Lyon placed a hand on Hawkins’ shoulder. The Captain looked at him and smiled emptily. The Knight knew it was hard decision for Hawkins but the mission can’t be delayed any further.

“Purging on all decks is complete Captain.” Ensign Amelie reported, “Ending procedure.”

“Thank you Ensign,” Hawkins unsure of the soldier’s real position, “Delegate the fireteams the Marshall’s clean up after hatch down.”

“Aye Captain.” answered Ensign Antionette

“Kepten Hawkins.” A voiced buzzed on the bridge speakers, “I see you have replez me with little girls in my absenz.”

Rita’s hologram appeared on the center display trying to pose seductively with very clear differences from her previous iteration. Her Russian overcoat uniform now replaced with a sultry night dress and her virtual hair now held back akin to those worn in Earth’s women in the 80’s; not to mention her awkward pouting.

“What did you do Anna?” Lyon lectured in a very disappointed tone.

Rita’s hologram froze for a few seconds and fizzled out with Anna’s arrogant coded form sporting a casual t-shirt, jeans and a surprisingly realistic smirk for an A.I.

“Awww not even an I miss you Anna! Or a Wow Anna! Your coded eye for virtual style and social interaction coding is unparalleled!” The A.I. mused childishly.

“Fix Rita Anna,” said Lyon imploringly.

“Ok! Ok! Fine!” The A.I. surrendered with her holographic hands up mockingly, “Just so you know that she is more efficient with my iterations.”

“And what of Rear-Admiral Ruslan Anna?” The Captain asked, “If he sent you to deliver Rita here, the next phase must be underway”

“It is.” The speakers bellowed with Ruslan’s voice, “Sorry Hawkins but I have to borrow Lyon for a while.”

The fore-camera display flickered and showed the unmistakable sheen of the camouflaged hull of an Enigma Class-Frigate after a brief flash of its coating the emblazoned name of the Silver Eclipse and its magnificent carbon-black sleek hull appeared.

“Get on board Lyon,” Anna’s rapped, her hologram flickered replaced by Rita’s more seductive appearance, her previous attire replaced by a short nightgown, still clumsily displaying poses.

Lyon groaned, forcibly stood up from the comforts of his chair and ripped of the IV line attached to him.

“Well, see you around Howard.” He bade.

“You still owe me an explanation.” Said the Captain, glancing briefly at the Rita’s holo-form, “And apparently a working A.I.

The Knight nodded and smiled apologetically, gave a quick salute and disappeared leaving behind his signature puff of smoke.

“Nice of you to join us Lyon,” Ruslan bellowed with a grin. Lyon smiled back but he knew that deep down Ruslan was aching the loss of all the men and women aboard the downed ships of the Herodutus battle fleet.

“You sly fox, you out maneuvered the bastards again didn’t you?”

“Ahh,” The Ruslan sighed “It could’ve gone better you know but it could've gone worst without your Anna, it’s still hard to celebrate with blood in my hands.” He said trailing to a whisper.

The Knight clasped both of the burly shoulders of the Rear-Admiral reassuringly, “Let’s make sure the sacrifices made are not put to waste Ruslan.”

Ruslan nodded on answer than began guiding the Knight out of the Silver Eclipse’s bridge, “Now for phase two, right this way comrade.”

Lyon followed the Rear-Admiral through narrow corridors and lifts towards the ship’s hangar. As he passed each section of the Silver Eclipse, Lyon couldn’t help admiring it. The Silver Eclipse was a magnificent vessel, a beauty even among its sister Enigma-class ships, an engineering icon for all naval command ships or any other naval vessel. She wasn’t as heavily armed as a Tera cruiser or a Icatha-class frigate, the mass produce UTSF frigate, but the Enigma-classes were equipped with very punchy albeit few weapons. She has three Hyper-Charged Ship Rifles, an improved version of the widely used gravity cannon and several EMP and nuclear ordnances. HCSRs are built to be compact and maximize projectile penetration and unlike the Lebensschmerz rail gun, they don’t fire tracer trails or create sonic booms, ideal for the stealthy ship class. HCSRs is not without its disadvantages, less knock out power and lesser range, a weakness remedied with its Background Adaptive Camouflage System. Its sleek, efficient hull design and specialized, “classified” Oxyn-Ford engines makes the Enigma-Class one of the fastest ships both in standard space travel and space jumps.

If only these advantages mattered with the attrition war they have against the GEOMs.

The last lift finally stopped at the Silver Eclipse’s Hangar. Another advantage of the Enigma-class frigate from the standard Icatha-class is its ability to deploy single manned fighters, maybe not as many as a cruiser but enough for a fighter squadron.

“There she is,” Lyon purred, his arms wide open, ready to embrace the Phoenix’ nose, “Did you miss me?”

“No.” Anna’s voiced snapped back, her hologram appearing on the Phoenix’ console.

Lyon frowned and dropped his arms in mock disgust, “Remind me why I programmed you?”

