Winter or Summer. Spring or Fall. Time marches on for all. The end of man, or the end of time. Like little drops of dew upon all mankind. Look and gaze upon the sea, the sun, the stars, the black tinged sea. Space and war, land and death. What awaits us all, is a grisly death.

Take solace in the fact that you will see. An end to this war, that I decree. But let not the Earth turn your head. The time for freedom is now ahead. Raise your heads, and scream out warcries, rend the flesh from your eyes.

We the spacenoids now declare, the end of the Earth Federation’s rule is now at hand! Take up arms, take up blades! Break the shackles of oppression today!

All praise the end of an era, and rejoice for the Republic Of Bardone!

***

On board the Clarent, Navigator Zaid Varran stared out the front reinforced glass window on the bridge. The only sounds were the air conditioner, the beeping of computers, and the soft footsteps of someone approaching the bridge. He turned and saluted.

Commander Char Seykan entered the bridge. Clothed in a crimson red outfit, adorned with gold trimmings, and a phoenix emblazoned on the chest, a symbol of Bardone. Char stood out from the usual soldiers in the Bardone military. Them in their usual brown and red uniforms were a direct contrast to her own.

She had on a white mask that covered her eyes, and a helmet that covered her head. She strode with utmost confidence to the captain chair, her velvet tipped shoes brushing almost silently with the antistatic coated floor. The rest of the soldiers stood up and saluted, following Navigator Zaid’s example.

The Clarent orbited what was once a Federation outpost on Luna V. Now abandoned, it served as an impressive refueling station for Bardone ships on the way to Earth. It also served as a beachhead, allowing for rapid deployments onto the earth’s surface.

“Projection!”

With a simple command, the computer technicians had the computer project an image of the earth’s surface. The projection began to move closer, moving through simulated clouds, ruined cities and vast unclaimed lands before settling onto a city. The rest of the bridge stared at the constantly moving projection, almost wincing whenever it passed by people and through homes. Finally, it stopped amid a life size projection of a Federation base.

“One of the Federation’s last bases on the North American continent.” Char let out an amused remark at the sight of the base. Compared to many Federation bases, this one was one of the largest. The Federation always liked to put on airs, claiming that its military size was offset by its technology. An irony, considering their inability to adapt caused their predicament. “Zoom in at maximum range. I want a closer look at the hanger bay our intel has provided us.”

The projections were created from a a systemic matching system, using pictures to seamlessly create a 3D environment. What Char was seeing was a pieced together simulation of whatever pictures their Spy had managed to take. The resolution increased, showing an open hangar bay. On a transportation bed, half hidden by a black tarp, Char could see what she was after.

“So the Federation has finally done the impossible. They have their own AS.” The crew on the bridge looked at one another in surprise. Whispers flew through the air as the soldiers all realized the implications of such a finding.

On the year 2156, of the Anno Domini Calendar, the world powers of the earth had all agreed to fold into one unified power. Before that, a world war had broken out. The Great Resource Wars. The West Vs the East. A long drawn out bloody war. By the end, the earth’s environment was unstable, and the population had dwindled from several billion to millions.

In order to save humanity, Project OASIS was implemented. By the year the Earth Federation was to be established, a portion of earth’s population would be sent to space. At specific lagrange points, O'neil type space colonies would be constructed and serve as new homes for the immigrants from earth. No matter the opposition, people were forced to leave their homes, and embark onto a new journey into the stars.

Humanity, whether be it their own taste in keeping control or their need to keep an close eye on their brethren, elected to have the Federation monitor and govern the colonies. This continued until the year AE 10, when Colony 13, codenamed OASIS declared that all space colonies were to be christened under a new banner. The Democratic Republic Of Bardone.

The colonies struck first, opening with a large scale kinetic bombardment with mined Tungsten folded into rods. The Space Orbital Defense System was completely annihilated. With Russia, China, and India becoming uninhabitable. Then, the invasion.

The crew watched Char as she sat and stared at the half hidden machine. To many, Commander Char was a figure of legend. The stories and reports about her made her seem larger than life. Her feats superhuman, her abilities beyond normal man. Perhaps she represented the best of humanity’s foray into space. Perhaps evolution had favoured her, and the rest of those living in space.

“All hands. We have our next destination.”

Everyone held their breath. The projection zoomed out, showing a model of New Angeles City. Flexing her toes, Char jumped out of her chair and smiled. A smile befitting a predator who had caught sight of their prey.

###

The Clarant began to enter the atmosphere, streaks of red from the heat caused by reentry. The ship barely felt anything, other than the bridge crew keeping a close eye on the numerous statistics and data coming in from the sensors outside, and the minute adjustments done to their course. A far cry from old spaceships of the past, newer advancements in the field of space travel have enabled feats once thought the realm of science fiction. And perhaps the funding from war had a hand in it as well.

Descending down upon the North American continent, the outside port windows, constructed of reinforced glass and steel, gave anyone looking out a view of a long stretching ring around earth. Ruined and crumbling apart in the Earth’s gravitational pull, it allowed the Clarant cover under the guise of space debris. In truth, it was the remains of the Earth’s Orbital Defense System, meant to protect it against invaders from space. It wasn’t completed fast enough, and construction had been shelved once the war started.

Even if the Federation had noticed something entering the earth’s atmosphere, they would have been powerless to stop it. Most of their space force had been wiped out, leaving a small amount stationed on the Lunar Base and around the few colonies that refused to join with The Republic Of Bardone. However, it was better safe than sorry. Space battles were no laughing matter.

With a few wisps of smoke, the Clarant had managed to enter the atmosphere successfully. The main engines turned back on, and the window ports opened up, revealing the pale blue sky that only earthlings could see. Those who lived in the colonies had artificial skies, controlled by a computer that manipulated the underside of the ceiling solar panels to produce whatever image it was allowed to display.

Char watched as the sun began to rise, sending specks of light across the bridge. She felt something stir in her chest, as though the sun had connected with her on a deeper level. However, the logic that held her in place reminded her that emotions can be misleading. No matter how beautiful something is, there will be always something that outshone it in the universe.

###

Inside Hangar Bay 04 in the Earth Federation St.Clara Miltary Academy, military engineers rushed back and forth. Lying on a giant metallic bed, several large humanoid pieces lie separated. Chief Engineer May Sachs played with her fingernails as the cranes began to assemble the pieces together. It was like a game of Tetris, but with the pieces all lines up to be assembled.

A torso, a head, arms and legs. Colored Red, White, and Blue. The colors that once flew on the flag of now, a non-existent nation. The main founder of what is now the Earth Federation. May didn’t agree with the color scheme. She complained that would make the machine an easy target. No one would miss something that was colored brightly like an action figure.

The Republic Of Bardone’s own machines were naturally colored like any other military appliance. In camo, and not ridiculous colors like this one. But she couldn’t argue her way past the Top Brass who liked the colors. At least the machine was sturdy enough to withstand attacks.

“What are you idiots doing!?” A large crate of spare parts suddenly came crashing down, barely missing the still unassembled machine bed by mere meters. “Those parts are worth more than your entire service record here!” Chief Engineer May Sachs yelled at the top of her lungs.

The entire base was in a frenzy, but one thing is clear. This machine that she developed was the only thing standing between the Federation’s defeat at the hands of The Democratic Republic Of Bardone. Nothing was more important than getting it shipped and readied to the frontlines. But more importantly….

“I need a drink.”