Tides of Change

[Rodent]

Toledo Bar

Santos relaxes in his seat. His call for a song went unheard, maybe this was not the best time for it after all. Hearing Brown's comment, he got to his feet with surprising agility for a man as drunk as he was.

You listen to me, Ensign... He starts menacingly.

It's never good, do you understand? Never! Either you survive...or you die! Just like that! He snaps his fingers while saying so.

What you can do, Ensign, is attempt to survive. The longer you survive, the longer we hold out, Si? Ungh... He ends his statement as another spasm of pain takes over, and he sits down. Looking out at the sky through a window, he wonders what's in store, the stars cannot be seen on Toledo, all being covered in a green miasma, but in the far distance, a blue nebula twinkles....

Battleship Atum, Alaska System.

The lights in the hangar are dimmed, as is usual. The Battleship Atum is a covert battleship, and it needs all the advantage it can get. Radar Scramblers, Silent Engines, low heat signature, all help it against electronic detection. The dimmed lights help it against visual detection, however unlikely it might be.

Ensign Kenji Shirohito was suiting up, preparing to sortie from the Atum for another run. The Atum would launch a flurry of sorties at regular intervals, then change position to prevent detection and tracing. He was leading patrol Zeta-2 this time. All was in readiness, he relaxed in his cockpit, waiting for the Doors to open...

The Alarms went red. Kenji looked around worriedly, wondering what might be going on. He soon had his answer.

This is Atum Actual, We have detected a distress signal in Sector 2F, Identified as Order. All fighter wings are to mobilise to that location and investigate. Over and out.

This should be interesting, Kenji thought, as he launched from the Atum out into the blue nebula of Alaska. The gases twirled around slowly, and the strangely shaped asteroids made it look like a graveyard of unquiet dead. He hated this system, too dark, too mysterious, too...brutal.

Zeta Wing, set course to 2F! Uploading last known coordinates! The Ensign barked out his orders, and Zeta wing set out, followed by Alpha and Beta....

What does the future hold?