$W ORS $W Headquarters
$W Valhalla $W Station
$W High $W Orbit $W above $W Europa

$W 15th $W December $W 2367 
$W 6 $W hours $W after $W the $W Battle $W of $W Earth

$B Squadmaster $B Vance $B Harper: Kiddo?

$G Wingmaster $G Thomas $G 'Spark' $G Gibson: What? What the hell do you want?

$B Harper: Just checkin' out how you were holdin' up, kid. I hope you're not drinkin' alone or anything like that...

$G Spark: I'm fine, boss. It's just...I want to be alone right now, okay? Don't worry yourself too much. In my state, vodka is the very last thing I want.

$B Harper: Okay. You know, Spark... We've all lost someone. I've been through it many times myself. You aren't alone in--

$G Spark: But you never lost someone like Rosie!

$B Harper: I know the two of you were close. One day, we'll avenge her and the Damascus and all our people who died fightin' out there. But that day ain't today.

$G Spark: Revenge won't bring her back. I kept telling her that once we defeated the Federates, we would quit the fleet together and see all those beautiful, Inner Rim worlds up close, not just from the inside of a fighter's cockpit. I made her a promise that I'd take her to Earth when it was no longer dangerous. She lived by that promise.... She felt deep in her heart that Earth was her true home. But now, she's gone. 

$B Harper: We tried. All of us did. Sometimes, the best we can do is just not enough. Don't go blamin' yourself for what happened, kiddo. Try to sleep a little when you can. Everybody needs to rest at some point.

$G Spark: Whenever I close my eyes, I can still see her face. She's screaming and disappearing into a ball of fire right in front of me. I still see the Damascus being torn apart by the beams of the Sathanas.... I even still have her nameplate, you know? "Rosalinde van der Heuten", printed in gold letters. I never placed it on the KIA board. 

$Y Flightmaster $Y Ghadir $Y Al-Churi: Don't lose your mind in grief, my friend. Your mate is with Allah in a different realm that is far better than our own. Have faith in that knowledge. Perhaps one day, when your time in this life is over, you will be reunited with her in the next one.

$V Flightmaster $V Lidiya $V 'Black $V Widow' $V Tarabein: You'd better pull yourself together, Thomas. We're at war: not everyone we love makes it back alive. We've all lost someone dear to our hearts for whom we'll always mourn and dream about. I see John's face whenever I close my eyes. And you know what else? I see his face every time I shoot down a Shivan. It's a constant reminder to myself about why I'm still alive and doing my part.

$G Spark: Al-Churi...Widow...I'm sorry. I know I should calm down and I will. You have my word on that. Since we're all here, does anyone know if we have any new assignments?

$V Black $V Widow: Well, the briefing should've started 20 minutes ago so I can only assume it must be a hellish mess out there. It seems like we underestimated the impact that the fall of Earth would have on Valhalla Command after 30 years of warfare with the EFN. Nobody could have predicted that the Shivans would advance through us so quickly. The EFN fell in merely a matter of hours. Our situation here is only marginally better. 

$G Spark: Nothing could've prepared us for this. These Sathanas juggernauts...just one of them was enough to destroy the Damascus with a single volley from its primary beam cannons. To think that the Shivans have an entire fleet of them....

$Y Al-Churi: Squadmaster Harper, allow me to be the one to say that we believe in your leadership. There is a lot more that could be said but when it comes to combat, no man could ever inspire us any better. I would think that out of all of us gathered here, you would have a better understanding about what's going on. So, tell us...what exactly is happening here on the Valhalla?

$B Harper: Alright then...boys and girls, I'm not gonna lie to you. Our situation is much worse than I thought. We lost Earth, ended up here in the middle of this fuckin' mess and there doesn't seem to be even a single person on this station who can give us our fuckin' orders! It could get much worse for us in the days ahead. But despite all that, I want you to remember this: no matter how bad it is out there, we can't give up hope. Earth might only be a memory now but this war is not over. At least not for those of us here in the Syndicate. 

$V Black $V Widow: What are we going to do, sir? We have nowhere else to go and the Shivans are bombarding all our inhabited planets. They will be hunting us down until every single last Terran is dead. The Valhalla might be safe right now, but how long will that last?

$B Harper: I haven't the faintest idea. Unlike the Federation, the Syndicate was never too dependent on planets. When the Federates bombed our worlds, we moved our entire industry into space, replenished our losses and struck an equally harsh blow in return. I believe that we could do the same all over again, you know? Hide, gather up survivors, regroup...and fight back. 

$V Black $V Widow: That's ridiculous! How could we possibly resist the Shivans in such a way? How long could we even last?!

$B Harper: I don't know! I don't fuckin' know, dammit! As ridiculous as it may sound, it's all we've got left: Fight, resist, obey orders and strike back against the motherfuckers with everything we've got!

$G Spark: Harper's right. Our morale may be low and things are falling apart around us but we're still alive. I mean, look at us! Here we are: breathing, walking, talking...and fighting. Whatever kind of life or existence might be in store for us, hear me when I say this: As long as I'm still in one piece, I'll keep fighting. 

$B Harper: That's the spirit, kid! You see him, Lidiya? This is the Spark I remember. We all know that there is a time for mourning but he never forgets about what comes before that or what is most important. 

$V Black $V Widow: Yes, sir. You're right and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--

$B Harper: You didn't mean to, but you did. I don't think there's any point arguin' about it now. You really wanna know what's going on around Valhalla? I might not have the details but I know for certain that we're not giving up without a fight. Valhalla Command is not your 'fight till the end' kind of people. They're workin' on something massive; large enough for them to have ordered our fleet's withdrawal from Earth. I even heard they've pulled together survivors who managed to make it out of there. Unsure as I am about what they're up to, it had better be something good. They oughta hurry up about it too. The Shivans won't be givin' us much time before they start turnin' up on our doorstep. 

$V Black $V Widow: Whatever happens, there is one thing I know: Sooner or later, we will be making our last stand and it is going to happen right here in the Outer Rim. 

$W Valhalla $W TacCom: Attention! All remaining pilots are requested in the briefing room pronto! Shivan forces are approaching Valhalla Station. This is not a drill! I repeat, all remaining pilots to the briefing room ASAP! 

$B Harper: Finally! I knew they weren't gonna let us rot away in all this space junk. Alright ladies, get your asses to the briefing room! It looks like we might be finally receivin' new orders after all.... 
