Chapter 02: Opposite Ends

-25 November 2485-

"This is Watchmen-12C to Titan Coalition Command, daily report incoming. Our sender ain't gonna process it digitally, so you better start typing. 102 civilian vessels detected along route 12C, 87 taxied successfully and 15 filed for boarding checks. Currently performing the 15th check as we speak. Incident report of unregistered contraband, possibly narcotics. Will update on the sit-...The hell? Watchmen-12C to BP12C, sit-rep?"

The patrol boat went about its daily report, the Navigator signing in his log manually by broadcast. It's been awhile since they had to use one of these relics, but how else was he gonna make the report? He had been monitoring the camera feed of the boarding party which had been detached from the patrol boat. It was sent to investigate a merchant ship which wasn't hailing. Once boarded they identified no crew yet but found crates piled up, one which was already opened revealing unusual packages.

However by the fourth minute, all video feed was gone. Showing black static on all screens. Communications too appeared to he down, highly unusual. The man turned towards the captain of the boat, who had been as keenly watching the feed as he did. The Captain gritted her teeth as unease was shown in her expression. That boarding party weren't a bunch of rookies, they knew how to handle themselves well. "Set course for the vessel to intercept and cease. All crew on standby, we may have possible loss of crew, prepare for deployment."

With that the boat's navigator plotted a course towards the merchant ship, accelerating with slow, short bursts. The vessel was about a hundred kilometres away. They soon came close to the ten kilometre mark, seeing no movement still from the vessel. The Captain ordered to use their rcs thrusters to manouevre into a suitable trajectory to dock. Suddenly the sound of an old, raspy voice spoke through the communicator of the leader of the boarding party.

"Unión eterna..."

Before the Captain could even question the foreign voice, the strapped cargo haul around the merchant ship detached themselves. Underneath the faked haul were point defence cannons, ammo being fed into them. The Navigator looked back at her in a worried manner, eyes wide as the holo-display he was looking at had numerous red targets appearing. "Captain, their aiming right at us!"

The barrels which were aimed at them soon began firing, sending out charged kinetic slugs which slammed against the patrol boat. The constant fire from it was steadily ripping off the coilguns of the Captain's vessel. She gripped her dashboard as she felt the tremors from the rounds, shaking the boat violently. "Captain, I'm picking up numerous vessels! It's a whole damned fleet!"

"This is Captain Julianna, Watchmen-12C! We've been engaged and require immediate assistance! I repeat, we've been eng-" Her broadcast for help suddenly went silent. Wait no, she couldn't even hear herself talking.

Everything felt cold on the outside all a sudden, her insides feeling like they were boiling up. A sharp stinging pain assaulted her ears, oozing out blood. When she looked up from her dashboard, she tried to breathe but she couldn't. Her navigator was trying to gasp but in his struggle, he suffocated himself even quicker before going limp. The entire ceiling was ripped off by enemy point defence cannons, exposing the bridge to vacuum.

She slowly floated upwards, her movements being completely halted. No pulse came from the Captain, floating about in her wrecked ship along with the Navigator and the rest of her crew. In a fate of cruel mockery to her vessel, a massive cruiser dropped out from Chrolun Jump, the immense energy discharge from travelling the cosmos with paragravity shredding her ship to mere space debri before being rammed aside.

Behind the Cruiser, more came, destroyers, frigates, corvettes poolinb out in hundreds as the unknown hostile fleet moved towards Titan. The Coalition spaceport had been informed by the Captain's desperate call for help. Scrambling the fleet stationed on the planetary fleetyard. However the size of the enemy fleet was ungodly, soon launching volleys of boarding craft which sped towards the spaceport.

Contact would be lost with Titan shortly after, for both the Coalition and Federation alike. What was even stranger was that no signal came from Titan an hour prior, it had been on a total blackout before they even realised. No one knew what happened to the moon. An emergency meeting was held by the Defence Committee of the coming hours, needing to come up with a solution to ease public knowledge of the now classified 'Ghost Moon'.

-07 December 2485-

"Move it people! We still have 3 klicks to cover! Zayed, pick up the pace!" Kasey said in a determined voice, jogging across the god forbidden dune. He turned his head back to the five others in Sabre Squad, jogging with him as well with Zayed at the back.

"Oh sure! As if this fucking exo-suit and 40kg worth of gear makes me the Flash, huh?" Zayed heaved out his words.

He panted out tiredly, gazing at Kasey who was in the lead, being accompanied by Ramiel as second. They met her during the first day of training, her dominating the indoor boxing ring. She was posted to their squad but no one complained, having her would be a serious advantage for them all. Despite her being mostly quiet. "Don't you dare sass me Zayed! Ramiel is hauling ass faster than you, right? Ramiel?"

Kasey said in a teasing tone to him. However when he tried looking at Ramiel, she was long gone, already sprinting ahead of him by now. Kasey's jaw dropped open but the respirator hid his expression. The look in his eyes was all Ramiel needed, to get the ironic satisfaction out from him.

