This Forsaken World

This Forsaken World Full (Unedited)

Commander Devin Crowe

Flight Leader of the 22nd Fighter Squadron Codename, Reapers

Executive Officer of The A.M.S. Star, Fleet Carrier.

Member of the New Alliance Military.

May 13, Earth Date, 2054, Personal Log Entry.

I'm writing this log as a historical account of the events leading to the evacuation of the planet Earth. This log may not be accurate but I'm writing it through the view of myself and what I have learned. It is unclear if anyone will ever read this but I figure if we are to have a future generation, this will help them to understand exactly what happened to the human race and why we had to leave our homeworld.

My name is Devin Crowe, as of this writing I am the flight leader of the 22nd fighter squadron known as the Reapers. I'm posted as the executive officer aboard the Alliance Military Ship (A.MS.) Star, a fleet carrier-class starship. The ship is attached to the 1st Expeditionary Fleet commanded by Admiral Edward Burns. Originally the fleet consisted of eight ships, two carriers, a massive battleship, four destroyers and a medical/supply frigate for support. A dreadnought was designed to join the battle group as the leading capital ship, but it was never completed and during the evacuation of Earth it was left behind in dry dock. The fleet was constructed to explore the galaxy for a new homeworld to relocate humanity to, but before the mission could be launched, we were invaded and forced to leave early. I'll get to this shortly, for now, I'd like to recount the events at the beginning, so it is easier to understand. To do this, I must go back to the year 2019.

October 30th, 2019. Earth

Towards the end of 2019, a virus began to spread throughout the world. Initially, the casualty rate was low, fatalities only occurring in those with a weak immune system. After a brief period, however, the virus went airborne and the casualty rate increased significantly. Despite every effort by the medical community, the virus swept through the world at an alarming rate, forcing the world governments to start a quarantine and take measures to prevent the spread. This failed however as humans, despite being ordered to stay at home and keep at least six feet between themselves and others, congregated at retail stores, passing the virus among hundreds of people a day. This led to a mass influx of infected people and quarantine measures failed. The center for disease control (CDC) declared the virus 'The Consumer Virus', nicknamed the Con-V. They named the virus this due to the fact the majority of infected were consumers shopping at stores and contracting the virus through proximity to other shoppers. The world governments decided more extreme measures were required and began to deploy military forces in bio-containment suits to enforce the quarantine. Humans who were infected were euthanized in fire centers where they were incinerated and those who tried to hide were hunted down and killed. The virus was defeated after almost two years through these measures and the survivors breathed a sigh of relief...though the worst was yet to come.

June 19th, 2021. Earth

Two years after the Con-V virus wiped out over a third of the human population, resources were stretched thin and the surviving world powers initiated a war to claim what remained. The war, thought to be short-lived and mostly cold, with threats and declarations and little action, soon escalated and engulfed the world. World War 3 became the future for the Con-V survivors, and it seemed for a time that humanity would become extinct through there own efforts. This proved false however as in the year 2025, the world leaders gathered for a peace talk, the aftermath producing a new world order which was known as the 'New Alliance'.

August 4th, 2025. Earth

The New Alliance pooled its collected resources and developed the New Alliance Military, tasking this organization with creating a fleet of ships to explore the galaxy in order to relocate the human race to a fresh planet, the natural resources and surface of Earth now a hostile environment for human beings and what little animal life remained. It took 20 years to finish the first fleet, labeled as the 1st Expeditionary Fleet, and humanity celebrated its success and hopes for a brighter future. The new fleet was deployed into space in orbit around the planet as the New Alliance started production on a second. Civilian communities and organizations began to create ships of there own and soon the orbit around Earth was filled with numerous vessels ranging in size and shape. It was declared that only ships belonging to the New Alliance Military could carry any form of weaponry and Earth entered an era of peace and stability. Unfortunately, it seems that humanity is forever trapped in a cycle of death and destruction.

January 21st, 2051. Earth

At the start of the year 2051, a strange device of unknown origin entered the atmosphere and detonated, releasing a thick red cloud of smoke that covered roughly a quarter of the world. The smoke soon spread throughout the planet, seeking out the most heavily populated area's as though it had a mind of its own. Any animal or human who inhaled the smoke fell to the ground, hacking and coughing as the smoke-filled their bodies. It was recorded that after exactly five minutes, the infected body would reanimate from a deceased state and attack anything that was not infected within sight. The world collectively called these reanimated forms 'Zombies', taken from classic literature and entertainment. Fortunately for humanity, the formation of the New Alliance Military made it easier to combat the plague and it was brought under control through isolation. Non-infected humans were relocated to walled-off cities where the reanimated could not get to them and everyone felt as though the zombies would soon die off from lack of food. This was not to be however as scientists and medical staff learned the affliction could keep the hosts active for centuries without food, somehow keeping the muscle mass and structure of the infected strong and mobile, needing no nourishment to continue functioning. Things seemed to stabilize with the isolation measures and once again the New Alliance Military turned their efforts towards the construction of a second fleet. The need to escape from the doomed planet becoming a higher priority than ever before.

December 1st, 2052. Earth

As the second fleet was nearing its completion and a new dreadnought class capital ship was finishing production, a massive fleet of nearly one thousand ships entered orbit and began to lay siege to Earth. The small fleet of New Alliance Military ships was swiftly overwhelmed and despite a short but valiant battle, they were forced to leave the planet, retreating towards the planet Venus where a small space station had been under construction as a midway point for refueling ships. The 2nd Expeditionary Fleet attempted to take off from the planet to join the evacuation, but they were struck from orbit by devastating weaponry and completely obliterated. Every available civilian or corporate ship took to the stars and followed in the wake of the 1st Expeditionary fleet and regrouped in Venus Orbit. The battle for Earth's surface and orbit lasted roughly one year, the enemy ruthless in their destruction of any armed resistance. Late in the year 2053, any surviving human who had been captured on Earth's surface was enslaved.

September 20th, 2053, Earth

The invaders informed the survivors and the remnants of the New Alliance that they were a race of beings called 'The Nocturnals'. They were identified as Vampires by human literature and entertainment, being sensitive to sunlight, pale of skin with sharp teeth and blood-red eyes. They resembled humans in body and structure, though they were slender, very fast and had twice the strength of a healthy normal human. There clothing, ships, and weapons were all blood-red or black with razor spikes adorning their surface. The race was very aggressive and forced the surviving humans into two categories, slave labor, and food. It was discovered soon after the invasion that The Nocturnals required fresh blood as nourishment to survive, the history of the race to be similar to Locusts, moving from inhabited planet to planet, sucking the occupants dry of blood and moving on to the next. In the history of the species, they had consumed over 600 planets, enslaving the occupants of each planet to help repair or build more or their spaceships and equipment before moving on.

2053-2054, Space/Venus Orbit

The human race was brought to the brink of extinction once more as any functioning ship made a retreat across the solar system. Luckily, the creators of the new starships had discovered a fuel source that was recharged using solar power. The space station near Venus offering the chance to recharge using the proximity of the Sun. The Nocturnal Fleet waited for several months before pursuing the rag-tag fleet of ships led by the New Alliance Military 1st Expeditionary Fleet, destroying the Venus Space station. As of this writing, we have been fighting a hit and run the war against the enemy, striking to disable before fleeing once more to put distance between us. The surviving ships consist of nearly one hundred vessels but only eight-armed and combat capable military ships. My squadron alongside a bombing squadron known as the 12th Hammer Squad has been at the forefront of every engagement. It is the job of the A.M.S. Star to defend the retreat of the fleet...but for every ship we lose, we cannot replace. The Nocturnal fleet seems to be limitless and pursue us without mercy, their ships are faster, more heavily armed and armored and fight with such aggression we struggle to survive each engagement. I've lost count of how many friends I've lost in this war if you could call it a war. To anyone who is reading this, my hope is that I have provided you with a chance at a future by fighting this enemy and that the lives of those who have fought alongside me or died on the surface of Earth in such horrible ways, have given you a chance at something new. Do not let those who have died to be in vain, live...and bring hope to any survivors of this terrible conflict.

Commander Devin Crowe

End Log.

This Forsaken World Chapter 1

This Forsaken World

Chapter 1

Commander Devin Crowe

Glancing out the cockpit of my starfighter I couldn't help but feel a surge of pride at the sight before me. My squadron, the 22nd fighter squadron, the Reapers, were positioned in formation off my starboard wing. My wing-mate was the closest, roughly ten feet away and flying with perfect precision.

The cockpit was dimmed with a coating to protect from the sun to prevent the pilot going blind but written in bold stencils just below the glass was the pilot's name and identification; 'Commander Jewel Anders, AKA Angel'. I smiled to myself as I read the nameplate. I'd only recently joined up with the squadron and so far, they were proving to be amazing pilots and better friends.

The radio crackled in my headset and a feminine voice came through. "Devin, we're in position, let's do this!" I could only imagine the smile and excitement on Jewel's face from the tone of her voice.

Sighing in frustration, I forced myself to reply with a military presence, even though I was just as excited as she was. "Commander Anders, you know you're supposed to call me by my rank, last name or callsign, how many times am I going to have to remind you? Its Commander, Crowe or Wraith." I couldn't help but grin knowing how irritated she was going to be.

There was a short delay before a response came through filled with sarcasm. "Uh roger that, Commander sir, are we ready to begin, sir?" I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. "Right, let's do this. Reaper 2 take lead and begin our descent. Everyone else follow in and prepare for target strike." Four other pilots responded with confirmations and they began to line up behind Angel.

Our orders were to provide escort to a bomber squadron, the 12th Hammer, led by a personal friend of mine Lieutenant Commander Anthony Chambers, also known as 'Sledge' ironically considering his squadron. The bombers were ordered to follow in our wake after we strafed the target zone, they would then follow up with a salvo of missiles and the operation would be complete. The target was just outside the city of New York where a buildup of infected humans had reached dangerous levels.

At the beginning of the year 2051, a strange virus had infected a large portion of the human population and turned them into.... well, zombies. Most of the humans who had not contracted the infection were living in walled-off cities, supposedly safe from the virus. Unfortunately, the infected eventually reached large numbers from trying to enter the cities and airstrikes were required to keep them from breaching the safety of the walls. After the strike was complete, the United Earth Defense Force or U.E.D.F. would go in on foot and clean up the leftover infected.

As I pulled away to the port side of the column of fighters to watch their progress, I was shaken from my thoughts by the arrival of the 12th Hammer Squadron. "Reaper 1, this is Hammer 1, request permission to begin our descent." The voice of Sledge filtered through my headset and I smiled.

"Confirmed Commander Chambers, begin your assault. Good to see you, old friend." I responded, glancing over to see the bulky bombers forming up in a wedge shape, the tip pointed straight at the Earth.

The bombers were two-seaters by nature with a pilot and bombardier. The ships resembled the tip of a trident with the cockpit in the middle, the engines in the rear and both side prongs carrying the explosive payloads.

I could imagine Sledge giving me a two-fingered salute, his classic trademark response. I kicked in my thrusters to accelerate past the bombers in order to catch up with my own squadron. Our fighters, in turn, were shaped like an arrowhead with a single cockpit, large engines, a pair of thin folding wings and only four rockets, two on each side of the craft. A double cannon was linked underneath the cockpit allowing maximum speed and maneuverability both in space and in the atmosphere.

"This is Reaper 2, preparing to strafe the target. Confirmed visual, looks like several thousand infected on the northeastern wall of the city." Angel reported as she changed her approach slightly to compensate for the Earth's atmosphere. I broke through the cloud cover to form up alongside the squadron and I could barely believe my eyes.

The Earth had become a wasteland after first a world-encompassing virus, then a world war and finally a zombie invasion. The walled cities were tiny islands in a world of chaos and destruction. New York lay mostly in ruins with collapsed skyscrapers and ruined city blocks as far as the eye could see. The walls were constructed around the very heart of what was once one of the greatest cities on the planet. Tracer rounds and plumes of fire left the walls from the soldiers guarding them and struck into the millions of infected humans trying to climb over the concrete surface to reach them. Personally, I was grateful to be in a starfighter and not on those walls, it had to be like hell on earth staring at those monsters for twelve hours a day.

Massive strobes of light filled the air as Angel opened fire, the large ballistic shells from the fighter's cannon ripped into the crowd of infected and body parts, fire and rubble flew in every direction. Angel banked hard at the last moment to clear the target zone and the next fighter in line opened fire. They continued this way until all five of the reapers had cleared and there was a strange calm in the area for a few minutes as the air settled. The large bombers formed up in their wedge shape and began their approach, it was going to make our attack look like spit wads in comparison to the ordnance they had.

Although I wanted to watch the amazing spectacle about to unfold before me, I had to focus on my duties as a squadron leader. "Reaper 2, confirm target destruction." I barked into the headset, slightly frustrated that I had to remind Angel to report in. Jewel Anders was an amazing pilot and a great wing-mate, but she tended to ignore military protocol and very rarely followed directions without being reminded. I could hear the irritation in her voice as Angel replied. "Reaper 2, Confirmed. Request permission to return to home base for rearming and refuel." She growled.

"Roger, all reapers return to the A.M.S. Star and report for debriefing." I sighed and kicked in my thrusters to take position at the head of the squadron.

We broke through the atmosphere of the planet and I breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason, my greatest fear was that I would crash on the surface of Earth and be trapped surrounded by infected, the lingering virus, cannibals or scavengers or who knew what other dangers lurked below.

The orbit of the planet was filled with activity and I smiled at the reassuring sight. A massive orbital station had been constructed encompassing roughly a third of the planet, wrapped around it like a blanket of technology. Large construction docks were built on the edges of the station where large starships were being constructed. Smaller stations that were built on the outer edge of the system held small fleets of trade ships, cargo transports and any number of other vessels.

After the surface had mostly been evacuated except for those unfortunate enough to be left in the walled cities, any corporation or government with enough money had basically created a city for themselves in space, building ships and equipment in preparation for leaving the solar system in search of a new home. After the third world war, the surviving governments had united to create the New Alliance, pooling their resources to start a space program. The end game had been to send fleets out in search of a new home-world, seeing as how Earth could no longer support human life and it was obvious, we had overstayed our welcome.

A sub-faction known as the New Alliance Military was created to build expeditionary fleets to leave first, paving the way for the civilian fleets to follow and making sure it was safe. The ship I was assigned to was a Fleet Carrier-class, the A.M.S. (Alliance Military Ship) Star and was the home to twenty-three fighter squadrons and fourteen bomber squadrons. The 22nd Reapers and the 12th Hammer Squadrons were among these and I considered the ship my home.

The A.M.S. Star was one of several ships assigned to Admiral Edward Burns, Commanding Officer of the 1st Expeditionary Fleet. Our orders were to leave orbit when our Capital ship was finished being constructed, a Dreadnought class that was currently unnamed being built on the surface of the Earth. The 2nd expeditionary fleet was housed inside the city of Seattle, a massive construction base where the ships were being prepared under military guard. As soon as our fleet left, they would launch from the planet and take our place where a third fleet would begin construction in their place.

My thoughts were interrupted as a new voice filtered into my headset. "Reaper lead, this is Star hangar control. Transmit identification orders and prepare for autopilot landing procedures." The voice said, very professional and no-nonsense. I reached down to my communication console and tapped a series of buttons. After a short pause, I received a loud tone as confirmation and the controls on my fighter locked up as the autopilot took over. From here on in, it was a waiting game until the fighter was docked. I leaned back in my seat and undid the safety harness holding me, turning off all nonessential controls as I waited.

The docking bays of the carrier were positioned on the top and bottom of the ship, the top for the fighters and the bottom for bomber and cargo/troop transport ships. The A.M.S. Star was long and sleek, the main command deck where the ships operations and pilot controls were positioned was in the middle on the forward section of the vessel.

Although the carrier held few armaments of its own, it could still put up a decent fight with fifty ballistic turrets along the surface and two rocket pods positioned near each of the hangars.

The ship was bustling with activity as fighters docked and left constantly cargo shuttles and troop transports passed back and forth between the different capital ships like ants and civilian craft crossed paths. My view was obscured as my starfighter was pulled inside the hangar bay and docked in a reserved space. I waited as the fighter settled before releasing the cockpit latch and climbing out.

Since humanity had not created shield technology yet, we were required to wear oxygen masks until we could get inside a compressed compartment. Spacesuit were not required as heavy pressure doors closed on the hangar bay when the entire squadron had landed, but oxygen was a necessity. I hated tasting recycled air, but the alternative was to die from asphyxiation, so I bit the bullet and had learned to live with it.

My squadron climbed out of there fighters and made their way towards the hatch leading into the rest of the carrier, I caught Angel glaring at me and tried to tune it out. After the door behind us was sealed and a greenlight took the place of a red over the main hatch, we removed our oxygen tanks and breathed in deeply. I knew this debriefing was going to be a headache, but we had to get it over with.

Gritting my teeth, I nodded my head towards the hallway stretched out before us. "Shall we?" I asked, holding out an arm for the rest of the squadron to proceed ahead of me.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

Explosions ripped across the planet's surface and I held my hands over my ears, opening my mouth and waiting for the thundering booms and screams to come to an end. The initial blasts ended but I knew more was coming and I waited for the second barrage, knowing it would be worse than the first. I was not disappointed as a heatwave shot through the corridor of the bunker, hitting me full on and taking my breath away. The heat seared my exposed lower face and I hissed in pain.

After what seemed like hours, the sounds subsided, and the heat dissipated. I breathed in a sigh of relief, coughing heavily to clear my throat of phlegm and to try and get moisture.

Opening my eyes, I stood up from my crouched position and scooped up my assault rifle from the floor. A loud siren filled the silence and I darted through the concrete hallways until I reached a steep set of stairs. Taking the steps two at a time, I emerged into the open air on top of the massive wall surrounding the last stronghold of New York City.

The ground around the wall was filled with pieces of bodies and large chunks of rubble. The siren went silent and nearly a hundred other men and women stood on the walls around me.

Each of the soldiers was dressed the same, wearing a thick black leather jumpsuit with a metal harness. Armored plates covered our vital organs and vulnerable bite locations such as our neck and arms and knee-high military boots finished the outfit. Each person wore a full helmet with goggles and a headset built-in. Oxygen tanks were fitted around our waist for emergencies and a belt carrying ammo, medical supplies, a bottle of water and a spare radio was clipped into our harness.

The insignia of the United Earth Defense Force, or U.E.D.F., was stenciled onto one shoulder with the emblem for the New Alliance Military on the opposing shoulder. Each breastplate held the name and rank of the soldier it was attached to and our blood type was listed just beneath it.

"Sergeant Grimm take your squad to the south side and begin a sweep. You know the drill, clear out any surviving infected and secure the tunnels." A large man barked, his voice commanding and stern.

"Yes sir, Third squad, on me." I raised my assault rifle and chambered a round, turning towards my directed location and breaking into a jog.

A dozen soldiers fell in behind me and we made good time, covering roughly a mile in a matter of minutes. A hatch was positioned at the top of a set of stairs and I threw it open, stepping aside for the next person in line.

"Alright, you know the drill, by twos. No one works alone." I didn't really have to say anything, the squad had done this a thousand times, but it made it no less dangerous. The men and women of the U.E.D.F. patrolled and defended the walls of one of the last human settlements every day and the fatality rate was incredibly high.

The civilians who lived inside the city had no idea how many people died every day to ensure their safety, and the spacers who lived in luxury and security aboard their spaceships wouldn't last a day in the shoes of anyone on the ground. The planetary defenders held a grudge against anyone in orbit and the military made sure never to let the U.E.D.F. and the fleet personnel enter the same bar.

After the last man had entered the hatch, I followed the squad down. At the bottom of the hatchway, we ran down a short hallway before coming to a round reinforced door with a circle latch. The squad double-checked their weapons and flipped on helmet, weapon and shoulder lights, bathing the hallway in a bright glow.

Holding a hand up I counted down from five, as I closed my fist the closest soldier twisted the latch and threw the door open. The squad rushed through and spread out in a semi-circle, their backs to the wall. The smell before us made several of the U.E.D.F. members gag as the stench of seared and rotting flesh washed over us. Our lights played across our surroundings and a wave of fear sank into the pit of my gut like it did every time I left the safety of the walls.

We stood just outside the hatchway at the base of the massive concrete embankments. Stretched out before us was the carnage of the airstrike, the infected humans who had been concentrated here were strewn about in mangled heaps of flesh and pits the size of a large vehicle were dug into the ground from the missile impacts of the bombers salvo.

The area was surprisingly quiet now with no movement and it was a scary thought to know that not ten minutes before this place had been crawling with deadly creatures.

I hissed loudly to get everyone's attention and began issuing orders with hand signals, directing teams of two to spread out and search for surviving infected.

The squad spread out in a well-practiced maneuver and I waited patiently until I stood alone at the hatch, keeping my assault rifle ready to fire, my nerves on edge and my body screaming at me to run through sheer instinct of terror. The wall defenders underwent weeks of training to learn how to overcome their body's natural flight or fight instinct, teaching themselves how to keep rational thought.

Scattered gunfire nearby almost made me jump and I bit into my lower lip to try and distract myself. The squad was methodically eradicating every infected they encountered who so much as twitched, using the tried and true one to the head two to the body practice. It was the most efficient way to ensure they never got back up. Infected humans were beyond dangerous and the only way to truly keep one down was to destroy their motor functions, primarily doing irreparable damage to the brain.

After what felt like an eternity the men and women of my squad began to make there way back towards the hatch and I breathed in a sigh of relief. Just as I was about to call the operation a success, a high-pitched scream filled the night and I cursed.

Raising my rifle, I looked towards the source of the noise and cried out loudly.

"Squad, in, now!" I barked, pointing in the distance towards a mass of oncoming infected, the creatures tripping over each other in a mad dash to close the gap between them and their prey.

Everyone had arrived except for two people, a man, and a woman who had ventured too far from the others. I signaled to three of the other soldiers to join me in a line and we opened fire, trying to slow the oncoming horde to give the duo time to get to the hatch. "Move!" I screamed into the microphone, holding onto the assault rifle for dear life as it bucked against my shoulder, a wall of ballistic shells pouring into the infected humans.

Just as it seemed the man and woman wouldn't make it, a pair of turrets on the wall above us opened fire and the first row of infected evaporated into red mist. I thanked whoever was listening for the assistance and pushed the rest of the squad through the hatch, slamming it shut behind us and sealing it tightly. Stumbling slightly as the adrenaline drained out of me, everyone started laughing.

"Alright, since no one died I've got a surprise. I've been stocking up on R and R time, anyone up for going to the fleet club on the space station?" I grinned. We weren't supposed to go to that club, it was reserved for spacers, but it would take the Military Police some time before they knew we were there and by that time, the entire squad would be well on there way to becoming intoxicated and having fun. Everyone slapped each other on the shoulders in excitement and we made our way back to the top of the wall.

Life as a U.E.D.F. wasn't about surviving, it was simply figuring out how long you had to live, we learned to enjoy every moment and take advantage of any opportunity.

This Forsaken World Chapter 2

Commander Devin Crowe

As my flight team filed into the debriefing room I sighed inwardly and took my place at the podium. The room was set up in a rectangle with two rows of seats extending six by four. I leaned forward against the podium and smiled at the group of pilots assembled before me.

There were five people in the squadron, each a talented and skilled pilot, however no member of the New Alliance Military had space combat experience.

There had been no in-fighting for several years as the only threat was the infected humans on the planet surface. In space, there was peace and stability as everyone focused there efforts on the construction of the fleet. It was a critical weakness I saw and the only solution was to put my pilots through extensive maneuvers, attempting to imitate actual combat as realistically as possible. Unfortunately, my flight team was short. The average squadron had up to twelve ships and pilots, the 22nd reapers however were six pilots short. We still had the fighters on standby, but due to logistics issues and lack of recruits, we were the most understaffed unit in the fleet. I had countered this by selecting the most promising cadets out of the academy and I held each of them to a high standard. We had proven to be the most combat effective unit in bomber escort and training drills.

"Alright, lets get this started." I turned my attention to my second in command, Lieutenant Commander Jewel Anders, known as Angel to her fellow reapers. The woman was well muscled with bright red hair and piercing green eyes. "Angel, what did you do wrong during the escort mission?" I asked, leaning back against the white board behind me.

The redhead sighed, audibly growling in response. "I failed to follow military protocol and misused pilot identification. Other than that, I think we did pretty good....sir." It was obvious by her tone of voice the 'sir' was tacked on to make a point.

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, we did, didn't we? Still, as flight leader I have to bring things like this up, you know that." Jewel rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her ample chest. "Roger that boss." She stated, looking away and staring at the wall.

"Right, Everyone else did well aside from Lieutenant Graves, you were a bit rough out there. I need you to polish your formation positioning a bit and try to distance a little more. You almost clipped Smith's wing." Sid Graves, or 'Tombstone' as we called him, scratched the back of his shaved head. "Sorry about that Commander, I'll try to work on that, sir." The man was very large and barely fit into a cockpit, standing easily six foot seven with rippling muscles. He was the most junior officer to join and as such had the least experience flying.

I glanced about the room, taking in the rest of the reapers. There was Lieutenant Commander John Romeo, known simply as 'Romeo' since his last name was the perfect call-sign to begin with. Standing at mid-height, roughly five nine, he was athletic but lean. His hair was brown in a short crew cut and he had a carefree attitude that made being around him enjoyable.

Sitting beside him was Lieutenant Mitch Wilson, or Raptor. Mitch was the shortest person in the room and he was very aware of it. While he seemed friendly on the surface, the man was actually quite rough and aggressive. I pegged it as a reflex from people giving him a hard time about his height, but when it came to flying, he was one of the best I had ever seen.

The last reaper was Lieutenant Gary Smith, or Doom as he was affectionately known. The pilot had dyed his hair white with a middle part, he was on the taller side without being too tall and he was well muscled. Gary had more simulation kills than anyone else in the fleet, other than myself, and he was the resident comedian among the group.

'Alright, now that the debriefing is over, lets head to the space station bar and get some alcohol in our system, we have twenty four hours of leave, lets take advantage of this." A collective 'Yes' resounded among everyone as they exchanged high fives. I grinned and led everyone out of the room.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

The squad had managed to sneak aboard one of the transport ships heading for a resupply mission on the orbital space station. Everyone knew if we were caught by the military police or a nosy officer the reprimand would be horrible, but we also knew we could die any day due to our jobs and we took advantage of every moment we were alive. The trip was rough, the pilot of the transport ship obviously running late and in a hurry, and several of us hit our heads on the ride up.

After what felt like a year, we finally docked with the station and waited as the airlock umbilical extended and we filed out of the cramped storage space. Luck was with us as there was no guard, and we breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Alright, the bar is on the second level, there are a lot of spacers up there so try not to act like soldiers or this trip is going to be cut short. We're simply cargo haulers meeting for a cold one, everyone got it?" I asked, looking from one squad member to the next.

After I felt confident we could pass by safely without attracting unwanted attention, we made our way to the second level and filed into the very spacious bar. The place was luxurious and well stocked. They had every type of alcoholic beverage you could fit on a shelf, with a small food menu and a long oak bar-top. There were scattered tables with two to eight seats and several benches ran the outer length with red padded cushions.

Unlucky for us, there were three separate fighter and bomber squadrons from the carriers spread throughout the bar. A handful of deck officers were seated in a corner with a range of mechanics, weapons officers and some trainees scattered about. I breathed in heavily, hoping things wouldn't escalate, and indicated my squad take a table away from the others.

The soldiers of the U.E.D.F. were talking excitedly among themselves and I made my way to the bar to place our orders. The bartender stared at me suspiciously but kept things professional. "What can I get you?" He asked, wiping down a glass and placing it upside down on a clean cloth. The man was obviously suspicious of my group and he kept casting sidelong glances at the fleet officers.

"We'll have six orders of barbecue wings and a steady supply of beers. Also some cheese sticks if you would please." I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the bar-top. The man stared at me for a moment before lowering his voice so only I could hear it. "Look, I know you guys aren't supposed to be up here and I really don't want a brawl to break out so could you please keep it quiet. I don't want things to blow up, I just bought those tables after the last fight."

I gave the man a reassuring grin and a wink, heading back to the table and taking my seat. The truth was, if the spacers wanted to start something, I really wasn't sure if I could stop my squad from taking them up on the offer. The hatred between fleet personnel and ground troops was a long standing feud of hatred and jealousy.

The U.E.D.F. despised the spacers since they were living in luxury in space. They had fresh food, clean clothing, plentiful water, warm quarters and nothing to threaten there lives on a daily basis. The people trapped on the surface either died from starvation and exposure, being torn apart by ravenous zombies, or suffered from rampant crime and violence among there fellow humans.

Everyone aboard spaceships or space stations were under the impression everything was okay on the ground since the great walls protected everyone, but things were getting worse by the day as resources became even more scarce and the population was too large for the small space they were trapped in. While me and my squad did our best to defend the walls against the zombies, we couldn't fight a battle on two fronts and there was literally no military or police presence within the cities.

I tried to push my dark thoughts down as the drinks arrived. We spread our bounty among ourselves and I held my mug high for a toast. "To survival." I declared in a firm voice. Everyone became serious at once as they heard the words and they all raised there mugs. "To survival." They repeated and everyone took a long swig of the bitter liquid.

Just as I was about to take another drink, a firm voice announced. "I think you all should leave now. We don't want your kind in here." All I could think was...well shit....

Commander Devin Crowe

The bar was a normal gathering place for the fleet squadrons and as such one other flight team was seated off to the side along with some staff officers and utility personnel. I indicated a nearby table and the reapers took there seats, getting comfortable.

One of the great things about this place was the service, the bartender was so used to our presence he would greet us as soon as we were seated and we didn't have to go to him.

"Reapers, glad to see you. I heard today's attack was a success, congratulations. The usual?" He asked, a broad smile on his face. I looked at everyone and the group all nodded in agreement. "Roger that, thanks Reggie." The owner smiled and walked back to the bar-top to prepare our drinks.

As we began to converse, a deep powerful voice caught everyone's attention and I turned my head, having to crane my neck to look up at the towering figure before me. "I believe this table is ours..." The behemoth stated.

The man, if you could call him that, was easily as tall as Graves, standing around six eight or nine. He was solid muscle and from the way his veins bulged I could imagine him crushing my bones to dust in a bear hug. Growling, I stood up and faced the man, my pitiful six four barely coming up to his chest. "I think not, this table is for the reapers, and unless your good enough to drink with us, I suggest you piss off!" I puffed my chest up, attempting to intimidate the man.

We squared off for several long moments, my fellow squad mates taking there places flanking me as ten men and a woman fanned out behind the towering figure in front of me. Finally, the big man broke into a grin and gave me a bear hug, being careful not to break anything. I returned the friendly embrace and both groups exchanged handshakes and claps on the back. Excited chatter broke out as two tables were brought together for the gathering.

"Damn Sledge, you sure know how to enter a room." I smiled, clapping the larger man on the shoulder. My best friend and longtime mentor, Lieutenant Commander Anthony Chambers, or Sledge, was the flight leader of the 12th bomber squadron, Hammer Squad. His group was the ships we had escorted during this mornings bombing run and I was grateful to see he was okay. While normally a strike like we had performed would have little to no danger, there were always risks and seeing a friend after such an event was a relieving experience.

"Yeah sorry, I couldn't help it. Besides, we both know you'd kick my ass if we ever got into a real fight." He grinned broadly as our drinks were delivered, the bartender noticing the Hammer's appearance and compensating with additional drinks. "I doubt it, I may know how to fight better than you, both on the ground and in the stars, but size does matter, no matter who says otherwise." I took a healthy swig and grinned as the alcohol burned its way down my throat.

"That's not entirely true Wraith, Our fighters could take any Hammer bomber in a one on one any day of the week. We may be smaller but we're twice as fast and far more maneuverable." Jewel slammed her mug on the table in front of Sledge and leaned forward, rewarding the man with a wealth of cleavage. Anthony swallowed heavily and smiled. "Care to test that theory little Angel?" He asked, draining his mug in one gulp.

As everyone continued to talk I noticed a group of people enter the bar and sighed heavily. It was twelve members of the U.E.D.F. pretending to be spacers. I bit my lip in irritation and as the barkeep turned to look at me, wondering what to do, I gave him a nod to service the group. While I wanted to avoid a fight that I knew would come, I had to consider the trade offs. I had been to the surface before and I knew what the soldiers went through every day and they really did deserve a nice cold beer somewhere safe. I just hoped no one would notice and cause any problems.

Things seemed alright for a while as the fleet personnel were too busy talking to each other to notice the ground troops, I caught Raptor glaring at the group and sighed. "Ah hell...Sledge." I nudged the large man in the ribs to get his attention.

Glancing at me sideways, the behemoth followed my gaze as Raptor approached the U.E.D.F.

"Get ready for a brawl. Raptor won't leave this alone, he's going to start something."

Sergeant Victor Grimm

"What the hell is your problem, we're just here for a drink, leave us alone you dirty spacer!" One of my squad mates yelled, spittle spraying out of his mouth. I cringed at the words 'Dirty Spacer' and braced myself for a fight.

It took longer then I expected as a truly frightening figure approached and gripped the back of the instigators jacket, lifting him off the ground and setting him aside. "I'm sorry gentleman but this is a fleet bar. While I admit you accusing us of being dirty is very insulting, I must insist everyone keep this friendly and professional. Both of you apologize to each other and then you'll have to leave this establishment." The towering pilot spoke all of this without any emotion in his voice.

I looked at Higguns, the man who had insulted the pilots. "Hey, lets do what they say. We've already had a round and I really don't want to deal with any fighting right now. Besides, this dude looks like he could crush your head with little to no effort. If you want to start something, that's fine, but let me leave first." I nodded to the big pilot and drained my mug, standing up and heading towards the door. The squad fell in behind me, everyone except Higguns who squared off against the behemoth.

"We have a right to drink wherever we want, just because you think this is your bar doesn't make it true. Now I'm going to eat my real chicken wings and drink good beer and you can't stop me. You have any idea what I went through today?! You dirty fleet dogs can't stop me from enjoying myself!" He roared in defiance, standing on his tip toes to try and seem taller.

All I could was cringe as the sound of breaking wood filled up the bar. From there, it turned into pure chaos as both groups charged at each other and a terrifying fight broke out. Higguns had been thrown across the room and now lay crumpled on a cushion, shaking his head like a dog as he tried to clear his vision.

Despite the fact the spacers outnumbered us, we were used to intense physical combat and training on a daily basis and we naturally were hardier and better fighters. Some of the pilots tried to fight with martial arts but my men were used to fighting dirty and they easily countered such maneuvers with bar stools, beer mugs of anything they could get there hands on.

I tried to avoid the bulk of the combat but eventually found myself facing a man of similar build. While he seemed to be a superior officer to the others, he was more professional and seemed just as reluctant to engage in the fight as I was. I sized the officer up and he nodded his head in a gesture of respect as I rushed him.

The pilot ducked his head as I threw a right hook and he countered with a jab to my midsection. While I was well muscled with a clearly defined six pack, the blow took me by surprise and I grunted, the air leaving my lungs in a rush. I staggered back and ducked as a random bar stool swung over my head, the makeshift weapon clearly intended for a different target. As I shifted my attention back to my opponent, my respect for the man grew as he had waited for me to focus on the fight one more, not taking advantage of the distraction.

I nodded my head in thanks and kicked out with my right leg. While I expected him to grab the leg or something similar, he instead raised his knee to block the attack and threw himself forward into a grapple. We tumbled across the floor for a few moments before coming up in front of the bar top, squaring off again.

"Sorry about this Reggie." The man pulled his wallet out and slid it across the smooth oak surface to the bartender. "Take what you need for the damage." The pilot turned on me again and apparently the surprise in my eyes was obvious. "I knew this was coming, no reason Reggie here should suffer because of it." My admiration for my opponent grew as I charged him again.

I attempted to pull off a round house and again the man caught me off guard, most fighters would instinctively duck under the leg, this man however grabbed my foot mid strike and used it to knock me off balance. I stumbled as I landed on the floor hard.

Before I could stand up however, a fist connected with my jaw and stars filled my vision. A second strike sent me into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.

This Forsaken World Chapter 3

Commander Devin Crowe

My opponent was the obvious leader of the U.E.D.F. Squad and he was fairly skilled in melee combat. Unfortunately for the man, his training was designed for maximum offense with little regard to defense. This was essential when fighting the infected zombies on Earth, human combatants were a bit different since they retained combat skills and higher brain functions.

Fleet personnel were taught a much different martial art made for possible boarding parties on there capital ships, designed for defense in close quarters as opposed to offense. We were taught how to use our enemies momentum and attacks against them in order to disable there capacity for combat.

The man was powerful, strong and very confident in his strikes. I wasn't surprised, for someone who fought day and night on the front lines of one of the most hostile and dangerous places on earth, he had to be skilled in order to survive. I however was trained since birth and despite low gravity in space, I worked hard to keep myself in top physical condition and my reflexes were honed to a sharp edge. Being a fighter pilot, it was essential to be able to adapt to any situation, think fast and respond accordingly. While soldiers on the wall could get to cover when things went bad, pilots didn't have that option. The only thing between us and death in a fiery explosion was a keen awareness of our surroundings and our ability to assess danger and react accordingly.

The fight was brief as I caught the soldiers leg during an attempted roundhouse kick. I shoved him backwards and swiped his leg so he landed hard on his back. Not giving him time to recover, I moved forward and threw a punch, attempting to knock him out. It took two hits which was a testament to his resilience, but he was out for the rest of the fight.

Standing up and looking around I surveyed the situation. Four of the pilots lay scattered about either on the ground of atop tables or benches. One of those victims was Raptor, who apparently had picked off more than he could chew. Counting the leader, roughly half of the U.E.D.F. Troopers were on the ground. Jewel was grappled in a cat fight with a blonde soldier and they were all but literally hissing at each other as they rolled around struggling to get position.

Sledge held two men in each arm and he was laughing heavily as he merely toyed with his prey, enjoying this fight just a little too much. Doom and Tombstone were squared off with a pair of troopers and they continued to throw jabs and hooks at each other with little to no effect, the sight rather pathetic to be honest. The last U.E.D.F. Was cornered by almost the entire bombing squadron and he was holding up his hands in surrender as they closed in on him.

Deciding things had escalated enough, I let out a shrill whistle to get everyone's attention. Instantly both squadrons snapped to attention, abandoning the fight. I noticed Sledge took a second longer than everyone else in order to knock out one more troopers before falling in.

For the U.E.D.F.'s side of things, the men and woman still standing gathered themselves up and regrouped near the door, waiting to see what was going to happen. I turned towards the troopers and gave them a well practiced glare.

"Gather your wounded and fall out. I'll call the MP's to escort you back to the surface. Consider yourselves lucky I'm not going to enact any disciplinary measures but I will be contacting your commanding officer with a full report. Dismissed."

Despite the fact I wasn't an officer in there branch of the military, they knew a command and a leader when they saw one and out of reflex and respect, they did as ordered and collected there downed comrades, either dragging them between each other or using a fire-mans carry.

Turning back to the assembled squadrons, I waited for the Troopers to leave before I broke down laughing. The pilots all sighed in relief that they weren't going to be dressed down and the entire bar was filled with laughter. "Alright, lets clean this place up, then leave is canceled and everyone is to return to there quarters for a good night of sleep, dismissed."

Sergeant Victor Grimm

Waking up on my bed mat, I felt like I had a massive hangover which was funny since I barely had a chance to drink my beer. Suddenly memories of the fight came surging back to me and I groaned out loud, realizing it wasn't a hangover but a possible concussion. Noticing the rest of my squad was scattered about the barracks, I swallowed hard, my throat dry.

"Alright, that's the last time I take you clowns to an officers bar until you learn how to fight." I growled, sitting up and wincing in pain.

"If I recall properly Sarge, you were the first one on the ground." Higguns stated, rubbing his eyes and blinking rapidly to clear his vision.

"I was also fighting the highest ranking officer in the room who just so happened to be a martial arts expert, so stow it trooper." I snapped back.

The slamming of a heavy metal door brought everyone's attention towards the source as a fully armored man rushed into the room, I recognized him as Corporal Fields. "Everyone get up, the staff sergeant is on his way and he looks pissed!" The young man informed us. I cursed under my breath and struggled to my feet.

I expected the door to slam again, instead it was opened and closed so softly I barely heard it. A man in a crisp clean uniform stepped into the barracks and put his hands behind his back, his demeanor so calm and professional it was more intimidating then had he been outwardly upset.

"Well, isn't this a sad sight, a squad of Defense Force soldiers beat down by a puny squadron of Fleet Pilots..." One of the not so bright members of my squad spoke up and I sighed heavily, knowing what was coming next. "Um, with respect sir, it was two squadrons. Also one of them was Reaper Squadron so...I honestly think we did alright." The man was rewarded with the stare only an NCO could bring to bear and he visibly shrank back.

"Sergeant Grimm, why am I upset right now?" The Staff Sergeant turned his gaze onto me and I couldn't help but snort, upset? He looked so calm it was hard to imagine him being upset in this state. However, if this was upset I hoped I never saw him get mad. "We lost the fight and retreated, I do believe that is the answer you were looking for?" I asked, struggling to stand tall.

A slow smile spread across the NCO's face and he nodded his head. "Indeed, that is why your a sergeant and the rest of these scrubs are so low on the food chain. Although, I have heard you were the first to fall. I also heard from the report I read that your opponent was none other than Commander Devin Crowe. I don't know if your aware of this but he is a legend when it comes to any form of combat. To last as long as you did is an incredible feat. For that reason alone, you don't have to run the ten miles along the southern wall with the rest of your squad. Relax, you've earned it."

The staff sergeant squared his shoulders as he looked around the room. "The rest of you, full combat gear and armor in five. Running line in ten, move out! Also, no chow till tonight, you had enough barbecue chicken during your little party, am I right?" Without waiting for a reply the man turned his back and left the barracks.

The squad all grumbled and groaned as they began to don there equipment. I jogged after the NCO and caught up to him just outside the building.

"Staff Sergeant, with respect sir, I'd like to join my men in there run. I was the one who brought them all up to the fleet station, I'm responsible for there punishment." Normally you wouldn't make eye contact in an obvious challenge, it wasn't military etiquette, but I didn't care. If my men were going to be punished, I was taking it right alongside the rest of them.

"Very well, fall out, Sergeant. Keep this up, there might be a commendation or possibly an advancement in your future. Get going." With a gesture of his head back towards my barracks, nothing else was said as he left. I returned to the barracks and began to get my gear on with the rest of my squad.

"Higguns, the next time you pick a fight with a massive spacer, I'm kicking your ass myself, understood?" I pierced the man with a stern look. "Right, no fighting big people, got it!" The trooper beamed a big grin and grabbed his backpack.

Commander Devin Crowe

After the bar had been cleaned up I'd called the military police to collect the U.E.D.F. Squad and followed up with a written report in my personal office. I tried to take it easy on the troopers, praising several of them on good conduct despite the situation. I still held a lot of sympathy for our ground forces and tried to cut them slack whenever possible.

A short four hour nap was interrupted by a loud radio call. "Squadrons 22nd Reaper and 12th Hammer to the briefing room ASAP, Condition Yellow!" I stood up and got dressed as fast as I could. A condition yellow was serious, it meant priority mission and full fleet readiness, something bad was going on.

I broke into a jog towards the briefing room, ducking my head several times to avoid bulkheads and using the handrails to slide down the steep staircase. As I entered, both my squadron and the bomber squadron led by Sledge were seated and ready for a report. I slid into a seat at the front of the collected units and we waited patiently.

A woman entered the room in a crisp and clean uniform. Standing at around five foot five, she seemed much taller with the way she carried herself and the large number of medals and ribbons on her chest declared just how much she had done in her career. The rank of 'Captain' was displayed on her uniform sleeve and she smiled as she took her place at the podium, dimming the lights.

Captain Sasha Conners, the commanding officer of the USS Star fleet carrier, turned on a projector and stepped to the side. "Alright everyone listen up. I've got a rather interesting assignment today. As of 0900 our perimeter satellites detected something entering our solar system. As you all know, we have only sent scout ships to patrol as far as Neptune and so far nothing has been spotted." She surveyed the faces of the pilots, seeing some confusion.

"Let me clarify, this is a foreign object to our system, therefore it is considered a threat." Any confusion was gone, alertness and excitement took over.

"While our engines allow us to travel incredibly fast, a trip that far out in the system would take hours. As such we have already deployed a scout team to investigate. That was three hours ago...we lost all communication with them." The Captain was about to continue before Romeo raised his hand.

"Ma'am, our transmitters are less than reliable at that range, is it perhaps a radio malfunction?" He asked, resting his hands in his lap as the Captain responded. "Even at that range some form of static or broken chatter would make it, also we can bounce the signal off the satellites if we have to. They have almost literally vanished. Our survey scans are detecting debris matching our fighter's metal signature but that is all we have."

Clicking a button to bring up a picture of our solar system, Sasha indicated a location beyond the planet Neptune. "Our scout ships were lost in this general area near sat (Satellite Number Nine) nine. The target is further out of system just on the edge of our scanner range. It has not moved since entering the system. This confirms it is not a natural object, nothing natural could hold such a firm position in space."

Everyone was staring intently at the screen as the news of what was going on settled in. The woman continued the briefing. "Your orders are to position near sat four by Saturn. It will take two hours to get there. Once in position, you will form a defensive perimeter and monitor the enemy using the sat scanner system. As we speak it is being installed in each of your ships." The Captain clicked another button to bring up a picture of our orbital stations.

"The fleet has gone to full readiness, armaments are being prepared and the engines are priming. Unfortunately we are low on fuel, the fleet has had no reason to move in months and as such we have yet to refuel near Venus. Also, the majority of our staff for the USS Star is stuck on the ground and it will take at least five hours to retrieve them. This means this carrier is only fifty percent combat ready."

After World War 3, the obvious mistake of using fossil fuels was replaced with Solar Power. The new ship designs as well as all ground vehicles had been retrofitted or rebuilt to accommodate Solar energy. A refueling station had been set up near Venus where the power cells could recharge and be replaced with freshly charged units. Normally cargo ships made the trip to swap out cells on a regular basis but due to logistics of getting the second fleet on Earth prepped for launch, we were low on cells.

The main plan had been to have the 1st Expeditionary Fleet take orbit and protect things while the second fleet was constructed. After the second fleet was finished, the first would leave orbit and travel to a different solar system, looking for a new home-world. The second fleet would then repeat this until a third fleet was constructed.

While a dreadnought had been planned for each of the expeditionary fleets, construction had been halted due to lack of personnel. The massive capital ship was almost complete but several decks were uncompressed and half the life support systems were faulty.

The Captain pointed to the cluster of ships near the moon. "A picket has been assembled near the moon station. There are only seven corvette's, our entire flank force. While they have enough weapons to slow down anything entering Earth space, they are almost entirely immobile due to fuel constraints. A stationary Corvette is a dead Corvette as you are all well aware of. They have been staffed with as few people as possible in case this threat is real."

Clicking again, the picture changed to a blurry object sitting motionless in space. The image showed a block shape with what looked like pointy needles or spikes all over. A blood red color enveloped the majority of the shape with spots of gray scattered about.

"As you can see, this does not look like a natural phenomena. Our analysts tried to clean up the image as best they could and they believe this might be a ship of some sort." The room broke up in hushed whispers as everyone tried to digest this latest bit of information.

I raised my hand. "Captain your saying this might be an alien craft of some kind?" I asked the question the entire room had been wanting an answer to. The woman slowly nodded her head.

"That's correct Commander, we believe this is a point man for a much larger fleet. We are also under belief our scout ships were destroyed. Your orders stand to form a defensive line near Saturn and expect the worst. If things escalate and it is indeed a hostile force, engage and disable if possible, if you cannot or you find yourselves outnumbered, withdraw and prepare for orbital defense. You'll need to perform an emergency refuel once you return, you'll be running on fumes traveling that far out at speed so during your engagement be mindful of this, don't burn more than you can afford to. Any questions?" She asked, looking around the room. "Alright, dismissed, be careful and good luck."

The sounds of bustling activity filled the room as the Captain excused herself to head to the bridge in order to take command of the ship. Everyone made ready to leave for the hangar bay. Talk was kept to a minimum as all of the pilots tried to make sense of what was going on in there own heads.

It took several moments to get my gear ready and I zipped up my dark gray flight suit. Hooking up the respirator, I grabbed my jet black helmet, a sticker with the word 'Wraith' in bone white adorning the plating on the front, and made my way to the hangar. The pilots were all moving towards there respective fighters and I waved at Jewel as I started climbing the ladder into my cockpit.

The canopy closed as I tested the controls and started turning on the systems. The flight stick moved freely indicating everything was clear.

One of the main things most pilots dreaded was something going wrong with there ships, having to rely solely on our hangar mechanics and ordnance loaders. I however was very confident, Petty Officer Second Class Vivian Sinclair or Vixie as we called her, was one of the best mechanics the fleet had to offer. I would trust her with my life, and in fact every time any of us on Reaper squadron flew, we did.

As the flight line attendant gave the go ahead, I gave the man a salute and kicked the engines into gear, moving into position. The five other fighters lined up behind me and one by one we accelerated and left the hanger. There was a moment of weightlessness from lack of gravity before my inertial dampeners kicked in.

We formed up in a wedge shape and waited as Hammer Squadron left there own hangar, taking a lot longer not only due to slower ships but numbering twelve instead of our under staffed six. While most missions would require an even number of craft between fighter and bomber's, our reputation enabled a rare exception.

The radio crackled in my headset. "Hammer squadron ready flight lead." Sledge's voice filtered through. "Roger, all ships proceed to mission zone." Our engines flared to life as we broke away from the fleet and accelerated towards our objective.

This Forsaken World Chapter 4

Sergeant Victor Grimm

Running several miles in full combat gear with a headache was not the highlight of my life. We had covered roughly half the distance, everyone throwing curse words in Higguns direction, when near deafening sirens began to ring out along the city walls.

Glancing about in confusion, my squad instinctively turned around and ran back towards the barracks. Sirens normally meant the infected humans were about to breach the wall or had begun amassing in force.

While normally it wasn't an immediate threat, the walls being over twenty feet tall with plenty of defenses in the form of automated and manned turrets, thousands of defense force troopers, wall slots for ground level flame throwers, and titanium spikes. Only once since the construction of the walls had the infected breached and it was due to overwhelming numbers at one specific point.

As soldiers, technicians, medical staff and officers ran back and forth in different directions, heading towards there stations, my squad picked up speed and we ran past the barracks towards the armory. The thick metal building was built to the right of the main gate, the massive ten foot thick steel doors both comforting and intimidating at the same time.

An MP was in the progress of handing out weapons to soldiers as formed a line and I noticed the Staff Sergeant from earlier taking note of who was geared up, indicating with a hand gesture as to where they should report. As I approached the man, my squad lining up for armaments, I moved close enough that he could hear over the loud sirens above.

"Staffs, whats going on?" I asked, waiting impatiently for a reply as he waved another group of troopers towards a defensive bunker some twenty feet away. "There was a sighting of what is believed to be a strange battle ship in space. Fleet has issued a code red and put the U.E.D.F. On high alert. We're being mobilized to cover the entire compound in case there hostile. Have your squad report to the western battlements and wait for further orders."

While I was seriously skeptical about how effective a defense would be, I nodded my head and moved towards the MP raising a hand and accepting my assault rifle as it was tossed to me. I moved behind the man and snagged two grenades and a handful of fully loaded magazines. Slotting my gear into there appropriate places, I directed my squad towards our posting.

As we moved together, I chambered a round in my rifle and flipped the safety on so I wouldn't accidentally let off a round while running. "Sarge, whats going on?" Higguns asked, trying desperately to keep up with my longer stride. "Possible sighting of an alien fleet in space, we're being deployed in case it turns out to be bad." I more or less gave a broken down version of the Staff Sergeants briefing, keeping it simple.

Another man moved up to my right, his name was Gavo one of my machine-gunners, "Boss, there aren't enough Defense Troopers to cover this entire city. It would take a ridiculous amount of men to watch everything, we barely have enough to respond to breach threats, let alone an invasion force of ET's."

Nodding my head in agreement, I couldn't help but feel pride for my soldiers. While we lived in strange times, no one batted an eye at the possibility of an alien fleet from another world. We had space ships and zombies, why not another civilization capable of space flight? This world and time was like one of the old science fiction stories from fifty years ago.

"I'm aware of that, lets just focus on our part of the wall and leave the rest to the brass. We've got a mile of wall to cover and only twelve troopers to cover it." I dearly hoped it wasn't some invasion, we had enough to deal with. Humanity was just recovering from a zombie invasion, I didn't think we could take much more. If in fact it was some hostile alien fleet, it was up to the Spacers to handle it. The Defense Force was ill prepared for such an attack, we had been assembled for wall defense, space ships could land inside of that wall defeating the purpose.

My thoughts went back to that officer at the bar and I hoped he was up for the task.

Commander Devin Crowe

As we flew through space, I tried to get comfortable in the small cramped cockpit. I had requested the fighters be designed with more leg room considering the distance's we had to travel and the amount of time we would spend inside the tiny space, but function over comfort prevailed every time when it came to military.

I dearly wanted to take my helmet off but that would disable my radio and oxygen, both of which were vital for survival and against protocol, I could easily face a reprimand for even thinking about it.

I checked my watch once more, biting my lip in anticipation. In the old age it would take years to reach our target location. A lot of smart people from all over the world had put there heads together to circumvent the limits of modern transportation to come up with a new means of propulsion. Three different levels of covering distance had been invented and it had changed the course of humanity's future.

First we had thrust, the basic speed that was similar to travel in the atmosphere of Earth, only thanks to the lack of drag and the free motion we could spin, twist and perform any manner of turn while in space. This was how we moved between ships, fought in space or traveled into planetary orbit.

The second invention was known as slip stream, it was very technical for a pilot but the egg heads had broken it down for us simpletons. The ship somehow was enveloped in a stream of energy that allowed incredible velocity. While normal thrust would be endangered due to meteorites or space debris, the slip stream negated such a problem, the energy field pushing objects out of the way without the danger of impacting the ship itself. With this technology at our disposal, we could cover vast distances in hours instead of years.

Lastly we had the A.W.G. Drive, which stood for Artificial Wormhole Generator. This was still in the process of being tested but in theory it allowed our capital ships to open a wormhole to other solar systems.

The issue at present was we had no clue if it worked, and the other problem was exit vector, we had no idea where we could end up. A small corvette had been equipped with the drive to test it on auto pilot but it had vanished and was considered lost.

Due to the size of the drive it was only designed for capital ships and all fighter and bomber crews had been forced to practice drills for landing in the event of an emergency A.W.G. Jump. If a Carrier entered the wormhole before we were aboard we would be stranded. Some pilots argued that a fighter could simply enter the tunnel behind the capital ship but technicians stated our craft would be ripped apart without sufficient mass.

Checking my controls for the last time I noted the time was almost up. Cracking my fingers and preparing for slip stream deactivation I checked my radio. "Reaper and Hammer flight, pre-check for engagement." I stated, looking down at the squad indicator to check the condition of my fellow pilots. Naturally, Jewel was the first to respond followed by Sledge.

"Ready for deployment.' They both informed me. A series of responses filtered through after this one by one until both squadrons were accounted for. "Copy, prepare for re-entry in three....two....one."

My ship lurched heavily as the slip stream deactivated. While in slip stream the cockpit was filled with swirling lights of blue, white and green. When the drive shut down and the ship reverted to normal space, everything changed rapidly to the usual stars and planets. The sensation and sight was overwhelming for a large number of humans and it took months to get used to the reversion, most pilots throwing up in the cockpit repeatedly until they got used to it.

As I shook my head to clear my vision, warning lights flashed and I had to yank the controls hard, a chunk of metal directly in my path. Out of reflex and practice I pulled back on the stick instead of left or right. This allowed my fighter to go up and over the floating debris instead of hitting my wing mate or the ship to my left. I breathed a sigh of relief, checking my sensors to make sure nothing had been damaged.

"Hey Wraith, you alright? Man that was close!" Romeo laughed out loud as he asked on the radio. I bit my lower lip, my nerves now thoroughly frayed. "Yeah, good thing I've got decent reflexes or I'd be scrap right now. What was that?" I asked.

Normal radio protocol for proper rank or last name was given over to simply call-signs. This was thanks to no one other than the pilots in proximity hearing the chatter, a reprimand impossible. Most pilots enjoyed being away from a carrier for this specific reason, it made communication that much easier and they could be themselves.

Angels voice filled my headset. "If I had to guess, that was Sat Four. It's the only explanation for a chunk of metal out here. Our destination was set close by, the satellite must have been destroyed somehow."

Killing the engines, I turned on my auto pilot and leaned back. Normally floating in open space a fighter or ship would potentially move around a bit, auto pilot maintained position by making adjustments to any shift with exhaust ports, keeping the ship immobile until the pilot resumed control.

The rest of Reaper squadron followed suit, lining up to my port and starboard wing in perfect formation. Hammer squadron remained out of sight as they had formed up behind us, using our fighters as a screen in case of attack. "Alright, guess we wait. Get comfortable, we'll hold position until life support hits fifty percent or the target moves in range." I informed everyone, following my own command.

"Hey Wraith, there is one problem." Doom's voice stated. I glanced about to look in his direction. "Yeah whats that?" I responded. While I couldn't see the man due to not only distance but the sun tinted cockpit, I could imagine him looking at me with a worried expression from the tone of his voice.

"Well sir, I'm checking Sat scans right now and I'm getting nothing. Either the satellites have all been destroyed or our scanners aren't working." Suddenly nervous, I checked the systems as well. The screen that had been slaved to the monitor was blank. "He's right, my screen is black." Angel added.

My heart leapt into my throat and I swallowed hard. This was a serious problem, if our scanners were down at range, we'd have no way of knowing if the enemy ship was closing on our position. While our fighters had close range scans, it was only good for a few kilometers, anything further out would be invisible until it was close enough to engage. "Shit..." I whispered.

Sledge spoke up. "Should we call it? We're basically blind out here." The big man had no sign of fear or emotion in his voice, it helped me calm down.

"No, we have our orders. We're going to have to adapt however. Break up into wing's, each primary with your wing-man. Spread out into a long line in range for communication with the next team. The chances of us actually spotting the enemy is almost nonexistent unless they come within range of Saturn, but its the only thing we can do to maximize our scanner coverage. If any wing spots the enemy, report down the line and we'll regroup accordingly to engage. If the enemy craft has any common sense they'll use the planet as a map marker to travel in system, if they have more sophisticated scanners, we'll follow the original plan, when life support is at fifty, we head back. Everyone understood?" I asked.

A series of responses filtered in as the wing's of both bomber and fighter's broke apart and went there separate ways. I breathed in heavily, Angel holding position to my right. Switching the comm over so only the red head could hear me on a closed channel I grinned.

"Well, at least we get to go down in history as making first contact if they come this way." I chuckled. I could hear a smile in her voice. "This wasn't what I had in mind meeting the little green dudes, but its better than sitting at home. I love my job."

Settling in for a long wait I tried to get comfortable. Life support lasted for ten hours in a standard fighter and we had left with a full supply. It took two hours to get here so we had another three hours before we had to leave.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

My squad had taken position on the wall at our designated assignment not far from a large skyscraper that towered behind us. I relished this as it blocked out the harsh sun and gave a much needed break from the bright light.

My troopers were strung out to the best of our abilities for coverage. We were pretty thin but I figured we could handle anything that was thrown at us. Gavo and his loader were to my left about a hundred feet away. The machine gun was resting on the wall, the tip pointing out at the sea of swarming bodies below.

Screams and snarls were heard as the infected tried to reach there human prey above but it was a futile gesture. The zombies gouged out there fingernails clawing at the concrete and I tried to ignore the pitiful creatures.

I knew that Higguns and Roth below me were probably struggling to keep there composure as the infected slammed into the wall in front of them. The troopers were manning a flame thrower portal and the only thing stopping the infected from getting to them was a thick barrier of concrete. Unfortunately they were staring at the zombies through a hole in said wall and I knew from experience how much it impacted the mental state of a soldier. Defense Force orders were clear that Flame troopers were rotated hourly to prevent someone from going insane and doing something stupid.

To my right was a man and woman who controlled a heavy ballistic turret. The mounted structure would in a normal world be called a machine gun nest but the ammo was insanely huge, the shells capable of pulverizing dozens of bodies per shot.

I chewed on my cheek as I tuned out the infected below and waited impatiently for something to happen. It was silly to place us on watch this early when anything happening in space would be hours away, but as a trooper I did as I was told, no matter how much it sucked.

Commander Devin Crowe

It had been roughly two hours before a radio transmission came through. "Reaper one, we have a contact bearing one two four. Its closing on our right flank, its big, capital ship sized easily matching our Battleship." The voice belonged to one of the bomber squadron wings, I didn't recognize who it was but that didn't matter.

My heart jumped as I heard the news and I cursed. "Copy, all wings reform on me and prepare to engage!" I snapped, flipping switches on my control panel to prepare my fighter for combat. Angel followed suit and after a few moments everyone was positioned the same way we had been earlier, fighters in front with bombers to the rear.

A blip lit up on my screen as the target turned in our direction and began to close distance. "Look at the size of that thing!" Someone stated as the enemy vessel entered visual range. It was indeed large, the ship was more or less rectangular. The prow of the ship was adorned with large spikes of varying sizes and the entire craft was blood red with spots of chrome and what looked like rust.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing and I held my breath as it closed in on us. It seemed like hours but was only minutes before it entered weapons range and I waited to see what would happen.

Without warning a barrage of projectiles that looked like lasers from a science fiction movie shot out towards us, moving much faster than a standard ballistic ordnance would. I didn't have to say anything as both squadrons took evasive maneuvers.

"Alright that proves hostile intentions. Hammer Squadron begin bombing run, Reapers cover." I barked. The bomber squadron broke away to the port side as they searched for the best target to deploy there payload of explosives.

Leading the Reapers I took up a position above the Hammer's, my eye's watching carefully for anything that looked like an enemy fighter or missile. Things were about to get ugly, but we were trained for ugly and I had full confidence in my pilots.

This Forsaken World Chapter 5

Sergeant Victor Grimm

It had been over two hours since our deployment and so far nothing had changed. All of the troops were in position and awaiting further orders and additional support staff had arrived. Something I found especially interesting, the Defense Force had requested armored support be delivered from the fleet reserves and the order had been approved. I'd been on the wall since it had been constructed and this was the first time I'd ever seen our armored division.

Normally, armor remained in storage aboard the star-ships for when the expeditionary fleet traveled to other planets. There primary function had been designed as both scout and mobile base of operations when checking out possible planets for habitation. To actually receive approval from the higher ups for armored deployment was proof that things were bad.

Two ABT-2 tanks, known as Alliance Battle Tanks, had been dropped off from transport ships about an hour ago and they had taken up position to either side of the gates. The tanks were long and sleek, similar to the vast majority of Alliance Military equipment. The ground vehicles had an eight man crew, a forward and rear roof mounted Gatling cannon, one rocket pod in the front and multiple gunner ports. A flamethrower was equipped to a few variants for close quarters infected cleanup, although they had never been used on the front lines. Massive tracks were slotted on both sides to allow maximum maneuverability over any terrain.

In addition to this, four ABW-3's, known as Alliance Battle Walkers, had been deployed in support. The walkers were massive four legged constructs. While bulky, they were designed as perimeter guards, not intended to move around a lot. Machine-gun ports were set in what could be called the chest with numerous floodlights. The very top of the walker in what would be the head was the pilot controls and general cockpit.

Mounted on both shoulders were four rocket tubes built for single use due to the size of the ordnance. The Walkers held two arms out to the sides, the right side equipped with numerous ballistic Gatling guns, the left with rocket pods. While most walkers were vulnerable to the back, an electric field had been installed to repel any close quarter breach attempts and two gun ports were positioned on either shoulder below the rocket pods.

The Walkers were scattered about to cover as much ground as possible and the sight was breathtaking. Knowing such powerful war machines were covering your six made relaxing a bit easier when everything was on such high alert.

I had been forced to rotate my men constantly to keep them from becoming complacent, at the moment I was guarding the far left side of the wall I had been assigned and the sounds of the infected was driving me mad.

Even though I knew I might get in trouble, I'd fired a handful of rounds into the endless hordes below me to relieve some of my irritation but they were instantly replaced by waves of reinforcements, a dozen or so breaking away from there section of wall to follow the noise of the gunshots.

Just as I thought I was truly going to lose my mind the roar of engines washed over me and I glanced up in confusion. The Staff Sergeant had informed me over the radio that no more ships were due to approach and anything seen should be treated as hostile. I was thoroughly confused as to why a transport ship of Alliance design was arriving but the fact it was hand painted black and red raised some suspicion.

Toggling my radio I watched the ship carefully as it landed in the middle of the courtyard. "Staff's, we have an unidentified bogey in the wire. Request orders." I said, standing up and aiming my assault rifle at the exit ramp of the transport ship.

"Target is not authorized to land there, all units engage!" The Sergeant barked over the radio. Instantly tracer rounds shot out from every direction, striking the space craft and bouncing off the reinforced hull.

"Sir, they got armored panels on the sides, our bullets wont penetrate!" I shouted, holding fire so I didn't waste anymore ammo.

Before I could hear a reply, the rear ramp dropped to the ground with a thundering crash and at least a hundred black clad figures rushed out of the ship, firing makeshift weapons at anything that moved. "Third squad, Engage!" I roared, firing at the targets below rapidly advancing on my position.

As I watched, the unidentified people split up and ran at the closest walls in pairs of two or three. The Walkers opened up on the transport ship and the armored hull collapsed under the rockets that struck it. A massive explosion knocked me backwards and I struggled to stand up, taking my place on the wall and admiring the crater where the craft had once been.

My attention was taken away as four of the figures rushed the wall directly below me. Bullets were pinging off the targets as it became obvious they wore armor under the black cloaks they had on.

"Head shots! They are wearing armor!" Someone down the line shouted. I lined up on the nearest person as they closed the gap and fired a single shot directly into the forehead. The man or woman staggered from the impact but quickly regained there footing and continued there run.

"No..." I whispered, a feeling of dread settling in my stomach as all three of the targets arrived at the base of the wall. "Get clear!" I roared, taking my own advice and running along the walls edge to move away. Half a second later an explosion even louder and more intense than the transport exploding rocked the foundation and a blast of air hit me from behind, launching me further along the wall. I struggled to stand up but despite my best efforts, it was lights out for me.

Commander Devin Crowe

The hammer squadron lined up to the side of the enemy ship and continued to look for a soft spot. I had yet to see any missiles or possible fighter support but a movement caught my eye along the sides of the massive ship. Focusing on the source I cursed under my breath.

"Sledge, get your squad clear! They've got countermeasures!" I broke right, my squadron following my example out of sheer reflex.

It took a little longer than I'd hoped for the bombers to break off and I cringed as what looked like doors opened along the sides of the enemy craft. Pointed objects protruded from the slots and propelled by small engines, razor sharp chunks of metal were propelled towards our combined squadrons.

"What kind of barbaric weapons are those?!" Raptor cried out, taking evasive measures to avoid the deadly projectiles. Two of the bombers failed to clear the target zone and the pieces of metal collided with the ships. One of the bombers suffered minor damage to one of the wings but it didn't impair there ability to function. The second Alliance ship wasn't so lucky as the shard speared into the cockpit, killing pilot and bombardier instantly.

"Man that was like those old sea ships from the seventeen hundreds during the revolution." Jewel remarked.

I had to agree with her, it was old school and barbaric as stated by Raptor, but obviously effective. "Regroup and scan for a safer target!" I flipped some switches and brought my fighter around for another pass.

"Reaper one, check on the port side of that capital ship, there's movement headed our way." Sledge reported, his voice actually strained, which scared the hell out of me. It was very hard to shake the big man and the distress was most likely due to losing two of his pilots.

"Copy, it looks like fighters. I wasn't sure if this thing had any but now we know. I count twenty fighters, confirm?" I checked my target display to examine the ships rapidly approaching us.

The fighters, or possibly hybrid bombers by the look of them, were longer than my own ship with four massive engines, two stubby wings facing forward and spikes on the front of the craft similar to the capital ship. A cockpit was apparent in the very middle of the ship but it was glazed over with a thick shading. The wing tips had several holes in them so I assumed this was for either missiles or projectile weapons.

"Confirmed, there not flying in any formation, just coming at us in mass. From the way they are constructed I wouldn't be surprised if they use those spikes for ramming, make sure you don't let them get close." Angel replied.

"Right, Sledge, break right and hit the rear of the enemy Capital, target engines to slow it down. We'll screen those fighters and buy you some time. Once your out of missiles go to slip stream and return to the fleet, let them know whats going on. We'll hold them off as long as we can then follow you." There was a moments hesitation where I thought Sledge might argue but he finally responded.

