22 years ago...
It is the year 2469, the coalition is about to fall.
> TEIKOKU BASE IS III
> PLANET RAIDEN II
> SECOND COMMAND POST OF THE COALITION
The control room trembled, the soldiers working at the transparent screens hectically passed on commands to their subordinates. Meanwhile, the commanding officer's gaze was fixed on the main screen, which reported the happenings on the individual battlefields.
But were these really battles? No, it was a one-sided obliteration.
The incoming reports about the battlefields flooded the screen, and the feeds of the still working satellites, support drones, and All-Terrain Battle Suits, short ATBS, emphasized the hopelessness of the endeavor even more...
One of the countless feeds showed:
>…
</> PLANET BALSIMAS III
> SECTOR II
> POPULATION: 35.126.293
>…
</> STATUS REPORT
>…
> UNDER ATTACK
> CASUALTIES: 9.800.000 rising
…
> EVACUATION IN PROCESS…
<>
Balsimas, once a jewel of the Alliance, however, not much was left of this jewel. The satellite-feed showed explosions on the surface of the planet so large that they devoured entire countries and pushed aside the clouds. The cities that were not swallowed up by the explosions were cloaked by the smoke of the battlefields. There was almost no light coming through. Even outer space above the planet was a battleground. Some people trembled at the sight of it, and by the thought of how the situation would look like on the actual planet.
White rays of light flashed by the screen and cut entire ships that crossed their path in half as if they were made of paper. The ships that received direct hits were torn into pieces by the following explosion. In the distance, a giant cluster of explosions could be seen. Only the feed of the camera could make clear what was going on over there, and what would soon happen to the ships at the forefront. A single word: LOST.
The ships were wrecks from the moment they entered the battlefield. How could an evacuation be successful while facing this kind of superiority?
But where did the attacks which tore the ships apart come from? Not even the satellite-feed could give a clear answer. All it captured were magical circles and symbols which gathered around a blurred dysfunction on the screen with the word ERROR.
It was as if, whatever was hiding behind the dysfunction on the screen, was able to disrupt the transmission of the satellite.
Another feed of an ATBS from Montario III, a metropolitan city on Planet Rou VI, showed the situation on the planet surface. The feed's report showed what only could be guessed was happening on other planets at that moment.
> PLANET ROU IV
> CITY MONTARIO III
>…
</STATUS>
> CASUALTIES: 1.456.973 RISING…
> DESTRUCTION 12%
> 26 UNITS IN BATTLE
> 8 UNITS M.I.A
…
> REQUESTING BACKUP
The ATBS pilot seemed to be getting a new command while flying over the city. A number of explosions in the middle of billows of smoke coated the city like a curtain of death.
"Understood, I'll go to Sector 47-T", confirmed the pilot above.
One could only hope that the third generation ATBS would hold out longer than the second-generation ones on the other screens:
> SECTOR 24C
> UNIT 14A
</STATUS>
> DEFENSE OF EVACUATIONPOINT 4
-<REQUESTED BACKUP>-
> TIME UNTIL EVACUATION: 45 MINUTES
> …
<< ENEMY APPROACHING >>
> NUMBER OF ENEMIES 231XX RISING
> ESTIMATED TIME OF RESISTANCE: ~18 MINUTES
Another feed of a battlefield on the ground showed the entirety of the horror and the fear of the soldiers.
>CITY: RIAS II
> SQUAD 358
> ATTACKING...
"Where's the backup?"
"There is no more backup!"
"Keep shooting! Don't let them come through!"
Amidst the loud noise coming from the cannons, the three ATBS pilots could be heard, who tried to hold back the assault together with two tanks. The ground cracked open and the wreckage of buildings was lying around everywhere. One could only pray that the men would keep holding out.
> PLANET ILLUEN III
> CITY: NEO CHENDAN
> FIRING UNIT ZULU
> CASUALTIES: 75%
"DIE, DIE, DIE!"
It was the last ATBS of its Fireteam. Its left arm was missing, and sparks came out of the leftover connections and wires. The destruction of the ATBS was significant. It was twisted and scratched and even the weapon had deep cuts. However, it kept firing tirelessly despite all the damage, while it retreated from the sector, which now only consisted of ruins and rubble of once tall standing buildings. One would wish the ATBS would make it to one of the few evacuation points that were left.
> PLANET DEDER II
> CITY RAVOUS III
> PLATOON 8-32
> CASUALTIES: 35%
"This way!" could be heard in the next feed. A magical shield lit up the screen, the runes were arranged in a circle and were shining like a signal of hope for the soldiers. Not a soldier but a single magician tried his best to hold back, whatever seemed to be behind the shield to allow his comrades to retread. If he wouldn't have worked the magic, he wouldn't have stood out in his standard uniform among the crowd of soldiers.
A soldier way in the back who was supporting an injured comrade screamed: "I need help". Every single person who saw the feed wished that the magician would endure it a little longer.
The light particles, however, started to break apart from the shield as if it was made of glass. It broke. Was it because of the magician? Or was whatever being behind the shield simply stronger than the shield that tried to keep it away? "I can't hold out for much longer!" the magician yelled with blood running out of his mouth.
