"Gestern und heute."

[Deneth Aleski]

May 1st, 816 A.S., Omega 11

"Alright gentlemen, prepare for jump. Me, Heinkel, Sturm, Aleski und Erhoff, jump first. The rest stays here in case reinforcements are needed.

And remember, when you get there, don't let the radiation get the best of you in combat. Don't face the Dead Star too much, either. Fur die Revolution, let's kill some Corsairs today!"

A thunderous, concerted but nervous "Fur die Revolution!" followed. Heinkel and Sturm went into the jump hole. I followed suit.

"I-initiating jump sequence, all systems show green so far. Gott mitt uns." I had no idea what to expect. This was my first time venturing this far into the Omegas. The blistering sun of Omega-11 left me drenched in sweat under my flight suit and helmet. I was feeling quite uncomfortable. This only compounded my unease. Every time I entered that sector, I could always reliably expect to shed 3-5 pounds in water weight alone.

I entered the gravitational anomaly. The blue wave patterns of supra-luminal travel were usually comforting in their beauty. This time, it spelled fear of the unknown. Then, a brief flash of light and aggressive deceleration. I had arrived.

"Jump successful, engines holding up fine. Checking vitals... What th-" Before I could even finish my sentence, an intense feeling nausea overwhelmed me. It hit me in a way which mimicked getting punched in the upper stomach. Hard. Almost immediately after that, the bitter taste of steel overtook my tongue. It became difficult to focus. My displays were glittering with small white specks, blinking in random areas and with great intensity.

"Welcome to Omega-41, Aleski.", said the wing leader while chuckling. "From the way you stopped talking, I can only guess the radiation got to you. Don't worry though, while lethal to some extent, it won't kill you right away. Just wait until we get closer to the star."

Somehow, his words offered no assurance to me whatsoever. If someone told me I was going to die soon, in this sector, I would've taken his word for it without hesitation. Our wing leader tells us to get into formation and that we will be doing some routine patrol maneuvers. "In-and-out in one hour, if we're lucky. That's if we don't run into Corsairs." His casual demeanor often clashed with my stereotypical Rheinlander seriousness. I was ready to puke my guts out.

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Wilhelm D. Aleski || Paul Speer