Location: Callisto
Date: November 19, 2830 1800

November 19,2830
1800 Hours Imperial Standard Reckoning

The subtle darkness of twilight falls on the Jovian satellite Callisto. With its dusty, cratered surface Callisto is quite possibly, the most heavily cratered planetary body in the Sol. The largest of the craters have long since faded from the surface, likely erased by the flow of its icy crust over several millennia. Despite the erosion of the largest craters in the thin carbon dioxide atmosphere of Callisto, the concentric impact rings from the craters are a clear reminder of days when the Sol had many such celestial bodies floating chaotically around.

After the large crater rings of Valhalla and Asgard were formed, many smaller meteoroids spread crater pockets over much of the surface of this dark gray moon. The moon lacked any mountains or other physical features that presented themselves as strong defensive positions. In addition, the myriad of crater impact sites made Callisto a planet perfectly suited for setting ambushes. This is why when the Wolf Pack first arrived on Callisto they chose a section of the Valhalla impact site just about ten kilometers south west of its geometric center. The long since forgotten ice flows left the crater basin largely flat and easy to detect an incoming attack. In addition, a small base had been built for the defense of some local miners. The few miners that still worked on Callisto spent their days and nights harvesting the ice in the crust to convert into reaction mass for the long patrol and other imperial cruisers.

The small base's defenders had been transferred a few years before the start of the Cybrid invasion. The few mining operations that still operated on the moon were hardly large enough to be noticed or worth the small force that was once stationed there. Nevertheless, the Wolf Pack's arrival greatly reassured the few colonists and miners that lived there.

The first of the Wolf Pack Pennants landed on Callisto just a few months after the Human Alliance left mars. Grand Master Caanon Weathers had ordered them to Jovian space to survey the inhabitants and determine the extent of the Cybrid presence in the system. A few hand picked knights went with Caannon to Venus to help the TDF forces that had fled from Mercury. It was also believed -- although never proven -- that the Wolf Pack was meant as a decoy mission to keep the Cybrids away from Titan during the Dies Irae's initial preparations. In any event, their orders were to establish an operations base in Jovian space and to use that base as a foothold to defend the rest of the Jovian satellites.

On November 17, 2830 the last of the Wolf Pack Pennants entered orbit around Callisto. By this time the few Knights that had gone with Caannon to Venus as part of the Guardian Angel squad had rejoined the Wolf Pack. With those pennants were two former members of Ultra Force who had been rescued during their mission. The first of these was Brett Dixon, also known as Feret, the founder, and former commanding officer of the Ultra Force on Mars. Feret had led a group of Ultra Force pilots on a highly risky mission against a Cybrid research facility and base.

The divisions under Feret succeeded in their mission, but while on the way to evacuate, they encountered a large body of Cybrid units. The rumor was that the leader of the Cybrids challenged the commander of the pilots who had destroyed its nexus. It was also believed that Feret accepted the challenge and defeated this experienced Cybrid in a duel which provided enough of an opening for the rest of the divisions to split the Cybrid line and hurry to the nearby drop point.

Unfortunately, Feret's efforts were not enough to hold the Cybrids at bay. They followed the divisions to the drop points and forced the Ultra Force to execute a holding action while the first of the dropships was loaded. The destruction of the Cybrid commander disoriented the Cybrids who attacked by piecemeal instead of in mass. This provided enough time for the first dropship to be loaded. However, while landing, the second dropship was shot down by shrike missiles launched from a Goad. Feret was left with but one option. He ordered the remaining troops to board the dropship and evacuate immediately. Despite the objections of his subordinates, Feret stood on his order and resolved to fight the Cybrids -- alone -- for as long as he could. A group of Knights from the Wolf Pack's Crimson Spear pennant arrived just as Feret's Apocalypse was legged. They forced the Cybrids to withdraw and retrieved the unconscious Feret from his cockpit.

The second pilot they recovered was Sapphire. She was a Lieutenant in the Ultra Force intelligence wing and had been dispatched by Feret to interdict some Cybrids that were closing on their position. Like Feret, she was separated and found herself surrounded by Cybrids and was left to die until the Wolf Pack stumbled onto her HERC.

