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nErich was awoken in the dead of the night while sleeping onboard his carrier by the sound of sirens and their flashing red lights. He did not know what had happened, but judging by the current state of panic, he could make an educated guess.

nThus, he immediately hopped out of his bunk and jumped into his flightsuit, before tearing down the hallways like a bat out of hell. Eventually he arrived in the Hangar bay, where his Wing Commander had a grave expression on his face. The man’s voice was filled with a grim tone as he saluted the pilots in his wing before giving them a fiery speech.

n“Men, we stand at the precipice. The Naraku Hive Fleet Terminus has entered the borders of the Dvrakian Social Republic, and as we speak, our puppets are giving their all to buy us some time. Time that we need to fortify our borders and prepare our fleets for war.

nEvery man capable of bearing arms has been called upon to serve in the Empire’s defense, while our transports are sending the women and children of our great race to the Alfheim Dominion for refuge. As of right now, we are all expendable, and each and every man who still draws breath is expected to give his life so that our species can survive, and rebuild from the ashes of this catastrophe.

nThere is no escape, there is only victory or death! So be on standby, as it will take some time before Terminus fully devours the three hundred plus systems that contain the Dvrakian Social Republic, and when they do, it will be us who stand on the front lines, in a war against this devouring swarm! Hail Victory!”

nThe several hundred pilots of the Black Sun Squadron threw up their arms in salute as they repeated the words of their commander, including Erich.

n“Hail victory!”

nAfter this brief speech, Erich found himself alone in the hangar bay. As everyone else rushed to perform their duties, he alone was stricken with dread and regret. S’aleth was a part of the Dvrakian Republican Guard, who, according to Commander Erwin Wulf, was already headed directly for the Naraku Hive Fleet. Only certain death awaited the Dvrakian beauty, and because of this, Erich was compelled to find a way to contact her, in hopes of convincing the woman he loved to abandon her post and flee with him to some far-flung corner of the galaxy.

nHowever, when Erich unblocked her contact, he found that S’aleth had left him more than a thousand messages over the past year. The most recent one in particular was absolutely heartbreaking, as he could hear the sorrow in her voice, as she struggled to speak her thoughts while crying her eyes out.

n𝒩𝑜𝚟𝑳𝒩xt.𝐜𝑜𝑚

n“Erich… I know that we are being sent to die, and that our sacrifice is meant to give your people a better chance of survival. But I just can’t believe that you knew of such a sinister plot, and were a part of it this entire time. Please… Pick up…. If I am to die alone, then I would just like to hear your voice one last time…”

nAfter that, the intercom of the ship which S’aleth served upon could be heard in the background.

n“Ending quantum jump in approximately five minutes, ready to battle stations!”

nHaving heard these words, S’aleth’s broken voice could be heard struggling to say her last farewell.

n“Goodbye Erich…. Just know that I love you….”

nImmediately the voice recording ended, and Erich found himself in tears, as he struggled to see just when this call was made. Perhaps if it was only made moments ago, if so, he could still convince S’aleth to run back to the Empire, where the two of them could escape this catastrophe together, and live in some other corner of the galaxy.

nUnfortunately for Erich, his heart immediately imploded into a black hole when he realized that this message was sent to him over six hours ago. After so much time had passed, Terminus had undoubtedly already destroyed the entire Dvrakian Navy and everyone in it.

nThus, Erich found it incredibly difficult to breathe, almost as if his liver had been kicked by a powerful roundhouse. He clutched his chest, and fell to his knees, as the tears poured from his eyes like a flooding river.

nWhy? Why had he listened to Emrys? Why had he not taken S’aleth and run away from the Empire, and its damned cruelty? Even though he had broken up with the woman, he had always hoped that after following Splinter’s plan, and ascending to the position of Supreme Leader he would be able to change the laws, and society as a whole so the two of them could be together again. But that was no longer an option.

nS’aleth was dead, devoured by an insectoid. There was nothing left of her to recover or clone. She was gone forever… And it was all Erich’s fault. Because of this, he had crawled into the fetal position as he laid his back against the cold metallic surface of his interceptor’s landing gear.

nWhat was the point of living? What was the point of fighting for the survival of a race that had only ever acted against him? All he ever wanted out of life was a nice quiet plot of land to call his own, and a family with a wife who loved him. But he had been denied this by those in power, and as a result any semblance of happiness he had succeeded in carving out of his miserable existence, had been torn from his arms, and was now lost forever.

