1 Prelude

Alarms blared throughout the halls of the Nova Krakov. The crew of the mighty Cruiser-class ship was on high alert, carrying out the orders that were constantly coming down from the bridge.

In the bridge of the mighty Cruiser, Commander Maximiler Vraken gripped the arm rests of his seat as he studied the telemetry that was fed back to the scanners of the ship.

"Dammit!" He gritted his teeth in frustration as he realized the severity of the situation they were in. Seven Frigate-class vessels emerged from the advanced Temporal Warp Gate that hung before the Nova Krakov, flanked by several hundred Fighter-class ships, almost five dozen Bomber-class ships and two dozen Gunships. Things were looking bleak for the Nova Krakov.

"Commander, the flagship of the enemy formation is hailing us. How shall we respond?" The communications officer stationed at the bridge looked up from his station.

"Patch into the open area network. Let's see what they have to say." He replied, rubbing at his head of red hair.

A projection flickered into existence across the wide open view panel that gave the crew a view of outer space. Before then, the projection of the commander of the approaching fleet flickered into view. The crew in the bridge drew a sharp breath as they realized the person was very familiar to them.

"Lieutenant-Commander Abis Finete." Maximiler spat out through clenched teeth.

"Ah, nice to see you too, Max. I have a feeling you weren't expecting me." Abis smiled with glee, leaning forward in his seat.

"I can assume that your actions are with support from the Hawk Faction? What gives you the right to think you can take on the Nova Krakov and her crew?" Maximiler grew calmer with each word. He knew what he had to as soon as he saw the largest ship of the enemy fleet slip through the Temporal Warp Gate.

The Fazzad was one of the largest Cruiser fielded by the United Starbridge Confederation, almost on par with the Nova Krakov. With seven main cannons and several dozen secondary armaments, it had the ability to fight a war and hold its ground for several days in a row, even against another Cruiser. But even with its spectacular specs, it still fell short when compared against the Nova Krakov, the star of its time. The Nova Krakov was one of the best Cruisers built by the USC till date. With enough resources to push a barren planet to an industrial capital pumped into its construction, its main and secondary armaments were enough to completely demolish the Fazzad.

"Haha! You're right, the Hawk Faction is backing me. Although, even with my Fazzad and its powerful escorts, I don't have the confidence to take on your Nova Krakov, my faction has provided me with a solution!" Abis waved his arm behind him. His projection scaled down in size, making way for the view screen of the vast expanse of space. Three large Temporal Warp Gates flickered into existence on the flanks of the enemy fleet. From within each Warp Gate came a pair of Destroyers, along with an accompanying fleet of half a dozen Heavy Frigates.

"This is the reason for my confidence!" Abis laughed manically in his seat as he saw Maximiler's drooping expression. The Fazzad and its escort of several hundred Fighters, Bombers and Gunships, along with a supplementary force of six Destroyers and their escort eighteen Heavy Frigates was enough to put the Nova Krakov out of commission.

"Abis… Why are you doing this?! The Reboot Protocol isn't meant to be solely controlled by one faction! By bringing it to the capital, we can contribute to the whole of humanity as a whole! Imagine being able to bring back every major innovator that contributed to humanity's rise during our flight from the Solar System! We can take back our roots from those Mantis scum!" Maximiler slammed his fists on the console before him.

"It's quite simple, Maxi. Can you remember when we were younger? We used to be the closest out of all the kids in our small colony." Abis smiled genuinely, thinking back to his childhood. "Remember when we got accepted into the army? How you always outdid me. You took my dream positions each and every time. I worked hard to the bone, while you still goofed around, yet you still got the positions, the credit, the recognition. I was always staring at your back." He shook his head slowly. "Well, no more! When I get rid of you, I can take over as the Commander of the latest Cruiser that's being commissioned. The Estella Crow!" Abis grinned widely.

"Enough talk, old friend. It's time to settle this! I'll see you on the other side. No hard feelings, Maxi." The projection blinked away, cutting off the transmission.

A heavy aura pressed over the minds of the crew of the Nova Krakov. Maximiler looked around, noticing the atmosphere in the bridge.

"Dustin. Open a transmission channel to the rest of the fleet." He spoke to the crew member stationed at the communication console.

"Yessir!" Dustin worked fast, opening a wide area network that linked up all the ships escorting the Nova Krakov.

"Esteemed fleeters. This is no time to exchange pleasantries so I'll get straight to the point." He paused. "We are facing one of our toughest situations since we were assigned to this fleet. And to be honest, I don't know if we can make it through this time. But even still, that shouldn't stop us from doing out duty to the Starbridge Confederation! Everyone in this fleet has gone through one of the most stringent selection processes to get here. Our loyalty lies with our government. Although we have been turned against, we shall raise our heads high in the face of adversaries. We are the heart of the Nova Krakov! For the Confederation!"

"FOR THE CONFEDERATION!"

"FOR THE CONFEDERATION!"

"FOR THE CONFEDERATION!"

The crew of the Nova Krakov and her accompanying fleet cheered on, their morale raised once again. Hundreds of trained soldiers manned their posts, waiting for the two fleets to come into weapon range of each other.

With their superior numbers, the fleet accompanying the Fazzad completely dwarfed the Nova Krakov and her escorts, but the overall might of the Nova Krakov was not to be underestimated. With a dozen Heavy Frigates accompanying her, she had enough might to scour a Start System of life within a day's time. Even with an opposing force standing against her.

Several tense minutes passed as the two mighty fleets came closer to contact. The moment they came into range, thousands of high powered energy beams exploded exploded forth, painting the ark expanse of the galaxy white.

"FIRE!"