"Understood, be careful Wraith." The bombers broke away for there attack run without any further communication. As the Hammers moved out of formation, a number of enemy fighters began to follow there prey and I grinned. "Reaper's, intercept those fighters and keep them away from our friends. Lets show these guys what's waiting for them on Earth." I turned my flight stick to the right and kicked in my thruster's to stop the enemy from attacking the Hammer's. This was going to be rough, twenty against six, all I could hope was our training paid off.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

Stars swam in my vision as I slowly came to. My head hurt more than it did after waking up after the bar fight earlier and I cursed loudly. Blood was seeping from my ears and a cut had formed above my right eye. The sticky red substance was making it hard to open that eye and I growled in irritation. After regaining my senses, I stood up unsteadily and used the wall to brace myself.

Scooping up my fallen assault rifle, I checked the clip to make sure it was loaded and turned towards my former position. As I'd suspected, the black clad figures had been kamikaze bombers, there target, the concrete wall I had been standing on. At least fifty feet of the wall was gone and two of my squad members lay in a crumpled heap on the other side of the hole.

"Shit..." I whispered as I leaned over the gap and looked down. Thousands of infected were pouring through the opening and swarming into the perimeter. I counted myself lucky that the stairs leading to the top of the wall on my side was destroyed in the explosion or I'd be lunch right now.

Toggling my radio I spit out some blood and coughed to clear my throat, my voice hoarse. "Sergeant Grimm to anyone alive, whats going on?" I asked, staggering over to look out into the courtyard.

Below was a scene of pure chaos I could barely describe. Strobes of light and explosions rocked the inner wall in every direction you could look. A number of massive holes were opened up where other kamikazes had achieved there goals, infected thick as flies pouring in. The Walkers desperately tried to hold there ground and infected crawled all over there surface like ants on some old food.

Screams could be heard as surviving Defense Force troopers held small pockets of resistance. As I watched one such bunker was overrun, the infected leaping over piles of there fallen comrades to throw themselves at the juicy humans cowering inside. Blood sprayed everywhere and the gunfire and screams slowly ceased.

The lack of response on the radio had me worried and I tried to look for my squad. From the chunks of body parts and lack of apparent gunshots near my position, it was obvious they were either dead or in hiding.

Turning my attention back to the scene below me I watched in horror as one of the walkers finally tipped over backwards, the overwhelming number of infected standing on it too much for the legs to support. The gun ports continued to flash as the Walker occupants fired out at the enemies eventually the hatchway on the front was ripped free and the crew members began screaming as the infected began to feast.

The two tanks in turn had managed to get clear of the carnage and were now moving towards the secondary gate. While the wall was the main defense on this position, there was a thick metal gate protecting the inner city as a precaution and it was now the last hope for survival.

Luck would have it as the wall section I was on continued towards that wall and no infected could currently get to me.

Even though it made me nauseous and dizzy, I began to jog towards the safety of the city, the sounds of dying men and scattered gunfire fading behind me and all I could do was grimace at there fate.

Commander Devin Crowe

The enemy fighters tried to ram us or overwhelm us with sheer numbers but our fighters were sleek and fast, making it difficult to accomplish either task. I banked hard as a fighter tried to ram the forward spikes into the nose of my ship and pulled a spin, coming back around and targeting the rear engines of my opponent.

All forms of coordination between my squadron had fallen apart as it was impossible to stay close together and fight effectively. At this point it was more a matter of single combat, requesting back up whenever necessary. In a sea of combat and fighters, each of us held our own and all we could do was hope our squad mates could do the same.

As soon as the target indicator turned green I squeezed the trigger and my guns opened fire, the rotating barrel unleashing high explosive shells into the fighter in front of me. It was confirmed that the enemy craft was easily dispatched by our weapons and I breathed a sigh of relief. If the hostiles had been using shield technology or something we'd be in trouble, but simply relying on heavy armor, we could do damage.

Strobes of super heated metal shot past me as a bogey fell in on my six and I put my fighter into a twist so I was facing the enemy. The pilot obviously was taken by surprise by how easily I was able to maneuver as he tried to clear my gun sights but I was faster, using a single missile to dispatch the craft. The enemy vessel was ripped apart and a fighter that had been following his comrade was also destroyed as the debris destroyed his cockpit in passing.

Two for one, I'll take it. Realizing I was momentarily clear I surveyed the combat around me. Chunks of enemy ships were scattered about but I didn't see any that matched our fighters. As I watched and counted, I confirmed my squadron was still in the fight, no casualties sustained. Unfortunately, Raptor, Tombstone and Doom all had damage to there ships and they were having a hard time moving around.

From the damage, it was apparent they would be destroyed or rendered incapacitated if this fight continued. "Sledge, how's the run coming? We can't keep this up much longer." I cycled channels to tune into his command line.

The enemy fighters had been thinned quite a bit but they still outnumbered us two to one. Even if we could keep fighting our ammo was running low, we were burning up life support and we were nearly out of power. If we didn't retreat soon we wouldn't have enough juice to get home.

There was no reply on the radio and I was distracted as another pair of enemy ships flew straight at me, another coming in on my six trying to pincer me. I turned my wings slightly to evade there super heated metal shots and waited a few more seconds before I kicked in my thrusters and rolled to port.

As I cleared the pincer attack, I laughed out loud as two of the enemy ships collided, exploding in a brilliant flash. The remaining fighter banked to avoid the collision and continued to follow me. "You want to play, bring it!" I grinned, allowing the enemy to follow me and staying close enough to allow the pilot to build up confidence, thinking he had me.

At the last second, what I had to guess was a positive tone from the enemy getting a lock on me, I hit the breaks and aimed the nose of my fighter downwards. My follower went sailing past me and I continued the maneuver until I was now facing the rear of my opponent. Having switched the tide so swiftly, I kicked in my speed and closed on the enemy.

The fighter desperately struggled to get clear of my targeting but ultimately failed as I got a lock and fired my last missile. The ship broke apart and spun out of control, clearly out of the fight. Craning my neck I didn't see Hammer Squadron anywhere and checked my fuel cell and ammo counters. I was almost completely out of ammo and my fuel reserves were at twenty percent.

"Reapers, lets go home!" I broke away from the fight and waited for my squadron to follow. It took several moments but everyone was finally in formation and accounted for.

Just as we were about to go to Slip Stream, my radar lit up with so many blips the screen was overwhelmed.

Glancing out to my port side I gasped in panic. What seemed an unlimited number of Capital ships had appeared from around the planet and were heading in our direction. There were so many it was impossible to count and my heart hammered in my chest. This wasn't an attack, it was an invasion force and we stood no chance.

Breathing heavily, I counted down and we entered Slip Stream as the enemy fighters closed on us, now reinforced by thousands more. As my view port changed into the swirling lights, I leaned back in my seat and shook my head in disbelief. We were in so much trouble...

This Forsaken World Chapter 6

Sergeant Victor Grimm

The sun had set as I swiftly moved towards the inner wall. Fires raged unchecked across the courtyard and I was amazed at the sheer destruction before it was obscured from view. I made my way around a broken building and headed for the stairs.

As I approached the main gate I made sure everything was clear before taking the staircase to the base of the wall. The infected were too busy with the Walkers and surviving Defense Force soldiers to make it this far and despite everything I thanked whoever was listening for that.

The tanks had taken up flanking positions just outside the entrance to the city and thousands of troopers were in the process of reinforcing the position with spikes, sand bag bunkers, sheets of thick metal and anything they could get there hands on to form a decent barricade.

As I approached I noticed a Major who was giving orders and coordinating the defense. I made my way to the man and gave him the best salute I could muster, my head still spinning and my balance compromised.

"Sir, Sergeant Grimm, Third Squad, Second Outer Wall Defense Garrison. My entire unit is dead or missing. I was knocked unconscious by an explosion, do we know what happened?" I asked. "All I remember is unknown figures in black detonating explosives on the wall."

The Major returned my salute and looked me up and down. "You look like you've been through the ringer young man. As far as we know those saboteurs were loyalist to the enemy fleet approaching Earth. At least that's what the highers ups think. Frankly I don't care, my priority is getting these walls defensible. Report to the medical tent, its through the gates and on the right. Once you've been cleared for duty, I expect you to report for orders. I need every able body out here right now. Dismissed." The man then turned his attention back to his task.

I nodded my head, a throbbing pain informing me this was a bad idea, and did as I was told. The place was in pure chaos as more Walkers were moved into position and heavy weapons platforms were installed at various locations.

The medical tent was right where the officer had told me it was and I staggered inside. There was a line of at least five other troopers with various injuries in front of me and over fifty people were scattered about on stretchers. It was obvious very few wall guards from any of the units had survived considering how few injured there were.

I was anxious to get back on the line and get some pay back but trying to fight with a head injury was a big deal and I didn't want to become a liability instead of help.

The man in front of me was missing his entire left arm at the shoulder, a compressed skin graft was the only thing keeping him from bleeding out and the fact he was on his feet meant he was under the effect of a lot of military grade pain killers. The sight made my stomach flip and I swallowed hard, looking away from the grisly wound. I was thankful I at least hadn't suffered that type of injury.

As the medics attended the men in front of me, the sounds of gunfire opened up not far from my current position and I turned to look at the source.

A screaming mob of infected had begun pouring into the open space before the gates and the tanks and infantry had opened up. For some reason the Walkers had made no move to join the combat and I pondered this as a medic approached me.

I allowed myself to be guided to a medical bed as the battle began in earnest, explosions of all types filling the air as the scream of engines took over. Bombers and fighters from the fleet began strafing runs and the night was lit up in a brilliant show of utter destruction.

Something else I found interesting, several troop transport ships had begun to circle the combat zone. The side door panels had been removed and machine gun turrets had been installed, allowing the occupants to fire into the oncoming hordes. I remembered watching a Vietnam movie where the UH-1H Iroquois " Huey" helicopters had performed similar tactics and I smiled at the ingenuity.

Commander Devin Crowe

The time in slip stream was nerve racking as I replayed the scene of the incoming ships in my head over and over. I could not fathom how we would face such an enemy and it was driving me insane.

"Did you see how many ships there were?" Raptor asked, his voice quivering with fear. "I mean...how do they even make that many space ships?" The man was rambling over the radio.

"I don't know Rap, why don't you go back and ask them? We'll meet you at Earth when your done. It doesn't matter! All we can do is warn the brass and hope we can evacuate before those ships arrive. We have to leave Earth, there is no way we can defend the planet." This was coming from Angel who sounded truly pissed.

I could tell this was a coping mechanism for the redhead, most likely a means to deflect fear and turn it into something she could use. Regardless it helped shut Raptor up and I was thankful for that.

"Alright lets not worry about that right now people, I need ship status. Fuel reserves, ammo, fighter damage and condition. By the numbers people." I checked my own ship for the fifth time since entering slip stream.

"Reaper 2 cleared. I'm at ten percent power, fourteen rounds of ammo and one missile. No structural damage." Angel reported.

"Reaper 3 cleared. Eighteen percent power, twenty one rounds of ammo, no missiles. No damage." Romeo stated.

There was a momentary hesitation and I clicked the mic. "Reaper 4, report status." I barked with as much authority in my voice as I could muster. Raptor began to stammer as he reported, having apparently been locked in his own thoughts.

"Uh right, Reaper 4. Nine percent power, four rounds of ammo, no missiles. I have damage to my left wing and my starboard engine is damaged." He finished, his voice much calmer as he now had something to distract him from the fear.

"Reaper 5. Thirteen percent power. No ammo, no missiles. Damage to port side, unsure of how bad. Sensors are shot so I can't get a clear report, sir." Tombstone was so quiet I could barely hear him over the radio. I made a note to keep an eye out for him when we arrived in orbit, it was dangerous to have unknown damage and I didn't want him crashing while attempting to land on the A.M.S. Star.

"Reaper 6. Twenty percent power. Nineteen Ammo, one missile. I received damage to the port engine but its still functioning properly. Otherwise I'm good Commander." Doom informed me. He was professional and precise which was a good sign.

Sighing in a breath of relief that my squad was still in decent shape, I was thankful that we had six fresh fighters waiting for us in the hangar at home. With this news I was able to relax a bit more as we continued our trip in Slip Stream. It was going to take another hour before we'd arrive in Earth orbit and I was not looking forward to the battle ahead.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

The medic informed me I had a severe concussion, damaged ear drums, two cracked ribs, a sprained wrist and ankle and a deep laceration over my eye. They patched me up as best they could and I waited impatiently, listening to the combat raging not far from the medical tents.

After I'd been injected with a number of pain relievers, I looked at the man attending me. "Come on doc, get me back in this thing." I asked, wincing as he removed my armor to apply wrapping around my chest for my ribs.

"I don't know if I can. The concussion alone should excuse you from combat, not counting the rest of these injuries. It's a miracle you made it to this tent on your own two feet. If I send you back out there you'll just be in the way." He stated, finishing with the wrap and turning his attention to my wrist and ankle.

"Listen, those infected don't care if I'm injured or not. We need everyone who can carry a weapon out there right now or you won't be patching up anyone else, do you understand?" I grabbed the man's collar and pulled him close. "Patch me up and send me back in. I can fight, just give me the go ahead and forget you ever saw me, understood?" I snapped, glaring at the man.

Swallowing visibly, the medic nodded and breathed in a sigh of relief as I released him. "Fine, just let me finish getting you cleaned up, then you can go. I hope you know what your doing and you don't get anyone else killed when your injuries hinder your ability to fight." Without another word he resumed his work and the conversation was over.

I watched the strobes of light outside the tent, the defensive perimeter out of sight. The sounds, screams and explosions was making me edgy as I tried to piece together everything happening in my head.

I could imagine soldiers moving back and forth between the fortifications, the turrets firing into the infected, the Walkers and Tanks standing like titans over the action and the numerous forms of ballistics slamming into the wall of oncoming zombies.

Biting my lower lip I flinched as the man started to clean the cut above my eye. He used a wet cloth to wipe up the blood so I could see again and due to time restraints, applied glue to the cut instead of stitching. After he felt comfortable with his work, he nodded to himself.

"Alright, that's the best I can do for now. Take this note in case anyone asks if your cleared and get out there. You might want to grab some ammo while you can, its going fast. The ammo dump is around the corner. Good luck trooper."

I nodded my thanks and climbed off the medical bed, scooping up my armor and assault rifle and making my way towards the indicated location. After reaching the ammo supply, I redid my armor and exchanged my assault rifle for a clean freshly oiled replacement. I was handed four magazines of fully loaded ammo and grinned to myself.

Alright, I was ready for round two, all I could do was hope I was up to the task. I jogged back to the forward defense and reported to a Master Sergeant. "Sir, I'm ready for combat, just came from medical." I held up my letter. The pain killers were doing wonders, I felt better than ever.

The grizzled veteran didn't even look at the note, he grunted in reply and pointed to a sandbag bunker to the left where a dozen men were firing into the zombies. "There, reinforce them." That was all the Sergeant said.

I joined the troopers who accepted my presence with a glance and turned towards the enemy. The infected were being stalled by a mountain of there dead, the bodies making a large makeshift wall that had slowed the oncoming horde. Instead of firing into the mass, soldiers were now taking there time to shoot anything that attempted to climb over the pile and it was making things much easier.

I admired the efficiency with which the secondary wall defense was containing the threat and I took aim at the first head that came into view. There was still a steady stream of enemies but most were put down the second they appeared.

Smiling to myself I continued to methodically shoot each head that appeared and for a while I felt confident things were under control. Little did I know things were about to grow out of control in the worst possible way.

Commander Devin Crowe

As a warning light went off in my cockpit I grinned to myself. "Alright Reapers, exiting slip stream in three...two...one...mark!" The fighter decelerated and my stomach lurched. The light vanished and the sight of the fleet before me was a wonderful thing to witness.

As my squadron approached the A.M.S. Star, my headset lit up with the voice of Captain Connors, the Commanding Officer. "Commander Crowe. What happened? The Hammer's arrived half an hour ago and reported they disabled the enemy ship. Is the threat contained?"

I could tell the radio transmission was on a private command line and breathed in deeply in preparation for delivering the bad news. "Uh no ma'am...We held out as long as we could. Just as we were leaving, a wave of enemy reinforcements arrived. Captain, I've never seen so many ships. We couldn't even count how many there were. I'm not sure how they travel at speed but there heading this way and there is no way we can repel such a force." I bit my lip.

"Well, what do you suggest I tell the Admiral?" The Captain asked. "Ma'am, I suggest we evacuate orbit immediately. With only eight combat ready ships and limited fuel, we won't last long if they show up in force. You might also want to recall the Corvettes, we could use the fire support."

As we spoke my fighter had been locked into auto pilot for landing and I watched as I was pulled into the hangar. I waited for the pressure doors to slam shut and slid out of the fighter, stretching my cramped legs for a moment before jogging towards the hatch to the ship.

My squad mates joined me as we filed into the tight hallway and Romeo sealed the door behind us. Captain Connors was waiting for us as we removed our breathing rigs and turned to face her.

"Alright so you want us to evacuate the planet. Might I remind you half of our staff is still on the surface. We'd be abandoning hundreds of thousands of humans, do you honestly believe Admiral Burns will simply take my word for it?" She asked, hands on her hips.

It was Angel who replied before I could, her red head temper flaring. "Captain, we saw them with our own eyes. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of enemy ships on there way here right now. If we don't leave, the entire fleet and all of mankind will be destroyed."

The Star's Captain glared at the pilot who refused to back down and my admiration for Jewel grew. It took a brave person to face down a superior officer and not lose there cool. "I understand what your saying, I just don't see how I can get him to listen. I'll make the attempt however." The Captain turned to look at me.

"Crowe, get your squadron into fresh fighters and get back out there. The 12th Hammers are ready for deployment, there waiting for you. I'll try to get approval to deploy the rest of our squadrons. I just hope you guys can stall the enemy long enough for the Admiral to see reason." As the woman began to walk away, I called out to her.

"Captain, what about the Corvette's? We could really use there firepower as a picket line against flanking fighters." I was surprised as she didn't even turn back around. "No can do Commander, there out of fuel. Just get out there and do what you can."

I growled under my breath and put my respirator back on. After the rest of my pilots had done the same, Romeo unlocked the hatch and we filed into the hangar once more. Vixie was moving between six new fighters and she started to guide each pilot to there respective rides. Since these fighters were in reserve, they had no name or identification on them and as such we didn't know who was going to fly them.

I allowed myself to be directed to the furthest fighter and admired the clean shiny coating that had been applied to the metal. The ship had never been flown outside of testing and I was anxious to see what it could do.

Climbing the ladder into the cockpit, I checked the controls and made myself comfortable. Since this was a new craft I had to log into the command console so the fighter knew who I was and I waited for my authentication code to be accepted, allowing me full access to the system.

Checking my power, ammo and life support, I was finally satisfied and flipped the engine switch, listening to the powerful roar as the ship came to life. Moving out onto the flight line, I waited for the director to give me clearance and engaged my thrusters, exiting the hangar and entering space once more.

"Reaper Lead to Hammer Lead, Sledge, get your bombers out here and form up. We need to get ready for the enemy fleet." There was static for a moment followed by the gruff voice of my friend.

"Roger that Reaper Lead. The Hammer's are ready for some pay back." The edge in his voice spoke volumes for how he felt after suffering the death of two of his pilots.

"Trust me Sledge, your gonna get it. There are a lot of enemy ships heading this way. I got to be honest, I don't know what we can do, but we'll do it together." All we could do now was wait....

This Forsaken World Chapter 7

Sergeant Victor Grimm

The ground battle continued for some time before everything seemed to come to an end all at once. The steady stream of infected had turned into a trickle until finally a few more shots ended the threat. Silence hung over the battle zone and no one moved as they anticipated further attacks.

Finally the Major I had spoken to earlier walked out of his radio command tent and moved into the middle of our defensive formation.

"Orbital scans confirm the enemy has been eliminated. I want walkers to take position in the outer wall breaches to block them while we get engineers into position for repairs. Ground teams, spread out and finish off any surviving infected. Move people!" He barked. I thought the comment about 'surviving' infected was funny since they had been dead to begin with but kept this to myself.

The troop transports that had been providing air support broke off and returned to the hangar inside the city. Our tanks maintained position to protect the inner gate as well as the heavy weapons emplacements. The infantry began to spread out as ordered and methodically put down any moving bodies with the tried and true three shot method.

While I wanted to join the troopers in this endeavor, a Staff Sergeant walked by and shook his head. "Your in no condition trooper, take a seat until the action picks up again." I felt like arguing but nodded and did as I was told, making myself comfortable on the sandbag wall.

The pain killers were starting to wear off and the realization made me wish I had asked for more from the medic. I bit my lower lip and watched the other troopers as they moved beyond the wall of dead zombies and disappeared. The only sign of there continued presence was the occasional trio of gunshots.

The massive Walkers lumbered across the pock marked battle field, making there way to the wall breaches and I wondered what it might be like to pilot such an awesome machine of war. Just as things seemed to be under control the sounds of ship engines roared over head and I glanced up to identify the source.

Flying in a tight V formation, six troop transports circled the perimeter before the side mounted turrets opened fire on the Tanks and Walkers and explosive ordnance that had been clipped to the bottom of the transports was dropped on the infantry below them as they broke formation.

"More saboteurs!" The Major shouted, pointing into the sky at the ships. "Comm's, get some Fleet fighters down here to blow those bastards out of my sky!" He growled, turning around and walking back into his command tent. I watched helplessly as our armor was obliterated and the screams of dying men echoed across the courtyard and back to my position.

After a while you'd think I'd get used to the sounds of the dead or dying, after all I'd been a wall guard for a long time, but it was something you could never adjust to. Humanity was built with sympathy for pain and no matter how much you tried, it still took hold.

Tracer rounds shot out from the Weapons emplacements on the inner wall but the pilots of the transports had been ready for this, dodging and weaving through the air as they continued there onslaught.

The transports ran out of ammo and explosives and brought the ships low to the ground just outside the wall of zombies. I couldn't see much but the sounds of scraping metal told the story, they were deploying infantry. All at once bullets began to zing and bounce off every surface and I ducked down behind the sandbag wall for cover.

A ricochet hit the bag where I had been sitting and the sight thoroughly spooked me. Had I not made the decision to take cover, just ten seconds later and I'd have a hole in my spine, the mere thought made my skin crawl.

As the infantry closed on our position, I finally got a look at them as they circled around the wall and I opened fire. The figures were dressed in red robes this time instead of black. Thick infantry issued body armor was in full sight as well as assault rifles, shotguns and sub-machine guns. These men either raided an alliance military depot or were traitors from a U.E.D.F. Ground unit.

Grinding my teeth in frustration, I opened fire on the incoming hostiles. Despite the fact we were down fifty percent of our infantry, our entire armored division and air support had yet to arrive, we were putting down a ruthless field of fire. I only hoped it was enough.

Commander Devin Crowe

While my gut told me to join up with the corvettes, my orders were to defend the fleet, meaning I couldn't break orbit to join the small picket force. Sighing in frustration, I tried to get comfortable in the cramped space and stared out into the endless void before me.

My radio crackled as Angel's voice filtered through. "Commander, what's the plan when they arrive? If the Captain can't get reinforcement approval from the Admiral we're going to get overrun in seconds. I'm prepared to do my duty but I don't feel like dying when there are alternatives." Her voice, although full of anger and irritation, was soothing.

Even though nothing had ever transpired, I'd enjoyed Jewel's company on a few occasions and I had to say, the woman was quite a handful in bed. Naturally since I was her superior officer, we'd had to keep it to ourselves, but it was well worth the risks. It had been simple fun and a way to relive tension and stress. The truth was, I had no feelings aside from the usual camaraderie associated with pilots.

"I don't know Angel, we'll hope for the best. If things look bad, we'll fall back to the fleet and let the big guns do some of the work. Not much else can be done I'm afraid. Just stay close to each other and watch your wing mate." It was all that could be said.

Just as it seemed the invasion force wouldn't show up, static filled my headset on an all channel broadcast from far away. "We're be**ng over** *an't ho** them off! Reques**g Re*nfor*eme*t's!" The message was broken up and hard to understand but from what I could guess, it was the corvette fleet getting there asses kicked.

My every instinct was to help them but those men had been sent on a foolish suicide mission to begin with. All I could do was grip my flight stick as the message continued on for some time, the radio operator transmitting the message becoming ever more desperate by the second. Finally, the message ended and the receiver shut off as no signal was found from its source.

"Alright everyone, game time. Hammer when they show up, stay close to the Carrier. Guard it with your lives, The Reapers will do our best to screen for incoming fighters." I toggled the switch to a command channel only.

"Captain, whats the status on fighter deployment? We just lost our corvette's, the enemy is inbound." Watching the moon in the distance I scanned for any signs of movement. My scanners were unable to pick anything up with the destruction of the satellites and the moon being in the way.

"Reaper 1, deployment has been approved but half our pilots are still on the surface. Apparently they had leave that no one cared to inform command about...There is a huge battle going on the planet and the air space has been locked down. I can only get you five fighter squadrons and four bomber squadrons as reinforcement." The news was not what I wanted to hear.

"Confirmed, what about the flagship, can the A.M.S. Eclipse deploy anything? We're gonna need all the help we can get, I don't care if its transport ships with mounted guns or civilian vessels at this point, anything that can shoot at something!" My irritation was evident in my voice and I struggled to get it under control.

"The admiral is working on it, for now do what you can. The order for fire support went through so the destroyers A.M.S. Hawk and the A.M.S. Storm are moving in to back you up. The rest of the fleet is preparing for evacuation." Well, that was better than nothing.

"Roger that." I switched to all channels for my squadrons and reported the news, informing the Hammer's after that. We waited as two Destroyers moved into flanking positions and a slow trickle of fighter and bomber squadrons arrived on our six for support.

The destroyers were a reassuring sight as they brought a lot of firepower to the table. Equipped with seventy six ballistic turrets lining the bulky hull, fifteen rocket pods and four torpedo tubes, it more than lived up to its name. The small capital ship was long and round with a square shaped midsection, flat straight wings deploying out to either side.

Well, at this rate we'd at least be able to take on one or two enemy ships, anymore than that and it was game over.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

Everything was in chaos around me as the enemy force pushed forward without any signs of fear or hesitation. The unknown enemy infantry was fanatical in there assault and it was beginning to overwhelm the last defenders.

For every enemy attacker we took down, two more took there place and they seemed endless...just how many men were those transports able to fit!? The infantry must have been clustered together like sardines inside the transport hold.

My gun clicked empty once more as I desperately loaded my last magazine. Bullets zinged off the metal wall behind me and I swallowed hard, looking up as an enemy threw themselves over the sandbag wall in front of me and tackled me to the ground. Rolling to my left before the enemy could get a hold of me, I drew my knife swiftly, dropping my assault rifle as the close quarters made the bulky weapon all but useless.

The red clad figure advanced on me and I ducked low under a rifle butt attack aimed at my head. The enemy staggered as they had put there full weight into the attack and I brought my knife forward, burying the tip into the fanatics gut and twisting hard. A feminine scream was released from my opponent and I withdrew my knife and moved away in surprise.

The red clad figure's helmet had fallen off and I got my first look at the saboteurs.

While she may have been considered beautiful, the enemy trooper had filed her incisor teeth, or canine teeth as they were more commonly know, into razor sharp points. Her skin was pale white and she was wearing blood red contact lenses.

The woman snarled at me and tried to lunge, apparently trying to get to my neck, and I batted her away, using my feet to propel her over the sandbag wall. Struggling to stand up, the stomach injury slowed her down long enough I was able to get my assault rifle. As she lunged again I fired almost point blank into her forehead and cringed as blood, teeth and brain matter sprayed over my armor and face.

"Aw hell...that's nasty." I growled, wiping my face clean and scanning for a new target. "Retreat!" I heard, glancing over to see the Major trying to direct a withdrawal from the fight. Just as I was about to make my way towards the gate entrance, a loud roar filled the night before a rocket slammed into the command tent, blasting the Major into a hundred pieces as well as anyone else who had been inside.

I was in utter shock as two more attackers rushed me and I managed to recover from my distraction to bring my weapon around, taking both enemy soldiers down at the last second.

My weapon was now down to just over twenty rounds and I had no sidearm, the basic soldier beneath Staff Sergeant rank never issued a backup. While I would normally scoop up a weapon from a fallen comrade, I had been left alone when the infantry was deployed for clean up operations.

While the weapons from the three dead fanatics in front of me were available, we'd always been taught to never rely on enemy weaponry in a combat situation as they could be unreliable or even dangerous to use.

The pain killers had long ago left my system and my ankle and ribs were slowing me down as I tried desperately to clear the battle site. I had a decision to make, head into the city through the gates, or try to get on the perimeter wall and use that instead of the ground level. There was a risk to both choices but my gut told me to use the wall for whatever reason. I staggered up the stairway as another rocket was unleashed behind me. Glancing down I watched as the medical tent evaporated in flames. I hoped the medic who had helped me earlier was alive but it was doubtful.

Turning my back on the carnage I mounted the wall and sighed in relief as it was completely abandoned. I followed the perimeter further into the city and the thought that the enemy infantry could have used this to flank us with little or no loss to there forces was actually quite funny. While they were smart enough to use transports to deploy bombs and wore full body armor, they used beserker techniques to attack instead of actual tactics.

Paying no more attention to my thoughts, I tried my best to move at speed until the screams and explosions were well behind me. The city was lost, the inner gate was overrun and there were no more troops or armor between the enemy and the city. While the fleet could reinforce us, it was a hopeless task. Once inside the city the saboteurs could melt into the infrastructure and aside from building to building combat with high civilian casualties, the fight would be pointless and costly.

The outer and inner walls had been the main defenses since they allowed for open ground combat that was manageable with assisted air strikes. The rest of the city walls were surrounded by destroyed buildings, the rubble creating a natural barricade that the zombies couldn't gather large numbers in. For this reason, the sirens had been installed to draw the undead whenever the city walls were threatened, it was a bold strategy that had worked for a long time.

Now the zombies and the enemy infantry would breach and it would seem like one of those apocalypse movies where people ran around screaming like chickens with there heads cut off. They naturally would make every bad decision you could think of and become lunch like said chickens normally would. I had no respect whatsoever for civilians, they were helpless and relied on others to protect them, but it was my job to protect them and I had failed, that brought a feeling of regret in my stomach and I swallowed hard to try to bury it.

Moving along the wall, my only hope was to get to a transport that was evacuating the city. The orbiting fleet had been evacuating for hours in preparation for the impending alien fleet. If I didn't get off the surface before they left, I'd be stranded on This Forsaken World Forever with no hope of survival.

Commander Devin Crowe

My worst fears soon arrived as at least twenty enemy capital ships cleared the moon and began to form up for an attack. As I was about to click the radio transmitter, a wave of enemy fighter/bombers swarmed us. There were at least fifty of them and I broke hard to port trying to evade a shrapnel projectile.

"Angel, stay on my wing we're going to flank to the right." All I was rewarded with was a double click as she confirmed the order, her fighter staying close to me. We moved together around the enemy formation but at least five enemy ships cut to follow us. Shaking my ship back and forth, a practiced action to warn my wing mate we were going to split right and left, I waited until the last second and broke hard to starboard.

Angel went port side and we spun our fighters in place as we cleared, firing a barrage of ballistic rounds like clockwork in sync to destroy three of the enemy ships. We reformed together and circled to the left, coming around behind the surviving fighters as they tried to rejoin there friends, realizing we were better pilots with more maneuverable ships.

"That's right, you got no chance." I followed them carefully, making sure to keep my speed steady so I didn't run into them, and squeezed the trigger. The enemy directly in front of me tried to shake the rounds and caused the fighter directly in front of him to take the brunt of the assault. The engine's exploded and the ship lost propulsion abruptly, causing my original target to collide with it. The two ships became one as the metal molded together from the speed of the collision and they floated helplessly away from the fight as I cut to the port, Angel staying with me.

As I surveyed the battle, I shook my head in defeat. The enemy was too numerous...without backup we had no chance.

This Forsaken World Chapter 8

Sergeant Victor Grimm

As I made my way along the wall, flashes from above caught my attention and I looked up into the night sky. From what I could see, massive star ships were moving into position on the outer edge of the orbital station not far from the Moon. Fighter and bomber squadrons were invisible to the naked eye at this distance but the flashes were coming from what had to be one hell of a dog fight.

My thoughts returned to the pilot I'd fought in the bar and I gave the man a casual salute. "Good luck up there buddy."

Turning back to the wall path before me I tried moving again but the pain in my ankle was too much and I had to sit against the wall for a few moments to rest it. As I sat there, explosions erupted inside the city perimeter and I shook my head. The enemy had finally pushed past the last defenders and the city was now suffering because of it.

I was amazed at the enemy tactics, they'd been truly brilliant to use the infected to lighten our defenses before launching an attack of there own against a weakened force. Despite there suicide charge, they must have one hell of a leader.

The U.E.D.F. Had been issued roughly twenty thousand troops. Trying to cover an area as large as the walled off center of New York, was almost impossible. The original city in its full glory was home to more than eight million residents...the math simply didn't add up, even if we only covered a portion of the city.

As I continued to watch the fires bloom into the night I felt helpless...worse, I felt hopeless. What could we do? In my current condition getting to a transport was going to be hard. I had to outrun the assault raging below me, if they reached the hangar's first, I wasn't going anywhere. Every able ship would launch and it would be good bye space trip.

Of course, the rumor before the walls had fallen was that the enemy force was ridiculously huge and the fleet had no chance, which was why the evacuation had been prioritized. The wall defenses in my garrison had been around eight thousand. I hadn't had a chance to count our inner gate reinforcements or to ask, but from a guess it would have been around four thousand.

The real question was, where were the other eight thousand Defense Troopers? If I had to guess they were near the hangar trying to buy time for the ships to launch. My only thought on this, if they had been on the inner wall defense, we'd never have faced a breach to begin with.

The explosions interrupted my thoughts as it was obvious they were advancing further into the city and I had to catch up if I was going to make it in time.

I struggled to my feet, wincing at the pain, and bit my lip.

Grabbing up my assault rifle, I used the weapon as a makeshift crutch to support my weight and continued on my way. I really hated to use my only firearm in this way, it might damage the barrel, but I couldn't make it under my own power without more pain killers.

Grumbling at my situation, I pushed onward, watching as several ships took off from the hangar up ahead. The sight gave me renewed strength and determination.

Commander Devin Crowe

As I continued to engage the enemy star fighters, the massive battleships began to advance on the orbital station. Realizing the threat, the destroyers moved forwards to block there movement. Although they were severely outnumbered, the small capital ships put there numerous armaments to use.

Large torpedoes, rockets and dozens of ballistic turrets opened fire, the results were spectacular as the lead enemy battleship exploded, breaking apart into a dozen pieces. Small fires flared into existence before the void of space extinguished them with the lack of oxygen.

I was forced to look away momentarily as a fighter zeroed in on my position. I put my ship through a spin and managed to evade most of the super heated metal the ship fired. Unfortunately I couldn't shake the enemy pilot and I had to admire there skills.

So far I had yet to encounter a decent opponent from the enemy force but this one was either a veteran or a natural in a fighter. I continued to try and evade them but no matter what maneuver I pulled, they countered with expert precision and it was beginning to make me nervous.

My radio crackled as an all channels message filtered over my headset. "All squadrons withdraw to the A.M.S. Star for resupply. The Eclipse is sending a fresh wave of fighters to reinforce your position." The voice belonged to Admiral Burns and I was surprised he was taking control of the situation. I had expected Captain Connors to continue as lead since her ship was the closest, but apparently things had escalated to the point the Admiral had to get involved. There mas a momentary pause before the message resumed.

"Destroyers, cut flank action Alpha Two. Withdraw to the station for immediate rearm and repair. The A.M.S. Eagle and A.M.S. Claw destroyers are moving into position for cover. Fleet Carrier Star, move into position for defensive screen. We have to finish getting those ships off the surface. The battleship Talon is on its way to take up your port side. Hold at all costs!" The message ended and I realized I'd become distracted listening.

The enemy fighter had taken advantage of the situation and managed to clip my left wing. My control stick tightened up as I lost my ability to turn to port and I grit my teeth. "Angel, I've taken damage. I cant turn left and I've got an ace on my six. Can you provide support?" I asked, struggling to evade the enemy fire while compensating for the loss of maneuverability.

"Sorry lead, I've got my own problems over here!" The redhead replied. I glanced to the right and noted she was being engaged by three pilots at the same time. We'd been separated a while now as the sheer number of enemies had been too much to fly in formation.

I decided the best course of action was to continue my withdrawal to the carrier and I swung starboard to circle the enemy since I obviously couldn't turn port. My opponent matched the maneuver, evading my spin move with perfect form and I cursed out loud. "Damn your good..." I growled.

Kicking in my thrusters as I finished my spin, I cut ahead of the enemy, using my speed to try and outpace the fighter. I wasn't sure how, but the pilot behind me managed to push there fighter to a speed I had yet to see in any other enemy ship and caught up.

Clicking over to a specific channel, I pressed the transmit button. "Star hangar control. My ship is disabled and I've got a hostile on my six. I'm coming in hot for crash landing, I need fire support to cover!"

Without delay I got a confirmation and the turrets near the hangar opened fire. The issue was, I was currently in there way and my opponent was using my ship as a shield, flying so close I was surprised my engines didn't peel the armor off the enemy craft.

Snarling in rage, I pressed a button and spun to starboard once more, facing the enemy nose to nose. The enemy pilot seemed surprised by this and we both fired at the same time.

The position of our ships made it hard to hit the cockpit, so instead our primary weaponry destroyed the lower portion of the fighters and lost control. I was still coming in hot backwards, the enemy now so close I could probably make out the features of the pilot if the glass wasn't coated, and we slammed into the flight deck together.

Sliding across the reinforced surface, a net was tossed up at the last second and we crashed into it, our fighters all but molded together.

Fitting my mask into place, I impatiently waited for the rest of the squadrons to land, watching the cockpit in front of me with anticipation. A dozen military police troopers came rushing out in space suits and aimed automatic weapons at the enemy ship.

As the pressure door slammed shut, I pulled the tab to eject my canopy and jumped out, rushing over to the soldiers. "Hold up! Don't shoot, we need a prisoner to interrogate." I moved in front of the men and waited for them to do as they were told.

The hangar started bustling with frantic activity as the engineers and mechanics charged there respective squadrons and began minor repairs and rearmed any spent ordnance.

Vixie was directing our flight teams as I withdrew my sidearm that was attached to my right thigh. Moving forward, I began to climb over the surface of the damaged enemy fighter and pointed the weapon.

"Out! Now!" I snapped. I didn't think they spoke english, considering there origins, but the meaning was there in the edge of my voice and that was universal translation no matter who you were.

There was a hiss of air as the seal was broken and the canopy slowly slid open. A very small figure in a black and red flight suit stood up slowly, there hands in the air. A thick ventilation mask covered there face and I continued to point my sidearm, looking them up and down for any weapons or bulges of explosives.

Satisfied that the pilot wasn't armed, I waved the weapon to indicate the enemy climb out of the cockpit and backpedaled so I was standing on the flight deck once more.

It took a moment, but the unknown hostile did as they were instructed and they spun around to face me. I was surprised to note that the body structure of the pilot was humanoid, pretty much exactly like a normal human would be although they were a bit shorter, barely five feet tall.

"Right, lets go." I pointed to the far pressure door leading into the Carriers heart and the enemy pilot did as they were told, moving ahead of me with there hands still up. I was surprised with the way they moved, very feminine and sensual and the body structure before me was quite pleasant to watch. I could only assume the enemy was a female, otherwise I was going to be very surprised if it was something else.

It was strange to think that an alien from who knows where would draw arousal from me but I shook those thoughts aside. Now was not the time to think about that, I was an officer and this was an unknown enemy, for all I knew it could be some kind of insect or something designed to lure men to there death as they slowly ate them alive.

I cycled the door open and pushed the pilot through. "I gotta say, I don't know if you speak my language, in fact I highly doubt it, but your a good pilot. It was nice to meet someone as good as me if not better. Whatever happens next, I wanted to let you know, even if you can't understand me."

The pilot stopped and turned towards me, moving there arms to the bottom of there ventilation mask. I raised my pistol and took a step back as the enemy unsnapped the pressure seal. Lifting the head covering free, long white hair fell free, cascading over slender shoulders. The mask was lowered and my breath caught in my throat.

Standing before me was obviously an alien, but she was also very much human. Her eyes, curious and defiant were blood read, her skin as snow white as her hair, and her lips full and sensual. She was without a doubt the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life and I was taken aback.

"You're also the best I've ever faced, and I've fought hundreds of enemy pilots from different species. You should be honored, your the first to ever best me in one on one combat." The voice was like silk, soft and feminine with an edge to it. The words were in perfect English with a slight unknown accent that was very pleasant and my curiosity piqued instantly.

"Well, where are you taking me, I am your prisoner after all." The woman smiled, showing razor sharp incisors and I took a step back. The teeth were naturally elongated and sharp, not filed like a lot of humans in historical literature. Cannibals for instance sharpened there canine teeth to help chew human flesh.

"Yeah, I've gotta get back out there to shoot down some more of your friends, these kind men are going to escort you to a holding cell." I swallowed hard and forced myself to look away, sheathing my sidearm and pushing past the MP's. Just as I was about to re-secure my ventilation mask, the woman spoke again.

"You don't stand a chance you know, there are far too many of my kind out there. This is just a probe, more will come. The skies of your planet will darken with the sheer number of capital ships in orbit. Although..." I turned back around as she spoke.

The pilot looked me up and down slowly, licking her lips in a seductive fashion...well it could have been a desire to eat me, it was hard to tell. "I hope you survive, you could prove to be...fun in the future." I was rewarded with another smile as the MP's pushed her forwards deeper into the Carrier.

Another wave of arousal swept through me and I cursed, shifting my focus to the fight outside and pushed open the pressure door to head to a fighter.

This encounter was nothing like I had imagined, they spoke English and they looked human with minor differences. Where did they come from and were they somehow advanced humans who came from our world and had ventured into space before recorded history?

Too many questions and now was not the time. I shook my head and climbed into my original fighter Vixie pointed to. The rocket pods had been refilled, the very tips of the deadly projectiles peeking out from within the metal confines of there housing.

I tested the control stick, confirmed my identity and moved onto the flight line. "Hangar control, this is Reaper lead, are we approved to rejoin the fight?" I waited as my squadron lined up behind me. The rest of the squadrons were gathering behind the Reaper's and I noticed we had taken severe casualties, almost a third of the initial force missing from the formation.

My stomach growled and my bladder was screaming in anger since I had neither eaten or answered natures call in many hours, but the enemy fleet wasn't going to wait for me to use the head and grab some grub.

"Copy that, awaiting approval. Hold one as we confirm." I gripped my flight stick and watched as the last of the flight teams went inside and the hangar pressure door opened, the fight outside fierce and deadly.

Explosions were raging everywhere, the enemy shrapnel and super heated metal shots were tracing out, ballistic ammo from our fleet responding in kind. One of the destroyers had taken severe damage and they were struggling to withdraw, the battleship Talon moving to screen its retreat.

Four enemy capital ships were out of the fight, one caught in Earths orbit and slowly moving towards the surface. The space before me was a deadly battleground of debris and it was going to taken some serious maneuverability and careful timing to avoid crashing into anything, let alone engaging the enemy fighters.

"Reaper Lead, your approved for re-engagement of the enemy fleet. Good luck out there." The hangar controller responded. I gave a quick two fingered salute as the flight deck attendant, wearing a full pressure suit, waved me forwards. Kicking my thruster's to full, my fighter launched forward and cleared the doors.

"Reapers, lets kick some ass!" I snarled, waiting for my squadron to form up before flying straight into the action once more.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

The space battle seemed to be getting worse as a battleship and a carrier moved into the fray, spinning sideways and using there bulk as a makeshift wall to cover the orbital station. One of our destroyers was currently limping back to the cover of the rest of the fleet, but several enemy ships were destroyed or so badly damaged they could no longer effectively fight.

Something that caused me to panic was the sight of a single enemy battleship as it entered Earths orbit and began to descend towards the surface. While it appeared the ship was going to hit somewhere to the west, it still scared me. Something that big could have devastated most of New York City.

Turning my attention away, I resumed my slow walk, watching as more and more transports left the surface. As the next ship took off, engines roared over my head as a pair of strange looking and bulky fighters broke through the atmosphere and advanced on the transport ships.

The enemy ships opened fire with what looked like super heated chunks of metal and the Alliance ships were ripped to shreds. Instead of an explosion, the shrapnel pierced into the surface and disabled the engines. The transport dropped like a rock, crushing part of the defense wall.

I noted in interest how the enemy ships ordnance was designed specifically to disable, not kill. My only thoughts were, they wanted both the technology and the crew alive. This meant they probably wanted the survivors as slaves or worse, food Quite possibly both were a possibility.

I really wanted to get off this planet now if that was the intended fate, but the crashed transport was now in my way and the wall was destroyed, meaning I could no longer get to the hangar without leaving the safety of the wall and moving into the city.

Combat still raged on the streets below as tracer rounds and explosions erupted everywhere you looked. It was all out chaos and with only a handful of rounds and severe disabilities slowing me down, I didn't feel confident in my abilities to join the fight...but if I wanted to get off this planet, I had no choice in the matter.

I continued walking forwards towards the nearest set of stairs and grimly began to make my way to street level. This, was going to suck.

This Forsaken World Chapter 9

Commander Devin Crowe

As my squadron made there way back into the fray, my radio crackled as Captain Conner's voice came through. "Devin, there is a new signal coming through on long range scanners." The fact she used my name and broke military protocol spoke volumes for how bad things had become.

"What do we have ma'am?" I asked, scanning the battle scene in front of me for anything new. I didn't see anything different, the destroyer and battleship were still engaging the enemy. The second destroyer had cleared the field and was out of sight, most likely being repaired on the far side of the orbital station so it could rejoin the battle.

"Four new enemy ships just arrived in system, there circling the assaulting battle-fleet and making there way directly to the surface. Scans show there smaller than the initial capital ships and there moving a lot faster. Intelligence suggests there a landing force. As of right now each ship is heading a different city. I need you to take two bomber squadrons and intercept the one heading for Seattle." I shook my head in frustration.

"Captain, if we withdraw to engage those ships the battle here could turn. Our bombers are the only thing holding those enemy battle ships off." I turned to port and rolled to evade some chunks of melted metal in front of me. The Reaper's had spaced themselves out, we had yet to re-engage as the Captain had radioed before we'd had a chance and at the moment we were lingering on the very edge of the combat.

"I understand that Commander, you have your orders. Let me deal with this battle, you have your own to attend to. Your priority is Seattle, if they reach that city the 2nd Expeditionary Fleet is going to be annihilated before they can take off. Take Hammer Squadron and Anvil Squadron and go, now!" The authority in her voice made it clear nothing I would say would change anything.

While I knew the battle here was critical to the survival of the fleet, what she said was also true. I was surprised however, the underground compound in Seattle had enough firepower to destroy anything that came its way, I wasn't sure why our presence was needed but my orders took precedence over everything else.

"Understood Captain. Good luck." I switched channels to inform my squadron of the new orders before toggling over to the bomber's. "Sledge." I waited for a reply, watching as explosions raked one of the battleships and the Hammer squadron appeared from beneath it.

"Go ahead." The big man's voice was gruff and full of focus and concentration. "How's your ordnance, you got enough for another run on a smaller ship?" I asked, watching as the bomber's circled around and cleared the battle zone.

"Yeah, more or less. Where do you want the payload?" He asked.

I hit a switch to lock radar on the bomber's, letting them know our coordinates and to group up on us. I did the same with the Anvil Squadron but it really wasn't necessary, they had been deployed from the Carrier Star and they were already on there way.

"We got an unknown heading for Seattle, orders are to intercept." I waited as the Hammer's joined up with us and took position on our six alongside Anvil Squadron.

"Roger that. I'd ask some questions but I know its pointless. Let's get to it." There was now an edge of irritation mixed with excitement as the appeal to blow something else up was there. "Copy, let's go."

Turning to the flank our small fleet of ships kicked in thrusters and made our way to Seattle. As we approached I noticed the unidentified ships breaking formation and entering atmosphere at various points on the planet.

These new ships while smaller and faster were definitely war ships of some kind. As with all the enemy ships we'd seen so far, they were blocky and rectangular, small stubby wings on the sides with what looked like an enormous hangar bay on its back.

"Right...that looks like a Frigate. My guess is they have troop transports and gunships on board. Let's hit the one heading for Seattle before it has a chance to deploy its garrison." I glanced at my instruments and noted a handful of enemy fighters covering the larger ship. "Reaper's, target the enemy fighters. Hammer lead, Anvil Lead, you get the big boy."

A series of double clicks confirmed the orders were understood and we entered the atmosphere to engage the new enemy. I could only hope we were in time to help our second fleet.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

After reaching street level I moved between the buildings carefully. Gunshots echoed out followed by the occasional scream a few blocks in every direction and I winced as I stumbled on some rubble. Crouching low for a moment to rest my ankle, I grabbed a discarded 2x4 from an abandoned retail store and traded that for my assault rifle.

The rifle was rather heavy so using it one handed was out of the option, but at least this way I wouldn't further damage the weapon and I could still access it if needed. I slung the rifle over my back and stood up once more, grateful that I could put more weight on this crutch then before.

While it took a long time to travel between buildings to stay out of sight, I was amazed that I had not seen a single civilian since entering the city. Underground bunkers had been fashioned to protect the residents but that was in case of a zombie breach, no plan had been designed with gun wielding maniacs instead.

Shouting echoed a block away and I took cover, leaning out just enough to see down the street. A pair of red clad figures were chasing down a little girl who was dirty with blood on her hands. The fanatics were toying with the girl, trying to corral her with a knife and an axe and my gut turned in anger.

Sliding my rifle off my back, I checked to make sure the barrel was cleared and dropped into a crouch, taking aim at the nearest target. As the girl was about to turn down a side street I whistled softly to get her attention. Turning in my direction, the girl's eyes lit up with hope and she rushed towards me, taking cover and cowering behind my back.

"I got ya, stay quiet for a moment." I watched carefully as the two figures scanned the surrounding area for the girl.

"Come out little piggy, we only want some blood. If you behave, we might let you live as our pet." One of the men stated, his voice hoarse and full of malice.

"Yeah, hehehe, you'll get a little collar and a pretty pink leash to go with it! We'll be nice, promise!" The second man said.

More anger flooded my system and I snarled in rage. These fools would get to this girl over my rotting corpse. I'd kill them with my bare hands if I had to.

As the two moved closer I breathed in softly before releasing it and squeezing the trigger. The assault rifle bucked against my shoulder and I unloaded all my remaining ammo into both of the men.

The impact knocked the two fanatics to the ground and I withdrew my knife, my pain momentarily forgotten as I rushed forwards.

While it was unlikely they had survived the armor piercing rounds I'd fired, I didn't want to take the chance. I advanced on the pair and as I closed the distance, one of the men raised his head and began to fumble for a grenade on his belt.

"No you don't!" I snapped, throwing myself on top of him and burying my knife into his throat. As I did this, I used my other hand to grab at the grenade to prevent him from arming it. The maniac struggled for a moment before his body decided it didn't want to function anymore and he went limp beneath me.

Breathing raggedly, I sliced the second targets throat to make sure he was truly down and I staggered back to the little girl, sliding down the wall next to her and getting comfortable for a moment.

"You okay?" I asked, looking her up and down to make sure she wasn't injured. The girl was perhaps twelve or thirteen, she was wearing a black t-shirt with some jean coveralls and some work boots. The blood that coated her hands and arms wasn't from any wound, it was most likely from that of a loved one the psycho's had killed and I grit my teeth, wishing I could kill the men again.

Shaking her head, the girl smiled, tears slowly streaming down her cheeks. "No, but they killed my parents...thank you for saving me sir." Without saying anything else, the girl buried her face in my shoulder and sobbed, wrapping her slender arms around my neck.

My ribs screamed out in pain from the weight against me but I ignored it. "Your welcome, your safe now. Listen, we need to get to a ship, do you know a way to the hangar?" I asked, scanning the area to make sure no one else was around to threaten us.

The girl nodded, pulling away from me. She sniffled and wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. "Yeah, but its no use. I just came from there, we were waiting to get onto a transport when they attacked us." Frowning, I struggled to grasp what she had said.

"How? There should be thousands of Defense Troopers there, what happened to them?" I asked in shock. The girl shook her head again.

"I don't know, there were only a handful of soldiers dressed like you there, they died." I simply couldn't believe this, what had happened to the eight thousand missing troopers assigned to New York? They couldn't have simply vanished.

Sighing in frustration, I nodded. "Alright so what happened to the rest of the transports?" I struggled to stand once more, the pain in my ribs and ankle almost overwhelming at this point since I'd attacked the fanatics and I was once more becoming dizzy from my concussion.

"Um, there are still a few there but they were taken over by the red guys. It's not safe."

I wracked my brain for an alternative and nothing came up. Just as I was about to give up, the screams of the infected echoed through the night and my blood turned to ice in my veins. The little girl whimpered and hid behind me. "The dead things!"

"Right, we need to get inside somewhere. First I have to go get weapons from those red guys. Stay here for a moment okay? Tell me if you see anyone coming." The girl nodded and I picked up my crutch, staggering over to the two corpses.

I was rewarded with three grenades, a sidearm with four magazines full of ammo and a pump action shotgun with a bandoleer of shells. One of the men had a small med kit and two flares as well which might come in handy later.

I loaded myself up, scooping up the discarded axe and abandoning my original assault rifle since it was out of ammo and it was obvious I wouldn't be finding anymore anytime soon. Making my way back, I rejoined the girl and handed her the axe.

"Be careful with this, if any infected or red guys attack you, use it. Otherwise be safe with it, understood?" The girl nodded slowly and accepted the weapon.

Sliding the shotgun over my shoulder, I slung the bandoleer over the opposite shoulder and checked the side arm to make sure it was loaded. The medkit, flares and grenades I secured to my belt. Satisfied, I slid the spare sidearm magazines into a pocket and pointed to a nearby sky scraper. "We need to go inside there and find somewhere to hide, okay?"

The girl nodded and I stood up once more, slowly making my way towards the structure as more screams filled the night, the zombies obviously pouring into the city and making there way towards the highest concentration of humans, the hangar.

I resigned myself to the idea I wasn't getting off this planet, and instead focused on protecting the girl. The zombies would most likely eat the survivors that were clustered at the hangar, they then would spread through the city like a plague, rooting out anyone hiding. While getting high up in a sky scraper was less than ideal, we could at least block the stairs and make a fire for warmth.

Food would become an issue, but that was something to worry for later, at the moment I was restricted in movement and I couldn't effectively protect the girl.

I staggered into the lobby of what appeared to be a generic office building. The place had seen better days and although it was within the walled section of New York, it was obvious it had never been utilized for anything more than vagrants and most likely criminals. I just hoped no one was in it now as we made our way up the staircase.

The sounds of screaming infected and gunshots pushed me to move faster and I bit my lip to ignore the pain and keep from crying out to draw unwanted attention. The girl for her part did a great job keeping quiet, although she was visibly scared.

First crazy people with guns, now zombies. Life as a Defense Force trooper was never dull.

Commander Devin Crowe

As we closed on the enemy frigate, a dozen fighters broke formation to engage us and I toggled the radio. "Reapers, take them head on! Bomber wings, break port and starboard and go around the assault. Close on that capital ship and stop it from releasing its garrison!" There was a large numbers of double clicks in confirmation and I white knuckled my flight stick in anticipation.

The Reaper fighters opened fire as soon as our targets came in range and the enemy did the same, strobes of tracer rounds and super heated chunks of metal flashed back and forth between the two groups.

Three enemy fighters were destroyed in the initial pass and I noted Doom's ship took some minor damage on the nose, a chunk of metal speared into the hull a few feet from the cockpit.

"Reaper 6, status?" I barked, turning my attention back to the fight as both groups turned around to make another pass.

"Shard hit my air supply. I'm venting O2. I've got enough to finish the fight sir!" I was grateful for his bravery but I didn't want to lose anyone today.

"Negative, break formation and return to the Star, we got this." I knew he was going to argue and before he could respond I added in. "That's an order Lieutenant Smith!" There was a pause before he replied. "Yes Sir...."

The fighter broke off and climbed out of the atmosphere, heading into space. Unfortunately, the loss of one pilot meant things were going to get worse, it took away a wing-man from one of the Reapers and that was a big deal.

Knowing nothing could be done about it, I just hoped the rest of my squadron was able to pick up the slack as I spun my fighter around to engage the next enemy. The biggest downfall to atmospheric combat was the restrictions when it came to using thruster's. We were limited to turning in a wide radius, since we could no longer spin or twist.

Glancing out my cockpit to the right, I watched as the bomber squadrons closed on the Frigate. Just as it looked like they were going to succeed, a pair of enemy gunships took off and intercepted them. Missiles and explosions erupted along the bomber formation and I watched helplessly as all of Anvil squadron was annihilated before they could evade.

If my fighter was limited in maneuverability, the bombers were like flying a whale. From what Sledge had told me, even with his great strength it was hard to control ABS-4 Bomber in atmosphere. The ships were designed for space operations, not fighting in the skies of a planet.

"Sledge! Are you alright?" I couldn't see the rest of the bombers and I was forced to turn my attention back to my own fight, twisting my wing to the right to evade an enemy projectile. All formations had been abandoned as the aerial dogfight heated up.

Dropping the nose of my fighter towards the ground, I kicked in my thrusters, a fighter directly behind me. The enemy pilot tried to take shots at me but my speed made it difficult, as well as the fact I wouldn't hold still, moving left, right, up and down randomly.

The ground loomed before me some hundred feet away and I waited until the last second before pulling back on the flight stick and aiming into the sky.

As predicted, the enemy pilot had broken off early and was now trying to regain altitude. Exactly as I'd hoped, I got a lock on the enemy ship and fired a pair of rockets. The fighter in front of me exploded and rained chunks of metal across the landscape of Washington State below. Banking hard, I climbed into the sky to rejoin the fight once more.

Just as I was convinced Sledge and the rest of Hammer squadron was dead, my radio crackled with a familiar voice. "Hammer lead to Reaper Lead." The big man sounded pissed.

"Go for Reaper Lead." I locked onto another enemy fighter and began to mimic his maneuvers for a moment before firing another rocket.

"Commander, we failed. Anvil is gone and the enemy frigate deployed there garrison before we could get there. The ship is landing troop transports and gunships. From what we can tell, the surface Defense Troopers are reporting sabotage to the factory doors. There forcing them open." I frowned at the news, trying to piece together what was going on.

"Why haven't the surface batteries opened fire? They should have air defenses down there." I questioned.

"They were most likely disabled by the same group opening the doors." Sledge pointed out.

"That doesn't make any sense, with the doors open the fleet could launch, why would they open them-......" Suddenly it hit me as everything fit into place.

"No! There going to attack it from orbit! The doors opening is like cracking open an egg to get whats inside. We've gotta warn the fleet!"

Before I could issue the order for recall, a pair of battleships, which had taken up position in orbit above Seattle without my noticing, opened fire with huge shards of metal. The deadly projectiles speared into the opened hangar doors and I cringed as what had to be the entirety of the 2nd Expeditionary Fleet was obliterated in there construction chambers, most likely fully loaded with personnel and ready to take flight.

I watched helplessly as thousands of Alliance Military soldiers, pilots, officers and technicians were slaughtered below.

"Reapers...Hammer, lets go home. We failed..."

This Forsaken World Chapter 10

Sergeant Victor Grimm

As we made our way up the staircase to the second floor, I took time to push a desk in place to block it. We continued this way, blocking the top and bottom of each section until we reached the sixth floor. Looking around, I nodded once in satisfaction.

"Alright, we'll stay here for a while." The entire floor was built like a cafeteria with the works. One wall was taken up by the fridge, dispensers, counter tops and a number of cabinets. The mid floor was home to a dozen tables for employees to eat at and along another wall was a row of velvet covered benches. A doorway to a unisex restroom finished things and I sighed, smiling softly.

While the cushions were covered in a thick layer of dust and dirt, they had to be comfortable. The place was perfect to hold up in for a time, especially if there was some food left. We had wood for a fire, a soft comfortable place to sleep and access to water if it was still hooked up.

I spent more time then before to thoroughly blockade the staircase, even going so far as knocking over the refrigerator and dragging it in place as a makeshift shield.

The effort of both making the place defensible and going up and down stairs was doing a number on my injuries and after the fridge was in place I gave up to the pain and fell to the ground, resting my back against the fridge.

The young girl moved over to my side and took my hand. Looking closer I noticed she was blonde, her hair cut in a short bob, with sparkling blue eyes. I had been unable to see her fully before due to the darkness outside, however now we were up higher in the air beyond the shadow of the wall and the sun was rising in the distance.

"I'm alright, just need to rest. My names Victor, you can call me Vic though, everyone does." I held up my hand.

Gripping it firmly the girl shook my hand and smiled. "Lila. Thank you for saving me sir." The young girl tried to wipe away some dirt from her tear streaked face and I pointed to the cabinets.

"Go check those for a cloth or rag. I'm afraid I cant help you much right now. We need to make sure the water is still hooked up and try to find food. I'll cover the stairs so nobody comes up here." Lila stood up and did as she was asked without hesitation, obviously comforted by having something to do.

I leaned my head back and struggled to fight off the fatigue that was coursing through me. The pain was easing up since I was no longer irritating anything. My ankle was killing me and at this point was so swollen I didn't think I'd be able to get my boot off if I tried. My wrist was better and I could use it fully without too much trouble but my ribs felt like they were stabbing into my internal organs and it was hard to breathe.

It took some time for the girl to return as I stared out the nearest window into the streets below. The lack of residents from earlier had changed as they'd been flushed from there hiding places and things were pure chaos.

Gunshots echoed every so often as surviving Defense Force troopers attempted to fend off the zombies, or perhaps the fanatics were going about there work. I watched as a woman ran full out to avoid a dozen zombie's as they closed in on her. Unfortunately, she took a wrong turn and two zombies leapt at her.

The screams made my stomach churn and I turned away as the infected began to feast on her body. As the girl approached I made sure to keep her from looking out the window.

"So, any luck?" I asked, checking the shotgun and sidearm to make sure they were fully functional and in good working order.

Both weapons were old and had obviously been used a lot, but I was satisfied they would do what I needed them to do. The ammo however was questionable. The shells and bullets were somewhat rusted with obvious corrosion and I was afraid to use them.

Lila beamed with pride as she placed a small pile of food beside me. The stash contained granola and power bars, several candy bars, some cream filled cakes of some kind and a dozen bags of various chips. A handful of dirty white cloth rags joined the food and she smiled once more.

"Not bad. How about the water?" I asked, sorting through the junk food in front of me and checking dates on them.

Naturally, the vast majority was beyond expired by several years, but I didn't see anything wrong with eating it. I wouldn't be able to tell its condition until it was opened however.

From what I remembered about my studies, the world food organizations had stated the expiration dates were for freshness, they didn't exactly say the food was inedible.

My survival training in the U.E.D.F. Had trained me that as long as food didn't show obvious signs of decay such as smell, mold, yeast, or discoloration, it was still somewhat safe to eat. The training was based on living during an apocalypse where food options were extremely limited. Still....there was always a chance for food poisoning even if things looked and smelled okay, it was a gamble at that point between discomfort and possible death or guaranteed death from starvation.

The girl handed me one of the towels and I noticed it was damp with water. She made a sign of washing her face and I took a hint. "Right, so there is water?" I was rewarded with a nod as I cleaned the dirt, grime and blood from my face.

The medic had stated my hearing would be impaired from the explosions but so far I was doing just fine, although my vision was occasionally blurred as I got dizzy and light headed.

"Is it clear or does it have stuff in it?" I asked, handing her the towel. Lila placed the now dirty item to the side and sat on her heels. "It's clean, it even tastes good. How come there is still water here? This place seems abandoned." I shook my head. "No clue, I guess it was never turned off. The military built a water factory not far from here, it might be feeding the entire neighborhood."

A gunshot followed by screams echoed up through a shattered window on the far side of the floor and the girl flinched, curling up beside me. "Do you think the dead things can get in here?" She asked, looking around fearfully.

"I don't want to lie Lila, they probably can. That's why we were blocking the stairs, it will slow them down and if they don't know we're up here, they'll probably ignore this building and look for easier prey. If things get too bad, we can keep going upstairs, the sign downstairs said this place has twenty three floors. We're only on number six so we have plenty of places to hide." I slid the flares out of my pocket and set them on the ground next to me, fishing the med kid out as well.

"See these?" I asked, pointing at the survival flares. The girl nodded and I grinned.

"If we see some normal human's like us, we can signal them with these and try to get them to come here. The more people we have, the easier it will be to defend this place. That food you found won't last long, especially if more people show up, but the trade off is worth it." I hoped she understood everything.

Sleep began to tug at me and I had to slap my face to stay awake. Lila watched me for a moment and sat up. "You need to sleep sir, I can keep watch and wake you up if anything is coming." She said.

"You sure? It's pretty dangerous out there right now." I had my doubts but like it or not, we had to rely on each other for the time being. She nodded once and I handed her one of the flares.

"Alright, use this if you see a lot of people. Make sure its people like us, no red guys. There are also guys wearing black robes, don't signal them either."

I withdrew the pistol and checked the magazine. After I was satisfied, I set it down beside Lila. "Do you know how to use one of these?" I asked, watching her carefully to make sure she was being honest with her reply.

"Yeah, my dad taught me. He was like you, in the military. He showed me how to reload and fire one of them. I'm not a very good shot though." She frowned.

"It's okay. There's already a full magazine in the gun. Just point and shoot. Don't use it unless you have absolutely no other choice, the gunshots will draw everything in hearing range. Understood?" With a nod of her head, Lila picked up the weapon and thoroughly checked it, making sure a bullet was in the chamber then flicking the safety on.

I undid the zipper on the medical kit and went through its contents. There was a tiny bottle of alcohol, a few wipes, a roll of clean gauze, a dozen band-aids, a stitch kit and some pain killers. The medication was old, well beyond its recommended date of usage but at this point I didn't care.

"I'm gonna be hard to wake up, these pills are for pain so I'm going to be sleeping heavily. Don't be afraid to punch me if you have to." Lila put her head on my shoulder in response and I smiled.

Normally it was hard to swallow anything without water for me, the end result normally having the item stuck in my throat. This was no exception since I was dehydrated and had no saliva, but I made do.

After about ten minutes I drifted to sleep.

Commander Devin Crowe

The battle was going poorly for the Alliance as I returned to the carrier. The battleship was being slowly pushed back by the superior numbers and firepower of our enemy. The Star had withdrawn just out of projectile range and the ship was currently making its way to the rest of the fleet.

The Talon, while making a fighting retreat, was doing its best to screen the fighters, protecting the Carrier. Our destroyer was taking a severe beating and its engines were sputtering as it struggled to get away.

My standing orders at the moment were to return to the A.M.S. Star, the Captain wanted us to debrief, use the head, get some food and rack time. It was standard regulation that no pilot fly more than eight hours at a time and I'd lost count of how long we'd been in our fighters.

I growled as the enemy ships closed in around the Destroyer and grit my teeth. Toggling the radio to a closed channel linking the surviving Hammer's and the other Reapers, I made an announcement to them that would possibly get me court martialed.

"Listen up everyone. I'm about to do something against orders that could get me into some serious trouble. None of you are required to follow me and if you decide not to you won't be thought a coward and I'll record it in my log. I'm going to engage the enemy capital ships to try and buy that Destroyer time to get away. If we don't do this, that ship and its crew are going to die, its as simple as that." I breathed in raggedly, my nerves on edge and adrenaline coursing through my body.

"Who's with me?" I asked, waiting for a reply.

While on the one hand I was worried no one would come, I'd be flying to my own death alone since I'd be like a gnat against a human. On the other hand, I knew everyone would join me in the assault. The Hammer's and Reaper's were close friends and comrades. We had to be considering we flew together on nearly every mission and its our job to protect each other.

"I speak for the entire squadron when I say, we're with you boss." Sledge said, his voice hinting at a smile and full of excitement.

"This is Reaper 2, I'm gonna copy what he said, we're all with you. Except for Doom who is probably kicking it back at the nearest bar." Angel said. Everyone laughed at this and the sound made the entire group feel more at ease. The tension lifted and I felt like I was invincible in that moment.

"Let's do it!" I switched off the radio and kicked in my thrusters, breaking off my original vector to shift towards the Destroyer. Like clock work my radio crackled with the Captain's voice.

