BEEP BEEP the alert came from the door. “Enter.” Answered Admiral Valyrian, who was seated at her desk. Captain Zalrin Walked in and stood at attention. “At ease, Captain.” Zalrin relaxed. “Ma’am, The ship that we captured is finished and ready for tests.” He handed her a pad with a full report. She accepted it and began reading. “Have you selected your Senior Staff?” She asked and she gestured for him to sit. “Yes Ma’am I have, I’ve worked with a few of them and I’ve read to records of the others.” She nodded and set down the pad. “Very Well, since I am still confined to Quarters until I’m healed, I want you to confer your test with the system from the Vigilance.” Zalrin tapped on his comm and informed the Bridge of their new assignment. Valyrian smiled and leaned forward. “I sure am going to miss having around NoVal.” He Smiled and reached across the deck and grabbed her hand.

      NoVal squeezed Valyrian’s hand gently. “I’ll figure out an excuse to come see you, Tyleel” He leaned forward and kissed her. They shared a few more kisses then pulled apart. She cleared her throat. “Now Captain, I’m giving you a task that you must carry out immediately.” He stiffened and brought himself back the moment at hand. “What do you need me to do, Admiral.” She smiled and gave him a look that made him feel as if he should already know. “Why give your ship a name of course.”

     NoVal laughed. “Oh, but I have!” She gave him a curious look. He got up and walked over to the terminal on the walk and classical music started to play out loud. The admiral smiled and stood up. The Captain walked over to her and grabbed her by the waist and they danced.

***

     Lieutenant Fraylin walked into the command tent and saluted. Major Penavy and Captain Krayok nodded towards her. Fraylin walked to the terminal and joined the other squad leaders surrounding the tent. “Alright, ladies and gentlemen.” Captain Krayok. “This is purely an intimidation tactic, Do not engage, without orders.” He tapped the map and the valley they were residing in came to life. “As you can see the town is covered by a blast shield, as a response we have ordered the entire battalion planetside and will begin a march once we are dismissed.” Fraylin looked around to see the other Lieutenant’s faces. Everyone seemed ready to face the danger, but not everyone in the tent has seen combat.

     “We have twenty Thousand knights and magi in camp, these are your assigned areas.” The Captain tapped the map again and the map was covered with blue squares with the assigned squad’s number. Fraylin was shocked to see that she was assigned to form up next to the Major. She looked at the Major who met her gazed and winked. Her attention was brought back to the table as the Captain started to speak again. “We begin when the Major gives the command, we don’t expect any disturbance before we get to the town, but stay on your guard.” Everyone in the room nodded to show they understood their tasks. The Major turned the terminal off and dismissed everyone.

     Lieutenant Fraylin walked to her Squad which was already in formation, awaking order. She stopped in front of them and smiled. “We will begin the march shortly, Check each other’s armor.” The squad busied themselves with equipment checks and Fraylin put on a small piece of metal over her eyes. The metal slowly crawled over her face, reaching around and covering her head. Her HUD activated and her squad’s armor lit up in the friendly color of blue, marking them as friendlies. After the equipment check, Fraylin ordered everyone back to attention. She did an amount of face and looked to the Major. He walked out of his tent and spun to face the Knights with the Captain at his side. “Battalion, Attention.” Everyone stood straighter and arms at their side. The Major and the Captain did about-face. “Battalion, Forward march.” All twenty thousand Knights and Magi began to march forward in unison.

    As they marched Fraylin couldn’t help but think back to her fight with the monster in the reactor bay. She had been completely terrified, but still acted, she hoped if it came to it she could do so again. She looked around her. A sea of silver with small hints of color covered the valley with sounds of metal clinking in the air. She hasn’t seen an assembly like this since the capital was attacked by the council. She lost many friends in that invasion. The Lieutenant looked down at the ground, it was covered in lush green grass and flowers. This valley hasn’t seen conflict before, hopefully, it doesn’t have to. She thought as she marched.

Fraylin’s helmet chimed and the Major’s face appeared in the corner of her HUD. “Are you ready, Lieutenant?”

“Yes sir” she responded.

