A month had passed since the start of the battle, and I had to initiate a ship swap out since the enemy never sent more than a certain amount after my initial strike on their fleet. I eventually set up a strategical base in the orbital ring, a special spot made right above the elevator for swift contact with everywhere to ensure proper intel sharing. I was relaying things that needed to be covered before I took to potentially joining the battle, “The orbital ring and space elevator are clear of non-military personnel, correct?” A missile whizzed past the command room window, likely thrown off from the fight since it wasn’t on any direct course beforehand. A soldier said, “Yes sir, all who remain are purely military, the elevator and orbital ring have been closed off since the evacuation finished.” I nodded, “Good, make sure all military supplies are brought up, though keep some at the base of the elevator for emergency purposes.” Looking to the enemy ships, I understood one thing, they always seemed to charge at us with the same number of forces with each push, three thousand, but I know we destroyed a few thousand already.

  I looked to the cameras I had installed to overlook the bays we designated as repair bays; we had a smart tactic of hit and runs which let us recover ships before destruction. Though, damage was damage, and people were still dying when hits were taken in certain areas, but the enemy was losing ships constantly, so where were these reinforcements coming from? I shook my head, I needed to check a few more things, “Comms teams, have we reestablished communications with anyone outside the forge world?” A female comms member replied, “No sir, even with other Flameheart domain planets, we’re still completely in the dark.” When we lost communication with everyone outside the domain a month ago, I assumed there was a temporary systems outage, but that thought was dashed thirty whole days into a defense. As much as I wanted to send something out to act as a breaching point to whatever jamming I assumed the enemy was using, we were already too tightly strung to try it. I looked to the team I set up for the defensive installations within the space elevator and orbital ring, “Status, are we ready to fire the installations?”

