Adam stood on the bridge of his flagship, as he looked among the stars Achilles stood quietly just thinking to himself. 'Why did I get sent here with the nerd. He probably isn't powerful enough to take me down. He would be too slow.'
"Achilles. Tell your forces of the landing campaign. There are four zones where we are attacking from with a fifth from the clones. Each one of you will be landing from each zone and head inward. Take their capital and will, they will fall, if not we may have to kill them till they stop fighting." Adam rambled on as Achilles pulled his blade out. Before holstering it as Adam tossed two drawings out.
"To be fair to you, I could take this planet myself with just the clones, but Astral wanted more manpower and you are the more." Adam turned as Achilles put his sword away. It was just the two of them on his bridge, why did he hesitate?
"I will let them know, thank you sir." Achilles walked out the door as the drawings stood in front of the door. Kayla sat on top of his head and looked at the planet and the battlemap.
"We both know he wanted to attack you and do this himself. Why did he hesitate?" Kayla asked as she read the plans for the battle.
"Power." Adam looked at the chess pieces and arranged them in the way he wanted. "He wants it as badly as Astral wants to learn history, and until he has respect for those above him, he won't listen to them." Adam smiled as he looked up. "Besides it's how they operate on their planet, he thinks it's the same here."
Kayla looked at the drawings and they were of Astral and Jaimie. They fell back into pieces of paper as he put them back in his booklet. "I see, shall we begin with the space battle and clear a way for Achilles to win on the ground and finish what Astral asked?" Adam had his hand over the intercom buzzer. "Lets win!"
"Attention all fighter jets, be prepared to launch, clones, you will be commanded from above by me heading into the capital. Achilles will continue the prep on the way down." Adam flicked a switch. "Staff officers, prepare to become broadsided by their shuttles and buy time for the shuttles to get into orbit."
"Shouldn't we break the blockade before sending in the landing shuttles?" Kayla asked as she swung her legs off of his head.
"No." Adam watched the fighter jets form up as he pressed a button as the formation changed. "Shatter style, cover these shuttles." Holding his hand up for Kayla to walk on as he brings her down to the same level. "The key is that these things are arrogant and bold. They want to crush their enemies so they won't focus on fodder." Adam pressed a button on the console as his ship took the lead as the shuttles and jets stuck close to each ship.
"Which means we take the lead and tell them that." Adam forced open the radio channel to the Apparazza general on the bridge. "Hey you hairy fuck, bring it on, I am the point ship, try me." Adam then cut the line.
"What did that human just say to me! All ships open fire on their point ship!" the general commanded as the officers followed, no one insults them and gets away with it. The salvo of plasma came at the lead ship.
"Shuttle's launch to orbit, jets escort them." Adam gave the command as he turned his turret on and opened fire on the cruisers in front of him. The shuttles and jets all nose dived to the planet's surface as the Apparazza didn't even notice what was happening as the ships became full broadside fighting. With the Sacramentum ships falling five to one to Adam.
"Sir we are outnumbered seven to one!" An officer shouted as Adam heard it.
"We are superior, if any ship reaches critical damage, fall back to zone three." Adam spoke as his drawn turret was destroying everything in its line of sight. Adam smiled as more of his ships backed off leaving Adam's ship surrounded.
"Checkmate. Open barrage tunnels and let the light loose!" Adam gave the command as the tunnels opened up on the broadsides of his ship. They glimmered as the Apparazza halted their fire, thinking the ship was exploding from the inside.
From the glimmers light exploded from the holes. Destroying the remaining one hundred Apparazza cruisers as Adam laughed the pain away. The clones had just landed as the battle on the ground became fierce and started up as Adam planned. "Attention all clones, charge forward three hundred meters and gather in cover, slowly push forward as I give the command."
"But sir, what about helping the Polemistis forces?" Pete asked as he signaled and his men took cover.
"They can take the heat, let them. Your job requires more brains. Why were you deployed to the communication side of the city?" Adam asked the clones in charge as Pete sighed. As he got the signal to move forward. He asked himself. "Why am I stuck with the ones who disappear and don't lead?"
Achilles and his men swept through each city block like blades through butter. The resistance from the Apparazza, despite being filled with larger numbers, held little advantage when it came to overall strength and weapons.
"Alice on your left, lead the unit through the building and set it to explode!" Achilles shouted as three Apparazza jumped at him as he sliced them down in one broad swing, he borrowed no equipment from Astral, showing his followers he was still the most powerful person on the battlefield.
Alice followed his orders as the clones had theirs. They set up the camera's to watch as the building is set to explode. Achilles made it to the center of the city with the rest of his forces. Alice spoke up. "What now?"
"Head to the outskirts of the city and the town is going to be leveled by those explosives." Adam commanded. They listened as the clones hooked up the livestream and broadcasted the fight to the rest of the planet. 'Astral, these animals won't be coming back after us, we still need to protect the earth.' He thought as he held the detonator in his palms.
"Adam, everyone is evacuated from the city, send your message." Achilles communicated through their intercom.
"Hello Apparazzian's I am Adam of the Astral Alliance, you see your precious capitol, don't ever take on humans ever again." Adam clicked the detonator as the capitol building imploded as the entire area got enveloped in an explosion, leveling the area as Pete filmed it from above on a transport.
"Do not invade earth or else we will have even less mercy." Adam cut the stream as he saw the planet in sheer shambles, their protective blanket of an alliance was destroyed, their allies crippled and their warriors all killed or so wounded mentally they would have no reason to fight back and accept defeat.
"All forces are returning to the cruisers. Astral is successful in his conquest." Adam spoke to the crew still on the planet's surface. 'Has it been a week? I didn't sleep once.' Hit with a wave of fatigue he drew up a chair and sat down. "Heh, even with everything Astral teaches he still can't postpone the lack of sleep." Adam closed his eyes as he fell sound asleep.
Once the shuttles made it back to their ships a death counter was made up. "Zero, we lost zero between the air, ground and space?" Achilles asked the officer who handed him the information. "I am at a loss for words. Is this Astral's equipment or the commanding of Adam and the analysis of the enemy?" Achilles read the report over and over seeing the same thing no matter how many pages he read and how many times he reread it.
Pete walked over. "I think it's both. Your leadership also played a role in it too, you kept the morale high and with Astral's equipment it led to only wounded rather than dead." Achilles nodded to him as he handed the report to him.
"But why is the report still zero? It doesn't make much sense. We can't have had no one die?" Achilles asked him as the officer handed him a tablet.
"Either we got lucky or they are really bad. Some of my men got hurt badly but they all made it through." Pete spoke as Achilles signed the tablet for them to go back to the Red Merle. "Even with both I feel like something bigger is at play."
"The name is Pete right?" Achilles asked.
"Yes, part of the first ten thousand. It was an honor to be on the same battlefield as someone who acts like you do down there." Pete responded as he had admiration for the man.
"Keep that intuition close to yourself, cause I agree." Achilles started to walk off as Pete stood still in quiet state of shock. "Besides, those ten thousand, only a few thousand are left, stay safe." Achilles went to his room as the fleet reunited with the Red Merle.