Before the A.I. could answer five pilots greeted the Knight, all in fully equipped flight suits, they stood at the ready close to Phoenix’ right wing.

“Here’s your squadron Lyon,” Ruslan introduced, “The best of what we’ve got right now.”

“They survived the clash with the GEOM moon fleet?” asked the Knight.

“Yes and no,” Ruslan replied, “These brave men and women are the survivors of Operation Moonglaive. I rounded them off after your bresh with det.”

Lyon stood abashed for a second. He never tried to get to know the men and women under his command ever since his time with the Lyon’s Streaks, unattachment has become a Knight’s calloused armor. Seeing the pilots who he almost left for dead unnerved him, he hid his shame as he did with his self-consciousness.

“At ease,” Lyon instructed, “Well if we will ride again towards hell together I might as well know your names.”

There was a brief silence after the Knight’s strange order and the five pilots only sounded off when the Rear-Admiral urged them sharply.

“Second Lieutenant Drayton Palmer sir!” the young black haired Pilot wearing the colors of the Black ravens reported.

“Lucas Mohamed, Warrant Officer Second Class!” saluted the other Black Raven, a tall, dark and heavily built Pilot.

“Avery Walsh, Warrant Officer Second Class sir!” a fiery-haired, slender female followed.

“Alexander Dowling, Second Lieutenant sir!” the hard-european decent medium height officer said formally

“First Lieutenant Kasey Walls sir!”

Lyon was pacing in front of the pilots’ line and stopped in front of the last reporting pilot. Her voice sounded familiar and eyed her curiously. She was an athletic blonde. Her appearance was that of a freshly graduated pilot with her springy step, the nervous shaking of her shoulders and her rapid breathing. The look on her sharp brown eyes had been transformed by the exposure of death but unlike the others whose eyes looked very commonly veteran, unflinching, unremorseful and numb; hers had a different and the more dangerous kind.

Hopeful.

“Red One I presume.” said the Knight almost despite himself, socializing with new people was not his forte. He knew Hawkins and Ruslan for years and both of them were men. He trained the all male Lion Streak’s for almost two year before their first deployment; bonds were made over that time as well. But with women, he had not had much time with them ever since his interment into the Knight program. Other than his mother and sister, he hasn’t talked with the opposite sex without the front of rank or blood relation before, for a traumatic reason and the lack of chance, but his heart thumped when she saw the First Lieutenant, she made him feel the want to try.

She responded but Lyon did not hear any of it. He was too distracted watching her mouth gesture “yes sir.” Fortunately, they were trained to devoid all emotion in an instant and regained his nerve a split second after.

The Rear-Admiral had just finished conversing with one of the Silver Eclipse’s Hangar technicians and he beckoned the six to follow him to the main engineering bay. They walked through the double doors of the divider that split the Hangar in two. What greeted them made Lyon forget of First Lieutenant Kasey Halls for a good while.

There being checked and geared by Hangar personnel, parked parallel to the brightly colored Phoenix were five similarly white and orange painted fighters. The machines were more sleeker than a regular phantom osprey and look a lot more formidable, extra plating, retractable wings, concealed weaponry and, Lyon thinks, might be level with the Phoenix’ combat capacity and stealth capability.

“You know my ship has copyrights Ruslan?” Lyon said which made the Rear-Admiral snort in reply. The pilots looked to themselves on how comfortably the Knight addressed the higher ranking officer.

“You might have built the Phoenix but the Union has the power to take everything we have comrade.” Ruslan replied, “But these are not copies of the Phoenix Lyon.”

“What are they?” One of the Black Raven pilots asked.

“They are Cherubims Lieutenant.” The Technician from earlier replied, the six were surprised that the fellow had a very intellectual tone, he was clearly not a regular hangar engineer.

“This is Scientist Marshall Doctor Edwin Lambert,” The Rear-Admiral introduced the gangly, bespectacled scientist, “You might be fans of his work a number of which are the HCSRs and the Background Adaptive Camouflage System.

“So you basically created the Enigma-Class frigates.” Warrant Officer Avery Hall surmised.

“No, no, no,” The scientist stuttered with a waving motion of his hands, “I am flattered that you think that but Teams make everything possible as my predecessor Henrik Lebensschmerz use to say, yes.”

“…But didn’t Doctor Lebensschmerz died like half a century ago?..” Lyon heard one of the pilots whisper behind him. The Knight tutted inwardly. The Union tended to preserve humanity’s greatest children.

“…as I was saying,” Doctor Lambert continued, “these Cherubim fighters are equipped with similar armaments as that of a phantom osprey but overall has changed its purpose to that of a Knight’s unit: Atmosphere entry capability, a mini HCSR autoloader, BACS and deep space survivability and the like, yes.

“Basically a miniature version of an Enigma-Class Frigate.” The Knight interjected and turned to face Ruslan, “Is this thing sanctioned Rear-Admiral?”

“Need to know basis comrade.” Ruslan replied with a hearty grin.

“Excuse me Rear-Admiral?” Lieutenant Alexander Dowling inquired, “But what do we have to do with these classified machines? Assuming you will have us pilot them of course.”