  Two soldiers replied, one after the other, “Flak weapons ready sir, targeting systems are online.” “Anti-ship weapons ready sir, we’re awaiting your orders.” I spoke into my earpiece, “Merlin, status on the status of Operation Hammer Down.” Merlin replied, “Ready when you need it.” I sighed, one final thing, “Set our scans to maximum, search from where these additional craft are coming from so we can potentially strike the main fleet instead of these small pushes. If we don’t become proactive, we’ll be whittled down until we’re nothing but an easy target.” A soldier replied, “Understood sir, relaying the order to sensor teams, we’ll report back asap.” I nodded, deciding I needed to step up my game as well, mostly to get used to our enemy, “I’m going out, prepare my unit.” My men saluted me as I left the command deck, “Good luck, sir!” I was nervous, but I pushed that down, if I didn’t begin fighting now, we may never gain the needed time to locate the main fleet.

  ~~~

  It felt strange, my old motto was made for the fact I couldn’t fight, yet here I was about to partake in a battle I usually worked in the rear of with pure logistical support. Standing on the bow of the ship with several other veterans of battle, we looked to the forces that were vying to take the domain for themselves. I sighed, “Well, there’s no use hiding anything, so I might as well go all out.” I drew the blade David sent me, a smile crossed my face, “This sword wasn’t something I was too enthused to use, but hey, this thing was made for what I’m about to do.” I turned to the veterans, about to give something of a speech… until I saw a mech I swear I kept locked up to ensure she didn’t come here, “Lily! What are you doing here!?” I could tell the veterans were confused since they were all saying things like “How did she get here?!” and “I swore I checked if her unit was locked up!” This means someone let her do this, but I wasn’t sure who. I walked up to her mech and put both hands on her shoulders, “You need to go back, war isn’t a game…” I wanted to say more, but I didn’t want to display weakness to the enemy.

  Lily replied, “I know that, it’s not like I don’t know what we’re about to do, but out of all of us, the two of us are the strongest. We need to show we aren’t going to roll over to their demands, that’s what dad told me to do if anything like this happened while I was here.” When her face appeared on my screen, it was the most serious I’ve seen her since I met her, “It took me a lot of convincing to get Merlin to open the lock, don’t force me to go back now.” I clicked my tongue, “Merlin, we’re talking about this later.” Merlin replied, “I understand sir.” I knew she was right, as much as I wanted her to be safe planet side. I came up with a verdict, “As soon as it gets risky, you pull back immediately, your dad will kill me if anything happens to you.” She nodded, “I understand.” I walked back to the front of the bow, we were too close for any speech now, “Alright, I had a speech, but I got nothing now. Just know everyone’s counting on you to ensure the domain remains safe, eliminate them all!” After a rally cry, and drawing our weapons, we leapt off the bow and began charging the mechs and ships that came today.

  It went from a simple flight to one where friendly and enemy fire streaked across space like stars in the night sky, and my goal was to bypass the mechs for the moment. With thrusters running on full power, and to the confusion of enemy and ally alike, I shot straight for the ships that made up their front lines. Lily asked, clearly focused on a fight, “Why did you ignore the mechs!?” I coated my sword with mana, the fire mana not raging like it was before, but a superheated coat that seemed more like blinding light, “Why stick with the small fry, when you can bring down the big fish!?” I formed the mana in a certain way as I twisted my body between two ships, “Fire mana, extended sword!” One spin later, and the ships were in half, and my blade seemed no different as the halves moved apart before explosions rocked my mech. I could hear awe flood the comms as I shot for the ships behind the front line, the ships we had issues trying to take down due to the front line being so strong, their support line. Their support line was made up of long range attack craft that usually eluded us when we broke the line, so I was going to hit them where it hurt, “Keep them occupied, I’ll bring down the support line!”

  It was rough, mostly as instead of avoiding gunfire from mechs, I had to avoid flak from ships, which was a different level of difficulty that took a certain level of skill. However, since I watched my comrades fight all those years ago, I sort of understood how they did it, but doing it made me truly know how they did it. With a swift motion, two command decks of ships got cut in half before they exploded, then I diced the ships up so they couldn’t be recovered by the enemy. I kept an eye on the main battlefield, and it seemed because of my actions, my side was crushing the enemy with minimal or no loses, but I couldn’t tell since the comms were a mess of varying chatter. However, this gave me an idea, I asked, “Merlin, can you prepare an infiltration team? I want to take one of these ships to break them down and see how they tick.” After a moment, he replied, “That we can do, some are curious as well, considering the circumstances.” He paused for a moment, then continued, “We can handle a front line ship, work on getting one of the support ships weakened.” I nodded, “Understood, tell me when.”

  With each ship that went down, the more the enemy seemed to turn their focus on me, despite the futility of doing so. After around ten minutes of ship take downs, I heard a message come through for me, “Sir, we’re ready to take one of the enemy ships!” I replied, “Then follow me!” I took to a ship I left alone, which was trying to reform into the enemy lines, but it was failing since I kept taking the allies it attempted to go to. After dodging a few rounds of flak, I managed to land on the hull before poking around it for a sweet spot. Once I found it, I stuck my sword in, “Goodnight.” With a strong jolt of lightning magic, the ship’s guns and engines went silent, “The power’s knocked out, move in!” I watched the infantry teams charge the bays, which I made sure to force open for them, then asked, “How’s the battlefield!?” Merlin replied, “We’re working on the frontline ship, Lady Liliana is doing a similar tactic to you.” After a moment, he said, “Incoming!” When I looked back, several mechs had turned to try and intercept me, but they were fools for even considering the thought.

  One came in to try and bash me with a hammer, though its construction was shoddy at best despite the resources used, so I cut it and the mech in half, the sword had been repaired perfectly if it cut like this lacking mana. I grabbed the head of the hammer and threw it at one of the attacking mechs before charging the other, and with simple slashes, they went down without an issue. As the debris scattered, one had aimed a rifle at me, “Die, arrogant noble!” The rifle rained bullets on me, but it wasn’t enough as I gracefully dodged every shot, though I made sure to block any that aimed at the bays, “Didn’t your mother tell you not to play with firearms?” I made a swift strike, one that wouldn’t make it to the mech, but it still split in two before exploding, “You’ll shoot your eye out.” When I checked for more, no one remained, “They only sent four? I feel insulted.” Though, something was made clear with that small attack, these were weak pirates, inexperienced in the art of battle. I heard the men inside the ship speak, the ship’s power returning, “We’ve captured many pirates! Some are dead, but we can get some valuable intel out of them! We’re moving to friendly lines, cover us sir!”

  I made sure to form up, though I doubt the caution was needed, because the enemy was pulling back. I called out, “Recover any lost souls and tech, we have a window, so lets make it work!” As both the stolen ships were taken, I made sure to recover people who were launched via ejection. I outfitted the mechs to eject the cockpits if possible, this managed to save a lot of lives whenever the cockpit wasn’t struck immediately. We were swift, and the ships that needed repairs were sent to get them, and all possible tech from our end was recovered, along with the dead. Once I landed, I gave the order, “Send the dead home, mark who died so we can send what we can to their families.” I could tell some wanted this, this breather gave us a lot of time to get the smaller dealings started. Once the prisoners were brought in, I said, “Put them in the cells for interrogation, make sure they don’t leave the orbital ring.” I pushed from the captives to the ships, “Get the technicians, break these things down and understand how they work, I want a briefing prepared for this asap.”

  With that, Lily came to me and hugged me tightly, “You had me worried you idiot, why not explain what you were doing!?” I chuckled, patting her head, “I’m a little new to battles like this, I forgot I need to inform people about my actions.” Merlin spoke in my ear, “Rest, we’re still searching for their source, but by tracking the fleeing ships, we should have an answer in the morning.” I didn’t reply, but Lily was quick to pull me to the barracks, “You’re resting, you rarely ever do, and it’s putting unnecessary pressure on the soldiers.” She pulled me into my quarters, but got into bed with me, I asked, “Why are you getting in my bed? I can prepare a room for you, you know.” She blushed, “I… I’m just scared, but I think I can sleep easy knowing I’m next to you.” I sighed, put my blade beside the bed, and got in, “Fine, but we remain clothed, but I won’t hear anything about this outside the room.” Lily gave a small smile, “Thank you Aurelian.” I took her hand in mine and watched her as she drifted off to sleep, I whispered, “I’ll keep you safe, I swear it.” Once I said that, I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep as well, letting her be the reason I get a proper night’s sleep.

