The seatbelts pushed Zeke back into the padded seats, as the massive Imperial fleet vessel accelerated away from the docking bay. The day when Earth would finally strike back was here; the day when the United Earth forces would crush the Imperials' home planet in their own ship. It was the ultimate irony.

Until now, Earth had been years behind the Imperial fleet in technological advancements. They had been playing a game of catch-up; a game that had often proved deadly. However, during an Imperial raid on Mars Prime, UE forces had managed to capture the Imperials' latest ship: the S-Class Destroyer. It had been christened 'Deliverance'. The UE forces were now setting out, with the Destroyer at the head of the fleet, to crush their enemy of untold eons. The locations of every major Imperial base had been found in the computers of the captured ship. They had the knowledge and the power, and now it was time to strike back.

No-one knew who the Imperials were, or where they came from. In August of 2034, the first manned flight to Mars had met with tragedy. The last message from the Orion ship had haunted the world for years:
'Houston, would like to report a malfunction. We are tracking a bogey, approaching at speed. <static> Wait... we have visual confirmation. <static> God save us all!'
Pictures were pulled from the external cameras on the Orion just seconds before contact was lost. They showed the underside of a ship, with an insignia like a meteor. It was five hundred years before the Imperials were seen again. During the terraforming of the UE's twelfth system, an Imperial raid had killed every last member of the one hundred thousand strong crew.

Centuries of space battles had pushed the United Earth forces back to a measly three systems on the outer arms of the galaxy. Zeke had lost his family in the latest Imperial raid on Mars, and he had vowed he would take revenge. A mere three months of training at the space academy and he had earned his Z-29 Headhunter, and the license to fly it. Now the moment he was waiting for was at hand, payback.

Zeke looked out the window as the home he had known for so long receded into the blackness of space. Starlines filled his view as the hyperdrive kicked in. They were on their way.

Sirens wailed. The dim light of hyperspace faded as the Destroyer dropped into reality. An eerie silence fell over the ship as the crew took their first look at their enemy's home planet. Swirling white cloud and darkness covered most of their, but a small area of the surface could be seen. Blue oceans lapped at the shores of a green continent. No-one could help being reminded of Earth. However, the feeling soon passed as waves of defenders spewed from the planet's surface.
The intercom burst into life, 'Scatter! Scatter! Defenders on all points! To your ships!'

Zeke unclipped the belts and sprang to his feet, shaking off his nausea as he pounded down the metal floor of the corridor. He ran through the door into the fighter bays and sprang into his cockpit. As he secured the hatch and strapped himself in, the computers ran through the pre-flight check.
'Pilot 359 requesting permission for take off,' he yelled through the com-link as the roar of engines filled his ears.
'Granted, Zeke, good to have you on our side,' the flight controller remarked, and Zeke eased on the throttle. As his ship flew out into the blackness of space, Zeke took in the situation. Around him, hundreds of his fellow fighters were jettisoning from the ship. The UE forces were still emerging from hyperspace, but already the Imperials were among them. He took a deep breath, and headed into the fray.

Sparks flew. An Imperial ship, reeling from an explosion, passed by Zeke's cockpit, and slammed into a squadron of defenders, taking out all but the leader. Zeke pulled his craft around, and the computer screen flashed. He had a lock on the remaining ship. He hesitated for a moment, and as he did, the Imperial wheeled around, coming in for the kill. Stray fire from over his right wing clipped the incoming ship's stabilisers, and there was an almighty explosion. Zeke watched as the ship hurtled away into the emptiness of space, and realised that it could have just as easily been him. He turned his ship around, and set his teeth. He would just have to make sure that it was always them.

Four hours later, Zeke sat in the lounge of the Deliverance, covered with sweat. At times, the the battle had been close, and both sides had taken great losses. However, the massive laser banks on the Deliverance had turned the tide in their favour. What few defending ships remained had broken into a retreat, and a communication from the planet's surface had offered a surrender. The Imperials were far from beaten, but a decisive victory had been won.
Over the excited chatter from all corners of the room, the intercom crackled to life, 'The following pilots are congratulated for their outstanding efforts in the battle, and an invitation is extended to you to join the landing party: Joseph Carter, Erica Hossup, Zeke Cooper, Michael Flannery. The shuttle leaves in fifteen minutes. That is all.'
Zeke emptied his glass and rose to leave; a cheer went up from the other patrons as he exited the room. He went to his cabin to shower and get a new jumpsuit, and proceeded to the shuttle bay to wait for the rest of the team to arrive.

The captain came to congratulate Zeke personally as the shuttle skimmed through the atmosphere of the planet. They were headed for a point on the coast of the largest continent, where the communication offering a surrender had been issued from. Zeke felt a pang of guilt as he saw the great scars their Destroyer had left on this planet, brown streaks miles wide. He wondered whether the civilians had had any warning... if they even knew what they were dying for. He broke from his reverie as the shuttle bumped down on the grass in front of a large building. Zeke corrected himself, it only looked like grass. The possibility of this being the same plant that covered the Earth was very remote.

The entire crew of the shuttle gathered in the entryway. A hiss of steam accompanied the lowering of the ship's door, and the captain gasped. Hundreds of eyes stared up forlornly at these people from the sky as they descended the ramp to the ground. At the back of the group, Zeke craned his neck to get a better view of these aliens from a distant world. He started as he caught his first look.

They were human.