[Starhawk]

2426.6
The third fleet entered Icara’s orbit as triumphant heroes, thousands of pleasure yachts and small craft darted about as tens of thousands of people rushed to see the magnificent site of their glorious warships and their righteous crews returned home from their holy crusade to liberate worlds from the vile clutches of Xeno’s of a most foul nature, nearly two dozen worlds were “purified” by the “holy fire” from the fleets of Icara and with those worlds millions and billions died freeing up those worlds for eventual colonization by humans, the true masters of the galaxy.
For the warriors of the 3rd fleet it was a time of celebration not because of their triumphant return, nor because of the glorious parades and parties held in their honor, no to the vast bulk of returning soldiers the celebration was in the simple warmth of Icara’s nights, the cool soothing breezes from the oceans, and the laughter of children, they were finally home after twenty five years of war and struggle in space, some had left home when they were but twelve and returned to home as thirty year old plus men, tired from a lifetime of endless war aboard the vast metal leviathans that were the warships of the Royal Navy.
For William Ross and his young wife Yu Lin the celebration happened in private, they stayed away from the parties and the parades and the endless banter from reporters and admiring citizens, they hid away in a cabin that had once belonged to her father enjoying each other’s company and inviting only a few friends over for simple gatherings and dinners were no reporters clacked away with holovid cameras or constantly jabbered in their ears, waiting for a famous quote for the history books.

Little could the celebrating population of the Icaran empire suspect that a threat more harrowing then Xeno’s more devious then the Andorans and darker then the heretical cults that were being suppressed by the SS. A threat that silently spread to the world named Valhalla, people vanished one day and appeared the next but they were changed somehow, distant, quiet and some would say hollow, the authorities searched for a cause but none could be found, days went by and eventually the entire world seemed to be distancing it’s self from the neighboring worlds and systems of the empire, the local governor began sending only vague reports from his world, more and more citizens began to become fearful that whatever was happening on Valhalla would spread to their worlds, but no one wanted to inform the military for fears that they would make an ere in judgment and face the wrath of an angry military commander should their fears prove baseless so instead the governors in that system remained silent and watched to see what would happen later…..something that would soon prove a most dangerous mistake.