"You gotta stop talking out of your ass Sir!" another member of the team spoke, being right behind the now number-two Kasey, it

being Corporal Jun.

"Jun? Shut the fuck up or uour cleaning the bunks again!" Kasey panted out, inciting chuckles from the team and even getting a snicker out from Ramiel.

It would be another twenty-five minutes of jogging and occasional sprints until they reached the final checkpoint. All six troopers grunting and wheezing after they came to a halt. They had been at it for nearly an hour. At the stop point was Captain Daniels, the one who brought them all to the compound months ago. Apparently he would be the commanding officer for the Specialist Response Unit.

"Congratulations Saber Squad, you're the first ones back. Head in and change out. You lot got two hours of R&R, make it count." He barked out, though it was tough to hide that pride he had for the team.

"Thank you, Captain!"

Daniels would just point back towards the compound with his thumb. In return he had a rousing response from the Squad, making him chuckle just a tad bit. He'd soon turn his gaze towards the horizon, seeing the small blips in the distance. He sighed as soon as he looked into his detached scope and seeing the other squads,"There come your colleagues...."

After a relaxing shower and a fresh hot meal from the cafeteria, they sat by the holo-display. All six of them lounging about on the chairs as they flicked through channels. Just as they were finding a show to settle on, they stopped by the Martian News Agency.

"...Reports are coming of an orbital slaughter at Titan..."

"Kase, volume." Ramiel nudged him, jolted back into the moment as multiple things went through his head during those few seconds. He quickly glided his hand up the volume bar on the datapad he held, the presenter catching the attention of the rest Squad.

"...The apparent blackout at Titan over course of 12 days has finally been resolved. It appears that extensive orbital warfare has occurred throughout the moon. Casualties range in the hundreds of thousands as scattered remnants of the Coalition and Federation naval assets based on Titan have almost been obliterated. Domes Martal, Polaris and Santa Havalla were destroyed. Fleet Aurora as well as 4th Federal Fleet was dispatched to investigate, sent on the 26th November and arriving on the 30th of November. No contact was made with the aggressors but strong evidence of foreign wreckage indicate Union involvement. We will update further on the ongoing crisis."

That's... where Isaiah's staying. Oh fuck.

As the news broadcast ended, Kasey felt a wave of emotions crashing down on him. The easiest feeling he could describe it as would be nauseating combination of grief and remorse. Isaiah, his brother, the only relative he knew of who was still alive was living in Santa Havalla, there wasn't much after the last war, they only had each other.

The rest of Sabre Squad looked worried, seeing Kasey slumping down as the emotions boiled over. His hands digging into the brown locks of his wavy hair, finding clutches in-between each finger before clenching and tugging in frustration. He wanted to scream, he wanted to let something out but all that came was just muffled and muttered.

"Kasey... Are you?... Are you alright?" Zayed asked, placing a hand on his shoulder, never seeing his Squad Leader like this.

The Heavy Gunner looked around, seeing Ramiel, Jun and Weaver, unsure how else to go about this. However, Kasey soon swatted Zayed's hand aside, clenching both his fists before getting up and making a beeline to the door.

"Wait, where are yo-" Jun interjected, trying to get Kasey to stay, however he would be cut off by his leader.

"Not now... I need... Time to process this..." Kasey held out his hand, sighing before exiting the bunk.

Following the moment, the rest of Sabre Squad sat in silence, eyeing one another as if trying to see who'd take initiative to find out more. Ramiel however, didn't waste time. She signed to them, speaking more with gestures than she did with her own mouth.

"Stay... I'll check." She said simply accompanied by a series of hand movements, exiting the bunk.

Once outside, she thought about where Kasey might've went. Looking down the hallway, she began moving, coming up to a sign listing rooms at the T-Section of the path. Her eyes narrowed, scanning the possible choices before settling on the smoke room, tapping her finger on the smooth, engraved metal sign.

Kasey sat by the corner of the smoke room, it wasn't very busy around this time, privacy to try and comprehend the gravity of the situation. Isaiah might very well be dead, his own brother, his family might be fully gone now. Hand shaking, he reached for the pack of cigarettes in his pocket. Opening the cover, he peered in, a lighter and five sticks. He took one and tried to ignite the lighter, the sparks were dim, no dice, the lighter fluid was low for sometime.

"Damn..." Kasey muttered, chucking the empty lighter aside, sliding to the edge of the smoke room.

Just as he was going to keep the cigarette away, an olive-toned arm came into view, holding a lighter lit with a small jet of blue flames. Kasey looked up in surprise to see Ramiel, her eyes gentle but carrying that same stoic expression. He didn't say a word, bringing the end of his stick to her lighter, the smell of tobacco present before he took his first huff. Ramiel made herself cosy, sitting next to him before lighting her own cigarette.

"Talk?" She asked, taking a long puff of her stick, looking to Kasey before staring out at the small observation display by the wall.