"Commander Crowe, what are you doing?! I gave you orders to return to the carrier!" She sounded both surprised and pissed at the same time. I reached over and hit the transmit switch.

"Sorry Captain, if we don't help that Destroyer its going to be destroyed. All the other fighters and bombers have been recalled, we're the only chance it has." I was forced to put my fighter through a spin as chunks of super heated metal were fired in my direction. One of the battleships and a handful of enemy fighters had turned towards us, attempting to block our approach.

"Wraith, that destroyer is buying us time to retreat, its a planned action. Don't interfere or you're going to be in serious trouble when you get back here, do you understand me?!" I grinned and started fiddling with the radio switches, causing a lot of static to feed through.

"Sorry Captain, your breaking up, say again?" I continued as she began to yell through the radio before turning it off entirely. I knew the other pilots had heard the conversation as I played with the switches and I could imagine several of them laughing in there cockpits.

Cutting to port to evade more enemy projectiles, I squeezed the trigger on my flight stick, blasting two enemy fighters into chunks and flying through the debris as we continued our attack.

Our target was the nearest battleship to the destroyer. I'd decided the best way to save our ship was to distract the enemy long enough it could clear the battle zone. The destroyer was close to the edge as it was but it was moving slower then the enemy craft and it wouldn't make it without intervention.

"Hammer's, take out the bridge on that battleship. We'll take out surface turrets for cover and any fighters that try to engage you." Sledge double clicked and I smiled as I cut to starboard and made a run over the enemy capital ship.

The turrets were oddly designed, a simple opened port shaped like a square. Small shards of metal poked out similar to our rocket pods and they fired a dozen sharp metal chunks at a time. It was rather hard to evade the enemy fire since they acted like a shotgun blast, spreading outwards in a wide arc.

I was thankful however that our fighter's armor plating was thick enough to ignore the bulk of the shards, but the cockpit, engine port and a few key systems like the connectors to the folding wings were vulnerable.

Tombstone and Raptor both took serious damage on the first pass and Angel was hit on the right wing flap, making it hard to bank sharply. The plus side was, our attack pass had wiped out nearly fifty percent of the enemy turrets and we'd drawn enough attention the bomber's could attack without any opposition.

I toggled the radio to Sledge specifically and prepared for a second run, watching carefully as the bomber's went to work with the last of there ordnance. The explosions were beautiful, although short lived due to the void of space sucking out the oxygen and extinguishing the flames like a hungry beast.

"Sledge, we're gonna make one more pass to finish off the turrets. It looks like the attack is working, the other capital ships are moving towards us to assist, the destroyer is clear. Since your out of explosives head back to the carrier. We'll join you after this last pass."

As usual, I knew my old friend would argue, he hated leaving a fight unfinished, but he growled into the headset.

"Roger that...you better buy the rounds tonight or I'm going to kick your ass before the enemy can." I chuckled as the bombers broke off and slowly made there way towards the Destroyer, screening it for a few minutes as they fired at a handful of fighters.

I didn't want to give him any more problems since he was doing what he felt was necessary before following my orders. We were already in trouble, what damage could one more violation cause?

A wall of at least sixty enemy fighters were closing in on us as we made our final pass and I cringed. With several of our group flying damaged ships I wasn't sure if this was the best idea but it was the only hope for our friends.

Our AFS-1 fighters only carried 4 rocket pods so we didn't exactly have a lot of explosive capabilities, we were designed for dog-fighting, not bombing runs, but I had full confidence in my pilots.

The second pass proved much easier than the first due to the enemy ship missing a large portion of its defensive weaponry. As we broke off, firing the last of our rockets, my ship took a chunk of shrapnel in the engine and I lost propulsion.

"Shit, Angel get the others home, my engines are out. Don't try coming back for me, just tell the fleet to get clear." I watched as the rest of the Reapers continued on there way. Almost a full minute passed before Angel banked port and started back in my direction.

Considering the delay and lack of response I could only assume the radio was down and she hadn't heard me, turning back only after realizing I was no longer on her wing. She circled for a moment, checking the damage on my ship before she turned around and flew away towards the Star once more.

I sighed as I continued trying to get the engine to start once more. As I toggled everything I felt the constant sputtering as my thrusters tried to come to life but eventually I gave up.

As I resigned myself to my fate, a few enemy fighters closing in on me, I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. Either I was going to be destroyed on the spot or they were going to drag me on board there ship to be interrogated, tortured, and most likely killed.

At least he rest of my friends were safe. I watched as they began to vanish in the distance, rejoining the large capital ships of the Alliance Military fleet.

"Good luck everyone."

This Forsaken World Chapter 11

Sergeant Victor Grimm

A sudden movement sent an alarm through my body and I snapped awake, instinctively reaching out for my assault rifle. My hand settled on a pump action shotgun and a wave of confusion and disorientation hit me before I noticed Lila sitting beside me.

Blinking several times to clear my vision I set the shotgun back down and looked around the room for any signs of danger.

"What's wrong?" I asked, not seeing anything that would prove a threat at the moment. The girl was gripping the pistol I had given her in one hand and pointed out a nearby window. Turning my attention towards the indicated direction my breath caught in my throat at what I saw.

Massive black and red ships were breaking through the atmosphere. Each ship was adorned with rusty spikes and the vessels themselves were massive, several miles long in length.

"When did those start showing up?" I asked, wincing as I moved closer to the window to get a better look.

"Um, about ten minutes ago. At first I thought they were our ships but then I saw the spikes. Who owns those? Some corporation?" Lila asked, shifting uncomfortably and keeping her distance from the view outside.

"No, those don't belong to any human. This might be the alien fleet we were warned about. It matches the description and its red and black, similar to the saboteur fanatics robes we faced earlier. Man those are huge! The entire New York Defense Force could fit in one of those, plus some tanks and mechs with room to spare." I scanned the skies to see how many ships were going to land. At least six ships were breaking through the atmosphere and settling outside of the walls, only one landing in the courtyard of the battle from last night.

I noticed several smaller transports were positioned throughout the city, most likely a scout force or an initial assault team. The way they had landed indicated tactical strikes on military locations.

"If those are here, that means the Alliance Fleet is most likely out of the fight." I growled in irritation. Spacers, what did I expect hoping they could hold off the enemy. Zombies and fanatics were enough, now we had alien ships and who knew what on the ground.

"Did our military guys die or did they run away?" Lila asked, standing up and moving to stand beside me. Apparently my lack of fear was giving the girl courage and she was more comfortable with watching what was happening outside.

"Most likely they ran. The Alliance brass wouldn't chance losing too many ships, they probably abandoned everyone on the planet and took off to save themselves." I felt like cursing but I restrained myself.

"What are those?" The girl asked, pointing to a ship that had landed. Beneath the enemy vessel a ramp had descended and two strange bipedal machines were walking out. The constructs were massive though more so in height than thickness and length. While our walkers were bulky with four legs and massive structure, these were tall and agile.

"There mechanized walkers similar to our ABW-3's. Considering how they are designed there most likely for scouting or raids."

As I continued to watch dozens of infantry began to walk down the ramp wearing thick blood red body suits with ventilation masks that covered there heads. Each soldier carried a strange looking rifle with an over and under barrel, a stick like shaft and twin toggles instead of a trigger. A few carried what looked like net shooters and yet more had what was obviously a rocket launcher.

"Wow, they are loaded for capturing them some humans. Best they don't know we're here yet." Lila nodded, crouching low as though she wanted to minimize the risk of being spotted.

"So, are all of those ships going to have that many alien dudes?" The girl asked, grabbing up a white chocolate granola bar and sniffing it suspiciously before taking small nibbles. She made no face as she ate which meant they must taste okay.

"Probably. If I had to guess, they plan to enslave the surviving humans for whatever reason. As to why, I really don't want to know and I don't plan on finding out." I studied the figures as best I could, although from this distance it was hard. Each of the soldiers appeared to be wearing some form of body armor and I pondered if my shotgun could pierce the plating.

Suddenly the sounds of footsteps and scraping metal caught my attention and I scooped up my weapon, moving over to take cover behind the fridge and signaling Lila to hide behind a nearby pillar. Breathing heavily, adrenaline flooded my system as I prepared to fire.

The sounds continued for a few minutes as the intruders moved the multiple desks I'd blocked the stairs with until finally they turned the corner and I pulled my finger away from the trigger.

Four people had entered my field of view and I felt a wave of relief. The new arrivals were two Defense Force soldiers, a Staff Sergeant and a Private, a young man who looked to be in his late teens and an attractive brunette in her early twenties.

"Hey, up here!" I yelled, waving to the figures below. Three guns were instantly trained on me before they were swiftly lowered. "No shit! Sarge?! I thought you were dead."

I recognized the young private upon closer inspection and grinned. Evan was one of my squad mates from the garrison. I'd assumed they had all died during the battle, the man had been stationed inside the wall below me when the explosives had detonated.

"I thought the same of you, how'd you survive?" I asked, standing up and limping aside so they could climb over the fridge.

"When I saw the crazy guys rush at the wall I got the hell out of the way. Joe wasn't fast enough, he was right there when the bombs went off, tore him to pieces. When the wall breached I ran as fast as I could towards the inner wall. A Major sent me to the hangar and told me to guard it with my life. That's where I met Hank, he assigned me to his squad. You?" The young private was talking so fast it was hard to follow.

"I was knocked out by the explosion. After that I tried to help in the fight but it was pretty one sided. When I arrived at the inner wall I joined the defense there until it breached and the rest has been run and survive. I rescued Lila here from some fanatics and we took shelter here." I reached a hand out to the Staff Sergeant who accepted the gesture with a firm grip.

"You made the right choice, if you'd gone to the hangar you'd be dead or captured now. The alien troops massed right outside the perimeter along with the saboteurs. Zombies apparently ignore them and only hunt humans. We fought for a few minutes before retreating, they were capturing people and putting collars on them. We didn't stick around long enough to find out anything more." This came from Hank as he let go of my hand and laid out the situation.

"Well, We've got some snacks but its not much. I had to ditch my primary when I ran out of ammo and I scrounged these off the dead. You guys have enough ammo for a decent defense of this place?" I asked, retaking my spot behind the fridge after they had cleared it.

"I've got two full magazines of fifty and a half mag loaded. Down to one grenade." Evan informed me, adjusting his gear and taking a set near Lila who still cowered behind the pillar, obviously suspicious of the newcomers. I couldn't blame the girl after what she'd been through, I was surprised she had taken an attachment to me.

"Staff's?" I asked, looking at the other man. The grizzled old trooper was obviously in his fifties, years of service etched onto his face. He glanced over at me sharply as though he hadn't heard me before shaking his head.

"Sorry, I've got maybe ten rounds left. Sidearm is fully loaded with two in reserve. Nothing else." This news was less than happy, especially the way he laid it out with his tone of voice.

"Ah alright, guess we'll make due." I glanced over at the other male in the group. The man had been standing in the shadow of a wall and when he stepped forwards Lila screamed in happiness and threw herself at him. "Lucas!" She yelled.

The young man caught her and hugged her close before letting her go and smiling, holding her at arms length. Tears streamed down both faces as Lila giggled. "I thought I'd lost you brother." The girl wrapped herself around his mid section in a hug once more.

"Well, at least something went right." As I was about to ask more questions the sounds of clanking machinery echoed outside and the entire building shook.

Commander Devin Crowe

A shadow loomed over my fighter, blocking out the sunlight and I breathed in deeply as I looked out the cockpit canopy. A ship so massive it easily could have had two battleships welded together took up position directly above me and all I could do was whistle in fascination.

"Damn that must have been expensive." I examined the multitude of armaments on its surface and the massive hangar. The capital ship was so large it could house a thousand fighters within, not to mention troops, staff, drop ships, transports, gun ships, the works. It was a mobile base in which the enemy fleet could form up on and travel at ease throughout the universe.

My fighter shook as a harpoon like object speared into the metal and a long cable began to retract, dragging my ship towards the enemy hangar. Well, at least I could see the inside, that was the only plus I could come up with in my situation.

I considered my options. While I had a sidearm on board, it would do very little against whatever was waiting for me inside the enemy ship. The infantry I'd be facing would be ready for a fight, heavily armed and armored and in a good defensible position. My life support was beginning to fail as well as all my other systems meaning if I didn't get out of my ship soon I'd suffocate or freeze to death.

Also, I really had to use the bathroom.

My fighter was pulled onto a wench system that extended into a massive hook. Once I'd been secured upside down, six aliens in black body suits carrying strange weapons approached and circled my cockpit. A seventh person joined the others, this individual wearing a blue suit and carrying what looked like a very large pry bar.

As the blue clad figure tried to force my cockpit open I slapped the ejector switch and the canopy flew across the hangar. Undoing the straps on my seat I grabbed the console to keep from falling out onto my face, not the best way to make a first impression.

Lowering myself down I held my hands up in the universal gesture of surrender and took in my surroundings.

The hangar was as large as I'd imagined and enemy ships and humanoid aliens seemed to vanish in the distance as though they went on forever. I swallowed hard and shrugged.

"Anyone know where the head is on this boat?" I asked.

The blue clad figure backed away as the other's advanced on me and they forcefully secured my wrists behind me. I was more or less dragged to a door and down a long hallway. The metal inside the ship was mottled black as though the welder they hired had no clue what he was doing.

Something that did catch my attention and was rather disturbing was the blood smears from what had to be dragged bodies went in every direction. The walls had bloodied hand prints and occasionally a blood curdling scream could be heard down a passageway.

"There's this maid who sometimes does the barracks on the orbital platform, she does a two for one special, want me to give her your phone number? This placed could use some TLC for real." I was rewarded with a smack in the back of the head for my troubles. "Geez, just trying to help."

A door to the right was opened up after what had to be the longest hallway I'd ever been in and I was tossed unceremoniously through it to crash onto the floor. The door was slammed shut and I stood up, turning around and kicking the metal.

"I still have to use the bathroom you bastards!" Growling, I spun in place and surveyed the room before me. I was standing in what was obviously a torture chamber and it made my skin crawl just looking at it.

A chair was set up in the middle of the floor with dried and fresh blood everywhere. Spikes adorned the walls with a table full of horribly painful looking items designed to extract whatever the torturer wanted. I swallowed hard and sat down, attempting to get my hands in front of me so I could at least attempt to escape or defend myself.

It took quite some effort but I was finally able to get my hands where I wanted them and without a shred of embarrassment I walked to the corner of the room and emptied my bladder.

"Oh man...I've been holding that for hours, that really can't be healthy." After I was finished I redid my flight suit and turned around being careful not to step in the puddle.

I pondered what else to do but before I could come to a decision the door was opened and a pair of enemy soldiers walked in.

A few seconds later and a tall slender man in a white body suit entered and gave me a smile, revealing razor sharp teeth and blood red eyes. The man was completely bald and from the look of it, it was natural.

"Well you must be the pilot who's been giving us so much trouble." The voice was deep and rich and held a lot of evil in it. There was a thick accent I couldn't place, just like the alien female we'd captured.

"Nah, you got me confused with someone else. I'm the pilot that was kicking your ass." I grinned back and the tall man gave me a hiss, barring his fangs.

"A funny man, we know what to do with you." Snapping his fingers, which I noted had very long nails almost like claws, the other two men rushed me and pinned me down in the chair. I had to admit, they were very strong, even if I'd attempted to resist I knew my efforts would be overpowered easily.

"Well, feeding me something you could do 'for' me. I am quite hungry, haven't eaten in hours since I've been too busy blasting your fighters into chunks of slag. Of course letting me go is another option." A backhanded slap made me bite my tongue literally and I shut up, glaring at the man before me.

"Silence, only speak when I ask you a question or I'll be forced to start taking valuable pieces of your anatomy." The idea sent a shiver up my spine. I felt like being quiet at the moment was the right thing to do, especially since blood was filling my mouth from the bite wound.

One of the soldiers undid the seal on my helmet and ripped it free. Out of instinct I held my breath and everyone laughed, the sound so malevolent it was truly terrifying. "Fool, we require the same atmosphere as your pathetic species. You can breath, for now."

I took a deep breath and instantly regretted it. A sickly sweet stench most commonly known to accompany dead bodies or rotting meat hung in the air and breathing felt like a sticky substance was invading my throat and lungs.

I couldn't help adding one more jab before what I assumed would be a nice little torture session into there. "When you invade Earth, ask for some air fresheners, they'd do wonders in these tight quarters." I braced for another hit but I was surprised when nothing came.

The two soldiers resumed there position flanking the door and the tall man circled me for a moment before settling beside the table of pain giving tools.

"I'll keep that in mind. Though, I quite like the smell. You get used to it after a few hundred years. The screams help me sleep too. Now then, shall we begin?"

I wanted to do something, anything, but the man injected me with something and after a few seconds all strength left my body and I slumped in the seat. "Well, that's not good." I mumbled, glaring up at the man.

Picking up a strange looking tool with a razor sharp curved point, the alien turned towards me and smiled once more. "This is designed to slowly cut pieces of your flesh off. We're going to start with your back. You will tell me what I want to know and if I don't like the answer you lose a strip. Any questions?"

"Yeah, your standing in a puddle of piss." The man looked down at the stream that had trickled across the room to settle at his feet and I started laughing, blood from my mouth wound spraying across the room.

"Sorry, I had to say something. You should see the look on your face!"

As I continued laughing the soldiers stripped the upper portion of my flight suit and my t-shirt beneath exposing my shoulders and back.

Okay, this was going to suck...

This Forsaken World Chapter 12

Sergeant Victor Grimm

The large mechanical noise outside was followed by a bright red searchlight peering through the windows. I dove for cover as the light passed over the downed fridge and I cursed at the pain the sudden movement caused in my ribs.

A scout walker for the enemy was directly outside and it was slowly scanning the bottom eight floors. I wasn't sure if it could go any higher but this was most likely a probe to determine if infantry was required to sweep the building.

Lila gripped the pistol tightly in both hands and hid behind her brother. The two troopers hid behind various objects and the woman had taken refuge inside the bathroom.

It took several minutes before the searchlight vanished and the mechanical foot steps receded into the distance. I breathed in heavily and whistled the all clear to the others.

Clustering together near the downed fridge after we'd left our hiding places, we huddled in close for a discussion about what to do.

"I doubt that's going to be the last search in this area. There probably going to be checking this entire place thoroughly. Even if we go up to a higher floor, they'll eventually trap us in here." This came from Evan as he glanced uneasily out the nearest window at the drop ships.

"True, but if we go outside we'll be even more vulnerable. Not just to the aliens and there machines but to zombies and fanatics as well. We need a place where we can lie low and wait for reinforcements." This from the Staff Sergeant.

I sighed heavily in frustration and decided to add my own input on the situation.

"Anything we do within these walls is bad. There will be no reinforcements. These ships are part of a massive fleet, they most likely have landed in every walled sanctuary on the planet. Nobody is going to come for us, they have there own problems." I looked between the other survivors slowly.

Lila surprised me as she stepped out from behind her brother. "So, maybe we leave the walled city? Outside the only threat is dead things, they have no reason to think people would go outside the walls, they won't look for us."

The idea was actually brilliant. We could regroup, gather weapons, build a resistance and launch a counter attack when we were strong enough.

"I love it, that's an amazing idea. We know how to fight the infected. After the battle at the main gates the zombies numbers in this area are severely reduced, we killed a lot of them. Before more infected come this way we could fortify a location outside the city and start gathering survivors." I looked at the Staff Sergeant. "What do you think?"

The veteran nodded slowly before a grim look covered his face. "We'd need more weapons and a vehicle or transportation, no way we'd survive on foot. Also we need more people, just the six of us would be overpowered if we got into a fight."

Evan backed away from the window and hissed softly. "Incoming." He whispered, taking cover behind a pillar nearby. Moving with a sense of purpose but trying to stay quiet everyone returned to there original hiding spots and I moved to stand near the fridge, using a wall to hide from outside.

While I'd expected a scout walker, the sounds of footsteps drew my attention to the stairway and I cursed. Scooping up my shotgun I crouched behind the fridge and readied my weapon. It took several minutes before a pair of figures emerged. Immediately I pulled the trigger as I recognized alien infantry wearing red body suits.

One of the enemy was knocked backwards as the shotgun blast hit him, the distance was a full flight of stairs but my shell had apparently been a slug which I had no realized. Slugs had more range than a standard shotgun shell and they hit a lot harder.

The sound drew the attention of the second figure and he took a step back as his companion was launched. Cursing something in a strange language, the alien brought one of those strange weapons up and fired in my direction.

Ducking beneath the shot and using the refrigerator door as a shield, I unhooked a grenade and pulled the pin, tossing it down the stairs and dropping back into cover. A handful of seconds passed before a loud explosion caused the building to shake, the nearest windows shattering and spraying shards of glass in every direction.

Peeking over my barricade, I was satisfied with the carnage the grenade had wrought. On the bottom of the stairway chunks of body parts in red clothing were spread across floor. A massive impact mark showed where the weapon had detonated and the floor was scorched.

"I think our decision was just made for us, they know where we are now. We need to get out of this building." I gathered up my stuff without waiting for a reply from the others.

"I agree, lets find transportation, more survivors and get out of New York. We can go into hiding somewhere else." This came from Evan as he joined me. The others were a lot slower to follow as I helped my squad mate move the fridge out of the way. Together we went down the stairs and made for the exit.

I wasn't sure where to get a vehicle but there had to be something, anything. We could hijack an enemy space ship but we had no idea how the controls worked. There were old vehicles in the hangar but that was overrun.

As we made our way down the street, moving from cover to cover, I noticed a billboard add and grinned.

"There we go..." The sign said 'Vintage vehicles in museum, fully restored and functional, come see today!' It even had an arrow pointing the way. It was too perfect like someone was playing a joke on us.

"Lets go there." I indicated the billboard and everyone fell into step behind me as we changed direction.

Commander Devin Crowe

My entire body hurt and the searing pain in my back was isolated to a specific location as the white clad man slowly peeled a strip of my skin away. I wanted to scream, I wanted to curse, but I grit my teeth and refused to give them the pleasure.

After a few long agonizing seconds the man snipped the bottom of the skin and set it on the table in a tray. I let out the breath I had been holding without realizing in a ragged gasp and turned to look at my tormentor.

"Your gonna have to try harder than that!" I snapped.

For the seventh time, one of the soldiers punched me hard in the gut, following this with a backhand to the right side of my face.

"Tsk, tsk....your bravado is misplaced. All I want to know is how many ships you have and where they have gone. Is such trivial information worth so much pain?" The man moved close and leaned in to look me in the eye.

"This could all end you know. Your going to die, the only thing you can control at this point is how long it takes and how many body parts you still have when we're done. For now, we'll continue with the current method. You have terrific pain tolerance and discipline, but everyone breaks." A slow smile spread across his face and I finally snapped.

The injection earlier had drained me of strength but I had felt it returning, pretending to continue acting weak and pitiful. The man's breath was rancid and he was so close I took advantage of the situation. Swinging my forehead towards the man, I smashed it into his nose and the sensation of crunching cartilage was one small victory in a thorough defeat.

"Do what you have to asshole, I've got something to protect, nothing can break me." I spit on the white body suit as the man staggered away.

Straightening his nose and using a cloth from one of his pockets to wipe away the blood, the alien smiled once more.

"We shall see. The drugs should have kept you docile for several hours, I'm amazed such a pitiful creature could recover so fast. Your will power and resolve are commendable."

Moving over to the table once more, the man began to refill the syringe from earlier with a greenish liquid and I sighed in frustration.

"Tell ya what, let me out of these restraints to fight you fairly and I'll show you my resolve." One of the soldiers moved forward and punched me in the gut once more, silencing me as I gagged and struggled to breath. A sharp pinch entered my neck as the torturer injected me and I growled, feeling my strength leave me once more.

Laying the syringe aside, the white clad alien took his place behind me once more and I braced myself for more pain. Agony set in as he cut into my skin and began to carve out a section to peel away. From the location I could only guess it was to the right of my spine by maybe an inch or so and just below my shoulder blade.

My body stiffened out of reflex, I desperately wanted to grip the chair's hand rests but with no strength, I could only take the pain and try to endure it. Finally, I could no longer keep from screaming as he slowly pulled it away from my body and he smiled at the sound.

"Oh sweet music to my ears. I've made you sing, will you now talk? Or should I, in your human tongue, spill your guts to get what I want?" The pain suddenly subsided as the strip was cut and I hissed at the sensation of air on an open wound.

Breathing raggedly, I once more glared at the alien.

"I swear, when I get out of here and back into my fighter, I am going to kill every single one of you bastards who dares come near my friends." Apparently the fire in my eyes was a bit too intense as the man took a step back and opened his mouth to speak before closing it.

Finally, the alien seemed to recover from his initial shock and he slapped me hard.

"You really have no idea of the situation you are in. I already told you, your going to die here." Moving back to the table I braced myself for more pain in my back.

Surprised as the man moved back in front of me instead, I frowned. "What, give up on the torture already?" I asked, snickering and spitting blood on his white body suit.

"Not quite, just trying something new." Raising up what looked like a corkscrew, the alien snapped his fingers and the two soldiers moved forwards to hold me down, pushing me back against the chair and gripping my head. The pain from my wounds pressing against the seats metal caused me to curse out loud through grit teeth.

Even if my strength was intact, it wouldn't matter as the two black clad men were so strong I'd be overpowered instantly. It was amazing how strong these creatures were considering how slender they were and I wondered what the beautiful female on the carrier was capable of.

Despite everything going on, my thoughts continued to drift to her for some reason and I hoped I'd get the chance to meet her again. I couldn't explain it, but when I'd made eye contact with her it had opened something within me emotionally I'd never experienced before. While it had taken me off guard, I'd been too focused on the fighting to identify the experience and analyze it.

Even though she was an alien from a hostile race and had tried to kill me, I still wanted to sit down and talk to her and I had no idea why.

My thoughts were interrupted as the torturer leaned over me and raised the corkscrew device, moving it slowly towards my left eye. "You might not be able to kill all of us without a very important piece of equipment for a pilot."

Cramming the pointed tip into my eye I screamed in sheer agony as he pushed it in and began to twist it.

This....was not what I had planned on when I'd woken up today.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

The streets were crawling with enemy forces and we'd had to take refuge inside broken down buildings several times to avoid detection.

It took almost half an hour to finally arrive at the museum and I grinned as I pushed open the front door. The building was almost completely untouched and it even looked like someone had been maintaining it. The entry way had a directory with indicated wings for various historical themes.

I followed the indicated instructions to the transportation wing and, without waiting for the others, turned down the hallway in that direction. As we moved through the passages, I was amazed I'd never thought to come here before, it was incredible.

We passed by an exhibit of old air planes, the original models for space ships and various naval ship schematics and models. Finally we reached the car, truck and motorcycle displays and I smiled, instantly moving towards the sixties section.

Sitting before me was a mint condition midnight black 1969 Mustang Boss 429. The vehicle was inside a thick plastic exhibit with an exit garage opening at the rear of the room. I smiled and leaned up against a wall to rest my ankle.

"Ah that's beautiful. I've seen them in magazines and I always wanted to drive one but I didn't think there were anymore around." I was talking to myself more than to the others but Hank grunted in agreement.

"Yeah, when they invented the solar cells almost all combustion vehicles vanished overnight. This really is a sight to see. We should see if they have spare gas laying around somewhere to get it running. I know something about engines, I'll check it out if you guys want to search around."

I grinned and made my way to the employee's only section, grabbing the chain to manually open the garage door and expose the mustang. Hank moved forward and popped the hood, obviously having some skill with old school mechanics. I desperately wanted to help out but I had to look for gas with the others.

Leaving the old veteran alone, I walked across the hallway to a supply closet and opened it up. Inside it was hard to see since it was so dark but there were rows of car parts still in there original packaging and several tanks of liquids on the ground.

As I picked up one of the jugs, a cold barrel pressed against the base of my skull and a feminine voice whispered softly.

"Stand up, drop your weapon, and turn around slowly." I did as I was told and spun to face Suzy as she gripped what had to be Lila's pistol.

"Eh, what are you doing?" I asked, raising my hands.

The woman smiled and stepped aside. "Move." She indicated the direction with the barrel of the gun and I started walking.

"What happened to the others?" I asked, my body tensing for combat.

"There unconscious, your going to get Hank to lower his guard and then your going to join them. Now, move or I'll drop you where you stand."

As I approached the garage door, I decided to take action. Spinning as fast as my ankle would allow, I dropped below the gun barrel and used my right hand to strike the woman in the solar plexus. The gun went off as she dropped it and all hell broke loose as a dozen alien soldiers rushed into the hallway.

"Alright, who's next?!" I snarled, dropping into a fighters crouch and withdrawing my dagger.

Commander Devin Crowe

Blood ran freely from a number of different wounds and I struggled to remain conscious, the pain so intense it was hard to keep my mind sharp and clear. I was worried that if I passed out they'd give up trying to break me and kill me on the spot. So long as I remained conscious they'd keep asking me questions.

Another slap struck the side of my face and I grinned, the blow barely registering at this point considering how much my eye socket hurt, my left eye now missing. They'd used the torture tool to spear the orb and pry it free from its housing, cutting it loose and placing it on the metal pan beside the strips of skin.

"Where is your fleet?! How many ships do you have?! TALK!" The white clad alien screamed, spittle spraying my face. Chuckling through blood smeared teeth, I looked up and used my one good eye to glare at him.

"Your really bad at this torture thing you know?" I was about to say something more when there was a loud explosion down the hall. Sirens that sounded like a screeching banshee echoed throughout the ship and red warning lights began to flash.

"Go find out whats happening!" The man snapped, waving at his soldiers.

Both men left the room and vanished out of sight. Once more my strength had returned and I was slowly working on freeing my wrists from my bindings. The alien completely ignored me, staring at the door and waiting impatiently for the return of his men.

Finally I felt the bindings untie and I stood up, my legs feeling like spaghetti noodles. The combination of my missing eye, the effects of the drugs, lack of food and the agonizing pain I felt, I struggled to remain on my feet, but determination pushed me on.

Picking up a sharp blade-like torture device, I advanced on the alien slowly before burying the tip in the side of his neck.

The man tried to scream but only managed to gurgle on blood as I twisted hard and let it go, the body falling to the ground. Spitting some blood on the corpse, I walked over to the door and looked out carefully to see if anyone was around.

Just as I was about to leave the room, gunshots echoed from the hangar and I grinned, the sounds instantly recognized as Alliance Military issue.

"About time...." Rescue was here.

This Forsaken World Chapter 13

Sergeant Victor Grimm

Suzy regained her footing and backed up to stand with the alien soldiers. She slowly smiled as they surrounded her, keeping there attention on me and ignoring her for the moment.

"You were a mole to draw out more survivors, weren't you?" I snapped in anger, scanning my surroundings to figure out the best way to fight back or avoid the enemy. While my shotgun and her discarded pistol were nearby, the aliens would blast me the second I went for them. I still had two grenades but going for those would also inspire a swift death. I struggled to come up with something, anything, to survive.

"Yep, you see, they promise to turn us if we help them. You have no idea what an honor that is." The smile seemed to spread even more on Suzy's face and it really got under my skin.

"So you don't mind betraying your own species to help aliens who plan on enslaving us? This turning, is it really worth it? What would you become?" I white knuckled the knife as I waited for the inevitable.

Just as the woman was about to reply, one of the enemy soldiers removed his face mask and gripped her throat, dragging her close.

"You fool...your not worthy of anything more than livestock." The man's skin was milky white as though he'd never had the sun touch him once in his entire life. Blood red eyes blazed like ruby's and his long fingernails cut into the woman's throat. His head might have been shaved except there was no evidence of hair growth at all, as though it was a natural thing.

Turning to smile at me, long canines glistening, he lifted the woman one handed and buried his fangs into her jugular. Trying to call out, the woman kicked her feet and whimpered until the alien had sucked enough blood she went limp.

Wiping some of the crimson liquid on his bodysuit, the man tossed the woman aside, the body hitting the ground with the cracking of bone as the right leg twisted in the wrong direction.

Just as the enemy soldiers were about to advance on my position, a loud growl resonated nearby followed by the powerful revving of an engine. The plastic exhibit windows shook and the aliens looked around in confusion.

All I could do was thank Hank in my head as I used the distraction to my advantage. While I'd run multiple options, I decided the grenades were the best approach, they would do the most damage and they had a chance of hitting multiple enemies at one time. Using both thumbs to pull the pins, I chucked them underhanded to either side of the group.

An ear splitting explosion filled the chamber as the grenades exploded. Body parts flew in every direction or splattered into the wall and I dove for cover into the supply closet.

After several moments I stuck my head back out and grinned as Hank walked out of the garage. Scooping up my weapons and adding the pistol to my arsenal, I left the closet and marveled at the destruction.

"Well, that's one way to do it. Good job trooper." The grizzled vet said, slapping me on the back and walking over to the crater. I was surprised the entire area hadn't collapsed, this museum was built from sturdy stuff.

From the appearance, it looked like I'd placed the explosives in the right spot as there were no surviving aliens. Toeing a more or less intact corpse, I flipped it over and aimed my shotgun at the head, examining it closely for any life signs. Satisfied, I moved to stand near the Staff Sergeant.

"Suzy betrayed us. She was an operative leading us into an ambush. She said something about being turned before they killed her. I'm thinking those fanatics have no idea what there in for when the aliens have no use for them." I watched a wave of emotions wash over the gruff soldier before anger won out.

"Understood. Are the other's okay?" He shifted his stance, scanning our surroundings with piercing eyes.

"She said they were unconscious, I didn't get a location though. They could be anywhere in here. Although, she didn't have a lot of time so they can't be far. Thanks for firing up the car by the way, the distraction saved my life. Where did you find gas anyways?" I raised an eyebrow in question.

"Believe it or not, there was a tank in the trunk. Not sure what that was all about, kind of weird to put some there but there was survival rations as well. I think someone had the same idea as us, they were prepping this car for an evacuation." Well that was a bit of good news for a change.

"Let's hope we find the others before they return. Let's spread out to cover more ground, meet back here in ten with or without the rest of the group. I'll take the aviation wing, you head for the locomotive exhibit." Hank didn't even question the orders, which was interesting since he outranked me.

Moving with a purpose, I began to search every door or corridor that I passed. It was slow going and I was about to give up as the timer ticked down when I stumbled across the survivors. The group had been restrained with para-cord and they lay in a heap inside the woman's bathroom.

Grinning at the looks I received, the rest of my group wide awake and alert, I withdrew my dagger and proceeded to free them.

Commander Devin Crowe

Leaving a trail of blood in my wake, I used the wall for support and made my way to the hangar bay and what I hoped was salvation. The gunshots were picking up in intensity and I hoped no one was dying on my account. What point was a rescue operation for one person if more died in the process?

A black clad alien turned towards me as I advanced and dropped his rifle, rushing me and attempting to throw a punch. Despite all of my ailments, my survival instincts took over as well as adrenaline. Ducking to my left, I predicted a follow through as the man lost his balance and I shoved him hard into the wall.

Before my opponent could recover, I slid across the floor to go for his discarded rifle and scooped the strange looking weapon up. My body was screaming in protest at the sudden movements and I knew I would no longer be able to stand up under my own power. Luckily, I had the upper hand with the enemies weapon and I took full advantage of it.

Swinging the weapon up to my shoulder, I squeezed the lever and what looked like tranquiler darts shot out of the double barrels, spearing the man in the groin and chest. The alien took two steps before he went down, landing on his face.

Turning the rifle over in my hands, I whistled softly. So the gun's were designed to disable instead of kill. They must use it to capture other species for food or slave labor.

I cursed as I tried to stand and felt no strength. I knew I was severely dehydrated, I hadn't had anything to drink in some time. Food, pain, the drugs after effects and severe fatigue all worked to keep me down and no matter how hard I tried to rise, my body refused to cooperate.

Glancing down the hallway towards the hangar, I swallowed my dry throat and attempted to call out.

"In here!" I shouted, my voice hoarse and broken up.

Tossing the weapon aside, I used my hands to start dragging myself towards the gunshots. It was slow going and pitifully embarrassing, but I was determined. The gunshots were beginning to lessen and I swore loudly.

"Alliance, I'm in here!" I yelled, attempted to rise once more with a push-up. My shoulders quivered from fatigue and I bit my lip, grunting with the effort before I was rewarded with regaining my footing.

I was forced to use the wall heavily as I limped forward. As I approached the hangar door a pair of Alliance soldiers entered the hall and stopped dead when they saw me and my condition. One of the men moved forward and supported me with an arm over his neck. Grateful for the assistance, I shifted my weight to compensate.

The second soldier was covering the door, firing an occasional burst from his shortened carbine assault rifle. The standard weapon for Defense Force infantry was too bulky in the close confines of spaceships, therefor, they had been cut down to a smaller size and issued aboard Fleet ships.

"Commander, we're with S.C.A.R. (Special Combat And Recon, The alliance military special forces) we've got a transport in the hangar. We got you sir." I grinned and allowed myself to be guided towards one of our combat transports.

While many Alliance transports varied in design to match whatever situation we needed them, they all had similar builds. A sleek oval shaped body, pressure door panels on both flanks with long cylinders to either side with pylons connecting them to the main ship. A drop down ramp was universal for every transport class to allow cargo and large numbers of personnel to load in or out.

The military assault transport held rockets in the cylinders, twin Gatling turrets under the nose and armored panels instead of the traditional non-armor variants.

A dozen special forces troopers were covering the hangar in various positions hiding behind supply crates, enemy fighters and structural elements. I noted only one man had been injured and the rest were unharmed, something I was very grateful for.

A second trooper came over and took up the other side to help support me between the two of them, it allowed movement to be a lot faster. I was all but carried into the transport and they placed me into a seat near the cockpit, strapping me in and making sure I was secure.

As I watched the rest of the troopers begin to file into the combat ship, moving up the ramp in pairs of two, fatigue and pain took over and I lost consciousness.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

Once everyone was freed we made our way back to the muscle car. Hank had already returned and he was currently sitting in the drivers side of the mustang, adjusting the radio.

"Well, one good thing about Suzy being dead, there's more room in the car now." I smiled to the others but noted my attempt at humor was shrugged off and ignored.

Everyone filed into the car one at a time and I turned around to the plastic cage we were trapped in. Bringing the shotgun up, I fired several slug blasts into the thick panels and they eventually cracked. Moving towards the sides I kicked with my good foot and was rewarded with a crunching sound as the plastic gave way at the seams and fell over.

Pumping the shotgun slider, I ejected my spent shell and loaded a fresh round, I took my place in the passenger seat and nodded to the Staff Sergeant. "Ready, I'm driving next time though."

The man gave me a quick smile before holding up a strange looking rectangular device. "Look what I found?" He shook the object in my direction before pushing it into a slot on the dashboard.

A few seconds went by before a song started playing with an awesome beat that matched our situation perfectly.

"What is this?" I shouted as Hank cranked up the volume and rolled down his window.

"It's called AC/DC, Thunderstruck. I'm sick of this stealth crap, if we're going to leave this city, we're doing it in style. Evan, break out the rear window and shoot anything that shoots at us, understood?" I could barely hear over the music but it was AWESOME!

I barely registered Evan's gunshot or the shattering of glass as I rolled down my own window and stuck my head out. Hank drove the car down the hallways a little faster than I'd anticipated, expertly dodging pillars, exhibit signs and concession stands. The way he was driving you'd have thought he was a race car driver or something.

As we came to the doors he slammed on the brakes and glanced over at me. "Evan, give him a grenade." The private hesitated for a moment before tossing me the explosive device.

"Ah hell yeah." I didn't wait for instruction, putting two and two together. Pulling the pin, I tossed the grenade with all my strength and it landed in the very middle of the doors. A rippling explosion resonated, debris flying everywhere before a gaping hole was exposed at the entrance.

"Punch it!" I yelled, readying my shotgun. Hank didn't need anymore motivation as he revved the engine, dropped it into gear, and hit the gas. The vehicle roared like it couldn't wait to get free and it ramped off some rubble as it cleared the door.

A new song began to play and Hank yelled so we could all hear, clearly enjoying himself as he was acting more alive than I'd seen him since we'd met.

"This one is highway to hell!" He put the car through a slide as he took a sharp turn and the back end fishtailed. Lily was screaming with joy and I laughed, the entire experience thrilling and one of the greatest moments of my life. Naturally I was tapping the roof with my free hand to the beat.

The moment was shattered as a Walker and at least twenty enemy infantry spotted us and began a chase.

"Hank, two blocks, turn left, there's a construction site we can drive through to lose this tail." The man nodded and gripped the steering wheel tighter.

Evan was firing short bursts out the back window, targeting the infantry as the mechanized walker was a waste of ammo. While he didn't hit more than one target, it worked to slow the rest as they dove for cover.

Lila and her brother were trying to lay low but the backseat of the mustang was very tight and cramped, as it was the private was more or less leaning out the back window at this point, fully exposed.

As we turned to the left, a pair of enemy fanatics in red robes took aim at the car and fired a collection of bullet across the rear end, obviously not good at leading targets that were moving fast. I snarled and raised my shotgun as we got closer.

"This was a classic you scumbags!" I yelled with fury as I unloaded a shell into one target, following up as fast as I could with reloading and firing a second. I could hear Hank laughing in the cab and I shook my head in disbelief.

The muscle car broke through a 'caution work area, hard hats required' sign and went off road, driving through the dirt path underneath the building.

A solar powered cargo truck came screaming around the corner as we left the construction site and I cursed, noting there were three targets with a mounted machine gun on the top of the vehicle.

"Staff's, we got a tail, keep up those evasive maneuvers!" I slid my shotgun back into the cab and withdrew Lila's pistol, aiming at the enemy driver and squeezing off a few rounds.

The problem with a pistol was they were designed for close quarters, it was incredibly hard to hit a target at any extended range. I was wasting rounds but my hope was the driver would spook and break off or at least cause a mistake and they would crash.

Evan climbed back into the car. "I'm out!" He informed me.

Well shit, this wasn't going good. The Mustang could more than outpace the enemy vehicle, if we had open ground to do so. As it stood we were attempting to drive inside a walled off city with little room to lose a tail and less to take turns. If Hank wasn't such a skilled driver, we'd most likely be plastered to the side of a wall at this point.

Realizing my pistol was simply wasting ammo, I grinned as a new idea came to me. Ballistic shells from the mounted gun on the cargo truck opened fire and the Staff Sergeant tried to evade them. I ducked inside and turned the radio down for a moment.

"Staff's, bring us alongside them. I'm going to jump aboard and steal the truck. Evan your coming along to use the mounted gun. We'll follow you out of the city." The veteran smiled and gave me a thumbs up, turning the music back up as another hard rock song from the same band began to play. This must be the greatest hits version because every song was great.

Leaning out the passenger window once more, I waited until we came up alongside the enemy truck. Luck was with us as the turret wasn't able to shoot directly down and so long as we stayed close it wouldn't be able to fire on us. I grabbed my shotgun and jumped into the back of the cab, surprising the driver and his passengers.

Time for some fun!

This Forsaken World Chapter 14

Commander Devin Crowe

When I awoke I was laying in a medical bed, bandages covering several parts of my body. I could tell I was under the influence of some high grade pain killers because I felt great.

Glancing around at my surroundings I realized I was in the medical bay of the A.M.S. Star, the staff walking around familiar as well as the layout. While the Eclipse was designed almost exactly the same, there quarters were more elaborate, considering it was Admiral Burn's flagship.

It felt like a dream, what I suffered on board the enemy ship, but the blood soaked gauze and the empty void of my left eye socket proved it was all too real. I knew the wound would impair my flight capabilities, I just hoped I could convince the Captain I was combat capable.

A Corpsman saw me awake and made his way over to my bed.

"How do you feel Commander?" The man asked, checking my monitors and the IV bag I had in my arm.

"I'll live, unless you have something to tell me that I don't want to hear. How long have I been out?" I stretched out, my legs stiff and my back aching. Unfortunately the movement caused pain and I hissed, remembering the strips of skin missing. Apparently no matter how much medication you've taken it won't erase everything.

"Nah, your the embodiment of perfect health sir. You've been unconscious for about twelve hours. We were forced to re-hydrate you through tubes, you were severely dehydrated. As for food we chose to wait until you woke up to feed you. Your injuries were not life threatening so we patched you up and brought you here. Once you feel up to it, we'll release you."

The medic changed out my low IV bag and grinned.

"I'll bring you some food, all I need to know is, do you want green jello or blue?" I couldn't help but laugh at this.

"Blue, but I have no intention of eating it. I know someone who might though. What's the status of my squadron?" During my stay aboard the enemy ship my squad mates were one of the few things I had not been afraid of, they could take care of themselves.

The man nodded and finished his checks. "I'm gonna have to change your bandages, there seeping through. I'll have the Reapers brought in, theirs a large man from a bomber squadron in the waiting room as well, want to see him?" I nodded and the man left the room.

Trying to get comfortable once more, it was hard due to the tenderness in my back but I did my best. I stared up at the ceiling while waiting and sighed in frustration. It was going to take some getting used to not having one of my eyes, it cast a major blind spot and my sense of direction was off balance.

Footsteps broke up my thoughts as I sat up once more and smiled broadly at the sight of all my friends. Jewel was openly crying as she inspected me and she moved forward to throw her arms around me in a strong hug. I hissed in pain and she backed away.

"Oh, sorry, um sir." She gave me a crisp salute as everyone else followed suit. The entire squadron was there as well as Sledge. He gave me a nod as he tried to move into a corner so he was out of the way.

"It's good to see you guys. How'd the fight go?" I looked between each of them, trying to get a sense of the situation through there body posture and the looks on there faces. It was Raptor who spoke up first.

"We withdrew. We're on our way to the Venus station right now. The entire second fleet is gone, the orbital station's defenses were destroyed, we got our asses kicked." The pilot stared at his feet in a look of defeat.

"No we didn't, we destroyed several of there battleships, we didn't lose a single ship unless you count fighters and bombers, or those poor bastards in the corvettes." This came from Sledge as he nudged Raptors shoulder.

"Enough of that, how are you feeling boss?" Doom asked, moving to stand near my bed on the opposite side from everyone else.

"Well, I'm missing something that's for sure. Otherwise a little skin, a tooth or two knocked loose, a hole in my tongue and a serious headache. All that considered, I'm aces." Before anyone else could talk the medic pushed his way past everyone and delivered a tray of nasty looking food on the table, spinning the wheels so the tray was closer to my face for easy access.

"Enjoy, the best we have to offer." Everyone snickered as the man left the room. I picked up a fork and poked at the obviously re-hydrated food. The meal included the jello, a bowl of oat meal, what looked like a piece of french toast with no condiments and a cup of strange smelling orange juice. I slid the jello to Tombstone and he grinned, scooping it up and eating it with his fingers.

"Breakfast of champions." I did my best to force the food down, realizing I needed nutrients to get my strength up.

"So Commander, one thing we need to tell you..." Angel started, cutting off and looking at everyone else as though she needed a full agreement from the group.

"Yes.....?" I raised an eyebrow as I tried to force the oatmeal down.

"Well, that prisoner you captured, she won't talk to anyone but you. The Captain sent three different teams in to interrogate her and she disarmed and disabled every person to enter her holding cell. She piled the bodies and weapons up near the door but didn't hurt or kill anyone. Captain ordered a no entrance until you were able to talk to her." The room got quiet as I tried to process this. Why would she only want to talk to me?

"Alright, let me finish this sorry excuse for a meal. Medic said I needed new bandages, do they look as bad as he said?" I asked, unable to see my back or eye. Angel examined me and nodded.

"Yeah, there pretty bad. We have to get back to duty, Captain only gave us clearance until you woke up. See you upstairs when your ready." With that the entire group left, each person patting me on the shoulder or giving me a thumbs up as they filed out.

I finished the meal, washing it down with the orange juice which tasted better than it smelled, and signaled the corpsman to change my bandages. I was curious to see what the prisoner would have to say.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

As I landed in the back of the truck I immediately used my shotgun to smash the face of the passenger as he went for his sidearm. The man's nose caved in and he hit the door, going limp for a moment. I knew the man was down but not out, all I'd done was buy myself some time.

The gunner was no threat as he continued to shoot at the Mustang to no avail.

The driver however was attempting to fire his sidearm over his shoulder with one hand and drive the truck with the other. I rolled to my right as he fired and I literally burst out laughing as the bullets struck the gunner's legs, causing him to scream and fall down into the bed of the truck. I lost my grip on my shotgun through the evasive maneuver and ignored it for the time being.

Noting the gunner was out of action for the moment, I grabbed the wrist of the driver and twisted hard, snapping the bone and catching the pistol as it fell from his grasp.

The passenger had begun to stir, searching the floor for his discarded weapon and I swung the pistol on him after switching my hold so I could aim it. Firing four rounds I drilled the man in the temple, neck and chest. The impacts caused him to slam backwards, the door giving way and the body tumbling out onto the road.

A click behind me caught my attention and I spun to see the gunner holding the shotgun, which I'd dropped earlier when rolling to avoid fire from the driver. Just before the man could fire, a rifle butt struck him in the side of the head.

Looking to the right I smiled at the sight of Evan, holding his empty assault rifle. I was too busy fighting the cab occupants to notice the private jumping onto the truck and I was glad he had, otherwise I'd be a splatter on the side of the vehicle.

Nodding thanks, I turned back around and climbed into the passenger seat, grimacing at the blood on the seat. Pressing the pistol to the side of the drivers temple I pulled back the hammer menacingly.

"I think this is your stop." I indicated the door. While I'd expected the man to fight back, I was pleasantly surprised when he opened the door and threw himself out of the truck.

The vehicle swung to the right as the steering wheel was abandoned and I shifted to the drivers seat and fought with the controls to straighten out. Evan took up position in the gun turret after dumping the gunner out the back.

"How we looking on ammo back there private?" I asked, giving Hank a salute so he knew we were now in control of the enemy truck. Nodding his head, the man pulled out in front of us and I did my best to keep up. I was worried however since I wasn't nearly as good a driver as the Staff Sergeant and I was afraid he'd lose me taking corners.

"Around eight hundred rounds, give or take. Nothing in reserve so once we're out, we're out." Evan replied as he ejected a spent shell and pulled back the trigger bar to prepare the weapon for combat.

"Make them count." I knew I didn't have to say that but it made me feel better. It was funny how as an non commissioned officer I was prone to saying things that everyone already knew, it had been drilled into me by my trainers.

Luck was with me as Hank kept his turns tight and slower so I could keep up without the danger of rolling the truck. I desperately wished we could communicate because at this point we were driving in circles. As far as I could tell, the Staff Sergeant was attempting to find a hole in the perimeter somewhere to break through.

The main gate was the fastest way out of the city but it was also the most dangerous and had plenty of rubble, bodies and equipment blocking the path. I knew Hank was aware of this but I didn't know of another way out of the wall. Just then a thought occurred to me and I grinned.

"Evan, signal them to stop." I shouted, pulling the truck up short and waiting for the Mustang to join me.

The muscle car went into reverse and pulled up alongside us. "What's up Sergeant?" Hank asked, leaning over so he could shout out the passenger window.

"There's a hole in the wall on the east side, it was blown open last night when a ship went down. We can try to get through there but it'll be tight, its up against several large buildings." I called back.

The man nodded and pointed forward. "Take the lead, we'll follow on your six."

Pulling forward I performed a U-turn and headed back the way we had come. It was going to be difficult reaching the hole in the wall since we were driving into the heart of the enemy scout forces, and they were well aware we were on the loose.

"Evan, stay sharp we're about to run into some trouble up ahead." I yelled back, gripping the steering wheel and pushing down on the gas.

Commander Devin Crowe

After my bandages were swapped out, I put on a spare unmarked flight suit. My first Reaper suit was covered in blood and currently being cleaned and I didn't want to get any of the bodily fluids on my backup suit.

A pair of MP's fell in step with me as I left the medical bay and we made our way to the holding cell where the prisoner was located. As I approached the door a guard gave me a salute, which I returned. The man opened the cell and stepped aside so I could pass.

As the other two MP's tried to follow me in I waved them off. "No, I want this to be neutral. If what I heard is true, anyone else will only cause problems, wait out here. If anything happens you have my authority to rush the room. Understood?" I asked. The men nodded and I waited until the door was closed behind me.

The room was quite large with chrome studded metal along the walls and floor. The ceiling was plain featureless gunmetal gray. In the far right corner was a basic bed with white sheets and a green blanket. To the left was a small semi shielded toilet and in the very center was a metal table with two chairs.

The woman was sitting casually on the bed in an almost seductive manner and she smiled as I entered, revealing her long fangs.

"Well, I was growing impatient but now I can see why you were late. I assume you met the torturer Vasinishaku?" The white haired female raised an eyebrow with a hint of amusement.

"Interesting name. Yes I did and he's dead." I moved to the chair on my side of the room and took a seat.

"So why did you want to see me instead of anyone else?" I didn't feel like wasting time with idle chatter, the painkillers were wearing off and the empty eye socket was beginning to hurt.

Sighing at my lack of interest in the banter, the woman rose with the grace of a hunting feline and made her way to the second chair, sitting across from me and kicking her legs up to rest them on the table at an angle.

She was still wearing the black and red flight suit although it was opened at the front, a long V stretching down to her flat stomach. I was surprised to note she was wearing a black T-shirt made of what looked like basic cotton, exactly the same as what humans wore.

Eye's blazing crimson red, the woman flipped her white hair over a shoulder and began to idly tap the table with long sharp fingernails.

"Well, you defeated me in combat...by the laws of my species, I'm now your slave, or concubine if you prefer." She smiled at the last part and gave me a look that made my spine shiver, tilting her head to the side like a curious cat.

Coughing at this I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "Right, I don't need or want a um...concubine. Don't get me wrong, your very beautiful but two things. One, slavery doesn't exist in my species. Two, you'd probably kill me in my sleep. So, all I want is information. Starting with your name."

Sighing the woman leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. "Fine, though the slavery thing is non negotiable. The only way to release me from that is to kill me. Either get used to it, kill me, or keep me locked up in here. If you do the last one, I promise you I will make things very difficult for all of you. I could easily rip that door from its hinges if I wanted to." I nodded my head, glancing at the mentioned entrance.

"Indeed, I heard you were disarming heavily armed men in groups without breaking a sweat. I don't doubt your threat, trust me. Still, you haven't answered my question." I leaned back, wincing in pain from the contact on my back wounds.

"My name is too difficult for you humans to pronounce. Sallyskavesska." The word was in a strange dialect with a thick accent. "What else do you want to know?"

Shifting forward to avoid repeating the painful contact with my chair, I leaned on the table and crossed my arms. "Right, we'll call you Sally for now, makes it easier to talk to you. Now, what are you? How do you know English so well and why are there fanatical human worshipers of your race when your obviously not from around here?"

Chuckling, the woman licked her lips. "That's three questions. Promise me something if I answer all of your questions." I held out a hand for her to continue.

"I need blood. Fresh, human blood. If I don't get it soon I won't be able to function, let alone answer your questions." I sighed and glanced at the door, indicating an MP enter.

"Grab a blood bag from the medical fridge and bring it here." I instructed.

As the man was about to leave, Sally snarled. "I said fresh blood. Drinking old blood won't do anything for me." I had to note that even snarling, the woman was still strikingly beautiful. Such an action would make most people unappealing, not so for her.

"Fine, What guarantee do I have you won't kill me if I let you drink my blood?" I asked. The idea was a bit frightening but also I was quite curious of what it would be like.

Sally laughed. "I could kill you at any second. I also could drink from you without your permission at any time." As to prove her point, the woman moved so fast I almost couldn't track her with my eyes as she appeared behind me. Gripping my midsection with one hand to restrain me and using her other to grip my throat, she backed us up against the wall so my body was blocking her from the MP.

Whispering seductively, her breath hot against my ear, I shivered with desire. "The females of my species are much faster than males. The males in turn are stronger. Both make your kind look like weak infants. I could drain you now and you could do nothing to stop me." Kissing my neck tenderly I let out a ragged gasp of air, my entire body tensing up from fear and lust.

"Now, will you allow me to feed or will you starve me?" She asked, glaring at the MP who was now backed up by two more as they spread out in the room, training a mixture of weapons on us.

"Answer one question before I agree. What is your race called?" I glanced over my shoulder at her and she smiled.

"We're known as the Nocturnal's. Or if you'd like, according to your race, Vampires."

This Forsaken World Chapter 15

Sergeant Victor Grimm

As we drove through the city I did my best to avoid any roaming patrols. Surprisingly it wasn't too difficult as they were too busy flushing civilians out of hiding. I hoped our luck would hold as I tried to remember the exact location of the crash.

You'd think it would be easy to find a massive site of destruction but either I had imagined the event or I had no sense of direction at all. After what felt like an eternity I saw a stream of smoke in the distance angling towards the outer wall and grinned.

Excited that we were going to be able to escape, I cursed as our luck failed us. A pair of enemy scout mechs spotted us and attempted to cut off our approach. Shards of metal speared out from twin cannons and I swerved behind a destroyed Alliance tank.

Hank was barely able to avoid the fire, a few shards piercing the driver side of the mustang and causing him to slam sideways into the side of a building. The muscle car scraped along the surface, glass, metal and sparks flying everywhere before he recovered.

A handful of infantry fanned out in front of our truck and trained weapons on us as the mechs followed the mustang, the infantry unable to follow the fast vehicle, therefore focusing on our stationary truck.

"Evan!" I yelled, grabbing both pistols and jumping out of the cab to take cover behind the armored vehicle in front of me. The machine-gun opened fire as the private unloaded on the enemy troops.

Leaning out from cover, I tracked an alien attempting to change positions and fired on him with a pair of rounds. The pistols weren't very accurate at this range but one of the bullets hit its target in the shoulder and he spun sideways, falling to the ground. I wasn't sure if it was a kill shot but it was better than nothing.

"We need to get out of here!" I yelled, noting it was pretty obvious Evan couldn't hear me over the machine-gun. I tried to decide if the truck was safe to drive again under the circumstances.

While the Staff Sergeant was most likely on his way to the breach in the wall with the mechs on his tail, I didn't think we could safely leave without taking heavy fire from the enemy infantry spread out in front of us.

A loud click sounded as Evan ran out of ammo and he cursed, throwing himself out of the vehicle and landing in a heap on the ground. Scraping up the shotgun from the bed of the truck, he took cover next to me and grinned.

"I got at least four of them!" He leaned out of cover and fired a shot. "Man I'd love to have a sniper rifle or a marksman rifle right now."

Looking around for a solution to our predicament I growled as nothing came to mind. The private continued to talk over the gunfire.

"You know, I was supposed to be a sniper, but there were no openings and I was moved to line infantry instead. Damn shame that, I'm a hell of a shot!" Another shotgun blast echoed almost as if he was proving a point, the sounds of an injured alien finishing the statement.

"Listen, we're running out of ammo fast and there going to get reinforcements soon with all this gunfire." I surveyed our surroundings once more and grinned as I saw something interesting.

"There!" I shouted, firing another pair of rounds blindly around the corner. I pointed with a pistol barrel to an object that was barely visible behind a buildings stone pillar. Evan followed my direction and smiled broadly. "Shit, is that real?!"

The run to our salvation was at least a hundred yards over open ground and my ammo was almost out. I just hoped the vehicle would run, if not we were well and truly dead.

"I'm gonna fire until I'm out, you break out of cover and rush over there. Get it running and draw there fire so I can run around that building to our right. Swing around and pick me up and we'll get the hell out of here. Ready?" I asked.

Evan nodded, fishing the last shotgun shells out of the bandoleer and pumping the slide to load a fresh round. He only had four more shots but it would have to do.

Breathing in and out a few times to get my courage up, I jumped up and fired both pistols in a sweeping arc in front of me. The alien's dove for cover as the bullets pinged off the cover they were hiding behind.

Evan broke into a run straight for the vehicle, going into serpentine mode right and left to throw off the aim of the enemy. As he dove behind the pillar and cleared the open ground, I smiled and squeezed the trigger on the last of my bullets, the slides locking back as the weapons emptied. The roar of an engine sent a thrill through me as the private rode into sight on a Ducati V4 Superbike.

The motorcycle was a bit out of its era but it was well preserved and had to belong to a collector who rode it daily within the city. It was a thing of beauty and the sounds it emitted did the job of drawing enemy fire.

"Hell yeah, now that's one of the few things that might trump a muscle car." I smiled as I watched him pull a wheelie, vanishing around a corner with over half the infantry pursuing him.

I was about to take advantage of the distraction when an alien rushed me and I cursed. Of course this would happen, my luck really sucked!

Commander Devin Crowe

Sighing I shook my head. "Figures. You guys look like the vampire's were described in old fiction. Fine, you can have some blood, just don't take too much, if you didn't notice I've already lost quite a bit." I turned my attention to the MP's in front of us.

"Stand down, but if she kills me, your free to fire every bullet in your guns until she's dead." The men looked between themselves before lowering there weapons reluctantly.

"Go ahead." I whispered, glancing over my shoulder. Sally smiled before giggling. "Yeah, your too tall, I'm going to have to improvise in order to feed on you properly."

The white haired woman jumped onto my back and used her legs to grip my midsection, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and burying her fangs into my jugular. At first there was pain like getting a shot, then a wave of pleasure swept through me and I shivered.

I couldn't quite describe the sensation but it was close to having an orgasm and I bit my lip. Sally drank deeply for a few long seconds before pulling away and licking the puncture marks. "Ah, much better. You taste great by the way." A kiss on the cheek and she let go, jumping off of me and moving to stand against the wall.

Touching my neck I was taken aback by the lack of a wound. I turned to face the vampire and she smiled, licking her lips to clean up any trace of blood. "Alright what was that? How did you heal the wounds and why did it feel so good?" My head was spinning as I struggled to get my emotions under control.

Sally crossed her arms in front of her. "Oh female vampires can give pleasure to there victims. Since we're not as strong as males we're gifted with other...incentives to help us feed. Also our saliva can heal wounds to conceal any evidence of a feeding if we want to remain unnoticed. That's why there are very few stories in your history of female vampires, mostly just males like that Dracula idiot."

Chuckling at this, the look she gave me threw me off. "Wait, he was real?" I took a seat in one of the chairs and watched her in fascination at all of the information she was giving me. Sally moved to sit across from me and leaned forward so she was a few inches away.

"Oh yes, he was a general. In command of a scout fleet his job was to monitor your planet for potential slave stock but he became greedy and tried to stake a claim for himself. He had planned on hiding the discovery from the Nocturnal fleet but one of his own men turned on him and stranded him on Earth. You know the rest I'm sure. I must admit, he made a name for himself but ninety percent of the story is all bullshit, trust me." Sally leaned back in her seat and smiled.

"Okay, so I'm assuming all of the stories of vampires in our past were what, spies, scouts and rogue elements of your military?" The woman nodded.

"Right. So why did it take your fleet so long to finally make a move on the planet when you knew we'd continue to evolve as a species and become harder to enslave?" I wanted to write all of this down but we were in short supply of paper lately.

"Ah see that's where it gets interesting. Our race is mobile, since sunlight is almost deadly to us we don't stay on any planet for very long." Before she could continue I held up a hand to stop her. "How is it deadly? The sun I mean." Sally inspected her fingernails as she answered.

"It can blind us, cause severe sun burn and make us overheat quickly. While we don't burn and sizzle and turn to dust like you people think, it is close enough to the truth." Satisfied with her nails, the woman leaned forward and looked me straight in the eye.

"Want me to continue your previous question?" Sliding a finger along my jaw I shivered. "Yes please."

Smiling, Sally sat back once more. "As I was saying, we move from planet to planet. We send in scouts to sabotage infrastructure and turn the population into fanatics with promises of being turned into a vampire and becoming immortal. That bit is also not true, we can't turn people into vampires but we are more or less immortal. We age incredibly slowly and the longest lived Nocturnal is around six thousand years old, give or take." An MP tapped on the door and I turned to look.

"Yeah?" I asked as the man entered. "Captain wants a status report on the interrogation." The guard informed me. I shook my head. "No status yet, tell her this could take a while." The MP left the room to pass on the message and I turned back to face Sally.

"Sorry about that." The woman nodded and continued with her story.

"Aside from creating chaos and anarchy, we also send in a deadly virus to control the population so there more manageable when we invade. The virus kills the indigenous lifeforms and reanimates them so they attack anything uninfected they see. The idea, which has worked very well I might add, is to force the survivors into isolated communities so there all in one place instead of spread out through the planet." I cursed.

"Just like you did with us when we built walled cities and strongholds to fight against the infected. I must say, that's a brilliant strategy. I assume it also helps to disable military forces and control over population so the opposition isn't as powerful to put up a huge fight?" Sally smiled at this, her eyes lighting up with renewed interest.

"Exactly, your quite smart for a human. I must say, from what I've seen if I had to be enslaved by anyone, I rather like the idea of being yours." The word 'yours' and how she said it sent a wave of excitement through me.

I knew it was bad to have a slave and to even think about it was revolting, but she was a truly beautiful creature and so far from talking to her I had taken a great liking to her personality. She was playful while being strong willed and she had a seductive edge that made my entire being thirsty for her pleasure.

"Ahem, moving on." I waved a hand for her to continue and she smirked, noticing me shift uncomfortably in my seat as I tried to hide my arousal.

"That's why we waited to invade, that and we were a bit busy. The Nocturnal fleet has made a lot of enemies in the years of our traveling and well...we had to fend off a combined assault. Four surviving species from previous harvests banded together to try and attack us. It was an amazing fight, lasted about fifty years." From the look in her eyes, blood lust was coursing through her from memories.

"Just how old are you?" I inquired.

"Oh, five hundred and twenty two of your Earth years." Wow, so the idea of potentially dating someone was indeed the concept of 'older woman'.

"I gotta say, you look great for someone over five hundred years old." I tried to joke. She evidently didn't catch the expression and raised an eyebrow.

"Did you defeat the enemy?" I continued, the moment rather awkward for me. I tapped my fingers on the table and watched her carefully, trying to assess her thought process. While she was very emotional, her true intent and thoughts were hard to read.

"Naturally. Our fleet is vast and we have armada's all over the universe. Reinforcements arrived in time and we eventually defeated them. That's when we turned our attention on you. See, we have to go from planet to planet to keep a fresh flow of blood. While we keep slave labor forces, if we were to feed on all of them we'd have nothing left. Male vampire's almost always kill there victims, there animal urges take over and they can't control themselves." She sighed at this and shook her head.

"Men..."

I laughed out loud and she smiled, sharing in my humor.

"I imagine Angel would agree with you on that one. Now that I think about it, you two would get along great. Okay, so you planted the Con-V virus, you stirred up those idiots who attacked our ground forces and sabotaged the orbital station defenses and now your hunting down every human you can find. Anything else you can tell me?"

Sally thought about this for a moment, staring at the ceiling and putting a finger on her chin. "Not that I can think of. So, what are you going to do with me?" She asked, staring at me intently.

"For now, you stay in here. I have to ask the Captain what she thinks since she outranks me the decision isn't mine to make. I don't know how your armed forces work but in our military we have rank and structure. I know you said Dracula was a General but that doesn't tell me a lot. I'm only a Commander, so in the Alliance I'm an upper tier officer but there are a lot of people above me. The Captain is in command of this ship so I report to her. If you need anything, ask the MP's outside and I'll return when I can."

I stood up and started for the door before Sally wrapped her arms around my midsection from behind and pressed her head against my back, being careful to avoid my wounds. "Don't be gone too long. Also, I was a Captain so if this were the Nocturnal Fleet, I'd outrank you. Think about that when your away, Master." I felt like someone had taken my breath away from not only the proximity of the woman but the word Master.

Shaking my head, I disengaged from the embrace and left the room, my thoughts twirling and tumbling from the influx of new information and mixed emotions.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

Just as the alien was about to fire a tranquilizer weapon at me I threw one of my empty pistols. The weapon slammed into the assailants face and he stumbled sideways. For some reason the enemy was still wearing the thick ventilation masks and I couldn't figure out why.

My thoughts on this were interrupted as a second alien charged me. Spinning to the left I knocked the weapon aside and slammed my open palm into his gut. The enemy soldier grunted and staggered and I followed up with a round house to the side of the head laying the man out on the ground. My ankle was killing me and I struggled to keep my balance as I recovered from the kick.

The roar of the bike was still sounding around me as Evan continued to draw the enemy away and I scooped up the tranquilizer gun the enemy had been carrying, making haste to run towards a nearby building.

I checked to make sure the strange weapon was loaded and circled the building. The sounds of the bike engine echoed as it got closer and excitement ran through me as the private came into sight, a dozen infantry shooting weapons at the rapidly moving rider.

Evan slid to a stop so I could jump on before revving the engine and taking off again. I did my best to hold on and growled in his ear. "Just because we're this close together doesn't mean I'm buying you dinner!" I snapped, firing the weapon one handed at an enemy as we rode past.

