Ankara, Several Weeks Ago

  The alarms rang out all across the city as Markus began calling for evacuation. Soon afterward, everyone saw the cause of the distress.

  From the hills, a sky-shaking river of black light thundered out through the atmosphere. Everything shook as it rent the blue firmament in two, streaking up at the large ring that hung high above the city. Akaadia’s Warp Gate, a massive construction of black and chrome metal, was positioned with easy access to its Capital city of Ankara. It was one of only three Gates in the entire system, and it was gargantuan enough to handle nearly half of all the system’s total traffic. Some argued that the Empire should build another Gate near its home planet as a backup, but these voices had been largely ignored. In the 894 years of the Empire’s history, no enemy had managed to attack its home system. No one could justify the enormous expense involved in building a redundant Gate, especially because there were already extra Gates near Tryptar and Polara. The Grand Gate of Akaadia was more than enough to handle all the planet’s needs, and then some.

  And now it was on fire.

  The Annihilation Ray struck the ring’s shields with a powerful flash of light that could be seen all the way from the planet’s surface, the whole construct lighting up with eye-watering power. This held for a split second before the Ray crashed through. It carved a trench through the bottom of the ring, slicing through arcane metals and leaving a trail of slag in its way. The beam eventually petered out and lost power, but it had done its job. A quarter of the machine had been heavily damaged, shutting it down entirely.

  Markus Haraldson was not idle throughout this entire process. He and several of the other soldiers were ushering people out of the apartment, taking them away from the windows and screaming:

  “Don’t look at it! Don’t look!”

  The light of the Psionic power wasn’t bright, per se. In fact, it was very dark. It was so dark that it drank in the light surrounding it, dimming the city and momentarily eclipsing Akaadia’s sun. But Markus knew that an attack like that emitted radiation that went beyond the naked eye. Staring at it for too long…

  “Arrggghhh!”

  A civilian standing near the windows staggered away, holding an arm over his face. When he withdrew the limb, everyone could see the red trails of blood leaking out of the corners of his eyes, prompting more screams of panic from the other non-combatants. Markus and the others fought to maintain order and keep the civilians from trampling one another in their haste to escape. Peralta himself went over to help the man with the bleeding eyes, as the civilian had gone entirely blind from the trauma. The old Pioneer calmly tossed the man over his shoulder and carried him outside. Markus grimaced as he recognized that something similar had likely happened to tens of thousands throughout the capital in the opening seconds of this attack. A few others in this group sustained similar injuries, but there were enough soldiers to carry them all.

  Fortunately, the capital’s automatic defenses had sprung into action. A giant translucent green dome had manifested itself over the entire city, and it bore the brunt of the indirect consequences of the Omega class attack. Displaced wind whipped against the mighty shield, but it held firm and kept numerous buildings in the city’s outer edge from being destroyed in the wake of the attack. Still, it was about to be tested again.

  Once the Annihilation Ray petered out, the Omega class foe swiftly turned its attention to the city itself. A massive wave of debris, outlined in the same uncanny black light as the ray, was soon sent flying toward the city in a barrage that blotted out the sun. Hillsides, countryside estates, vehicles, and boulders came crashing down in a gargantuan tide. But Ankara fought back. Auto-turrets and artillery units sprang up from the tops of buildings and the centers of streets, their barrels aiming upward and spitting out streams of blaster fire, explosive ordinance, or plain old kinetic shells. SAMs shot out from every nook and cranny of the well-armed capital, trailing bright orange fire as they flew up against the wall of impending doom.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  The rumble of explosions overhead struck fear into the hearts of nearly every human soul in the city. To save energy, and prevent the humans from running out of air, the barrier allowed harmless winds and noises to pass through it. However, the concussive sounds battered against the unenhanced bodies, the civilians feeling like their ears had become thoroughly abused drums. The sky had become a riot of plasma, fire, and dirt as human ingenuity clashed against the opening salvo of the enemy. Some of the debris got through despite the defenses, but it crashed harmlessly against the shield. After being taken aback, Ankara held its own against the fury of an Omega class.

