...a war.
Eternally.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ren Yallenteno, with a gentle hand clapped his journal shut. Eyes fixing on its hardened synthetic-leather cover.

Books.

A simple and ancient technology, that nevertheless stands the test of reliability. Powerless, cheap, and homely.

More genuine and refined.

Or maybe his eyes needed a break from electronic screens. Yet again something the Future haven't solved well.

Even if his handwriting was as shoddy as his curled nest of hair he enjoyed writing.
Both, short and uncontrolled in a simple fashion.

Responding to the voice that had called him, he raised his head and queried at volume to the world, "Yes?"

As his lifted head waited for a reply, his fingers slowly let the carbon pencil roll from his hand. The dark-navy edges bouncing down across the wooden table top.

He leaned back in an ancient armchair.
Tough, rough, dirty. By all means a relic of the old days.

His mother and father had told him that they had worked as Equipment Merchants, sailing across the galaxy on Vectored Propulsion. Seeing a great many places that all looked the same.

They ended here, because it was the last stop on their last pickup. They had arrived, never finding the man they were looking for. But the beauty of Taraven had taken their hearts.

So here they stayed.
On the southern cultivation-hills of the city of Gersanto.

Which rested in the Amarosa Valley.
A peaceful beauty of a city, stretching 20km in all directions.

Hard footsteps approach his study, soft shoes on old wooden floors.
Fast, desperate footsteps.

Ren began to stand himself up from his desk. His eyes passing across his studyroom as he did so, scanning across a large navy-blue and flaming orange banner that hung across from him.

The symbol upon it, was like two 4's back to back.

The Last Stand's emblem.
"Ever Stand"

He pulled his eyes away from it and turned towards the city, wishing to glimpse the vista.
Out from his first-story study room, across the cultivation hills down onto Gersanto.

The sprawling city. Cleanly architectured structures, painted in pleasing colours. Warm white, soft orange, pale green. Harsh grey...

Harsh grey?

Through the door to his left burst a slightly older, young woman. His sister.

Elana Yallenteno.

She spoke faster than his eyes could turn.
"Ren! Father's calling you down. There's a Naval fleet arriving overhead..."

His eyes widened to the size of oceans.
Unfathomable excitement gripped him, incomprehensible shock.

He looked out again.

He saw it.

A vast shadow eclipsed the city. Each building coated in a dark grey that blocked almost every colour from sight.

With an expression that denied classification. He turned on the balls of his feet, and began to run, swinging through his door way, practically flying.

What breath stayed in his lungs were used to cry,

"The hero's of the galaxy? HERE?"

He sprinted through the planked central hallways of the rustic wooden house, leaping over a black dog that slept peacefully. The loud thumping of his run like drums of anticipation.

He soared into the wide lounge, populated by an array of furniture, and out onto the dark-wooden front deck.

His father, a thin yet strong built well shaved man, stood one hand on the wooden rail that encompassed the deck, face a mask of deep ashen concern, his eyes gazing out across the fields of corn and wheat, down the valley, and finally arriving at the City of Gersanto.

A huge shadow covering the entire place.

Ren's family cottage was far outside the city boundaries. Over the stretching Cultivation-Lands, and resting atop a small hill just short of the lush forests that stretched onto the furthest mountains. His parents had picked the spot, it gave a glorious view of the city, and the landscape.

The city itself, had lost its glow. Towering structures, glossy buildings, green, soft orange, white. The city was ablaze with colours. Though the afternoons light was still blocked.

Looking up, finally Ren saw the source of the shadow.

He saw the fabled ships of the galaxy's protectors.

Huge, stretching for kilometers through the sky.
A gigantic Last Stand Navy battlecraft.
A single dreadnought poised at the very center of the city. Covering the entire metro just by itself. Several smaller vessels lending a hand to the shadow on both flanks, following it in a formation that centered view on the grand dreadnought.

An Orion class battlecraft... a Ferolder.

Ren, overcome with amazement, simply allowed his jaw to fall and only gawk at the sight in front of him.

Elana jogged up behind Ren, and slipped past him to join her parents.

The vast vessels were smooth and aerodynamic.
Even though space was frictionless it seemed the engineers had spared no expense in the looks department. 

Stripes of bright flaming orange ran down the dark navy hulls, lines of contrasting colour with the deep blue base of the ships plating.

Blue and Orange were the two colours of the Last Stand Navy.

The craft were magnificent, and powerful. The grandest of which seemed to stretch through the sky for an infinity. The grand orion-class dreadnought. Flanked by two craft half its length and width.

Those, flanked by craft half their width.
The scale drop stopping there, the rest of the fleets ships all massive, yet still miniscule in comparison.

Slowly, each step heavy with shock as he attempted to take the scene in, he stumbled up to the side of his father.

Ren's mother, a small and fit women only in her 47s though physically identical to her 20s, sat in a small white deck chair, beside her husband gripping one of his hands fiercely. He gripped back.

"This isn't good..." Martek began, "What are they planning..." He looked down to his wife. "Beth?"
She looked up at him, soft blue eyes offering a comfort. Smile speaking of little fear. Regardless of what her grip showed.

Gasping, Ren said "They're here..."

"I know son... it's... stupefying." Martek exhaled, and cleared his throat, "But..."

"What?"

"Why on Taraven would they bring that huge fleet here of all places... It doesn't add up my boy."

"Sure it does! They're here to demonstrate their might, to renew our trust. What hero wouldn't want to show off a bit to the very people they're protecting? They just want to show us that they're still capable!" Ren paused, thinking how childish he sounded. 

Then, reconsidering the facts, he said, "There are few other reasonable options."

His father gave him a side glance, and turned to his sister saying, "Elana, what do you think my girl?"

She looked over to her father, her blond hair catching the sun, eyes deep with focus,
"I... I really don't know dad. It is ridiculous that they'd bring a force this huge to bear for something so basic as an 'air show' as Ren might put it."

"Oi! They are heroes of the cosmos! I'm sure they're entitled. Anyway. The only other..."
Ren froze as he realised the second... the worst, option.

His father seemed to get the message, "I know... it terrifies me too..."

"B. B. B. But they can't!!!"
Ren blurted out, waving his hands for emphasis, 

"What level of horrid monster would do that level of debased debauchery to this little nation?
I mean. It's not like we're a pirate colony, or a Zorzackien hive!
This isn't any wretched conglomeration of scum and villainy!"

His sister's face turned pale as she too caught the memo their father was trying to push their way. Their mother said nothing. Simply closing her eyes and breathing deeply.

They all watched the city. Desperate for some sort of development.

Their eyes widened. Horror gripped their faces. A bright glow engulfed their view.
As one by one, the LSN... the protectors of the galaxy... the fabled heroes...

Began to...

The sky was lit up with colour. The horizon, fitted with burning red.

Unanimously, the family began to scream in horror.

As the mighty LSN cruisers began to rain hellfire down upon the innocent sleepy city.
The sight... gut wrenching.

Ren, eyes welling up with tears, vaulted over the railing, his father trying to catch him by the sleeve. He ran, sprinting through the fields of crops full of rage and anger, stalks whipping him has he dashed towards the burning city. Soot now rising from the roaring flames. The sound of screaming traveling with the wind. Blood staining the streets. Even from this distance. The piles of bodies were unmistakable.

He crumpled to his knees at the edge of a small terraced hill, staring, uncontrollable sobs wracking his body, tears streaming down his cheeks...