Evan laughed at my comment as the dart speared the enemy in the neck and I threw the weapon aside. The bike sped up as the private gave it more gas and we closed the distance swiftly to the hole in the wall.

The pair of mechs I assumed were chasing the mustang earlier came into view and Evan performed a few sharp evasive maneuvers to avoid the incoming fire as they opened up. Taking a sharp turn, the private went off road along the sidewalk in front of a sky scraper.

As we cleared the building, Evan cut right and we rode into the open, our destination looming ahead of us. "There!" I cried out as the mechs attempted to target us, trying to spin in place. The two tall war machines accidentally collided as they got too close and they fell away from each other to crash onto the ground.

"Nice!" I called out. The private smiled as he found a gap, ramping the bike off a concrete slab and clearing the wall. Finally we were out of the city and I breathed in a sigh of relief.

I pointed ahead to some tire tracks in front of us. Evan nodded and began to follow the markings, obviously evidence of the Mustang. Looking around at the open landscape before us I smiled to myself. While there were infected humans trying to chase us all around we were no longer trapped in the walls and the enemy was behind us.

While we still needed weapons, ammo, food, shelter and more humans to put together a resistance, it was a start. At least out here we had a chance to reorganize for a counter attack or at least to hinder the enemy operations.

Looking back over my shoulder I marveled at the sight of more enemy ships breaking through the cloud cover, alien reinforcements and more than likely a true invasion force, coming to lay claim to its prize.

I turned back to the path before us as the Mustang came into view and noted Hank waving at us. The Staff Sergeant was leaning up against the vehicle, a bloody patch on his left shoulder. Lila and Lucas were near the trunk, unscathed, and waving excitedly as we approached.

Evan slid to a stop and I dismounted. At the moment no infected were in sight but that would change quickly. "Glad you made it." I said, clapping the grizzled veteran on his good shoulder.

"Aye, same. So now what?" He asked, shaking hands with Evan.

Sighing, a feeling of freedom filling me as well as a desire for revenge, I turned back to the city. "Well, after we get settled and organized, its time for some payback..."

This Forsaken World Chapter 16

Commander Devin Crowe

As the door before me opened up I stepped onto the bridge of the A.M.S. Star and shook my head. The sight never failed to take my breath away at the sheer scale of the ships command center.

Spread out in a massive circle with reinforced plastic window panels giving a three hundred and sixty degree view of the surrounding space, the bridge was a marvel of engineering.

Consoles were positioned on a sub deck recessed in the floor so they didn't obscure the view, technicians and operators moving between them or seated at designated zones. Along the window's edge were turret controls where weapon officers would operate the numerous ballistic emplacements along the ships hull.

Seated on deck level in the very center of the bridge was the Command Officers chair, Captain Connors seated cross-legged reading a report. There were controls built into the chair for relaying instructions to the various stations or to override and authorize certain commands.

I made my way past the two S.C.A.R. Soldiers guarding the door and snapped to attention behind the Captain.

"Ma'am, Commander Crowe reporting as ordered." I gave the woman a crisp salute and waited for a reply.

Spinning in place the Captain stood up and returned the salute, waving a hand dismissively to give me clearance to relax.

"What do you have to report about the pilot we captured?" She asked, resuming her seat once more and watching me carefully as I stood at ease with my arms behind me.

"Well apparently the fact I defeated her in battle makes her my slave. She's quite adamant about that." Connor laughed before she realized I was serious.

"Wow, what did you say?" She asked, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees.

"Um, I told her it was your choice not mine. She gave me a history on her species and explained there plans. I'll fill out a report with all of the details for you." I watched the Captain carefully to see how she would respond.

Leaning back in her seat, the woman smiled. "Well does she provide a security risk? She might be gathering information to escape with and return to her fleet."

I shook my head. "I don't believe so. She's been very cooperative. She's had every opportunity to escape, she could have killed at least a dozen staff and she has asked nothing about the fleet that might be strategically useful. I honestly believe she is intent on honoring this slave thing. I know we don't condone slavery but she is a wealth of information. Perhaps we could keep her under surveillance in a more comfortable quarters and keep fishing for anything we can use to fight back?"

The captain pondered this for a moment before she came to a decision. "Right, have her moved to a quarters on Deck 2, I'm sure since the majority of our crew didn't make it off the surface we have plenty of room so pick an isolated room away from the others. Assign a detail of six heavily armed guards on rotation to keep an eye on her." The Captain examined a flashing button on her console.

"Eh, Ma'am that might be problematic. I believe she'll cause a lot of problems if we leave her on her own. My quarters are isolated on Deck 4 at the end of a hallway, perhaps I could keep her there where I can keep an eye on her? That would also make her more cooperative since she'll get used to me and possibly divulge more information." I breathed in deeply.

The idea was risky and probably sounded a little sketchy to the Captain but it was the most reasonable solution and I truly believed I could get more out of her that way. Another reason I thought this was a good idea is she might hurt more MP's if they gave her trouble.

Connors examined me closely for several seconds before sighing. "Fine, don't make me regret this though. I trust you Commander, if you were anyone else I wouldn't even consider this. Now, onto other matters..." The woman suddenly looked twice her age as the stress of command over the last few days hit her.

"The Executive Officer, Commander Vrigg, was on a transport trying to get to the ship. He was killed during the evacuation. As of right now I am running on a skeleton crew...while its not protocol for a flight officer to be a member of ship command staff, you have the most experience fighting the enemy. Also you've proven you have excellent decision making skills and your an accomplished leader. The numerous decorations you've earned over your career also help. I'm promoting you to Executive Officer of the A.M.S. Star effective immediately. The decision has already been approved by the Admiral."

I stared at the woman in disbelief. "Ma'am I'm a fighter pilot, I can't leave my squadron. My job is out there on the front lines, not in here giving orders to everyone else. Don't make me do this, please." I asked, my stance changing into a defensive posture without realizing it. Being the leader of Reaper squadron was the single most important thing to me in life.

"Relax Commander, I'm not asking you to abandon the 22nd Fighter Squadron. You'll still be a front line fighter. I just need someone here in case something happens to me. Honestly, you being out there in a fighter able to make snap commands without waiting for my authorization is going to make things incredibly more efficient. You'll be the commander of the Reapers first, X.O. Second. Understood?" The Captain held her hands up to try and calm me down as she explained.

Realizing I'd openly become hostile I struggled to get my emotions under control and resumed my stance at ease, locking my hands behind my back.

"Yes ma'am. I've never been a bridge officer so you'll have to forward me a list of expected duties and which one's take precedence over my squadron. I also request permission to promote Jewel Anders to Commander to take command in my absence." I chewed on my lip as I waited for a response.

"Granted. I'll have to get the Admirals authorization to make it official but I'll consider it a battlefield commission for now. I'll have that list to you in a few hours. For now, take the prisoner to your quarters, get her comfortable and assign the guards as instructed. Let's hope your intuition works and we can get more out of her." The Captain stared out the window for a moment into open space.

"Commander I'm not going to lie to you, we got our asses kicked. Earth is lost. The enemy capital ships are faster than any of ours, I'm not sure why they aren't pursuing us right now but it gives us time to make repairs and recover. I need the Reapers ready to launch at a moments notice in case they attack us again. They've got several squadrons on the edge of our scanners keeping an eye on us but that's it so far. Dismissed Commander." Spinning away from me so she was facing the front of the ship once more I took the hint and turned around to leave.

As I made my way off the bridge I tried to make sense of everything that was happening. The feeling of something wet and sticky on my cheek drew my attention and I reached up to wipe away some blood.

Sighing with frustration I made a detour and headed for the medical bay to get fresh bandages.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

"So Hank, is that wound from one of those shards that hit this once beautiful mustang?" I asked, shaking my head at the damage to the muscle car.

While the vehicle was still functional, the gas meter was running low, there were shards of metal sticking out on the side and a number of bullet holes had punctured the surface near the gas tank. The battle to get out of the city had not been kind to the muscle car and it was almost physically painful to see such an amazing piece of machinery so badly damaged.

"Yeah, I figure I'm lucky, didn't do too much damage. Look Sergeant, I may be a superior rank but I was a technical trooper. I was in command of a squad of armory staff who had never fired a weapon outside of basic training. I'm not cut out for leadership so I'm going to follow your lead out here if that's alright." The veteran said, leaning up against the car and applying a fresh strip of white cloth to his wound.

While surprised to an extent, it had been pretty obvious up till now that he was indeed more of a follower than a leader so I accepted the situation. I'd been the Sergeant of my squad on the wall for a long time and being in command came second nature to me.

"Alright. We've got two operational vehicles, a handful of supplies in the trunk and enough gas to put some distance between us and New York. We're all but completely defenseless however." This last part hurt the most.

While we still had a few shells for the shotgun, we had no other weapon to speak of except combat knives and our own hands. There was still one functional grenade but that wasn't an ideal weapon for fighting against infected unless we were in a strategic position. Being on the move an explosive devise with a delayed fuse was all but useless.

"Anyone have any ideas?" I asked, looking from person to person. The brother and sister so far had stayed together and spoke very little, lost in there own world. Trauma was a big deal and it did different things to different people. I pegged the two as all but useless in any decision making.

Hank was staring at the ground, he really wasn't the type to make decisions or come up with ideas. His entire career had most likely been devoted to keeping inventories and cleaning up after his subordinates. I imagined him as the quiet type who had been forced into the position of Staff Sergeant due to being in the military for too long. It was common for encouraged advancement if troopers reached a certain age, sometimes against there will.

Evan was staring off into the distance watching a dozen infected nearby. "Well we could head to another military installation?" The private said, turning to look at me with a smile.

"Which one though? Any compound has probably been assaulted by now. We need weapons but our options are limited, especially with fuel constraints traveling out in the open. If we lose our ability to keep on the move with millions of infected running around we're going to turn into lunch real fast. Unless...." I turned to face Hank.

"Are there any unmarked locations around here?" I asked. The Staff Sergeant had stated he was an armory man he might know of some undisclosed cache's.

The veteran thought for a few moments before his eyes lit up. "Yeah, yeah there's an underground supply depot about a hundred miles from here. It's near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. I don't think it would have been targeted, its a reserve depot. Weapons, food, medicine, the works." The man seemed to get excited at the thought.

"Right, we're going to have a hard time finding fuel for these vehicles, if we run out of gas we'll have to find an alternate source of transportation or walk. What's the garrison complement at the depot?" I asked.

Hank hesitated for a second. "Probably at least thirty troopers, a dozen support staff and maybe some civilian contractors. It's an underground bunker so it'll be safe from infected but getting in will be tricky without an authorization code." I nodded.

Evan suddenly cut into the conversation. "We could siphon fuel from the bike to put in the car. Whatever we do we need to do it soon though, those infected have seen us and there heading this way." I glanced up and cursed.

The dozen infected had indeed seen us and were rushing towards us at a dead sprint. I'd once questioned my commanding officer about how the zombies were so well nourished and capable of running and fighting at full strength and he'd tried to explain it in the best way possible.

The virus that had infected the humans kept there muscle mass intact without any need of food or liquid. It was as though the infection was sentient and took control of there bodies. The idea was disturbing but not unthinkable. The only risk of receiving the infection was a bite or to travel into a virus cloud. The red mist had expanded across the planet and eventually vanished but the drop locations of the pods were still hot if you ventured too close.

"Right, lets get out of here. Hank you take lead and we'll follow." The man nodded, taking his position in the mustang drivers seat. Lila and Lucas took there place in the back seat of the muscle car

and as I was about to mount the bike Evan moved away.

"I'll ride shotgun in the car, you take the bike. I've still got a few shots left so if something happens I'll be more effective from there." I nodded and fired up the motorcycle as Evan joined the others.

Pulling out onto the old freeway, we made our way to the supply bunker, dodging abandoned vehicles and infected as we traveled. I desperately hoped the place was still intact and full of the supplies we desperately needed. The added garrison force would give us an edge in building our resistance and I felt hope once more.

Commander Devin Crowe

After I'd finished getting fresh bandages I made my way to the holding cell. Waving off the two MP's flanking the door I stepped inside. Sally was sitting on the bed once more and her red eye's lit up at the sight of me.

"Come on." I gestured for her to follow me and stepped back into the hallway.

"The Captain has approved reassignment to my quarters. Follow us, I'll have further order's when we get there." I informed the guards. The two men nodded and stood by waiting.

Sally stuck her head out for a moment, looking back and forth to survey her surroundings before she gently stepped over the threshold. Stepping up behind me she followed close as I walked down the hallway.

I wasn't sure if she was pretending to be all meek and afraid or if her apparent uncertainty was genuine, regardless I tried to tune it out. The vampire seemed as though she could be a master manipulator but again it was hard to read her. She was apparently honest in her ideals but I didn't know much about her species and considering there nature it was difficult to trust her sincerity.

"Where we going?" She asked, peeking around my shoulder from time to time to see our destination.

"To my quarters for now." I informed her as we mounted a staircase. "The Captain approved your relocation. You'll be staying with me for now, under guard of course. I have a lot of things I have to take care of but when I'm available I'll come see you." The entire situation was quite bizarre and the last thing I'd thought of when things had escalated was the fact a beautiful vampire would move in with me.

A sly smile spread across her face at the news as she continued to follow in my wake. She was so close the scent of her body filled my senses and I was surprised I hadn't noticed before when I'd interrogated her. The woman smelled of what would be described as lavender and jasmine and it was very refreshing and intoxicating.

"Of course under guard, I'd expect nothing less until you learn to trust me." She said, turning to wink at the two MP's following us.

I stopped in place and she bumped into me from the unexpected action. Looming over her I stepped forward, causing her to step back until she was pressed against the bulkhead. Moving to stand in close, I leaned down and looked her in the eye.

"Why would I trust you? Your an enemy who plans on feeding and enslaving my entire species. You tried to kill me and my friends...I'm betting if I let you into a fighter you'd do so again or possibly rejoin your fleet if you could escape? Tell me, why should I trust you?" I struggled to keep my emotions under control, a problem I'd been facing constantly since the torture session aboard the enemy ship.

Licking her lips, a look of uncertainty on her face, Sally tried to force a defiant expression which failed to look convincing. "I already told you, since you defeated me I belong to you. I could have escaped a dozen times by now, I could kill a lot of people on this ship, I've shared important information about the Nocturnals. What more can I do to prove to you I'm trustworthy?" She asked. I stepped back and pierced her with a penetrating gaze.

"Quite a bit. For now let's see what happens." Without anything more to say I spun on my heels and continued towards my quarters. Behind me I could hear one of the MP's telling her to follow before she jogged to catch up.

The vampire fell into step behind me once more and I let out a ragged breath. I had no idea what to do and with the way I was feeling I'd consider myself unfit for command.

I decided to drop the woman off at my quarters and seek the company of my squad mates. Hopefully along with Sledge and the others while finding something to do I'd be able to get myself centered so I could focus.

This Forsaken World Chapter 17

Sergeant Victor Grimm

After roughly half an hour of traveling at sixty miles per hour, obstructions on the road allowing, the muscle car sputtered and died. I estimated we had over an hour to travel still to reach our destination and grunted in irritation.

Pulling up alongside the mustang I was grateful for the fact there were no infected in sight. Many of the mobs had seen us and attempted to follow but our speed kept distance and they'd swiftly been left in our wake.

As I neared the vehicle everyone was in the process of exiting the muscle car and surrounding it as though it were a shield against any threats.

"What's the word? Out of gas?" I asked, unhinging the kickstand and dismounting the bike.

"Yep, the gauge has been on empty with the light on for a while but I was hoping the fumes would get us a bit further. Unfortunately this model only gets around ten miles per gallon if my research is correct and we burned up a lot of that in the city. How's the bike?" The staff sergeant asked, leaning up casually against the side of the vehicle and crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Leaning over the Ducati I checked the gauge and shook my head. "Not good, it'll get us to the destination I think but I'm not familiar with this thing so its hard to say." Joining the others I pondered what to do.

Evan took up a flanking position not far from everyone else with the shotgun on his hip and kept watch as Hank and I put our heads together.

"There is the siphoning option but I don't think it'll be enough with the poor mpg the car gets. Not everyone can fit on the bike, our only other course of action is to try and siphon from these abandoned cars but they've been out here for a really long time, chances are the gas in there tanks is bad, gas is only good for a few months and its been well beyond that. Walking is an option but not with our lack of defense." I sighed as I failed to come up with a solution.

"I guess two of us take the bike and the rest walk, its the best thing to do. Or two people on the bike can ride to the base while everyone else finds a place to lay low. You guys could get help from the troopers at the depot and come back for us with a different vehicle." Hank spoke up and the idea was actually quite brilliant.

"You'll have to be one of the people traveling since your familiar with the site and your a higher rank so they'd let you in a lot faster than any of us. Take Lila with you, she shouldn't be out here. The rest of us will take refuge somewhere nearby and wait for you." I scanned our surroundings to find a suitable location to reinforce.

Evan pointed a finger in the distance off the highway and I followed his finger. "What about there?" He asked. Sitting off a side road less than a mile away was a mini-mall with a number of stores. One of the attached buildings was a large sporting goods store and I grinned.

"Yeah that will work. Hopefully they still have some guns, I doubt everything was looted when we evacuated to the walled cities, there weren't enough humans left and too many infected to take the risk. Even the military wouldn't deem it necessary for salvage." I felt a wave of relief and excitement. Popping open the trunk I took stock of the supplies that had so conveniently been left for us.

Hank moved to look over my shoulder and whistled in appreciation. The contents were very useful in our present situation and would definitely come in handy. There was a pack of emergency flare cartridges with a gun, a bag full of MRE's still sealed up, a few heat blankets, a space heater with a propane tank, a hatchet and a machete with a compass built into the pommel.

"This will work. Hank you get going, we'll fortify that place and wait for you. Make it quick though, you still have around an hour of travel time assuming your fuel lasts. The infected wont take long to find us so I'm sure by the time you get back we'll be under siege." The veteran nodded and waved Lila to follow him.

"If they get back. There's no guarantee the depot will have functioning vehicles or even if the troopers there let him borrow one. We need to prepare for the inevitable and focus on surviving without getting our hopes up." Evan stated as he shifted the shotgun to his other hip.

Unloading as many supplies as I could carry from the trunk I waited as Lucas did the same. Between the two of us we had emptied the mustang and could travel without being too over encumbered.

"Let's go, good luck Hank." The Staff Sergeant nodded as he mounted the bike, Lila taking position behind him and wrapping her arms around his midsection. The man gave us a salute before he revved the engine and took off on the highway.

"Take point." I said as Evan moved out in front with his shotgun ready.

Commander Devin Crowe

As we entered my quarters I tried not to laugh as Sally stepped past me and threw herself on my bed. She was grinning from ear to ear as she took in the room. While it was more spacious than most enlisted bunks due to me being a high ranking officer, it was small.

The bunk was barely large enough for my muscled six four frame with a wall mounted shelf to one side. A fold out couch was on one wall with a coffee table beside it, a bookshelf adorning the opposing side. The walls were a light blue with cheap wallpaper and a circular portal allowed view to the space outside the ship.

A bathroom, or head as it was known by the fleet, was situated in a side room with a faucet, toilet and functional stand up shower. Lastly a desk was stationed near the door where I could fill out reports. A laptop was set up with a plain metal chair.

"Not bad, my quarters on the dreadnought are quite a bit different. Everything is black and red if you hadn't figured that out yet. While I despise the way the Nocturnals live I could never escape it without being alienated. I've got skins from my kills mounted on the walls and my bed is crafted from a vlecktar pelt I killed when I was little. Now that is comfortable I must admit, the fur is like silk." Pointing a long nailed finger at the side room she asked. "What's that for?"

I was still wondering how she knew what silk was as I answered. "The bathroom? you don't have those?" I asked, leaning up against the door frame and crossing my arms to watch her. The way she moved was so feminine and seductive it was hard to focus.

"What's a bathroom?" She tilted her head like a curious cat with a questioning look.

"Human's consume food and liquid and our bodies expel the waste through excrement. We use the sit down mechanism to void the waste, the hand washing station is well, for washing your hands, wetting down your hair, things like that. The stand up thing with the glass door is for taking a shower, we use it to keep our bodies clean and smelling good. You don't have anything like that?" I was curious now. I knew I should be heading for the flight deck to talk to my squadron but I was intrigued and my secondary objective was to learn more about Sally's species.

"Nope. We only drink blood for sustenance. The fluid is absorbed into our circulatory system and there is no waste. We have all of the body chemistry you humans do we just don't use them the same way...well expect for intercourse but that's only to further our species count. Everything works the same in that regard as you humans. As far as I know that's actually universal for almost every race we've encountered, sex seems to be more or less the same aside from reptilian or aquatic. We have yet to meet an Aves species. We use skin creams instead of a shower as you call it to keep us clean and scented. Water is hard to come by for us since we don't really use it." The vampire spread out on my bed and got comfortable, putting her arms behind her head and sighing in satisfaction.

"Good to know. I've got to get going. I'll be back in a few hours. How often do you need blood?" I wanted to know to keep her from starving but it was also strategic information we could use.

"One feeding every twelve hours or so. I guess it depends on how much I consume at one time, if I don't feed get a lot in one feeding I have to do it again sooner." Nodding I stepped out of the room and waved over the two MP's.

"Assign a guard detail with heavy weapons and put up a turret station at the end of the hallway. If she attempts to rush the emplacement the corridor will bottle neck her for limited movement. Also I want these doors sealed shut, only officers or myself will be allowed to enter, understood?" I waited for a confirmation and slapped the nearest man on the shoulder.

"Good luck." Turning away I left the hallway and made my way to the flight deck.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

The walk took us several minutes with our burden of equipment. We got lucky as no infected were nearby and we thanked whoever was listening or watching for that. As we approached the building my hopes rose at the sight of the sporting goods store.

The place was completely undamaged with intact windows and no obvious signs of forced entry. This was confirmed as Evan tested the door to find it locked. As the private went around to the back of the building I looked at the rest of the store's in the mini mall. There was a pharmacy which would be good for medical supplies, a tiny grocery store, a nail salon, a laundromat and an ice cream parlor.

The medical store and grocery store would help immensely if they still contained the valuable supplies within and even though we were traveling to a military supply depot, you could never have enough resources. If we were to mount a resistance we needed everything we could get to feed our troops and patch them up when they were done fighting.

Evan's silhouette appeared at the entrance as he dangled a set of keys in view before opening the front door for us. Stepping inside the private locked the entrance behind us and we moved into the store.

"Wow!" I whispered, marveling at the sight in front of me. The store was completely untouched and I couldn't believe our luck. The store wasn't massive by any measure but it held every survival or sport tool you could imagine. There was a gun counter with a wall full of assorted firearms or bow and I suppressed a laugh of relief.

Camouflage and weather clothing was hanging on displays everywhere with a number of boot styles on shelving. Emergency medical supplies, camping equipment, long term survival rations, you name it, this place had it.

"I can't believe no one has tried looting this place over the years. I mean I know I said it was unlikely but I was trying to lighten the mood I didn't think it was actually possible. Only downfall I can see is the place isn't defensible. There's nothing we can use to barricade the front with those windows. By the way, how'd you get in, was the back door open?" I asked, turning to face the private as I dropped the gear I was carrying.

"Um no, there was a half eaten corpse out back that belonged to the store manager, at least that's what his name tag said. Key's were still on his belt loop. Boss I don't know about you but everything seems too easy right now. First we find vehicles with supplies, we find a functioning crotch rocket, we escape the city without losing a single person and now we find a store fully stocked and waiting for us. Don't tell me you can't see how suspicious this is." The man said, casually making his way towards the gun counter.

"I agree but I'll take it. Only thing I can think of is the space vampires are baiting us into revealing more survivors like they did with Suzy. This is pretty elaborate though, hard to believe they'd plan that far ahead." I joined the private at the counter as Lucas dropped his load of supplies and rummaged for food on the shelf.

I felt like a kid in a candy store with the wealth of firearms before me. While most of the gun's were for hunting or sporting, the laws of the old world restricting any automatic weaponry, I was still excited to see the options. The majority of the gun's were bolt action or semi auto.

A row of different shotguns were on the far left, low caliber such as .22 sat in the middle and on the right running most of the wall sat carbines, bolt actions, scoped long range, heavy caliber like elephant guns and semi auto models of assault rifles. Several AR-15's were on display racks on the end of the counter and the counter itself was home for a ridiculous number of revolvers and pistols.

The ammo was kept on a shelf nearby but far enough away no one could use it with the gun's to rob the place without behind noticed.

Naturally Evan was looking at the long range scoped rifles, I remembered him stating he was a skilled marksman. I myself was looking at the assault rifle variants and I grinned at the selection.

Picking out a Smith & Wesson® M&P15 Sport™ II which was more or less an M4 semi auto model, I checked the slide. I was pleasantly pleased to find the weapon was still functional with no rust. Setting the gun on the counter I moved down to the shotguns and picked up a Winchester® SXP® Defender Pump-Action Shotgun. The shotgun was designed for close quarters home defense and was an ideal choice for defending our building.

Lastly I searched the gun counter for a few sidearms and walked down the length until I found a pair that caught my eye. Growling at the lock on the counter I used the butt of the shotgun to break the glass, wincing at the noise it caused. Evan and Lucas both looked up in alarm and I shrugged my shoulders.

"Sorry, excitement got to me, forgot we have to be quiet. I hope no one heard that." I apologized. Evan shook his head as he went back to finding a suitable rifle and Lucas flipped over a package of meatball and noodle rations and checked the expiration date.

Shifting the glass out of the way I fished out the two sidearms I had chosen and placed them on the intact counter surface near my larger selections.

I had chosen a Beretta® 92FS Semi-Auto and a Sig Sauer® P365 Nitron Micro-Compact Semi-Auto. The second pistol was for emergencies while the first was a primary. Both pistols carried 9mm ammo which made it easier to keep track of my ammunition in a fight.

A display shelf a good distance away caught my eye and I jogged over to it. A wealth of holsters and gun carrying cases were displayed and I collected a hip holster, ankle holster and two pairs of bandoleers. One of the bandoleers was for shotguns with slots along the length for spare shells, similar to the one Evan was using.

Returning to the counter I placed these beside my firearms and joined Evan at the ammo shelves.

"So what did you settle on?" I asked the private as I collected 9mm, 5.56 Nato and 12 gauge ammo boxes. The rounds and shells were still in good condition which was surprising. The greasy coating was still apparent and I smiled to myself.

"Winchester® Model 70® Featherweight Bolt-Action Rifle and Henry® Big Boy Centerfire Lever-Action Rifle. Picked out a pair of Sig Sauer® 1911 Campaign Series Semi-Auto Pistol's for backup. Man this is so awesome! I've always wanted to walk into an armory during a zombie apocalypse and loot whatever I wanted, its like a dream come true. You ever think our lives are like one of those old sci-fi horror movies or books from before the virus?" Evan asked, selecting his required ammunition.

Moving back to the counter I began to load the firearms, slotting reserve shells into the shotgun bandoleer and grabbing spare magazines for the rest of the guns to load for later use. While I sorely missed my modern age assault rifle I chose not to complain but to make the best of the situation.

"Yep, I've actually been thinking that lately. It's like those old writers knew what was coming and wrote a plan for the survival of the human race. No one probably thought it would come true. Lucas!" I snapped to get the younger man's attention.

Jogging over to join us I nodded towards the guns. "Pick something out and be quick about it, we're probably living on borrowed time right now. Evan help me block the doors and window's with those clothing displays." Stepping out from behind the counter I worked the action of the shotgun and chambered a round.

"Let's move with a purpose people!" Man I missed my combat trained squad. Thing's would get very interesting if Hank didn't arrive soon.

Almost as if the infected were reading my mind a wave of them appeared in the distance and began advancing on our position at a dead run.

This Forsaken World Chapter 18

Commander Devin Crowe

As I approached the entrance to the flight deck I stopped to grab an oxygen mask from the rack in the hallway. Once the mask was secured I cycled the pressure door and waited for a green light to open it. Stepping through I sighed in relief at something familiar to me, the sight of dozens of AFS-1 fighters being repaired and re-armed.

Aviation mechanics, technicians and ordnance personnel were prepping the spaceships for combat, the task made that much harder after all the damage we'd sustained during the fight in Earth's orbit.

I noted my squad-mates were gathered around a table by the squadron equipment lockers. As usual Sledge was there and I had to note it was funny how he spent more time with us then his own bomber unit. I moved to join everyone and was greeted with warm smiles and friendly claps on the back or shoulders.

"Welcome back boss." Angel said, leaning back against one of the lockers and giving me a grin. The rest of the group seemed to perk up at my appearance Sledge in particular was the most excited to see me.

"What took you so long? I was getting gray hair waiting for you."The large man stated, crossing his well muscled arms over his chest, the action making him seem intimidating and emotionless. I knew better, Sledge was one of the nicest guys I'd ever met, he just didn't show it openly.

"I hate to break this to you big guy but you already had gray hair. Getting old sucks doesn't it ya old geezer?" Angel said teasingly.

"Hey who you calling old?! I'm still young enough to whip all ya young-lings." Sledge growled, attempting to spear the red head with a menacing glare. The look seemed to utterly fail as she started to laugh. "Anytime, anywhere, bring it!" Angel giggled.

"Alright enough we've got some work to do here. Jewel, I got permission to give you a battlefield commission, your now a Commander and in my absence your the squadron leader." As she was about to protest I held a hand up. "I don't want to hear it, I was assigned as the X.O. Of this boat, you think I was happy with that?! You got it easy." I growled and she backed down, resuming her position against the lockers and staring at the ground.

"Right, next order of business we are being assigned as the rear guard. Our orders are to be combat ready to engage any enemy ships that approach us. Sledge as usual your squadron is being attached to ours, guess I can't get rid of you no matter how many times I complain." I cast a glance at the bomber pilot and he nodded his head in confirmation.

"Hey boss what happened with that hot little vampire chick you caught?" Raptor asked, shifting uncomfortably as I turned my gaze on him. "She's being held in my quarters for questioning. If any of you say anything inappropriate I am going to kick your ass here and now." Raptor almost visibly flinched at that and took a step back.

"Now that everything is out of the way, how we doing?" I indicated the fighters being repaired nearby.

Doom stepped forward and waved Vixie over. The squadron crew chief jogged over and gave me a brief salute. "What's up?" She asked, using a small rag on her belt to wipe grease from her hands.

"What's the status of our combat readiness?" Doom asked, placing his hands on his hips. I turned towards the pilot and shook my head.

"I could have done that, I didn't want to bother her you numbskull." I snapped. Everyone burst out laughing at this as Doom's face turned red and he shifted uncomfortably in place.

Vixie giggled before responding. "We've got five combat ready and re-armed. We're still working on loading ordnance for the sixth. As far as repairs go six out of our eleven are cleared for action. I do hope if you take your fighter out you don't bring it back stuck together with an enemy ship, we had to pry them apart, took us almost two hours. We did manage to study the alien fighter though and we discovered a lot of interesting things." The mechanic rummaged through her jumpsuit pouches before pulling out a pack of cigarettes and lighting one to smoke.

"Like what?" I asked, leaning against the table and watching her carefully.

"Well they use a propulsion system that makes no sense, it doesn't have fuel that we can tell or even a power source. I can't really explain it but if we can reverse engineer the design we'll never have to rely on solar power again. Unfortunately the ship you crashed with is so badly damaged I wasn't able to do a lot with it." Vixie used her cigarette again before shifting her stance so she was resting one elbow on a hip.

"There weapons appear to be super heated chunks of metal. I'm not sure why they use this but it saves on having to craft bullets like we use. There able to envelope the projectile with a form of plasma prior to launching. This allows incredible velocity in space which normally would defy all logic since the lack of oxygen would snuff out the heat but the plasma acts like a shield of sorts." The mechanic saw our confused expressions and sighed in irritation.

"Think of it like our slip stream drive, an energy field envelopes our ships and allows fast speed without danger of impact. This is similar but the impact is instead increased not canceled out. If you can't figure out things the way I just explained it your a lost cause." Vixie watched us carefully to gauge our understanding.

"Anything else?" Sledge asked. The mechanic stared at the ceiling which was well over a hundred feet above us. "There armor is made from scrapped metal or different types of alloy. Seems there construction is patchwork, most likely they gather whatever they can get there hands on and slap it together." I nodded my head at this.

"Yeah they use slave labor from the species they conquer. Recycling materials is what allows them to have such a huge fleet, they design for large numbers, not efficiency. That's probably why we can take them one on one or even in small numbers. Our fighters are naturally more maneuverable and faster. Those capital ships are still a bitch though, not sure how we can fight against them effectively." Everyone listened carefully as I spoke, each stuck in there own world of thought.

Vixie nodded. "Yep, our fighters and bombers are about the only good thing we have going for us. Although every pilot we lose is one less space craft we can field. A ship is only as good as its pilot. We lost roughly twenty five percent of our capacity during the siege." This was the first time I'd heard an estimated count on our losses.

"Wow, didn't realize it was that bad. What's the status of the carrier?" Fatigue was starting to get to me from the pain killers I'd been on and the pain was coming back in force. I took a seat on one of the nearby benches the squadron used for changing.

"Took a bit of damage but we can still hold our own in a fight. The destroyers on the other hand got there asses kicked, its gonna be a while before they can be used again." I nodded slowly as I took in the information.

"Well, guess we're just going to have to sit tight until we get to the Venus station. I imagine the reason its taking so long is because of the damaged ships?" I asked.

"Yeah some of them can only hold slip stream for a few minutes at a time so its kind of a leap frog system at the moment. Since we're rear guard its gonna take us a while to get there." As she was about to continue warning sirens went off all around us, red and yellow lights flashing above every entrance and along the walls and ceiling.

"All squadrons prepare for immediate deployment, enemy dreadnought is inbound on our position. Commander Crowe report to the bridge immediately!" The voice of the captain echoed from a number of speakers and everyone moved into action.

"Angel, you've got lead, I'll join you when I can." The red head nodded and made her way to the assigned fighter.

Shaking my head at the situation I moved as fast as I could towards the bridge. The timing was rotten, right as we were discussing the situation it was like someone found it a joke to attack at this particular moment.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

"Let's go!" I snapped at Evan as we attempted to block the windows with clothing displays, shelves, chairs and anything we could shove in that general direction.

"Lucas, I need you to make sure we have ammo at all times, gather together the right boxes and bring them over here, then I need you filling magazines while we fire. If we can't keep a constant stream of rounds heading down rage we'll get overrun. Do you understand?" The young man nodded and I shifted my attention to the store front.

"Evan aim at the legs of the runners in front, if we make them go down they'll trip up the infected behind them and buy us a few more minutes. I really wish you'd picked a different gun that had a magazine, the two you have will take too long to load." I grumbled, picking up a baseball bat and slamming it against the glass several times until it finally shattered.

Evan shrugged. "Sorry, this is what works best for me. I've got the two pistols if things get too bad. Here." He handed me the machete from the muscle car as he took up the hatchet.

"Right, well here they come, it's game time." I double checked my magazine before shouldering my rifle and taking aim down the sights.

The zombies were closing fast and the number was insane. Easily well over a thousand enemies were now filling the open ground before us. I was thankful the shop was so open with little to no obstructions to shield the enemy. So far only a handful of vehicles, a pair of dumpsters and a few small bushes and trees were in the way.

Evan began firing well before me since his weapon had longer range. I was forced to wait until I guessed the range was good and I started taking careful shots at the knees and calves of the zombies in front.

As my bullets slammed into the lower limbs the zombies fell hard to the ground and were trampled by those behind them. While the strategy was working to some degree, the sheer number of enemies closing in on us was almost too much for it to make a difference. As they continued to close the distance I began firing faster and faster.

"Reload!" Evan shouted as he dropped the hunting rifle and scooped up the lever action. Lucas proceeded to reload the rifle while my gun clicked empty. Luckily because of my choice I already had a few fully loaded magazines ready to go as I slapped a fresh one in place. Checking the breech and slot I chambered a fresh round and resumed firing.

The horde seemed endless as they entered the parking lot and I swallowed hard, the situation finally settling in.

"There are too many, we can't win this fight. Pick up whatever you can carry and head for the roof, I'll buy you time!" I yelled, standing up and emptying my magazine before slinging the rifle over my shoulder and picking up my shotgun.

Lucas scooped up as many boxes of ammo as he could and shoved them into a nearby bag he'd found. Before turning to run for the ladder leading to the roof he picked up some M.R.E.'s and a few bottles of water.

Evan fired the last of his bullets in the lever action and picked up the hunting rifle, sprinting towards the ladder and making his way to the rooftop.

I was carefully selecting my targets, trying to get maximum damage for each bullet. Lucas finally made his way to the ladder and I cursed as the zombies reached the window.

Slinging the now empty shotgun over my shoulder I drew my pistol and backpedaled through the store firing as I retreated. The infected were throwing themselves, literally, through the windows and impaling themselves on displays and table legs as they attempted to rush me.

Snapping off round after round my gun clicked empty as the chamber locked back and I slid it into my thigh holster. Turning around I barely made it to the roof access as the zombies converged on my position.

Below me I felt something grab at my boot before I pulled away and I started to climb to safety. Once out on the roof I sighed in relief and slumped down on the concrete slab. I didn't have to worry about being chased as the zombies were incapable of using the ladder and while we were safe for the moment, we were effectively trapped with no escape.

Standing up with a grunt of effort I moved to the roof access and looked down. Dozens of snarling faces roared and screamed as I came into view and they began to climb over themselves in an attempt to get closer.

"Wow, there sure are a lot of them down there. Next time let's get on the roof 'before' they swarm us." Evan said with a sarcastic note.

"Yeah piss off private. We might as well get comfortable, we're going to be here a while. I just hope Hank made it to the Depot. The sight of armored vehicles rolling down that road with heavy weapons and dozens of Defense Troopers would make my day right about now." I said, taking a seat and leaning up against the roof edging.

Lucas as in the process of unloading the bag contents he'd brought with him onto the ground. He had collected enough boxes of ammo to put up a decent fight as well as water and a number of the food packs. I was surprised he'd been able to carry all of that weight up the ladder but I wasn't going to stare a gift horse in the eye...at least I thought that was the saying.

Tossing one of the packs to me I grinned as the sun reflected off the silver packaging. A bottle of water joined the pack and I settled in for a long overdue meal. It had been hours since we'd had anything to eat or drink and I was feeling the effects on my body. While living in an apocalyptic world we'd become accustomed to not having regular meals, we were still supplied enough daily to get us through a fight.

Looking at the food package I felt a tingle of joy surge through me and my mouth watered. Maple Pork Sausage Patty, number 17 made in 2019. One of the last meal packs to be created before the Consumer Virus (Con-V) had struck the population. After the virus spread the vast majority of manufacturing companies had shut down and the military had been restricted on there meal supply to specific bases. Distribution had been all but halted and emergency rations were taken into effect as opposed to standard issue.

"I got pork sausage, what did you get?" I asked Evan as I opened my package and started going through the contents.

"Vegetable Crumbles with Pasta in Taco Sauce, yuck...want to trade?" The private asked, extending the MRE to me.

"Oh hell no, this is like striking gold, you ain't getting your dirty paws on it without a fight. You keep your nasty vegetables away from." I pulled the food close to my chest like I was protecting it and Evan chuckled.

"I got Creamy Spinach Fettuccine." Lucas informed us. I shook my head slowly.

"Man did I get lucky. Now all we need is an umbrella to shield us from the sun and we'll be good. I really wish we still had some grenades, one toss down that hatch and we'd clear out a good chunk of the zombies." Using the word chunk in reference to a grenade was funny to me but neither of the other two picked up on it and I sighed.

"We still have one." Lucas said, fishing the last surviving grenade from the city battle out of a pocket. "What the...I thought Hank had that. Well done!" I reached out for the grenade and the young man tossed it to me underhanded.

Catching the explosive I sat it down beside me and began to dig into my food with much anticipated excitement. The food was delicious, unfortunately I choked on the grub as Lucas made a face.

"Man this tastes like toilet paper!" The younger man said, his face twisting into a look of pure disgust as he spit out the white paper in his mouth.

"That's because it is you dumbass!" Evan said, laughing hard. I recovered from choking and leaned back against the half-wall once more.

"Ya know, we're trapped on a roof, surrounded by undead zombies and facing an alien invasion from space and somehow we're still having a good time and laughing. Seems like no matter what life throws at you, there's always something to laugh at. Thank you for that Lucas." The other man finished picking tissue paper out of his teeth and pierced me with a scowl.

"Yeah, yeah...glad you enjoyed it." Lucas turned back to his food packet and rummaged around trying to find the actual food this time.

I stared off into the distance admiring the view of the sun on the horizon and smiled to myself. Life sucked, but it still had its good times. I sincerely believed we would overcome any hardship we would face and either prevail or die with a smile and a gun in our hands.

This Forsaken World could kiss my ass!

This Forsaken World Chapter 19

Commander Devin Crowe

As I entered the bridge the first thing that caught my eye was Sally standing next to the Captain wearing handcuffs. The Commanding Officer must have noticed my confused look and she held up a hand.

"Save the questions, we don't have time. We both know our bombers can't disable that Dreadnought and our Capital ships are no match for its firepower and armor. I need you to shut that thing down from the inside." My confusion grew.

"Um, that's a tall order. Exactly how do we do that?" I asked, moving to stand next to Sally. The vampire gave me a smile, the gesture showing her fangs, before nodding her head and turning her attention back to the Captain.

"Our prisoner here has agreed to guide you from inside the ship. Your going to take a platoon of S.C.A.R. Troopers and three transports. The bombers and fighters are going to clear you a path to the enemy hangar and your going to board the dreadnought and shut it down. I hope you remember your close quarters combat training because this will be as close as you get." I shook my head slowly.

"I'm not a trooper, I belong in space in a cockpit." I protested. The Captain sighed and waved a hand dismissively.

"I'm aware of that but the vampire refuses to cooperate unless you go with her. Frankly we don't have time to argue about this. We've injected her with an explosive device that will detonate if she strays too far from this remote." Sasha handed me a little control that resembled an old school TV remote with two buttons instead of a dozen.

Grumbling in irritation I turned to face Sally. "Can I trust you?" I asked in all seriousness. The vampire squared her slender shoulders and stared me straight in the eye.

"We've had this conversation. Trust me and you won't regret it, don't and you will. Your choice." I tried to gauge the honesty in her eyes and failed to find it.

"Alright let's go. Are the troopers ready to deploy?" I asked the Captain.

"There already loaded in the hangar bay waiting for you. You'll have a set of armor and some weapons to use, dress as you travel. I don't need to tell you if that Dreadnought closes range on us before you can disable it there won't be a ship for you to return to. Don't fail us, everything is riding on this." I nodded slowly as the gravity of the situation settled in. Turning to the Captain I gave her a salute and left the bridge, Sally in tow.

As we made our way to the hangar Sally held out her hands. "Could you take these off? There kind of tight." I growled under my breath and looked at the cuffs.

"I don't have the code, we'll have to get one of the MP's to do it when we get there." Shifting my attention back to the hallway a sudden metallic 'ting' sound caused me to turn back. Sally was smiling as she displayed the broken cuffs dangling from one finger.

"I didn't want to break them but as I said, they were too tight." A broad mischievous grin played across her beautiful face and I rolled my eyes as she handed the scrap metal to me, shouldering me out of the way and taking point. I couldn't help but grin myself as I tossed the restraining device to the side and followed her, admiring the view she was obviously accentuating to tease me.

As we neared the hangar we both equipped an oxygen mask and cycled the door to walk onto the flight line. The majority of the fighters had already left the ship and I could imagine were circling around outside. The pressure doors were sealed at the moment as the next wave of space craft were being prepped to launch.

I noticed the absence of Reaper Squadron and had to assume the Captain already notified Angel that she was in command. That was reassuring at least, this entire situation was a bit strange.

I wondered why I was the one stuck with a series of odd occurrences. For instance why did I end up with a vampire slave? How did I manage to become an executive officer of a carrier when there were a lot of other Commanders on board more qualified and actually in line to lead as a Fleet officer instead of a fighter pilot? Lastly, how was I the only pilot to get captured and tortured on an enemy ship out of all the squadrons we had deployed in the Earth orbit battle?

I'd peg it as bad luck as though someone were playing a cruel joke and using me as the punchline, or punching bag, however you wanted to view it.

The three transports were sitting nearby, there rear ramps down as men and women in thick combat armor were loading weapons and supplies. While normally a S.C.A.R. Unit operated in teams of four to eight members, a full platoon of sixteen was being sent over. I loved the idea of more firepower but it would mean more casualties if things went sideways, which would more than likely be the case.

The leader of the platoon was a Lieutenant who waved me over. The name tag on his armor identified him as LT. Johnson, he was around six feet tall with a slender build that made the armor look too big for his frame. The younger man snapped to attention and I waved him down.

"At ease, which transport is mine?" I asked. I noticed that several of the troopers were turning to stare at Sally standing beside me and I tried to ignore it. It made sense that they would be curious about our enemy but now was not the time and I repressed the urge to yell at them to focus on the task at hand.

"The middle one sir, the plan is to wait until the fighter's screen the enemy force and punch a hole for us. After that we rush the dreadnought hangar, drop the ramps and secure the area. Once that's done two fire teams of four will fortify and hold our retreat as the other teams with you and our guest here will make our way to disable the ship. Evac once done, pretty simple." I nodded and waved the men to board.

As the ship's ramp closed and a pilot gave us a thumbs up from the cockpit I opened a crate the Lieutenant directed me to and started putting on the full body armor. I noticed the troopers wore gray armor with a mesh of camouflage while mine was a plain dark blue. Most likely it was to identify me as a non-S.C.A.R. Member.

I had expected a carbine assault rifle like the others but I was handed a side arm and a sub machine-gun instead. I wanted to protest but figured it wouldn't do any good as I was basically along for the ride. The special forces team knew what they were doing and I didn't want to interfere.

"Sir what should we expect on board? I know you were being tortured aboard one of them but I didn't get a lot of details." The young officer asked as he strapped himself in across from me.

Sally took up position to my right and I noted the troopers kept some distance between the vampire and themselves. I cast a glance at the white haired beauty and directed her attention to the troopers.

"Why don't you tell them?" I asked. The helmet I had been given was full cover with an oxygen mask built in so it hid my face. Infrared vision was part of the package as well as a left side mounted flashlight, radio and ventilation for toxins. The rest of the S.C.A.R. Soldiers wore the same helmets with there armor and Sally was left with only the basic Oxygen mask she had picked up.

The vampire seemed reluctant at first but looked at me briefly before speaking up. "Blood, lots of it. Torture, dead bodies, screaming, skinning of bodies. The skins themselves will be hanging at various locations with tattoo's for decorations. Rusty and bloody spikes everywhere with skulls on some of them. The vampires are almost entirely male, only a few females are aboard and they're kept in separate quarters." Sally paused and the Lieutenant nodded at the information.

"What about combat strength?" At this point the ship lurched as it left the hangar and entered free space. The transports lined up and began there approach.

Listening intently as I looked out the window I was momentarily distracted as I watched the battle raging outside. Our fighters and bombers had closed the distance and were currently engaging in a massive dogfight. The Dreadnought sat near the fighting like a behemoth of death and for some reason it had come to a stop just outside of ballistic range.

"Male vampires are incredibly strong but not very fast. The only way to completely kill one of my species is to destroy the brain or take off the head. Slitting the throat also works as it stops the blood flow. Otherwise you could blow a vampire to pieces and if the brain is intact they'll fight you with whatever is still attached. Expect either tranquilizer weapons for capture, net guns or shard based cannons. Body armor is questionable aboard the ship, the males of my kind are very arrogant and the idea of an enemy boarding us is laughable to most so they more than likely wont be wearing anything except plain jumpsuits like the one I have on." The troopers listened carefully and I noticed a green light indicating open transmission to the other transports.

The young S.C.A.R. Leader had turned on the transmitter so everyone in the platoon could listen in, it was something I hadn't even thought of and my respect for the man grew.

"Right, so where are we heading when we get aboard?" A corporal asked, the soldier checking the action on his assault rifle as his legs constantly bounced in anticipation for the combat to come.

"Two possible locations, primary is the engine room, secondary is the bridge. I'll leave it to you guys to decide." The vampire kicked her feet up on an empty seat beside us to get comfortable as the ship went into evasive maneuvers. I glanced out the window once more to see what was happening.

The mini transport fleet had just passed through the fighter screen and was making its approach to the hangar bay. Shards of super heated metal lashed out from the massive capital ship and the pilots were desperately trying to evade the deadly projectiles. Luckily with inertial dampeners we could twist, turn and flip and we'd feel nothing except light resistance and pulling in the transport hold.

"We're almost there, lock and load." I said, following my own instructions and checking the SMG in my hands. I picked out three spare magazines from a storage chest and slotted them into various pockets on my combat armor.

My stomach was flip flopping in anticipation and Sally smiled at me, seeming completely at ease. I desperately hoped she wouldn't turn on us in the middle of the action and get everyone killed.

Sergeant Devin Crowe

Finishing the last of my meal I tossed the food packet aside and accepted a water bottle from Lucas. Twisting off the plastic lid I sniffed the contents suspiciously. The water smelled okay but it was hard to tell without tasting and if memory served me properly, bottled water only lasted one or two years before the plastic container started to release dangerous chemicals into it as it broke down.

Another thing I remembered from survival training however was if the container was in a safe dark and cool location without exposure to heat or deadly pathogens it would be good indefinitely so it was a gamble whether or not it could be harmful, the taste would be a good indication of its condition.

Taking a slow sip I was pleasantly surprised that it tasted fine with just a touch of salt from minerals. Considering it had been a while since I'd had fresh water I figured it was better to enjoy it and potentially die later or to die from dehydration.

Taking a deep swig I sighed at the refreshing cool liquid washing the food down.

"The water should be alright if it doesn't taste bad. Here's hoping at least." The other two followed my example to test there water before taking long drinks.

"So what now Sarge?" Evan asked as he tossed the empty bottle over the roof and grabbed a second.

"Well its been almost an hour since the Staff Sergeant left. We can either chill here and wait or try to kill off all the zombies below and take a walk. Personally I like the idea of waiting, we've got food and plenty of ammo for the moment." I closed my eyes and tried to get comfortable.

Lucas stood up and started to walk around the perimeter, leaning over and examining the ground below. Suddenly his voice took on a high pitch of panic.

"Yeah that's not gonna work guys. Come take a look!" He shouted, waving a hand at us and pointing over the edge. I scooped up my shotgun and moved to join him, Evan following close behind with his repeater.

Peeking over the roof I scowled at the sight that greeted me. "Well shit..."

Down below the zombies had begun to pile on top of each other, there sheer numbers creating a mountain of undead that was steadily getting closer and closer to us. Evan cursed and aimed his gun at the top most infected in sight but I put a hand on his barrel and pushed it down.

"Don't waste the ammo yet. Go check the hatch and the rest of the ground around us, make sure there not towering anywhere else." I made my way back to the grenade I'd placed near my food and snatched it up.

Evan and Lucas began to check our surroundings and I made my way to the pile of bodies once more. While the grenade would do a lot of damage and cause the infected to separate, it wouldn't stop them from doing this again and we only had one explosive. We lacked the amount of ammunition we would need to clear out the threat which meant our options were limited at the moment.

"There getting close to the hatchway over here as well." Evan informed me, pointing the barrel of his gun down the hole and firing off one round. The loud crack caused the zombies to start screaming in agitation and the desire to reach there prey.

"Yeah we got a second pyramid forming over here. I don't think we have a lot of time the way things are looking." The young man declared, tossing his empty water bottle into the face of the closest zombie.

Sighing with frustration I examined the area for other options. The building had been built away from the rest of the mini mall which meant we couldn't take refuge on a nearby rooftop. While we could in theory jump the gap, it was a vast distance and despite being in peak shape I wasn't sure even I could clear it let alone the other two in my company.

Evan and Lucas rejoined me and I leaned over the edge once more, the tower getting ever closer by the minute as more and more infected joined the pile.

"Even if Hank makes it, he wont be able to get back in time. We'll burn through our ammo before we can stop them. Only other thing I can think is to try and spread them out, fire off rounds on all sides of the roof and hope they scatter to rush those sides. If that doesn't work we'll have to shoot them as they get closer and just hope we can stem the tide. I'll use the grenade on this pile here, we can bottle neck the hatch. Evan take the roof access, Lucas you start moving around and fire rounds off at random locations." The other two nodded and went about there tasks as I looked at the mob on my side.

Unhooking the pin with my left hand, I fired a shotgun blast at the top zombie. As the infected human fell away I dropped the grenade into the first opening I could see between the tangled limbs and torsos. Ducking behind the half wall I called out.

"Fire in the hole!" The explosion that rocked the building knocked me off my feet and I tumbled across the concrete rooftop. Body parts landed around me, a completely intact head splattered a few feet to my right, the jaws snapping as the lifeless eyes locked onto me.

My ears were ringing as I stood back up, my balance a bit off center as I recovered from shell shock. Kicking the decapitated head away, the sounds of clacking teeth beyond annoying, I glanced over the edge at the carnage below.

My grenade had been incredibly effective, even more so than I had anticipated. The explosive device had found its way to the bottom of the pile of bodies and the detonation had scattered the entire group from the base, causing the upper tiers to collapse and forming a mass of zombies in chaotic disarray.

The immediate threat on this side was cleared for the moment but the gunshots from both Lucas and Evan notified me that the situation was far from resolved.

As I made my way towards Evan and the roof hatchway, the concrete surface under my feet began to crack in the middle directly beneath my feet.

"Ah shit..." I whispered as the realization of damage my grenade had caused hit me. The structure of the building had been jeopardized and the result was foundation damage. This in turn caused the central roof to lose integrity and my weight was the final straw,

I yelped as the ground gave out and I tumbled to the floor of the store, the concrete rooftop coming apart. My back slammed into a shelf and the breath was knocked out of me as I rolled across the store's horribly colored commercial tiles.

Shaking my head as stars filled my vision I did a push up to get on my feet and looked around to see what my current situation was like.

My reward for using the grenade was dozens of snarling zombie's surrounding me and moving in for the kill.

"Alright, maybe not my brightest moment...bring it on you undead bastards!" I grabbed up my shotgun and aimed at the closest infected.

If I was going die I was going to go out guns blazing.

This Forsaken World Chapter 20

Commander Devin Crowe

"Commander we've got a problem!" The co-pilot called out from the cockpit. Unstrapping my restraints I moved to stand just inside the doorway.

"What's the issue?" I asked, looking out the forward view port. The question was unnecessary now that I could see what was going on in front of us. The hangar bay doors were sealed shut and to make matters worse multiple shard turrets were in the process of targeting the transport ship.

"What do we do boss?" The pilot asked, his hands white knuckling the control stick as he put us through a series of twists to evade the deadly projectiles being launched in our direction.

Before I could respond Sally arrived at my shoulder and cut in.

"If you can lock into a certain frequency I can give you the command code to open the doors. Channel 9.361 in your numerical system, lets just hope it matches." I nodded my thanks as the pilot did as he was told.

"Done, what's the code?" The co-pilot asked, his fingers hovering above a small keypad.

"Six six four three eight one two should be the override command." The vampire said as she stepped back and resumed her seat in the transport hold.

A light above the doors switched from red to blue and the large armored panels began to slide apart, exposing the very large hangar bay beyond bathed in a red glow.

"Alright lets do it, retype the code once we're in to seal the doors behind us then hold for further orders while we infiltrate." I clapped the pilot on the shoulder and moved to stand by the exit ramp. "Let's do it Lieutenant."

Signaling the rest of his men the young officer flipped his headset on and raised his assault carbine into the firing position tight against his shoulder.

"Touch down in three....two...one!" The Co-pilot counted down as the ship landed hard and the ramp dropped, sparks flying everywhere as it did.

"Move it move it move!" The Lieutenant yelled to his men as they spread out in a semi-circle outside the ship. The other two transports landed at various locations nearby and all hell broke loose as the mounted turrets opened fire, the soldiers opened up and the vampires returned the favor.

The hangar was truly massive which made sense considering we were in a Dreadnought, the flagship of the enemy fleet. Huge invasion ships, fighter/bombers, transports and cargo vessels were docked from ceiling mounts, on repair stations or lined up in launch tubes.

As the firefight began to increase, more and more vampire's arriving to reinforce the hangar, the S.C.A.R. Soldiers formed defensive screens hiding behind crates and panels to hold the position.

"First team one, we're up! Sally lead the way." I yelled, moving forward to flank the vampiress as she guided us to a sealed door. Tracer rounds zipped overhead, the occasional tranquilizer dart or shard of metal flying in the opposing direction.

Tapping a code into the keypad beside the door, the buttons completely unfamiliar to me as the keys were in some strange language or numerical pattern, the portal slid aside. Sally stepped in and was forced to immediately duck as a barrage of enemy fire opened up.

Using the door frame for cover I unloaded a short burst from my SMG being rewarded with a grunt of pain as I tagged an enemy. The Lieutenant stepped forward and raised a flash grenade.

Nodding, I stepped aside so the man could move forward and toss the device down the hall. "Sally close your eyes!" I yelled.

Doing as she was told, the grenade flew past her and landed among the enemy troops, exploding in a brilliant blinding light that disoriented the vampires. "Now!" I yelled, entering the hallway and taking the left side as the rest of the special forces soldiers took the right.

Sally moved to stand behind me and together we closed in on the enemy troops. Using my SMG I put a single round into the head of any vampire I could see. Sally showed no signs of remorse or regret as I methodically put down her former comrades.

Once the deed had been accomplished Sally gestured to a side passage leading away from the hangar and to the right.

"This way to the engines." She said, moving to take the lead.

As we continued on our way, the sounds of the gun battle behind me fading in the distance, a pair of vampires stepped in front of us from a hidden door and caught the lead S.C.A.R. Soldier in the throat with metallic claw's that were attached to his fingers. The second vampire attempted to strike me but Sally stepped forward and caught the man's wrist, twisting hard and snapping the bones like they were tissue paper.

The vampire shrieked in pain, Sally following the strike with a sharp blow to the gut before she wrapped the taller man in a choke hold, jumping on his back and pulling backwards with all her might. The vampire stumbled up against the wall as the unexpected weight caught him off guard, his stance now leaving him exposed.

Leaving the second vampire for the special forces team I withdrew my knife and buried the point just under his jaw line, driving the sharp edge upwards until it was stuck in his brain. Sally let go and jumped off the dying Vampire and joined me, watching as the body slowly sank to the ground. Withdrawing my blood smeared weapon I nodded to my companion and she smiled.

"It's not much further." She said, pointing over her shoulder to the passage before us. The troopers accompanying us had dispatched the enemy vampire and were now huddled around there fallen comrade.

"We'll pick him up on the way back, lets go." The Lieutenant nodded and directed his men forward.

As we continued our advance we were stopped twice more by similar pairs of vampire assailants but with the help of Sally they were killed fairly easily, we had learned not to be taken surprise at this point and suffered no more fatalities on our part.

"Down there." The white haired female informed us, indicating a passageway that led to a large door. The walls running the length of the corridor were covered with blood and some other dried fluid I couldn't identify. Skins of assorted creatures were stapled onto the metal walls and intestines, bones and skulls draped the door itself on the sides and top.

"Charming." I whispered, aiming my SMG at the entrance.

"I'll be right back." Sally whispered behind me. Before I could turn around the woman was gone like a flash in the night sky.

"Where'd she go?!" I asked the last man in our formation who had the best view of her. "I don't know, she was so fast I couldn't tell which way she turned." I cursed under my breath.

"Shouldn't the explosive have detonated from her moving away?" The young officer asked, his rifle still trained on the engine room door.

"Yeah it was supposed to....oh shit." I growled, my hand touching an empty pocket where the remote had been. "She took the detonator."

"Guess we proceed without her. We've got a mission to complete, the longer we take the more men will die defending the hangar." I nodded agreement and the group began to advance once more.

I arrived at the door first and reached out with one hand to test the handle. The black metal lever was stuck solid, either locked or jammed, and I gestured to the breach specialist in our team.

The older grizzled soldier moved forward and fished a charge from his pocket, sticking the device to the handle and pressing a button on the side. "Move back!" He declared, following his own advice.

Taking cover some distance away we crouched low and waited as a loud boom echoed, the handle vanishing and leaving a gaping hole in the door.

"Simmons, check it out." The team leader gestured to one of the S.C.A.R. Troopers who moved forward with a shotgun. As the soldier peeked through the hole he gave us a thumbs up and cautiously moved the door to the side, exposing the engine room beyond.

Stepping through I grimaced in disgust at the sight and smell that greeted us. Body parts were splayed out everywhere you looked and piles were filling carts next to massive open blood filled tanks. The sweet stench of rotting corpses was almost overpowering and without the respirators I'd have thrown up the medical food I'd eaten earlier.

Topless creatures that resembled gorilla's on earth were using shovels to dump the remnants into the tanks. The creatures were wearing ratty torn pants and seemed to be oblivious to anything except for there tasks.

From the way it looked, the engines were fueled by bodily remains and the mystery of how they were able to use there engines to move as fast as they did increased. How could body parts be used to power or provide fuel to an engine?

"They must use the methane gas emitted by dead bodies to create fuel. Probably turn it into a liquid or gas then trap it for use or conversion into something stable." One of the team members informed us, almost as though he were reading my mind.

When I tried to get one of the ape like creatures attention, even touching his shoulder and trying to shake him or her, the figure simply ignored me, returning to his task of shoveling like I wasn't even there. While there was a bubbling and hissing sound constantly, there was nothing to drown out the sounds of our breach charge on entrance and it made no sense the creatures had made no reaction to our presence entering the room.

"Seems like they've lost all will and been mind broken. I don't think we have a chance of saving them, doesn't look like they'll leave. Just set the charges and lets get out of here." The younger officer said, snapping his fingers to get the attention of one of his men and pointing at one of the blood vats.

"Let's blow all the tanks, without the pools it might break down the process." I mentioned. Before I could say anything further Sally's soft seductive voice cut in.

"That won't do any good. We have to destroy the gas chamber." She had appeared as though out of thin air beside me and I followed her finger to a massive full metal room with circular window's at the far end of the engine room.

"Where were you?" I asked, noticing a large backpack she was carrying made out of some kind of skin or hide I didn't want to think about.

"Oh I figure since I'm living with you now I needed to bring some of my belongings. This was my stationed ship after all, my room wasn't too far." She smiled at me showing her fangs and I shook my head in disbelief.

"I should kill you for that stunt." I growled. To my surprise she handed me back the detonator to her explosive device.

"Here ya go, in case you want to. I was only borrowing it, I knew you wouldn't let me go if you knew the truth. Shall we blow this joint and get out of here?" Almost skipping like she was enjoying herself the white haired beauty guided the team to the gas chamber.

Shaking my head in irritation I moved forward to join the others, my desire to get off this ship greater than ever at the horrible sight around me.

It was hard to believe someone like Sally came from a race as terrible and barbaric as the Vampire's.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

Firing point blank at the first infected to move towards me I backpedaled as I realized the space behind me was clear. The roof cave in had done a decent job of containing or killing a large portion of the zombie invaders but there was still more than enough to pose a serious threat.

In the far corner near where the roof hatch had once been Evan was recovering from his fall and was in the process of using his hatchet to cleave the skull of a zombie too close to him. The private was in little danger at present because of his positioning, the rubble had created a makeshift wall for him and he was able to defend it.

Lucas was another story. The young man had landed behind a counter which held the camera's, binoculars and assorted similar items. The infected were throwing themselves over the counter top and pressing in on all sides. Lucas didn't have anything in the way of weaponry except for a pocket knife and a small pistol he had collected earlier.

"Look out!" I shouted as a previously unseen zombie moved in behind him. I wanted to help him but I knew it was too late and I wouldn't make it to his aid based on my current situation. Evan was equally out of range and all we could do was watch as Lucas was taken down screaming from behind.

A small mountain of zombies formed as they piled onto the still screaming young man and began to feed, eating him alive.

"Shit!" I roared, firing my shotgun again into the mass of oncoming infected. Red rage filled my vision as Lucas finally stopped screaming and I blasted everything within range until my gun clicked empty.

Tossing the shotgun aside I drew my pistol from my hip holster and methodically put a round into the forehead of each zombie that made the mistake of advancing on me. Despite the horrible fate of Lucas I considered it luck as it kept a large amount of infected off of us, the monsters too busy with feeding to pay us any attention.

"Evan, take the back door and get out of here, I'll hold them off!" I shouted, swapping magazines as the chamber of my gun locked back empty.

"What about you?!" The private asked, using the butt of his repeater to bash the brains of another undead that got too close.

"Don't worry about me, I'd rather one of us make it out than none, now get moving! That's an order!" I snarled, my gun locking back empty once more. I was almost out of magazines, firing bullets so fast the gun slide seemed to be constantly in motion.

Evan hesitated for a second more before he nodded and kicked open the fire exit to his left. Giving me a sharp salute the man vanished from sight and I sighed in relief. At least one of us would survive this and that made dying a little more bearable.

"Come on you bastards!" I screamed as I was forced to switch to my secondary pistol, out of magazines for my primary. There seemed to be an endless supply of infected and the group that had attacked Lucas were making a line towards me from my right.

Cursing under my breath as I finally ran out of bullets I pulled out the machete. "Alright let's dance, who's first?!" I dropped into a fighters crouch, my blade held back for a thrusting attack. While a machete wasn't ideal for stabbing, it was the best offensive action against a rushing opponent, swinging would leave me vulnerable and off balance.

Before an enemy could close the distance a blinding light bathed the horde in white and a horn from what sounded like a semi truck rang out. The zombies, drawn to the sounds and light, began to move away from me, rushing out the front window and towards the source.

Sighing for a moment I was taken off guard as a pair of infected jumped me from behind. The good thing about my armor, something Lucas didn't share, was the armor plating built in for bite attacks. The neck, arms and legs were all reinforced to prevent zombie bites and it came in handy at the particular moment as one went for my right leg and the other my throat.

Knocking me over I landed hard on my right side, the two zombies fighting with each other to get a better grip on me. My right arm was pinned by the zombie going for my neck and my machete was trapped beneath me. Struggling to use my weight to my advantage I was able to roll to the side, knocking the infected off the top of me and scooping up the discarded shotgun from earlier.

Bringing the butt of the gun down with my now free arm I slammed it hard into the face of my closest attacker, the heavy composite stock causing the enemy's skull to crush inward and killing it instantly.

Unable to shake the body loose I had to use my knee to push away the second attacker before following up with the same attack, killing the other zombie with a well placed strike to the temple.

Thanking whoever was listening that I wasn't attacked by another infected during that little wrestling match I shoved the two corpses aside and climbed to my feet, unloading some shells from the sling and reloading the weapon.

The roars of enraged zombies and a ridiculous amount of gunshots drew my attention and I peeked out the window, making sure not to expose too much due to the oncoming wave of bullets.

Outside I all but laughed in relief as Hank waved to me from atop a massive military Semi-truck with a tri-barreled sit down gun turret built onto the bed. At least twenty Defense Force troopers were spread out using military trucks for cover with one ABT-2 flame tank flanking the convoy.

Hovering in mid air was a transport ship, the search lights built into the forward deck were bathing the area in white light and displaying the mountain of dead zombies.

"About time you showed up!" I yelled, waving back to Hank. Evan jogged towards me with a big grin on his face and we pressed our knuckles together.

"Man that was close, don't scare me like that again." He said.

"Same, too bad about Lucas, his sister isn't going to be happy. Let's get out of here." I moved towards the Semi and couldn't help but feel a wave of relief.

That...had been way too close for comfort. This world seemed hell bent on killing me, but it was going to have to try a lot harder next time.

This Forsaken World Chapter 21

Commander Devin Crowe

It took us around ten minutes to finally rig the charges around the gas chamber. The entire situation was putting my nerves on edge thinking about the men trying to hold the hangar while waiting for us.

Sally was once again proving her loyalty as she directed the explosives expert to the most vulnerable locations to cause the most damage to the Dreadnought. I stood nearby with my sub machine gun watching carefully with mixed emotions.

Surprisingly no one attacked during the operation and soon we were ready to make our way back to the transports. The Lieutenant attempted to use his communicator but there was no reply from the rest of the S.C.A.R. Forces, either interference or something far worse causing a radio blackout.

"Let's move with a purpose people, Nillson you take point." The young officer said, one of his men nodding as we moved forward to retrace our steps.

We encountered light resistance on our return trip, mostly a handful of vampires attempting to defend a corridor with tranquilizer guns. The enemy troops fell easily under a barrage of bullets and we made good time.