...
The sound of sirens could be heard from a newly popped up feed.
> SIRAN III
> CAPITAL CITY KUTAR
> UNDER ATTACK
> EVACUATION IN PROCESS
Another planet fell victim to the war. In the distance, smoke clouds could be seen darkening the sky. One wondered how many more planets would be under attack. The screens were already overloaded with feeds from various battlefields. However, these were only those ones that were in the jurisdiction of the second command post. How was the situation in other sectors? How was Earth?
The last transmission indicated that Earth had already been attacked. Despite the colonization of faraway planets, most of the humans still lived on Earth, which has been under the control of the Ginga Teikoku since the Colony War. Of all of humanities planets, Earth was the best defended one. The planet had already survived three world wars, several riots, and the Colony War. Considering the destruction the soldiers from the second command post were facing It was debatable whether or not Earth could withstand the attacks for long or even survive it.
If humanity could survive it...?
The next feed popped up:
>…
</> PLANET HYPAR IX
> SECTOR III
> POPULATION: 6.248.236
>…
</> STATUS REPORT
>…
> UNDER ATTACK
> CASUALTIES: 76%
…
The next line let the hope of saving even a single person vanish:
> EVACUATION ABORTED …
</>
Six million lives were lost.
A hand passed by a camera, but it was nothing more than that. The person, to whom the hand belonged, was probably sucked into the vacuum. Maybe he tried to hold on to something before he was pulled into cold space. The feeling of Horror filled the control room. One of the soldiers who followed the feed had to throw up. The panic in the still trembling control room was almost tangible. On the one hand, that moment had something reassuring. The fact that there were still things that could be understood, such as gravity or the vacuum of outer space. On the other hand, it was clear how less they knew, when a giant magic circle appeared on one side of the planet. Each rune, that decorated the outer rim of the circle, was as big as an entire country. Shortly afterward two additional smaller circles appeared above the giant one. What kind of magic this was or who even used it, by the size alone no one would ever doubt the abilities of that particular magician.
In the distance, more explosions could be seen as if they wanted to decorate the magic circle. Were these the evacuation ships that made it off the planet? Or those that came to save the people and never reached their destination? Whatever it was, all live in that system was lost.
All those feeds. All the destruction and despair. But where did all those feeds come from anyway? Why would the drones and satellites still function? Wasn't it common practice to disturb the enemy's communication systems? To leave the enemy in the dark? To take away every possibility to plan countermeasures? So why all of this?
It was as if a higher force wanted to make them aware of their powerlessness.
"SAVE US!"
The transmission of one of the control panels brought the commander back to his senses. He looked around. The control room was scarcely lit by the screens. The concussions damaged the main lighting as well as parts of the ceiling, therefore, wires and parts of pipes hung down from it. The devastation could be seen in the faces of the few soldiers that remained by the control panels. One cry for help after another reached their headsets, one cry for help after another that they had to turn down, as hard as it was. What were they supposed to do?
The connection to the other command stations was lost.
All backup was used up.
The command post itself was under attack too.
The concussions became stronger and stronger, in the distance, one could hear the sound of artillery, the smell of gunpowder and burning metal was distributed through the damaged filters in the room.
The display on the main screen at the end of the control room switched to its strategic location view setting. Feeds of the battle rallied around the map of an area. The command station could be seen in the middle. Single circles and triangles outlined the troops in the area on the map, which was divided into tiles. Some of the units were in areas that were covered in countless red tiles. All those units were marked with: LOST.
The red tiles, the lost areas, moved on in a circular form around the base. Everyone knew what this meant. The base was completely surrounded. Individual units were completely isolated and surrounded by enemies. The circle around the base became smaller by the minute. On top of it, red letters appeared:
-WARNING-
A massive quake shook the base, and the light of the alarm colored the room in a dark red.
The commander put on his hat with trembling hands.
Motivated by the commander's sense of duty the soldiers asked what had to be done, what the next command was. They asked whatever would give them a feeling of relief. The commander, however, stayed silent. His eyes were locked on the screen.
By then, all the feeds were surrounding a map of the Galaxy, which showed the last status of the battle before the contact was lost. Almost every human-like colony at the southern rim of the galaxy was either destroyed or was under siege. What was the current status?
How long until the attack would have reached all of humanities colonies?
How long until the magician's shield would break down completely?
How long until the spell on Hypar IX would activate itself?
How long until the source of the quake, that shook up the command post, would reach them?
How long until all of them...
The commander reached to the side of his leg with still trembling hands and opened the safety lock of his pistol holder.
"It's hopeless..."
"Sir?"
"Unit Phy is requesting backup!"
"Sir! What's your command?"
"Unit 34 Sigma is being overrun!"
"We lost contact with unit 4 Delta!"
"Sir!"
Shakingly the commander put his weapon against his head.
"Forgive me...."
A blast drowned out the soldiers' lamentations, which was followed by the quiet noise of a cartridge case falling on the ground.
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