The Rear-Admiral’s wolfish grin widened.

“Well Lieutenant, test them of course.”

SOLAR YEAR 2429, LEO SYSTEM, SECTOR ONE, PLANET RED 420 ATMOSPHERE, 0523 HOURS, THE PHOENIX SEVENTEEN HOURS AND TWENTY THREE MINUTES AFTER INVASION

“Steady as she goes Cherubim One,” Lyon radioed his wing man after seeing the ship sway, minutely, side to side for a few seconds.

“Confirm Cherubim One, are you okay?”

“Yes Roger that, Prime Banneret Knight, sir! Over!” Lieutenant Hall’s telltale chirpy tone cackled in response

Lyon sighed. Even though he was attracted towards the Lieutenant, he could not help notice her shaky nerves during deployment even before Operation Moonglaive’s execution. But he could not blame the newly christened fighter squadron under his command for nervous spouts of influence. They were the first reinforcement, a small suicide squad at that, since the first wave and they were going in blind on prototype machines.

Just three hours before as the Cherubims and the Phoenix were being geared, they were briefed of the Ruslan’s plan to reestablish contact with the one FOB they had on Red 420 and provide quick reaction support (the irony of the term did not escape Lyon). They had scans of the surface on their only FOB showing signs of sporadic weapon retaliation and GEOM offenses, clear signs of human activity. Ruslan told them that he wouldn’t make the rushed mistake that the deceased Admiral Axton had done of sending blind one-way trip ground offences.

So that’s where they come in.

Using the Cherubims they had in disposal, they would swoop in and cover and report the status of the forward operating base. The only thing that kept them from bombarding the planet surface was the possibility of the Knights’ survival. The Union would not allow the nihilistic tactics unless the survival or the confirmations of death of the sent Knights were assured. The short supply of capable potentials has often drove commanders to sacrificing “unawakeneds” or “deadheads”, as they were lay-manly called, in the thousands just to secure the survival of a Knight. Unfortunately there was no protocol that assured the Knights’ mental aptitude after such rescues; some have opted out unable to bear the burden. Having the Cherubims would keep casualties to a minimum and provide much needed re-reconnaissance.

Or confirm the Knights’ deaths.

They were hurtling through the planet’s lower atmosphere now, the bellies of the fighters’ red hot. The Cherubims have shot past the Phoenix thanks to their better modified aerodynamics. Lyon did not mind it, it made keeping an eye on his squadron a lot easier.

The thought lingered in his mind once more, lives, again, directly under his command; how long ago since he had done so?

“Sir we are nearing the end of our decent,” Cherubim Two’s comms blurted.

Lyon checked the legend, Cherubim two and three were piloted by the two Black Raven Pilots. Second Lieutenant Drayton Palmer is a C-Class potential having an incomplete Panoramic Vision capability and Warrant Officer Lucas Mohamed, a D-Class potential with slightly better point clarity, the dream power of the peeping toms.

The Phoenix lurched as the inertia of the entry and the pull of gravity stabilized. Lyon punched in a few controls and changed the mode of his Phantom Osprey to planetary flight. He smirked, congratulating himself that he was still able to operate the Phoenix’ controls manually, he made sure to leave Anna to back on the Silver Eclipse to hack the Cherubim technology for future use and to keep her out of his way during a delicate operation. He made sure not to repeat the blunder back on Red 420’s moon.

The Phoenix and the unawakened Pilots formed a four finger formation while thee two Black raven pilots formed a two-fingered formation on their 7-oclock.

Lyon looked at the holo-map on his display; they were gaining ground in record time. The Cherubims had torque and power but they left minimal trails behind them, a testament to their magnificent engineering. The Phoenix, a more elegant design, needed to fire its afterburners earlier to catch up with the Cherubims’ accelerations. Lyon couldn’t wait to get his hands on those blueprints.

After passing several rust colored dune formations, the ground beneath them yawned into a flat rolling plain of dust, gravel and craters. Warrant officer Lucas then pointed out that some of the dust wasn’t really upstart red sand, Lyon looked down and gazed at the thousands of parasitic bodies mobbing and thrashing below them, He heard Lieutenant Walsh gasped. Only their stealth technology kept them from being noticed by the horde from the surface or from the swarming GEOMS that sometimes flew too near them.

The GEOMs seemed to commune to a slightly raised plateau several kilometers in front of them. Orbs of light and smokestacks emanated from the focal point. The Knight glanced at his map, it was right were the FOB was supposed to be. Lyon tried the comms but to no avail.

Up ahead the flimsy walled compound was enveloped with sickly colored dots, some bigger than the rest, and plumes red sand and burst of light and fire and it seem one side was being overrun. He could now clearly see that the larger specks where in fact the feared grotesque Abominations.

“You really had your hands full huh Wolfe.” The Knight whispered.

Lyon flicked the red-cap colored switches on his joysticks and toggled the squadron comms.

“All Units Weapons free.”