  Markus had been watching this play out as he brought everyone outside and onto the street. Throngs of people were already sweeping down the street in a rush for shelter, but the Pioneers were able to keep their friends from being trampled by the mob. As he guided his charges through the storm, Markus felt the city’s defenses fully engage, and he turned to watch as Ankara struck back at the invader.

  In the city's heart stood the imposing Imperial Citadel, an enormous tower built in the empire’s colors. An ebony frame outlined tall windows tinted in shining gold, the tower stretching higher than any building in the city. Each floor was larger than any office building, giving the whole construction a sturdy and imposing aura. The Emperor often held important meetings in the High Room at the top of the tower and lived in the Citadel for a portion of the year. But something atypical was happening with the tower now.

  Its peak shone with a newborn star of ivory, the light seemingly appearing from nowhere and swiftly growing in power. Everyone reflexively turned away as its brilliance waxed, banishing the darkness and striking awe in Akaadia’s citizenry. Then, in the blink of an eye, that power was unleashed.

  A beam of white light, no smaller than the Annihilation Ray, blasted out from the tower's peak. Markus felt, rather than saw, the Omega class marshal its defenses abruptly as the attack bore down upon it. The earth quaked and the sky shook as the powers collided, the scale of the attacks almost unimaginable to the poor mortals below. Fortunately, they were protected from the backblast of the tower’s attack thanks to the citadel’s height. Its topmost portion peaked over the dome’s apex, and the beam was fired from that location. Thus, the citizenry was protected from a lot of accidental death.

  That said, the Citadel wasn’t done with merely that attack. As the ray petered out, a sphere of white light darted out from the tower’s peak toward the beam’s target. The world continued to roil as Markus heard more explosions boom out from the countryside. Thankfully, these explosions seemed to grow more distant as the battle raged on, the fighting getting further away from the city. The grizzled veterans understood what was happening, and they recognized that time was of the essence. They continued shepherding the civilians to the nearest shelters as quickly as possible.

  Eventually, they came to the mouth of a long underground staircase, and the non-combatants didn’t need any prompting to hurry downward to safety. The soldiers, Markus’s veteran and Jordan’s squad, stood at the top of the staircase and watched them go. Peralta and some of the others carried their burdens down with them, but they would be back soon. Ken caught Markus’s eye and mouthed “Good luck” before entrusting the fight to his old friend and rushing into the shelter. One of the few civilians to stay behind was Lucy. She looked at the Pioneers, grey eyes wide with fear as she opened her mouth to ask them an uncharacteristically silly question: “What are you doing? It’s not safe! Come with us!”

  Jordan was the one to respond, the young man doing his best to reassure her while remaining firm, “We need to help defend the city. Don’t worry! We’ll be back in a flash.”

  The Pioneers had recognized instinctually that the Omega class hadn’t come alone, and sure enough, they received a mission from headquarters soon after Jordan finished his sentence:

  Mission: Defend Ankara

  Attention: All Pioneers on the Planet of Akaadia.

  The Empire’s Capital has been attacked by the Kharnidd threat. Every able-bodied fighter is called to defend the city from numerous incoming enemies. Report to the closest military facility and aid in Ankara’s defense immediately.

  Reward for Main Mission Completion: Doing your Patriotic Duty.

  So, it was an Omega class Kharnidd. That made sense. If the Empire’s human enemies could perpetrate this kind of attack, they would have done it already. The Pioneers registered and dismissed the message. Nothing had changed for them, as they had been planning to defend the city anyway. Lucy still lingered, concerned eyes watching the soldiers reluctantly, before Marie tugged on her arm. The girl’s guardian was gentle yet commanding as she said, “Lucy, darling, let’s go. Leave the fighting to the professionals. Trust them.”

  Jordan gave her his best smile, eyes glittering with warmth and some cheeky confidence: “Don’t worry. We haven’t been eaten by any monsters yet. And we don’t plan to start now.”

  Lucy gave a small smile, though she was clearly still worried. Nevertheless, she allowed Marie to lead her down the stairs. Captain Peralta and the others returned soon afterward, and the Pioneers gave one last check to ensure they had everyone before moving out.

  It was time to join the battle for Ankara.

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