Compared to Destroyers and Abyssals, this was a walk in the park. With a grunt of effort, John caught the troop carrier's leg as it tried to stomp him and heaved it up, catching the machine off-balance. Sensing the opening, 042 rammed its megaton hammer into one of the carrier's rear leg joints, toppling it and leaving it helpless against the Marines' guns. To add insult to injury, Bau activated one of his charms, pulling at the skeins of fate and forging an essence dagger, jamming it into the carrier's eye in between its frantic, panicked blasts. The dagger's powerful gravitic field attracted incoming rounds and explosives, concentrating them on the walker's main weapon and most obvious weakpoint. Above the kill-zone, the Marines cheered at their first real victory since the invasion began, fighting with renewed vigor as they saw one of the Reapers' mechanical horrors laid low. Mop-up afterward was a simple affair, butcher's work rather than proper combat, for the remaining husks on the ground were simple, animalistic creatures without a nearby guiding intelligence. John silently uttered thanks to the Unconquered Sun; he wasn't sure if anyone around could have handled another Reaper or Abyssal Circle.<br/><br/>Exhausted, John blink-clicked away the countless injury and damage warnings on his display as he pushed a Brute's impaled carcass off his arm. With a roar of engines and a plume of dust, the<span style="font-style: italic">Midway</span>pickup team had arrived.<br/><br/>'Sorry I was late to the party,' said the pilot.<br/><br/>John shrugged. 'You'll have plenty of bad guys when we come back to Earth.'<br/><br/>The pilot looked at him incredulously. 'We're not staying, sir?'<br/><br/>John shook his head. 'No. We've got orders to be elsewhere, Flight Officer. The Alliance can't hold Earth by itself.'<br/><br/>On the ground, Anderson chuckled. 'Relax, kids. We'll be sure to leave you plenty of Reapers when you get back.'<br/><br/>'Admiral,' John asked, 'you're staying here?'<br/><br/>'Damn right. With the Admiralty HQ down and long-range comms shot to hell, I'm ranking officer here in North America, if not the whole damn planet. I need to regroup and reorganize our forces here, save as many as I can. Hackett gave you another job, Commander. Now go, the galaxy's waiting.'<br/><br/>John shook his head. 'Sir, what about--'<br/><br/>Sergeant Major Johnson raised an eyebrow. 'Son,' the sergeant warned, 'don't make me take off my belt.'<br/><br/>Raising his hands in defeat, John nodded, pushing his emotions aside. 'Alright. We'll be back, and we'll hit those Reapers with every damn Exalt, artifact, and gun this galaxy has to offer.'<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">___</div><br/><br/>Earth burned as the SSV<span style="font-style: italic">Midway</span>made its departure. Fiery atmospheric entry trails marked the arrival of countless Reapers and transport vessels, bringing with them more twisted horrors to add to the already endless hordes sweeping the surface. Nuclear firestorms raged over mainland Asia, the governments of India and China annihilating their own cities and doomed populations in a vain effort to slow the Reapers' husk production. Energy weapons glassed Northern Africa and Eastern Europe while asteroids towed into Earth's gravity field fell into its oceans, kicking up titanic tsunamis that drowned billions.<br/><br/>Luna, too, suffered from the Reapers' assault. Immune to orbital bombardment by virtue of its construction, Luna Base nevertheless became a necropolis as husks breached its subterranean fortifications. After two hours of bloody, brutal close-quarters fighting, the Reapers' ground forces forced their way into the fortress' central control room. When they arrived, all remaining personnel save one had committed suicide. Its last surviving occupant, Admiral Ernesto Mendez, detonated Luna Base's nuclear reactors, destroying the entire landing force and one Reaper Destroyer. Bereft of corpses on Luna to convert to husks, the Reapers diverted their attention to the invasion on Earth.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">___</div><br/><br/>'Commander,' said Admiral Hackett on<span style="font-style: italic">Midway's</span>vid-comm. 'How are you holding up?'<br/><br/>Angry, tired, and worried sick about his family. 'I'm functional, sir, as is my team. We're standing by to receive orders.'<br/><br/>'I'm fully aware of that. What I'm asking is if you're ready for the mission at hand, whether your mind's still on Earth or whether you can put that aside for now to look at the galaxy at large.'<br/><br/>Sighing wearily, John paused to calm his temper. 'I'm squared away and mission-ready, sir. I can't speak for the others, but I'll make sure they're sorted out. We know what's at stake.'<br/><br/>Hackett nodded. 'Good. I suppose that's the most I could ask for. No news yet on casualties, I'm afraid. Fleet channels are still a mess, especially with how badly hit our main comm systems in Sol and Arcturus are.'<br/><br/>'We've lost Arcturus as well, sir?'<br/><br/>'Yes,' said Hackett, suddenly looking his age, as if the weight of the galaxy had fallen on his shoulders. In a way, it had. 'I've sent out orders for all Alliance vessels to regroup at the Citadel to await further orders. That includes your team. I need you to talk to the Council and get their support however you can. I don't care how you do it or what it takes, Commander. Just get it done--broker deals, twist arms, forge alliances, do what you can to gather the Exalted and as many troops as possible.'<br/><br/>'We'll get it done, sir. Anything else?'<br/><br/>'None yet. Hackett out.'<br/><br/>The vid-comm darkened once more as the Admiral's image flickered into nonexistence. John slumped wearily at the console, rubbing at tired eyes and downing the last of his coffee. He stepped away and returned to his seat at the CIC. From his visual display, he watched the Sol System's last defiant gasps. From this distance, the bright glows of energy weapons, the contrails of missiles, and the twinkling, sputtering sparks of dying starships seemed eerily beautiful. Like a breath from the Earth, the<span style="font-style: italic">Midway</span>slipped forth, a ghostly whisper on Reaper and Alliance sensors as its stealth systems activated.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Exalted!<br/><br/>Something evil's watching over you<br/>Comin' from the sky above<br/>And there's nothing you can do!</span><br/><br/>They passed Mars, where their sister ship's crew waged war, then Jupiter, whose shipyards and colonies bore witness to a new storm as Reapers laid siege to its lunar arcologies and ring cities.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Prepare to strike<br/>There'll be no place to run<br/>When you're caught within the grip<br/>Of the evil Neverborn!</span><br/><br/>Soulsteel monstrosities began their attack on Titan as the<span style="font-style: italic">Midway</span>passed Saturn. Neptune remained untouched, its only population a minor research facility, a stark contrast to the fuel yards of Uranus, which was little more than rapidly expanding clouds of debris in the wake of the Reapers' first wave into Sol.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">EXALTED<br/>More than meets the eye!<br/>EXALTED<br/>Demigods disguised!</span><br/><br/>Pluto, as insignificant as ever, remained a lonely, lifeless sentinel, one last forlorn goodbye as Saber Team departed for foreign stars.<br/><br/>'Commander,' said Flight Officer Mitchell, 'we're in range of the Charon Relay. Ready to jump.'<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Exalted wage their battle<br/>To destroy the evil Reapers<br/>And the Illusive Man!</span><br/><br/>'Punch it,' John replied. And once again, with a sickening tug and a crackle of energy, the stars gave way to hyperspace.