missile lock]

“BUCK YOU!” Jamming back the throttle I break violently causing the missiles and the blunt nosed fighter to rocket passed.

Firing my cannons I manage a glancing hit on its left wing which spits sparks, fire and smoke from the hit. “Got you.”

With a smirk I fire the last of my missiles at the wounded human. But rather than take the hits the human shifts into its mech form. The machine gun comes out of its eye and it begins jinking around randomly firing chaff and flares. Managing to either evade or destroy most of my missiles I come back around for another gun run intent ok shooting the human down.

But as I come into range a series of explosions rock my fighters dropping its shields and striking the hull. Looking at the threat detector I see the culprit wasn't my opponent in its transforming fighter but instead that damn shuttle.

[Warning eject, warning eject, warning eject]

Fighting with the rapidly failing controls I manage to look up an time to see the human fighter flip over me. I stare up at it and its three eyed dome stairs at me before out of my peripheral vision I see a clawed hand coming my way then I don't see anything.

“.... He's a good grow get him out.” A muffled voice calls out. Climbing out of the revival pool and glancing at a nearby computer screen. I immediately notice i'm not even in the same system any more.

“FUCK!”

“What happened my lord?” A slave asked handing me a uniform.

“Nothing that concerns you, get me a communication relay. I must inform the supreme commander.”

“As you wish my lord.”

Movement catches their eye and my love and his compatriots turn in unison before firing blazing bolts of light from their boxy rifles. But a flutter of wings was their only warning before a wounded changeling drone sailed straight into Avery.

Behind me the changeling that was part of Fick’s command squad hissed and snared at the new breed. But we watched in morbid fascination as the object of my affection drove his elbow into the base of the neos neck before spinning and pinning the bug to the bulkhead. Fallon then braced his boot against the small of the creatures back before tearing the screaming shifters wings off with one vicious ripping sound. Bright yellow green blood squirted before Fallon took his knife and slashed across his opponents throat.

“Iceman, Big Dog let's move. You basics…” the onyx guard turned to point a meaty finger toward our group of marines and army troopers. “You're with us, KTF”

We eventually made it to the corridor containing the brig and just as the onyx guard said it appeared to be where the infiltrators were going too. I duck back behind a bulkhead as a flood of flachetts pelts my position.

“Hell yeah this is what I'm talking about I'm fucken hard right now!” Michael Trombley yelld leaning back out and letting loose with the saw.

Down the hall I watch two changelings fold in half as flechettes tear through their backs, shredding their exoskeletons. A hand suddenly grabs the back of my armor yanking me back just as three flachetts slam into the wall behind her.

“Damn it Miiora if you get killed who the fuck am I supposed to marry then? Changing!” My love called out before swapping out the box on his rifle with another then leaning out and firing three bolts down the hall. “She is sorry, hold did he ju…”

But as I turned to reload noticed that Avery Fallon seemed to he holding a conversation. He nodded and as I turned to return fire he snapped a finger at me. “Yes sargent?”

He groped at my chest from behind his back. His metallic hand slapped at my breast plate before closing around one of my grenade loops. “Im borrowing these.” Was all he said before yanking the entire loop off of my armor.

He leaned back from the walls corner and pulled a spool of red tape, and one of the cylindrical two stage grenades from his belt. In one swift motion he taped the four grenades together and pressed the activation button on the grenade he placed into the bundle.

Taking a step beyond the wall he drew back and lobbed the bundle as hard as he could. “Fragger out!”

Leaning out to fire on the UEc troops down the hall I watched the bundle of explosives sail down the hall Coming to a rest at the feet of a rather large young dragon who tried to dive away before the bundle exploded with a thunderous CRUMP.

“Well that got ‘em.”

When our team finally reached the UECs engram server room she had though we would simply switch them off. Opting to trap the backed up soldiers in an unending purgatory with the things that hunted lost souls like the serpents that swam tymers fire rides.

Instead fick had ordered blast tape be placed on each server tower. And the team breached the room, there were shouts over the tac-link, grunts, and gunfire. Then half an hour later as I stood outside unable to enter the below zero cold room even with my armors enhanced heaters the others walked out of the server room. Many of the humans talked amongst themselves as they passed me by until my love always the last man, always the into view.

His black armor was crusted with ice. And what looked like semi frozen blood oozed from a wound in his side. He clutched his impossibly sharp monofilament knife in one hand and a detonator in the other. My chosen suitor walked up to my side placed a hand on my shoulder and slid down to sit in the hard blood stained floor beside her.

“Fire in the hole.” His voice came out as a hoarse croak before he unceremoniously flipped up the safety and depressed the detonator. There was a thunderous WHUMP from the otherside of door as the wall seemed to bow out slightly.

“Welp that was fun.” Another of my suiters true team mates said coming up to stand beside us as I crouched down to seal the hole in Avery Fallons armor. “Shut the fuck up Skryer.” Was the only response the other MOTH got from my suiter as he leaned his head against the wall.

Getting the hint the MOTH nodded once and walked away leaving just the two of us alone for now. “How did he get that nickname anyway love? Histack?” I asked as I injected bio foam into the wound before starting to work with his odd suit repair kit. “Hijack. Don't know, never cared.”

‘Typical’ That thought made me happy. Even two after being set free over that colony world where this war had started. The world still got weirder every day, but my Avery never changed.

It's good to know there was at least one constant thing that could be used to set all compasses and chronological pieces. Avery was a load stone a true north. A magical clock that never ran late despite the forces that sought to tear everything apart.

Without him I imagine all would be madness. And as I finished patching up his slightly damaged under suit I sat down beside him. My Weapon hanging at my side from a clip, knees drawn slightly and my tail drifting slightly twitching every so often as I send out the occasional sensory ping.

“Long day.” Avery Fallon says in a sleepy fashion resting his head back against the bowed bulkhead. Listing carefully I can hear his heartbeat was slowing, and breathing becoming deeper.

“What the fuck do you think your doing Fallon?” The vantablack armored man my armor tagged as Rook asked coming up and kicking Avery Fallons leg out. “Bleeding.”

“Well knock it off we've got an op. Check your gear and stow your fear. Top wants apex to secure navigational data from that destroyer and disable its slave collars.” With that Rook reached down and helped Avery back to his feet. The two of them talked to one another on a private channel before they nodded to one another and jogging off.

Author's Notes:

Hey Im looking for an editor, so please if anyone os inturested helping me out shoot me a PM or something.