  ~~~

  The next day came with Merlin nearly screaming in my ear, “Warning, warning, enemy force approaching, need orders.” I shot out of bed, I didn’t even speak with Lily as I rushed to the command center, taking my seat after shooting down the fanfare I usually got, “Sitrep, now!” One of the soldiers shouted, “Communications were temporarily restored, emergency broadcast stating nearly everywhere in Avalon is under attack!” Another soldier shouted, “The forces we’ve been fighting seem to have been reinforced, the enemy outnumbers us four to one!” Another soldier shouted, clearly in fear, “Unknown ship detected, by sheer size alone, it’s likely a dreadnought!” My hopes for victory outright was completely replaced by fear, this was a mixture of forces, pirates, likely mercenaries, and whatever forces of Providence who were attacking us, and we were likely going to charge to our deaths. I shouted, trying to get enough information out, “Get a message out, try and send for reinforcements from outside the domain! Get the orbital ring defenses ready, every one of them! Begin evacuations on planet, ships will get past us, we can’t let the civilians get caught in the attack! Monitor the dreadnought, we need to know when they’re pushing us!”

  When I checked the bays, I understood all ships and mechs must’ve been pulled back for repairs since they detected the attacking force, they likely didn’t enjoy fact we weren’t folding so easily. I spoke, the time had come, “Send the younger soldiers back planet side, we won’t force the young to sacrifice their lives when they have so much more to live for.” The commander, who was present since he likely got awoken by the alarm, spoke, “Then I must request you return planet side as well my lord, you have the most to live for out of all of us. Without you, this domain will fall to ruin.” I shook my head, “Denied, I won’t sit back and watch my men die because I chose to be a coward. It’s the duty of nobility to fight and defend their domain, and I won’t push away that duty because I was afraid to die.” I could tell they wanted to say something more, but some rose and saluted me before leaving, soon being replaced by someone older. However, someone I didn’t want to listen in had overheard my declaration, “What do you mean you’ll stay?”

  I felt my blood run cold, if she hadn’t heard, maybe I could’ve lied to her so she could go on her own, but now I ran the risk she wouldn’t go. I turned to her, my face unable to take a serious look, “Lily… you need to go back to the mansion.” Lily shook her head, “No, I won’t! If you’re fighting, so am I!” I shouted back, my feelings for her made me hurt as I did, “I can’t lose you Lily!” She seemed surprised, but I couldn’t stop, “Your father would kill me if I let you die here, and this fight is already an uphill battle with battle exhausted men, I cannot in good faith bring you with me! Even more than that, I can’t lose the only friend who’s made my life so much better than sitting alone all day every day!” I could feel my heart hurt being forced to make this choice, even when her being on the battlefield could save more lives. Though I haven’t proclaimed my feelings for her, they still fought to make themselves known. Lily thought for a moment, then asked, “What if you assigned a force to act as my own defense, to pull me out if things get tough?” One of the soldiers said, “If I may, it isn’t exactly easy to guard someone on an active battlefield, trust me, I know. We’re all going to be focused on an enemy that’s larger than out own forces by four times, we can’t protect you, my Lady.”

  I could tell she was crushed, she tried to speak to me, “Then you come with me! If you say the young should live, you need to leave too!” I shook my head, “It’s a noble’s duty to fight for his people, if I run now, I have no right to serve my people.” Looking into her eyes, which clearly were wet with tears, I spoke, “I have to do this Lily, you need to survive, let people know what happened here and the terror that Providence can bring. You can lead the people of Avalon in rebellion against them, I know you can.” I turned back to my forced, “When will the ships be repaired?” A soldier replied, “Soon sir, what’s the plan?” I spoke, voice clear, “We’re using every available weapon the orbital ring has, we may be able to push to a hard-fought victory if we use everything at our disposal in a defensive fight.” One soldier asked, “And the dreadnought? Only one of such craft existed in recent memory, and it was a relic of the past that hasn’t even been accessed by the stellar nation that found it.” I thought, then asked, “Can we scan the dreadnought, get its basic functions?” Silence, then a response, “Maybe, let me at least try.”

  Eying the numbers, I understood the preparations we made could essentially bring us within the range of their force, though it was merely defenses that made it so. I began to draw up a plan, one that I expected the enemy to have a tier five dreadnought due to that being when dreadnoughts were possible, one that heavily relied on Operation Hammer Down since it was all we had. After some time, the soldier who was scanning the dreadnought said, “Huh? But I haven’t finished yet…” When I looked up, the projector we had was displaying the dreadnought, but the soldier was clearly confused since he didn’t finish. A small note appeared on the bottom, “Take it, maybe you can understand and surrender.” I clicked my tongue, “Cocky bastard.” I turned to the soldier scanning the dreadnought, “Keep up the scan, I doubt they revealed any weaknesses that we can find out.” The soldier saluted and kept the scan going, and I observed the blueprints the enemy sent me in the attempt to demoralize us.

  That was when I recalled the design, it was very similar to a particular craft I researched back when I was in the tier five stage of my work. I had joined in the early thirty to forty percent of the game, and the halfway point had an event I couldn’t partake in due to being too weak, something akin to a midgame teaser of the endgame enemy. I tore the dreadnought apart with the many engineers who sought to understand every bit of the ship, and I knew every strength and weakness of the thing. I drew up what I knew compared to the schematics that we were given, the soldier scanning the dreadnought spoke up, “Scan finished, sending it now!” I compared the three schematics, and it only confirmed it when the scan came up to a near perfect replica of my drawing, they were somehow still within the universe. I leaned back, my voice quiet as I spoke to Merlin, “I can only confirm our even is within the universe still, but why work with humans when they were so adamant to wipe us out before?” Merlin replied, “Unsure sir, however, we should focus on the matters at hand. If we fail here, the universe will be doomed.”