Once we reached our fallen comrade from the earlier battle two of the team members scooped up the body and carried it between themselves, staying in the middle so they wouldn't be exposed to enemy gunfire.

As we reached the entrance to the hangar I waved everyone back and moved forward, taking a peek through the doorway. The lack of gunfire or any noise was disturbing and my heart almost stopped from the sight that greeted me. The survivors of the special forces team, maybe three in all with two pilots and one co-pilot, were on there knees with there hands behind there head.

Surrounding the transports and the prisoners stood anywhere between thirty to fifty heavily armed and armored vampires. The tranquilizer and nets guns had been exchanged for rapid fire shard weapons with a pair of mounted turrets in position to lay crossing fire to cover any possible entrance into the hangar.

A tall man wearing a fancy crisp blood red uniform stood beside the prisoners, his hands behind his back. Blazing red eyes locked onto me the second I peeked around the corner and the man gave me a fang filled smile.

"Come on out, there's no point in hiding, your in no position to do anything." The officer speaking was tall, perhaps almost as tall as my six four, with a bald head and sharp pronounced features. His voice was heavily accented as though he had struggled to master English, the words sounding foreign and barely understandable.

I stood there for a few moments trying to decide what to do when a scream caught my attention and I looked out once more. The tall vampire had just grabbed the last co-pilot and was in the process of ripping his throat out, draining the man's blood. A crimson mist sprayed everywhere and the closest vampires who were covered took a few moments to lick up the red liquid from there hands or clothing. The sight made my stomach turn and I breathed in through my ventilator attempting to keep my food down.

"Don't make me ask again or I'll kill another. Out here, now!" The vampire declared once more, dropping the body to the deck and kicking it aside.

Glancing back at the others I nodded and together we emerged, spreading out in a line and training our weapons on various targets. Sally stood at my shoulder, her red eyes locked on the tall enemy officer.

"Ah, so the rumors are true. The great Captain Sallyskavesska turned traitor and fighting for these pathetic humans. Your death will not be a quick one my lady. We shall perform the Vakkto on you for this heresy." The man wiped the excess blood from his chin, the red liquid blending in with the uniform so well you could scarcely tell it was even there.

"Fleet Commander Dragresskyvasko...I owe a blood debt to this human." Sally indicated me with a wave of her hand. "I must say though, these 'pathetic' humans as you call them have put up more of a fight than any species we've ever encountered...except maybe the Lycans. I've come to quite enjoy there company. If you intend to kill my master you'll have to face me in single combat first, by the laws of our kind." I reached out to Sally and pulled her close.

"What are you doing?" I asked, looking deep into her eyes. The white haired beauty gave me a soft smile and a wink.

"Don't worry. He'll probably kill me but while we're fighting you and your friends can escape." Leaning in close she stood on her tip toes and whispered into my ear.

"There's an escape pod behind you and to the left. I'll draw the fight away from the men there holding and while everyone is watching, take them and use the pod. It was a pleasure serving you, I just wish it could have been longer." The vampiress gave me a kiss on the cheek, handing over her backpack and turning to face the enemy officer.

Attempting to pick up the bag I grunted in effort at the incredible weight. The fact such a slender female could carry a load easily over a hundred pounds like it was nothing certainly put things into perspective. I shouldered the pack and stepped back, the S.C.A.R. Team flanking me.

Sally made her way out onto the platform and squared off against the enemy officer. The man sneered in obvious anger and pierced the woman with a glare.

"Our law's only apply to Nocturnals, being defeated by another species does not grant them a blood debt the way it does your own kind. You should have been killed or taken your own life for losing the battle. You are a traitor and I am going to enjoy torturing you." Raising his hands he slid a pair of gloves on, the fingertips ending in razor sharp metal claws.

"We shall see." Sally didn't have the same weapons but she had her speed and I hoped it would be enough.

The vampire soldiers formed a circle around the two combatants, only a pair of enemy troopers still watching our survivors and leaving an opening. I signaled the Lieutenant.

"When they start fighting use your rifle during the battle to snipe those two guards and wave our men over. Sally said theirs an escape pod behind us. I'm going to wait for her until the last minute, if she isn't able to escape the fight I'll join you but I don't want to leave her behind if it can be avoided." The young man looked as though he were about to argue but he nodded and shifted his position, resting his rifle on the shoulder of a fellow S.C.A.R. member and using it as a brace to get a better shot.

Sally rushed forward towards her opponent, ducking under a slash attack and using her speed to drive a fist into the vampire's gut. The blow barely fazed the man as he twisted at an unnatural angle and grabbed the slender woman's assaulting arm, taking a step inwards and throwing Sally over his shoulder and across the hangar.

The vampiress slammed hard into the side of one of the transport ships and landed with an audible crunch, something obviously broken. Wincing in pain Sally stood up and turned to face the man once more, her leg facing the left in a way limbs don't normally turn.

The bone slowly healed and Sally raised her foot so the leg could set properly before turning to resume the fight. The white haired female rushed forward once more seeming to use the same attack as before.

"Predicable as always..." The man said, preparing to counter in a similar fashion when she suddenly changed directions and rolled to the right, kicking her leg out and catching the vampire in the back of the right knee.

As the blow caused the man to drop to the ground Sally wrapped him in a choke hold and tried to snap his neck but her opponent was too strong, stopping the attack with a blow to her solar plexus with an elbow.

The Vampiress lost her grip as she was momentarily stunned allowing the officer to recover and spin in place throwing an upper cut that caught sally beneath the jaw. Her head snapping back the slender female was launched backwards once more, this time sailing across the hangar to slam into the wall close by my position.

Moving to aid her I was halted with a hand as she rose to her feet and shook her head at me, blood dripping down the corner of her mouth. I hesitantly stepped back and accepted the situation, if I interfered I'd only make matters worse.

Wiping the blood away Sally charged at her opponent again. As the blow's, cracking of bone, cheering of enemy vampire spectators and screams of pain drowned out the sound, the Lieutenant fired off two head shots to down the guards.

As the bodies fell lifeless to the deck I waved the captive men over and they stood up and silently join us. Pointing at the entrance to the escape pod I gave the young officer a thumbs up and he lead everyone to our salvation, leaving me standing alone watching the fight.

Every blow Sally received made my stomach flip and it surprised me how I'd come to have feelings for the woman in such a short time. Watching her get hurt felt like I was receiving the attacks myself and it took my breath away. My admiration however grew for her every time she recovered from an assault and charged her enemy once more.

The last of the human's had piled into the small pod and I caught Sally's eye, nodding my head towards the entrance and giving her a thumbs up. The white haired woman gave me a smile before charging her opponent once more, obviously determined to either win the fight or die trying. It was a futile gesture, the man was not only stronger but more skilled in close quarters fighting, and even if she had won, Sally was surrounded by enemy troops who would kill her the second she was victorious.

While I knew I should leave with my fellow Alliance soldiers I couldn't bring myself to walk away from the woman, even if all seemed lost. Sighing deeply I turned to face the Lieutenant and nodded.

"Go, I'm not leaving without her." I said. The young officer looked at me in confusion.

"Sir, are you crazy? She's one of them! She's a damn vampire! You can't trust her, leave her here and lets go!" The man was struggling not to raise his voice and he was becoming more animated by the second because of my actions.

"Go Lieutenant, that's an order." I snapped. The S.C.A.R. Leader sighed and nodded his head, hitting the door panel to release the pod. The escape craft broke away and jettisoned off into space leaving an open port.

I shifted my attention back to the fight and watched as Sally was launched once more across the hangar bay, landing in a crumbled heap of broken limbs.

"Come on, you got this girl..." I whispered to myself.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

As I joined Hank and the others I gave the man a firm handshake.

"Man am I glad your here, just in time too." The grizzled veteran smiled and looked back towards the sporting goods store.

"Where's Lucas?" The staff sergeant asked. I slowly shook my head.

"He didn't make it." I knew I should be feeling remorse or something but I'd lost so many people over the years at this point it didn't even phase me anymore. Hank nodded and turned to face a new figure.

"Sergeant Grimm, this is Colonel Alexander Gaspard. He's in command of the supply depot." As I was introduced and saw the pips of rank on his uniform I snapped to attention.

"Sir!" I waited for the gesture to be returned before he waved me at ease.

"Glad we got here in time to save you. Every Defense Trooper is valuable if what you say is true about these invading aliens. Especially one who's from the outer garrison, you've got to be one of the most combat experienced soldier's I've met. Let's get back to the depot and we'll debrief you." The man waved to the nearest military vehicle and a corporal opened the back door.

Nodding my thanks I stepped into the vehicle and took a seat, Evan taking his place beside me. The Colonel climbed into the passenger seat in front and turned to look at us over his shoulder.

"So Sergeant, Is it just you two or are there more survivors?" The man asked. He was a striking figure with jet black crew cut hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Just the two of us and the Staff Sergeant is an armory man so he has no combat experience. The private here was part of my garrison squad so he's been on the wall with me since day one of our assignment." The Colonel nodded and indicated to his driver that we roll out.

"We'll be perfectly safe at the depot, its underground. We've got enough food and water to outlast any alien invasion. They wont even know where we are so we can wait out this thing." The man sounded cocky and I could tell he was the type of man who sat at a desk all day and ordered everyone else to do things. Initially I'd felt a respect for him just from his appearance but the true personality was filtering through.

"I don't think that's an option sir, these alien's are going to be here for quite a while and they've proven to be incredibly intelligent. They've been using sleeper agents to infiltrate allied groups. We had a woman with us who betrayed us to an enemy patrol. They probably already know where the base is and there planning on moving on it when they get the chance. We're better off staying on the move instead of attempting to dig in someplace no matter how well defended, sir. Staying underground is only going to trap us to make it easier for them to root us out." I glanced at Evan who nodded in agreement.

The Colonel glared at us sidelong and shifted in his seat to face the front of the vehicle.

"I disagree Sergeant, we'll be just fine. Why don't you get comfortable it's a long drive." The conversation was obviously over as the officer turned his attention away and ignored us the rest of the ride.

I watched out the window at the deserted apocalyptic landscape as we drove. The land was barren with little in the way of vegetation and old cars and animal or human bones were the only things dotting the surrounding area.

The drive took us roughly an hour and as we arrived at the depot my stomach tightened into a knot of frustration. The base appeared as a large slab of metal that opened up vertically into a ramp for vehicles to enter and drive down into the underground chamber below.

The air transport landed on a platform that descended into the earth, sealing up as the aircraft vanished leaving only a layer of dirt in its place.

The last of the vehicles went down the ramp and the entrance closed up behind us. The drive down was slow going as the incline was pretty sharp and after what felt like hours we turned around a bend into a large garage. At least six military trucks were lined up along one wall, two semi's sat on the opposite wall and in the middle was a wealth of mechanics tools and machines.

Men in filthy gray coveralls began to move about the vehicles as we all departed, checking the oil, gas, tire pressure and so forth.

The troopers who exited there respective rides entered into a long hallway and moved deeper into the base, talking among themselves and occasionally laughing. It soon became apparent that the end of the world and the zombies were little more than a nuisance to these men, they had been in this base underground and safe for so long the impact and danger of the outside world was alien to them. All the suffering and loss, hunger and sorrow, it was a distant worry that they never had to face.

Anger rose in my throat and I forced it down, falling in to follow the Colonel as Hank and Evan fell into step behind me. The hallway passed a ridiculous amount of rooms and chambers ranging from lavish barracks, a well stocked mess hall, recreation rooms and a few officer's quarters. The hallway ended in an elevator shaft and we were directed into it with our commanding officer.

The ride further down into the bowels of the compound was one of quiet contemplation as the Colonel continued to ignore us, obviously annoyed by my earlier comment and unused to being questioned by anyone.

As the numbers ended five levels below the surface the doors opened with a loud beep and we walked out into a huge office with a large elaborately decorated desk in the middle. The walls were home to fancy portraits, commendation awards, trophy's of various activities and an old saber that had been polished to a mirror like shine.

The desk was perfectly ordered with a lamp, stapler, writing pad and the usual contents a desk would normally have. The chair the Colonel sat in was luxurious with soft silk padding and a leather frame.

Standing at attention in front of the officer we waited for instructions and were rewarded with a smile.

"So, Sergeant Grimm...what do you have to tell me about these...vampires?" My anger for the way the man worded his question, filled with arrogance and doubt, rose and I desperately wanted to ruin that perfect face of his.

"Sir, I believe I already made myself clear to you earlier. They are ruthless, intelligent, they have advanced technology and from what we've seen they intend to enslave all of humanity for one reason or another. We're going to be like trapped rats down here...sir!" I was struggling to keep my anger in check.

"Oh that won't be a problem. You see, I've already entertained an envoy of there's. Major Gresslivolkath would you kindly come in?" The Colonel waved to a side door that I'd failed to notice previously.

A pale man entered the room slowly and gave us a look that bordered on desire, or hunger I wasn't sure which. The new arrival was bald with the same blazing red eye's as the vampire's I'd fought in New York and the realization of the situation we had just walked into hit me.

This idiot Colonel had invited the enemy into his home and made a deal with him, and my gut told me it wouldn't end well for any of us.

This Forsaken World Chapter 22

Commander Devin Crowe

As Sally rose for the fifth time she waited for her wounds to heal before dropping into a fighters stance. Casting a glance at me she registered that the rest of our team was no longer among us and smiled to herself.

"Well, looks like I don't have to hold back anymore." She whispered, spearing the enemy officer with a withering gaze.

"What are you mumbling about?" The man asked, arrogance overruling caution as he had deemed Sally a mere nuisance and not a real threat.

Watching her with pride I checked my SMG to make sure it had a fresh magazine and ducked down behind a supply crate to watch, hiding my presence from the enemy forces so they thought the 'human's' had escaped.

"Let's dance." Sally said as she kicked off her back foot and launched into a graceful front aerial. As her right foot came down recovering from the maneuver she placed her right hand on the ground and delivered a roundhouse, catching her opponent on the side of the head and causing him to stagger to the side. Sally's entire body posture was different and the way she moved and carried herself had taken on a skilled martial artists confidence.

The thing that surprised me the most was how similar the art she was using compared to the human style on Earth and it reinforced the idea that our two species were more connected than anyone realized.

Touching his jaw in shock the Fleet Commander snarled showing his fangs. "What was that?!" He snapped.

Jumping straight up Sally shifted momentum in mid-air and brought her left leg around to score another hit on the opposite side of the man's head, knocking him in the other direction this time and disorienting him as he struggled to figure out which direction he was facing.

Before the officer could recover the white haired vampiress moved in and closed the gap, delivering a blinding array of body hits with swift kicks and punches. The pummeling was so intense I could hear audible bones cracking and crunching with each strike and she didn't let up, pushing her opponent to the edge of the platform and causing the spectators to separate in order to clear the way.

A sudden beeping sound caught my attention and I looked down at the wrist watch I was wearing. The sound was the alarm going off to notify me of the impending explosive detonation in the engine bay.

Sally must have either heard this or been keeping count herself as she shifted her stance and threw a front kick directly into the officers face, crushing his nose and causing him to tumble over the edge of the hangar floor and fall down into the massive pressure door below.

The fall wouldn't kill him but he was out of the fight with no way to recover and I was sure from the cursing I heard after the landing he was pretty pissed off.

A second later and a series of explosions ripped through the ship and the dreadnought sharply twisted, the inertial dampeners failing and causing everyone and everything to tumble sideways. Sally had been expecting this and had managed to get a hold of the landing strut on one of the transport ships nearby.

The crates, loose ships and enemy troops were in complete disarray and I rushed across the hangar to join Sally, firing short bursts of rounds from my SMG into any vampire that was close by.

While I was making my way to the transport the vampiress was hanging onto I noticed a flashing light on the nose of the craft and suddenly realized it was a remote EMP (Electromagnetic pulse) designed to disable the ship with any attempt to take off.

Following my gaze Sally came to the same conclusion and I cursed at our bad luck. Before I could say anything further however my companion grabbed my arm and, stumbling as we went, we managed to get to one of the Nocturnal Fighter/Bombers that was positioned in a launch tube, ready to rock and roll.

I was pushed into the cockpit first as Sally secured the hatch and she directed me to the pilots seat. Doing as I was instructed I was a little surprised when the white haired beauty positioned herself on my lap and strapped us in together.

From the closeness of her body, the smell of her hair as it tickled my cheek and the way she was sitting I couldn't stop my body from becoming aroused and blushed in embarrassment.

Glancing over her shoulder Sally smiled and kissed me gently on the lips before running a finger along my jaw seductively.

"We'll have to deal with this later if you finally trust me enough." Shifting playfully to further arouse me I growled in frustration. "For now, let me fly and think of something that will make the situation easier. Like, something repulsive on your planet or an old person, I don't know think of something. I need to concentrate." The vampiress turned back to the controls and began to expertly run her hands across the stations and buttons.

Biting my lower lip I distracted myself by examining the ships cockpit.

The inside of the ship was made from scrap metal much like the exterior. The controls were similar to our own although instead of a single flight stick there were two handles along the arms of the chair and a pair of pedals on the floor.

The cockpit was clear but I knew from the dogfight earlier it was tinted on the outside to hide not only the sun but the pilots identity as well.

The ship roared to life as the engines kicked in and I was plastered back in the seat as we launched down the tube and exited into space. I watched in amazement at the situation that greeted us.

Debris from the battle that had taken place while we were boarding the enemy ships was everywhere. I noted it was intermixed with chunks of Alliance fighters and bombers and Nocturnal vessels. Craning my neck around I looked at the Dreadnought behind us and was happy to note a large chunk of the engine block had broken away and was now free floating in space.

"Looks like it worked. Any sign of the escape pod?" I asked.

Sally ran her hands over a circular dial and shook her head. "No, either they were destroyed or picked up already." As she continued her search the ship shook as something hit us from behind.

Turning to look behind us once more I noticed at least a dozen enemy fighters closing in on our position rapidly.

"We got company!" I yelled. The vampiress nodded as she kicked the ship into gear and began to perform evasive maneuvers.

"Let's head back to the fleet, our fighters can help get them off our tail." I said.

Chunks of super heated metal were flying past us at an alarming rate and I wrapped my arms around Sally's slender mid-section so I didn't interfere with her handling of the flight controls.

"I don't know if I can shake them all, theirs too man of them." She said, desperately trying to out fly the barrage of enemy fire.

Just as it seemed we were going to be destroyed a voice in an alien language cut into the radio. The voice was feminine with the similar accent Sally shared but I couldn't understand anything outside of my companions name.

The white haired beauty broke out into a big grin and spoke in the same language back with obvious excitement.

"Backup's here!" She almost yelled in happiness. I looked out the view port she directed and shared in her thrill as five of the enemy ships broke off from there inbound trajectory and engaged there own ships, destroying a large number as they did a flyby.

"What's going on?" I asked. Sally kissed my cheek and leaned back against me as the threat was temporarily reduced.

"That's my squadron. There all females. The women of our race are treated like breeding stock and lesser beings in the Nocturnal society so naturally we relish the opportunity to kick the male's asses every chance we get. There still loyal to me and there helping us." The smile on her face was infectious and soon I was grinning as well.

The fight was quite brief after the arrival of Sally's friends and they broke into the channel once more to speak to my companion.

"Captain we're with you, always. May we join you with the human's? If we return to the dreadnought they'll perform the Vakkto on us. We request asylum." This was in English and it was obvious by the look Sally gave me that my surprise showed on my face.

"Well Commander, do you think your Captain will agree with this?" She asked. Her eye's were pleading and I sighed.

"Can't hurt to ask. We'll have to be careful on approach though, a squadron of your fighters might cause some ruckus back at the fleet and you can be sure we'll be attacked if our guys can't identify us as friends." Sally nodded and tapped the radio.

"Follow us in, I'm glad to have you guys with us. I missed you." The Vampiress toggled the switches and the group of Nocturnal fighters made there way to the Alliance fleet.

Ever since I'd met Sally my life had definitely become more interesting.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

As I reached for my sidearm Evan put his hand on my arm to stop me. Looking over in confusion I read the look on his face as he jerked his head to indicate behind us. Standing in front of the elevator were four more vampires carrying shard weapons and wearing thick red body armor.

"Shit..." I whispered as I turned my attention back to the Colonel and his 'guest', holding my hand up and moving it away from my gun.

"When did they show up?" I asked Evan.

The Private shook his head. "No clue. Probably while we were talking."

"Your a real idiot, sir!" Hank stated, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the man.

"Well, I'd think what I've done is actually quite smart. You see the good Major here has offered us safety in return for information and blood. Bottled of course. In return they will leave us alone down here to do as we see fit so long as we don't interfere with there plans." The Colonel leaned back in his chair with a smug expression I seriously wanted to carve off with my combat knife.

"Your a fool to think they'll honor that. Your a serious military risk with a decent arsenal and a good number of soldiers, any enemy with a grasp on strategy would never leave you alive to stab them in the back. Your going to regret this." I lowered my hand, my fingers curling into fists.

"We'll see. Major what would you like to do with these men? I was hoping to enlist them into my garrison but it's obvious they are too strong willed and independent, I'm open to other suggestions." The vampire regarded us carefully after hearing this.

"I believe they might prove useful as a slave force, they are strong and fit." Nodding his head to one of his subordinates behind us the vampire smiled. "Take them into custody and escort them to the surface, we'll transport them back to...what was that city called? New Ork?" The vampire shifted his attention to the Colonel.

"New York. In the old days before the apocalypse it was one of the greatest cities on Earth." The officer seemed to be enjoying his 'immunity' to this enemy standing in our midst.

Snorting I laughed. "You obviously haven't seen it since the occupation then, they've done a lot of damage to it and there are tons of drop ships all over it like blood sucking ticks."

Waving a hand the Colonel sighed. "Take them away, I'm done with this mess. I'll have that blood to you by tomorrow Major." Without another word the Officer opened a laptop and began to type something.

Restraints were clamped onto our wrists and while all three of us wanted to resist we knew it was futile. The vampires were stronger and faster and we'd simply get our asses kicked and exert energy better spent on planning an escape when we had a real chance. Being trapped underground wasn't ideal for putting distance between us and the enemy.

We were shoved roughly into the elevator and watched the Colonel wave at us as the doors closed. The ride up was tense, the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. The vampires were flanking us on all sides and keeping the door in front, a smart move so we wouldn't potentially jump them.

We reached the top floor and were shoved down the hallway past all of the garrison troopers who watched us with a mixture of emotions ranging from relief, anger and pity.

Finally we were pushed out into the fresh air, the night had already descended and it added an eerie feel to it as you could look up into the sky and see the enormous battleships in orbit, a few blocking out the moon.

A square transport ship of vampire design was waiting for us, a pair of enemy soldiers standing to either side of the passenger door into the cargo hold. As we were directed towards the craft a plume of flame and smoke lit up the night.

A powerful explosion struck the ship on the port side and the concussive blast launched us backwards to land hard on the dirt floor. A second rocket was fired and the transport ship took another hit, this time on the starboard side. The ship was a smoldering scrap of metal after this and I grinned at the possibility of escape.

The vampire soldiers who had been escorting stood up and spread out to engage the assailants when a hail of ballistic bullets dropped the men. The three of us knelt down in the dirt waiting to see what would happen and being sure not to stand up in case we took a stray round.

Moving forward a dozen figures wearing green camouflage Defense Force armor and carrying various firearms approached us and made sure the vampires were dead. Our hands were freed and we stood up to take in our rescuers.

"You guys look like special forces, are you Recon Force?" I asked.

The unit I mentioned was a detachment of the Defense Force that specialized in long range scouting and retrieval. There job was to travel across the desolate and dangerous landscape to rescue people, identify enemy movement and formations or to retrieve valuable equipment. They also had a tendency to act as mobile radios since some locations like the one we were at were stationed too far away to contact directly from the main base.

"Yep, we saw that transport and tracked it. We've been monitoring there communications, as far as we can tell when the garrison here lets there guard down there going to be enslaved like all the others. These vamps are pretty clever and damned deceitful. I'm Lieutenant Jasper, 2nd New York RF. We were lucky enough to be on deployment outside the zone when the city fell." The man indicated his squad with an outstretched hand.

I nodded my thanks as I rubbed my raw wrists, the restraints having left red marks from being too tight.

"Sergeant Grimm, New York Garrison DF. This is Private Evan from same unit and Staff Sergeant Hank, Armory Corp. Thanks for saving us. So what now?" I asked, casting a long gaze over the surrounding area to make sure no more vampires were in sight.

"They'll be converging in force on this base soon. We have three options. Option A, we sabotage the entrance so no one can go in or out, Option B, we clear out the depot of any hostiles and procure vehicles and equipment or Option C, we leave everything as it is and make steps out of this area." I shared a look with my other two troopers.

"If the garrison unit chooses to fight us there is no way we'll be able to clear it. Too close quarters with too many heavily armed men. If what you said is true and there going to be heading this way they'll notice the destroyed transport and probably use aircraft to hunt us down. I think we should destroy the entrance as a distraction to buy us some time." I laid out my opinion and the entire combined group seemed to like what I'd said.

"Right, let's get to it. The controls won't be enough we need to do some structural damage. Lokin, rig some C4 to the struts and bring down the tunnel so it can't open anymore. Franz get the control console. Ewing and Baxter, let's leave some clay-more's for the landing force to find when they arrive." The men instantly obeyed without a word and I was quite impressed with the leadership and dedication.

Recon Force was considered special forces because in there line of work you had to be top notch, well trained and disciplined. Out in the desolation zone as they called it, one word, one wrong move and you could get everyone killed. These men knew how to keep a low profile and operate efficiently. I'd always wanted to be a member of the RF but I'd been selected for Wall guard due to a shitty recruiter who wrote the wrong thing on paper.

Watching the men fall to there tasks I smiled to myself. With this unit, we might actually be able to do something. I never could have predicted the situation we walked into with the supply depot and I desperately hoped things would go better for us now.

Of course, you never knew with the way things were these days...

This Forsaken World Chapter 23

Commander Devin Crowe

The flight back to the carrier took longer than expected as it was clear the Alliance fleet had left the area. I couldn't fault them for leaving me behind, it was a tactical decision and in the scheme of things risking a few warships for the life of one man was simply inconceivable.

I took the opportunity to talk to my companion as our small squadron made its way through the black void.

"So, whats the Vakkto?" I asked, shifting in the seat so I could move Sally's bag out of the way. Turning to look at me over her shoulder, Sally leaned back against my chest and got comfortable.

"It's a torture method for Nocturnals. They skin you from head to toe, wait for you to heal slowly and once you've recovered they do it again. It's repeated endlessly until you go mad from pain or beg for death. It's the ultimate punishment for my kind." Sighing, Sally smiled as she leaned over and opened her bag to go through it.

"So that thing weighs a ton, whats in it?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. I reached out to take a peek and she slapped my hand away.

"Clothes, a few...secret things you'll find out about later and some personal items. Thank you for bringing this with you." The woman seemed satisfied with her bounty and leaned back against me once more.

"Your welcome. That was some great fighting you pulled off back there, remind me never to piss you off." I was surprised when she gave me a hurtful look.

"I would never do that to you. Primarily because your my master but also I've grown quite fond of you and I don't want to break you...yet." A giggle made my stomach flip and I breathed in deeply.

"So what's your squadron? They seem pretty good in a dogfight. Considering I was fighting you when we met I assume we were tangling with them as well?" I asked. Sally shook her head and frowned.

"No, you only faced me and a group of recruits. My job was to train them, we underestimated your fighters and combat experience considering you wiped the floor with us. My squadron was performing bombing runs on the surface when I engaged you. I didn't expect to see them again, I thought they were aboard a different battleship in orbit around your world." Holding up her hand the vampire spread her palm to splay her five fingers.

"I'll cut there names short like you did with mine to make it easier to remember. First, my second in command Vacya. She's almost as good as me in a fighter." Lowering one finger she continued.

"Next is Selena. Cassiva, Osska and Desha. Our squadron name is probably too hard for you to pronounce so in your language we'd be known as Blood Fangs. We're considered one of the elite Nocturnal squadrons. We've got more confirmed kills than any other flight group in the fleet." I whistled in appreciation.

"Here I thought the Reapers were good. Are the squadrons in your fleet made up of six fighters or just yours?" I was interested to know for a strategic standpoint. The more information we had the better we could perform in battle against the Vampires.

"No, most are between twelve to twenty. Since females are so rare six is all we could muster. For every woman there are twenty men in our species. Most vampire women are used for breeding stock, trophies for high ranking individuals or menial task labor such as desk work, blood collectors and stuff like that. It's rare for us to join the military so having a squadron is heavily frowned upon." The conversation seemed to darken Sally's mood and I tried to change the subject.

"Well I'll do everything I can to secure you asylum in our fleet. Our society is very different. Women are treated as equals in most regards and they have full independence. My own Captain is a woman as your aware. She's in direct leadership over hundreds of men to give you some perspective. I'm sure she'll come up with a plan for you and your friends." This brought a smile to Sally's lips and it made me feel good. Her smile made my world light up with a wave of emotions and it was quite pleasant.

"I'd like that. Let's get there first. Your fleet must have traveled a great distance. I'm afraid to use our long distance engines however as I don't want to overshoot them on accident. Hopefully there not much further or we'll be drifting in space for years." I chuckled and she kissed my cheek once more, tracing her long nailed fingers through my hair.

"You know, if we can replace that bandage over your missing eye with a patch you'll look quite dashing. It makes you look rugged and tough, quite sexy to be honest." I smiled, feeling a swell of pride at the compliment. Who'd have thought losing an eye was actually a good thing to attract beautiful women?

"I'll see what I can do. Felt good to get that helmet off, it was a bit uncomfortable with the wound." With this statement I couldn't help but touch the empty socket, adjusting the medical bandage a bit.

As the trip continued on we casually talked about our lives and experiences, getting to know each other better. With every conversation my fondness for Sally grew and I secretly thanked fate for bringing us together.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

The Recon Force troopers led us roughly five miles without so much as a word exchanged between us. The going was slow and took several hours as we had to avoid flying vampire patrols, roaming groups of zombies and a number pods with the virus still lingering around them.

The deploying mechanisms had originated from space appearing as small meteors that entered Earth orbit. Initially the satellites still functioning after the war had identified the pods as nonthreatening, assuming they'd break up upon atmospheric entry. By the time it had become obvious they were not natural it was too late.

The virus was released upon ground contact and initially it had sought out any breathing entity within a hundred mile radius. The only people to survive had only done so from being warned ahead of time, distance providing a short refuge so they would be prepared with breathing apparatus or underground sanctuaries to wait out the spread.

The virus had covered the globe in a short time before it receded back to the pod crash sites. The red mist then sat dormant, only becoming active when something living came within proximity. While we were equipped with breath masks from our Defense Force battle garb, Hank, Evan and myself had lost ours during the escape from the city. The Recon team didn't have any spares so we had to circumvent the crash sites which ate into our travel time.

Finally reaching our destination I was surprised to find a well established camp positioned in a small grove of trees. Camouflage tents circled the area, a fire pit that was covered in the middle with pop out chairs and the usual assorted item's you'd see in a campsite.

We were guided through a wealth of traps around the perimeter of the camp including claymores, pit falls, spike traps and a number of other types ringing the tree's. The camp was well hidden and the open ground surrounding us made it easy to see any incoming threats.

"Go ahead and get comfortable gentleman. We've got this site secure so volume doesn't pose a risk. I'm afraid we're short on weapons since we only have our designated firearms but we can spare some sidearms." The Lieutenant snapped his fingers and a technical sergeant with the name Ares stenciled on his uniform opened a pack and fished out three standard issue Alliance pistols. Passing these around he added in a handful of fully loaded magazines.

We gratefully accepted the gift and checked the chamber before placing them in our holsters.

"Thanks, its better than nothing. So what's the game plan here?" I asked, shifting my attention to the young officer. The man took off his helmet and scratched at his shaven head.

"No plan. We haven't received any word from command and if what you said is true, we probably won't. I figure we can hold up here for a few days until things calm down and try to regroup with any survivors from the city. After that, who knows?" The man placed his assault rifle against a chopped stump and took a seat beside the fire pit.

"After that, we retaliate. Start hitting supply lines and strategic targets to hinder the enemy movements and operations. We can also free prisoners to grow our numbers and make so much trouble they hopefully abandon this planet. That's what I think we should do." I said, taking a seat across from the officer and nodding my head as Hank and Evan took position to either side of me.

The Lieutenant smiled as he noticed the positioning and looked at me with renewed respect.

"Your men really seem to follow your lead. Why aren't you an officer with the way you carry yourself? Your a natural leader." The man popped open a thermos and poured some black liquid into a ceramic mug. The smell of fresh coffee hit me like a slap in the face and my taste buds began to salivate.

"Is that...coffee?!" Evan stammered, shifting in his seat with obvious excitement. The officer across from us grinned.

"Yeah, when was the last time you guys had any?" He asked, taking a slow sip and obviously enjoying the torture he was causing us as he breathed in deeply with pleasure.

"Years... coffee in the city is reserved for rich people or high ranking officers. It's literally a black market item if you can believe that." The other men in the camp began to pour themselves cups and I growled in irritation.

"Huh...Well we don't have anymore than this so I'm sorry we don't have any to spare." The man frowned apologetically and put the lid back on the thermos. Evan visibly sank in defeat and stared at the ground, his hopes at tasting the rich liquid shot. Hank simply crossed his hands over his chest and sighed deeply.

I caught the look on the officer's face and the smirk he was trying to hide as the corner of his lip twitched. The Recon troopers were enjoying the reactions they were getting and it was hard for them to hide there laughter as a collective group.

"Right....." I said, letting the word drag on to prove I was onto them. Finally the entire group started laughing as the Lieutenant opened the thermos again and offered the coffee with three metal camping cups.

"I'm sorry, we don't get a lot of company, couldn't resist." Evan looked up with confusion and hope. Hank showed no change in his expression, obviously refusing to show weakness to these men to let them think they'd gotten under his skin.

I accepted the cup of steaming coffee and took a few moments to breath in the scent, savoring every last drop as I took a sip.

"Ah...you know I always wanted to be Recon Force. Dumb recruiter ruined my chances." I took another sip as a Corporal I'd pegged as Ewing from earlier started to make a fire.

"You'd have made one hell of a scout, that's for sure. Probably have a squad of your own by now with your attitude. My favorite aspect of this job is our freedom. We have free reign to do anything we want with little interference from command. So long as we do the tasks we're assigned they leave us alone. After all, no one wants to enter the desolate zone if they don't have to, only we are crazy enough for that." I accepted a top off of the coffee and nodded.

"Right, most wouldn't last an hour out here. Thanks for the rescue back there by the way. When New York was overrun we had to fight our way out of the city. I was on the wall when it fell, then I joined the second wall defense and watched it get crushed. Took a nasty beating in the process but nothing life threatening. I got lucky, aside from Evan here my entire squad was wiped out." I glanced at the private who nodded enthusiastically to reinforce this as he continued to savor his coffee one drink at a time.

"Figures. We had reports of vampire sympathizers turning on there own people. Apparently they think if they help the enemy they'll turn them into vampire's themselves...stupid fools if you ask me. These aliens only want a slave labor force and food...which human's are perfect for both. I want to fight back but so far your the only survivors we've seen. We have contact with several other Recon Force teams but they all report the same, almost no one made it out of the cities." Shrugging, the officer took off his jacket and undid his gear harness, stacking the equipment beside his rifle.

A small fire had flared to life and I smiled at the warmth on my skin. "I imagine we'll have to penetrate the city to free people. First, we need weapons. I was hoping we could get supplies from that depot but that didn't work out." I made myself as comfortable as I could on the cold hard ground.

A private had left the campsite to double check the traps and warning bells surrounding the grove, a second trooper setting himself up in a small sandbag bunker I hadn't noticed before. The young man traded his shotgun for a suppressed scoped marksman rifle as I realized he was taking first watch, the long range weapon perfect for defending the camp.

The other Recon troopers were climbing into there designated tents. The officer indicated a soft bed of moss at the base of a pair of trees.

"We don't have spare tents but we have a few sleeping bags you can use. The ground there is soft, not quite three star hotel service but the best I can do under the circumstance." We gratefully accepted the offered bundles of sleep gear and I nodded to the man.

"Thank you sir." The Lieutenant moved into his tent and shifted until he was comfortable. "Get some sleep, your safe for now. Tomorrow we'll figure out our next move." With that, the officer fell asleep almost instantly and I felt jealous that he was able to do that so easily.

The three of us did our best to fall asleep but for myself it was hard, too many thoughts and plans tumbling around in my head as well as the scraping pain of my broken ribs. Adrenaline to this point had kept me going but now that things had slowed down the pain have become more noticeable, especially my head and sprained joints.

It took a while but I finally drifted into the sweet embrace of sleep and the troubles of life faded into an afterglow, ready to greet me in the morning.

Commander Devin Crowe

As the fleet came into sight in the distance, Sally became more alert as she toggled the radio and spoke in her strange alien language. Turning to look at me she indicated the transmitter. Understanding flashed through my head and I nodded.

"A.M.S. Star hangar control, this is Commander Crowe command code Viper-21-Echo-2. I'm coming in with a friendly squadron of commandeered enemy fighters. Request landing clearance and escort." I waited with anticipation, hoping we weren't engaged by an Alliance fighter squadron. There was a long delay before we received a response.

"Confirmed Commander. You've been cleared for landing. Reaper squadron is en route to provide escort. Welcome back, sir." I sighed in relief and leaned back.

"Alright, this is going to be interesting." Sally grinned at me as she adjusted the controls and spoke into the radio to her squadron once more. The group of Nocturnal fighters changed there approach as instructed and I couldn't help but feel pride as my squadron joined us, forming a star formation around us in escort. I noted that all of my pilots were still alive and chuckled as Angel's voice filled the cockpit.

"Hey boss! Don't make me worry like that again! The last few day's you've been turning my red hair gray, I'm going to kick your ass for that!" I laughed out loud and waited for Sally to offer the transmitter once more.

"Great to hear your voice again Jewel. Drinks are on me tonight." I leaned back in my seat and Sally followed suit as she pressed a switch and the auto pilot was slaved to the hangar control, the personnel manning that station taking over and guiding the fighter towards its designated landing pad.

"So now what?" The vampiress asked, looking sideways at me with a questioning glance. I shrugged, wrapping my arms around her slender waist.

"Don't know, that's up to the Captain. For now let's just enjoy being safe for the time being and worry about that when we're in the debriefing room." While I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, I kissed her gently on the cheek and she smiled, nuzzling against my neck and I breathed in her scent, grinning to myself.

This woman was seriously messing with my emotions and I felt like I was on a roller coaster with no way to control the direction I was going, not that I'd ever been on a roller coaster...it was an expression I'd picked up somewhere.

As the fighter settled onto the deck, Sally undid our seat belt and scooped up her bag. We waited for the pressure doors to seal shut after the last of the space craft had landed and the vampiress popped the hatch so we could exit the ship.

Whatever came next, I was grateful to have Sally by my side.

This Forsaken World Chapter 24

Sergeant Victor Grimm

A rough shake woke me from my slumber and I shot up in alert, reaching instinctively for my assault rifle which wasn't there. Rubbing the sleep from my eye's I looked around in confusion before my foggy brain remembered where I was and what had happened the last few days.

Sighing I noted it was Evan who had awakened me and I looked around to survey the situation. The Recon Troopers were in the process of breaking camp, gathering up there equipment into backpacks. Hank was eating an MRE and Evan was holding one out for me, a second in his free hand labeled spaghetti which he had reserved for himself.

"Sorry Sarge, we let you sleep in longer since your injured. You were out like a rock, took a few tries to wake you up." Offering me the food pack I accepted it with a grateful nod and sat up. The Meal Ready to Eat I'd been given was ravioli and I promptly broke the seal to begin eating it.

Evan moved to sit beside me and followed my example. The Recon team more or less ignored us as they went about there well practiced routine. I noticed the Lieutenant and one of his men were missing and pointed this out.

"Oh, there out checking out an approach to the city. The LT decided we were going to hit it today instead of waiting. They wanted to let us recover before we moved out. Should be back soon." Evan made a face as he ate his food and I chuckled.

"Alright. Hope we can find some people to save or this is going to be a short resistance movement." I nodded to Hank who had been quiet since my awakening and was rewarded with a simple grunt.

"You alright Staffs?" I asked. The gruff veteran seemed a bit reclusive at the moment and I wasn't sure why. I had noticed since the situation at the supply depot his mood had darkened and had yet to let up. I assumed it was because he took it as a personal insult for his fellow armory soldiers to betray us the way they did.

"I'll be fine. Let's finish eating so we can get going." While the man had shown courage in every engagement to this point I knew he wasn't a combat soldier. For him to show initiative to actually go out to fight surprised me but I kept my thoughts to myself.

It took a few minutes to finish my food before we were ready to move out. The Recon team that was still with us had waited patiently for us to finish up and they formed a circle around us as we made our way towards the distant city. The trip was going to take a long time with no transportation to speak of but for these guys it was nothing, they showed no signs of fatigue after several miles.

The countryside was a ruined landscape with skeletons of both human and animal littering the ground. Since we were cutting across open ground instead of using the main road we had traveled on to get to the supply depot we passed various towns that I'd missed before. Every population center told the same story, death and violence.

We were forced to ground a dozen times to avoid groups of zombies that were simply trudging along at a slow walk. They seemed to be in a docile dormant state barely moving unless they saw or heard something to trigger there blood lust.

At one point a neighborhood bulldog that had somehow survived the apocalypse got too close and the mob rushed it. I felt bad since the dog simply stood there with its tail waging, obviously used to humans being friendly, before they tore it to pieces. Anger rose in my throat and I wanted to slaughter the lot of them but it was too dangerous and a waste of ammunition.

Finally a pair of figures in camouflage combat gear joined us and I nodded to Lieutenant Jasper and his scouting companion. Fanning out the Recon team formed a tight perimeter, guns facing out and backs to us as the officer crouched beside me and laid out a torn and aged map.

"We managed to scout a vampire position just north of here. They have a landing ship with a dozen prisoners. From what I could tell there Defense Force, not sure which branch or deployment but the armor matches up." I nodded as I took this in.

"How many vamps?" I asked. Evan and Hank were at my shoulders looking down at the map as well.

"At least twenty. There wearing heavy armor but I only saw syringe weapons, no shard guns. From the position and the way there set up I think there waiting for a retrieval team to pick up the prisoners so if we hit them fast we can take them by surprise and probably steal the ship." I grinned.

"Rather ambitious but I like it. Let's pincer them, your team and mine from two directions. We'll draw there fire to the south and you hit the north in force. Once the vamps are down we free the prisoners and wait for the retrieval boat, ambush them when they land." The officer nodded as he folded up the map and slipped it into a zip up pocket.

"Let's do it." Twirling his finger in the air with a soft whistle the soldiers moved out towards there destination. Moving along with the group the usual pre-combat jitters hit me and I breathed in and out slowly to get my emotions under control for the fight to come.

Commander Devin Crowe

As we exited the fighter I noted a dozen military police soldiers moving into position with automatic guns to cover the vampire females. The group of pilots moved slowly with there hands in the air as they joined us.

I was amazed to note the majority of the vampire's had similar appearance being short and petite with pale skin, red eyes and white hair. While they had some differences that distinguished them from each other, like various hair styles or facial features, the similarities were incredible.

Something off though, for some reason I couldn't fathom, Sally was much more beautiful and striking then the others...then again I'd grown feelings for her so it might have been influenced by that.

My squadron walked in a tight group towards us and I smiled as I stepped over and accepted a hug from Angel. Indicating the pressure door the red head nodded and both groups moved into the hallway before heading towards the debriefing room.

Walking inside, MP's flanking us on both sides, the vampire squadron took seats at the back of the room and allowed themselves to be restrained under Sally's orders. While I knew they could easily break free it at least put the guards at ease.

Sally sat beside me on one side, Jewel on the opposite and the rest of the Reaper's behind us. The door opened as the captain walked into the room, authority and power radiating around her as she was in full commanding officer mode.

Setting a clip board on the podium the woman cast a look around the room slowly.

"So, you brought me more enemy pilots. What are you starting a harem Mr. Crowe?" Captain Conners teased. Chuckling I shook my head.

"No ma'am, just lucky I guess. They've requested asylum from the enemy fleet. They saved us on escape and destroyed a good number of Nocturnal fighters on our way out. Sally's there leader so they follow her lead. I told them I'd do everything I could to help them but the decision rests with you." I placed my hands in my lap as I waited for a response.

"I see...I don't know what to do to be honest. Sally has more or less proven to be a valuable source of information and if the strike on the dreadnought is any indication she is trustworthy. If she vouches for these pilots I'll offer them asylum. I know Petty Officer Sinclair was chopping at the bit to get her hands on the fighter's you brought in. She wants to take them apart and learn how they operate and how we can fight against them." Smiling the captain leaned forward on the podium.

"Sally, this is a bit odd considering the situation but how would you like to fight with us against the Vampires? We can train your people in our AFS-1 fighters and have you join up with Reaper squadron. There short six pilots and you have six so it would bring them to full strength. This is of course if Commander Crowe and the rest of his people agree." The captain looked at myself and the rest of the Reapers for approval and to my surprise they all agreed.

I had honestly thought Jewel or Raptor might have something to say but there respect for both myself and the Captain overrode any opposition to the idea. It was going to be difficult to teach the female vampires to fight with us but in the long run with there combat skills it would make for one hell of a fighter group.

Squaring up her shoulders Sally nodded. "I speak for all of us when I say it would be an honor. We've been treated poorly by our kind for centuries and we'd love some pay back." Jewel grinned as she cut in.

"A woman scorned...well in this case 'women' scorned." Everyone chuckled at this and it helped to ease any tension in the room.

"Glad to hear it. I have to run this by the Admiral for approval. Unfortunately it will take some time to get you some space craft, we're a bit short on AFS-1's but the flagship should have some replacements since they've been able to avoid most of the fights. Now...on to other matters." The captains tone spoke volumes for what was coming.

"Orders came down the line for a counter attack. I have no idea why the brass has decided to do this and I really don't agree but its out of my hands. We're being sent to engage the enemy spearhead and slow them down from following us." I shook my head.

"Wow, we got our asses kicked just getting out of there and we have significant damage to several ships, why would we go back?" I was completely confused but from the look I received it was obvious we had no say in the matters.

"I agree but we're soldiers, we do as our superiors order. We're going to be joined by the A.M.S. Hawk, Storm and Claw. The Eagle took too much damage so there more or less out of the fight for now. The Talon is also coming as rearguard support. The Eclipse is going to be sending a few bomber and fighter squadrons to reinforce us for the attack nearly doubling our numbers. We leave in twelve hours so you can get some food and rack time. I'll be holding a briefing for each squadron for the next few hours to get everyone up to speed." Captain Conners sighed as she looked down at her clipboard.

"Ma'am, what about the vampire females?" Jewel asked. The CO nodded slowly as she looked up.

"While Sally will be staying with the Commander I'll be assigning the rest of them to an isolated deck under guard for the time being until they prove there loyalty. You'll all be taken care of with anything you need but please refrain from feeding on my men. If you need blood we'll get you some bagged from the infirmary." The vampire squadron nodded but remained quiet.

"Dismissed. Commander, go get your eye checked out before you return to your bunk...and for everything sacred take a shower..." I laughed as my superior officer left the briefing room and everyone stood up.

"Sledge is going to love this." Raptor said as he followed me out of the room and into the hallway.

"Oh yeah, still, I don't know what they expect from us to take the enemy point fleet head on, we're going to get our asses kicked..." Doom replied. Romeo shoved the bigger man in the shoulder.

"Dude, we got this! We're the Reapers, we kick ass and steal pilots!" He said, glancing over his shoulder with obvious lust at the female vampires trailing us. I reached back and smacked the man upside the head.

"Stow that crap. I know we want to get pumped for the fight but show some respect." Romeo swallowed hard and nodded.

"Yes sir." I grinned and waved him ahead.

"Get out of here I'll see you in a few hours." I stepped aside so everyone could pass. I had noted earlier Sally had fallen back to be with her squadron and they were talking in there strange language.

As I joined the beautiful vampiress she smiled warmly.

"Devin, this is my wing mate Vacya." I bowed my head respectfully to the indicated woman beside her.

We left the hallway into a cross section that branched off into three directions. The assigned quarters for the group of vampires was to the right while my room was to the left. We had enough room to stop to talk without impeding the others but I noted the MP's were blocking the hallway we had just left, keeping everyone in front in case they tried anything.

"A pleasure to meet you." I said. The woman was quite beautiful with short pixie cut white hair and sharp features. Where Sally was sensuous and seductive with long flowing white hair and softer features this woman struck me as a true fighter with a serious cut throat attitude.

"You as well, I have heard what happened to Sallyskavesska becoming your bond mate and I express gratitude for the way you've treated her. You seem like a good human and it is an honor to potentially fight alongside you." The accent was very thick and unlike Sally it seemed hard for Vacya to speak English.

"I hope so. Now ladies, I need to get a hot shower and some sleep before we deploy." I bowed again and turned towards my quarters. I didn't expect Sally to follow me, figuring she'd want to talk to her squad mates but I was taken by surprise when she ran up beside me and started skipping to keep pace with my longer stride.

"She likes you, and she doesn't like many people." Sally informed me and I grinned at this.

"Well that's good I suppose, wont have to worry about her tearing out my jugular." Sally wrapped an arm around my waist and pressed herself close as we walked together. I smiled and put a hand on her shoulder as we continued on our way to my quarters.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

It took quite a while to reach our target but as we closed in my strategic mind began to formulate a plan of attack almost on its own without me realizing. I calculated open ground, cover locations and the weakest point in the enemy defenses.

We stood roughly half a mile away and crouched down as a collective unit. I gestured to the north and the Lieutenant nodded, indicating with hand gestures that his men move out. He gave me a slow nod before moving off to join the rest of the Recon Force troopers, vanishing into the brush like ghosts.

Hank and Evan followed me as I made my way towards the southern target location, keeping low to the ground and moving from cover to cover. We were lucky since the place had a lot of rocks and rubble from destroyed buildings.

The enemy position was fortified with reinforced scraps of metal that formed half walls around the perimeter. The prisoners sat huddled together beside the enemy transport ship with there hands secured behind there backs and a line of neck chains linking them all together. This made it so if one man tried to run the others would anchor him down.

At least four bodies sat lifeless and from the skin tone drained of blood in a heap not far from the prisoners and I growled under my breath. The vampires themselves were scattered about performing various tasks like tending a fire, checking the prisoners or working on the transport ship. Five of the enemy soldiers were standing guard in a diamond shape at each corner and I tagged two of them as the least attentive, making them my primary target.

The worst thing for a defensive position was to have relaxed guards, it opened up a weak spot in the defense for an enemy to exploit. Indicating the targets to Evan and Hank we spread out, taking cover behind rocks, destroyed house walls and in Hank's case a battered burned out pickup truck.

I spent several minutes watching the enemy soldiers as they milled about, obviously impatient and waiting for there relief. One man was in the process of beating a pair of prisoners with a flail and the wet slaps of metal on flesh and the cries of pain brought out a well of rage I focused on for the fight to come.

While our pistols wouldn't be very effective at this range they would be enough to draw the enemy's attention. I used the rock I was hiding behind as a platform to rest my pistol on and gripped it tightly with both hands. Breathing in and out slowly I squeezed the trigger and let off a round at the closest guard.

The bullet had to fly at such a distance it lost a lot of its punch, the round harmlessly pinging off the vampire's armored chest plate. The enemy soldier looked up in confusion before two more rounds struck him, the third somehow finding its mark as it slammed into the side of his head and dropped him dead.

All hell broke loose as the vampires opened fire with there syringe weapons, five of them pinpointing our location as they charged in our direction. Firing with my companions we unloaded round after round at the enemy soldiers as they advanced on us.

Explosions and the sounds of automatic ballistics fire opened up on the other side of the battle site and I grinned as the Recon Troopers made there presence known. The enemy rushing us paused in confusion at the pincer attack and I took this opportunity to down another opponent.

Just as I thought we'd get the upper hand the sounds of a ships engine roared in the distance and I glanced up to see the oncoming relief transport. Cursing I swapped magazines as my slide clicked back empty.

The plan had been working flawlessly but if the vampires were reinforced we'd be in serious trouble.

This Forsaken World Chapter 25

Commander Devin Crowe

After arriving at my quarters I first noticed one of the MP's had dropped off Sally's bag. The white haired enchantress grinned as she grabbed the bag effortlessly and sat down on the bed to go through the contents.

Moving into the tiny bathroom I slipped out of my clothing and inspected my eye in the mirror. Although the Captain had ordered me to the medical bay I didn't feel it necessary as the pain and bleeding had stopped some time ago. My depth perception was off as was my balance but I was learning to cope with it.

Removing the bandage I hissed at the pain of the dried blood peeling away from the skin. The method of the removal had been precise and surgical even for torture so it looked worse than it was.

A presence at my shoulder caught my attention and I turned around to see Sally standing in front of me. The vampiress was examining my nude body with a slow appreciative look before she reached out and handed me a piece of leather.

Taking the offered object I was surprised to note it was a cut out patch with a head band. Raising a questioning eyebrow the woman smiled.

"It's leather from an animal kill on another planet. I cut the piece from the hide to make an eye patch! I told you I had a secret for you and this was one of them." I fit the strap around my head and adjusted the patch.

"How does it look?" I asked. The vampiress traced a finger along my cheek and gave me a sly smile.

"Like a space pirate." I laughed out loud before removing it and setting it on the sink.

"Thank you." Turning around I stepped into the shower stall, cringing at the cold metal floor. Adjusting the controls I tested the water until it was hot enough to step into without freezing and sighed in satisfaction.

Rustling movement caught my good eye as I glanced over to see Sally sliding out of her flight suit. The slow deliberate movements of her body caused lust to course through me and I breathed in deeply. The white haired goddess was everything I dreamed of in a woman with an athletic slender build.

Moving with the grace of a pouncing cat Sally walked forward with deliberate hip movements to cause arousal and my body reacted on instinct. A seductive grin lit up her lips as she stepped into the shower beside me.

There was barely any room for myself let alone the vampire so our bodies were pressed together, my manhood against her stomach as I bit my lower lip. Sally seemed a bit uncomfortable at first and I wasn't sure if it was from the contact but she seemed to realize this and shook her head to comfort me.

"It's the water, I've never done this before and my skin is very sensitive. It feels great though I can see why you humans enjoy these showers...so hot." I could tell she wasn't just referring to the temperature of the water and it made me blush.

Reaching over the slender vampire's head I grabbed a bar of military issue soap and held it out for her to inspect.

"We use this to scrub our bodies, will it affect your skin or can you use it?" I asked. The woman stared at the foreign object before shrugging her shoulders.

"Won't know till we try." I nodded as I lathered the bar in the water and began to slowly wash her skin, my arousal heightening at the softness of her flesh on my hands and the proximity of her body.

What I had thought was a lotion based scent from the conversation we had before I finally realized was actually natural as the lotion was cleared away and her scent remained. The tiny shower stall made it hard to effectively clean her fully but the process was made ever so enchanting with the way she looked into my eyes, her blazing red orbs piercing into my soul.

My breathing was ragged as I knelt down to caress her legs with the bar of soap. Unexpectedly Sally let out a soft moan of pleasure and I looked up to see her tossing her head back, eye's clenched shut. It seemed like physical contact to bare skin felt good to the woman and she was thoroughly enjoying this experience.

Almost as if she was reading my mind Sally looked down at me and smiled.

"Vampire's rarely have skin on skin contact...our coupling is through clothing or flight suits as we almost never take off our outfits except to apply lotion. Possibly another reason we are so pale along with no contact to sunlight. This feels amazing, don't stop..." I nodded, relishing the pleasure I was giving her.

Moving my hand to her inner thighs the moans of ecstasy I was eliciting made my stomach turn in excitement and I renewed my efforts to caress her flesh with the soap. With a last shuddering sigh Sally's entire body trembled and I stood up, wrapping her tightly in my arms as her legs gave out and she lost her balance.

It took her several seconds to regain her composure and she looked up into my eyes with a soft smile on her lips. Instead of placing her feet on the ground like I had expected she wrapped her legs around my waist and pulled me close, pressing her soft lips against mine in a passionate kiss.

Opening my lips further our tongues curled and my entire body shook with mad desire as I struggled to control my impulse to pin her against the wall and have my way with her. Pulling away the beautiful vampiress traced my jawline with her long fingernail and used her legs to pull me closer.

"I'll make you a deal, let me feed and we can progress to the next step of this process..." I didn't even have to think about it from the memory of how good it felt last time.

"Deal." I said with a smile as she kissed me slowly once more before using her tongue to run the length of my collarbone. I shuddered from the contact until she reached my jugular, kissing the tender flesh before burying her fangs into the artery.

At first it hurt but then waves of pleasure rippled through me and I pulled her close, pressing my manhood inside of her and letting out a growl of pleasure.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

The enemy transport took up position above the combat zone and it seemed like the pilot wasn't sure what to shoot at. The space craft hovered in position for several long moments before a fire trail shot out from the northern end of the fight and struck the cockpit. A loud explosion split the ship apart and it tumbled out of the sky to crash hard on the ground not far from the battle sight.

The vampire soldiers were in complete disarray at this point and the Recon Force troopers moved in and mopped them up in quick order. While I had thought things would escalate out of control the lack of action on the pilots part made things go much quicker than anticipated.

One of the vamps had positioned himself behind the wall of prisoners and was holding a dagger up against a man with the insignia of a Major's throat.

"Move closer or try anything and he dies!" The enemy soldier stated, his eyes darting between the overwhelming number of humans in front of him.

Before anyone could respond the vampire went stiff, a combat knife sticking out the top of his head. Lieutenant Jasper had appeared behind the alien unnoticed and taken him by surprise. Withdrawing the blade, Jasper kicked him away and knelt to free the prisoners one by one.

"Sir, I'm Lieutenant Jasper, 2nd New York RF." The man rubbed at his chaffed wrists and stood up on shaky legs.

"Thank you, We're a patched unit from the hangar defense team. There were fifty of us but we lost quite a few when they overran our position." I stepped forward and saluted the Major.

"Sir, Sergeant Victor Grimm, Outer Wall Defense Force. We are planning on stealing this transport and going into the city to free more prisoners. Whats the situation in there?" The superior officer returned the salute and sighed.

"Not good. We still have pockets of defenders scattered around but for the most part they have all of the civilians and soldiers enslaved. We overheard some conversations while trying to sneak out. There going to be using the prisoners to repair or build new ships using the scraps from the city and our own equipment. If a slave is too weak or falls behind they use them for blood and send the bodies to some kind of an engine process as fuel." Everyone in the gathered group exchanged looks in surprise.

"Anyone think they can fly this thing?" I asked, pointing at the transport. One of the prisoners in mechanics coveralls stepped forward.

"I can probably figure it out. Aviation Mechanic Corporal Timms." The man said. I grinned and looked to the Major and Lieutenant.

"How about it? We enter the city, pick up those pockets of defenders and steal some gear? These Vamps seem arrogant so the last thing they'd expect is humans to commandeer one of there ships." The two officers looked between each other and the Major shrugged.

"Why not." Waving a hand at the mechanic he snapped his fingers.

"Get that thing going and I'll promote you to Technical Sergeant!" The officer yelled. The man gave a sloppy salute and went to work figuring things out.

Commander Devin Crowe

After the extremely pleasant shower session I had just climbed into bed when a rap on the door interrupted me. Groaning as I stood up I moved to the door and opened it to reveal an MP with a platter of food.

"Grub sir, compliments of the mess hall for saving the ship." I laughed as I accepted the rather heavy gift.

"Thank you, let them know it was an honor." The soldier gave me a salute and turned to walk away. Resealing the door I sniffed at the rich aroma radiating off the sealed plate and moved to sit at the desk, sliding the laptop aside and placing the food down.

Sally was stretched out nude on the bed with a lazy content look of pleasure on her face from the after glow of our lovemaking. Giving me a soft smile she sniffed the air and made a face.

"That smells awful, what is it?" She asked, sitting up and taking a peek at the food as I opened the lid. Inside was a pair of imitation chicken wings, some barbecue sauce and Parmesan noodles. A bottle of what looked like old school soda was nestled alongside the banquet.

"It's good food is what it is. You vampires must have a different idea on what smells good and doesn't. Makes sense considering you only drink blood." I opened the plastic casing on the utensils and slid out the fork to begin eating.

Sally spread out on the bed once more and sighed as she stared at the ceiling.

"Do you think your Captain will allow us to fly with you? I was thinking we could paint our ships a different color and fight with you during this upcoming engagement. You could also install explosive kill switches in each of our star ships in case we turn on you." The vampiress glanced sideways at me as I tried to finish swallowing a mouthful of food before responding.

"I don't know, I'll ask her. This isn't going to be pretty, you sure your up for it?" I took another bite, moving the laptop into place alongside the food and opening the lid.

"Of course...you have no idea what its like on the Nocturnal ships..." Sally was quiet for a moment before she looked at me again.

My hands began to skip across the keys as I started to write a report to the Captain with Sally's suggestion. Something I'd become quite adept at over the years was typing fast and it wasn't long before I was finished.

"Tell me about it." I said, closing the lid and taking another bite of noodles. The vampiress sat up and turned to face me completely, her legs swaying back and forth as they were too short to reach the ground.

"Well even though I was a Captain the males treated me like I was less than dirt...We are the last to drink blood on the ship, normally getting the leftovers from unhealthy prisoners so it tastes like battery acid." The woman stared at the floor, her thoughts taking a dark turn.

"They...rape us whenever they want. It's considered an officers privilege and duty to try and get any female below them pregnant to further the species. If one of us is with child we're taken off active duty and restricted to isolated quarters until we give birth." I frowned as I heard this, my appetite now gone.

Shoving the food plate aside I twisted to face her and placed a finger under her chin, tilting her head up so I could look into her eyes.

"I'm sorry...if you don't mind me asking, how long does it take for you to give birth?" I attempted to pull my hand away when she caught hold of my wrist and pulled me closer, placing my open palm on her cheek and trembling from the contact.

"I don't mind. Takes around...what is your earth days to a month?" She asked, pressing her face into my hand and sighing in satisfaction.

"More or less thirty days to a month, twelve months to a year." I stood up and moved to sit beside her, pulling her close.

"In that case it would be around two months before we give birth." The white haired temptress buried her head against my chest and smiled up at me.

"Do you...have any children?" I asked, brushing a strand of white locks out of her eyes.

"Yes, thirteen. Cassiva is actually one of my youngest daughters. Unfortunately the moment we have a child they take it away for training in whatever position is assigned to them. We may fly in the same squadron but we are more or less strangers to each other and act only as wing-mates." I couldn't help but wince at this.

"That sucks." Sally nodded, her hair tickling my chest and making me shiver. Pulling her with me I laid out on the bed, the bunk so small the vampiress was forced to drape one leg and an arm around me to fit.

"Yeah, it is what it is. They also make us do anything they want such as cleaning there quarters or bringing them stuff. In training they use us for sparring and we're ordered to hold back so they have a tendency to abuse us." The information was hard to process as it was so barbaric in human standards it shocked me.

The only time things had been like that was before my time several hundred years before. Today's time women were treated as equals and slavery was banned so such practices were appalling. To think Sally and the rest of her squadron had been raped and used as servants made me seethe with anger. It was a testament to how strong willed they were and my respect for vampire females grew.

"Do you think we have a chance against the Nocturnal fleet?" I asked, staring at the ceiling.

"I don't know. It depends on how many ships you face. Fighter to fighter you have an edge but your capital ships are a different story. While they have better weaponry than the Nocturnal Fleet there armor is lighter and there slower. I think the only edge you'll have is if you stick to bombing runs and fighter screens and only use the heavier ships as anti-fighter formations. Capital to Capital though I don't see how you can win." Sally traced the sculpted muscles on my abdomen as she talked.

"I hope we can do something. We're heading for a fuel stations further in system. Once we get there we're going to gather materials and use an A.W.G. to travel to another galaxy. After that, who knows. Are the vampire ships capable of wormhole tracking?" I glanced over at the clock and sighed, realizing I only had roughly nine hours until combat.

"Sure, they can follow any ship to any galaxy so long as they have been there before. We've only charted a small percentage of galaxies but we have millions of ships scattered all over the universe. The only way to evade the Nocturnals is if you get lucky and end up in an unexplored sector, but if a ship in this galaxy is able to reach your wormhole before it closes they can figure out where you went and follow you." I digested this information as best I could.

Sleep was tugging at the edges of my vision and I smiled at my lover, caressing her cheek with affection.

"I'm sorry you had to undergo all of that but your safe here. Let's get some rack time, I haven't slept in a while." The vampire nodded and made herself comfortable.

My entire body was relaxed from the time I'd spent with Sally and I drifted peacefully into sleep.

This Forsaken World Chapter 26

Sergeant Victor Grimm

The waiting was tedious as the mechanic worked on the transport ship. The design was simple but the controls were alien as was the engine core. The Corporal did what he could but it was taking precious time and just as I was thinking things would get bad if we stayed in our current position much longer, a warning call from one of the Recon Force troopers brought my fears to reality.

Our group was mostly concentrated next to the space craft, only the recon team spread out to cover our perimeter. Moving over to the man who had spoken up I grit my teeth at the sight in the distance.

Advancing on us rapidly over open ground was what appeared to be thousands of infected. They were attacking from the north which was cleared from any buildings or car wrecks making there approach quite obvious.

Scanning the front rows I cursed under my breath at the situation. Glancing back at the gathered humans I did the math in my head to come up with a negative conclusion...we didn't have the numbers or weapons to hold off so many zombies.

Clapping the man on the shoulder and giving him a nod of appreciation for a job well done I doubled back and waved the Lieutenant and Major over.

"We got problems. Infected, a lot, coming this way. They must have seen us moving around or something, who knows how they hunt prey. It might also be from the gunfight but none of that matters right now. We only have side arms, the weapons the RF team has and syringe guns..." I stared at the ground trying to come up with a plan as the Major stood up and moved over to the transport.

"Corporal how much longer?! We don't have long." He yelled, sticking his head into the open side hatch.

"Probably ten minutes or so sir, why?" He asked. While I could hear the conversation, although it was rather muffled, I wasn't able to see inside to examine the man's progress myself.

"Just a horde of ravenous undead freaks coming to eat us." The officer said, shrugging his shoulders casually like it was no big deal. This got the man moving from the sounds of clattering tools and very vulgar swear words.

"We'll have to hold until its ready, we won't be able to outrun them so the transport is our only hope." Evan said as he joined us.

"My thoughts exactly." Raising my voice so everyone could hear, I stood up.

"Everyone gather anything you can use as a weapon, we have a horde coming our way. Run if you want but if you choose to stay and wait for the transport to get repaired be ready for a fight!" I snapped, checking the remaining magazines for my pistol.

I was currently sitting on five spare magazines, each one loaded with eleven bullets. While it was a good number to use against infected, I had to make each shot count considering the sheer number. The Recon troopers had used a decent amount of ammunition during the fight to take the space craft so there was no way we could kill them all.

The former prisoners picked up anything they could use as a club, one man prying the flail out of the dead grip of his vampire tormentor. Everyone looked shaken and scared but ready to do there part.

"Major, you stay here and keep that corporal working. We'll hold them off as long as we can." The officer gave me a nod and I waved everyone towards the north to follow me.

There wasn't much cover except a few boulders and the scrap metal half walls the vampires had put up. While the walls would do nothing against zombies, built for ballistic or projectile cover, it would slow them down as they had to jump over them.

Hank and Evan positioned themselves next to me, the Recon team spreading out in a staggered line with decent spacing between them. The Defense Force soldiers clustered together with there assorted melee weapons, assuming they'd be more effective as a large group instead of standing alone.

"For once, why can't things be easy for us?" Evan asked. "If it's not space vampires it's traitors...if its not that its zombies...can't we get a break?" The younger man asked, checking his weapon.

"It wouldn't be any fun then." I said, smiling as I dropped into a crouch and placed my hands on the scrap wall to support my gun.

The infected were still a good way out but they were closing fast and from the massive dust cloud in there wake it appeared there numbers were greater than I'd originally guessed. I breathed in and out slowly to get my fear under control, noting Hank was visibly shaking beside me. Reaching over I put a hand on the grizzled veteran's shoulder to try and reassure him

"It's all good Staff's, we're here with you. Your not alone in this." The Staff Sergeant nodded, struggling to get his body under control to stop the involuntary movements.

I noticed the Lieutenant was not far to my left and as we locked eyes I gave him a grateful nod. The RF soldiers had done so much for us in such a short time I felt proud to fight alongside them and die with them if it came to it.

"Almost here, make your shots count. We just have to hold them off until the transport is ready then we'll get out of here!" I called out to let everyone know what the situation was.

