Free Remember the Starfighter by Michael Kan Page B

even contain them. As you all know, we have a key advantage. The Endervars still don’t possess hyperspace technology, so we’re going to go back in, and strike at any ships we find. The hope is to get the Endervars thinking they’ve missed something and redirect their expansion away from Bydandia. If anything, we need to try and slow the enemy down, and distract them from attacking any other escaping civilians.”
    A women officer then interrupted.
    “Basically, you need us to wreak havoc?” she asked.
    “Yes, the more the better,” he replied. “Command has cobbled together a new offensive fleet, comprising of short-range battleships and cruisers. We will divide them into 6 groups that will strike star systems on the other end of the Endervar incursion.”
    The admiral then shut off the map, the darkness receding as the conference room lights returned on.
    “I’ll put it succinctly. This is our Kinnison initiative: our moment to defend humanity,” the admiral added. “In our case, these are just hit-and-run operations. We’ll depend largely on drones to get this done. Disengage the enemy if outnumbered. We can’t lose any more ships.”
    The admiral saw the head nods and grins overtaking some of the officers’ faces.
    “I don’t know about everyone else,” said a commander. “But I’m looking forward to this.”
    The other officers applauded. Yet the admiral knew this was no simple matter. “Simmer down. I want to see you guys all back here for the next briefing. Don’t take any stupid risks,” he ordered. “Do not lose any ships.”
    The admiral then quickly went down his order list, offering brief comments and ticking off each to-do. He rushed it, ignoring protocol matters that needn’t be announced, sighing at the very sight of them. Finally, after winding down the tedium, he came to the last item.
    “I see we have a new fighter captain in our ranks,” he said.
    The admiral looked at the name, checking if it was right. He paused for a long moment, trying to find the man in the assembled officers before him. “Julian Nverson,” he first said to himself. Then he gave a laugh, in near disbelief.
    The admiral looked into the field of officers. A man sitting in the back was now standing, his hand in a salute.
    “Admiral Drayden,” he said, his hair closely shaven down to the scalp. “Captain Nverson reporting, newly promoted. I aim to serve the Core well.”
    The admiral nodded his head, pleased to see the sight. “No doubt you will Julian,” he replied. “Just like old times. Good to see you’re back.”
     

***
     
    The admiral opened the bottle of whisky and placed it on the desk in his office. “Take it Julian,” the admiral said, pouring out the alcohol into the cup. “A drink for an old friend.”
    Julian gingerly picked it up and began to sip from the glass. The admiral, on the other hand, gulped down the shot and poured out another, a sour look on his face.
    “I was there at Haven,” the admiral said. “Goddamn Endervars. Took out everything.”
    Over a week ago, Drayden had still been a colonel serving on board a dreadnought carrier. Things had been dire. Their previous attempts to push back the enemy had left his strike group in ruins, with more than half of his fighting force destroyed. All other engagements had been met with failure. The enemy had begun flooding the entire sector with ships, their sheer numbers overwhelming every military strategy the SpaceCore could devise. Command had no choice but to issue the desperate order. All available ships would return to homeworld. Very soon, the government would declare emergency procedures to begin the evacuation of Haven.
    “We jumped into homeworld, thinking we’d make a last stand. Naively, we still thought we had more time, at least a few weeks, before the enemy would arrive.”
    “But then they came. We held them off at first, but whatever we did, we couldn’t stop them.”
    The enemy did more than just simply unleash