nThere was no hope, nothing to live for, so why bother fighting for a small chance of survival? These were the thoughts that flooded Erich’s mind as he sat in the hangar bay, crying like a small child.

n—

nIn the capital world of Germania, Grand Admiral Emrys sighed heavily as he received the latest update from the front lines with the Naraku Hive Fleet. A Rear Admiral was standing before the man and summarizing the reports that the Empire had received.

n“From what we can tell, the Dvrakian Navy has been completely obliterated. There are no survivors. The good news is that they surprisingly managed to take down roughly ten percent of the ships within the Hive Fleet. Mostly through suicidal tactics. But that still means that the enemy has 2,700 warships to use against us. Which, judging by the size and strength of a single Naraku Hiveship, this has only marginally increased our chances of victory.

nPerhaps if we had given the Dvrakians access to planet-killer torpedoes, then they may have dealt more damage, but unfortunately, the Admiralty vetoed your suggestion to do just that. And the result is a mere ten percent losses sustained.

nIn my professional opinion, our only hope of emerging victorious against such a terrifying enemy is if we can somehow locate the Naraku Kingship which houses the Hive Queen. And deliberately target that vessel in a way that would guarantee an instant kill. If we do this, then the hive mind will be eliminated, and the entire hive fleet will turn on itself, and every other living being within their immediate vicinity.

nUnfortunately for us, the Kingship could be any one of the 2,700 vessels that still remain, and unfortunately, the Dvrakians were not able to identify it before their demise.”

nGrand Admiral Emrys shook his head and sighed, as if the loss of the Dvrakian Navy was a significant one. He could only hope that the fighting which was about to take place on every Dvrakian planet would whittle down the soldier bugs in the Naraku Hive Fleet so that when they finally arrived in Germanic Space, the Star Marines would have an easier time defending their worlds from being devoured. With this in mind, Alaric asked the next question on his mind.

n“How long will it be until every man and child capable of bearing arms is fully equipped in power armor and trained with a plasma rifle?”

nThe Rear Admiral immediately checked his datapad after hearing this and responded in a way which gave his superior some hope for what was appearing to be a bleak future.

n“Approximately three months. We could have enacted this policy sooner, and be immediately prepared for the Naraku onslaught, but that would have alerted the public to the current crisis we are now facing, and in doing so, caused mass hysteria.”

nIn response to this news, Emrys simply nodded his head before speaking of his thoughts on the matter.

n“I suppose we did the right thing waiting until now to begin the process. Now, tell me, how long will it be before the women and children of the frontier worlds are fully evacuated? After all, they will be hit first, and there is no feasible way that we will be able to evacuate the massive population of the core worlds before the enemy arrives. So our best bet at ensuring the survival of our race, in the case that we are defeated, is by having the frontier worlds evacuated to the Alfheim Dominion.”

nA grave look appeared on the Rear Admiral’s face as he admitted the difficulties they were having with this operation.

n“As it stands, we simply do not have enough transports to get everyone off of these worlds. Thus, we have had to resort to a lottery system, and priority for certain families which are considered being higher on the genetic ladder.

nFor example, that operative of yours, Erich Jaeger? His mother and younger siblings have already departed for the world of Alfheim.”

nThe Grand Admiral did not even react to this information, at least not physically. He simply acted as if it were an entirely unimportant matter, which he was quick to voice aloud.

n“I am sure he does not care in the slightest…”

nAfter saying this, Alaric sighed heavily and gave the Rear Admiral one last order, before sending him on his way.

n“Well, it looks like everything is in order. All we can do now is fight to the bitter end. Oh, and by the way, do keep an eye on those ruffians in Splinter. Why don’t you? I have received some troubling reports about interstellar arms smuggling, and for whatever reason, they are getting their hands on some serious firepower. Whether this is as a means to protect themselves from the Naraku, or an act of rebellion, I do not yet know the answer. But they need to be watched very carefully.”

nWith this order given, the Rear Admiral saluted his superior before departing, where it was revealed that Emrys’ attention was now taken up by a surveillance video of Erich and Mirage engaging in intercourse. There was a wry smile on the man’s face, as he spoke his thoughts aloud, knowing that nobody else was nearby to hear them.

n“It would appear that you have some rather misguided loyalties… Well, assuming you survive this whole ordeal, then I’m afraid I have no choice but to take action…. You have been warned Erich, and yet you don’t appear to have learned you lesson….”

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