Prologue - 0 A.S
Sol System
Eliza began to speak in the microphone.
"Crew of the ANS-Eternity, this is the Lieutenant Emmagan. As you might have heard, our commander, Andy Laidlaw, has been killed in the attack of the ANS-Retribution. May he rest in peace. But our journey isn't over. Today, we have been tasked with a critical mission, today... we will save humanity.
I want this ship to be ready in two hours, I want all the batteries fully loaded, as many torpedoes as we can load! I want this ship to be in perfect condition like it has always been!
We can't afford to loose. And We. Will. Win."
The speech gave hope to the crew, a meaning to their life. Everyone knew the Alliance was outnumbered, but they would win together, or fall together. Two hours later, the ship was completely refilled and the technical inspection complete. A technical officer arrived on the bridge.
"Lieutenant. We're ready"
"Perfect. We shall join the fleet as soon as we can."
"Understood, we'll be in orbit in a few minutes."
Eliza pondered, sleeper ships made as a last minute resort in an attempt to save mankind and make sure that such wars never happen again, would it work? No one knew, but they had to try. The outcome was already known, the Alliance would be able to keep this position for a few weeks before being overrun by the Coalition, and destroyed forever. The sleeper ships were the only hope.
A few minutes later, the ANS-Eternity arrived in orbit of the sleeper ships launching site, what was left of the Alliance fleet was in orbit.
"General Freeman, this is the ANS-Eternity, at your orders my general."
"Welcome to hell, Eternity. Make sure you're ready, the Coalition could arrive at any moment."
The fleet of the Alliance was in orbit of Ganymede, ready to defend the sleeper ships launching site to the end. It didn't take long, a few minutes after the arrival of the ANS-Eternity, the huge fleet of the Coalition appeared on the scanners.
"What the... they're already here? All ships! Prepare for battle!"
The last battle begun, and the first ships already started to explode. The Alliance had a massive fleet and suffered less losses in the initial contact, but the coalition had what seemed to be an infinite amount of ships arriving by waves.
"It's... it's...Launching site! You need to speed up! The sleeper ships must depart NOW! "
Less than two minutes later, the first sleeper ship, The Bretonia, launched from the site, followed by the three other ships. The remaining ships of the Alliance fleet began to protect the sleeper ships, since the Coalition ships were dispatched to act as a giant blockade to prevente the sleeper ships from entering hyperspace.
"Lieutenant! We have several hull breaches on deck 9!"
"Seal the deck!"
"What!?"
"SEAL IT!"
"Deck 9... sealed."
"When I give you an order you do it immediatly!"
"Forgive me Lieutenant."
"Don't ask for forgiveness. It's not going to help you for the last five minutes of our lives. Direct all the shield power forward, and set our course straight on this cruiser! We must make way for the sleeper ships."
"Yes Lieutenant! Engines at 75%!"
"Do we still have the torpedos ?"
"Yes, 265 torpedos still haven't been launched."
"Good, stop firing torpedoes, and order to a full transfer from deck 23 to the cargohold. Get me a marine squad there too, with grenades."
"It's... a suicide mission right?"
"Don't be silly, you knew it."
The torpedoes and the marines were in place. It was now a matter of minutes.
"Straight forward!" yelled Eliza.
"Yes Lieutenant!"
The ANS-Eternity's engines roared to full speed, getting dangerously close to the Coalition fleet.
"Disable everything useless, I want all our power on shields!"
"Lieutenant Emmagan! What are you doing!"
"I'm saving our life dad."
"Eliza ! Come back here immediatly! This is an ORDER! You c-"
The General didn't have time to finish his sentence as she turned off the communication systems.
"Keep going. Marines, as soon as we collide with the cruiser you will only have a few seconds to throw the grenades before the technician open the cargo bay doors, stay sharp and be ready!"
"Shields at 60%! Collision in 25 seconds!"
"Redirect more power!"
"43%!"
"Get us a few more seconds!"
"21%!"
"Grenades! NOW!"
As the marines threw the grenades in the huge stack of torpedoes, the technician opened the cargo bay doors. A few seconds later, the shield went down, and the Eternity was riddled with holes. Eliza looked at the cruiser for the last time as a part of the bridge exploded, sucking everyone into the void. She stayed alive for a few seconds in space, enough to fill her with joy as the Eternity turned into a giant explosion, destroying several cruisers and fighters of the Coalition. Using this opportunity, the Sleeper Ships went through the scrap of the explosion and disappeared forever, heading to the unknown.