[MO-9/O-092/SO-4/C-23, 25:43AMC (I.T.S.T.), Briefing Room, HMS Hyperion]

The briefing room was dimly lit by the blue light of the holograms being projected by the central war table. Displayed were battle reports from the frontlines of the Second Icarian-Orion War. Surrounding the table were six figures. Three of them were present in the form of holograms, as to account for their physical absence. Two of them, on the other hand, were inside the room itself, with the last person being a hologram of the ship's AI.

"With Terrax now in the hands of the Orion League, their main fleet can now pass through the border defenses," started General Kenn. "We've evacuated as many of our troops as we could, and we're currently preparing to launch a counter attack, but the best that would do based on calculations is delay their advance towards Icaria Prime by a week or two. We were going to meet up with General Maxston and his troops, but unfortunately he…" Kenn slumped in his chair, still grieving over the death of General Maxston. "I-I'm sorry, I need a moment. Obii, could you give your report?" he asked.

"Of course, my friend," responded General Obii. He stood up from his chair and began his status report. "Though we were able to force the League's troops to retreat, we are left severely depleted of men and resources. I doubt that they'd pass up the opportunity to strike while we're vulnerable. Operator Z and I were planning to request for a supply drop from Acquisition Outpost CI-7, but with the distance between Ios and the outpost, that's pretty much out of the question."

"Indeed," said Chief acquisitions Officer Malek of Outpost CI-7. "All of our warp drive ships are either in repair or stationed in other sectors, and our hyperdrive ships are still not enough to cover the distance between Ios and the outpost. In the best case scenario, we'd arrive there just as the OL is about to begin their next assault. In the worst case scenario…" Malek gulped and tugged on his collar.

"You're already dead."

"Well, what say you, our prince? What's our next course of action?" General Kenn asked one of the men in the room. He stood at 6'5 with a muscular build, an ivory skin tone, a yellow right eye and a blue cybernetic left eye, and mid-length chestnut hair. In terms of attire, he was wearing a white dress shirt, an Icarian naval uniform consisting of a custom coat with gold accents, epaulettes, navy blue pants, and black military boots. The Crown Prince of Icaria and Captain of the HMS Hyperion, Verigan Aekarios XIII.

The prince was silent, rubbing his forehead and squinting his eyes as he gazed at all of the battle reports. Silence fell over the briefing room as he strategized. After a short while, he took a deep breath and spoke up.

"General Kenn, bolster your forces and prepare for your counterattack," said Verigan, with the general saluting in gratitude and disconnecting from the emergency meeting. He then turned to Kenn. "General Obii, send out the order to your troops to evacuate Ios now."

"What?! But sir, if we lose Ios, we'll lose the data vault! I have orders from Major General Forbus to—"

"I'm not letting you and your men fight a hopeless battle," the prince interrupted Obii mid-sentence. "You've already lost too much. I'll take care of Forbus for you. So please, for you and your men's sakes, pull back from Ios. We can worry about the data vault later. For now, we need to prioritize the lives of our troops."

"But I…" General Obii took a moment to contemplate Verigan's words. He sighed, bowing his head in shame for trying to protest his prince's command. "I understand, sir. I will send out the evacuation order now. Rest assured, every last soldier on Ios will make it off of the planet. Over and out." He saluted before disconnecting from the call.

Verigan sighed as he sat down on a chair, rubbing his temples as he tried to ease his headache. As the prince continued strategizing, the other man in the room spoke up.

"Having trouble, nephew?" asked another man with concern in his voice. The man was 6'10 and had a muscular build, a porcelain skin tone, short cut black hair with a short boxed beard, two red eyes with one being cybernetic, and metallic plating for the upper right portion of his skull. He was wearing a light gray dress shirt tucked into some gray cargo pants with a belt with a sword holster, a black military tunic with red and silver accents, and a duster with the same color scheme as his overcoat. The Supreme Commander of the UNE Army, Yuri Demkov.

"Yup. You can say that..." responded Verigan as he continued swiping through the frontline reports. "The damn NEP's got us on the ropes. They're already giving us a lot of trouble with the recent assaults on the in the Beta System. Veridia is still missing from her last battle too. Not to mention Albus is still in the hospital after his incident. And with the rest of the military spread so thinly across the galaxy, requesting for reinforcements would just create another weak spot for the League to puncture," He sighed in frustration. "I… I don't think I'm cut out for this after all, uncle Demkov."

"Not cut out?! Oh, that's uther nonsense! Complete and utter nonsense!" shouted Demkov. He couldn't just tolerate his own nephew speaking of himself so lowly. "You're more than cut out for this war, Verigan! I dare even say that fighting a war like this is beyond you!" He sat down on the chair next to Verigan and patted his back in reassurance. "Look, I'm going to be straightforward with you. While you may not be the greatest strategic mind out of all of the captains I've worked with over the years, nor the most levelheaded or tactical, there's something you have that not even your father can match. You know what that is?"

Verigan pondered this and responded.

"I don't know. The typical crackheadness that the twelve Verigans of the past before me are known for having? My roguishly handsome face?" he quipped. The two chuckled before Demkov continued.

"Well, yeah. You've got those in spades. But that's not what I'm talking about. What you have is the will and determination to fight." Demkov smiled as he continued his pep talk. "Even in our darkest of hours, you see to it that we always emerge victorious. I'm serious when I say that not even Karpath's determination is as great as yours. And I was a live witness of it during the First Icarian-Orion War." He chuckled at his own statement.

"Look. You're a beacon of hope for us. Your determination is an inspiration to everyone on this ship and everyone across the galaxy to keep pushing forward in spite of nigh-impossible odds! Keep that in mind when you're ever doubting yourself, okay?"