“Look I wanted you nearby because I trust you.”

She blushed under her helmet. “Thank you, sir, I won't disappoint you.”

The Major chuckled. “I don’t think you can Fraylin.”

     The channel closed and the Major ordered a stop to the march. The battalion halted half a mile from the town. When the Knights stopped the Town’s gates opened and a force of people marched out to meet them. The forces were now one hundred yards away from each other. A woman escorted by another soldier started to walk towards the Knights and the Major along with the Captain walked out to meet them. The leaders met in the middle and Major Penavy bowed before the Female leader. “I am Major Penavy, Leader of the forces of the Kingdom of Orion.” The female looked unimpressed and snapped her fingers. The Man escorting her spoke with distaste in his voice. “Orion scum, how dare you approach this holy city, what authority do you have to step foot on our planet?” Asked the man who was dressed in armor with black and red colors.

“Well you are in Orion space and we are the King’s Knights.”

“We don’t recognize his reign over us.”

“Regardless, we know you have the Prince and we want him returned to us.”

“We have no Prince here, return to your ships before you start a war.”

     Major Penavy stared at him with an intense expression. “Look, we destroyed your ships, then we went through their database, we know you have him.” The man in black armor turned to his leader. She stepped forward and looked unamused at Penavy. “Leave before we force you, we have powers that would match your Knights.” Penavy straightened his pose. “We will reclaim our Prince and we will burn your city to do so.” He turned and the man in black armor looked worried. The female leader looked at her escort and they ran back to their troops.

    The Captain walked back with the Major but looked puzzled. “What happened, sir?” The Major walked with seriousness. “They were trying to hold their fear, but we will attack.” The Captain looked concerned but said nothing. They stopped in front of the Knights. “The Prince is In that city, but there is an obstacle in our way. They are traitors who do not recognize His Majesty’s laws or rightful rule.” The Knights were fixated on his every word. “We will not fail our Prince by letting these pieces of trash hold us will we?” The Knights all around Fraylin shouted in anger. “We will save our Prince and bring him home.” More shouts erupted from the battalion and Fraylin felt her adrenaline increase. “We will show no mercy and conquer.” The entire Battalion shouted with cheers and readiness. The Major turned to look at his enemy, the female leader stood in front of her army.

    The valley grew quiet as tension grew and grew. Penavy could see the flags in towns flapping as the wind blew in the north. “Battalion, Swords at the ready.” Order the Major and swords activated throughout the Army. Fraylin activated her gauntlets with her magic. She could see the enemy activated their weapons and shields. She could see some of their Magi’s and their black cloaks. Traitors of magic and righteousness thought Fraylin, disgust grew in her stomach for the people in front of her. The Lieutenant narrowed her eyes ready for the battle. The enemy stood with fear in their eyes and hate for the Knights. The female leader shouted words of punishment and threats of death if they let the Knights pass, which Fraylin chuckled at. Fraylin looks at the Major who just activated his own weapon. He carried a battle ax that was twice his own size. The hilt was made of the same material as his armor but the blades were glowing red hot. The Major lowered his weapon holding it with one hand.

    Penavy cracked his neck and shook his shoulders. “Battalion!” The Knights tighten, gripping their weapons. “On me!” Penavy shouted and slowly walked forward. The enemy leader shouted in response and her army began a full sprint towards the Knights. The Major's walk became faster as he raised his ax. He smiled as he broke into a sprint and rose his ax above his head. “For the Prince!” The battalion repeated his battle cry and ran with all of their might.

    Fraylin ran past the Major, heading straight into the left side of the enemy’s ranks. She was a hundred feet from the enemy, streaks of fire shot to her right, she kept running straight ahead. The enemy was eighty feet away. BOOM! A blast came from her left but she kept running forward, not looking away. Sixty feet away and she could see the faces of her foes clearly. Forty feet away, she jumped in the air and sailed past the frontline. She threw herself towards the ground as hard as she could, just before she reached the ground Fraylin shot her right fist forward contacting the ground.

A shock spread around her as troops flew in the air and the ground crumbled beneath her. The battle had begun.