[Suicide Junkie]

<Photo-album style Flashback sequence>
-A shadowy figure on vidscreens across the tri-system, warning the populace of war.

-Grainy images of a large arrowhead-shaped ship emerging from a wormhole on news channels.

-Busy workers rushing to pour armor molds around a bunker and missile pit.

-Orange streamers flowing behind two great destroyers as they leave orbit of the homeworld.

-A warppoint opens, the electronically distorted voice of a Phantom Captain rumbling through space.

-The intruding ship turning and fleeing back through the warppoint, the destroyers in pursuit.

-Two dark ships sailing insystem, crossing the orbit of a planet.

-Two flashes of light from the dark side of the planet as the dark destroyers sail silently past.

-A battle: Two torpedoes silently slide towards the trailing destroyer.

-A fireball smearing itself around an invisible barrier, a half-second before another erupted on the surface of the ship.

-Turrets swivelling, and a rain of green teardrops flowing from the destroyers to splash against the shield of the enemy ship.

-Torpedoes slipping in, two fireballs erupting on the wings of the damaged destroyer, and the battered hulk tumbling away, sparkling drops of fiery liquid metal spewing into space.

-The remaining destroyer closing in, small puffs of plasma beginning to appear on the Arrowhead's hull.

-Through the silent storm, two more sleek metal tubes. The destroyer shuddering from a direct hit through the shields, but continuing to fire.

-Hull breaches glowing a dull orange polka dot pattern across the hull of the enemy vessel; it is beginning to lose attitude control, but holds together.

-Running out of time, the destroyer's drives glow on overload, as it makes one Last burst of speed towards the enemy.

-Firing at it dives, the destroyer has rolled over.

-The destroyer's port wingtip vanishing in a flash of light.

-The enemy vessel spinning itself into a glowing mass of shrapnel, while the starboard half of the destroyer drifts away, spinning.

-Darkness

-In the light from burning equipment, an old officer returns to consciousness, pinned against a wall, while another struggles to stand from the ceiling in order to reach down to the navigation console. Bodies surround them, pasted against the bulkheads by centrifugal force.
...
</flashback>

The old officer stands at a podium, with the younger officer from the ship to his right, and two others behind him. They are being viewed on an enourmous screen by a thousand soldiers.

"Fortunately, we were drifting towards the wormhole at that point, and it only took a month for the repair ship to reach us. After sealing the smaller hull breaches and restoring atmosphere to most of the remains of the ship, the repair crews proceeded to check for survivors on our sister ship. We were about to pass through the wormhole when they arrived, but remained long enough to hear what happened next: the rescue ship found one of the survivors firing shots into space...
... the instant the repair ship tried to dock, they were jumped by a pair of Arrowheads...
... he was trying to warn them, not be rescued..."

The old officer steps back, shaken by the memory, and motions the younger officer to continue for him.

"The destroyer escorting the repair ship was burning badly after the initial volley of torpedoes... they only got off a handful of shots before they were incinerated. The repair ship was about to ram one of the Arrowheads when we lost contact...
Me and Admiral Dey were far enough ahead to escape back to the shipyards at Avior. As reported by the local news, only one Arrowhead followed us through the wormhole before being turned back by the planetary defenses on Scutum IX."

Admiral Dey steps forward again, and the young officer returns to his assigned position.

"Our forces were decimated in the Last attack, but we have learned much since then. Great warships have been constructed, and soldiers have been trained. You are them. The best of the best, the elite Soldiers of the Phantom. You naturally fear nothing, but make no mistake; the road to victory is long and treacherous.

I present to you your guides on that journey: Myself, commanding the Amberjack"
"Captain Holt, commanding the Heron"

Captain Holt steps forward again and nods before returning.

"Captain Ainsworth, commanding the Pomeroy"
"And finally, Commander Myers, commanding my old ship, the rebuilt Baku, which will serve as our repair tender."

The two other officers take a step towards the camera in turn.

"The fleet departs in one hour. Send any personal Messages now, radio silence will be in effect as soon as we leave orbit."

[ 03 February 2002: Message edited by: suicide_junkie ]