I bolt awake, a thin film of sweat covering my body as my breath comes out in ragged gasps. As I stare into the dim darkness of my room, I slow my breathing, fighting to gain control.

  It’s just a dream. It’s just a dream.

  I sit in the darkness for a moment till my breath returns to its regular rhythm. As soon as it does, I rise from bed and check the time to see that it is a few minutes before what has become my usual wake-up time of 05:00. Lowering myself to the ground, I try to drive the nightmare from my mind through exercise, running through as many drills as I can till my alarm goes off.

  After turning it off, I return to my usual exercises before stumbling to the shower. With the nightmares successfully chased away by my exhaustion and the freezing water, I return to my room. Carefully, I put on my flight uniform, checking myself twice in the mirror before heading over to the mess for a small meal. I grab my food and sit in silence as a few others trickle into the mess hall, mainly looking to be part of the bay crews.

  As soon as I finish my food, I head to the sims, walking right into Reese-Cato and her squad.

  “Oh, Morning Kizashi. Fancy running into you,” She says, chuckling as I jump back to avoid rushing into her and barely keep myself on my feet. ”Surprised to see you coming here late, used to running into you the other way around. Did you get pre-battle jitters or something?” She teases.

  “No. I just felt that it would be better for me to make sure I ate before doing my drills. Didn’t want to be caught up in a situation where I didn’t have anything in me before heading out to battle.”

  “Well, the operation time is 12:00, so that shouldn’t be too much of a concern, but if it helps you,” she shrugs. “Anyway, you think you and your squad are good for today’s mission?”

  “Yes, we should be able to complete the mission without any issues,” I reply, taking a deep breath.

  “Hopefully, that’s the case,” she sighs. “I honestly can’t believe that Wally is this stubborn. But what can one do? Anyway, I need to get some food myself. See you when it’s time to launch.”

  With her piece said, Reese-Cato and her squad walk off, leaving the room to me. Slowly, I make my way over to the sims, feeling my stomach churn as I do so. Forcing myself to endure it, I slide into the sim and allow the suffocating darkness to surround me.

  I take a few seconds to calm down, slowly counting each breath until my heart manages to calm down. Once I am in control of myself again, I allow myself to fade into the start-up process.

  After around 100 practice runs, I consider trying a practice raid. However, as my fingers prepare to input the information into the sim, a vision of a machine bursting into flames before crashing into the moon flashes into my mind. Immediately, my stomach revolts against me, and it's all I can do to keep its contents within me. I rush out of the machine and into the hall, earning more than a few looks from the other pilots in the room as I do so.

  Grabbing onto a wall for support, I try my best to catch my breath, fighting the urge to spill the contents of my stomach all over the pristine metal of the hall. It takes me a few minutes for my stomach to settle, and when I finally feel good to move, I return to my room. Collapsing into my chair, I pull up my combat footage and try to banish the vision of death from my mind by observing the Martians and their tactics.

  “All pilots, head to your bay and prepare for launch. We strike for freedom!”

  The Captain’s cry rings over the calm, pulling me from the footage and calling me to action. Rushing out of my room, I join the rest of the pilots, awkwardly joining them in the lift.

  “I can’t wait to see some action,” one of the others chuckles. “It was nice flying last time, but all we got to do was sink an already doomed ship.”

  “You don’t need to tell me. We barely got a chance to do anything with the Captain and Shutz-Seishoku flying around. This time will be different, though.”

  The others in the lift join in, cheerily chatting as we make our way down. When the lift lets out, I break from the crowd and speed through the halls to the mech bay. As I arrive, I see a flurry of motion, with technicians running all over the hanger.

  At the center of that commotion are the three other Janissaries in the bay and their pilots, including the Lieutenant who harassed Lieutenant Blaustein.

  “You’re telling me there are still issues with my machine!” the Lieutenant shouts, his voice carrying across the bay clearly despite all the noise.

  “Lieutenant, we’ve been working round the clock since we docked,” A tired-looking mechanic replies. “Unfortunately, the thrusters are a rather delicate part of the machine. They are in a workable position, but given the attack and the work we’ve had to do on the other machines, your squads were no longer our top priority. You shouldn’t have any problems though.

  “In fact, as long as you aren’t trying to push your machine and putting too much strain on the thrusters, you shouldn’t even notice the issues. You might have to hang back a little…”

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  “And refuse to participate in this glorious assault!!!”

  “Alright, let me cut you off here before this gets any stupider,” Officer Nasreen says, storming over to the Lieutenant, tablet in hand. “Your thrusters were almost completely shot from the maneuvers you pulled last time. We’ve spent god knows how long trying to repair them after your little stunt, and they are in serviceable condition. If that isn’t good enough for you, then don’t fly. What you won’t be doing is messing around in my bay.”

  She shoots him one final glare before turning to face me, fire fading a bit from her eyes.

  “You. Follow,” she snaps, gesturing me toward my astral gear.