Grim silence followed as the wait set in and adrenaline and fear filled our collective bodies. As the zombies closed in the sounds of snarling and screaming filled the air. I could actually make out details of there faces the closer they got and I felt disgusted.

These people had once been human but there was no shred of humanity left. They were simply empty husks with basic comprehension and an insatiable drive to feed on anything alive.

White knuckling my pistol I waited for the inevitable battle that was currently on its way.

Commander Devin Crowe

Waking up to my alarm I grumbled as I sat up. The first thing I noticed was Sally's absence, she was no longer in the room. I'd been hoping to wake up beside a beautiful naked white haired goddess but it was not to be.

Surprisingly I pondered if everything that had happened was a very elaborate dream and I had just awakened to the real world but I hoped that wasn't the case. Standing up and getting dressed in my flight suit I double checked the time and left my quarters.

While originally there had been MP's stationed in the hallway under my orders they were no longer there and the confusion continued. I moved down the corridor as the intercom went off above me.

"Commander Crowe to the briefing room, Commander Crowe to the briefing room." Blinking I changed directions and made my way to the indicated location.

As I approached I noted there were two MP's outside the briefing room as well as a small group of S.C.A.R. Soldiers. Returning the salutes I received I walked into the room and looked around.

Sitting in the front row were Sally, Jewel, Sledge and Tombstone. Behind them were the rest of the Reapers and behind that was the vampire pilots. I noted they were no longer wearing restraints which was interesting to say the least.

Sally and Jewel were talking with broad grins and lots of chatter and hand movements. It was obvious the two women had taken a liking to each other and it made me both happy and nervous at the same time. Jewel knew everything there was to know about me and she was no doubt spilling my darkest secrets to my new found lover.

Standing by a podium was the Captain and Deja Vu hit me once more. Man everything was so weird right now. I gave the Commanding Officer a salute and was about to take a seat when she waved me over.

"Commander. Up here please." She held out a hand to the podium and I nodded, taking my place.

"First things first, I got your report and I've agreed to assign the Nocturnal Pilots to your squadron using there own fighters. We've had them painted blue and there are explosive kill switches on board. I'll leave it up to you for there designations and assignments. Normally we wouldn't even consider this but we desperately need pilots." Captain Conners pointed at the white board behind me and I spun around to look at it.

"This is the current assault situation. I've outlined how we're going to be positioned but the Admiral has assigned you as the combat coordinator since you have the most experience fighting the enemy and being aboard there ships. I'll leave it to you to decide how we're going to engage the fleet and I'll pass it down the line to the other Captains. Also we have received fighter support from the Eclipse and the Talon so we have thirty fighter squadrons, so roughly three hundred and sixty ABS-1's." I breathed in a sigh of relief. While the Talon carried five squadrons and each carrier supported twenty three they were short on all fronts. To be able to field such a fighting force made me feel hope.

"As for bomber's we'll have sixteen squadrons so just under two hundred. Between the small craft, three destroyers, a carrier and a battleship, I hope we can do some damage to slow the enemy down." With that the Captain stepped aside and gave me full access to the board.

Looking the chart over slowly I noticed the flaw's in the tactics right away. The Alliance fleet was set up in a wedge formation with the destroyers on the flanks, the Battleship at the point and the carrier in the middle.

Reaching out I grabbed a red marker and erased the ships, drawing them up in a different position. The main battle outline was weak and trying to take the enemy head on was going to get a lot of people killed. To do the most damage while preserving our ammunition and fuel we had to fight with guerrilla tactics as opposed to face to face.

"Captain what's our fuel situation? We were low during the battle for Earth if I remember." I glanced over at the CO. The woman nodded and smiled in response.

"The civilian fleet was kind enough to share some of there reserves with some...persuasion. We've got enough for a decent battle and retreat to the fuel station. Unfortunately any ship that is too damaged to follow us when we leave the zone will be left behind, we can't risk more ships to save one. Admiral's orders." She shrugged apologetically.

"Alright so we need to make sure that doesn't happen." I scanned the board once more and a strategy began to form in my head.

"Right. Sally, how confident is the Nocturnal fleet in there numbers?" I asked, looking at the woman. The vampiress nodded slowly.

"Very, they'll attack head on using sheer numbers to overwhelm instead of fighting with tactics or caution. It's probably the vampire's greatest weakness, arrogance." I pondered this, turning back to the board once more.

"Then we'll have to draw them in. Captain how many enemy ships are we going to be facing?" I asked. The woman paused before responding.

"As far as our scouts can tell, eight battleships, two frigates and a pair of destroyers." I turned to face Sally again.

"How many fighter/bombers is that?" The white haired beauty winced.

"Um, over two thousand. Each battleship carriers twenty squadrons ranging between twelve to twenty space craft. So two hundred and forty per capital ship times that by eight battleships and that's one thousand nine hundred and twenty. That's just the main ships, the frigates each carry ten squadrons as well." I swallowed hard. Well I knew there was going to be bad news in there somewhere.

"That means we only have five hundred and change of our own ships....how are we supposed to fight that many Nocturnal fighters?!" Raptor asked, standing up and gripping the back of the seat in front of him. He looked around slowly as he realized what he'd done and he slumped back into his seat with embarrassment.

"Right but we have the edge of maneuverability. Also we have more combat experience and better pilots." I pointed out, however Vacya rose to her feet in the back of the room. One of the MP's raised a shotgun and she speared him with a withering glare.

"That is not quite accurate. You disgraced the Nocturnal Lords in your last fight. They underestimated your abilities by throwing weak pilots out to engage you. They will not make the same mistake, the fleet we are about to engage will be some of the best you've yet to face. This will not be recruit enemies, they will be experienced and battle hardened." The vampiress sat down once more, still glaring at the MP as he lowered his shotgun and stepped back.

"Okay...so there you go Raptor, for once your correct, we're all going to die. Feel better?" I asked. The man slumped lower in his seat, his face turning a horrible shade of white in fear.

"So the only way we're going to stand a chance is if we can split there forces in half. We'll approach them in one straight line, the carrier and battleship in the middle with the destroyers on flanks." I drew the appropriate images and lines on the board as I talked.

I was quite aware I wasn't a good artist and I bit my lower lip in shame at the stick figures I was putting up for everyone to see.

"Just before we close to firing range, we'll split our fleet to try and bait them. The Talon and Claw will move right to try and draw as many enemy ships as possible. The Star, Storm and Hawk will go left. We'll split our fighter support fifty fifty and use them as pickets against enemy squadrons. Our bombers will assault the support destroyers and frigates with a handful of our best fighter wing's. We'll leave the enemy battleships for our four capital ships." Finishing with my horrible mock battle draw up I capped the marker and stepped back.

"I'm hoping with the rear guard support gone the Nocturnal fleet will withdraw or at least fall into chaos and break formation so we can hit them more effectively. I want to point out however that every battle plan can look great and be set up with perfection but something will always go wrong and in most cases the plan fails completely and we'll be forced to improvise." I leaned forward on the podium and looked around the room.

"Any questions?" I waited patiently and just as I had guessed Raptor raised his hand.

"Saw this coming, what?" I snapped, everyone except for the vampire pilots laughed softly as he stood up.

"If something happens whats our fall back plan?" He asked. I knew someone was going to ask this and even at the beginning of the briefing from what the Captain had said, I already knew the answer.

"There is no plan. If you get disabled or captured, your on your own. Count yourself lucky if they take your eye." I pointed at the patch. "Otherwise they'll do what they did to me with the skin peeling. It was quite fun, you should try it." Raptor sat down with a resigned sigh.

"Look, the only reason the Admiral saw fit to rescue me was I have vital intelligence to the safety of our fleet. Also because of my rank and we still had ships close by. As of right now our ships are continuing on there way to the fuel depot while we are holding position. Every ship engaging in this battle will be forced to withdraw at the same time and put distance between us and the enemy as fast as possible. There won't be time to come back for any rescue, so if you go down, do yourself a favor, vent your oxygen and avoid a worse fate." I made myself put an edge into my voice to drive the point home.

Silence fell over the briefing room and I pushed away from the podium, turning to the Captain.

"Ma'am, that's my battle plan." she nodded slowly as she turned to face the gathered pilots.

"Sledge, fill the Hammers in on the situation and brief them. You'll be flying with the Reapers for a direct assault on the enemy frigate. Dismissed!" She ordered.

The room rose as one and everyone filed out into the hallway. Sledge broke off into a different direction to find his pilots as the rest of us made our way to the ready room of the Reapers.

Stepping into the locker room we began to gather our equipment. The vampire females stood there a little uncomfortably watching us as I moved to join them.

"Alright, your going to be designated as the Blood Fangs. We use numerical call signs so Blood Fang one, two, etc. Sally is Blood Fang lead. I'll let her assign you your numbers. While we're up there, follow my orders to the letter unless you get separated in which case either use your own judgment or fall back to your original command line you had when you were with the Nocturnals." I smiled as Sally stepped up beside me and put an arm around my waist.

"I know you guys are ace pilots from what she's told me so I'm not going to give you a speech about performance. Do what you do best and know that we're here to back you up so we expect the same in return. Everyone good?" I looked between the women who each nodded.

"Right, get your gear, they piled it over in the corner there. We'll get you lockers when things have slowed down." The vampire's scattered about to do as ordered and I looked down at Sally.

"So, first fight together. Excited?" I asked. The white haired beauty beamed up at me with a grin.

"Oh yeah. Stay safe, I don't want to lose you." She leaned up on her tip-toes and kissed me passionately. Breaking away after a few moments she giggled and whispered into my ear.

"Jewel was telling me some very interesting things about you. We'll have to talk about it when we get back." With a teasing smile she let go and walked over to her squadron.

Casting a glare at the redhead as she was slipping into her flight suit she gave me a sarcastic salute.

Shifting my attention to the task at hand I opened my locked and pulled out my helmet, staring down at the stenciled name 'Wraith' written on the front of it. Gripping the head piece I let the fear take over for a few moments before fighting it back down. I'd learned long ago you had to face it before burying it or it would come back to bite you at the worst time.

Slamming the locker shut I started towards the flight line, both squadrons falling in behind me. It was still going to take some time before everyone was ready and briefed to head out but we could gather up in the Hangar bay and chill until it was time for deployment.

The fight to come was going to be uglier than the retreat from Earth and that was saying something. I only hoped everyone would make it back alive...

This Forsaken World Chapter 27

Sergeant Victor Grimm

My heart nearly stopped as the zombies entered range and anyone with a firearm opened up at the same time. You'd think I'd be used to this after being on the wall for so long and dealing with the infected face to face on numerous occasions but in those situations I was always able to get to safety, I wasn't completely exposed with no cover.

Fighting my fear to get my focus on the fight I started squeezing the trigger as carefully as I could, making sure each of my rounds struck a target with the most accuracy I could muster.

The front two rows of the infected dropped as they tried to advance, the third and forth tumbling over there fallen comrades before they finally managed to get there footing and surged forward once more.

"Keep it up!" I yelled as I followed my own orders. The gun chamber slid back and I swapped magazines, the gun becoming incredibly hot in my hands.

The oncoming horde was getting closer and closer and from the looks on the Defense Force troopers faces they were on the verge of routing and running in any direction that wasn't here. I wanted to tell them to hold there ground but I couldn't blame them, they only had makeshift clubs for defense and infected were still very strong and fast.

As I went through my third magazine a round got stuck in the breach and I cursed.

"I'm jammed!" I called out to Hank and Evan as I stood up and moved back a few feet, struggling to get the bullet casing free.

"Too late!" Evan yelled as the roaring mob swarmed over the scrap walls and were among us. While the gunfire had slowed down the horde and thinned there numbers, there were still an overwhelming amount of bodies attempting to rip us limb from limb.

Drawing my combat knife in one hand and using the pistol as a club for the other I began to fight the infected back, mixing in my well practiced martial arts to disable anything that broke through my swinging defenses.

"Fall back to the shuttle!" I yelled as the sounds of engines fired up. The timing could have been a little better but it was better late than never.

The living humans ran as fast as there legs could carry them to the transport's side door, a handful of prisoners and one Recon Force trooper being left behind to disappear under a swarm of zombies as they began to feast on there prey.

Swinging my knife to the right I speared the point into the side of a woman's head, a wet thunk ringing out from the impact as I used the bottom of the pistol to crush the skull of another infected in. The sheer number was almost too much and if it wasn't for my armor plating I'd have been taken down by now.

I back pedaled rapidly, still using my combination of weapons and martial arts to fight off anything that got close enough until I cleared the nose of the Transport and spun around to charge towards the door.

The Major was waving survivors of the onslaught into the space craft and from the looks of it only half our number was still alive. I realized that most of the Recon team, Evan and Hank were all still on the other side of the transport ship and cursed.

Now having a second to focus I cleared the jam on my sidearm and slid a fresh magazine in. From the lack of gunshots it was obvious the soldiers with firearms had either run out of ammo or they were being overwhelmed and fighting in close quarters.

Turning the corner I watched as Evan used the same combat tactics I'd been using to clear a path. The younger man had the same training and experience I'd received but unfortunately Hank wasn't a combat soldier.

While the armory officer was strong, he was a lot older and less agile. He also lacked any martial arts training so it was obvious from the way he was swinging his arms and not using his legs he was in serious trouble.

"Hank, run!" I called out as I took aim and gave him covering fire. I didn't worry about the private as he was holding his own, performing the same backwards fighting action I had earlier.

The Staff sergeant tried to break free but four infected had a hold of him and no amount of zombie proof armor could protect you from that many opponents as they pulled him to the ground. The grizzled veteran let out a scream of pain as one of the zombies bit into his throat, another his calf and the rest peeling away his armored plating to expose the soft stomach where they could get to his intestines.

The man looked at me with pleading eyes but surprised me as he yelled back to me.

"Go!!" He was in the process of flailing his arms to get the attention of more zombies around him, blood pooling out of his mouth and his voice hoarse in obvious pain.

"Over here you bastards! Fresh meat!" I was broken up with indecision on if I should end his pain or leave him as he'd requested.

From the way they were tearing into him it was only a matter of seconds before he was dead so with much regret I left him behind. As I once more cleared the nose of the transport I looked around to see who was still alive.

"Where's the Lieutenant?!" I asked the major. The officer pointed over his shoulder to a large semi truck that was in the other direction to the east.

"Come on!!" The survivors of the RF force were using there assault rifles like baseball bats as they clubbed any zombie that attempted to get on the truck they were hiding on. Four men were in the rusted bed while one was crouched on the hood and the young officer was on the roof.

It was a valiant display of bravery as they seemed to be getting the better of the horde when one of them made the mistake of throwing out a grenade. The explosive device drew the attention of every zombie in the area and the entire group surged towards the truck.

"Take off!" The Lieutenant called out, giving me a wink as he picked up a rocket launcher from one of his fallen comrades in the truck bed, the man who had dropped it being dragged out into the mass of bodies.

Again I felt guilt and regret but I took a second to give the man a firm salute which he returned before I entered the transport. The Major checked to make sure there were no more survivors before he slammed the door shut.

"Go go go!" He informed the pilot. From the explosion outside and the pounding on the rooftop of the space ship it was obvious the RF troopers had been overrun and the infected had turned there attention to the transport once more, the roar of the engines like a dinner bell.

"Hang on!" The mechanic said as he kicked in the thrusters and took to the skies.

From the look of things only five prisoners, the major, mechanic, Evan and myself had survived...I cursed as I entered the cockpit and took a seat in the co-pilots chair. The shuttle didn't have any rear view ports, the only visible window's in the front where you could look out at your surroundings.

The horde was much larger than I had thought, extending almost a mile to the north...perhaps eight to ten thousand in count. We had been lucky only the front wave had hit us, if more had been clustered together with the charge none of us would have survived.

The major stuck his head between our seats and I leaned back.

"That was bad. No point going into the city now, we don't have anything to fight with. What's your orders?" I asked.

"I don't know. We have a number of cities around the country that are still unaccounted for. We lost communication when the siege started so there's a chance some of those locations are still intact. Most of them are to the west though so let's head that way. With this ship, we can probably cover a lot of ground really fast." The man shrugged in defeat.

"Right, its something at least. New York is a lost cause. Let's just head West and see what we see." The mechanic nodded as he fiddled with the controls.

Looking out the front view port I sighed in frustration. While I hadn't known Hank for long, he had proven to be a good man and I'd come to appreciate having him around. We've been through a lot and it hurt to lose him.

"Take it slow and don't go too high, we don't want to miss anything." I informed the make-shift pilot. The man nodded and did as he was told. I continued to scan the ground looking for anything interesting.

Commander Devin Crowe

It took a few hours in which Sally informed me two of her pilots didn't speak English. They were able to understand it but they'd never learned to speak it so they had to rely on there fellow vampire's to translate.

The issue could prove to be a problem if we needed direct contact but I decided to worry about it after the battle, we didn't have time right now.

Everyone talked casually as we waited, the occasional laughter making me smile as I knew it was keeping things calm and collected. Having pilots relaxed before a fight was good so long as they were alert and ready when the time came.

Sally made herself comfortable beside me and I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, letting her rest her head in my lap as she almost purred from being happy and content. Running my fingers through her hair slowly I relished the sounds of pleasure my touch was eliciting and I chuckled to myself.

Slowly over time the other squadrons filed into the hangar and soon there were hundreds of pilots waiting to take off. The time was coming and I untangled myself from Sally and stood up.

"Let's get ready." I informed my two groups. Everyone collected there helmets and made ready to join the flight line for takeoff.

A loud siren went off as a voice cut into the speakers.

"All pilots to your ships, oxygen masks in place, pressure doors are opening in one minute." The hangar control technician informed us.

Giving Jewel a high five for luck and holding Sally's hand one last time, we broke apart and moved to our specified ships.

Climbing aboard I sighed as muscle memory took over and I closed the cockpit, my hands expertly running over the controls and adjusting things to the way I liked them. While this wasn't my original fighter, Vixie had taken the time to set things up to my standards and I really appreciated it.

A radio crackled in my ear as the hangar technician spoke to everyone in a ship at once.

"Engines prime, prepare for take off on go..." I pressed a switch and the ship engines roared to life. Toggling a switch and pressing the accelerator the AFS-1 growled like an angry caged tiger. The pressure doors slowly slid open to reveal the empty void of space beyond.

"Go!" The technician yelled into the radio.

Disengaging the break my fighter lurched forward and cleared the flight deck, my inertial dampeners kicking in and allowing me to fly comfortably.

Glancing out my side to port I counted off the rest of my squadron including the Blood Fang's. When I was satisfied I waited for the two formations to link up in twin wedges making a W shape. Switching radio channels so I was on the specified channel I tapped the transmitter.

"All Reapers report in." I checked to make sure my systems were all green as I waited. The squadron reported in by the numbers and I smiled.

"Blood Fang's report in." I again waited as the vampire females responded. I noticed that the two pilots who didn't speak English spoke in there strange language and I took the words to mean they understood and were checking in as ordered.

Satisfied that the unit was good to go I switched to another channel as Sledge and the rest of the 12th Hammers formed up behind us.

"Sledge what took you so long old man?" I teased. I was rewarded with a growl as my friend cut in.

"You know me, I like to be fashionably late. How long until we're ready to go to slip stream?" He asked. I glanced down at the scanners and noted that all fighters were in position and the capital ships were beginning to form up for the jump.

"Soon, looks like the fleet is getting ready. Gotta love seeing the Eclipse slink away to safety....I gotta say man, any respect I have for the Admiral is gone after the order for this attack. He's going to get a lot of good people killed just so he doesn't have to worry about being chased by the enemy for a while." I tried not to throw in some cuss words and bit my tongue.

"Yeah I agree but what can we do?" I could tell from his voice he had thought of quite a few things we could do but he kept them to himself.

"You think these vamp women can be trusted boss?" My friend asked me as he broke formation and pulled up alongside me. If it had been anyone else I probably would have said something but Sledge wasn't just anyone.

"Yeah I do, and that's not just because of my feelings for Sally. They were treated badly by there own people, I think they want to kill Nocturnal's more than we do if that's possible after Earth." I breathed in deeply and let it out.

"Alright I'll trust you on this boss. You've always had good instincts." With that said the man switched channels and fell back to his squadron once more.

As we waited for the fleet to form up I leaned back in my seat and tried to stretch out in my cramped cockpit. One thing that I marveled at was how I had lived to see so many amazing things while in space. To watch a massive fleet of spacecraft form up to use experimental technology to travel at unparalleled speeds to fight an enemy from our ancient literature was incredible to say the least, if not a little strange.

I mean really, who would have thought vampires from space would invade Earth? Only a really bad science fiction writer from the twenty first century would come up with something like that, and to add zombies too? I mean come on...that writer would have horrible ratings and a lot of hate mail.

My thoughts were interrupted as the red warning light to verify ready status went off. The A.M.S. Star had slaved the fighter squadrons so they could track what was going on and tapping the all good switch informed the bridge officers that we were ready to go.

The light switched to yellow for a few seconds and I prepped the fighter. When it finally changed to green I hit the switch and my space ship went to slip stream. The trip was going to take about five minutes since we were so close, all I could do was try to get comfortable and wait it out.

From our projections we'd come out of slip stream just far enough away from the enemy fleet to be out of projectile range. According to Sally they wouldn't be expecting an attack so it would take some time for them to launch there fighters, however a constant patrol of at least fifty were always in action and they'd be ready to fight right away.

I idly played with the flight stick as I watched the minutes tick by, my impatience growing with every second. Finally a warning alarm went off to announce arrival and I went from playing with the flight stick to gripping it.

"All fighters ready for reversion." I stated over the transmitter. The ship broke out of slip stream and I could only swear out loud at the sight that greeted us.

"Shit!"

Instead of the capital ship count the scouts had given us, over fifty battleships and twenty destroyers were spread out in a half circle closer than we'd anticipated. My scanners went nuts as well as my instrument board and headset as everyone was panicking all at once.

A wall of fighters slammed into us within seconds and everything turned to chaos. On the left side six enemy destroyers were moving towards our carrier, to the right, six battleships were preparing to engage the A.M.S. Talon.

"We've been betrayed!" I yelled as I put my fighter into a spin to evade a few shard projectiles. I was forced to cut to the port side, Angel following my example, as a pair of Nocturnal fighters passed by.

"Break formation, evasive maneuvers!" I called out as I turned to starboard and pushed the stick forward into a dive. Angel did her best to stay with me as I tried to get out of the dogfight to get some distance.

The enemy fleet had so many fighter/bombers attacking it was beyond comprehension. To coordinate so many ships all at once had to be hell on whoever was in charge but from the look of things they had fielded the force and simply said, attack!

I watched helplessly as the Alliance fleet took numerous casualties and any form of strategy was abandoned in favor of survival.

We couldn't go to Slip Stream again unless we had a clear lane of space in front of us and with the number of ships clustered together that was impossible for any capital ship in the battle zone.

As I continued to watch, Sally and the rest of the Blood Fang's broke away to join us, the Reaper's in tow as well as Sledge's bomber force.

One of the hammer's was gone and I could only assume he or she had died in the initial attack and anger rose in my throat.

"Alright let's stick to our original plan, we're going after there flagship though." I informed everyone.

"How do we know which one is the command ship." Tombstone asked. Scanning the enemy fleet I cursed for what felt the twentieth time since leaving slip stream as I failed to spot anyway to distinguish one battleship from another.

"It's the one in the very middle of the half circle. The one that has the yellow patch just below the bridge, that's the flagship for the vanguard fleet. If we take it out any coordination on the Nocturnal forces will break down and they'll start working independently." Sally cut in.

Thankfully I smiled as I wanted to kiss the beautiful vampiress for being so awesome.

"Right you heard the lady, Reapers lets clear a path. Blood Fangs protect the Hammers and let's hit the bridge of that ship and get in this fight." Double clicks confirmed the order and I kicked in my thrusters, angling towards the enemy flagship.

This Forsaken World Chapter 28

Sergeant Victor Grimm

We'd been flying for just over an hour, my guess somewhere over Wyoming, when tracer rounds shot up from the ground to pass close by. Looking down I got excited as I nudged the pilot who had begun to panic.

"Those are friendlies! Break left and land this scrap heap so we can introduce ourselves before they shoot us down." The mechanic was white knuckling the controls as he swallowed hard and did as he was told. The man had the courage of a mouse and it was almost embarrassing to consider him a fellow soldier.

The transport shuddered as it set down and I left the cockpit, my enthusiasm obviously evident as the rest of the occupants stood up and turned to face me with curious looks.

"Got some Alliance military out there taking pot shots at us. Luckily they have horrible aim but it mean's we're not alone out here." I informed the Major. The officer grinned and opened the door to allow everyone to leave the ship.

Outside the landscape was much the same as everywhere else, barren and desolate. We were just just off of I-80 near a small town called Wamsutter. In the distance rapidly advancing on our position was a pair of solar powered Alliance issue military trucks with fifty caliber ballistic turrets on the top. Defense Force troopers were manning the heavy weapons as they realized we were humans and visibly relaxed.

The major waved to the oncoming vehicles and I slumped up against the side of the Nocturnal Transport, the fatigue of the last few days hitting me once more. While I'd been able to get plenty of sleep the night before, the fighting and stress was building and it was hard to keep pushing on.

The two vehicles pulled up in front of us and a fire team of six men exited to train there weapons on us, the two gunners staying on station in case something happened.

"I'm Sergeant Storm, rank and assignment." The lead man ordered as his group spread out to cover all of us, one flanking to the far right so he could check the aft portion of the star ship.

"Major Bask with survivors from New York. The city fell, we've been on the run ever since, stole this ship on our way out." He indicated the transport behind him.

The man before us was obviously Defense Force but he didn't match any unit I'd ever seen which wasn't saying much since I'd never left New York until now. The group was wearing desert camo, the vehicles a light tan in color.

"Right." The entire fire team snapped a salute which the major returned before waving them to ease. "You might want to come with us sir, I'd suggest leaving the transport so Alliance military doesn't fire on you, it'll be tight but everyone should be able to fit in the trucks." The Sergeant waved us on and his team remounted the vehicles.

The NCO had been right, it was a tight fit for everyone but we made it work and after a few minutes of light curses and bumping into each other we were on the move.

"So where are we heading?" I asked, elbowing Evan in the ribs to get him to move over a bit so I could lean between the front seats. The major had been given access to the passenger seat due to his rank and I looked over his shoulder.

"The surviving elements of the Alliance military from across the united states is gathering north of here. We've got a very large force so far and its growing by the hour as anything that can drive or fly is rallying there. The brass is planning on launching a major counter attack but as it stands we don't know which target is being considered. We've got gear, food and water and plenty of ammunition for the fight. I have to tell you, if you join us there you either pull your weight or you'll be sent to the refugee camp out of the zone to fend for yourselves. This is a military operation only and any non essentials are being dismissed." I grinned as the idea of getting back into this fight properly and having an Alliance assault rifle with plenty of ammunition once more got me excited.

"Oh you bet I'm with you guys, I've been itching to get payback since my squad got wasted. What about the infected, aren't they a threat to the camp? That many people in one location is like a buffet." I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We've got decoy cars and ships on patrol, if they spot zombie groups they draw them off with lights and sound. We also have full perimeter with automated turrets and explosives set up. Trust me, this is the biggest military gathering we've had since the last world war." The Sergeant seemed excited and it added to my own enthusiasm.

Glancing at Evan he gave me a thumbs up and chuckled.

"Maybe now I can get a sniper rifle."

Commander Devin Crowe

As the battle escalated I struggled to evade plasma shards from all sides. The combined squadrons following me were constantly being forced to break formation in order to stay alive and it was a real struggle to reach our target.

As I was able to get a second to recover I glanced out my view port to starboard side to see what was happening with the fleet. From what I could gather the A.M.S. Star was being shielded by the destroyers as they were taking a brutal beating. The smaller capital ships didn't look like they could handle much more as numerous large chunks of super heated metal were sticking out of the majority of each ship, fires blossoming and burning out across the entire hull.

The Star seemed to be more or less intact as it was performing evasive maneuvers to avoid the majority of the battleships fire but the smaller nocturnal fighter/bomber's were driving bombing runs across it's surface and causing a decent amount of damage.

The Talon on the other hand was on the verge of being ripped apart as the overwhelming firepower from the battleships that were teaming up against it were relentless. The barrages continued nonstop and the massive Alliance warship could barely stay in the fight as it struggled to respond with its surviving ballistic turrets and rockets.

On the dog-fighting front things were just as bad. From the wreckage and movements it appeared almost half of our fighters and bombers were destroyed and those that had survived to this point were stuck simply evading and trying to outmaneuver the enemy force. The sheer number of Nocturnal space craft was so oddly balanced against Alliance forces we simply could not perform any offense. It was a game of survival at this point and if things didn't change we were going to lose the majority of our fleet in this hopeless endeavor.

Turning my attention back to the task at hand I grit my teeth in frustration as another wave of enemy fighters made a run on us. Turning my flight stick hard to the right I just barely managed to avoid a head on collision as one of the Nocturnal ships tried to ram me with the spikes on the bow. While I'd gotten lucky in my collision with Sally, her spikes striking below my cockpit, I didn't want to tempt fate a second time.

My headset crackled as Captain Conners panicked voice cut in.

"Commander Crowe, we can't keep this up! The Talon is almost gone and the destroyers are close behind. If your going to do something do it now or I'm going to be forced to get the Star clear for a retreat." I glanced back once more to see the carrier in the process of moving just out of range of the combat.

"Roger that Captain. Get safe, this is a no win situation. Order a full retreat to any ship able, anyone left behind will buy you time. I'm taking the Reapers and Hammer's for a run on the enemy flagship, hopefully we can draw some enemy fire and distract them." Spinning my fighter once more I dove down to dodge some wreckage in my path.

"Understood, good luck!" A few seconds later and a call to all ships went out.

"This is Captain Conners of the A.M.S. Star, all ships form up for retreat! I repeat, full retreat!" The radios lit up with chatter after this as the people who realized they were going to be left behind started to freak out, the stories of what the vampire's did to prisoners registering with them.

Toggling the radio to my squadrons channel I tapped the transmitter.

"You guys still with me?" I inquired. I knew it was pointless to ask, the Reapers would follow me to hell and back if I asked.

"We're with you boss." Angel replied. The rest of the Reapers simply rocked there wings in response and Sally's sweet voice filtered in next.

"I'm with you my love, always." I grinned at this, the words filling me with confidence.

"Bleh, get a room you two." Sledge cut in as he brought his squadron in close behind to hug our approach.

"Let's do this!" I called out one last time as I angled in on the bridge of the enemy flagship. The approach was rough going as enemy squadrons attempted to intercept us. I growled as it was obvious we wouldn't be able to continue as things were.

"Reapers engage the enemy fighters and push them back, Blood Fang lead, stay with the Hammers and get them to the target!" I snapped, cutting port and focusing my targeting reticle on a pair of enemy fighters on approach.

"Roger that!" Sally replied as her squadron, the blue Nocturnal ships standing out against the black and red enemy, made a circle around the bombers to protect them.

Angel stayed tight to me as I zeroed in on the closest fighter. My firing tone went off as I squeezed the trigger, a rocket strafing straight ahead and colliding with the enemy ship, tearing the vessel in half. Jewel followed my example with the second fighter, blowing the engine block free and causing it to tumble into free float.

"On your six lead!" Tombstone informed me. Reacting on instinct I pulled back on the stick and spun my ship around using thrusters. Now facing my enemy I fired off a burst of ballistics round, the bullets slamming into the cockpit of the Nocturnal fighter, killing the pilot instantly.

An explosion to my starboard wing caught my attention and as I looked out my heart sank. Angel's fighter had taken a direct shot to the nose and she was not only venting oxygen, the cockpit was cracked and she had lost propulsion.

"Jewel!" I called out in panic, locking onto the enemy ship attacking her and blasting it with a well placed free fire rocket. Pulling up alongside my wing mate I looked over, my heart hammering in my chest.

"Jewel, answer me! Status!" I snapped. The wait felt like hours before she finally responded.

"I'm still alive, stop yelling. I'm not going to be able to do anything else though. My fighter is toast and I'm running out of Oxygen really fast. If the cockpit cracks anymore I'm going to die from exposure. Just get out of here and get back in the fight, I knew the risks of being a pilot." I swore as I continued to watch her, my emotions tumbling and turning in chaos as I tried to come to a decision.

"Jewel...it was a pleasure flying with you. Thanks for everything." I said over a closed line. There was a momentary pause before she replied.

"Just make those bastards pay for me!" With that she cut off her radio and I swallowed hard, turning on my thrusters and accelerating away to rejoin the rest of the Reapers in the dogfight.

Anger was overtaking caution as my combat instincts and adrenaline kicked in, my reflexes faster than they'd ever been. Locking onto target after target I alternated between rockets and bullets, racking up multiple kills in quick succession. Without a wing man to worry about I simply focused on kills, my hand guiding the flight stick effortlessly to dodge anything shot in my direction.

A plasma shard struck my port wing but the damage was minimal and I ignored it, putting my fighter through a spin and cutting hard to starboard. Swinging around behind a pair of enemies I unleashed a deadly barrage of rounds to tear both ships apart.

"Boss get yourself under control or your going to get yourself killed!" Tombstone barked into my headset. The anger was still fresh in my chest as I let out an audible growl and forced myself to break off my attack. I'd downed a total of fifteen enemy ships during my rage but I was out of rockets and my ammo count was below twenty percent.

Glancing around at Angel one last time I moved to join the rest of the Reapers as they prepared to follow Sally's fighter group towards the enemy capital ship. The Blood Fangs and Hammer's were a good distance off at this point so it was going to take a few minutes to regroup.

Raptor attempted to ask me about Jewel's fate and I simply ignored him, watching in front of me carefully as the bomber's reached there target and began to perform a bombing run on the bridge. Sally's squadron followed there example and I'd almost forgotten the Nocturnal ships were hybrids.

As we closed in a fresh wave of enemy ships accompanied by a frigate moved in our path and engaged us, cutting off our view of the allied strike.

"Shit, Reaper's focus fire on the enemy capital." A series of double clicks confirmed the order and I pushed my flight stick down to dip below the large vessel, spinning around so my AFS-1 was almost scraping the surface.

Since I was low on ordnance my goal was to draw as many fighters off the rest of my squadron as I could so they could engage the frigate unhindered. From the sheer volume of plasma shards flying past my cockpit, I was doing a good job.

I desperately wanted to see how the bombing effort was going but I couldn't take my focus off my current situation and it took everything I had to stay in the fight and not become free floating shrapnel in space.

Cutting hard to port I twisted once more before toggling the thrusters and spinning around so I was facing the enemy. Squeezing the trigger I unloaded another blast of my now very low ammunition, the bullets stitching across the oncoming enemy formation but only destroying one and tagging another. The plan worked however as the Nocturnal fighters broke off and scattered in different directions.

"Commander, Doom just took a hit!" Raptor all but screamed over the head set.

Resuming my original direction I flanked around the frigate so I could get a view of the battle and just as reported, Lieutenant Gary Smith code named Doom had taken a shard directly in the cockpit and there was no doubt at all that he was dead. If it wasn't from the shard spearing into the cockpit it was from exposure and loss of oxygen from the breach.

"Damn, how many more good people are we going to lose?" I had to cut starboard and the troubles only continued as a chunk of debris from the battle slammed into my stabilizer, the fighter pulling hard to the right and forcing me to battle for control.

Out of the corner of my eye I noted that the Blood Fangs and Hammer's were in withdrawal and heading in our direction. The Flagship was still there but there was a large crater where the bridge had once been. From the count it looks like Sledge was down to four bombers, so the casualty rate had been ridiculously high.

Switching to a channel for every ship I tapped the transmitter.

"All Alliance craft full retreat!" I called out. The A.M.S. Star had left the zone and gone to slip stream by now as well as one destroyer. The Alliance battle ship and the two remaining destroyers were still attempting to fight back but they had very little turrets left and the structural damage was so severe it was a wonder anyone was still alive on board.

The surviving members of both squadrons gathered together and broke away from the frigate, strafing its surface as we did so. From the original fighting force we had fielded for fighter and bomber count only ten percent had managed to escape. The Reapers and Hammers were the last Alliance ships still mobile and because of this, a lot of heat was heading our way.

"Go to slip stream as soon as we clear." I told everyone, grunting with effort as I continued to fight my flight stick so I could go straight. Using my free hand I prepared my fighter for the trip and breathed in a sigh of relief as we cleared the battle zone. Pressing the switch my ship went to slip stream.

We'd lost Angel and Doom, over half of Sledge's squadron and who knew how many other brave people in this worthless fight that we never should have engaged in. I swore to myself when I made it back I was going to find Admiral Burns and I was going to give him a solid right hook. A few days in the brig was worth it.

We now only had four military capital ships and three of those were horribly damaged. If the Nocturnals decided to attack us now we were as good as dead.

Leaning back in my seat I sighed in frustration, staring at the ceiling and running the battle over and over in my head trying to decide if I could have done anything else. Losing Jewel...that was something I was going to have a hard time getting over.

The real question was...who had betrayed us and told the enemy we were coming?

This Forsaken World Chapter 29

Sergeant Victor Grimm

As we arrived at the gathering my breath was taken away by the sheer number of Alliance military personnel and equipment. The Sergeant hadn't been kidding, I counted at least two hundred tanks, fifty walkers, a ridiculous number of solar military vehicles and a large landing area for shuttles, fighters and bombers.

Standing out against the background was a single AFC-6 A1 frigate which surprised me since I'd heard the Alliance fleet had abandoned Earth. The ship was small by capital standards but it was large enough to bring twenty five ballistic turrets and one rocket pod to any fight.

As far as infantry and combat personnel there were pop up and hard top tents spreading off in every direction almost as far as the eye could see. The number was probably unknown but it had to be in the tens of thousands if not more.

Positioned off to the left roughly a mile out was a rugged run down camp with medical symbols that had to be the refugee site. The people gathered there were dressed in rags or torn and shredded clothing. A large number of the individuals had injuries and they simply sat in tight clusters staring at the ground in a daze. Most likely the survivors that now occupied the camp were lost in there own worlds with no signs of hope.

A barbed wire electric fence ringed the entire compound with automated turrets sticking out of the ground at twenty foot intervals, slowly pivoting back and forth in a ninety degree arc to protect the vital military assets within.

The vehicles approached a gate and we were waved through as the guards opened the entrance for us. Inside it was a spectacle to behold as the last surviving elements of the Alliance military prepared for the coming battle.

Sergeant Storm saluted a Colonel as the two trucks pulled into designated parking spaces. Dismounting the squad formed up in three rows to await further orders. The survivors of our group followed in the Major's wake as he approached the higher ranking officer and did his best to stand at attention, throwing up a crisp salute.

"At ease, all of you. I'm Colonel Kastings, welcome to the the last hope for humanity. I'd ask your unit designation but to be honest I really don't care right now." The man was gruff and no nonsense, carrying an air of authority that most new recruits would visibly shrink in front of.

"Yes sir, what are your orders then?" The Major asked, looking around uncomfortably.

"For now, get some grub. Some of you look like the need medical attention. After that come find me in the command tent, General Porter will want to speak to you about assignments, dismissed." The entire group both the survivors and the squad broke off and went there separate ways.

Evan huddled close to my should as the Major turned to offer his hand to me.

"Thanks for everything you've done, I hope to see you again." I shook the officers hand and smiled.

"Yes sir, you as well." Releasing his grip the man turned and walked away. Glancing sideways at Evan I grinned.

"Ready for some food?" I asked. The private nodded enthusiastically and we made our way to the massive tent on the northwest corner labeled mess hall.

Commander Devin Crowe

The trip back to the fleet felt like years. I constantly went over in my head what I could have done differently or how things might have turned out. Angel was at the forefront of my mind and even though it was directly against military protocol I'd turned off my radio so no one could bother me. After what we had just been through a court martial seemed like a picnic and there was no way they'd relieve me of command when we were so short on personnel.

As the alarm for reversion went off I bit my lower lip and gripped the flight stick in preparation for the impending battle of control. Even though space offered no resistance to a space craft the engines of my ship wanted to propel me forward and if my stabilizer was damaged like it had been during the fight, the AFS-1 wanted to go straight but was being diverted in a different direction.

The struggle began almost instantly as I entered normal space and I growled in irritation. Looking out my view port I sighed in defeat at the sight before me.

We had come out at our original coordinates but the Venus fuel station was still another jump away. The A.M.S. Star had taken a beating but the damage was mostly surface impacts from enemy projectiles. The structure of the massive star ship was still in good shape and the engines were fine for the most part.

The destroyer however was another story. The smaller ship was more or less floating without any control instead of flying through space. The damage was extensive and it was amazing it had made the trip through slip stream without being ripped apart in the process.

The fighters and bombers were scattered in small groups and from the looks of things there wasn't a single squadron that had survived unscathed. Almost every formation was missing a pilot and some barely had one or two survivors. Things were bad and my rage at Admiral Burns grew with each second.

"Bastard..." I snarled. Toggling my radio back on I sighed as Raptor's incessant voice all but screamed over and over into the transmitter.

"Commander! What are we going to do now?! Commander?!?!" Biting my lip so I didn't snap I forced myself to reply.

"Raptor, calm down. We have one more slip stream trip to make we just need to get the coordinates from the Star." Tapping a switch to change channels I hit the transmitter once more.

"A.M.S. Star bridge control this is Commander Devin Crowe requesting coordinates for follow up slip stream jump, awaiting orders." I stated, keeping my voice flat and emotionless.

I was in no mood for anything but revenge and I was grateful Sally wasn't trying to 'find out what was wrong' like most people would, she knew what was up and she knew to leave me alone for the time being. It took a great person to have empathy while not forcing themselves on a situation, she was a pilot and a leader and she'd lost people before as well.

"Reaper lead, rendezvous coordinates are being sent to you. You'll need an authentication code as well upon arrival to inform automated turrets to tag you as friendly. Pass the word along and prepare for jump." The technician informed me from the bridge of the carrier.

I did as instructed informing all three flight groups of the code and location. Tapping my foot impatiently I awaited the order to go to slip stream.

It took roughly half an hour as the destroyer was being prepared for the journey. The Star had lined up alongside the smaller vessel and repair teams were being tethered in space suits to travel to the hull of the alliance warship.

The teams main goal was the engines, there attempts to get the destroyer able to travel once more was dangerous to say the least since they could light up at any second as they repaired them.

Finally the engines flared to life and the technicians were recalled. The fleet, if you could call it that, gathered together for the final jump. Upon reaching the Venus station we'd be able to dock and repair properly.

The code was transmitted as was the coordinates and I hit the switch for slip stream.

Sergeant Victor Grimm

After eating a decent meal of pancakes and hash browns, I led Evan towards the command tent and stopped nearby to wait for permission to approach. Two burly MP's stood at the entrance to the massive tan structure with carbine assault weapons.

It took a few minutes but finally Colonel Kastings stepped out and approached us.

"Sergeant Grimm?" The man asked. Snapping a salute I nodded. "Sir!"

The officer grinned at my professional action as Evan followed my example. Waving us to ease the Colonel looked us over before nodding his head and stepping aside.

"Come along." He said, indicating we move ahead of him. At first I felt a little hesitant but I fought the urge to show it and proudly moved towards the tent. As a Sergeant of a garrison squad it was almost unheard of to meet a Colonel, let alone a General, in person.

Inside I almost whistled in appreciation to the scene. There were at least a dozen occupants moving about performing various tasks or seated at small desks. A radio operator was seated beside a large table at the center of the tent. The table itself was a strategic depiction of the United States, small plastic symbols with flags indicating both Alliance and Nocturnal forces.

Hovering above the table stood an imposing figure with an aura of pure power. Beside him was the Major, a Brigadier General and a Lieutenant General. I could only assume the man was a four star and probably the highest ranking official alive.

As the General cast a glance at us I froze like a deer in headlights before my instincts kicked in. Before I could salute he waved a hand.

"Come here." He indicated, turning to face me and crossing his well muscled arms over his chest. The man was equal in height to myself with short crew cut graying hair and piercing ice blue eyes.

While most General's had crisp clean uniforms, his was torn and dirty, proving the man fought alongside his troops. My respect for the officer instantly rose as I put my hands behind my back and awaited instruction.

"I'm told your responsible for saving the Major here?" He indicated the other man behind him. I nodded slowly. Smiling the General chuckled.

"If accounts are right from reports, you and that private are responsible for not only escaping New York but causing quite a bit of damage on your way out. I looked up your record as well. You are quite the soldier young man and from what I can tell, your officer material. With things as they are, we need leaders. You have an infected kill rate of over five hundred, that's one of the highest counts in the entire Alliance Military." I swallowed my pride and nodded.

"Yes sir, my squad was well known. Private Evan here was one of my subordinates." My friend grinned before the General glanced at him and he wiped the smile off his face instantly, staring straight ahead.

"I see. I'm giving you a battlefield commission to the rank of Captain. Your private is now a First Sergeant. I'll be assigning you to 18th Company, the Panther Claws. You'll have two tanks, four armored vehicles and a mech with two hundred and fifty men, five platoons. There CO was killed in action recently. We'll be engaging the enemy soon so get them combat ready and be ready to roll. Dismissed." The General clapped me on the shoulder before turning back to the table.

I couldn't believe what I'd just heard. Getting promoted to a senior officer on the spot from a low grade non commissioned officer was...insane...to say the least. I may be a natural leader but I had no idea how to be an officer or lead such a large force.

My nerves were on edge as I left the tent and stood outside for a second, breathing in and out deeply. Colonel Kastings smiled at me as he moved forward and handed me some Captain's pips. "Don't let us down." He said, pointing off into the distance.

"Your company is over there, get to know them and figure things out quickly. Good luck." With that he pushed me roughly in the indicated direction and walked into the command tent.

Evan laughed nervously as he looked at me with obvious excitement.

"Can you believe that just happened?! Dude your a Captain! How cool is that?" I slugged him in the shoulder as we walked together.

"Yeah but you only made it to First Sergeant, still my lackey and always will be. Come on, lets meet the guys and get you a sniper rifle."

Commander Devin Crowe

As we exited into real space I switched to a closed channel only the Reapers and Hammer's could hear.

"Listen up...we're going to land on the Eclipse instead of the Star. Sledge land in the fighter bay with us instead of the bomber. We're going to pay the Admiral a little visit." My voice was dripping with anger as I laid out the plan.

Double clicks confirmed the order as we broke to port and flew past our home carrier towards the Venus station. The area was a sight to behold, the station formed as a giant ring around the planet, U shaped ports along its surface for capital ships to dock and refuel or rearm. At least fifty circular platforms sat motionless scattered about with automated turrets and rocket pods to protect the station's approach from asteroids, meteors or enemy space craft.

As the weapons platforms began to lock onto me, the barrels of the turrets rotating to track my fighter, I typed in the authorization code allowing me access. I was allowed to pass as was my fellow pilots and we continued on our way to the admirals flagship.

The station was completely empty except for a skeleton crew of mostly workers who had been in the process of building the refueling depot. A single frigate was docked, the vessel the workers had used to arrive months before.

The Eclipse and Destroyer had yet to reach the station, slowly moving in towards the structure and I smiled at how the situation was playing out. The surface ballistic turrets on the carrier twisted in place and locked onto us as a voice cut into my headset.

"Reaper lead, this is Eclipse hangar control, you are not authorized for landing, return to your designated ship immediately." I toggled the transmitter to reply.

"Negative, we have information vital to the safety of the fleet, we have to meet the Admiral immediately. The information is sensitive and unsecure over open channels. If necessary contact Captain Conners for confirmation." It was a gamble on whether or not the Captain would play the game or fold and put my plan to an end before I could see it through. I had a hunch that I'd find the traitor aboard that carrier and if I had to I'd blast my way on board and fight hand to hand through the halls.

There was a drawn out delay before the hangar technician cut in once more.

"Understood, landing approved. Turn to vector five nine two." I grinned as I gripped my flight stick in both hands, fighting the stabilizer to bring my fighter in for a landing. The rest of the squadron and the bombers landed behind me and the pressure doors slammed shut, allowing us to leave our cockpits.

As we approached the access door to the ship a pair of military police soldiers stepped out with shotguns trained on us.

"Hold it, we're ordered to escort you to the bridge. The vampire's have to stay here under guard." The closest man informed us, his voice threatening.

At this point Sally was at my side and the rest of the pilots were flanking me in a long line. Glancing down at my white haired vixen I smiled and indicated the troopers with a slight nod.

"Sally, mind getting the door for us?" The Vampiress smiled showing her fangs as she vanished from sight.

The two MP's looked around in panic as she appeared behind them. Kicking the back of the left man's knee he cried out and dropped into a crouch, his shotgun sliding across the hangar floor. Swiping out an open palm, Sally clubbed the second man in the throat, being careful not to do any serious damage with her superior strength.

Gagging, the man let go of his weapon and reached for his throat with both hands, wheezing and coughing. The vampire maiden dropped to a crouch and clipped the man's ankles causing him to fall over backwards. As he fell, Sally slammed her clenched fists into his armored midsection causing his fall to accelerate so he hit with a loud crack. The injured MP lost consciousness as the Vampiress turned to her first opponent and delivered a roundhouse kick to the side of his head, sending him spinning in place before he too was on the ground, out for the count.

Beaming with pride at me, the female warrior stepped aside and held out a hand to the door.

"Well done, that was quite impressive." Sledge grinned as we started towards the hallway. As we walked inside and made our way through the carrier the clicking of weapons caught my attention and I held out a hand to halt our advance, peeking around the next corner.

Standing shoulder to shoulder along the entire corridor were at least thirty military police with various weapons. Growling in frustration I glanced back at my companions.

"Lots of troopers blocking the hallway." Casting a look at the Blood Fangs I smiled slowly.

"Would you ladies please clear the way for us?" I asked. Sally shared a look with her fellow vampires and the deadly group of women rushed around the corner. Taking a chance with a peek once more I thoroughly enjoyed the combat playing out not twenty feet away.

The soldiers attempted to fire there weapons but the vampire's were so fast it did them little good. Two of the women ran along the sides of the walls, using there speed and strength to propel them without losing there balance. Sally did a mid-air somersault and landed in the very middle of the troopers while one more vampire landed behind the group. The last two women crouched under the rounds and swerved back and forth, delivering vicious kicks and punches to the front row of men.

The fight was brutal as the Nocturnal pilots overwhelmed there opponents despite the difference in numbers. Bodies were tossed left and right as they waded into the supposedly well trained Alliance soldiers making them look like children. The situation was very one sided but I truly enjoyed every moment of it.

After things settled down and the last of the troopers was knocked out, I stepped around the corner. Sally moved towards me and I scooped her up into my arms, kissing her passionately and reaching out to move her long hair behind her ear so I could gaze into her eyes.

We didn't say anything, enjoying the embrace a moment longer before breaking apart and moving on towards the bridge.

This Forsaken World Chapter 30

Sergeant Victor Grimm

Approaching the designated location the Colonel had pointed out I grinned. My new unit, the 18th Company, Panther Claws, was set up in six tents with a small motor pool. Men moved about either performing physical workouts, drills or preparing equipment for the coming battle.

Two large tanks with various personalized decorations sat side by side near the fence while the mech was in the motor pool being worked on by a single man. Evan laughed out loud in excitement at the sight and I rolled my eyes. To the far left creating a makeshift wall around the company barracks was the four solar trucks.

As I approached the camp a man noticed our presence and made his way towards us, snapping a quick salute before offering his hand to me.

"I'm First Sergeant Zander sir, are you our new CO?" He asked, glancing between Evan and myself.

Nodding I held up the Captain pips I had yet to secure to my uniform. The man glanced at my sergeant insignia before looking at me skeptically.

"I was recently promoted. Um, well apparently I'm Captain Victor Grimm, wow that sounds weird. This is my assistant Evan. Don't worry I'm not replacing you as First Sergeant, he's going to be assigned to me specifically, you'll retain your current duties." The man visibly relaxed at this and nodded in thanks.

"I was ordered to get you fresh uniforms and give you full access to our armory. Right this way." The man turned on his heels and started towards the furthest tent from our position.

As we passed the different groups of soldiers I nodded to each in turn. The troopers stared at us in curiosity before going back to what they were doing. The Sergeant held open the tent flap and moved to the side allowing us to enter ahead of him. Inside the temporary structure was a marvel of the old world.

Rings extended in the ceiling creating a wide circular interior large enough for at least twenty people to move about unhindered. The other tents were much larger as this one was specifically for senior officers, the armory and my personal quarters. I looked around and smiled to myself as Evan rushed towards the weapon racks and started combing through the various firearms until he found a sniper rifle to his liking.

"Is this being used by anyone?" He asked the Sergeant, cradling the long range gun like it was a precious artifact he was afraid of dropping.

"Uh, Private Kit, but you kind of outrank him now so he can settle for a marksman rifle instead. Captain your uniform is in your bunk, Sergeant yours is in the shelf on the far wall. Any questions before I leave you to it?" The man crossed his arms over his chest awaiting a response with obvious impatience. The man clearly didn't appreciate a new commanding officer being assigned to him and I didn't blame him.

"Yeah I was wondering how the Nocturnal Fleet doesn't know where we are and why they don't just destroy us from orbit?" I shifted my stance to face the Sergeant and he blinked in surprise.

"Oh we have a radar screen up. The only way they can see us is line of sight and the vamps don't have windows on there ships so they won't find us unless ground units discover us or smaller ships do a flyover. Hopefully by the time they discover us we'll be in position for a battle." I digested this information as I indicated I was good and the Sergeant snapped a salute and left.

Moving into my new quarters I fished my uniform out of a drawer and began to get dressed, laying out my old dirty and tattered sergeants garb that had served me well over the last few days. A sniff as I changed told me I desperately needed a shower but probably didn't have time. I cursed under my breath as I realized there was no armor, being forced to reuse my garrison equipment.

Stepping out into the main room I watched Evan struggling to get into his new uniform and chuckled. Moving to the armory I selected a freshly cleaned ten shot sidearm which held high caliber bullets for maximum damage. Slotting six fully loaded magazines into my pockets I decided against a primary and slid the pistol into my thigh holster.

"Hurry up we need to meet the platoon leaders to make a game plan." I walked towards the tent flap and stepped out into the fresh air, breathing in deeply. Evan staggered out behind me, the sniper rifle slung over his right shoulder with a bandoleer of ammo clips across his chest.

Sergeant Zander was drilling a few soldiers on there physical training and I walked over to join him.

"First Sergeant, can we set up a meeting with all of the officers and the tank and mech operators?" I asked. The man sighed in obvious irritation and nodded.

"I'll take care of it. Meet over by the motor pool, they've got a map set up near there." Without another word the NCO walked away to collect the platoon leaders.

Shaking my head I chose to dismiss the man's disrespect and made my way over to the repair station where the mech was being worked on by a single soldier. As I approached he instantly attempted to stand at attention, slamming his head into the right arm of the war machine and grunting in pain.

"Sir! Sorry, I'm Warrant officer Jenkins, this is mine, Wynona." With a smile that bordered on creepy obsession, the troopers patted the rocket pods on the ABW-3.

"Your the pilot? What about the other four crew members?" I inquired.

"Oh! 5th Platoon, they supply the extra personnel for the tanks, trucks and the mechanized walker. Cut's into there squad count but they function as support staff for the most part. They run mess hall, cleaning, armory maintenance, stuff like that. During combat there the ammo runners and communication teams, also use mortars when we have them." Jenkins gave me a goofy grin and I decided I liked him instantly, he was down to earth and just wanted to enjoy life.

Walking towards us were eight troopers, six men and two women. Lieutenant insignia adorned the collars of five of the soldiers and I pegged them as the platoon leaders.

"Captain, this is the leadership of the Panther Claws. Lieutenant Sanchez of 1st platoon, Echo, Lieutenant Hobbs of 2nd platoon, Delta, Lieutenant Johnson of 3rd platoon, Alpha, Lieutenant Asher of 4th platoon, Gamma and Lieutenant Suez of 5th platoon, Sierra." I shook the hand of each officer in turn as they were listed.

"Lastly we have Warrant officers Vesper and Alvarez. There the operators for the tanks." Again I shook there hands.

"Right, pleasure to meet you all. I'm Captain Grimm, this is my First Sergeant, just call him Evan." I indicated my friend who visibly blushed.

"I want you all to know I was previously a Sergeant and I have no command experience aside from that. I'm going to be depending on each of you to keep the company together. I won't change anything you are presently doing unless I see something I don't like, otherwise continue on as you normally would. I received word from the General not long ago that we need to be ready for combat at any time so make sure your men are wearing there equipment or they have easy access to it. I want the armory distributed and each trooper ready to fight on a moments notice. Understood?" Each of the Lieutenants surprised me with the amount of respect they were giving me, unlike Zander.

"Also we need the vehicles ready to roll out so make sure the solar cells are recharged and any ammo is loaded up. We are officially on stand by for engagement on the General's order. Dismissed." The officers saluted before scattering to round up there platoons to relay the orders.

"First Sergeant, see to the weapon distribution." The man grudgingly saluted before spinning on his heels and heading for the command tent. Sighing I shrugged at Evan and he smiled.

"That could have gone worse." He nodded at the Warrant Officers who were making there way to the tanks. "That trooper Vesper..." He indicated the figure on the left.

Vesper was a strikingly beautiful woman with shimmering raven black hair and light blue eyes. Her features were soft and feminine although with an edge years of combat created. Her figure was athletic while also very feminine and I enjoyed the view before slugging my friend on the shoulder.

"She's all yours man, I've got other things I have to deal with." I walked away to survey my new company at work as Evan lingered for a moment before jogging to catch up.

Commander Devin Crowe

As we moved along the hallways towards the bridge the short handed staff on board the carrier scattered on our advance and ducked into any hatchway they could find. We only ran into one more security team and just as the Blood Fang's were about to engage the troopers Sledge stepped forward and held up a hand.

"While you ladies are impressive and could probably kick my ass up and down these halls, I believe in old school chivalry. Let us guys handle this one while you watch." I chuckled, my anger temporarily shelved, as I moved to stand beside my hulking friend.

There were six security soldiers and as they saw us approach instead of the vampires they swapped there shotguns for stun batons. Wincing in anticipation of the pain to come I glanced sideways at the bomber pilot.

"You sure this is a good idea?" I asked, feeling the adrenaline course through my body for the impending combat.

"I was more sure back there, but we've been in worse scrapes. Remember that fight with those insurgents aboard the station? We got this." I groaned out loud as we continued on course towards the Alliance soldiers.

"If memory recalls we got our asses kicked and you ended up in the infirmary with internal bleeding." Sledge grumbled dismissively as our conversation was interrupted.

The first two men attempted to rush us and I stepped back as Sledge moved into the path and roared, tackling the soldiers and slamming them into the wall. As two more advanced on my friend's exposed back I stepped between them and there prey.

The nearest man thrust the baton at me from the right and I caught his wrist, twisting sharply so he yelled out in pain and dropped the weapon. Turning the limb to the left I blocked the second troopers attack with his companions arm and used my free hand to backhand the first soldier. The crunch of bone informed me the man's nose was crushed and he staggered back, his eyes watering.

The uninjured trooper rushed my left side attempting to go for my ribs with his stun baton and I pivoted in place, driving the heel of my foot into his arm and pinning it against the hallway wall.

At this point Sledge had dispatched both of his opponents by smacking there heads together and he proceeded to rush past me to engage the final two security soldiers.

Releasing my enemies wrist I dropped low and swiped his legs out from under him causing him to fall hard to the floor. Noticing movement to my right I did a kick up to get back to my feet, side stepping as the broken nosed man attempted to stab me with a combat knife.

Surprise was evident on his face as he realized I was no longer in striking range and I grinned, delivering a straight kick directly into his gut, sending him tumbling backwards with a grunt of pain. I moved forward, scooping up a discarded stun baton, and drove the non-lethal weapon into his stomach, causing the trooper to spasm violently before he lost consciousness.

The sounds of movement behind me alerted me to the approach of my remaining opponent trying to sneak up on me and I spun the stun baton so it was facing behind me, shifting my arm slightly so I could drive the electrified point into the chest of the man behind me. Clearly he hadn't been expecting me to realize he was advancing on me and he fell over backwards to hit the ground.

Sledge had finished with the last of the security troopers and he turned to give me a thumbs up. "I got four! What took you so long?" He asked, planting his fists on his hips with attempted swagger.

"Unlike you I like to fight with a bit more finesse. Also I'm not six foot nine and three hundred plus pounds of raw muscle like you." With a grunt of humor the big man clapped me on the back before walking ahead.

The rest of the combined squadron fell into Sledge's wake as the Blood Fangs moved up to join me. One of the women mumbled something in the alien language and they all shared a laugh as they looked me over with a smirk.

"What did they say?" I asked Sally. The white haired vixen moved close and entwined our fingers together, pressing against me and leaning on her tip toes to whisper in my ear.

"They said men of all species are the same. All brawn and no brain. I think there referring more to your buddy up there instead of you. Personally I thought you were quite sexy when you fought, very fluid in your movements. Seems like losing an eye didn't do much to slow you down." I smiled as she kissed me on the cheek and fell into stride beside me.

We finally arrived at the door to the bridge and I moved to the front of the group.

"Alright this is it, follow my lead." Everyone nodded as I opened the portal and was greeted with two assault carbines directly in my face.

"Don't move!" A S.C.A.R. Soldier declared. I smiled as I put my hands up.

"I'd like to see the admiral please." I shifted to show my Commander rank insignia and he looked at his fellow soldier for a moment before they both stepped aside.

"We were told Nocturnal soldiers were attacking the ship, what are you doing here, sir?" The second special forces trooper asked.

"Oh the reports are right, but there with me. I believe the Admiral is a traitor to the Alliance and I would like to talk to him. Are you two loyal or allied with a Nocturnal traitorous coward?" I looked between the two men as they stared at each other with confusion.

"We're loyal of course but why would the leader of the Alliance fleet betray us?" The man on the left asked.

"I intend to find out. Will you allow us to pass and perhaps help us?" I asked. There was a moment's hesitation before they both nodded and parted so we could go by.

The bridge was designed similar to the Star although it was more elaborate and held more stations for fleet command. Just like my home carrier the Eclipse was staffed by a skeleton crew and as such only half the consoles were being operated. Sitting upon the Captains chair was Admiral Burns, a man who I desperately wanted to punch...hard.

"What is the meaning of this?!" The older officer asked, rising to his feet with an outburst of rage. As an admiral, the man was unused to being disobeyed and his word was always law.

While I'd never met him personally, looking at him now I was filled with disgust. Standing at a very tall six seven, the senior officer was paper thin with almost no muscle. A sharp arrogant face with a large nose and shriveled greyish eyes glared at the flight team surrounding me.

The two S.C.A.R. Soldiers spread out and made a point to cover the rest of the bridge crew as I squared off with the fleet commander.

"Admiral Burns. I'm Commander Devin Crowe. I'm accusing you of treachery against the Alliance military. Ordering us into an obvious ambush like you did while sacrificing the number of ships and personnel was an act of a coward and I demand answers. TALK!" I took a step forward and the senior officer fell back into his seat with terror.

"W-what are you talking about? Why would I betray the Alliance?" I could already tell from the way he was talking and looking around in fear that he was indeed the one who had sent us into the trap.

"Pathetic..." Raptor whispered just loud enough for the Reapers to hear. I sighed as I nodded to Sledge. The big man cracked his knuckles with a grin and advanced on the terrified Admiral.

"What are you doing! Private Long, your here to protect me, stop this man!" He looked at the nearest S.C.A.R. Soldier who simply rolled his eyes and looked away.

"Sorry 'sir', he's your problem." It was evident from this that even his own staff had realized, or known all along, that he was a traitorous murderer. Sledge gripped the man's spotless uniform and raised him out of the chair so he was face to face.

"Now, why did you send us all in to die?" I asked calmly. The Admiral looked around for any sign of support from anyone in the room and Sledge made him flinch as he barked.

"Answer him!" I crossed my arms as I waited for a response.

"T-they....promised if we gave them prisoners they'd let the rest of us survive and leave us alone. I agreed to send most of the fleet where they could capture everyone." I snarled in rage as I stepped forward.

"You bastard!" I snapped.

Sledge let him go causing him to stumble to his feet as I surged forward and drove my right fist into his face. The pathetic man whimpered as I knocked a few teeth out and he fell back into his seat, cradling his blood smeared jaw.

"How could you do something like that?!" I called out in anger, squaring off to hit him again and he held out a hand.

"There still alive! The vampires only wanted to capture them, they wouldn't kill any of them there too valuable! Plus they said I could get the ships back after they were done, they only wanted the people so the rest of the fleet will still be there when there done. Please, I swear, this was the only way for the human race to survive!" He cried out.

Looking over my shoulder at my fellow pilots I saw the seething hatred in each set of eyes I locked on.

"He's right, the Nocturnals have no use for your ships except scrap metal which is too costly to collect in space. It's easier to harvest on a planet." Sally informed us.

"So, what do we do with him?" Raptor asked as I stepped away and glared down at the Admiral.

"I don't know...I'd say lock him up bu-" A loud gunshot interrupted my words as the fleet commander's forehead exploded and he slumped into his seat, a giant hole in the back of his head from the exit of the bullet.

Stunned I turned towards the source to see Private Long lowering his assault carbine. Glaring at the dead body he spit on the corpse and turned to look at me.

"I'm sorry Commander, we had no clue he had done those things. This ship is now yours and if anyone has anything to say about it we've got your back." I nodded and stepped away.

"So Jewel might be alive..." Sledge whispered, looking at me sideways.

"But her fighter was crippled and she was venting oxygen, how could she survive that?" Raptor asked, confusion on his face.

"The same way they captured me, harpoons. They drag disabled ships on board to get the prisoners without killing them. We have to go back..." I growled.

Looking around the bridge I watched as everyone nodded in agreement and sighed.

"Alright...let's go get our people."

This Forsaken World Chapter 31

Captain Victor Grimm

As I finished surveying my troopers to make sure they were ready for battle a technical sergeant arrived to inform me the general was gathering all senior officers for a briefing. Turning to face Evan I nodded slowly.

"Guess it's time. Make sure the tanks and mech are ready would you?" My friend gave me a salute before jogging towards the motor pool.

Sighing, I followed the messenger towards the briefing location. It took a few minutes as we were forced to walk across the entire camp. The place was much larger than I had originally assumed and the sheer scale was hard to grasp. We had to have one hell of a radar screen to hide so many military assets from a technologically advanced race of beings.

The briefing was set up out in the open with a large peg board and at least two hundred seats spread out to give full view of the general as he stood in the very center. I was directed to a seat on the far right side barely in ear shot and tried to get comfortable.

Surrounding me were officers of every caliber and rank, the last remnants of the Alliance military ready to lead our troops to a final battle. This was an all or nothing gamble as we were attempting to bait the entirety of the enemy force out into the open.

General Porter waited patiently until everyone was seated before he clicked a remote, a large spotlight illuminating his position as well as the board behind him.

"Alright lets get to it. We've been sending ghost signals to the enemy for the past few hours to try and get them to take the bait. The idea is to make it seem like the last of the human race is trying to hold up in one location and we're hoping they send the majority of there ground forces to this position." The grizzled war veteran was indicating a position with a short metal rod.

The image showed a canyon with three entrances. The area was large enough for what I guessed had to be a hundred thousand human's as well as vehicles. The pathway's leading into the canyon were choke points that would be easy to defend and there was enough cover over the top to protect from air strikes. This would force the enemy to attack on foot, especially with anti-air defenses in place.

"We'll be moving our armored divisions into position within the canyon here." He again pointed out the indicated position.

"Infantry will be loaded into armored trucks, troop air transports and anything else that has wheels. Anti-air will be deployed atop the peaks to keep the enemy air power from attacking." General Porter pointed at a location within a river bed at least five miles away. The location was again well defended with cover from above and the river itself led within a mile of the canyon.

"The infantry will be set up here for deployment once the enemy has committed itself to the fight. The armored units will try to draw the enemy into the bottle neck of the entrances and hold them until the infantry arrives. We will flank the enemy at any location they enter the canyon in and hit them from two sides." The general cast a gaze across the entire Alliance leadership before him.

"The frigate will position directly above the battle site defended by our remaining fighters while the bombers strike at any targets out in the open. Troop transports, after deploying there payload of ground troops, will act as decoys for enemy fire while also collecting and repositioning any units needed." Porter set the rod down and turned around.

"This is an all or nothing...I'm not going to lie, if we lose this battle, we lose Earth. We can't do anything about there fleet but if we make enough trouble on the surface and rack up fatalities on there side, they might decide we're not worth it and move on." The general crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.

"Any questions?" At least five people raised there hands as I did the same. Pointing at the nearest officer, a colonel by the look of him, Porter nodded.

