Chapter 1: Master Sergeant Isaac Newell of the Earth Confederation's Space Fleet

Chapter 1: Isaac Newell

        Five years ago, NASA found a planet that seemed like an egghead's dream. It was almost like a perfect replica of Earth. A team was sent there almost immediately. However, they never came back. Whatever they did, they seemed to have awoke the Devil himself. Fast Forward five years later, and Earth is being dominated by an alien race only known as the Terrimitheans. They had a superior infantry, fleet, and advanced tech. They were unstoppable.

        While the Earth is getting decimated, I'm here in my combat ship, known as the Hawk-Eye, waiting for my commander to let us loose. We spotted a Terrimithean cruiser not far from here, so the higher-ups decided that we should take it out. So, I'm one of the five men who are just about to charge into what is essentially a suicide mission. Seriously, how can they expect five, small cruisers to take out a fully armed battleship?! They said that we would receive reinforcements, but we would certainly be dead by then.

         Now the light above the hanger is green. That means that its show time. I check my targeting system, boosters, dual machine guns, and my rockets one more time. This may be the last time that I'll ever get to do so. It is better to die with everything working properly than to die because my guns weren't ready to go.

         As I speed out the hanger, everything around me becomes silent. That's one thing I love about space. However, it doesn't last long because my targeting system has just picked up 15 red signatures. It's the Terrimitheans. Within a moment, gunfire and enemy ships start whizzing past me. As I look to my right, I see one of my friends, Lee, get blown to ashes. I never get used to that.

         I quickly relax and focus. There's no use mourning when I have a mission to accomplish. As a red triangle passes by me, I redirect and begin the pursuit. When I'm close enough to the target, I let loose my rocket. It connects perfectly. As the ship slows down, I quickly start spewing out gunfire on the ship. In one moment, the ship explodes into a bright blue hue before the wrecked pieces start floating away into the abyss that is space.

         I can feel the smile tugging at my lips, but this is no time for a celebration. I still have a job to do. Ignoring the chatter of my team, I quickly dart towards the main ship. Most Terrimithean ships are controlled by a hive mind. That hive mind just so happens to be the cruiser. Once the hive mind is destroyed, all smaller ships go bye-bye. I load the schematics of the ship to my console in front of me. Supposedly, the mainframe controlling the smaller ships should be in the very back of the cruiser.

         I let my boosters unleash their power as I charge toward the cruiser. The Terrimitheans rely on an advanced shield to act as a sponge for any damage. Because of this, the ship itself is rather fragile. All Confederation ships are outfitted with an advanced EMP rocket. One rocket should blow the entire ship's shield down.

         My plan is simple. Once the shields are down, I will quickly unleash all I have on the mainframe. Then, I will hope for the best. I'm now at the back of the cruiser. I slow down and fire the EMP. Within a few moments, all shiny lights on the ships go dim and the ship stops in its tracks. I silently pray that the shields went down too.

         I let loose everything I have. As I fire my last rocket, a bright explosion fills my vision. If I wasn't wearing protective gear, I probably would've gone blind. My headset is quickly filled with praise from my teammates. Their joy makes me let that smile out.

         Even though there are more battles to be fought, we now know that we have a fighting chance. I can only hope that the Terrimitheans stay as oblivious to our strategy as they were today. We may have won the battle, but not the war. Not yet, at least.