  Obediently, I follow after her, quickly walking past the scene and over to where our machines are. As I make my way over to the machines, I see Officer Nasreen wave to the technicians around Di’Lotta’s machine before turning to look at me.

  “You’re early enough that we haven’t even gotten the fools who are supposed to be launching on the catapult yet,” she sighs, her eyes rolling as she glances back over at the Lieutenant, still exchanging words with the technician. “Thanks for not being another idiot like him, by the way.”

  “Thank you?”

  “You’re welcome. Now, as I told you yesterday, your machine should be good to fly. Just watch your thrusters and be smart in purging the M1s. Since that is all I need to talk with you about, you can feel free to go and run your checks in the cockpit. Unless you feel like listening to Prissy Prick over there,” she says, jabbing a thumb over in the direction of the Lieutenant.

  “I will get to my checklist.”

  “Figured,” she replies with a shrug. “Make sure you don’t fall. Be embarrassing to die like that before this big operation.”

  With that, she marches off to join the gaggle of technicians surrounding Di’Lotta’s machine. I quickly turn my eyes to the ladder and begin my ascent. Once I get to the top of the scaffolding, I slowly make my way across, my feet feeling heavy as I stare into the already opened cockpit of my Janissary.

  Taking a deep breath, I force myself to step into the cockpit. I take my seat and take deep breaths as I start to run through the startup process. Soon, my mind fades away into the results of months of practice running through the startup procedure. The first few presses bring the cockpit to life as screens blink on one by one. Loud mechanical whirring fills the cockpit as the starters begin to charge the engines. With my hands busy, the dread and nightmares flooding my head slowly drain away.

  “Ensign Kizashi, Come in!” Officer Nasreen’s voice calls out again. Ringing out through the coms.

  “Yes, Officer Nasreen,” I reply, blinking as I activate the coms.

  “Ensign Kizashi, all systems are green on our end. How are they in the cockpit?”

  “No issues here in the cockpit.”

  “Good to hear. In that case, Squad 3, all pilots are clear to launch. Wolf 4, you have the catapult.”

  “Understood,” Auclair-Stolz’s voice rings out over the coms. Looking through the cameras, I see his machine step through the Mechbay and onto the catapult. The thrusters on the back of this machine roar to life as his machine is launched from the bay into the void.

  “Clear. Wolf 12, you are clear to approach the catapult and prepare for launch,” Officer Nasreen says after a few seconds of silence.

  Di’Lotta doesn’t respond with her words. Instead, his machine silently approaches the catapult. As he mounts the catapult, I see that the legs of his machine show signs of damage, still not properly repaired from the last battle. However, even with that, the launch goes smoothly, flinging the machine into the void.

  “Clear. Wolf 13, you are clear to approach the catapult and prepare for launch.”

  At her voice, I feel the dread rush back in, forming a pit in my stomach. Pushing through the sensation, I place my hands on the control. With weighty, careful steps, I make my way onto the catapult. As I do, I get an alert from the catapult, alerting me to the beginning of the launch procedure.

  Once more, my training kicks in, and I slowly bring my thrusters to life. The dull roar of the thrusters and the hum of the engine fill my ears, letting me know my machine is ready.

  I take one breath and call out my callsign, “Wolf 13.”

  “Launch,” Officer Nasreen replies

  With that, I am held to the back of my seat as my machine is launched into the void. Several tons of metal flung into the abyss in the blink of an eye. Pushing against the force of the launch, I follow procedure, pressing against the throttle and rising up to enter formation with the rest of the squad. Once I take up my position to Auclair-Stolz’s left, we begin diving toward our target.

  The view from the cockpit is vastly different from the photos in the briefing. While Mars looms in the distance, what has been a red dot for most of my life now standing like an angry giant, Phobos rests before me, a massive misshapen hunk. Dominating the lifeless stone is the outpost its command tower and walls standing out against the barren and cratered surface.

  “This is Wolf 3 to Squad 4. Do you copy?”

  “This is Wolf 4. What is it?”

  “Just wanted to make sure. You are still following through with your planned approach.”

  “Of course. Why would we change at this point.”

  “...Understood,” She replies with a sigh. “If you need support, just let me know. I should be in a position to offer it when the time comes.”

  “Understood,” Auclair-Stolz curtly replies.

  With that, we continue our approach in silence, the hum of my machine and the roar of the thrusters the only thing breaking through it. As we approach, I take a moment to check over the sensors. On the display, I see the signatures of several Janissaries facing off against the Martian fighters. While the fight is distant enough that I can’t get a proper visual, from what the sensors show, they are holding their own against the Martian forces. I gaze at the distant explosions for a few seconds before focusing on the mission.

  We close in on the uneven moon quickly, slamming into the ground with a terrifying thud that sends a pillar of dust into the air. The impact jolts me around, but my restraints keep me held tightly against my seat. Without any time to right myself, I hear the coms ring to life.

  “Squad 4, Move out!”

  With Auclair-Stolz’s order, his machine charges forward, weapons raised high and thrusters blazing.