  Locking the numbers, I began to strike out which ships to focus on with Operation Hammer Down, my eyes trying to consider how we could bring the dreadnought down. As I worked, I heard unfamiliar footsteps enter the command deck, and when I turned to look, I saw someone in the armor that had the Drakon crest laid upon it. They spoke, “My lord, Count Drakon has sent us in the hopes you and Lady Liliana were still standing, and it seems we weren’t wrong.” I spoke to a soldier, “Were they confirmed?” The soldier nodded, “Credentials and identities come back green, they’re who they say they are.” I nodded, “Good, then they can get Lily out of here.” Lily, who I was surprised stuck around, said, “I want to fight, and they can protect me, I know their strength.” I looked to her with confusion, then asked the same soldier, “What does their tech look like?” The same soldier replied instantly, “Tier one, they wouldn’t last five minutes out there.” I asked, “Did you scan them, or did you guess?” The soldier replied, “Scanned sir, mostly out of confusion on why they were here.”

  I spoke, “While I can’t decided if they’re any good in close combat, I cannot in good conscious send them out into hell without the proper gear. Before you ask, we’re busy putting all our craft to repairs and resupply, we cannot spare anyone for a force that needs to be retrofitted just to fight.” A different soldier spoke up, “Sir, we’re already overwhelmed as it is, if we retrofit their ships and mechs, maybe we can have a fighting chance.” While we were pushed to the limit, it wouldn’t mean anything if we lost. I thought for a moment, then asked, “Can we get civilian engineers up here? I know we pulled them out of the factory to avoid losses, but would they be willing to make this work?” A soldier from the engineering department spoke nigh immediately, “My civilian buddies have been requesting that very thing since the battles began. If you wish, I can get them up the elevator and working in under an hour.” I processed what this meant, but we needed every hand we could get, “Bring them up, tell them to bring everyone they can, we’re running out of time.” I looked to Lily, her eyes seemed resolute, “I’m not going to convince you to stay, aren’t I?” She shook her head, “No, if you fight, I fight.”

  I sighed, “Repair her mech, also, start teaching David’s soldiers to fight in the new mechs, we have a tight window.” The soldier said, “My lord, not to be rude, but we’re knights. Are you perhaps ignorant of the term?” I quickly understood one thing, I didn’t have any, “I was, but there’s no time for me to learn right now, I have to work up a plan against the enemy. Consider defending my domain the price you pay for the upgrades to your mechs and ships, so don’t make me regret doing so.” The knight saluted, “Yes, my lord, we won’t fail you.” I watched Lily leave with the knight; my mind overwhelmed with everything I needed to do. I took my leave of the command deck; I needed silence and a means to speak with Merlin freely as I made this plan. As I took to my room, locking it, I spoke to Merlin as I began to run through simulations, “Why in the world is the enemy working with humanity when they worked so hard to exterminate us in the first place?” Merlin spoke, clearly confused as well, “That is a fair question, but one that won’t elevate our survival odds.” I retorted, “It will, what other tech came from them, since if that was the case we could better prepare for similar tech in the battle.”

  Merlin replied, his tone understanding, “An assumption I never expected, as this is either something they found or were given, so it’s appropriate to expect more of the same technology.” After a pause, he had an idea, “Bio-engines have a specific wavelength that shut them down, maybe we can make that work on the dreadnought.” I smiled, “Good, any ideas work, keep going.” Merlin and I were in repaid brainstorming, preparing for anything that may occur during the battle. It was long, but we managed to get an initial plan for what we assumed was the final battle for the domain, and that was hours in the making. I told everyone to rest up and write their wills, because if things went wrong, we’d likely not return. Even I wrote my will, ensuring everything if lost would go to my parents first, then Ruby, then David, and finally, Lily. This fight could potentially be my last, but I wasn’t going to go down without punching Providence in a way that hurts. My defiance will be a rebellion to those who were hurt by them, and that was worse than anything I could do to them.

  ~~~

  On the command deck of my flagship, I watched as the ships approached on the map, “Here they come everyone, remember, focus on the heavy hitters. If we bring those down, all while preparing the trap, we can push them back. This is our home, we have the advantage, and we’ll use that advantage to push back these invaders! We won’t let them take our homes, our lives, or our freedom! For the sake of every soul in the domain!” A rally cry rang out, and the ships began a proper position using the orbital ring as our standpoint. I looked to the ships that Lily would be working with, my nerves unsteady as I watched them break off to their designated position. I shook my head, I couldn’t worry about it, we all were essentially preparing to die anyway. All I could do for her was put her in a spot that was relatively safer than where the rest of us were going to be, if she needed, she could retreat. After a quick observation, I made a concerning realization, the dreadnought would be late to the fight.

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  I made the call, likely the last one I’d make before the fight truly began, “The dreadnought’s going to arrive late, though that won’t change our battle plans. Count Drakon’s men will hold that flank, while the commander will hold the other flank. Those of you under me, we’ll likely take the brunt of the attack, but that also means we hold the most responsibility in keeping the domain safe. So let the fire within your hearts burn, because we have far more to lose than they do. Now, turn to starboard!” All ships began to turn to starboard, all cannons and weapons turning to face the enemy. With the front line, the orbital ring was to the port side, the support line however had the orbital ring to their starboard, our goal to ensure their range was put to use. “Ready all weapons!” I shouted, ensuring every weapon was prepared since they were close now. I noticed the ships were within support range, but I didn’t give the order to fire, but the second the first ships were within front line range, I could tell those onboard my ship understood my plan. “All ships, open fire! Front line ships, hit the frontal ships, support ships, hit the ships behind the frontal ships!” I watched every kinetic, laser, and missile we could fire at once go soaring before crashing into the enemy line.

  From that alone, I could tell I shocked the enemy, since we were working on half our true maximum range since the beginning. Their formation was quick to try and rearrange now that their initial push was so thoroughly wreaked, but I wouldn’t let them, “Keep up the barrage! Crush as many of them as we can before we rely on the defenses!” Mechs weren’t launching yet, mostly as we were taking out the enemy before the got within the distance to launch. While I would send them out now and get a line formed, with the need to conserve what we had, I was going to wait for as long as feasibly possible. With the accurate shots we were taking, it seemed the enemy lost thousands of craft in their first offensive. However, I couldn’t become complacent, we may be more adept with the technology we have, but they could easily overwhelm us by sheer numbers. I did notice one thing, the debris that were forming from the remains, “This is going to be rough to clean up afterwards, win or lose.”

  Debris were a horrible thing in the remains of a fight, since they blocked the space they were in, not to mention the chances they could cause damage if they’re close to the planet, akin to the debris we were creating now. Though, with the push they were making, we wouldn’t be able to remove them until the battlefield ceased to be one. I pushed that aside for the moment, just observing the battle as I gave directions every so often to ensure we worked at the best efficiency for our defense. Some ships had to pull out, damages that needed to be repaired before they returned to combat, but that was the advantage we had due to our home turf advantage. Any enemy we failed to take out but damaged significantly either fought until destruction or backed out, unable to return to battle, which means we can fight as long as our ammo and resources carry us. Though, the enemy had more numbers, which means they had more ammo and whatnot brought with them, which could mean we could run dry before they did. We’d likely be in combat for a few solid months, so I’d have to do well to ration what we had and ensure our aim remains true.

