BOOK 1: THE WARBIRD

---PROLOGUE---

C.N.S. OBLIVION
HIGH ORBIT ABOVE PLANET XYBER XVII, MANOS SYSTEM
1834 HOURS, SEPTEMBER 22, 3034 AD

A pair of guards stood in front of the doorway. Suddenly, footsteps were heard approaching.

“Commander Michael E. Thompson on deck! Get to your posts, maggots!” one of the guards barked.

The doors to the bridge hissed open. Mike walked in and sat in the Control Chair.

“Get me technical. Now.”

“Aye, sir,” one of the controllers acknowledged. The holo-screen flickered on.

“Bowser, I need a status report.”
“It's not looking good, Mike. The main reactor coupling's been fried. It's gonna take a half-hour to fix, at least.”
“Crap. Need a hand?”
“Or two. The sooner I get this bad boy online, the better.”
“I'm heading down there immediately. I'll meet you there.”

Mike took the express shuttle to the core, some 400 miles from the bridge. The trip didn't take too long (roughly 5 minutes), though the number of G-Forces he had to endure made him a little queasy.

Time wasn't on Mike's side; he and the rest of the Commandarian Navy had gotten wind of a recent invasion fleet making its way towards the planet Tigandris VI. The native Tigandrans, bipedal tiger-like humanoids, had sworn allegiance to the Navy years before. By Commandarian Imperial Law, if any of the Empire's allies fall under attack, some part of the Imperial Navy must respond to the distress signal. At the invasion fleet's current speed, they'd make planetfall in the next 48 hours. While the Tigandrans could probably hold out for a while (the Navy had supplied their planet with suitable planetary defense systems), they'd be doomed for certain if the Navy didn't act soon.

The Oblivion was sent to spearhead the defensive strike; joining it would be the ships Orion, Vengeance, and Indomitable. A half-hour was a half-hour, but if they wanted any chance at all of saving Tigandris VI, they needed to be there in the next 45 minutes. It was going to be close.

Bowser was using everything he had at his disposal to fix the severed cable. At that moment, Mike arrived.

“I'm here. What do you need me to do, Bowser?”
“Head to the spare parts section, and get me replacement cables for a JU-3082 Reactor Coupling. I'm going to get a reconnection module for it.”
“I'm on it.”

About 20 minutes later...

“Bowser, I've got the cables.”
“Excellent, this should just take a moment...”

The module began its task of auto-repair. In all of 45 seconds, the repairs were complete.

“Alright, she's all set. Lieutenant Hawthorne! Activate the reactor!”
“Yes sir!”
“Bowser, I'm heading back to the bridge. I need you to keep an eye on things here.”
“You got it, Mike.”

Mike boarded the express shuttle for the bridge. After a scant 5 minutes passed, he was ready for the journey.

“Sir, the reactor is at full power. We can activate the gate at any time, sir.”
“Acknowledged, Dreyfus. Technical, activate the Inter-Dimensional Time Gate Generator. Destination is Tigandris VI!”
“Aye sir!”

The Generator's power cells hummed to life. The emitter on the Chaos Laser Cannon fired the Dimension-ripping beam, and the swirling blue vortex to Tigandris VI awaited.

“Orion, are you ready?”
“Crew standing by and awaiting orders, Oblivion.”
“Excellent. Vengeance, are you ready?”
“The Vengeance is ready to depart when you are, Brigadier Chief Commander.”
“Outstanding. Lastly, Indomitable, are you ready?”
“Ready to rock n' roll, sir.”
“Very well. All ships, LAUNCH!”

And so they passed through the portal, onward to Tigandris VI.

At that very same moment, somewhere out in the blackness of space...

R.S.S. INSURRECTION
HIGH ORBIT ABOVE PLANET NEW ALCATRAZ, PARIAH SYSTEM
1904 HOURS, SEPTEMBER 22, 3034 AD

A mysterious figure stepped forward into the control chair...
“Ensign, is the Insurrection ready?”
“Yes, Lord Akasi. We are ready to begin the invasion of Tigandris VI at any time.”
“Excellent. Begin the attack!”

The dark Insurrection lurched into the swirling time gate to begin its conquest...

---END TRANSMISSION---

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Bowser © Nintendo
The Empire and All characters/races w/in ©  warlordmike Me