"... Santa Havalla... My brother was staying there... He moved out from Earth a few years after the Second War. His name was Isaiah... Just a few years older than me. He inspired me to... Join the first wave of conscripts, fighting the good fight he said. I was a kid still... Sixteen-years-old and I thought I could play soldier." Kasey chuckled, recalling his enthusiasm before taking another drag. Ramiel leaned in, showing she was listening intently still.

"Fucked me up for years but... Isaiah made sure that my service was as comfortable as he could make it... Made sure I was always assigned with him. Not like there was much of a choice, mom and dad died during the attacks on Earth, so he took responsibility. We were on Earth... Luna... Venus... Europa... And Titan." Kasey took a longer drag, recalling his service around the system, he remembered a scene on Titan, smirking to himself.

"I remember it, we were by a Methane Lake, and he pointed out to an upstart colony, a small city and he said, 'After this war's over, you and me, we'll move here to the frontier. New life, a fresh start.' It was a nice thought... Though, after the war, he left the military, I... I couldn't. I wasn't done with it I guess. He left for Titan, said he immigrated to Santa Havalla. That was six years ago... I heard he finally got married and had a kid... Named him, Case, creative right?" Kasey snickered, shooting Ramiel a look of sarcasm.

Ramiel tried to hold her blank expression, but a small smirk curled up on her lips, shaking her head. She sighed before taking another drag, looking out at the view once more. She seemed to have something on her mind as well.

"Lost my Sister... Venus... Union bombing campaign. Parents died during the invasion... Dad fought a Union soldier for his weapon... Mom... Shielded me from gunfire... Bullet scars, still have them." Ramiel spoke, each word carrying heavy hesitance.

Going to the zipper of her top, it rattled down to her chest, enough to slip out an exposed shoulder. On it were two scars, from what she was insinuating, the bullets tore through her mother, still hitting Ramiel but limiting the damage. Kasey looked remorseful, not expecting the heart-to-heart with Ramiel of all people but he was grateful.

Ramiel slowly took Kasey's free hand, surprising him before bringing it to feel the scars. "We... Lost people we love too. You're not the only one... I'll carry your burden... You do the same for mine." Ramiel said, looking up into his eyes. Kasey nodded, giving her scars a gentle feel.

Not long after, both Kasey and Ramiel came back to their bunks, seeing Zayed, Jun and Weaver playing cards. The three looked at the pair, wondering what happened, Ramiel just shrugged it off, heading to her bunk. Though for a split moment, Kasey saw the wink she shot him, causing him to feel rather warm.

The next day, all SRU squads were called in for a general meeting. Admiral Zhang making an announcement to the entire compound, gathering at the main speaking hall. Sabre Squad and the other Specialist Response Units sat at their arranged columns, waiting for the Admiral to begin his speech. The other military compounds within the Mars Coalition Zone were streaming in from holo-displays, answering the Admiral's summons.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. As you may have heard from the news yesterday evening, we have suffered great losses on Titan. This attack of unknown and unparalleled magnitude costed the lives of 160,000 brave soldiers and civilians. That number is still rising at this time. Furthermore, 3,000,000 were injured. Mostly civilians who were trapped under the fallen domes. As such, the Coalition Armed Forces as well as the Federation Defence Forces are announcing closer diplomatic and military cooperation to overcome the current situation. Mobilisation is already underway." Zhang began, going over the preliminary reports of the situation on Titan.

Kasey stared in awe of the Admiral's words, his professionalism and reserved nature emminating himself even greater. He was the voice of the CAF on Mars. If anyone knew what do to, it would be this man of legend.

"The roots are indeed obvious that the Union were involved and instigated the battle. Ship wreckages show several Union navy vessels among the cluttered remains of hired pirates. Last I checked the Union held zero military presence on Titan. This is why I'm moving up to a DefCon-2. To all compounds, stand your ground. Information will be relayed in due time. Why so? Because intelligence suggests that internal threats are present... More information will be given in due time. Für Die Coalition!"

As soon as excerpt Coalition pledge was mentioned, a patriotic hoorah was yelled out. They were all proud and confident after hearing Zhang's words, but also questioned the fact that there were internal threats present. Kasey gestured towards Sabre Squad as they left with him, walking out of the hall. They were planning to take a few practice rounds with Spear Squad, mounting the combat jeeps for moving target training. However, they were halted by the Admiral himself. "Sabre Squad, Attention!" He called out to them.

Kasey stopped in his tracks and so did the rest of them. They gave him a sturdy salute before being told to stand at ease. The Admiral walked and paced along them several times before saying, "I was told by Captain Daniels. You've impressed me truly, and know that I'm a hard person to please. When the time comes, if it comes. I'm entrusting you to the most crucial missions, pivotal operations that could make or break the war effort."

"It would be our honor, Admiral."Kasey said as the rest nodded in agreement. The Admiral gave a soft grin in response, placing his hand on the First Sergeant's shoulder. He soon reeled it back before letting Kasey and the rest go on about their day.