  ~~~

  Two months of near straight combat, there were rest points for both sides, but I could tell our side was beginning to lose steam, and the dreadnought was finally approaching the battlefield. Checking our numbers, I realized we were reaching our limit, nearly every bullet, missile, and means to repair our ships were reaching the end, and that was rationing what was important on the ships half way through the fighting. The good news was we shaved the enemy down to have them at half of what they were before, but we had lost twenty-five percent of our forces in the process to well placed shots from the enemy. I watched as my mech was prepared, anything non-magic removed from it since I was going to go all out, especially when using magic. I ran the one item I had developed for this very moment, “We have two injectors, right Merlin?” Merlin replied, “Yes sir, though I must state that this is incredibly dangerous, especially with Operation Hammer Down being our final option.” I nodded, “I know, but this is it, if we beat the dreadnought, especially damaging it enough for it to retreat, we can claim we won the battle against Providence. If we can give the Empire hope, that’s the spark we need to light the keg.”

  Merlin was silent for a moment, but he spoke after he gathered his thoughts, “Sometimes, we get information through the jamming… most domains are losing against Providence. They aren’t attacking everywhere, but they’re going after many nobles… the worst case is we lose a lot of potential allies to these attacks.” I clicked my tongue, with that information known, I understand that the Empire will be too busy filling gaps to launch a retaliatory strike on Providence. After a moment, Merlin spoke, “How odd, that was unexpected.” I asked, “What do you mean by that Merlin?” Merlin replied, calmly, “It is fine at present sir, if the situation updates, then I shall inform you.” I spoke, “Merlin, at least a situation report. I cannot in good faith leave that information without proper understanding.” Merlin spoke, “An enemy force seemed to launch an attack on the forge world, however, an unknown fleet seems to have come flying our colors, yet wishes to remain anonymous. They defended the forge world, stating “This world is vital to the future of the Empire”, which has confused me.” This was confusing, I never let the world and its former use out of the world itself. But if someone was helping, I wasn’t going to tick them off and commit to the opposite.

  I realized I should reply, “For now, leave them alone, inquire where they come from if they’re willing to disclose. Otherwise, protect the planet by any means necessary, we cannot lose it.” If they weren’t hostile, I wasn’t going to pry, but I was going to investigate them later when I had the means to do so without issue. An announcement played on the ship, “Pilots to your mechs, repeat, pilots to your mechs. The enemy’s final wave is approaching, prepare, but be swift.” I sighed, “Well, off to war, hold the fort Merlin.” Merlin replied, “Understood sir, I’ll await your commands.” After the repair and maintenance teams quickly fled the ship, I boarded my mech, ready for the fight. I took to the bow of the ship, and while I couldn’t see the other craft as they approached, I could clearly tell where the dreadnought was. I chuckled, “Man, even from a distance, that thing is menacing.” For a moment, Lily spoke through the comms, “This is it Aurelian, keep fighting, we’ve almost repelled them.” I chuckled, “Yeah, I know, just considering how in the world they managed to get one of these functional before I could.” That was a lie, I bet they were “gifted” it for some reason, but even now, I can’t confirm or deny that suspicion unless I get inside it.

