---------------------------------------------------------------------------~~Chapter 1 | Guardians of Helios~~---------------------------------------------------------------------------
After everything was packed and set in order, the Hunters went to their fighters. Personnel that were not pilots or were Drone pilots went to the transport ship. Aion climbed the ladder of the dock system for his fighter, Blade X-02 . He stopped midway, inline with the emblem engraved into an armor plate. A blue phoenix clutching a sword in its talons was positioned over a small line of text
Eclipse BladeHe went through the motions of tapping two fingers to his lips and then pressing them against the emblem. He stayed there, for a moment more, as though observing a moment of silence. Then he broke his personal silence by moving his hand from the emblem and thumping the part of the armor plate, where he marked his kills, twice.
Maverick Kills: 58
Drone Kills:
849 Stopped Counting
Once he climbed into the cockpit, all of the systems whirred to life. Holographic control panels intermixed with physical controls lit up. He grasped both controls on either side as the specialized glass cockpit lowered.
"You ready for this, Arrow?" Joe's voice came in through an open personal channel in the communicator.
"I was born ready." Aion chuckled to himself. Only Joe called him "Arrow," a nickname that Joe developed after the first time he saw him fly in combat. "
As true as an arrow shot from the bow of a god. Geez, mate! I've neverseen anyone fly like that before!"
He switched to a group channel. "Alright, sound off, who's ready?"
Systematically, each pilot declared their status.
"This is Red Squadron, we're ready."
"Green Squadron is waitin' on you matey."
"You guys...This is Violet Squadron, ready for takeoff."
"Gold Squad, ready to roll!"
Aion was next. "Silver Squadron..." He looked to his right, where Joe was in his fighter. Joe nodded confirmation. "...ready! All Squadrons, prepare for launch on my mark."
Engines roared and dock catapults strained to keep the fighters steady.
"Ready...." Aion adjusted his grip and took a deep breath. "LAUNCH!"
The rail-gun like dock catapults fired off each fighter out the hangar. Aion braced against his seat and pulled back on the controls. The transport followed suit and they gained altitude.
during the ascent, Aion made a banking curve with
Eclipse Blade, to get a good look at the transport.

In one of the windows, Terrisa stood waving. He did a two finger salute in response.
"Alright, all squadrons form up and keep an eye on long-range scanners. Standard escort protocols. Formation: Omega... 'Shield Formation'. Keep it tight."
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Venturia
Helios System
Planet: Duon
"...the Mirror Sea...?" Nero looked at Mima in bewilderment. Then, he spoke again, but more to himself. "The legends...could they be true after all?" He pondered this for a moment then addressed Mima again. "Ok...I'm going to believe ya because you know Cicero. But...tell no one else about that you came from the Mirror Sea, got that? And tell no one about Cicero.
No one." He then went down and used a different device on the unconscious soldier. He immediately woke up.
"Ugh...my head...what happened?"
"You tripped and hit your head. Anyway while you were dozing, I figured out who our friend is here."
"Huh? What friend?" The soldier got up and then turned around and noticed Mima. "Her? Oh ok-OW...you sure I just hit my head?"
"Yep. Anyway we should head back to the transport and get back to HQ."
"...uh...right."
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Venturia
Egale System
Planet: Senarious The little girl looked at Mera and smiled. She took her hand while still holding her angel doll.
"Well, I'll take that as a yes." Eleos then thought for a moment. "To be honest the safest place would be off the planet. I overheard some vultures talking about a Beta Division in Celestora...and I know Celestora is one of the more peaceful systems..." He looked at Mera. "You have a ship...you could take her there."