During the course of the trip to Callisto Feret and Sapphire, both worked hard. Feret was the first to sign on and reach Knight rank although it was bestowed through a simulator. Sapphire was not able to begin her journey among the wolves until later. Her wounds had been more severe than Feret's. Feret joined the Cyclone Saber assault sword of the Crimson Spear pennant, which was then commanded by Knight Lieutenant Patrick Berger who went by Falcon. Sapphire on the other hand chose to join Blood Wolf as a specialist in recon in the second Crimson Spear sword.

The two pilots were welcome additions to the Wolf Pack who had lost a few of their more experienced pilots during the reprisals against the Martian rebels. Feret had proven himself at least a competent commander to the Wolf Pack by his actions when he was the commanding officer of Ultra Force on Mars. Few doubted his ability to size up tactical situations, but there were a few 'Pack members that questioned his piloting skills. To these pilots dueling in a simulator was no way to prove ones worthiness of knighthood. Many of the knights in the Wolf Pack viewed themselves as the elite of the Imperial Knights, and as such admission to the 'Pack should be highly restrictive. Nevertheless, Feret had passed the test given by the Grand Master of the Wolf Pack Annie Oakley who was among the knights who rescued Feret. So it was at the age of forty-one that Feret was named a Knight of the Wolf Pack. His code of honor meshed well with the code of the Crimson Spear Order who believed themselves to be the Guardians of Honor.

When Feret arrived on Callisto, the defensive perimeter for the base - that had been set up by the Knights that had preceded him -- was incomplete. Some of the sensor nets that had been planned for the perimeter were malfunctioning. The sensors some seismic and some infrared would show phantoms on the sensor grid, which required a detachment of Knights to check out the threat. So to combat this a small squad of Knights was kept on patrol around the clock until the bugs could be repaired. A few of the Knights grew agitated with the malfunctioning sensors; they believed their equipment to be superior to others in the TDF.

It was on one of these patrols that Feret found his first action as a member of the Knights. He and Falcon had taken a pair of talons with heavy lasers on the tour of the outer sensor grid when one of those sensors detected movement in the southwest quadrant of the grid. Falcon ordered Feret to follow him to check out the disturbance. Although it was expected to be another one of the mysterious malfunctions, they still had to determine if it was a false alarm. The two HERCs traveled at their maximum speed kicking up dust as they ran over the cratered surface of the moon. It would take a few minutes before they were within range of the alarm.

Feret kept his talon just behind and to the left of Falcon's talon. Falcon was sometimes permissive of the reckless or wild behavior's that characterized some of the Knights of the Wolf Pack off the battlefield, but there was one thing, which Falcon did not permit - incompetence. Feret remembered seeing one of the other Squire Cadet's receive a verbal tongue lashing from Falcon for failing to obey his orders in a simple simulation. It was not that Falcon was a disciplinarian, but in the war with the Cybrids, all their lives depended on the ability of their squad mates to do their duty. Feret veered his talon around one of the small craters that littered the surface of the moon. He had let his mind wander, and Falcon had pulled ahead fifty meters. He pulled his HERC back on course. Feret took his left hand off the throttle for a moment and tapped a key on his virtual heads up display. His talon's turbine booster engaged propelling the HERC ahead. Feret watched as his distance to Falcon returned to where it should be and turned off the turbine booster so that it could recharge.

"I'm not picking anything up on my scanners. How much further away is the alarm?" Feret said over his radio.
"At least another Kilometer." Falcon replied.

Feret nodded his head and continued to mark Falcon's moves as he monitored his emission scanning sensors. If there were trouble in the area, they would know soon. Feret reached out and tuned the sensors to passive for a moment, then back to active.

"I've got targets." Feret called over the radio when he saw the two blips on the sensors.
"Location?" Falcon inquired.
"Just to our two-forty, Sir."
"All right I have them locked now." Falcon added as he took bearings on the first of the bogies. "I count two Goad Class Herd's inbound."
"Confirmed, I am only reading the two goads."
"Stay close to me, and on my signal split from me and take the other goad.
"Aye, Sir, waiting for your order."