  I looked in her direction, though I couldn’t even see the ships she was with, “Just you wait Lily, I’ll make sure you can go home, I bet your dad’s worried sick about you.” Lily giggled, “I bet he’s as worried as your dad is about you.” After a moment, she said, “Stay safe Aurelian, the enemy forces came for us ahead of yours, good luck.” As her comms cut, I drew my sword, mechs and ships all awaiting my command. I pointed my blade forward, “Crush them all! Don’t let them get any closer!” A rally cry rang out as we all began a charge, my goal would be to focus on enemy mechs for the time being unless Merlin deems otherwise, and to eventually deal as much damage to the dreadnought as possible. As mech squads spread out, I dove in alone, and a multitude of mechs began to come for me, “Five, ten, fifteen… eighteen or so mechs. Good grief, am I that much of a threat to you?” Somehow, I felt confident, much unlike before when I was afraid to kill anyone, and I knew why. I shouted, letting the enemy know just who they were fighting, “Bring it on! My cause is just, and I won’t lose sleep having to kill each and every one of you if it means my people can sleep at night!” With a single swing, half of the eighteen exploded, unable to handle my mech’s magic capabilities.

  ~~~

  A man sits in his office, one that based on height seems no older than someone like Aurelian, his eyes locked to a screen projecting the active battle he was no where near. A voice spoke through a device sitting on the desk, “Sir, I’m going to need to know what to do when I fight him. Either I kill him, or I let him live, but if I let him continue as he has, he may beat us before I get the chance.” The man seemed to react as entire swaths of mechs were crushed under heel, as if they weren’t even a problem for Aurelian. His voice carried a weight to it, “I haven’t gotten the call from the other squad, so move towards the live option, so play with your food for a bit.” In a flash, Aurelian had slashed several ships, as if he had somehow gotten better in the past two months. The individual from the device chuckled, “You’re giving me a tall order here boss man, it may cost you a little more than before, considering he’s butchering ships instead of mechs.” The man waved his hand, “Double your previous commission, just get it done.” The individual seemed just fine with the deal, “Alright, just contact me when you figure out what you want to do with the brat, I can’t wait forever if he goes for the dreadnought.”

  The individual hung up, the man leaning back and watching as Aurelian began to carve a path towards the dreadnought, “You said this would be easy, yet that miniscule force has decimated over half the forces we sent, you sure this is the right guy?” From the shadows, a well-dressed… thing stepped into the light. They wore a regal suit, one that had a black coat, but the shirt was a blood red. The face seemed to, despite being in the light, seem shaded over, but the ears that came off it were sharp, not like an elf’s yet akin to them. The sound of shoes meant for business clacked off the floor, a voice that seemed akin to a noble spoke, “I can assure you; this is exactly who we both seek.” When the man looked to the screen, it seemed the battle had frozen, but that was something he grew used to by now, “Then why are his forces so much stronger then expected? He’s supposed to be a noble on the edge of the Empire, yet he seems to be going blow for blow with tech similar to ours.”

  The thing raised his hand, “Woah, don’t shoot the messenger, when I checked on him a decade or two ago, he didn’t exactly flaunt the fact he had this tech. As you know, I’m a rather busy individual, so I couldn’t just trot on over and see if he changed.” The thing put a hand to its chin, a devious, crescent smile formed, “Ah, I got it, how about I reimburse you for this by something far more worth it than bringing him down a few pegs for our overall plans.” With a few motions, a mech clearly not piloted by someone normal was on the screen instead, “This mech is the one you’re looking for, it’s quite far away, so you should be able to do as you wish with it. Hey, maybe you can incorporate it into your existing plan if you like.” The man smiled, a small chuckled escaping his lips, “I like it, thank you.” The thing bowed, “As agreed, we will both prosper from this deal. I hope you call upon me again soon with any juicy ideas you come up with.” The thing stepped back into the shadows, and the screen seemed to move as usual. The man made a call, “Begin the plan, also, I’ve sent information on the target, do it.” As the call ended, he spoke, “This will put the upstart down and rocket me ahead, all as Providence intended.”

  ~~~

  I could feel the mech buckling under the speed I was subjecting it to, but I wasn’t even close to done, “Merlin, first injection, get the core running hot so I can break this dreadnought a little before we begin the operation.” Merlin replied, “Understood, injecting.” Despite not being hooked up to the mech, I could feel the mana surging within it, and my speed nearly doubled as I struggled to keep control over the mech. Magic coated my sword as it grew double, triple, then quadruple the size of the original blade, I shouted over the g-force, “Mark the weapons engines, quickly!” As the weapons and engines lit up on my screen, I jerked the controls and shot for the first line of cannons, my blade cutting through them like butter, the sound of screeching metal filled the cockpit as I put all my focus on just controlling my mech. Engines sputtered and died after their fuel source couldn’t properly ignite, gun batteries churned to a halt, no longer receiving their munitions, missile bays failed to fire as the doors were jammed shut, but there was only so much I could do against a ship this massive on my own. Merlin spoke, “One minute.” I knew what this meant, so I hit the target I was going for and shot back to friendly lines with haste, the effects of the injection was about to die out and leave me momentarily vulnerable.

  As the mech slowed, and I turned to observe the battle, I got constant comms as issues sprang up everywhere, “I’ve lost communication with the right and left flanks, there’s still ships, but I can’t contact them!” Another voice sprang up, “Several explosions went off in the bunkers, speculations are terrorists!” A third, “Some of the soldiers guarding the surface have gone rogue and are attacking other servicemen! Some are reporting mech pilots are also firing on their allies!” It was hard for me to process the alerts, we were suddenly being overwhelmed, not to mention sudden friendly fire. I quickly began trying to relay orders, “Up the connections, reconnect with the flanks at all costs! Activate emergency services and see how many survived the bunker attacks, make sure they’re armed and prepared for a follow up attack! Consolidate who hasn’t gone rogue and activate the surface defenses!” I quickly shifted to the command center, I knew the commander was on the opposite flank that Lily was on, so I had to not only keep up with my battle, but the battles around the planet, “Activate the defenses! Check if there’s any friendly fire, we may have been compromised!” Once I was muted, I said, “Merlin, it’s hammer time.” Merlin replied, “Understood, I’ll do my best.”

