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carry the seven wings of ten fighters into battle.
    The fighters had stretched their legs as we had travelled, most of the fleet trying to catch a glimpse at the fighters who were elegant and precise with their movements. Rick told me applicants to be fighter pilots had sky rocketed.
    I focused on the main screen. Now its time to see if it'll be enough.
    Bit by bit the map filled with information until all that was left was what was in Earth's orbit.
    “Picking up a structure with massive power output,” came from the sensor pit.
    “I believe I have an orbital station, size, five kilometres long. It is hexagonal, belling out a third of the way down before belling down again, thinner than the other side of the station and still mostly scaffolding for the station to grow on. There's two factory ships at each end and another two on either side of the protrusion. It looks like they’re attached to the structure,” the voice continued as the structure filled the plot
    “Well, it looks like we’re looking at our training facility,” I said as more than one pair of hard eyes looked at what had been our prison.
    “I have confirmed weapons signatures, it’s also got weaponry batteries,” the sensor commander said after checking another operators screen.
    “Control the orbitals, you control the population,” someone said through gritted teeth from the pits, getting annoyed grunts in return, the most violent from the Sarenmenti and Kuruvians who both believed in fair fights.
    “Ship readings!” a sensor operator yelled and everything became business again. I checked the status of the mMechas that I'd put on thirty percent readiness.
    “Reading a Battle cruiser, make that two, three destroyers, eight cruisers and four corvettes,” the chief said as other operators added their findings.
    “I have another battle cruiser.”
    “Two more destroyers.”
    “Three more corvettes.”
    “Two here.”
    “One.”
    “Two more.”
    “Keep scanning, I want to know if there’s anything else lurking out there,” I said as the sensors officer began carolling all of the data from every ship, organizing it and then funnelling it back out. It was mostly automated, but he was there to make sure there weren't any overlap or issues.
    So far we had three battle cruisers, five destroyers, eight cruisers, and twelve corvettes. Plus the incomplete training station.
    “What’s the situation like on the ground,” I asked. I didn’t want to know, but I had to. It took a few minutes before anything concrete came back.
    “Crater readings over southern Japan, the United states, Russia, Europe's mostly gone, China’s no more. Water levels have risen three feet, massive flooding on every land mass.” The sensor commander’s voice was dull and flat, professional. It was the only way they could get across what they were saying, obvious emotion hidden behind their words. The bridge was silent as we glided into the system.
    Even the Kuruvian’s and Sarenmenti were quiet, no doubt thinking on the state of their own planets.
    “The time for remorse will be later, for now we have a mission to complete and our home world to rescue,” I said. I left behind my emotions and became Salchar, the commander of the Free Fleet.
    I looked at the clock on my view screen. It was set to a thirty nine hour day, what the Union had used as a general time which our bodies naturally adjusted to without time keeping. They’ll be getting their instructions now, I thought as I sat on my bridge in my Mecha, wishing I could be with my men hurtling towards the enemy.
    ***
    Henry couldn't help but grumble good-naturally about the oncoming battle.
    About to go into battle against a heavily outnumbered enemy, check. Flying towards them like idiots, check. Got the best job in the universe.... well, the food could be better, Henry mused as he grinned. No matter how much he complained about the uncomfortable ride, or the fact that his padding was gone in all the wrong