Feret kept his HERC just to Falcons left as he waited nervously for the order to engage. They closed to within four hundred meters of the goads when he heard the target warning from his HUD.

"They have us spotted, split and take the left one. I have the other."
"Roj, That sir." Feret replied as he pulled his talon to the left and opened fire with his twin lasers linked. The Goad came at him with a pair of autocannons. Feret executed an 'S' maneuver as he timed his shots against the shields of the goad.

Meanwhile Falcon was engaging his Goad in a circle fight. Instead of charging the Goad head on, Falcon tried to force the goad to time his circling while he took his time firing at the Goad. The goad fired back with autocannons, but they missed far to Falcon's left. He watched the shield flare vanish and then executed a reverse turn and came straight at the goad. The linked volley from his lasers turned the top autocannon red quickly as it was soon sliced from its mount. The goad's shields were up again and the circle fight continued.

Feret pulled his talon hard to the right as the Goad tried to get behind him. He fired a linked burst at the Goad as its shields fell. He timed his shots to hit the hip of the goad and within a few seconds, it was yellow from the lasers. The goad countered, reversing its turn to get beyond Feret's arc of fire. Feret countered with a double reverse turn, tricking the goad into turning toward him as Feret leveled the turn for the goad. He charged in at the goad and continued Firing at the hip joint of the goad as it severed and the goad went rolling into the dust. "Scratch one toaster." He said as he took a moment to check his status indicators. With his status still nominal, he turned his HERC toward the circle fight between Falcon and the goad. They were further away then Feret had realized. As he drew closer, he saw the advanced maneuvers that Falcon executed with the talon. Some of them happened so fast that Feret wondered if he had imagined them. He watched as Falcon turned the goad around one of the larger craters and then nailed its feet with a linked blast from his heavy lasers. The goad lost its balance and fell head long into the dust disabled by the shot.

"Nice shot," Feret complimented Falcon.
"It was ok," Falcon replied, "do you see any more Cybrids on the sensors?"
"Negative, these appear to be the only ones."
"Good, it looks like the Cybrids finally sent a scouting party after us. It won't be long before they try this again."
"You think there will be more coming?"
"There are always more." He replied. "Let's go home."

The two HERCs reversed their course and made the trip back to the Wolf Pack base. The trip took a few minutes as they left the defensive perimeter behind.

"Lair, this is Falcon, we have completed our patrol."
"Roger that Falcon, Nice work. Debriefing will be held in conference room B. See you in twenty. Lair, out."

The two HERCs strolled into the HERC bay and slowed as they approached their individual bays. They backed them slowly into the harnesses and then brought the talon's to a stop. Feret popped the switch for the canopy and watched as it lifted off the cockpit. He keyed in the shutdown sequence for the HERC and then waited for confirmation that the reactor was inactive. He unfastened the seat harness and retrieved a data disc from the console. He put the disc into his survival bag and then threw it onto his back as he climbed onto the ladder just beside the cockpit.

Once at the bottom of the ladder, he was greeted by one of the technicians. Cory Jackson, who went by the callsign Jack. In his hands, he held a log sheet for the Talon that Feret had piloted on the mission.

"Anything to report?" He asked Feret.
"Just some minor damage around the cockpit that needs inspected. Everything else appeared to be nominal."
"Alright, Knight Dixon, please sign here."

He handed him the log sheet and pointed to the line where Feret signed his name and then thanked Jack before heading to the debriefing room. He exited the hanger and walked down a corridor pass the mess hall to the end of the compound where Conference Room B was located. When he turned the corner to enter, Falcon, and Annie Oakley were already waiting for him. Feret saluted his two superiors. Annie and Falcon returned the salute.

"Take a seat Feret," Annie ordered.
"Thank you," he replied as he took off his survival pack and dropped it onto the floor. He then removed his combat helmet and set it down on the table in front of him as he sat in the chair just a few seats away from Falcon.

"I am glad you two made it back in one piece," she said as she paced at the front of the conference table. "So Lieutenant, tell me about your encounter today."

Falcon cleared his throat and began to brief the Grand Master on the patrol.

