Hawkins stood at attention at the CAC. The bridge crew all sat straight up at their stations, conmms traffic suddenly hushed down to a mimimal level. Everyone could feel it, a papable sense of anticipation. Terra Nova.<br/>Human's first colony beyound the confines of Sol. This was the moment. Everyone was ready, everyone was watching. Hawkins looked over at Captain graves, who wore stood arrayed in his best military finery,  he was even wearing the traditional Imperial rebreather mask. Behind him, the top brass of the fleet, spots of Navy and Black cloth against the gunmetal grey hull. Hawkins gave them a short nod of acknowledgement.<br/>"Helm."<br/>Hawkins paused, the profoundness of the moment not lost on him. He spoke, his voice ehcoing through the comm system<br/>"Take us out."<br/>All eyes shifted.<br/>"Aye aye sir."<br/>"All decks be prepared for some chop." the helmsman paused, his fingers slowly retracting across the panel, bringing the ship's engine's power back. "Emerging from subspace in three...two..."<br/>The great maw of the void opened before them. The ship shook with exertion, as if passing through a tight crevace. The layers of space were peeled back to reveal an soft sapphire hanging in space before them, and the green lush cheek of the planet's moon on their starboard. A collective gasp of awe echoed throughout the crew, as all eyes beheld the blue planet before them.  Whispy white clouds caressed its surface like the strokes of a paint brush, and barely visible on the crest of the horizon the shimmering lights dotted the night side dotted the landscape. On the right, the veritable paradise of Nova Luna stretched out before them, filling up more than a quarter of the view screen as the flagship and its fleet transitioned smoothly from subspace into the moon's orbit.<br/>To those Venusians aboard, it was a little slice of the world they had left. Hawkins could see Admiral Kipper's eyes glossing over as he beheld the oasis world before him.<br/><br/>"Sir." the tactial officer interjected.<br/>Hawkins looked up to the second story portside, where AWACS and TacCom was stationed.<br/><br/>"Sir, we have incoming bogeys on an intercept, they aren't squawking." the tacticial officer noted, concern playing across his words.<br/>Hawkins gave him a compassionate brow. "Don't worry, lad. Probably just the welcoming committee."<br/><br/>"Sir." the Comms officer interjected, her voice also tense and filled with concern. "I'm picking up heavy comm traffic. I...I think it's a battle sir." Hawkins felt his heart sink as he grabbed the Comm operator's headphones and listened with one of the ear buds.<br/>He looked up at Graves with horror as the frantic shouts, screams and sound of collapsing bulkheads filtered through the static.<br/>Hawkins let go of the earpiece and turned to Graves.<br/><br/>"Set Condition Red throughout the fleet. We have incoming hostiles."<br/>Wide eyes and stilled breaths filld the room for a moment with a vacant silence.Graves gave Hawkins a hard long stare, his countenance one of with understanding and determination. He took the other handheld and pressed it to his lips. "This is Command. Set Condition Red. All hands to combat stations. This not a drill. I repeat this is not a drill." It clicked. The air suddenly flew open with chatter and the soft clicking of comm channels. Hawkins pressed forward up to the CAC. Graves heeling closely on his right.<br/>"I want that fighter screen up ASAP, we need to get in the fight now."<br/>Graves nodded grimly, looking down at his watch, noting it was 08:30 hours Zulu time.<br/>"What's objective sir?"<br/>Hawkins furrowed his brow.<br/>"Pick a side."<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>