  I planned to fall back, at this rate, someone needed to lead the army, and I was likely the only one who could do so with the commander stuck in a jammed area. However, someone seemed to speak to me as a voice filled the cockpit, “So, you’re the upstart, might I play with you, little kindling?” I barely had the time to block a strike from a scythe, a weapon I rarely seen used due to its unwieldy nature in mech combat, but I could barely acknowledged that as I felt fear rip down into my very bones. The mech seemed akin to bones, and the light of the eyes seemed pitch black, not to mention everything about it showed it was used in combat constantly. Merlin spoke, his speech clearly showing concern, “Enemy mech is tier five, all current enemy weapons and ships in combat are tier five, we’re being overwhelmed!” Somehow, despite having something close to the upper hand, we were now being pushed back. I replied, “Just keep going with the plan, strike weak points and don’t stop! Now, let me focus!” I pushed the scythe back before attempting a slash across the chest, but as quick I pushed him away, the scythe managed to block me, “Hm, surprising, I didn’t expect you to pull that off with inferior technology. Show me what you can do kindling!”

  As I did my best to block his attacks, I shouted through the comms, “Keep your hearts firm!” I could tell the comms had quieted down, as if my words had silenced the panic in their minds, “The enemy is fighting for a corrupt cause, but we are not like them! Know that if I can fight blow to blow with an enemy that seems stronger than myself, you can too! Think of your loved ones who await you back home and fight! Show these pirates that we will never give in!” I clashed with the scythe, and as if my mech could understand me, I suddenly had the strength to push back against it. I knew it was pushing beyond its limits, but I couldn’t back down now, “Come on, you got this, show them everything you can do!” It was as if my mech gained a second wind, and instead of losing, we were equally matched in both ship and mech combat. Merlin spoke, “Operation Hammer Down is activated, please check your signatures.” As if on que, several friendly signatures shot past my battle, each signature was a drone loaded with anti-ship weaponry, a majority of which were on a direct course for the dreadnought. The pilot of the mech said, “What are those things? They seem dainty, as if they can be crushed easily.”

  I wreathed my blade is fire, the burning blaze a crisp blue hue, “You should focus on your current fight!” I swung down with vigor, seeing Operation Hammer Down kick off was enough to ignite the fires of hope within me once more. This time, instead the scythe blocking me completely, I managed to dig my blade into it, showing it wasn’t impossible to beat this mysterious pilot. The man chuckled, “Well, maybe you aren’t just kindling after all!” I shouted, returning his comments with one of my own, “My fire won’t be doused so easily, because I am Aurelian Stella Flameheart, and my flames will burn all who stand in my way!” It was as if the mana reacted to my desires, because I was now pushing near full speed once more as I pushed the mech back, despite their best efforts to push back. I could feel it, we could win, I know we can win! The light of explosions from ships all around us began to light, the drones had done their job, ships were now losing all control as they struggled in vain to regain it. The man, clearly distraught, shouted, “What did you do!?” I smiled, “I made something no one expected, and you paid the price!” After a moment, I slammed his mech into the dreadnought, we had moved so far into his lines that I had returned to the dreadnought once more.

  This time, it was different, as there were now ship sized holes in several locations in the hull, and based on the propulsion it was giving off, several of its main engines were destroyed. I was about to keep bringing the heat, but the man spoke, “Fire the missiles!” I couldn’t hear anything else, but the man clearly seemed enraged, “I don’t care, do it now!” The dreadnought opened missile bays I hadn’t seen, nor had we properly detected despite the scans and information I knew. These were new, and I watched as a dozen missiles the size of a corvette began to fly towards the orbital ring, I knew what these were for. I shouted into the comms, ditching the fight to try and take just one down, “All forces, ignore the enemy and take down the missiles! If we don’t, they’ll hit the orbital ring and cause unspeakable damage below! We can’t let that happen!” I watched as those who could shifted to trying to shoot the missiles down, but everything they did only seemed to scratch them. I went to charge one, hoping to slash its engine off and move to the next, but a warning flared up as the right leg showed major damage, “You aren’t going anywhere, you upstart brat!”

  When I looked to assess the damage, the man had caught up and jammed his scythe right into my leg, essentially stopping me in my tracks as I couldn’t move at full speed with the weight of an extra mech holding me back. I felt my heart sink, I couldn’t fail them, I couldn’t let my own hubris in making that orbital ring lead to the deaths of so many people. Suddenly, I heard the comms light up, “This is the McAllen, preparing sacrifice.” I watched a corvette shift course and charge head on into one of the missiles, no one on board survived, but Merlin did confirm life pod ejections. I shouted, “No! There has to be another way!” I disconnected the leg and shot towards the missiles; I couldn’t let anyone else sacrifice themselves like this. I shouted, “Merlin, inject the core, hurry!” Merlin replied, “Understood, inject-, Incoming!” When I looked back, the man seemed to not give me the time to do so as he swung at my cockpit, which I had to at least block or risk my whole plan going up in smoke. As I regained my footing, I heard another voice on the comms, “This is Wiseman, preparing sacrifice.” Another corvette charged the missiles, taking one head on for the sake of lessening the number, ten remained. I wanted to go; I had to cut them down before more lives that didn’t need to were lost.