"Well we were on patrol for a few hours, prior to the engagement. We received the relay from one of the motion sensors about possible movement to the South West of here. I ordered Feret and myself to investigate."

"What did you find when you got there?"

"Two goads, both armed with autocannons. Once in range, we split up and took them each on one by one. Their husks are probably still out there near the craters we left them in."

"So the Cybrids finally sent in some HERCs against us, it seems a little odd after so many months of us being here. Any idea what they were after?"

"Well, Annie, I think it was a scouting party, perhaps they were testing our defenses."

"Well you showed them how well prepared we are for attack."

"Annie?" Feret interjected.

"Yes, go ahead."

"I somewhat agree with Falcon. It did appear as if they were testing our defenses, however i found it odd that they had not moved much closer to the base by the time we reached their location."

"So you are saying, there may have been another motive for their testing our defenses."
"Yes, I have never known the Cybrids when testing defenses to just stay near a nearly undefended perimeter. No, they were up to something, perhaps trying to bait us into an ambush or something."

Falcon laughed. The thought of the gearheads setting up an ambush for them just was too much to bear. "You have to be joking, Feret. There is no way those Cybrids were setting up a future mission. They were testing our response time. Which means they may be looking for the best place to attack."

"That sounds like a logical assumption, Falcon." Annie said complimenting Falcon. "Anything else to share?"

"We cannot truly know the myriad of reasons the gearheads ran this mission, but I know it was not a simple raid on our defenses, I saw no evidence of them tampering with our sensor networks, but Falcon's explanation could be true as well."

"Very well, I think that will be," Annie was interrupted as Sapphire walked into the conference room she whispered something into her ear and then handed her a notepad. Feret watched as she read over the note. Her disposition dropped as she turned and thanked Sapphire for bringing it to her attention. With that, the dark haired Sapphire left the conference room. Annie held the notepad in her left hand as she brushed her hand back through her blonde hair. "I am afraid I have some bad news," she said.

Falcon and Feret waited patiently for the news, that they now knew was coming.

"The Cybrids staged a raid on Titan. About five hundred people were killed in the attack, including your wife Brett."

"What? She is dead? That cannot be."

"It is right here," she said pointing him to her name on the casualty list. Feret saw the name displayed in red on the notepad. A wave of sadness began to pour over him. He set the pad down. "As if that were not enough," she continued, "it appears that your two children Ashley and David are missing in action."

"No, not them too." Feret said as tears began to fill his blue eyes. His arms shook with sorrow as he shook his head in disbelief.

"I am sorry for your loss, Brett. We all have lost family at one point or another, but it never gets easy."

Feret rested his arms on the table with his hands cupping his eyes as he tried to shake away the tears.

"That is all for today." She said, "Are you going to be ok, Brett?"

He nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"If there is anything I can do, or if you need someone to talk to, please feel free to drop by my office." With that, she took one last look at the saddened Feret and walked out of the room. She realized that there was nothing she could do to help at this point, but she hoped that the loss did not drive Feret to insanity as it had nearly done for a number of the other wolves.

Falcon stood from his seat and gathered his combat gear. "Well Feret, I am sorry as well, it is never easy to lose a loved one. Just remember our next patrol starts at 1500 hours tomorrow."

"Thank you Falcon, I think I will be all right." He said not entirely sure if he would ever get over the loss.

"I am going to go get some chow," Falcon added as he left the room.

Feret picked up his helmet and looked at its black and yellow colors. The orange logo of the Feret had been designed by his wife so many years ago, and it would be the last thing he would have to remember her by for a while. He tried to stand, but could not move as his body was shaking from the sadness that filled his being. This blow could not have come at a worse time for him. He was just starting to get into the feel of being a soldier again, and now he is torn from the mindset by the news of Krystal's death. He chided himself for not being there to protect them. It had been his own choosing to go to Terra on the Earth Strike mission, but in so choosing, his wife was left with out his protection. He felt responsible for the loss even though he was not orbiting the same planet. He took a deep breath and gathered his composure. He wiped the tears from his eyes, and began the trek back to his bunk. Once there, he could be alone in his thoughts for a while.