"Heh. Thanks for saying that, uncle Demkov. I… needed to hear that," Verigan said with a smile, feeling heartened once more. He stood up and continued looking through the frontline reports. "But right now, we need a new strategy. League's got us on the ropes. We've got to get our footing back."

"Of course." Demkov joined him on the central table, looking through some of the battle reports from the United Nations of Earth's side of the war. "As much as I'd like to lend you some of my own reinforcements, the UNE's troops are also spread thin, and my personal squad is too busy leading them to help us personally. Hmm…" He rubbed his chin, trying to come up with something.

As Verigan and Demkov continued looking through the battle reports, the holographic girl reappeared on the other side of the table. She stood at 5'8 with a slender build, an ivory skin tone, long azure hair, and azure eyes. She was wearing formal business attire and some glasses. Oracle-class AI of the HMS Hyperion and the Aekarios Royal Family's royal secretary, Delphi McGregor.

"Well, if you two don't mind me interrupting your brainstorming, I think I might have just the solution to our situation." said Delphi as she adjusted her hair into a low ponytail.

"Well, I'm open to pretty much any suggestions you've got," replied Verigan, "so show us what you've got, Delphi."

"Of course." She accessed a database from the central war table and displayed some backgrounds on two individuals. "With our troops spread so thinly, the League's not going to waste the opportunity to send in their big guns to overwhelm us. I don't know about you, but I think it's time we started bringing in some specialists from outside our ranks. Take a look."

The first man had a pale skin tone, blonde locks of shoulder-length hair, and was 6'2 in height. He was sporting a grey hunter's long coat with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, various pieces of protective gear strapped on, all worn over a black flight suit, and black combat boots.

The second man's skin tone was slightly more tan in comparison, with hair as red as fire loosely tied up in a high ponytail, and he measured in at about six feet exact. He wore a brown pilot's jacket over a white long sleeve shirt, a pair of grey cargo pants, and a pair of dark khaki cargo boots.

"Commander Demkov, I take it you remember this person," said Delphi as she pointed to the blonde man in the coat. The commander smiled as he recognized him.

"I recognize that face anywhere," muttered Demkov. "Geargrinder's still in the bounty business, huh?"

"You know him?" asked Verigan as he turned to face Demkov.

"Indeed. A fellow comrade that I met through your godfather Vitkor. I fought alongside him during the First Icarian-Orion War," replied Demkov. "One hell of a fighter, I must tell you. Man really knows how to make a mess of the enemy's day, as well as the enemy. Been quite a while since I last saw him." He turned to the man with flaming red hair and squinted his eyes. "However, I don't really recognize this man. But I can't help but get an oddly familiar aura of adventure and misfortune from him..."

"Well, maybe his family records will clear things up for you." Delphi brought up some records of the man's lineage. Demkov's eyes widen even more when he came to realize who he was.

"Tsarina almighty!" he exclaimed as he rubbed his prosthetic eye to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "Well, looks like Robert and Annie got a little busy." He chuckled. "Ryan Thatch. Say, wasn't he a colleague of yours back in Mistral, Veri?" he asked Verigan.

"I did, actually," the prince laughed at the memories of his time in Mistral Academy. "Man's shenanigans resulted in some… interesting experiences. But hey, they made our time in Mistral all the more fun."

"Yeah, I still have some recordings of your shenanigans there. Anyways, moving on." Delphi displayed records of the two's many accomplishments and battles.

"These two are some of the best fighters in the galaxy. They've both got some rather impressive records on hand, especially in the Sigma Sector and in the outer regions of Kyklos. Ryan in particular is famous for his deeds in aiding the Aurek Squadron in their battle against the Cahrystan Empire in the Beta Sector of Kyklos. And Nicholas' century-and-a-half bounty hunting record speaks for itself. And with our close relations to them, it'd be pretty easy to get them on board with us."

"Hm. Having these two on our side would really change the tide of war in our favor. But of course, this is your call to make, comrade," said Demkov as he turned to Verigan. "So, what's your call?"

Verigan thought about this for a good while. Such skilled warriors would definitely be useful in their current situation and in the future, and with their personal connections to the two, getting them onboard would take no effort whatsoever. Having made his choice, he turned to Delphi.

"Can you get them to meet us on Icaria Prime, Del?" asked Verigan

"I'll send them emails this instant," she said as she got to work on the emails. "In the meantime, I suggest we make course for Icaria as our meeting port."

"Well said, comrade. Let's go, Verigan." Demkov and Verigan left the briefing room and took a cart to the ship bridge.

"Set course for Icaria Prime. We're going to meet some new friends," the prince ordered as he arrived on the bridge. The bridge crew got to work, preparing their ship, the HMS Hyperion, for warp.

"This is Bridge Officer Calaghan to all personnel onboard. Setting course for Icaria Prime," reported the bridge officer over the intercom. "Entering warpspace in t-minus fifteen. Fourteen. Thirteen…"

"You think this will work?" Verigan asked Demkov.

"I'm sure it will. We need all the help we can get," replied Demkov. "Why do you ask?"

"I just hope that this whole damn thing blows over eventually. It's been exhausting…"

"Yeah. It has. But don't fret, comrade. It'll be over soon." Demkov put his hand on Verigan's shoulder. "And once it is, we can all leave this whole fiasco behind and carry on with our normal lives."

The prince smiled at the thought of a peaceful future. And he would do everything he can to ensure that future. No matter the cost.

"Yeah. I'll keep that in mind." He turned his attention back to the bridge. "But for now, we've got a mission to do."

"Engaging warp drive." Calaghan pulled the lever, sending the Hyperion into warp space and to Icaria Prime.

And so begins the epic journey to fight the rising darkness...