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Kier wheezed. The pressure was dropping. Fast! He had to hurry. Maybe, if he could reach the blast door, he just might survive.
The Ardenian Frigate lept through that last warp point like a gronsh. It had taken him too long. Surely all The Priests were lost by now, but he might be able to save a few of the citizens. At the very least he could identify who had attacked. Miryth was at the very heart of the Community, none of the lesser starnations could have slipped an entire invasion fleet in...
Unless there was an undiscovered warp point. But that was highly unlikely. The Priests had had the entire home fleet sweep Junash, Arden, and Miryth for months in search of anything of the like. But they were only people, and people were fallible. Lt. Commander Kier sighed. He had been through all this countless times, and knowing his little ship was more than a day ahead of the closest reinforcements was no consolation.
The reports started to come in, old radio mostly. That was to be assumed; the invaders would have destroyed any tech that might pose a threat.
"The Priests are dead! They're starting to kill citizens! Oh GOD! Someone help us!"
None of the transmissions lasted longer than a few minutes before they were abruptly silenced. Even Miryth, one of the most populated worlds of the Community, could only have so many transmitters, and there were only so many people to work them. Kier shuddered. All those lives that he could not save.
"Are we recording this?"
"Yes sir," Lt. Jermaig, his Exec, said.
"Good, keep a running update to the omega drones." Even Kier was surprised at how calm his entire crew seemed. Why hadn't the invaders kept a picket on the warp point? Kier would have, in their place. That was his main worry.
"Commander!" Lt. (j.g.) Ponth almost shouted.
"I see them," and he did. On the tactical officer's relay four Drive signatures had suddenly appeared well within his sensor range. The shps had been lying in wait. They were accelerating in the same direction he was, at a speed the ship predicted would bring them onto their path in just about an hour.
Two Days Earlier
"Operation Fallout is activated NOW Admiral!" the terminal barked. A moment ago that terminal had been a side table. The Admiral practically flew out of her bed. As she rushed to the terminal's pick up she glanced at a chrono. Two minutes into the day for Miryth's Capitol.
"Copy, Operation Fallout activated, I'll pass the word." Admiral Sineal Kaff was not happy.
Fallout was not due to start for another week. What had happened to kick it off only eight days short of its deadline was not her problem. What was her problem was to get her force moving. She slammed the hidden button under her terminal and reached for her skin suit. The terminal clicked off, then back on. This time it carried not the fuzzed out shadow of a person, but four seprate windows, each with a different captain.