"Sir, what do we do if we lose? Is there a rally point?" The general sighed at this.

"No fall back. If we lose, I'd advise any survivors to scatter to the winds and try to make a go of it on your own. There will be no retreat...not if you want to win back Earth. I for one will fight until the end but I can't choose for you. You have to make up your own mind." With that said the war veteran pointed to the next hand.

"General what happens if the enemy fleet gets involved?" This came from one of the flight leaders, most likely the CO of the frigate.

"If that happens our fighters and bombers will divert to engage. Anti-air will provide support fire from the surface. The frigate will continue to attack ground targets and avoid capital ship engagement." The Captain seemed unhappy with this response but said nothing more.

I noted one of the arms had lowered, most likely his question already answered and that left myself and one other. The general pointed to the other upraised arm. This was a Brigadier General, the voice feminine and full of power and authority.

"Sir, what if the enemy doesn't take the bait?" I blinked as I hadn't even considered this.

"If that happens we withdraw all elements back to this base and try to figure something else out. Hopefully it won't come to that." Finally the General pointed to me and I breathed in deeply to build my courage.

"What happens if infected attack during the operation? There are millions of them on the planet, do we have contingencies or a way of monitoring there movements?" From the amount of heads that turned towards me I realized that almost no one had thought of this possibility.

"We've got surveillance in position to make sure nothing advances on us without our knowledge. If infected do get involved we'll handle them the same way we always do, with head shots. If they hinder the battle we'll adjust accordingly. Now if that's the last question you'll each be receiving your company or division orders and assignments. We move out in two hours, dismissed and god speed." Everyone seemed to stand up all at once and I followed suit.

As I was about to head back to my company camp a Major General walked towards me and offered me a folder.

"Your orders, get your men ready." I saluted and the man returned the gesture before moving on to another company captain. Clutching the file I tried to steady my nerves and started towards the Panther Claw's.

Commander Devin Crowe

I'd called for all of the surviving fleet leaders to gather aboard the Eclipse since the briefing room was by far the largest on any other ship. It took about four hours to dock the capital ships for rearming and refueling, during which time we grabbed some food and a quick shower before meeting together.

The briefing room was different than the one aboard the Star since it was almost twice the size and instead of having a stand up podium there was a massive oval shaped table with at least fifty chairs. A number of additional couches lined the outer edges of the wall for subordinates and there was a holographic display in the middle of the table.

I was waiting impatiently for everyone to arrive, my desire to rescue Jewel evident with each passing moment, as I fidgeted uneasily. Sally took a seat to my right, Sledge to my left. The flight team resigned themselves to sitting on the benches behind us.

Finally the last of the officers arrived followed closely by the next in line to lead the fleet, Vice Admiral Evelyn Glass. The woman could be considered beautiful once where she was now groomed to be all business and military.

Standing around five eight, her brown hair was streaked with gray and her features were chiseled and gruff. Her uniform was spotless and I was surprised I'd heard very little of her let alone met her.

Evelyn Glass was the executive officer of the Eclipse and from what I'd been told she was always in the shadows, letting Admiral Burns run things and operating from out of sight. With the traitor out of the picture she was being forced to step forward to take her role as the Fleet Commander and I was curious to see if she was up to the task.

I nodded respectfully as Captain Sasha Conners entered the room and she did the same, taking a seat across from me. Finally the fleet leadership was seated together with any officer from Lieutenant or above in attendance.

I noted that a dozen S.C.A.R. Soldiers were standing watch at the entrance and each corner of the room. Since we'd had to fight a number of traitors in the Eclipse security team during our boarding they had been restrained in the brig. The situation was still unpredictable and dangerous as we had no idea who else was a supporter of the late Admiral.

The Vice Admiral slowly stood up and cleared her throat nervously.

"Commander Crowe...since you have called together this meeting I would like to turn the floor over to you as the leading officer of this briefing." Without another word the timid woman resumed her seat.

Sally pinched my arm softly in support and I smiled as I rose to my feet.

"Thank you Vice Admiral. As you all are aware Admiral Burns was executed for treason against the Alliance. He was the cause for the defeat and loss of life and equipment in the recent engagement. I have come to learn that most of our people are still alive, being held for enslavement and food. Also, our capital ships are still at the battle site, most likely abandoned." I tapped a button and the battle zone we'd fought at appeared.

"We have received a scan from a scout team to assess the situation. So far all our ships are indeed at the coordinates. It has been deemed three enemy frigates, two destroyers and a battle ship are still in position. From what we could gather there sending soldiers on board each ship and leaving in transports. I can only guess there hunting down survivors from the battle who are hiding aboard our ships." Tapping another button I brought up a separate section of space.

Set up on this new display were five battleships and the enemy dreadnought. A large group of enemy fighters were circling the perimeter in searching patterns, most likely on patrol for Alliance ships attempting to enter the zone.

"Whoever has been collected so far will be aboard the enemy flagship. As far as we know it's disabled so its not going anywhere for a while." Sighing I clicked to the previous image of the battleground.

"This briefing is to propose a mission. I will require approval of everyone in this room and final permission from the Vice Admiral. My idea is to take both carriers to the remnants of our fleet. We will destroy every Nocturnal ship except for the battle ship which we will then board and commandeer with the help of our allies from the Blood Fangs." I nodded to the female fighter pilots behind me.

"We will then do as much repairs as possible and as fast as possible to our disabled capital ships to prepare them for combat. Once they are ready, we will send the battle ship ahead to the dreadnoughts coordinates, trick the enemy into letting us get in close, we then board the flagship and free our people." A gasp of surprise echoed around the room and I smiled.

"After that, we bring our fleet in to provide cover as we withdraw. If our retreat is successful, we use the Nocturnal Battleship to ram the enemy dreadnought and detonate its reactor as well as planted explosives. Hopefully, this will destroy the flagship and stall the enemy advance. After that, we regroup here at the station, finish repairs and refuel, then we use the A.W.G. Drive to open a wormhole to a random destination." I turned to look at Captain Conners as she raised her hand.

"We could end up anywhere in the universe, what about Earth?" She asked.

"Earth is done, we were planning on leaving anyways and with the 2nd Expeditionary Fleet destroyed there's no point staying. Anywhere is better than here and it will take the Nocturnal fleet some time to follow us, assuming they even can." The captain nodded, lowering her hand.

"So, what do you guys think?" I looked around the room at the gathered officers.

Vice Admiral Glass rose to her feet and crossed her hands behind her back.

"I like it. With everyone's approval I say we go forward with the plan. I would request you command the Eclipse into battle, Commander Crowe. After the initial engagement, you will take over as commanding officer of the Nocturnal battle ship and lead the assault and boarding from there with the Blood Fangs." I was surprised by this and it must have shown on my face.

"You've done things nobody thought possible since the battle for Earth, more than anyone else in the entire fleet. Also you've boarded that Dreadnought twice now so your more qualified to complete this mission." I nodded and saluted the woman.

"As you wish, I am at your disposal, ma'am." The Vice Admiral gave me an appreciative smile and leaned forward on the briefing table.

"Anyone else have anything to say before we do this?" She asked, looking around the room. "Very well, dismissed. Get our ships ready for a fight, you've got five hours. Good luck." Everyone broke off and headed towards there ship's, fighters, bombers or transports.

Turning to face Sally I smiled as she stepped into my embrace and pressed her head against my chest, breathing in deeply and closing her eyes.

"You can do this, I'll be by your side every step of the way." She said, looking up at me with a soft playful grin. Feeling her so close to me my body stirred in response and she seemed to sense it, her eyes twinkling with a suggestive grin tugging at the corner of her sensuous lips.

"How long will it take to get this ship battle ready?" She asked. I glanced around for a moment, noting the Blood Fang's were the last to leave, and blushed.

"Around two hours, give or take. Why?" I breathed in deeply with desire as she rose to her tip toes and gently nipped at my ear with her fangs.

"Lock the door..." She whispered, her hot breath tickling my skin and causing me to shiver and breath in raggedly.

Moving to follow her directions I waited for the last vampire to leave, the woman glancing over her shoulder and winking, blowing me a kiss, before I hit the lock and turned around to face my lover.

The white haired vixen jumped across the room to wrap her arms and legs around me, her lips against mine as I gripped her waist to support her so she didn't fall, a futile gesture as she was holding onto me so tightly I felt like she was going to break something. Moving towards the briefing table with her in my arms I sat her down and smiled as I pulled away.

"I didn't quite expect to do something like this when I joined the military." I held my arms up as Sally undid my uniform and slid my shirt over my head, throwing it across the room and kissing me passionately once more.

"Well, we could die at any time, might as well enjoy ourselves every chance we get." She traced her long fingernails lightly across my chest causing me bite my lower lip. With a primal growl of hunger I battled to get her flight suit unzipped, sliding the offensive fabric off her slender shoulders and cupping a breast, my lips tracing her collar bone.

Sally let out a gasp from the sensation, her hands fighting to undo the rest of my uniform, sliding the last of the garment off so I was standing naked before her, my body obviously aroused and ready.

Our passion was evident as we filled the room with erotic sounds, the movement of fabric, the kissing of lips and the soft moans and gasps of pleasure. Finally, I freed her body of the flight suit and tank top, positioning myself between her thighs and sliding into her with a growl of pleasure.

Fingernails on my back caused me to shiver, her lips on my neck, kissing and tasting. I slowly ran my hands across the soft sensuous skin of her back, shoulders and hips, pulling her close as I thrust into her.

My lover matched my motions, moaning with the pleasure of each movement within her. Breathing raggedly against my ear I felt a soft pain as she buried her fangs into my jugular. Almost immediately the pain turned to pleasure and my movements sped up, my desire building with each touch of her flesh against mine.

As she finished feeding from me, she licked the fang marks, causing the skin to heal and another wave of pleasure to ripple through my body. Looking deeply into Sally's eyes she smiled at me, her feelings and desires evident as our lips locked in a passionate kiss, our arms wrapping around each other to pull us closer as with a shuddering gasp we reached our climax together.

Still cradling each other in a tight embrace we rode the waves of pleasure for a few long moments before finally moving apart. Sally smiled as she ran a finger along my jaw and kissed me softly.

"That was one hell of a briefing..." I whispered. Sally giggled as I pulled away and she jumped down, my eyes roaming over her perfect body...how did I get so lucky?

No matter what was coming, with her by my side I felt like I could defeat the entire Nocturnal fleet. My heart hammering in my chest with mixed emotions I began to get dressed.

A soft smile played across her lips as she looked at me, sliding her well shaped legs into her flight suit, and it filled with me...what I could only describe as...love...

This Forsaken World Chapter 32

Captain Victor Grimm

While I'd been in the military most of my adult life I was still amazed at the efficiency in which they prepared for combat. Within an hour and a half the entire base was ready for action and on stand by for the order. My Lieutenants had digested the information I'd provided for the battle plan and gone to work rallying the company in no time at all.

According to my orders we were one of the only units that would retain our armored element, both tanks would join the advance with the infantry while the mechanized walker would be dropped from a cargo shuttle at the battle site.

The formation set up for command structure was anywhere between three to five companies creating a battalion led by a Lieutenant Colonel. After this a Brigade was comprised of three or more battalions. After that came Divisions led by a Major General, these were formed from three brigades which had a soldier count of up to sixteen thousand troopers. Finally there were Corps comprised of two to five divisions or forty thousand soldiers but due to our lack of numbers we had been restricted to divisions only.

For this battle we had six divisions all together including up to ninety six thousand men while the armored element was a simple brigade of thirty two hundred with there combined mechs and tanks. Air defense was on a separate command line since they were considered to be fleet and retained a number of personnel.

While we sat in a tight formation alongside the rest of the companies I stared out across the sea of soldiers around me. Our trucks were idling nearby waiting to be loaded while the troopers were munching on food, playing cards or chatting among themselves. The pre-combat jitters was strong in the air almost so intense you could cut it with a knife.

Anyone who had seen combat suppressed this feeling but they couldn't completely bury it, there was always going to be fear, excitement and stress. Any new troopers would be foolishly excited for the coming thrill of there first battle but they were blind to the dangers ahead, something that would get a lot of them killed.

For my part I focused on my command duties, walking through the men and giving them the pep talk about how well they were performing, attempting to inspire confidence. Evan was cradling his sniper rifle on top of a tank while gazing off into the distance.

The battle would be at night so things would be interesting while each soldier had been ordered to equip tracer rounds every fifth shot to help identify friendly fire. Spotlights had already been installed in the canyon to help illuminate the entrances for when the enemy forces arrived.

The waiting was killing me as I checked my watch for what felt like the fiftieth time. The sun had battled for dominance over the sky until it finally lost and the red glow faded, vanishing and leaving a dark desolate landscape around us. Almost as if the setting sun was a sign the air horns were sounded to order the advance.

The men and women of the Panther Claw's stood up and began loading into the transport trucks while I mounted the second tank opposite Evan. I noted that the vehicle my friend had selected was piloted by Warrant Officer Vesper and I chuckled.

Slapping the roof of the hulking war machine I held on as it lurched forward and the entire combined force of Alliance military, close to one hundred thousand soldiers, formed into a long line and made the slow dangerous journey to the river bed.

The roar of engines caught my attention and I looked up as troop transports and cargo shuttles passed by overhead to deploy there payloads of men and machines at the designated location. The ABW-3 piloted by Jenkins, his Wynona, slowly vanished in the distance and I swallowed hard in anticipation.

The troopers had been ordered to remain stealthy and quiet so we didn't draw the Nocturnal forces attention as well as evading any infected on our path. It was going to take several hours to reach our destination and I tried to get comfortable on top of the tank, once more looking out over the sea of slowly marching Alliance soldiers, admiring there bravery in the face of a superior enemy.

Human's had a long history of enduring hard ships and they always seemed to stand tall at the end of the day.

Commander Devin Crowe

As we made our way to the bridge Sally tapped my shoulder to get my attention.

"What's up?" I asked, glancing over at her. She pointed to the left and I frowned as she sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Infirmary. You need to get those cuts on your back cleaned up before you get an infection. When we studied your species in preparation for our invasion I did a lot of research on medical practices. You human's are quite delicate and bacteria, viruses and infections seem to be rampant among you." She scrunched her face up and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, but it's got to be quick, we have a battle to prepare for and I don't want to take longer than I have to, Jewel and all the others are counting on us." I turned down the hallways.

The infirmary was one deck down in the opposite direction of the bridge but I didn't want to piss off a super fast and strong vampire female by ignoring her, especially in close quarters.

Arriving at the door I tapped the metal portal twice and a muffled voice filtered through.

"Come." Stepping inside I looked around quickly to survey the room.

There were two corpsmen and a Lieutenant going about there various duties, from the look of it preparing to tend to any injured from the coming battle.

As the occupants spotted me they all stopped and snapped salutes which I returned.

"At ease." Turning to the officer I smiled.

"Are you a doctor?" The man nodded and I stepped forward as Sally peeked around my arm and followed me inside. The fleet personnel instantly reached for there weapons and I held up a hand.

"Stop, she's with me." I was rewarded with confused looks as my lover grinned and gave them a playful wave with a show of fang. The reaction seemed to satisfy her as they flinched and collectively stepped back.

"Don't worry, I'm not hungry! I already drank his blood." She pointed at me and I shrugged.

"Look Doc, I need my injuries checked out. I had my eye cut out and strips of flesh cut from my back. I was treated already but that was a while ago." The officer nodded and directed me to a bed as Sally danced on the balls of her feet around us and giggled from the way the corpsmen were keeping there distance.

"Come on leave the poor guys alone there obviously terrified." I joked as the doctor removed my eye patch and winced at the sight.

"Man they got you good. Take the top of your uniform off and strip to the waste so I can get a look at your back." I did as I was told and Sally hopped up on the bed beside me, swinging her feet back and forth since they didn't quite reach the floor.

One of the things I loved most about my vampire lover was how she enjoyed the little things in life and seemed to always be happy and playful. Those simple things made living seem worth it and a smile or a laugh was everything.

The Lieutenant seemed content with the injuries on my back as I hissed from the cleaning solution he ran across the wounds. It didn't take too long for him to clean and redress the missing sections of skin as he finished and turned his attention back to my eye socket.

"Your back seems okay, its already showing signs of healing. Come back tomorrow and I'll change the dressing's once more. As for this eye...you've got a bad infection. There's some purulent exudate that I need to clean out which means re-opening the wound or you might get sepsis." I frowned and looked at him questioningly and he sighed.

"Pus, for those of you not in the medical field. It's the yellowish liquid that you see in some wounds. It's signs of an infection and I have to clean it. This is going to hurt...a lot. I can give you some pain killers if you would like." I shook my head at this.

"No can do doc, we're about to go into battle and I'm the acting captain of this carrier, need to be on the bridge and ready for anything." The officer exchanged looks with the two corpsmen before he shrugged.

"Alright. I'll have my assistants hold you down then, I don't care how tough you think you are, you can't move while I do this or it might cause more damage." I laughed and jerked a thumb at Sally beside me.

"She can hold me down, trust me." The white haired vampiress smiled as she nodded her head enthusiastically.

"I enjoy it too, trust me." The corpsmen seemed terrified at her words and I tried to suppress another laugh.

"Very well. Lay down Commander and try not to move." The Lieutenant picked up a scalpel, sanitized gauze and some kind of liquid that I assumed was to clean the yellowish liquid out as he worked.

"Ready when you are." I whispered. Sally laid out on top of me and despite her petite appearance held me down with incredible strength. Smiling down at me I felt a wave of emotions and kept eye contact with my lover as the doctor went to work.

The pain was almost as bad as when they'd removed the eye to begin with. The difference was, I'd been in constant pain during the torture so things had blended together, this was going from feeling fine to experiencing pain and it caused trauma that my body reacted to.

As I screamed, biting my lower lip and drawing blood, Sally pinned me down with renewed effort and I cursed. The Lieutenant worked as fast as he could while being safe and I gripped the sheets of the bed to keep from flailing in pain.

It took several long minutes as he cut out the infected skin, cleaned away the pus and did his best to flush everything out. After this, he put a new sterile bandage over the wound and Sally let go of me, jumping off the bed and staring at me with concern.

Readjusting the patch over the wound I hissed, spitting some blood into a metal tin from the cuts on my lower lip. The Lieutenant handed me a bottle of pills and some purified water.

"Take two of those every twelve hours, there antibiotics to fight off any infection that might have taken hold. Good luck out there Commander, we're counting on you." The three men gave me a salute which I halfheartedly returned, leaning on Sally's shoulder as we left the room.

"Remind me never to let you talk me into that again." I growled. My lover chuckled as we resumed our original course to the bridge.

Upon arrival I thanked Sally, standing up tall and walking proudly into the large room. I was always amazed at the sight of the open space the bridge offered and saluted as Vice Admiral Glass stood up.

"Took a while, I see you went to the medical bay, good. The bridge is yours Commander, we're about ready to jump to Slip Stream. On your order. I'll be on standby if you need me, I know this is your first time commanding a capital ship since your a fighter pilot." I stepped towards the Captain's chair, noting the late admirals blood and brains had been cleaned up.

Sliding into the seat I smiled at the soft cushions and how comfortable it felt. Looking at the consoles built into either hand rest I allowed the superior officer to educate me.

"The displays and switch on the right are override commands for any of the stations in case you need to take direct control. The switches on the left are for communication so you can talk to any department as well as access to individual fleet channels such as fighters or other capital ships." I did my best to pay attention, the pain still at the front of my mind.

"Thank you Admiral." I nodded gratefully and the woman stepped back behind me. Sally moved forward and smiled, kissing me passionately, her tongue tracing the cuts along my lower lip slowly before she pulled away. The open wounds healed up almost instantly and I gazed into her eyes lovingly.

"Let's do this." She whispered, giving me a soft squeeze on my bicep before standing tall...well as tall as she could for being five foot, beside me. I cast my eyes over the bridge and sighed before tapping the communication button.

"All ships this is acting fleet commander Devin Crowe. Prepare for slip stream jump to enemy location. Upon arrival deploy all fighters and bombers to engage any enemy patrols. Captain Conners, once we arrive flank the enemy force at coordinates two four seven point five, we will take up position at nine six two eight and we'll catch them in a cross fire. Any questions?" I waited for a moment for any responses but none came.

"Alright, prepare for jump." I waved to the closest operator at his console and the man gave me a thumbs up as he tapped in a countdown for the entire fleet to see. As the numbers ticked down from ten I gripped the arms of the chair.

The view outside swirled as we went to slip stream and I felt my body go cold in anticipation for the coming battle several minutes away.

Captain Victor Grimm

As we arrived at our destination and formed up for the next push to the combat zone tracer rounds began to erupt in the distance. Screams and yelling filled the radio as confusion cut in and the radio operators struggled to make sense of everything. While the Alliance had many resources radio's were restricted to specific units and vehicles.

On the wall in New York the majority of messages had been by word of mouth with runners to preserve what little equipment we had. The casualty rate was so high the danger of losing things from lost personnel was too great and the leadership had decided it wasn't worth the risk of losing a communication device.

I listened intently to the tank's radio operator beneath me and the pilot opened the hatch so I could hear it clearly. From the sounds of things a massive wave of infected humans had swarmed over our armored unit's from all three openings and they were in the process of fighting the zombies off.

The commanding officers were trying to get things coordinated but there was too much confusion and panic. Evan dismounted his tank and jogged over to join me.

"Looks like you were right, the infected must have been drawn by the gunfire." He mumbled. I shook my head as I stared off into the distance, flashes and explosions illuminating the night.

"No...the gunshots didn't start until the swarm hit...this is something else." Realization dawned on me and I reached down for the radio transmitter.

"General Porter this is Captain Grimm, respond." I tried to keep from yelling but the urgency was great and with the background noise it was hard not to.

"This is Major General Killian, what do you want Captain?" A voice filtered through.

"Sir, its a trick! The Nocturnal's must have known we were coming, they drew the infected here to engage us as a decoy! There probably going to attack from a different direction entirely or they'll wait for our army to get torn up before engaging. During the siege of New York they did something similar, using infected as a screen while relying on loyalist saboteurs to weaken us. We need to warn our troops and get them out of there, or at least reorganize things to counter them!" I waited impatiently for a response, tempted to repeat everything.

"Negative, your being paranoid. It's just a few zombies, our armor will shred them and the attack will continue as planned, cease communication and wait for your orders, Killian out!" Without another word I was cut off.

"Sonovabitch....Those arrogant assholes are going to get a lot of people killed and ruin this entire operation..." I thought long and hard on what to do as Evan looked at me with concern.

"What do we do?" He asked. While we'd been a garrison team in a single squad for a long time, we were part of something much larger now and we could no longer make decisions that wouldn't impact the entire force. I scanned the formation around me once more noting we were on the edge of the column and therefore free to move without impeding any other units.

"There isn't much we can do..." I sighed as I ran scenarios through my head over and over. Finally I came to a decision and glanced at the troopers of the Panther Claw's around me. Standing up tall so my entire company could hear me I called out.

"Listen up men, I'm about to do something that will get me court martial-ed and most likely executed. I'm planning this because if we don't this battle will be over before it starts and everyone will die anyways. The enemy main force is using infected human's as a screen before they attack our weakened flanks. If we intervene, we have a chance of saving this army but most of us will probably die in the effort. If we lose this, we lose Earth and everything we've been fighting for...I for one refuse to do that! Will you follow me into battle?! WILL YOU SAVE THIS FORSAKEN WORLD, OUR WORLD?! WHO'S WITH ME?!" I yelled out, raising my pistol over my head and firing it off into the night sky.

The soldiers of the 18th Company of the Alliance Military cried out in support and raised there rifles to the sky in response. The tanks roared to life as the pilots turned them on and gunned the engines, the trucks lit up as the troopers piled in and everyone cheered in excitement as we rolled out towards the battle.

If we could engage the Nocturnal ground forces before they arrived we could hopefully keep them busy long enough our mechanized division could wipe out the infected and reform to continue the original plan. The chances of any of us surviving this head on assault was highly unlikely but if we did we could withdraw into the canyon, hopefully getting the enemy to follow us into the trap.

Evan nodded at me from the second tank he had remounted and together my company followed me into victory or death.

This Forsaken World Chapter 33

Commander Devin Crowe

Coming out of slip stream the first thing I noticed was the lack of ships previously reported. A single battleship and two frigates sat near our disabled ships with only two squadrons of enemy fighters on patrol.

Without delay the Star and Eclipse deployed every small aircraft we had which at this point was very low due to continued casualties from each battle. I watched as the carriers both spread out to flank the enemy ships on two sides, the alliance squadrons racing towards the targets to intercept any dangers to there capital ships.

"In position Commander." A distant technician informed me and I had to strain to hear him.

"Roger that, make sure the Star is ready then begin a broadside of that battleship. Focus primarily on there weapons, we want it intact for the next stage of this operation." The bridge officer nodded and went about his duties, relaying the information to the second carrier.

Both massive capital ships began to unload there ballistics turrets and rocket pods into the sides of the enemy battleship. While the carriers were not designed for direct combat they still held an impressive assortment of firepower including fifty turrets and four rocket pods per ship. The draw back however was only half of those turrets could engage a target from this position and in order to use the rest the carrier had to perform a rolling maneuver which exposed the vulnerable hangar bays on the top and bottom of the ship.

Chunks of metal were ripped free from the battleship as the ballistic rounds tore into it with a vengeance. While the Nocturnal ship would normally be more than a match for a single carrier in a one on one battle, two of them attacking simultaneously from both sides was more than it could handle and the return fire was scattered and inaccurate.

The attack had been so fast and unexpected the bridge crew of the enemy ship was struggling to react accordingly and we used this to our full advantage. While I'd expected the fight to last some time it was over in a matter of minutes and I blinked in surprise as a man to the far right of the bridge spoke to me.

"Sir, enemy ship disabled and ready for boarding." I stared at him in disbelief and glanced over my shoulder at the Vice Admiral who simply shrugged.

"That can't be right...they didn't even put up much of a fight. What about the frigates?" I looked out the view port but the smaller support ships were out of my sight, most likely underneath the carrier.

"One Frigate is destroyed, the second has been badly damaged and is attempting to escape." I growled and reached for the communication device in the seat.

"All bombers, make sure that frigate doesn't escape or this entire plan will fail." I received double clicks in response and noted Sledge leading the raid on the Nocturnal ship, the entire bombing fleet falling in behind him. Nodding to the helm officer the ship began to roll so I could get a view of the second Frigate.

I thoroughly enjoyed the show as the combined ordnance struck the enemy ship and it broke apart into what appeared to be a hundred pieces of floating scrap metal.

"Alright, all ships return for rearming and refueling. All S.C.A.R., medical and support staff to the hangar bays for deployment. Captain Conners, we'll be sending all combat personnel to board the battleship along with the Blood Fangs while I'll be taking repair and medical teams to the disabled alliance ships to search for survivors and get them battle ready." There was a momentary pause before the woman responded.

"Understood Commander." I stood up and held out a hand to the seat.

"Admiral if you would, please take command." She smiled and sat down, instantly going into leader mode as she coordinated the landing of the fighters.

Spinning on my heels I started down the hallway towards the hangar bay, Sally sticking close as she followed. It only took a few moments but we finally walked up to the doorway and waited for the cycling to turn green indicating the pressure doors were sealed and all ships had landed. It felt weird going to the bomber and transport hangar since I'd always been in a fighter.

Walking out onto the flight line I began directing the men and women who had formed up as ordered. The special forces teams boarded six transports while security, medical and engineering teams piled into six more with myself and Sally. As soon as the side doors had been secured on all of the ships the pressure doors opened and we left the hangar into the field of floating debris from the battle.

While I was used to flying fast agile fighters it was hard for me to stomach watching over the pilots shoulders as they struggled to evade shards of metal and chunks of equipment. Occasionally a body would run into the transports hull and I grimaced.

"Try not to hit at least one thing on our way would you?" I teased the pilot who grumbled at me. Our goal was the Alliance battleship, we were going to search for any survivors while eliminating any Nocturnal hunting parties on board. The massive capital ship had almost been ripped in two during the previous battle.

As we circled the alliance battle ship and I glanced over at the disabled destroyers I shook my head.

"This is no good. Even if we can get them battle worthy they have next to no turrets left to fight with...The best we can hope for is to get them back to Venus station intact...ugh...Get me Captain Conners and Admiral Glass on the line Lieutenant Commander." I tapped the co-pilot on the shoulder.

As we angled in towards our targets, the small hangar bay compromised forcing us to enter through a gaping hole in the side of the ship, an image appeared on the transport communication device.

Both senior officers were positioned side by side on the screen with a split indicating they were transmitting from both ships and I frowned.

"I'm sorry to say this won't do, all of the alliance ships are no longer combat ready, we'll have to scrap the plan and come up with something else." The Admiral looked down with a defeated expression while Captain Conners simply shrugged.

"I don't see why we don't continue. The plan calls for that battleship doing most of the work by tricking the enemy before destroying there dreadnought. The other ships were only supposed to pick up the rescued alliance members and then cover there retreat. The carriers and the last of our fighters and bombers can do just that and we have enough transports to not only board the flagship but get everyone back as well." I thought this over for a few moments before nodding.

"Your right. Alright lets do a sweep of our ships to make sure there safe and pick up any injured survivors and then we'll take the enemy capital. We've got three hours before we move onto stage two of this operation." The two women nodded and turned off there communicators.

The co-pilot flipped off our end of the radio and indicated the ship before us.

"This thing doesn't have life support on half of the ship since its open to space, you'll need pressure suits until you can get to a safe spot on board." I nodded and stepped back, indicating the suits built into a rack above each of the seats. The team that had joined me was mostly medical with five security officers and one mechanic.

It took about fifteen minutes until the entire crew was safely in there suits as the co-pilot slid the door closed to the cockpit to protect them and a green light lit up. The transport settled down on the deck engaging magnetic locks so we didn't drift around.

As the door slid open I grabbed a shotgun and a pocketful of spare shells from a storage locker. The team filed out into the interior of the battleship and were forced to hold onto things as we traversed the exposed rooms and hallways.

The pressure suits we had donned were for emergencies and not intended for traveling around on solid surfaces, therefor they lacked the magnetic boots most combat variants were equipped with.

The lead security trooper held up his arm and tapped a button on a tiny computer device attached to his wrist. A holographic display of the ABC-4 appeared showing the schematics of the massive space craft and he indicated a hallway to our right.

I'd never personally been aboard the battleship so I was unfamiliar with how it was set up and instead followed the trooper, Sally behind me and the rest of the team spread out in a single file line with a pair of security members bringing up the rear.

Fishing the shells out of my pocket I slotted them into the shotgun being careful to not let go in case I lost the precious ammo to the void of space. Fully loaded with eight shells I pumped the slide to chamber a round and instantly felt safer.

"Alright let's find our people." I transmitted in the helmet microphone. A series of double clicks confirmed reception and we traveled deeper into the Alliance warship.

Captain Victor Grimm

As we made our way towards the open ground between the canyon and what I guessed to be the holding position of the enemy army my nerves began to waver. I was about to lead these men to there all but guaranteed deaths if the Nocturnal forces were where I had guessed. We'd be squaring off against a vastly superior enemy not only in numbers but equipment assuming they had brought mechs with them.

I ordered all lights to be secured so we didn't alert the enemy to our presence and stared into the darkness ahead, the sounds of battle beginning to increase in intensity as well as becoming louder due to our proximity.

Finally after about fifteen minutes of travel we circled around the canyon entrance and turned out towards the open field beyond. Indicating with a motion the tank's spread out while the transport vehicles formed up in the middle creating a long line of vehicles.

Reaching down I snapped my fingers and pointed to the radio, the operator handing the transmitter up to me without hesitation.

"Fleet, this is Captain Grimm, is my ABW-3 still on a transport waiting to deploy?" I asked, hoping the pilot of the ship was on the channel. After a short pause there was a response.

"Which unit are you with sir?" The fleet officer asked, his voice full of mistrust and irritation.

"18th Company, the mech should be piloted by Warrant Officer Jenkins." Another pause before a different voice broke through.

"Yes sir, he's still in holding aboard our transport, what's this about?" I grinned at the news, my hope increasing.

"We have a new deployment location, zero in on my coordinates and set him down nearby." I didn't wait for a response as I handed the transmitter back and turned to face my men.

"Form the trucks up sideways into a line and use them for cover, tanks cover the end of the line so we don't get flanked, move with a purpose!" Without another word the soldiers did as they were told, the drivers turning there vehicles so they created a wall between our troopers and the enemy.

Standing tall on the tank I looked out over the field in front of me and scrunched up my eyes to try and get a better view. Movement caught my attention some distance away and I growled, sitting down and looking into the hatch below me once more.

"You guys have any spare weapons on board?" I asked. The tank gunner reached into an upright locker behind him and handed me a standard issue assault rifle with five full magazines which I juggled as I tried to pull them out of the hatchway.

Sitting down I fit the extra ammunition into any pocket I could without hindering movement and gripped the rifle, slotting a round into the chamber and feeling more at ease with the situation.

Jumping down I moved to check on the men, walking down the line and checking each platoon to make sure they were ready for the fight ahead. Finally I stopped with Evan on the second tank and mounted the vehicle to join him.

"We're about as ready as we can get without the mech, I just hope it shows up like I asked. See anything out there?" I asked, crouching beside my friend and shouldering the firearm I had requisitioned.

Without saying anything the former private tabbed a switch on the scope of his sniper rifle and peered out into the blackness ahead of us. I could only assume it was a night vision setting and the hiss of surprise that emanated from him caught me off guard.

"You might want to see for yourself..." He whispered as he offered me his weapon. Taking the gun and bringing the scope up to my eye I breathed in deeply as the sight before me would truly haunt my dreams for the rest of my life.

The Nocturnal army was indeed out in the distance as I had guessed. While the army was in a holding pattern I knew they would be ready to attack on a moments notice. What really made my stomach turn however was a number of what I could only assume as super tanks or behemoths...the vehicles were three times as large as Alliance tanks and they made our mech's look like children's toys.

The sheer amount of firepower was hard to fathom although from the way it looked they were hosting plasma weapons and what had to be missiles, flamethrowers and other various death dealing devices.

Looking along the line I sighed at the scale of the enemy army...they had at least as many soldiers as we did along with fifty of there scout mech's and twelve of the behemoth tanks. The soldiers were almost all wearing blood red armor plating that covered there entire bodies and each one carried either a rocket launcher or a shard gun.

Biting my lower lip I did a double take as I looked at the tanks and I felt like throwing up. Staked to the front of each vehicle was twenty people who had been skinned from head to toe. The poor humans were still alive, screaming and crying out in pain with each movement of there bodies.

Spread out in a single line directly in front of the Nocturnal army was around a hundred vampire sympathizers who carried a number of explosives and wore blood smeared clothing with the life fluid also caked on there face and in there hair. A crazed look was in there eyes as they spoke to themselves, most likely mind broken from what they had endured at the hands of the vampires.

The creatures, for I refused to refer to them as humans, had probably been promised immortality as a vampire by being turned. I'd already learned in New York that the Nocturnal's had no such plan and instead used whoever survived as food or forced labor once they had finished in combat.

It was hard to imagine what was going through there minds as I lowered the scope and handed the weapon back to Evan.

"We won't survive this...I don't think we'll even be able to hold out for very long, those enemy tanks are enough to annihilate us with a single volley." I was careful to keep my voice down as I didn't want to spook my men.

"Guess we'll just have to take out there long range weapons first. I'd strongly recommend we keep moving around and spread out more instead of hiding behind the trucks, not only will it be harder to hit us but it will seem like there are more of us." I nodded, loving his idea and I messed up his hair.

"Good idea, let's do it." I dropped from the tank and moved among the troopers.

"Make sure we move around a lot, each platoon is to spread out and pour as much firepower on the enemy as possible before moving again, we need to make sure they think there are a lot of us and we don't want to get pinned down." After I was satisfied I stopped at my original tank.

"Have they moved?" I asked the operator. The man nodded to the gunner who looked through his scope and shook his head.

"No sir, there still sitting there." The sounds of gunfire behind us was beginning to dim down and I could only assume the infected were being pushed back.

"Sir, a Major General Killian has been trying to raise you for the past ten minutes." I chuckle and shook my head.

"Our radio's are broken, you understand?" The man grinned and nodded.

"Yes sir." Smiling I dropped down off the tank and began to direct the platoons out across the field. Just as I was about to check on Evan again a missile streaked by overhead and I cursed.

"Engage!" I yelled, giving a hand gesture to both tanks to open fire. Jogging to stand between two of the trucks I jumped onto the hood of the closest and began to fire off into the distance, making sure I was aiming low enough to hit a humanoid sized figure.

Tracer rounds began to light up as plasma shards returned the favor and it seemed like the fourth of July on steroids. Without warning the entire battlefield lit up in a brilliant glare as the enemy army turned on there lights.

Rushing forward the human saboteurs began to pull there arms back to throw there explosives when a wall of ballistic rounds from directly above me opened up and shredded there bodies in a dazzling display of armor piercing ordnance.

Looking up I grinned as the men of the Panther Claw's cheered. Lowering slowly the transport ship carrying Wynona dropped the massive war machine to the ground before breaking off to get clear of the battle.

The ABW-3 opened fire along the front line of the enemy forces with the mini-gun, the powerful rounds tearing the opponents to shreds as it lumbered forwards. As the Nocturnal Behemoths attempted to target the mech I noted that the colossal enemy super weapons had a hard time moving due to there sheer size.

Although the Alliance battle walker was slow itself, it was more agile then the enemy vehicles and could therefore keep on the move, just barely staying out of the enemy firing arc. My tanks took this opportunity to spread out as well and they began to strafe the vampire formation, peppering the Behemoths with cannon rounds and barely scratching the paint.

The action worked however as there was no obvious coordination in the Nocturnal army since they were struggling to adapt to our shoot and scoot tactics which I found interesting since they had apparently conquered so many species in the universe.

Just as I felt like we could win this thing a soldier called out along the line.

"Behind us, infected!" Following the troopers pointed finger I cursed to myself as an incalculable number of enemy zombies surged towards us...there were so many...

"Well shit..." I whispered as I brought my assault rifle up and began to target the closest infected human.

This Forsaken World Chapter 34

Commander Devin Crowe

It took a few minutes before we found a chamber that wasn't exposed to the vacuum of space. I waved the mechanic forward to double check it was safe to open, stepping aside to give him room to operate. We didn't want to open the portal if there were survivors on the other side in order to keep them alive.

After some time the mechanic nodded and cycled the door open, moving away so the security officer on point could clear the room on the other side.

A handful of seconds passed before he waved us in, lowering his assault carbine and relaxing his tensed shoulders.

Stepping through I grimaced at the scene around me. The place we were currently in was the former officer's mess hall, blood splatters and chunks of flesh were everywhere, the pieces of human remains now floating freely as a result of us opening the door.

The rest of the team joined us and the rear guard slammed the door shut, hitting the pressure button until a green light lit up and the room was filled with oxygen once more, anything previously floating crashing to the ground.

Reaching up for the seal on my helmet I unsnapped it and slid the offensive head covering free, breathing in the recycled air deeply. The other members of the rescue squad followed my example before spreading out and examining the room with the same alarmed looks I had, only Sally seemed immune to the grisly human remains around us.

"This is the work of Hunters..." The vampire maiden whispered, her eyes darting around the room cautiously. For Sally to show fear, we had to be facing a seriously dangerous enemy.

"Care to elaborate?" I asked, undoing my pressure suit and settling it into a corner by a small refrigerator.

"There sent out to either hunt down specific prey, fight powerful enemies or assassination missions. There basically the one's who do the dirty work of the ancients so they don't have to get there hands dirty. If they are on board it means we're in trouble, they are ruthless and extremely powerful. They prefer to fight with dual swords, chains and throwing daggers." I nodded as I listened, gripping the shotgun tighter unconsciously.

"Well, guess from this point on we keep our guard up. Everyone pull drag except for one security member, the rest of you with us in front." The team did as I ordered although with some mild confusion. The people with me weren't used to this kind of action, mostly spending there time isolated on board the carrier with only there specific jobs to tend to.

Knowing Sally was the only one I could depend on I gave her a serious look and she winked at me with a smile.

Every part of the ship we explored told the same story, blood, gore and guts....strangely however there were no bodies. We had yet to see a single human being or 'hunter' at this point and it was really starting to creep me out. This ship had a one thousand crew member capacity and while we had been reduced due to the escape from Earth being hindered, the count had still been over eight hundred.

Biting my lower lip I kept glancing at my lover every so often hoping her enhanced senses would catch something but each time she simply shook her head. We had currently scouted over half of the battleship and I looked at my watch with a curse. We had eaten up almost half of our allotted time and soon we'd be forced to withdraw and prepare for the next stage of the operation.

I'd been hoping we'd be able to get the ship up and running and return it to the Venus station but from the state of things it would take a lot of people and a substantial amount of time to complete this task.

As I was about to call the mission a sound caught Sally's attention, her head tilting to the side so she could better hear the source. Turning slowly, the beautiful alien glanced down a hallway leading to the bridge and pointed a finger.

Nodding to her I directed the security team to take point with there weapons and held a hand up for the non-combatants to hold position. Stepping in behind the point man I felt Sally creep up to my shoulder and together we advanced on the source of the noise.

Turning a corner to the hallway leading directly to the bridge the security officer in front of me froze, gun aimed down the corridor at something only he could see.

Stepping up beside him I brought my shotgun up and the rest of the team moved in behind us, raising there firearms as well.

The passage was only lit up by a single light which was dangling from the ceiling and moving slowly from side to side. Every time the fixture moved left it lit up a humanoid at the end of the hall blocking the door to the bridge.

Glancing at Sally I raised an eyebrow.

"That's not a hunter, its a mind-broken." She whispered. I frowned in confusion and she sighed.

"When the Nocturnal's want to conserve there own troops or don't want to commit troops to a suicide mission they use chemicals to alter the state of mind on captured enemy soldiers. Then they attach collars that continue to administer the drugs making the mind-broken as strong and fast as a vampire, able to heal almost instantly and insane with rage while being completely loyal. The collar's also have an explosive in case the slave breaks from the trance which they use to kill the subject to prevent them from getting loose. If a mind-broken gets free and rejoins there original army they are a force to be reckoned with, being equal in almost all aspects as the vampires themselves." Directing her gaze down the hall she breathed in slowly.

"Alright well, guess that means talking to them is pointless, perhaps...." I paused as the figure moved forward to stand below the light and I almost recoiled in horror.

The human, or at least what was left of one, was wearing a tattered alliance uniform identifying him as a former Ensign, his insignia showing he was a logistics officer. His eyes were blood red and filled with insanity. Deep cuts ran across his face, neck and torso, still dripping with fresh blood while he was standing with a slight tilt from a former leg injury. The thing that caught my eye the most however was the twin twelve inch serrated blades that had been surgically implanted in place of his hands, the weapons stitched into his flesh and bound with leather.

"Right...I'm gonna guess he's beyond help? If he can heal while is he still bleeding?" I glanced at Sally.

"Yeah, the only way to get them back is to remove the collar and in order to do that you have to get close...I highly doubt you could accomplish this given the power difference here. Any wounds suffered before the chemical's take hold will not heal on there own, only freshly inflicted injuries." I racked my brain for a solution before the figure screamed in rage.

As he opened his mouth I again was filled with horror as I noted his tongue had been sliced down the middle to make it fork and razor blades were stapled to the tips. His teeth had been removed and in place there were now studded bits of metal so a bite would do some serious damage.

Charging towards us I leveled my shotgun to fire and the combined security team opened up at the same time. The hallway was filled with deafening gunshots and the boom of my pump action. Somehow the man was able to dodge the majority of the shots by running along the walls before performing a jump flip the same way I'd seen Sally do during the battle aboard the Eclipse.

Landing in the middle of us the enraged Ensign swung his sword arms in a circle and I ducked, rolling clear and back down the tunnel we had come from. The rest of the security team lacked my instincts and combat experience and all but one of them were sliced into varying pieces.

The survivor screamed in panic as he unloaded his gun point blank into his opponent's chest until it clicked empty. The mind-broken turned slowly to face the man and grinned before moving forward and tearing his throat out with one sharp movement.

While I'd expected the enemy berserk-er to spit the chunk of flesh out I was thoroughly disgusted as he took a moment to consume his gory prize, taking a few seconds to lick the blood from his chin as he stared at me.

"Okay, that's enough of the cannibalization." Taking a step forward I brought the shotgun to my shoulder noting I only had two shots left.

Despite the apparent insanity the mind-broken was aware of alliance weapons and tactics due to his background and he recognized my obvious plan. Attempting to counter my attack by dodging out of my firing arc I smiled.

I wasn't a normal Alliance soldier, I had years of combat experience and training and while I made it seem I was going to be predictable it was a ploy. As the enemy dodged in the safe direction I used the butt of the shotgun to slam into his nose with a sharp crack. Blood and bone splattered everywhere as the shards of his shattered nose drove straight into the frontal lobe of his brain.

I'd half expected the impact to kill the insane warrior but he stared at the ground for a few seconds as the wound healed. Not waiting for the man to become battle ready again I pressed the shotgun to his temple and squeezed the trigger. His skull exploded in a spray of gore and I grinned stepping back and slotting my last round.

"Heal from that you bastard." Sally clapped her hands together before pulling me down for a fierce kiss. I could tell from the aggressive nature of her passion that her blood lust was up and her warriors instincts were kicking in overdrive.

Finally letting go so I could breath I whistled in appreciation.

"That was one hell of a kiss. Let's get off this ship, its obvious there aren't any survivors..." Kicking the body of the dead mind-broken I frowned.

"Well, any normal survivors." Turning towards the hallway we had come through I paused mid-step and recoiled at the sight that greeted me.

The lifeless body of the mechanic was suspended in the air and I could tell it wasn't natural since the feet were barely touching the floor. A sharp movement and the body slammed into the wall, sliding to the ground in a heap where blood began to pool beneath it.

Standing in the doorway was a sight I will never forget for the rest of my life. Licking blood from full feminine lips was a beautiful redhead that I had once found comfort in the arms of. Cuts across her forehead, right cheek, chin and torso caused fresh blood to dribble slowly from the wounds. Eyes blazing red with insanity the former Alliance pilot was staring at the dead body at her feet, her face contorted with conflicting emotions.

Her flight suit was torn and cut leaving one perfectly shaped breast exposed, her flat toned stomach bare and bleeding. I swallowed hard as my eyes wandered across her familiar body.

Unlike the Ensign from before, this mind-broken had no surgical implants save her fingernails which had been torn out of the nail bed and replaced with retractable eight inch claws, similar to Sally's, only the redhead's were made of metal.

"Jewel...." I whispered as I stared at my former lover, wing mate and best friend. Almost as though the sound of her name was offensive, the pilot's eyes snapped up to glare at me before she shrieked in an unnatural voice like a banshee.

Using her enhanced speed Angel charged straight towards me and before I could react Sally dropped into a fighter's crouch in front of me and leapt at the mind-broken, the two woman merging into a dance of tangled limbs and female bodies. They traded blow's and kicks almost too fast for my human eyes to follow and I took a step back, my shaking hands digging for the shotgun shells in my pocket.

A crunch of metal caused me to look up as Sally was slammed hard into the hallway wall. Holding her tightly in place, Jewel screamed once more and twisted her hips, tossing my lover down the passage until she collided with the far door frame.

Turning to face me with a murderous glare in her eyes the mind-broken advanced on me as I leveled my shotgun at her chest. I struggled to pull the trigger as I looked at my friend and I finally sighed, lowering the weapon.

"This is what they wanted! They knew you couldn't kill your former allies that's why they use them! Fire!" Sally cried out as she recovered from her impact and charged forward, leaping onto Angel's back and struggling to stop her from killing me.

"I can't!" I felt tears at the edge of my vision as I staggered back a step, my heart feeling like it was being crushed.

"Jewel! If your in there snap out of it! It's me, Devin!" I yelled, taking another step. The pilot screamed as Sally gripped her head and began to squeeze, attempting to crush her skull.

Reaching up, the mind-broken snatched at the smaller woman's hand and tossed her almost effortlessly across the hall until she collided with me, my body breaking her fall as we both tumbled to the deck.

Glaring at me Sally hissed. "Shoot her! I can't defeat her in a one on one fight!" My lover rose to her feet and threw herself at her opponent once more, grappling with the pilot until they appeared to be holding each other in there arm's. Red hair mixed with white as they fought and I felt completely helpless.

Sighing I rose to my feet and watched Sally get pinned to the ground, a hand clasped around her throat as the red head drove her claws into the vampire's stomach. Sally screamed in pain as Angel began to slowly twist her fingers so there were angling upwards towards her heart, the metal tips cutting through her inner organs inch by inch.

The cries of pain emanating from my lover almost paralyzed me but I growled, steeling myself, and rushed forward to tackle Jewel, throwing her off Sally and pinning her beneath me.

The pilot snarled as she raked her claws across my back, attempting to use her superior strength to throw me off her. Holding tightly I refused to let go, slamming Angel's head down and staring deeply into the blazing red orbs of her eyes.

"IT'S ME! SNAP OUT OF IT JEWEL, ITS ME, DEVIN!" I screamed as she slashed my stomach. Luck was on my side as the position of my body against hers made it impossible to cut deeply, saving my delicate innards from receiving severe damage.

Confusion took hold on the red head's face as she seemed to be processing both her name and mine, her eyes scanning me slowly before she screamed in rage once more, mustering reserves of strength to throw me down the hallway again.

I was lucky as I failed to impact anything, preventing any further injuries. Sally moved to my side and helped me sit up, her gaze running across my injuries with concern.

"There not deep, I'll live. What about you?" I whispered with a soft smile, my concern for her was misplaced as she was naturally completely healed.

"I'll live, I promise." The vampiress informed me teasingly, her hand wiping away the blood from her flawless flat toned abdomen, her pale white skin unhurt.

Down the passage Angel stood up and instead of attacking us she grabbed her head in both hands and began to scream with a mixture of panic, pain and fear.

"You have to kill her, it's the only way..." Sally stated, touching my cheek tenderly.

"No, look at her, she's finally figured out who I am. I can save her, I know I can." I grabbed the wall beside me to force myself to my feet unsteadily. My lover held me close so I wouldn't fall as I stared at Jewel.

The red head threw herself against the wall several times before falling to the ground, still holding her head in both hands with obvious pain as her body trembled. Turning to look at me, Angel's blood red eyes began to tear up and she reached a hand out.

"Dev....Devi....Devin.....h-h-help....me...." She almost screamed, her sharp metal claw's retracting as she began to convulse, her eyes rolling back in her head.

"Don't!" Sally snapped as I charged forward and slid down beside my friend, cradling her head in my hands as she continued to spasm and twitch.

"Help me! Hold her down!" I yelled at Sally in a commanding voice. The white haired vampire hesitated for a moment before she nodded and moved into position on the other side of Angel's body, using her strength to hold the woman down.

Normally a seizure victim is supposed to be left alone save for placing the person to there side so they can breath and clearing the area so they don't hurt themselves on anything. This was not a normal situation however since the cause was from an alien chemical mixture and I wasn't worried about brain damage or anything due to her current state.

The spasm's and seizure's lasted for several long aching minutes before she finally went limp, her eyes closing and her body relaxing. I breathed in a sigh of relief, resting my head on her chest and listening for a heartbeat. While what I heard could be considered the normal sound it was moving three time's faster than what you'd expect and I pulled away in surprise.

"How do we get the collar off?" I asked Sally. Before she could answer the sounds of scraping metal caught our attention and together we looked down the hall towards the bridge.

"Can't we catch a break?" I growled. Moving slowly towards us were three mind-broken and what I assumed was a hunter. Thing's were about to get a lot worse and I was really running out of patience for these cliff hanger moments that kept happening to me.

"Bring it on!" I snarled, picking up my shotgun and taking aim.

This Forsaken World Chapter 35

Captain Victor Grimm

Moving to stand beside me Evan opened fire with his sniper rifle as I unloaded my own weapon at the oncoming horde of infected humans. The sheer volume of bodies advancing on us was beyond comprehension and I forced the hopelessness I felt away and focused instead on that familiar adrenaline combat created.

One of the tanks had realized our situation and they were turning towards the zombies to attempt to drive them back, one platoon following in there wake and forming a firing line to our extreme left.

The rest of my company continued there battle with the Nocturnal army which at this point was becoming one sided as the enemy mechanized walkers were joining the battle while the infantry advanced under there cover.

I didn't have time to thoroughly assess the situation due to my current distraction and hoped that my men would be able to hold there own. The infected were still a ways off but they were running at a dead sprint and closing the gap rapidly, my heart hammering in my chest as panic tried to take hold of me.

"Evan, get out of here! There's no way we can defeat them, at least save yourself!" I snapped at my friend, swapping out my empty magazine and slapping in a new one.

"Shut it boss, you'd think after all this time you'd realize I'm not going anywhere. We started this together, we're going to finish it...I'm your lackey after all." My comrade gave me a sideways grin as he chambered the bolt action to slot a fresh high caliber bullet.

I shook my head in disbelief and gave up arguing. Despite the situation, it felt good to know my friend was willing to fight and die by my side. Explosions ripped along the line behind us causing a heatwave to strike my back leaving a second degree burn on the back of my neck. I was thankful for my armor or I'd have suffered much worse, the armored plating absorbing most of the blast.

Glancing over my shoulder I felt like swearing out loud, my secondary tank having suffered a direct hit from a missile and now sitting in a smoldering heap. As I watched our mech took a round in the front right leg and lost the edge of mobility, the massive war machine tilting over sideways and barely keeping itself upright.

Due to the position and lack of movement the ABW-3 was a sitting duck and it's mini-gun turret and rockets were isolated to firing in one direction. The hatch of the mech opened up and everyone except for Warrant Officer Jenkins piled out, scattering towards the position of third platoon.

The war machine continued to fire attempting to slow down the enemy infantry as Jenkins valiantly held his ground, operating Wynona on his own.

The last tank passed by us and ground to a stop to our left, the large gun on its roof rotating to target the infected humans, massive shells shredding the bodies into a red pulp as they tore them apart. The barrage did little to slow down the horde as they continued to charge at us and as the zombies got closer I sighed in defeat, firing off the last bullets in my magazine and swapping the empty for my last remaining.

Evan cursed as he ran out of ammunition and he flipped the giant rifle over to use it as a club. Turning to look at me I nodded to my friend and together we prepared to be torn apart by ravenous freaks. Just as they were about to converge on us the front row evaporated into a red mist and I held up a hand to shield my eyes.

Above us the transport ships had begun to circle, the side hatches open revealing auto-cannons mounted into the deck plating with fleet officers manning them. The guns stitched fire across the zombies throwing the horde into disarray as they struggled to decide who to attack.

Explosions and bullets echoed into the night from behind the wall of infected humans and I looked up as our armored units drove right into them, the combination of vehicles crushing the bodies under tread and tire and the rockets, ballistic guns and flamethrowers. The surviving men of the Panther Claw's cheered at the sight as reinforcements arrived and began to decimate the zombie's with a brilliant display of pure destruction and carnage.

While I wanted to cheer as well the front rows of the infected reached our position and I was forced to defend myself, drawing my combat knife in one hand and swinging the assault rifle to the left to pump rounds into the closest enemies.

The smell of unwashed bodies, horrible breath and the stench of decay washed over us as I struggled to push them back, dropping my rifle and relying on my fists and knife to hold them off. Four zombies jumped onto me and drove me to the ground with there combined weight, snapping teeth mere inches from my face as I fought with all of my strength to hold them off.

I suddenly realized this was it, I was about to die when one of the infected screeched as it was torn away, the loss of there comrade giving me the edge to push them back, my now free hand clasping the combat knife and slicing the throat of the closest body in reach.

The other two zombies were cut down from my savior and a hand reached down to help me up. Clasping Evan in a firm handshake I rose to my feet and grinned before I noticed a dark red stain on his left hip.

"You alright?" I asked. Before he could answer another group of infected swarmed us and we went back to back, our blades flashing before us as we mixed in a bit of martial arts with kicks and offensive throws to hold keep them at arms reach.

The situation was becoming more manageable by the second with the help of the transports and armored units coming to our aid but it didn't stop the Nocturnal from taking advantage of the situation to lay into our formation.

I watched helplessly, fending off the attack of a zombie, as second platoon was caught in a blast of shard's, there bodies speared and ripped apart by the deadly projectiles. Soldiers from my company were dying all around me from enemy fire or being ripped apart by the infected and I felt a mixture of emotions wash over me, primarily guilt, for leading these men to there death's.

Evan screamed in pain and I looked over my shoulder as one of the zombie's bit into his right shoulder, a second pinning down his knife arm as a third drove there hands into his chest, gripping his rib cage and pulling the chest cavity apart to reveal his vital organs.

"NO!" I screamed, struggling to fend off my attacker as the infected began to feed on my best and only surviving friends innards. Evan's eye's rolled up in his head as his heart was ripped free and I roared in rage, driving my blade into the side of my opponent's head.

My mind snapped as I my vision went red and I gave into blood lust, my body reacting on instinct as I slaughtered the zombie's feeding on Evan. Giving my friend one last look I scooped up his combat knife and turned towards the horde around me, wading into there ranks and hacking and slashing anything that got too close.

My body was covered in blood and gore, my vision becoming impaired by the red liquid coating my face, but it did little to stop me as I fought on, my muscles screaming in protest as I screamed in rage. The ground around me was covered in bodies leaving a trail behind me to where my comrade had fallen, a memorial of the dead in his honor.

Finally my body lost its strength as I dropped to my knee's, no more infected around me. The tanks, advancing on point for the armored division, passed around me and a truck rolled to a stop directly in front of me, the headlight's highlighting my gore covered body.

The light was momentarily interrupted as a figure approached me and a hand was placed on my shoulder.

"Captain...?" I didn't recognize the voice and my response was a simple growl of warning. The hand retracted as did the figure blocking the light and I forced myself to my feet unsteadily.

Casting a gaze at the battlefield behind me I swallowed my grief, my blood lust temporarily put on hold, and began to walk back towards the gunshots and screams. This fight wasn't done and I had to see it to the end, for Evan.

As I cleared the sea of the dead I picked up a discarded rifle and searched several fallen Alliance troopers for ammo, gearing up for the final confrontation against the Nocturnal army.

A transport ship was sent crashing into the ground as a missile struck it's engine and a flash of light lit up the night. My company was basically decimated at this point with only the remaining tank and half a platoon still in the fight and I grit my teeth.

The battle had taken a turn as the allied armor closed the gap between the two armies and crashed into the enemy formation. I was about to follow the armored vehicles when battle cries could be heard on all sides of the combat zone.

Surprised, I looked on as the Alliance infantry converged from every direction to trap the enemy vampire's in a square, the armor on one side and the three remaining covered by several divisions of troopers. The situation was becoming tense as the battle went from ranged attack's to mostly hand to hand, only the large war vehicles continuing there long range assaults.

Flying overhead several Alliance bombers and fighters strafed over the battlefield, dropping there ordnance on pockets of vampire soldiers or turrets taking out the mechanized walkers. It seemed like things were turning in our favor, the only direct threat being the behemoth tanks as they absolutely refused to go down despite the overwhelming amount of incoming firepower.

Growling I grabbed up a bandoleer of grenades from a fallen trooper and charged into the fray, firing my rifle at anything close by. A Nocturnal soldier charged at me with his enhanced speed and I waited until the last second before sidestepping the attack, kicking out the back of the enemy's knee and using my knife to stab into his brain from the back of his skull.

Kicking the body away and withdrawing my blade I spit on the corpse before continuing on. I slid my melee weapon into its sheathe and brought my rifle up, targeting the head of the closest vampire and squeezing the trigger. I continued this method as I closed in on the behemoths, being forced to dispatch two more Nocturnal soldiers in a similar fashion to there counterpart before.

The one thing I was most grateful for was the arrogance of the vampire's, it was there greatest weakness and I fully exploited it. Rage was still present in my mind and I was struggling to keep the emotion from overwhelming me and causing me to act reckless.

Finally reaching my destination I slid my rifle over my shoulder on its sling and charged forward at a dead sprint. My legs screamed in protest after what I'd already put them through but I bit back the pain and focused on my objective. Leaping up onto the frame of the enemy tank, my stomach churning as the skinned humans strapped to the front looked at me with a pathetic tortured look, I undid the pin on a grenade and dropped the explosive down the barrel of the enemy war machine.

Jumping free I jogged to the next vehicle as the behemoth behind me exploded, the grenade detonating the ordnance loaded in the tube and causing the massive tank to implode from within.

I attempted to repeat this process as many times as I could, downing five of the deadly creations, before the Nocturnal became smart and began to defend there precious vehicles, targeting me directly among the thrashing bodies of combatants caught in a dead dance of death. Cursing I grabbed onto a nearby vampire who was distracted attempting to shoot an Alliance soldier who was hiding behind cover, and used him as a shield as shards of metal slammed into his chest.

Holding onto the thrashing alien I pushed forward, the deadly projectiles increasing in volume and beginning to tear my shield's body apart, and undid another grenade. As soon as I got close enough I threw the grenade overhanded towards the behemoth tank and crouched low, holding onto my makeshift barrier for cover.

The explosive detonated on the surface of the massive war machine but did little else save tear it's defending infantry to pieces. Tossing the dead vampire I was holding aside I rushed forward and mounted the vehicle.

Bringing my rifle forward I grasped the hatch and forced it open with one hand, aiming my assault rifle down into the cockpit and pulling the trigger. The operators of the vehicle only had time to scream in surprise as my bullets tore them apart and I grinned savagely with joy.

Waving an arm over to get the attention of some fellow troopers I pointed into the vehicle and they all nodded, moving towards me through the throng of combat and climbing inside. Leaning down I watched as the Alliance soldiers moved the dead bodies and tried to familiarize themselves with the Behemoth.

"You guys good?" I asked. The closest trooper gave me a thumbs up and I smiled, dropping the hatch and jumping down so I could move onto my next target.

The now friendly Nocturnal super tank turned its impressive weaponry on the other Behemoths and opened fire, the other war machine's were confused at first before attempting to return fire. This opened up options for our dwindling alliance armor as they were free to move in for the kill.

I decided at this point it was best to avoid the behemoths since they were all experiencing increased incoming fire and instead turned my attention to the infantry. The battle was pure chaos as there were no longer any designated lines, it was simply a full on melee of confusion.

The human's were losing thousands of men every minute but they were getting the better of the Nocturnal army due to pure determination and the desire to win. The vampire's may have enhanced speed and strength but they were facing an enemy they had never fought before, a race of deadly creature's with a strong will to go on and face anything thrown at them.

Human's may be weak and soft but there true strength was in there willingness to sacrifice everything for what they believed in and in this case, it was to save all of humanity against these blood thirsty monsters. The men and women here fought for there family, there loved one's and there home's, despite the harsh condition of Earth it was there's and they'd do anything to keep it.

I snarled as a vampire struck me in the side of the head with the butt of his shard gun, my adrenaline aiding me in all but ignoring the pain as I turned my rifle on him and fired a bullet point blank into his surprised face. Grinning I turned to the next enemy and squeezed the trigger, the gun clicking empty.

Cursing I searched for a fresh magazine and realized in my enraged state I'd not only failed to keep count of my ammo, I'd used all of my magazine's without realizing it. A fool's error as one of the first thing's I'd ever been taught was to not let anger take over.

As the vampire licked his lips in delight at his prey's apparent vulnerability he advanced on me, drawing a wicked looking curved blade, and I threw my rifle at his face. Raising a hand to block the projectile he looked up in shock as I rushed him and threw a solid kick to his groin. I wasn't sure if the Nocturnal's had the same anatomy as us humans but from the look of pain that plastered his face and how he dropped his sword I knew it had to be the case. Scooping up his discarded weapon I gripped his chin so I could look him straight in the eye.

"This is for Evan you little shit..." I whispered, swinging the blade so it went through his neck, the head rolling away with the look of shock etched on it forever.

The battle had begun to take a turn and from the way the Nocturnal army was attempting to withdraw I knew it had to be in our favor. The enemy was trying to punch a hole in the northern section of the battlefield, using there mech's as a spearhead to try and force there way out and I smiled, an idea coming to me.

Looking around for any remaining Alliance armor I picked out the tank from the Panther Claw's, surprised it was still operational. The vehicle had to have been following me for it to be so close, or maybe it was simply luck, but I rushed to the side and climbed aboard, knocking on the hatch.

Lifting open the portal a young blonde woman stuck her head out.

"Yes sir?!" She asked, her face smeared with oil and her hair disheveled.

"Get on the radio for me." I spun as a vampire leapt aboard and used my newly acquired blade to slice off his left leg. The arrogant fool fell over with a scream and I drove the point into his forehead, kicking the body off of my vehicle and turning back to the hatch.

The tank crew member offered me the transmitter and I smiled to her thankfully.

"This is Captain Grimm to anyone receiving." I called out, keeping my eye on the battle around me in case another enemy tried to surprise me.

"Captain, this is General Porter. With your help we're driving the enemy back, if you hadn't kept them distracted as long as you did we wouldn't have been able to sneak up on them! What's your status?" He asked, his voice strained as he was obviously in the middle of combat.

"Doesn't matter right now, the vampire's are trying to retreat to the north. Order all unit's to allow them to withdraw." I waited as there was a pause, using the time to fire a burst from my assault rifle at an approaching enemy.

"Why would we do that? We've got them right where we want them!" The General seemed to be in a great mood and I smiled to myself.

"Sir, if we allow them to withdraw they'll be out in the open with no Alliance soldier among them, we bring in the bombers, fighters and frigate with as much ordnance as we can and hit them from the sky. Since there armor is mostly out of the fight they won't have any air defenses and if they send fighter's of there own we still have the anti-air for cover." I waited once more for several long seconds that stretched out before finally a sigh filled the radio.

"Alright, I'll pass on the order. Good work." The voice vanished as I handed the transmitter back.

As I watched carefully I felt my heart beat faster and faster until finally relief swelled within me. The northern wall of Alliance soldiers which had been valiantly holding the enemy back spread apart as though they had lost there ground and the Nocturnal army started to route into the open field beyond.

This was going to be one hell of a show and I wished Evan could be here to watch it with me.

This Forsaken World Chapter 36

Commander Devin Crowe

The Nocturnal hunter was one of the tallest vampire's I had yet to see. Wearing a jet black skin tight leather bodysuit the warrior was truly impressive with rippling muscles. His face was hidden behind a mask made from human flesh, blood still trickling slowly from beneath it. I could only assume the hunter had taken his trophy from one of my rescue team members down the hall.

A four foot chain with serrated edges was gripped in his right hand, the end sitting on the ground by his leg. In his left hand he was holding a long rod of rusted metal with razor sharp points on both tips.

The mind broken spread out behind him was composed of survivors from the battleship crew and they each had various surgical attachments to augment there combat abilities.

Sally stepped up to my side as we squared off against the enemy hunting pack and I glanced to the side, giving her a soft smile. The vampiress returned the gesture, her eyes full of love and it made me steel myself for the battle ahead, having something to live for.

"Sallyskavesska, you are a traitor to your kind and it will be my pleasure to present your head to our liege lord. Prepare yourself, I want to enjoy this." The hunter turned his blood red gaze on me and tilted his head like a curious cat sizing up it's prey.

"You, human, you must be the master to the betrayer. A bounty has been placed on your head, six of the finest female slaves in the Nocturnal fleet for proof of your death, eight females if your brought in alive. I claim the right to fight you myself for such a prize." Looking over his shoulder the vampire said something I didn't understand in his language and nodded towards Sally.

The three mind-broken pushed past there leader and started towards my lover and I snarled in rage. The biggest downfall to our current combat zone was how close quarters it was. We were fighting in a tight hallway on board a star-ship, the three human berserk-ers were brushing shoulders attempting to stand side by side and I wasn't sure what they were hoping to accomplish.

The sound of metal on metal caught my attention and I barely had time to look to my right as the hunter burst through the wall of the hall beside me, gripping my right arm, and pulling me into the adjacent chamber. Cursing I was tossed like a rag-doll across the room I now occupied and all I could hear was Sally calling out my name before she was forced to defend herself.

Standing up unsteadily I shook my head and looked around trying to take in my surroundings. I was now in the Captain's quarters, the entire room a mess with the desk flipped over and the light above me flickering.

Positioned in front of the gaping hole in the hallway the hunter regarded me casually, the chain smacking idly against the floor every few seconds as he snapped his wrist. I'd dropped my shotgun when he'd grabbed me and in the graceful flight I had found myself taking part in I'd lost track of it, only having my combat knife as a backup.

Withdrawing the melee weapon I felt like a fool against such a powerful and obviously superior opponent. Flipping the blade so I was holding it upside down I dropped into a carefully practiced fighters stance and used my free hand to wave him forward.