  I shouted, “Merlin!” Merlin replied, “Injection complete, hurry!” I popped chaff and smoke and used it to temporarily conceal my position before launching towards the missiles. I asked, “Merlin, can we use the drones to bring some of the missiles down!?” Merlin replied, “I’ll attempt to do so, just keep going!” While I was pushing past this mech’s limits, the enemy mech seemed to be slowly gaining, and I cursed at my inability to do more than this. “Come on! I can’t let this continue! I can’t let any more die!” I was shouting something, anything to keep my focus on the missiles, to try and bring even just one more of them down before someone else had to sacrifice their lives for my inability to plan. I heard an elderly voice speak up, “This is Sol squadron, preparing sacrifice.” Five corvettes broke from their fights and smashed into the missiles, the explosions throwing off my trajectory, but luckily sending one missile into the remains of an enemy ship, four remained. This wasn’t luck, it was a nightmare unfolding before my very eyes, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

  A drone managed a lucky shot and hit a key system of one of the missiles as I recovered from the previous explosions, but I couldn’t continue after the remaining three missiles. As the scythe came down, I got alerts that my left arm was no longer attached, and I was losing time. I heard another voice, “Sir, this is the Gordon, representing ourselves, the Shughart, and the Atkins, along with the other ships that gave their lives for the sake of our home. We have but one hope, that our sacrifices aren’t in vain, and that you can guide those we leave behind to the future, one free from the constraints of others, much like all you’ve done for us for the past forty years. This is the Gordon, preparing sacrifice.” Two other voices spoke after him, “This is the Shughart, preparing sacrifice." "This is the Atkins, preparing sacrifice.” I had named these three ships myself, all after the occasional story of military service men from Earth who gave their lives for the sake of others, and now they were going to do the same. I shouted, my voice going horse from all the screaming, “No! You can survive! You can go home to your families!” The man from the Gordan chuckled, “Even at the end, you still try to find a way. Just remember us, my lord, and farewell.” In three blasts, the three ship’s signals vanished, and I understood I likely killed so many people, all because of my inability to do something.

  The man in the mech laughed, “Wow! How cruel! I’ve never seen a noble send their men to die just to protect their pet project, this is too much!” As he laughed, I felt several emotions well up within me. Pain, sorrow, regret, I could have done something, I should have done something. Yet, I was held back by the man laughing at me, the one who launched the missiles, the one who did this. New emotions overpowered the ones that came to me first, rage, scorn, indignation, and shame. I wouldn’t let him leave, not while I had the means to keep fighting, “Shut your mouth, you fucking murderer!” The flames that wreathed my sword were no longer controlled, they were wild, untamed, and as uncontrollable as a wildfire, “I’ll cut you down, here and now!” The man didn’t seem to expect my slash, my blade crashing into hit left arm, crunching through it until it managed to go through. The man, enraged, said, “You brat! I swear I’ll-!” After a moment, he went silent, then clicked his tongue, “Good grief, seems like you’ll get to live, despite my wishes.” In speed I hadn’t seen at this tier before, my remaining arm and leg were removed, and my thrusters were disabled, and the cockpit was smashed in a way that let me see the outside work… at least through my right eye since something prevented my left eye from opening.

  The man dragged my mech to a spot, a place where a mech was floating in space, the color of Count Drakon’s fleet lay scattered on the destroyed ships. A voice I knew as the commander of my army spoke, “Is this truly necessary? He’s already lost everything; this is just too much.” I felt my heart shatter, we were betrayed at the highest level, and I was blind to it. The man in the mech said, “You betrayed him, all for the sake of money and better standing, I don’t want to hear it from you.” I felt my mech jerk in one direction, before me sat the ruined mech that I had built myself, all for the sake of the one I loved. The man flew over to it, I began to shout, my voice raspy as red specks began to float around in my helmet, “No! Don’t do it! I’ll do anything, just not her!” The man chuckled, “You see kid, I go by one name and one name alone in this line of work, and that’s Reaper.” In several swift slashes with his remaining arm, I watched as he tore years of work to bits, but more than that, I watched as he cut the person I loved into shreds before the mech exploded, the ejector seat didn’t even have the chance to activate.

  My mind began to slip back into everything I did with her, each moment, happy and sad, knowing I’d never get the chance to enjoy her presence again. Reaper said, “Pull out! We didn’t win, but we sure as hell didn’t lose either! Once we’re enough away, drop the jamming, those things are expensive!” All I could do was look to the bits that were once Lily’s mech, the very thing that I made to protect her had become her tomb, and I had given the green light to come out here and fight. It was my fault she died, my fault everyone here died, if only I wasn’t so cocky, so condescending with the information I knew, if only I had just kept my mouth shut, maybe Lily and every soul that died in this battle could’ve survived. As comms lit to life as I began to pass out, I heard one thing I never wanted to hear, “Someone, anyone, we need orders! Count William and Lady Cecilia are dead! The planets are in disarray, we can’t respond to all the emergency calls! Please, someone, anyone!” As calls from planets that had managed to keep their nobility alive and those that lost their lives flooded my ears, I passed out, I just couldn’t take it.