"Let's get this over with..." I growled. I imagined the man smiling behind his skin mask but the speed at which he moved caught me off guard. While I'd become accustomed to Sally's speed, the hunter seemed almost faster in comparison and I wasn't ready for it.

The chain whip struck me in the lower left thigh and I screamed as the serrated edges cut into my flesh. The vampire followed this with his rod, attempting to thrust one pointed end at my head, and I ducked low. Bringing my combat knife forward I scored a hit across his stomach but the thick leather bodysuit stopped any penetration and I cursed.

Flicking his wrist the chain untangled from around my thigh and he withdrew an arm's reach away. Dropping to one knee I hissed as blood began to pool around my feet. Glaring up at the Hunter I gripped my knife and rose to my feet, forcing myself to ignore the pain and focus on the fight.

The vampire took two steps forward and just as I was about to counter, he performed a spin to his left. The movement was so fast and unexpected I was unable to bring my weapon around to defend myself as pain blossomed in my shoulder, the rod spearing into the bicep and sticking out the back of my arm, grazing my ribs in the process.

Now down both of my limbs on the left I struggled to stay on my feet. The hunter gripped his rod and pulled, sliding it completely through my arm and out the back. Skipping away once more the vampire casually leaned up against the wall to watch me patiently.

The Nocturnal assassin was obviously toying with me and it was apparent that this was a one sided battle. Not only was I injured, he was stronger, faster and better armed. I could hear Sally behind the man struggling to hold off her opponents as they attacked her relentlessly and I desperately wished I could help her.

"You look pathetic human. Don't worry about Sallyskavesska, she will be dead soon enough. I intend to disable all of your limbs before bringing you back screaming to my lord. I can imagine the reward already...the beautiful Nocturnal women serving me at my whim in chains...: The vampire breathed in a sigh of pleasure before regarding me with his blood red eyes.

"You won't get the chance you bastard, I'm not done." Bracing my left leg against the tipped over desk I held the blade in my right hand and mentally prepared for another strike.

Stepping forward the hunter began to flick his wrist once more. Shifting his weight to his left foot I watched his shoulder's to determine his attack direction when he moved in the exact opposite. Grinning I dropped beneath a wild chain strike and threw myself forward, grappling with the vampire and catching him by surprise.

Knowing I only had a few seconds before he recovered and used his incredible strength to throw me free I stabbed my combat knife repeatedly into his side attempting to break the rib cage. I wanted to go for the heart but from this position that was impossible and at this point I just wanted to cause as much damage as I could.

The Nocturnal screamed in a mixture of rage and pain as he grabbed hold of my shoulders and placed one foot directly on my breastbone. Kicking out with a ridiculous amount of force I felt a crunch and overwhelming agony as I was launched across the room before colliding with the wall and sliding to the floor. I knew instantly that the bone protecting my heart was cracked and from the pain in my chest I was worried I had suffered a myocardial contusion, or a bruise to the heart.

Wincing in pain I tried to rise again but the sharp stabbing pain in my chest told me I was down for the count and unable to move without possibly causing more damage. Glaring up at the hunter as he advanced on me I felt thoroughly disgusted with myself when he removed my knife and dropped it at my feet.

"Brave, but foolish. You could never hope to best me worm. You are beneath me as is all of your race. Only the Nocturnals shall ascend to a higher being, the rest of the universe is only provided for food and servitude. Now, shall we incapacitate you for the trip back to my fleet?" The Hunter drew his fist back to deliver a knockout blow and I braced myself, squeezing my eye's shut.

The sound of flesh on flesh filled my ears but I was surprised since I was still conscious and the punch had never found it's target. Blinking in confusion I looked up to see red hair directly in front of me, the hunters fist caught in my rescuer's hand's.

The vampire screamed in pain as his knuckles were crushed and he pulled away, shaking his hand and glaring at the being defiant enough to attack him. Jewel was breathing heavily as she faced off against the Nocturnal hunter and I smiled.

The red head glanced over her shoulder at me and I could tell from the look in her eye's that she still retained some of the chemicals influence but she was more or less herself again. One thing that stood out however, her irises were still blood red and she was obviously suffering from trauma.

"Why don't you fight someone your own size?" My wing mate asked, rolling her shoulders back with an audible cracking sound. The vampire snarled and hissed as he picked up his weapons and prepared himself for combat.

"How dare you! You are a servant of the Nocturnal empire! Bow before me or I will destroy you!" The vampire snapped, raising a small remote in his right hand and hovering a finger over a red button. From Sally's explanation earlier I had to assume it was a detonator for the collar that Jewel was fitted with and I once more attempted to rise to my feet.

The pain was too intense and every time I moved it felt like I was being stabbed in the heart. Biting my lip I resigned myself to sitting up against the wall and watching events unfold before me, helpless in this battle against super powered beings.

Just before the man could press the button a small hand reached out from behind him and grabbed the remote, snapping his fingers in half as it was pried free. Sally moved to step in front of the vampire, her white hair smeared with blood and her flight suit torn and shredded from numerous cuts.

Smiling my lover handed Angel the detonator and turned to face the hunter. Jewel casually crushed the offensive object like it was a piece of paper before dropping it on the deck.

"Shall we?" The red head asked, giving Sally a deadly grin.

The two women faced off against the Nocturnal hunter and together they rushed him from both sides. Bringing his chain around the vampire attempted to wrap it around Jewel's throat as he used his other hand to thrust the rod towards Sally. My lover ducked beneath the strike and slid across the ground on her knees, driving a fist directly into the hunter's groin with an audible crunch. Even though I felt no sympathy for the man, I instinctively winced, knowing how much pain that must have caused.

Angel held up an arm to block the chain, letting it wrap around her wrist before pulling sharply. The Hunter lost his balance and was pulled towards the red head as she promptly held out her arm and close lined the bastard.

The white haired vampiress rushed up to the fallen enemy and leapt into the air, bringing her foot down on his throat and crushing his windpipe.

Stepping away the two pilots regarded there pathetic prey on the floor between them. They slowly walked around him as though they were trying to decide how to end his life and I watched with amazement as they waited for him to heal and recover.

Rising to his knees, the hunter glared at the two women and snarled in defiance. Sally gave Jewel a nod and stepped back, giving the red head the honor of the kill in return for the torture she had endured and the former mind-broken laughed maniacally with glee. Extending her metal claws, Angel toyed with the vampire as she repeatedly slashed and cut.

Blood flew everywhere as well as chunks of flesh and pieces of his leather bodysuit. The once mighty hunter was reduced to a bloody pile of scraps and exposed muscle as she savored the kill, leaving the Nocturnal alive by avoiding his brain or heart until she was satisfied.

Finally through with her revenge the red head glared down at the vampire the pitiful creature gurgling on his own blood, his eyes filled with unspeakable pain yet still glaring up in defiance of these so called inferior creatures that dared to attack him.

"This is for all the mind-broken..." Angel whispered before she buried her claws in the vampire's eyes. The man screamed for several seconds before Jewel twisted and pulled, the brain being shredded and pulled out of every opening in the skull.

I looked away from the terrible sight as Sally knelt down beside me and gave me a worried look. I smiled, gently taking her hand in mine with a squeeze of affection.

"Why does it seem like every fight I'm in with you I get my ass kicked?" I mumbled.

The white haired beauty chuckled, tears streaming down her cheeks as she tenderly curled up beside me. Wiping one of the tears free I winced as she put too much weight on my chest.

"Yeah that's still tender..." I hissed. My lover instantly pulled away and looked up at Jewel as she approached us, wiping the gore from her claws before retracting them.

"Can you move?" The red head asked, looking down at me. I shook my head and sighed, instantly regretting the action.

"I don't think so. My breastbone is broken and it feels like a few ribs as well. Also he got my left leg and arm. I'm not going anywhere." The red head seemed almost emotionless as she regarded my injuries.

I could tell Jewel was still suffering from the side effects of the mind altering chemical and I hoped she was able to recover in time. For now however, she didn't seem to care that much about anything and I forced myself to accept this.

Reaching down the woman attempted to grip my uninjured arm to pull me to my feet and I screamed in pain as the bone stabbed into my chest. Letting me go with a grunt I hit the floor again and Angel huffed in irritation. Sally stood up and speared the taller woman with a glare.

"Don't do that again! I know your all messed up in the head right now but if you touch him again I'm going to kick your ass..." The white haired vampire didn't have to stand on her tip toe's to appear taller, her mere presence in this state was intimidating enough.

Staring at her for a second the red head laughed out loud before nodding her head. Stepping away and holding her hands up in a gesture of surrender my lover gave her one last look before resuming her position beside me.

"At this point we've already gone over time, the fleet is most likely on it's way to engage the Nocturnal dreadnought. What do you want to do?" Sally asked me, crossing her legs and looking at me for instruction.

"The transport is a long way's away and our pressure suits are in the mess hall. We don't have a suit for Jewel though." Glancing up at the red head I frowned.

"How did you get on board? Do you remember?" I asked. The woman thought for a few seconds before shrugging.

"It's all a blur. After they administered the drugs until I was on the ground in this hallway I don't remember anything. I gotta say though, these claws are awesome." As if to demonstrate my wing mate extended the deadly metal blades from her fingers and wiggled them back and forth before retracting them into the nail bed.

"I'm glad your enjoying yourself but we need to get back to the fleet. The carriers should still be here holding position until they get the go ahead from the battleship. We'll have to make our way back to the transport and bring back a pressure suit for Jewel." Sally nodded and I held out an arm.

"Go easy but if you both help me I might be able to make it." I hissed again as my lover slid under my shoulder, Angel doing the same from my other side. Carefully they both lifted me from the deck and I struggled not to scream.

Now settled between two very strong women I smiled to myself as they began the long trip back to the mess hall, thankfully being careful not to shift me around too much. The trip was slow going and I continually bit my tongue to keep from crying out over any shift or movement. Blood was trickling down the corner of my mouth and I chose to ignore it. Sally kept looking at me with concern and I gave her a weak smile.

"So why did you two decide it was a good idea to board a disabled ship alone?" Jewel asked, looking over at Sally for an answer like I wasn't even there.

"There were more of us but you and one other mind-broken killed them." I replied. The red head seemed shocked at this before she stared at the deck in front of us.

"Oh...sorry. Like I said I don't remember much." I smiled reassuringly to her.

"What do you remember?" Sally asked. The taller woman thought for a few moments as though she were collecting a list of responses before she spoke again.

"They captured my ship with a harpoon like they did to you Devin. After that they were trying to decide what to do with me when I punched one of the vamps that looked like he was in charge. They laughed at me and after that I was taken to a torture chamber where they started to cut me up and ask me questions." The memories seemed to be painful for her as her eyes took on a hard edge.

"I refused to answer anything so they slapped that collar on me and told me I'd tell them soon enough. After that I don't remember anything until I saw you in the hall calling out my name...my head started to hurt and I felt like I was going to go insane." I chuckled at that and she looked at me with confusion and quite a bit of irritation.

"I'm sorry. You did go insane for a while there. I'm just glad your back, Sledge has been worried sick about you." This seemed to perk the red head up a bit as she smiled softly.

"How is the big goofball?" She asked. I grinned and nodded.

"He's good. Once he see's you he'll be better. He love's you, you know that?" She stared at me in disbelief and shook her head.

"No, your full of shit." I looked over at Sally who smiled warmly in appreciation to me. Shifting my gaze over to Angel I watched her stare at the deck once more, heavily in thought. I sincerely hoped they would get together when all of this was over, they deserved to find love the way I had with Sally.

"Let's get you out of here..." Jewel stated, basically shutting down the discussion with a sharp glare to the both of us.

Hoisted between two amazing women I allowed my male pride to be shackled as they carried me to the transport. I only hoped the fleet would be able to execute the plan without me because I was in no condition to finish this battle unless I was sitting in a chair and guiding people through words instead of a fighter's cockpit.

Sally kissed my cheek and the simple action snapped me back to the present, the pain in my heart temporarily stilled as I gazed into her eyes and reminded myself that no matter what happened, I would die happy, either today or forty years from now, so long as she was by my side.

This Forsaken World Chapter 37

Captain Victor Grimm

The enemy army managed to clear the battlefield save a few pockets of warriors still fighting on, cut off from the main force. Once they had put enough distance between our own troops I could see General Porter mount the captured behemoth and raise a hand into the air. As he lowered his arm every Alliance air asset still functional began to strafe the retreating army, the explosives and ballistic payloads decimating there ranks.

Taking this as a signal the last of our armor advanced through the battlefield to open fire on the enemy flanks, the bullets absolutely shredding the rear guard.

Circling overhead the allied frigate took up position directly above the Nocturnal mechs at the point of the retreat and turned there powerful cannons and rockets on the walkers, the display of raw firepower a thing to behold as it lit up the night.

It only lasted a few minutes before the entire enemy army was completely wiped out and the surviving vampire's still fighting dropped there weapons and fell to there knees in surrender. The Alliance forces let out a loud cheer in victory, the worn and injured troopers clapping each other on the backs or breaking out in tears as emotions overwhelmed the human victors.

The odds had been stacked against us from the very beginning but somehow despite everything we had come out on top and Earth was ours, at least for the moment. Deep down I knew this wasn't the end.

The Nocturnal fleet was massive and there would be no end to the amount of soldier's they would be willing to deploy to enslave the last of the humans, but this was a start. The leaders of the Alliance remnants firmly believed that if we proved to be enough of a problem and racked up enough casualties to our enemy that the vampire's would leave our world alone.

Foolish...that's what I think, but hope is a powerful thing.

As I stared across the battlefield, the number of dead or dying beyond counting, I felt a smile tug at the edge of my lips unable to suppress the emotions anymore. Despite what I'd been through I couldn't help but have a little hope myself and it was refreshing.

Medic's began to emerge among the war torn landscape to aid the injured and try to save those on the edge of death's embrace. I sat down on the tank and breathed in deeply, letting the fatigue from the last few days settle in and dropped the weapons I had been carrying.

The hatch popped open behind me as Warrant Officer Vesper stuck her head out, the beautiful woman a welcome sight in such a horrible world. Smiling at me she gave me a sharp salute and I halfheartedly returned the gesture, too tired to bring myself to have enthusiasm.

"That's refreshing to see, crispy vamps. Where's that cute First Sergeant that was with you? Evan I believe? I kind of liked him." I slowly shook my head and the woman glanced down at the surface of the tank.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir." I waved it off.

"It's okay, he went down fighting. You know before the battle he said he had the hots for you. Was planning on asking you out after this was over." A blush began to creep into the tank pilots cheeks and I chuckled.

Before we could continue the conversation the light of the moon was blocked out as a shadow fell over the battlefield. Looking up in surprise I cursed as a massive Nocturnal battleship broke through orbit and took up position above the survivors of the Alliance army.

Without any chance to scatter or take cover the war ship turned so it's side was facing the ground and it unleashed its devastating shard weapons, the metal chunks spearing into bodies, mechs and tanks alike. Everyone attempted to flee but the capital ship was so huge it's weapons could cover the entire field, the only cover being the damaged vehicles and even these were being punctured.

"Go go go!" I yelled at the tank pilot.

The woman nodded and stuck her head back inside the armored vehicle. I could hear her relaying orders as the ABT-2 lurched forwards in an attempt to reach safety. Holding onto the hatch top I watched the Nocturnal shards slice men and women into various pieces, those unlucky enough to simply lose a limb left to bleed out on the hard ground. It was obvious from the barrage that the vampire's didn't care about there own troops as they too were struck by the volley.

I was witness to General Porter, the last surviving leader of the entire Alliance military, take a shard directly in the face, the chunk of metal slicing the grizzled war veteran in half as well as the behemoth he was standing atop.

While the human's had suffered horrible casualties from the battle against the ground forces, nearly two thirds of there numbers slaughtered, this was a whole different ballgame.

I cursed again as the tank I was on barely evaded a shard directly in front of us and I almost fell off as it twisted on its tracks to the right. The edge of the battleship's firing arc was rapidly approaching and I almost felt relief that we might make it.

My feelings soon took a dark turn as the Alliance frigate above the battlefield was blown out of the sky by a swarm of enemy fighter/bombers. The space craft came crashing down directly in front of us cutting off our escape and the tank slammed to a stop sending me tumbling off the top to land in a heap in front.

Shaking my head as I stood up I was forced to take off running as shards began to pepper the ground around me. Looking up I swore out loud with several different words as a fighter was firing on my position. Cutting to the left I dove for cover beneath a heavily damaged solar truck, the Nocturnal star ship breaking off and climbing up into the night sky.

Peeking out from my cover I noted the Panther Claw's tank took a barrage from numerous directions and ended up staked to the ground by over a dozen chunks of metal. There was no chance anyone inside survived the onslaught and I surprised myself thinking what a waste of a beautiful woman.

Biting my lip in shame that that was the first thing to come to mind I crawled out from my sanctuary and looked around for my next best course of action. The enemy fire had stopped as the Battleship began to move away and I breathed in deeply thanking whoever was listening for surviving.

All around me thousands upon thousands of human's and vampire's littered the ground to the point of not being able to step without touching one. Some of the pitiful creatures were still grasping onto there shreds of life and it was all I could do to ignore them, forcing myself through the sea of corpses to try and get somewhere, anywhere, but here.

It took a good twenty minutes to reach the edge of the battle zone if it could be called that at this point, it was more like a mass grave. The ground ahead of me was clear of bodies and the darkness beyond was like a beacon of salvation beckoning me to safety. I was about to force my heavily fatigued and shaking legs to run when a click sounded to my left.

Turning towards the source I barely had time to register the dozen Nocturnal soldiers in black bodysuits aiming tranquilizer guns and net shooters at me before I was brought to the ground. A sharp pain was in my neck as the vampire's advanced on me and my mind became foggy, darkness overtaking my vision and the world around me fading into a nightmarish dream.

Commander Devin Crowe

It took a little while but we finally managed to reach the transport, Sally going back for Jewel with a secondary pressure suit. We'd been lucky that the pilot was confident enough to hold his position, despite his skittish co-pilot trying to talk him into abandoning everyone.

I groaned in pain as I was strapped into one of the seats and my white haired lover grabbed a first aid kit. She seemed confused at first not familiar with the contents of the medical case when Angel took it from her and pulled out a syringe of morphine.

Wiping an alcohol bandage across my arm she tapped a vein and inserted the needle, the powerful painkiller kicking in almost immediately and putting my body at ease. I sighed, leaning my head back and smiled up at the two beautiful women.

"Thanks..." I whispered. The red head nodded before she turned to face Sally.

"Can you get this thing off?" She asked, pointing at the collar around her neck.

The vampire nodded as she opened a small equipment locker in the wall and withdrew a boot knife. Sliding the point into the connector slot Sally twisted sharply using her enhanced strength and the snap holding the collar together broke apart.

Jewel hissed in pain as the needle points that had been speared into her flesh was pulled away and the Nocturnal device fell to the floor. Rubbing at her raw throat the red head nodded thankfully to the vampiress and smiled.

"Will I still have my abilities like healing, strength, speed and claws?" Angel asked. Sally nodded and shrugged.

"Yeah the chemical only triggered the mutation and kept you in a crazed state so you could be controlled easier. Now that it's off your mind should be clear and you'll still have all of your new powers." The Reaper pilot grinned with delight, extending her claws and retracting them repeatedly.

"Awesome..." She said. Rolling her eye's Sally gave me a kiss on the cheek and made her way to the cockpit to tell the pilots to leave.

I allowed the pain killers to do there job while we left the Alliance warship and made our way to the A.M.S. Eclipse. The trip was around forty five minutes or so and I was just starting to doze off when I felt the ship shudder as it landed.

Sally moved to my side and undid the restraints helping me to sit up and putting on my oxygen mask. Together the two women carried me into the heart of the carrier and towards the bridge so I could meet with the Vice Admiral.

As the doors slid open I nodded to the superior officer and smiled.

"I'd salute you but I'm kind of not in a position to do that." I informed her apologetically.

The Admiral gave me a grin as she rose from her command seat and offered it to me.

"We're ready to go to slip stream on your command. Unfortunately we haven't received word from the strike team yet so we don't know what the status of the operation is. I hope everything is going okay because this is our last chance to stop the Nocturnal fleet." The two pilots sat me down gently into the chair and I couldn't help but feel pathetic having to rely on everyone else.

"Well we can either go there now and potentially ruin our plan or we can hold here and hope that things work out. Personally I think we should go, even if we ruin the plan it will take the focus off our people so they can get the job done. The side effect of that however is we'll be facing off against a lot of battleships which our carriers are not designed to engage." I pondered the possibilities as I stared out the front view port.

"Let's do it. We'll use the Eclipse to draw enemy fire to distract the fleet. Once we receive word for the retrieval of our team we'll have the Star slip stream in to pick them up. Hopefully we won't sustain too much damage and we can both head back to the fuel station after the pickup." The Admiral nodded and began to relay instructions to the bridge crew.

Sally gently squeezed my shoulder in support as Jewel gave me a sharp nod before turning to leave the room.

"Where you going?" I called after her. Glancing over her shoulder the red head gave me a feral grin.

"To get into a fighter where I belong." Without another word she cycled open the door and left.

"Once she gets an idea in her head there's no stopping her. Hopefully she can find a ship, we're so low right now it'll be tough to find one in working condition." I shrugged before turning back to once more look out into the void of space around us.

"The Star is ready to deploy." Vice Admiral Glass announced.

"Alright let's do this." I whispered. The command was given and the carrier went into slip stream towards the last known coordinates of the disabled Nocturnal Dreadnought.

Captain Victor Grimm

I awoke to the sounds of screams and the wet meaty sounds of metal on flesh. The smell that assaulted my nose was horrible, a mixture of body sweat, blood and bodily waste. Scrunching up my nose I opened my eyes to a scene straight out of a horror movie.

I was currently sitting in a holding cell with my hands shackled to the floor in front of me. The room I was in was filled with numerous cage's and torture devices and human beings were suffering a wide range of practices that would make anyone vomit in disgust.

From what I could tell the people around me were being sorted from slaves to food by the vampire's and they were using pain to determine the willpower and strength of each human as to where to send them. If one of the new slaves whimpered or cried they were sent to the feeding pens, if someone were strong and defiant they were sent to work camps.

Cursing out loud I tried to stand up but my leg's felt like limp noodles and I fell to my knees once more. A figure clad in blood red leather walked over to stand in front of me, kneeling down so he could look me in the eye.

The vampire torturer knelt in front of me was sporting a number of tattoo's of skulls and crossbones on his face and neck. His fangs had been tipped with some kind of shiny metal and his blood red eyes were framed with black makeup to give him a dark appearance.

Smiling the man speared me with his blood red gaze and placed both hands under his chin in delight.

"I don't even have to test you, I can already tell by looking at you that you'll be a fine servant. You have the look of a battle hardened warrior and a leader. I'd consider making you a mind-broken but I have a much better use for you." Glancing to his left the man raised a hand and gestured to me.

"Take this one to the pit master and tell him we have a new crew lead." Almost as if he was tossing aside garbage the man unhooked my chains, lifted me up and pushed me towards a pair of guards.

The vampires grabbed me roughly by both arms and began dragging me across the torture chamber, the human's being processed looking at me with pleading eyes as they screamed in pain. I shuddered involuntarily at what I witnessed as I was thankfully spared the same fate.

The walk, or in my case partial drag, to the pit master was around half an hour as we passed a number of different rooms and chambers. The vast majority of the ship was covered in blood and gore on the walls, floor and ceiling. Skins and hides from various conquered or hunted creatures were stapled to the walls and the ceiling.

Each room served a different use but primarily they had slaves of different species being put to work for a wide range of tasks. I noticed that the number of actual vampires on board was quite small and I could only assume this was the case for the entire fleet which would explain why they were only able to field a small number of soldiers to the ground battle.

The Nocturnal's most likely relied on there enhanced abilities and vast fleet to give them an edge to conquering other worlds and to be honest, it was all they really needed. It was hard to fight an enemy in space if you didn't have a large fleet yourself and if I had to guess only a small number of beings in the universe would have space flight capabilities. Of course I could be wrong since the vampire's were the first alien's the human race had encountered but it was the most logical theory.

My thoughts were interrupted as I was brought into a massive chamber with a cross shaped walkway. On top in the very center of the room was a large overweight man who wore a leather harness adorned with rusty spikes. This was the first vampire I'd seen that wasn't thin and it took me a moment to process the difference.

Below the walkway was a very large pit with hundreds of workers of different species going about a number of tasks. For the most part the job's involved pounding chunks of scrap metal into usable material before hoisting it up with a lift for another crew to carry to a section of the ship.

The sheets were probably being used for the shard ammunition, to be cut down for infantry weapons or to repair ship components. The Nocturnal fleet and equipment was almost entirely based on old scavenged metal which allowed them to build things at a very fast rate. While you'd assume the harvesting design would make for fragile garbage like ships, I'd seen first hand just how powerful and effective they could be.

The fat vampire rose to his feet and started to make his way towards me. I noted that the man had a barbed whip at one hip and his right knuckles were covered in spikes that had been permanently stained with blood from use.

"Pit master, this human was sent over to serve as a crew lead." Both of the guards released me and without further comment turned and left the chamber.

Smiling the vampire in front of me gripped my chin and began to turn my head roughly from side to side inspecting his latest addition to the slave force.

"You look strong and you've the eye of a leader. I imagine you'll last quite a while." I was tempted to spit in the man's face but decided against it. Swallowing hard, my mouth incredibly dry from a lack of water, I mustered the will to speak.

"Why do you all speak english?" I asked, staring at him curiously. The vampire chuckled as he let go and took a step back, planting his large hands on his wide hips.

"For the sake of you humans. Since we planned a conquest on your planet we decided to practice speaking your most common language. Makes it so you can understand us when we order you to do things or so you know what's going on. Now then, first things first, in order to be my new crew leader your going to have to defeat the old one." Unhooking my chains the Nocturnal pit master grinned.

"He's quite tough, he's been here since we first invaded your planet so he's had a lot more time to adjust to the life of a slave. If you kill him, the position is yours as well as all the perks." I raised an eyebrow at this and the man simply continued chuckling.

"You'll get to eat first and at night we leave you with a woman of your choosing to breed. We figure if the strongest breed with your female caste then it produces the strongest offspring to keep working for us. That or we consume the babies since they tend to taste better than adults, much more tender." I shivered in disgust.

"Now then enough talking." The Pit Master reached behind his chair or throne or whatever you would call it and picked up a plain wooden stick from Earth.

"This is your weapon, your opponent has what you humans call a sledge hammer. Have fun!" Before I could react I was literally kicked off the platform to land on the bottom deck in the pit below.

Cursing I rose to my feet and looked around at the sea of filthy unwashed bodies around me. The smell was horrible as the humans were being forced to go to the bathroom in the corners and vomit from being sick was all over the ground. As I took in the pitiful mass a large man began to approach me with rippling muscles.

"Oh, another challenger." The human was easily almost seven feet tall with arms as big as my head. He was wearing a tattered shirt and jeans with old steel toe work boots. In his left hand he carried a massive heavily used sledge hammer and he grinned at me, shifting a toothpick in his mouth from one side to the other.

"Right...." I mumbled, dropping into a fighters crouch while holding the stick out like a combat knife in front of me. This was going to suck...

This Forsaken World Chapter 38

Commander Devin Crowe

The scene that greeted us was completely unexpected. The dreadnought that had been disabled sat like a titan in the middle of what seemed to be a hundred battleships. The large capital ships were formed up in a sphere around the flagship to protect it from all sides.

Moving around the Dreadnought like insects were dozens of support craft and humanoid figures in space suits. The repair teams were scrambling to get there precious ship restored to combat readiness so they could either continue there campaign against the human threat or withdraw to Earth's orbit to regroup.

While I'd expected the commandeered enemy battleship to be in position for there ramming attempt it was impossible to distinguish one ship from the other. I scanned the formation but the sheer volume of vessels was staggering and I shook my head in disbelief.

"Guess we have to assume our team is ready to strike and work on distracting them to give them a chance. Bring the Eclipse into position for a barrage and deploy everything we have that has a gun attached to it." The bridge crew began to move about there stations rapidly in preparation for the coming fight.

I watched with pride as dozens of Alliance fighter craft left the carrier and created a wall between us and the Nocturnal fleet. The surviving Reapers were in position with Sledge right behind them and I wished with all my heart I could be out there with my friends and comrades.

"Admiral, get on comms and make sure the Star is in position nearby and ready to join us." The woman nodded and stepped down to the command consoles below.

It took longer than I'd anticipated for the enemy fleet to respond to our presence almost like they didn't believe we'd be arrogant enough to attack them. I smiled to myself as a dozen battleships formed up and began to move in our direction.

"All ships engage, focus primarily on enemy fighter and bomber support. I want the Eclipse on evasive maneuvers, we're not here to win a fight only to draw fire." I knew that the carrier was rather slow and a large target but anything was better than nothing. I could only hope the armor plating would hold up long enough to complete our task.

I continued to scan the Nocturnal capital ships hoping for some sign of our team when my eyes settled on a heavily damaged battleship sitting close to the dreadnought. I had to squint to make out the surface impacts from this distance but from what I could tell the damage was mostly along the sides of the large ship which matched our previous battle when we tried to disable it.

"There they are!" I called out, pointing a finger at the strike team and regretting the sudden movement instantly from the sharp pain in my chest.

My view was obstructed as a wave of enemy fighters swarmed over us and I swallowed hard. Any one of those shards could pierce the protective glass around the bridge and kill everyone in this room.

Our small selection of ballistic turrets attempted to fend off the attacking craft, tracer rounds striking out into the void of space to try and destroy the threat. It was futile as the number of attackers was beyond counting and I knew deep down the only reason we hadn't been destroyed yet was because they wanted more human slaves.

The vampire's could only commit a handful of capital ships to the attack since anymore would hinder there movements and possibly cause friendly fire. I watched helplessly as Alliance fighters and bombers were destroyed and with every human death rage filled my heart.

"Any way to contact the strike team?" I asked Sally who was standing beside me. The vampiress shook her head and sighed.

"No, our communication system isn't compatible with human technology. The team is on there own." I grit my teeth in frustration as the carrier shook from a series of impacts.

"Roll the ship to expose our undamaged section." I called out. The Alliance flagship began to slowly spin to the side so the belly was facing out.

I could no longer see the battle around us because of this but it was a necessity. Whoever had designed the ACC-2 had made a serious error in judgment to isolate the view of the bridge from the rest of the ship. The command crew were effectively blind to anything below us and that was a big deal when we were facing our current threat. Our sensors were our eyes and when the incoming firepower was this severe the computers had a hard time calculating the differences between ships and enemy projectiles.

The Vice Admiral moved back towards me and was forced to grab onto a nearby technicians chair to keep from falling as the ship shifted suddenly from an impact.

"If the team doesn't hurry soon we're going to be destroyed!" The woman exclaimed as she made her way towards the command chair.

I looked out towards the damaged battleship and felt hope overtake rage as it slowly began to move towards the dreadnought. I had to assume they rejoined the fleet upon arrival with the Blood Fang's taking charge to avoid suspicion. The strike team was waiting for the right time to make there move and this was it.

"Break off the assault and try to put some distance between us and that flagship, there about to blow it. Call in the Star and tell them to be ready." The Admiral nodded and I breathed in a sigh of relief.

We still had to survive the withdrawal, the carrier was taking serious damage at this point and with the incoming firepower still directed at us we were going to be hard pressed to get away but it was something.

Staring out the view port I watched as the battleship moved towards the dreadnought and was surprised when the radio crackled. A feminine voice filtered into the speakers and Sally stood tall in response as she recognized the voice.

"Mother?" I raised an eyebrow at my lover but she simply stared at the receiver.

"Cassiva? How are you able to communicate with us?" Sally asked, the vampiress showing a mixture of emotions that I had yet to see.

"One of the human's was able to rig things together with Nocturnal equipment. I only have a moment to talk...we can't leave, the male's have boarded us and we're trying to keep them away from the bridge while the human's protect the engine room. If we abandon the ship we won't destroy the dreadnought." Sally breathed in deeply and I reached out and took her hand in mine.

"What exactly are you saying?" My lover asked, squeezing my hand in hers.

"I'm saying goodbye. I wish I could have gotten to know you better but it was a privilege to fly with you." I could hear gunshots and screams in the background as the radio crackled with static for a moment.

"I have to go...be free." Before Sally could say anything else the radio went quiet as it disconnected and Sally whimpered in a rare moment of weakness. Dropping to her knee's the vampiress put her head on my shoulder and I felt a wave of heartfelt sorrow for her. It had to be hard having a daughter you'd never truly had a chance to know and losing her like this.

"Admiral, looks like the strike team is going to sacrifice themselves, let's rejoin the Star and have them cover us. We can't leave until we make sure the dreadnought is destroyed but we can at least get some distance between us so we clear the area." The woman nodded and moved back towards the control consoles.

The carrier turned slowly and began to move towards the sister Alliance carrier and I watched our fighter screen attempt to protect us from enemy bombers, the tracer rounds streaking out back and forth in the blackness around us.

The stolen vampire ship continued it's journey to the Dreadnought and at this point several Nocturnal battleships were opening fire on the threat to try and protect there flagship.

The battle was escalating as the enemy seemed to decide we weren't worth the effort of capturing. The incoming fire increased and the carrier began to shake and shift wildly. Metal shrieked in protest as warning lights lit up indicating breaches in the hull. The radio's went berserk as the crew attempted to report damage throughout the ship.

"Get us out of here!" I yelled, gripping the armrests as the carrier lurched to the left throwing everyone on the bridge to the ground except for the fleet footed Sally beside me.

"We're trying sir, the engine's have taken a direct hit and we're stalling out. We have repair teams attempting to get them operational." A young man informed me, his face covered in blood from a head injury.

Tapping a button on the chair I locked in on Angel's fighter.

"Reaper lead, we have engine damage, keep them off of our aft section no matter what! Sledge, take any bombers we have left out there and punch a hole through there formation for the Star to get us support." The normal double clicks confirmed things and I switched frequency to Captain Connors.

"Captain, we need any support ships you have, send everything our way. We have severe damage to our engines and I need repair teams as well as ships to cover us." The woman hesitated for a moment before responding.

"Alright, I can't spare much though the enemy fleet is approaching us, make it quick. We'll buy you as much time as we can." I smiled at this and disconnected the line.

A hissing sound caught my attention and I looked to the right where a shard had penetrated the bridge. A pair of officers rushed over to a panel in the wall by the door and began to pull out oxygen masks and a repair torch. One of the men moved about the room handing out the masks while the other rushed to the breach where he struggled to remove the shard with a sledge hammer.

"Sally see if you can help them." The white haired vampire nodded and jogged over to assist with the patching.

While we didn't in theory need oxygen masks right away it was just a precaution. The real threat of the situation was the pressurization, if the hole were to become larger the air would be sucked out of the bridge as well as anything loose in the compartment.

Sally took the sledge hammer from the bridge officer and indicated he get the patch kit and torch ready. Doing as he was told, the vampire slammed the shard of metal loose and before the pressure could escape the officer slapped a metal sheet over the hole and began to weld it shut.

With the immediate danger out of the way I looked back out into the battle around us. The Star had sent the requested reinforcements and they were busy clearing a path for us as I watched more battleships begin to move in our direction.

A sudden bright light nearly blinded everyone on the bridge and I shielded my eyes before looking out at the source in confusion. The dreadnought that had once been floating in space was now a thousand chunks of scrap metal and almost all of the battleships that had been surrounding it were damaged beyond repair and floating away from the impact zone.

The damage was far more than I had anticipated when making this battle plan and I realized that the Nocturnal fleet attacking Earth would be hard pressed to continue there pursuit of our fleet to the Venus station, they had just lost a sizable number of there ships...

The entire crew cheered and yelled in celebration as the light faded and I felt hope once more. Sally dropped the sledge hammer and moved to join me, her eyes filled with sadness as she looked out the view port at the destruction.

"I'm sorry about your squadron...and your daughter. They died as heroes." I smiled up at her feeling helpless that I could do nothing more to comfort her.

"Yes, they did. They made there choice and I'm proud to have called Cassiva my daughter. I just hope this is enough to show the other women of the Nocturnal's that freedom is an option." My lover returned my smile and took my hand in hers.

The loss of the dreadnought was enough to break the spirit of the surviving battleships as the vampire fleet broke off there attack and began to move away. The fighting outside started to die down as the straggler's were destroyed and a relative peace settled around us.

"We did it..." I whispered, watching the fleeing capital ships as they made there way to the edge of the battle zone. The radio's lit up with repair reports and notifications that our support ships and fighter craft were landing.

"Alright Admiral, let's get out of here. Get those engines operational and recall the fleet. Have the Star join us and assist with rescue operations of stranded pilots." The woman nodded and I couldn't help but relish the feeling of total command. While I was accustomed to being a squadron leader, sitting here directing the numerous ships of the Alliance fleet was exhilarating.

A sharp pain in my chest caught my attention and I grunted, pressing a hand to the broken breast bone. Because of the pain killers and my flight suit I hadn't realized my numerous wounds were bleeding and I cursed under my breath. The wound in my shoulder, ribs and thigh were all beginning to hurt and looking at the various body parts I noted a red spot where the bandages that the ladies had wrapped me in were seeping.

"Sally, can you take me to the med bay if its still there?" I asked.

My lover glanced my way and I was rather surprised she hadn't noticed I was bleeding until now due to her desire for the crimson life fluid. It was most likely due to the distractions on the bridge and the battle as well as her emotions over the loss of her squadron.

Nodding slowly Sally gently helped to raise me to my feet and waved across the room to catch the Admiral's attention.

"Admiral Glass, I'm going to take him to get medical treatment, can you take over?" The vampire called out. The woman nodded and took her place in the command seat as I was all but carried off the bridge.

The ship was in utter chaos with damage evident in almost every hallway we passed by. The medical bay was overflowing with injured crew members and Sally carefully leaned me up against the wall.

"I'm going to find some help, stay here." I nodded, not really able to do anything if I wanted to. The vampiress moved throughout the medical bay trying to find someone to help and I sighed, sliding to the floor and wincing in pain.

"Sir, let's get you onto a bed." A medic stated as they moved in my direction.

"No, there are far worse people than me right now, help them. I just need some pain killers to keep me going." I waved the man off and he hesitated for a moment before doing as he was ordered.

It took several long minutes of agonizing pain before the medic returned with a shot of morphine and I smiled in relief as the powerful medication did its job. The man offered Sally a handful of bandages and antiseptic before returning to his patients.

"Take me back to our quarters and patch me up there would you?" I asked, holding out an arm for her to help me up. It was dangerous to continue moving around with the broken breast bone, a chance of the sharp edges stabbing into my heart a serious possibility, but it couldn't be helped.

"You do know we're on the Eclipse and not the Star right? You don't have a quarters on this ship, those painkillers must be messing with your head." I chuckled, wincing from the action.

"Don't make me laugh. Just find an empty room with a bed." I mumbled, my mind indeed being messed up as the pain killers kicked in full force.

My lover helped me up and carried me down the hallway for a few minutes, my perception of time and travel becoming muddled with each passing second. After what felt like hours to me but was probably only a portion of that the vampiress found an empty cabin and laid me out on the bed.

I mumbled in thanks, or at least I thought that's what it was, as she began to undress me. My body instantly felt cold from the loss of my flight suit and the ships damaged heating system as Sally began to replace the bandages over my wounds.

Sleep took hold as I lost consciousness and all I could think of as darkness claimed me was how we had won, and for now, we were safe.

This Forsaken World Chapter 39

Former Captain, Victor Grimm (Captive)

The man before me was large and from what I could tell he relied entirely on upper body strength, which I hoped made him slow. My theory was proven as he took one step forward and roared, swinging the large sledge hammer straight down like he was attempting to smash my head in.

Spring boarding off the wall beside me I propelled myself past the man who struggled to recover from his initial attack and kicked out the back of his knee. The crew leader grunted in pain as I skipped backwards to put some distance between us.

I couldn't help feel excited with the situation, I was a warrior and any chance to put my natural talents and skills to the test was enough to get my adrenaline up. I casually tossed the stick to the side and gave the man a feral grin which seemed to give him pause in his next attack.

"What, done already?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and standing up with pride.

"I'll make you swallow those words along with your tongue you bastard!" The man snarled, spittle spraying from his mouth.

"Really? That's your come back?" I shook my head as everyone around me laughed, the slaves having momentarily stopped there work in order to witness the fight.

Up above me I could see a cluster of vampires making bets on who would win and felt disgusted with myself for entertaining them.

With a growl of anger the big man rushed me once more attempting to swing the sledge hammer to the right, aiming for my rib cage. Stepping to the left I hugged the wall as the construction tool ricocheted off the metal surface and missed me completely.

The weight of the weapon caused the man to stagger forward towards me and I smiled, extending my arm and close lining the fool so he slammed down hard on his back, the sledge hammer sliding away to settle in the middle of the workers.

Staring up at the fat pit boss I shook my head.

"I'm military you fool, he doesn't stand a chance." I called out. The vampire gave me a toothy grin as he pointed at the current crew leader who was attempting to rise to his feet.

"He ain't done yet!" The Nocturnal slave master announced.

Turning to face my opponent I took two steps back to allow him time to stand up and dropped into a fighters crouch. Extending a hand I opened my palm and beckoned him forward in challenge.

"Bring it..." I whispered just loud enough for him to hear me.

Bellowing like an enraged animal the crew leader ignored his lost weapon and charged head first towards me with his arms extended, apparently planning on grabbing onto me and using his superior size and strength to do some damage.

Waiting for him to fully commit to the attack I side stepped and spun on my heel, my raised leg catching the oncoming crew leader in the gut and causing him to double over and land on the floor. Looming over the slave from behind I put him in a choke hold and grabbed onto what little hair he had left, forcing his head up.

"Enough! There are too few humans as it is for us to be killing each other for there sport!" I pointed to the vampires above.

"From now on, we work together! No more killing, we share food and we take care of each other! If anyone doesn't approve, step forward and get ready to face me next." Letting go of the man I was holding I stepped away.

Rubbing his raw throat the large slave rose to his feet once more and turned to face me. His anger was gone and instead I saw respect in his eyes.

"Your one hell of a fighter. What's your name?" The former crew leader asked.

"Victor, you?" I extended a hand to the man.

"Jericho. I'll follow you." We clasped hands and he gave me a firm shake. His strength was truly impressive and I was glad I'd been able to avoid him.

A wet substance splattered over the back of my neck and I looked up to see the pit boss wiping spit from the edge of his mouth.

"I had four marks bet on you big man. You, new guy, if you don't kill him I'll execute one of the slave's!" The fat vampire informed me.

"No, I don't believe you will. You can't afford to lose more workers or precious blood for that matter after the casualties you suffered on the surface. You see I was down there and I saw just how badly you got your asses kicked. We'll do your work but you leave us alone, you don't like that, take it up with me and leave them alone!" I snapped.

Jericho took a few steps back when I said this and I stared at him in confusion. Without warning a net fell from the ceiling and wrapped around me, metal prongs digging into my combat suit and holding me tight.

"What the hell?!" I cried out as I was unceremoniously picked up.

Looking at the net I realized there was a winch attached to it and a track line running the length and width of the entire room, something I'd failed to notice until now.

The net was designed to pick up any slave in the room in case the vampire's wanted to get them out of the pit safely without the danger of being swarmed by the other's. I was hauled up into the air and carried over to the edge of the platform near the pit master.

"Your right, I can't risk anymore lives. That doesn't mean I can't break your spirit so your a little more cooperative. You, big human!" The fat vampire pointed to Jericho with a clawed finger.

"Your still crew leader, this one isn't suitable for the task. Consider yourself lucky for now." Cackling like a maniac the pit boss waited until I was released before grabbing me by the back of the neck and slamming me onto the platform repeatedly until stars filled my eyes.

My mind hazy and my surroundings fuzzy due to the continued blow's to the head the Nocturnal grabbed me by a leg and began to drag me out of the room and into an adjacent chamber. While my vision was starting to clear I was strapped face first onto what looked like a bed out of an insane asylum.

Three other vampires were in the room, two men who appeared to be guards and a beautiful woman with an hourglass shape most men would dream about. The guards held me down as the vampiress secured me fully and the pit boss snorted once before leaving the room.

"Don't do any permanent damage!" He called back, slamming a metal door shut with shrieking hinges.

The woman nodded to one of the guards and my armor plating and uniform were stripped away leaving me naked from the waist up.

"We're just going to be injecting you with a serum that increases pain ten-fold so you will feel everything we are going a little bit more. Do try not to pass out, that takes away all of the fun." The female's voice was so seductive and deep that it made my body respond with arousal despite my protests.

Struggling to look over my shoulder I hissed as a sharp pain entered my lower right side just below the waistline. I was released as an icy cold feeling ran the length of my body and I shivered involuntarily.

After several long minutes of the uncomfortable sensation the vampiress stepped into view once more and smiled at me, showing fangs that appeared longer than usual. Holding up a hand the woman displayed a device that covered her palm and every finger, needle sharp tips extending from her fingertips. Squeezing a pump on her wrist a strange bluish green liquid squirted from the tip of each needle point.

"Now then, shall we begin? When we're done you'll be much more cooperative, or you'll go insane in which case we can still find a use for you." I squeezed my eyes shut in anticipation of the pain to come.

Commander Devin Crowe

I'd managed to get some sleep before Sally woke me up. My lover had taken position beside me and kept watch over me while I'd been recovering when Jewel and Sledge entered the room. Groggily I fought the hazy drug induced after sleep from my eyes.

"You guys are okay?" I smiled as I struggled to sit up with Sally's help.

"That's right. Wish you had been out there boss, that was one hell of a fight." Sledge said, clapping me on the shoulder before pulling back from the groan of pain the impact caused.

"Sorry." He mumbled apologetically. Angel rolled her eyes before slugging the big man in the bicep. The physical action actually caused Sledge to stagger a bit and he gazed at Jewel with obvious amusement as well as a touch of desire.

"Guess I gotta get used to you being stronger than me now red." The bomber pilot chuckled and wrapped an arm around the red head.

"Damn straight. So Dev, we need to get you to the bridge, Admiral's orders. She wants you to help coordinate the return to the fuel station." I blinked in surprise.

"How long have I been out?" I asked, looking between my three friends.

"About two hours, the fleet has mostly been gathered and we're almost done with repairs but there is a small Nocturnal patrol on the edge of the battle zone as well as a lot of prisoner's. I'll let her explain it to you in more detail." My wing mate nodded to Sally and the two women helped me up once more.

Grunting I nodded reluctantly.

"Fine." I was carried between the two beautiful ladies to the bridge where they deposited me in the command chair. Sally stayed beside me as Sledge and Angel left the room, hand in hand. The sight was refreshing as the two of them had been hinting at romance for as long as I'd known them.

Admiral Glass made her way over to me and gave me a handshake instead of a salute.

"Good to see your doing okay, how's the pain?" She asked me, raising an eyebrow.

"Better, the sleep really helped. So what did you need me for?" I asked, looking out the view port at the surrounding space outside.

From what I could see the dreadnought and fleet of destroyed battleships were still floating in a circle in the distance. Three of the large warships were positioned just beyond the impact zone and from the way they were sitting it was obvious they were undamaged. Moving about the wreckage was several dozen smaller ships and fighter/bombers that were apparently searching for survivors and I frowned.

Aside from this the Alliance ships were clustered together with repair teams working rapidly to get the engines of the Eclipse repaired. A handful of AFS-1's sat idle nearby watching the Nocturnal ships in case they made a move. The Star was positioned off to the port side with tethered cables stretching between the two carriers, most likely for personnel and materials to be passed safely between the large ships.

"Several of the vampire's are requesting asylum. There almost entirely composed of females but there are at least fifty males. They've been sending us SOS signals for almost an hour and we took the time to capture one of the ships to see what they wanted, that's how we found out about there request. I asked Captain Connor's for her opinion but she stated she wanted you to decide." I pondered this for several moments as I looked at Sally.

"What do you think, can we trust them?" I asked. My lover stared out the view port at the floating ships nearby and sighed.

"Well, I'd say we can trust the women but the men should be held in containment for a while if we plan on bringing them aboard. There are some decent male's in the fleet but there mostly the under ranked soldiers who haven't tasted the privileges of leadership. Ultimately it's for you humans to decide but if it was me, don't trust the males and keep an eye on the females. Some of my kind can be a bit...tricky I guess you could say?" I nodded as I considered what she'd said.

"Admiral, we're severely short handed right now. If we do bring them aboard there's a good chance they'd be able to take over the ship and hand us over to the vampire's. Can we get a message to the civilian fleet near Venus?" I turned to look at my superior.

"Um, it will take a bit but yeah, the Star is gonna have to do it though our transmitter took damage during the fight. Why?" I gave her a grin.

"We could have them send an unarmed ship to pick up the Nocturnal survivors and bring them with us. At least that way if they do try anything they won't have an armed ship to steal or people to take hostage." With a thumbs up being the only thing I could manage the Admiral laughed before setting off to inform the Captain.

Giggling gently, Sally leaned on my good shoulder and kissed me on the cheek.

"That's brilliant, I knew there was a reason I liked you." I gave her a soft smile and turned to capture her lips against mine in a sensual kiss.

"Good to hear it, a guy always likes a compliment from a beautiful woman. When I'm fully healed you can show me how much you like me." The vampiress gave me a playful wink before stepping back and putting a hand on my chair.

I watched as the fleet continued there repairs and the battleships kept there distance. Thing's seemed to be going alright for the moment and all I could do was wait. I noticed a pair of ships, one bomber and one fighter, leaving the hangar and heading for the Star. I had to assume because of the ship type's it was Angel and Sledge, most likely returning to there mother ship.

"I miss the Star I gotta say. It's strange being stuck over here for so long when that carrier has been my home. I feel out of place." Sally stared at the ground for a few seconds with a somber look in her eyes.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't think about what your going through." The vampiress smiled softly as she looked over at me.

"No its okay, I was just thinking how Cassiva never truly had a home. They moved us around a lot from ship to ship. I spent most of my time on the dreadnought with my own quarters but it wasn't what you'd call a home. I think...I think my home is wherever you are. I just wish she could be here and have that feeling as well. I miss all of them, they were the closest thing to a family I've ever had." I reached out and squeezed her hand affectionately, bringing another smile to her.

"I'm sure they felt like home was with you, that was why they followed you when you joined us." Sally nodded before staring out the view port at the Nocturnal dreadnought's remains in the distance.

"Yeah...your right. I haven't regretted my decision for one second, not that it was much of a choice considering I was your slave and all." I snorted at this, instantly regretting it as my chest hurt.

"You could have killed me easily and since you weren't on your ship you could have gone against the idea of being a slave. Not to mention I want to point out technically I didn't defeat you in combat, we ran into each other and ended up on the flight deck together." I gave her a challenging look.

"We ended up on your ship and mine was not functional anymore. According to me, that was you beating me. If you'd ended up like that on the dreadnought I'd have taken you as my personal little pet to do with as I pleased." Her red eyes seemed to glow with amusement at this and I swallowed hard.

"I don't know if I'd enjoy that or not. Still, it's definitely something that I'm going to think about in the future." A giggle erupted from her as she squeezed my good shoulder.

"Good. So what's next after we get the fleet to the station?" She asked me. Looking out across the bridge I sighed and shrugged.

"I guess we finish fixing things, repair and rearm, then we use the wormhole generator to leave the solar system. Only problem I see is it's going to take a few months to get everything ready and we're short on ammunition. If the vampire's attack us before we're done it could mean trouble." The concept of being attacked was scary due to how low we were on pilots and bullets.

If we could get the entire fleet back to the station we'd have the ships but not the personnel. We barely had any pilots left or trained crew for our warships. The fuel station was running on a skeleton crew so they would provide little relief and we lacked the technicians and mechanics to get things running again. It was going to be a challenge but then again, that's what human's were good at.

"I guess we wait and find out what happens." I gave her a soft smile again before staring out the view port and thinking about the event's to come.

This Forsaken World Chapter 40

Six Months After Dreadnought Battle

(Former Captain) Victor Grimm (Slave)

I'd lost track of how much time had gone by. Day after day I worked in the pit, scrap metal being deposited in one corner and the mass of filthy human bodies working to flatten them into something useful.

The work felt pointless and the knowledge it would only strengthen the vampire's fighting force so they could enslave another planet would normally have brought rage...instead I felt nothing.

I'd been to the torture chamber so many time's my nerves felt numb to anything and pain no longer affected me. After my last trip to the table the female vampire who seemed to love her job a little too much decided it was pointless to continue with me. There objective had been accomplished however, I was more or less broken to subservience.

Jericho had continued to lead the slaves but his personality had taken a complete turn after his defeat at my hands and he was now kind and empathetic to those around him. It was amazing how one person besting him in combat could completely change his outlook.

I'd spent the last several month's keeping my head down as much as possible, going about my work like a mindless drone.

The food they fed us was worse than anything I'd ever tasted in my life and considering I had been living during an apocalypse, that was saying something. As far as I could tell it was ground up meat from human bodies and parts of the brain mixed with some sort of vegetable paste.

The first thing I'd come to noticed after being dropped into the pit was a rampant disease running through the slaves known as Kuru disease. The affliction was a rare, incurable and fatal neurodegenrative disorder that originated from transmittable infected Prions, or folded proteins. Cannibalism was the leading cause of this, primarily eating an infected human brain. The symptoms were shaking and loss of muscle coordination, random outbursts of laughter, emotional instability and depression and during the later stages the inability to walk. Luckily, the vampire's disposed of slaves at this point since they were useless but unfortunately, those slaves were now what our food dishes were filled with.

The disease normally took several years to take hold before showing symptoms but considering the state of Earth it was apparent cannibalism had taken place on a regular basis before we were captured, thus the state of things we found ourselves in.

It was obvious almost everyone in the pit was infected it was just a matter of time before it showed it's ugly face to claim another person. I'd been lucky so far but Jericho had begun to exhibit symptoms and he was fully aware of what it meant. To my surprise and respect, the man continued to help the slaves in any way he could and pushed himself to his limit every day.

Aside from the slop we were fed twice a day, the workers had been defecating and urinating anywhere they stood. After being tossed into the pit from my first torture session I'd taken charge and ordered a latrine to be built with makeshift scraps of metal in a corner. The pit master had watched with amusement as I coordinated everyone and he'd even allowed us to create a drop pan system that we could burn to get rid of the waste.

Next, I'd worked to make things as comfortable as possible by squaring off another corner for bunking, informing the fat vampire that slaves worked harder if they had a comfortable place to sleep. The logic must have stuck as he offered us some soft furs from an unknown creature as well as tanned human hide to create a barracks of sorts.

Sadly, the continued torture sessions broke my will to a point I stopped coming up with idea's and fell into a dormant quiet state. I knew there was more I could do for everyone but the thought of pain kept me docile. Despite keeping my head down the Nocturnal didn't let up, they had learned of my role in the siege of Earth and they wanted payback.

I saw that room and experienced things no normal sane human could handle and yet here I was, still working and still defiant, although they didn't know that. I had been broken, it was true and I was obedient, but it was all a ruse. Inside my heart I still wanted to kill every last vampire on this ship. I was biding my time waiting for the moment to strike, to find an opening and take advantage of it.

The downfall to patience was my body was getting weaker and weaker by the day. I was strong enough to keep doing my work but because of a lack of nourishment and fresh air I was getting weaker by the day. My once strong and athletic body had been reduced to little more than flesh and bones. While I'd once had well sculpted muscles that I was proud of I had a faint outline of what had been there before. My skin had become pale and my now very long hair and beard were matted and streaked with gray.

Sighing in frustration I brought the sledge hammer I was holding down hard to flatten a metal corner of the sheet I had before me. My hands had initially been full of blisters from using the construction tool but after a few weeks I now had thick callouses covering my fingers and palm.

A slave to my right bumped into me as they laughed hysterically, spit and snot streaming down there face. With a curse I reached out to steady the man and straighten him up.

"Jericho!" I called out. The crew leader instantly responded to my voice and walked over to grab the slave on the shoulder, nodding respectfully to me before moving away to reposition the worker out of the pit bosses sight.

While the disease was fatal, human's had a strong will to live and if the opportunity to rebel came soon the slave might have a chance to make something good come out of a bad situation. If giving his life saved other's he'd be able to die with a smile on his face and a raised middle finger to the enemy.

A splash of ice cold water hit me and I swore under my breath, staring at the wall before me.

Every couple of day's the vampire's idea of a slave shower to keep them clean was to pour water on them while they worked...doesn't quite work the way they think it does. I assumed that the blood sucker's could only really smell things that a predator could smell like blood, adrenaline, fear, things like that. Unwashed human bodies that smelled of shit, piss and body odor didn't seem to register for them or they'd do more.

Grunting I ignored the icy chill running down my spine and continued working as the person beside me was unceremoniously bathed.

A screaming noise caught my attention and I looked up as a pair of human's were tossed into the pit. The new arrivals were wearing a combination of old and battered Alliance combat gear with random stained rags to cover exposed body parts. There hair was relatively clean and groomed but other than that they were dirty like they'd been running through a desert with no water covered in sweat.

The pit boss snorted before returning to his throne as the soldiers looked around in confusion. Looking down at my torn and tattered Alliance uniform I shrugged and made my way to join them.

Instantly recognizing the only remaining pip on my clothing the two troopers snapped a salute.

"At ease guys, this isn't the military, not anymore. I'm Ca-...I was Captain Victor Grimm. What unit are you guys with, I thought the Alliance was wiped out." The two strangers were from a mixed unit, that much was obvious.

There was a man in a tanker uniform made of pure white, a sign that he had been fighting up north, possibly Russia or nearby. The second trooper was a woman with long black hair, her uniform the color of sand with a combination of brush camouflage.

"Sir, I was with the Alaskan military, 3rd Tanker regiment. We were on a scouting mission when they ambushed us with ships..." The soldier looked down at the ground with a defeated expression and I had to assume his unit was wiped out.

Turning to the woman I raised an eyebrow and she gave me a confident grin. From her appearance she seemed like a desert sniper or something along those lines and this was confirmed as she responded to my question enthusiastically.

"I was a marksman with a kill team in the Gobi Desert. I'm not a part of an official unit, we're conscripts who sign up for suicide missions to get some payback. We were assigned to take out a high ranking Nocturnal official on deployment to a nearby prison camp." I couldn't help but smile for the first time in weeks at this, her positive attitude infectious.

"Did you succeed?" I felt like the question was pointless but I asked anyways.

"Oh hell yeah we did! Put a high caliber bullet right between his eyes! Should have seen his head split apart. Downside is, they tracked the shot and swarmed us before we could run...not a lot of hiding places in a desert. We put up one hell of a fight but in the end I was the only one still standing and a tranq dart put an end to that. Here I am!" I chuckled and shook there hands.

"Well, I'm glad to hear we're still in the fight. Let me show you around." I held out an arm to guide them around the tiny pathetic pit.

Hope...it was the first time I'd felt something in a long long time...

Commander Devin Crowe

"Reaper lead to flight team, incoming hostiles at one o'clock, vector nine point four. Prepare to engage." Double clicks confirmed as I glanced out my port side to see my wing mate staying close to me.

Turning my AFS-1 in the direction of the oncoming enemy ships I grinned, triggering my targeting reticle and lining up the lead ship.

"Reaper three and five, break to port and starboard for target acquisition, I've got point fighter." I knew that the two designated reaper's would be backed up by there wing mates. By spacing the three groups apart it made it so we didn't hit each other's targets, splitting the enemy formation.

A flash of movement to my right caught my attention and I cursed out loud.

"New targets, enemy bomber squadron at point one eight, Reaper five intercept targets. Reaper two, take five's position and hold them off until we thin the herd." A feminine voice cut into my headset.

"Got it boss, they won't know what hit em...I'll try not to kill them too fast." Angel's growl after the word 'kill' gave me goosebumps.

The red head had always been vicious but ever since she'd suffered the mind-break the vampire's had performed she'd become almost blood thirsty. It was hard to keep the pilot's anger in check and she spent the majority of her time in flight simulations or at the gym training hard. She'd always been athletic and kept a toned physique but for the last six months she'd become so muscular only her boy toy Sledge would find her attractive, I found her intimidating. My taste in women had always been more towards the slender petite type and I was reminded of this fact as a sensuous voice filled with love interrupted my thoughts.

"Reaper lead focus, there almost on you." Sally informed me.

I snapped my attention back to the task at hand and cut hard to port. A fighter zeroed in on my position and the feint worked, drawing the lead pair of enemy ships out of formation to attempt to engage me. Hitting my thrusters I performed a spin to the starboard side and targeted the lead fighter.

A tone registered a lock and I grinned, squeezing the trigger before turning to his wing mate.

Confusion swept through the enemy squadron as they were attacked from three sides and they broke apart just as I'd predicted. It was hard to openly engage a group of fighters if they were all over the place, it forced there opponents to mimic there movements unless they were heavily disciplined and skilled.

The fighter I was following was actually quite good as I struggled to match him or her for every twist or turn. I was reminded of the time I'd faced off against Sally and I used this to my advantage, kicking in my engines and propelling myself ahead of the enemy. At first my opponent seemed to hesitate, unsure what to do as the last thing they'd expected was for me to fly in front of them right into there cross hairs.

My plan worked as instead of engaging me they panicked and tried to evade, cutting to port. I grinned and spun in place, tracking them slowly until I got a tone and squeezed the trigger.

A tone registered lock on my ship and I gasped, turning to my blind side where I was missing an eye. An enemy bomber had closed the distance between us and was now sitting directly beside me, its impressive arsenal aimed at my cockpit.

I sighed in frustration as a gruff voice cut into my headset.

"What gives boss? You've never been targeted in a training match, you losing your edge?" I smiled as I shook my head, tapping the transmitter.

"Either that or your getting better. At least I took two down before you got me you sneaky bastard. Guess I'm out until the rest of the battle is over. Get back in the thick of it Sledge, the sooner you finish the faster I get out of this cockpit and get some food." The voice laughed in good humor before cutting off.

The ABS-4 Alliance bomber rocked back and forth in respect before turning away and flying off towards the ongoing dogfight. The battle was a training drill for new pilots joining the Alliance. In over fifty mock battle's I'd never been defeated and I wasn't sure what was distracting me. The last three fight's I'd been struggling to keep up with everyone else and I bit my lip in frustration, sighing and leaning back in my seat.

The fight lasted several minutes as the outnumbered Reaper's racked up one kill after another. When all was said and done I was the only casualty and the entire fighter and bomber fleet including Sledge had been defeated. There was no actual weaponry involved, a tone lock with a triggered dumb fire round signaled a kill.

"Reaper lead, mission successful. Preparing to return to the Star." I smiled as I re-engaged my fighter and fell into formation at the head of my squadron.

Zeroing in the coordinates for the A.M.S. Star fleet carrier in the distance I settled in for a ten minute flight.

"What happened out there my love? I've never seen you defeated in battle except for that time you were captured." The voice belonged to Sally, the love of my life. Her words were like a knife to my confidence but I bit back the emotion.

"Don't know, he got me on my blind side but that's never been a problem before. Guess I'm just getting old." I could hear Raptor snort over the radio before he coughed and went quiet.

"I heard that..." I snapped. There was a slight delay before the pilot cleared his throat.

"Sorry boss." Toggling the scanners I checked the outer perimeter before nodding in satisfaction.

The Nocturnal fleet had only attacked twice in the last six months and both incidents involved a single battleship and a handful of fighters. We'd pushed them back easily and since then they'd stayed near Earth. I was thankful for this as the fleet had been able to fully recover our damaged ships and get them combat and flight capable.

The issue we had run into was we had more ships than trained pilots and less ammunition than we needed. There was no way to resupply our projectile weapons since the orbital station in Earth orbit was where they had been created and supplied. Out here by the Venus fueling depot, we had nothing.

The only good thing was, the civilian fleet that had followed us had a ridiculous amount of people on board and we had put out a draft order to recruit as many as possible to support our military.

At first the people were hesitant but when it became clear without help we'd never survive out here and there ships would be vulnerable with no Alliance support, they'd begun volunteering for posts in the fleet.

My duties as Executive officer aboard the Star had temporarily been suspended so I could train new pilots in our fighters while Sledge took on any bomber trainee's. As such, I'd spent the last three months in my cockpit more than in the station and I was getting quite tired of it.

Due to the loss of Lieutenant Smith, AKA Doom, Sally had volunteered for position as Reaper six. Her combat experience as well as status as an ace pilot had proven valuable and she'd accounted for almost thirty percent of all squadron kills. The fact I got to hear her voice while we were deployed on missions made things all the better and I'd learned quite fast that she could handle herself so during a fight I didn't have to watch her.

The flight back was uneventful and after slaving my ship to the hangar control I waited impatiently to land so I could stretch my legs.

The squadron as well as the new recruits made our way to the mess hall silently and I sighed, taking a seat on the uncomfortable bench at a table in the corner. We were supposed to have a debriefing right now but it had been decided on the flight back that food was more important and we'd allowed for an hour break to eat.

The table was too small for the entire Reaper squadron so they sat at the table beside us and Sledge and Angel took a spot together behind us.

Smiling at my lover I leaned down onto the table and she cupped my face in her small hands.

"What's wrong?" She asked, running her fingers through my hair.

"I don't know, somethings been eating at me and I'm not sure what it is. I have this...I don't know how to describe it, sense? I've felt like something needs me or needs protected and it's been distracting me...but it's not you or any of the others...it's not the fleet...I can't figure it out and it's been driving me nuts." I glanced up at her and she gave me a soft smile.

"That's why you haven't been sleeping?" She asked tenderly, leaning down to kiss my cheek.

"Right. Any idea's?" I sat up and looked at her carefully to see what she'd say.

"I...do have one idea but I was waiting for the right time to tell you." I frowned and took her hands in mine.

"What is it?" I asked, curiosity now getting the better of me.

"Well...when vampire's have offspring the male's become over protective for the first few years, like a survival instinct to protect the child. That's why when a female becomes pregnant the father is sent to another ship or planet, the further away the less the desire to protect. We are a predatory race after all so naturally any sign of weakness is considered fair game for other predators and that's why we feel the need to protect our children. Females don't have that, they give birth and since they normally would be the alpha hunter, they'd go back to there duties. For reasons beyond my knowledge the Nocturnal turned away from there nature and the male's took dominance in all things including the hunt. Female's lost there edge and became docile so they were assigned lesser tasks. Our young is raised by a female's specifically assigned to training and nurturing so the one's who gave birth can return to there original duties... That's why I never really knew my daughter until she was placed in my squadron." I gave her a confused look.

"Okay, while I think I understand what your getting at, can you break it down so my exhausted human mind can understand?" I felt dumb asking but I honestly was too tired and too distracted to process anything at the moment.

"I don't know how, I didn't think it was possible but..." Leaning forward so no one else could hear, Sally gave me a nervous smile as though she was terrified of how I'd react to what she was about to tell me.

"I'm...pregnant." A loud coughing sound resonated behind me and I glanced over my shoulder to see Angel pounding her chest and giving me a weak apologetic smile.

"I didn't hear anything!" She called out before ducking her head to hide behind Sledge's bulky figure. I figured the mind broken enhancement she'd undergone gave her enhanced hearing and chose to ignore this.

Turning back to my lover with a thousand questions rolling around in my head, I cupped her cheek and kissed her passionately for several long seconds before pulling away and gazing into her eyes.

"How is it possible? Has there ever been a mixed breeding between your species?" I felt excited and happy, though that surprised me. You'd think I'd be terrified or horribly confused, among other things, but I didn't. I now felt calm and the constant worries tumbling through my mind slowed to a manageable level.

"No, never. I don't know how it happened. Probably because we're so close to each other genetically that we were compatible. To be honest, I'm scared..I don't know what to expect or what will happen. I wasn't sure how to tell you because I didn't know how you'd react." I gave her a reassuring kiss.

"Well, everything makes sense now. I gotta say, I'm happy. I never imagined having children because of my lifestyle and the state of things being the apocalypse and all but...if I were to have a child, I can't imagine who I'd rather be with." The way her face lit up was one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen as she all but leapt over the table and gave me a fierce hug that I had to choke to breath through.

"Easy!" I snapped, feeling her loosen her hold with a sorry forming on her lips.

"I wonder what she'll be like?" I asked. Sally raised an eyebrow with a sly smile.

"What makes you think it's a girl?" She asked.

Taking her hands in mine once more I pressed my forehead against hers.

"Because only a perfect beautiful girl would come from you and I'll love her unconditionally. Just promise you'll stay by my side and we'll do this together." I whispered.

Kissing me slowly, my beautiful lover pulled away and gave me a wink.

"Always, now and forever."