Chapter 1: Sapphire Fortress

"Ohh... Oh god my legs! My legs, someone help me my legs are gone!" Screamed a soldier.

The sound of screams filled the air around Darin. The Galactic Regimes army was a formidable force and Darins army struggled to defend Sapphire Fortress on planet Ru Saa against them. It had been six days since the battle started, and Darin was pushed up the ranks as his commanding officers had lost their lives. Now having been given the rank of 1st star General it was Darins job to lead Sapphire Fortress to victory against the attacking Galactic Regime.

Reinforcements from the QZIR were set to arrive in two days and it was Darin's responsibility to keep everyone alive and fighting until then. Darin left the medical hall and made his way back to the command center.

"General!" One of the soldiers saluted Darin as he entered the room. Lan Si Chu, Darins First Officer and best friend, was waiting by the command table.

"Darin," Lan frowned as he looked up at Darin continuing he said, "We are struggling to fight against the Galactic Regime. We've lost ten of our Hydra Tanks."

The news made Darin upset, ten Hydra Tanks was a lot of fire power to loose and expensive. Each Hydra Tank costed the elites of Ru Saa 9 million tons of Ru spice, a drug that enhanced brain function temporarily.

"Pull back our forces and rally the troops. If we're to survive the next two days we need to save as many troops as we can. Use the energy cannons and flame throwers to keep them off the walls. If the anti-air personnel see any star fighters shoot them down but use the ammo sparingly, we don't have enough to be missing to many shots," Darin said to Lan.

Lan sent out the message to pull back on the command table and watched as the holograms of their forces retreated into Sapphire Fortress on the command table. Darin's plan was simple, while the previous generals had attempted to use an offensive attack and push the Galactic Regime back, Darin planned to use a strong offense to hold off the Galactic Regime until QZIR forces arrived and then send out his attack.

The two days defending were rough and Darin lost a considerable amount of his forces but they survived. QZIR forces had arrived and wiped out the five hundred thousand forces the Galactic Regime had sent to attack Sapphire Fortress. The loss of Sapphire Fortress and the planet Ru Saa would have been a considerable loss, not only for the Ru drug but also for the money it contributed to the resistance. Darin was pleased they managed to defend his home world.

Walking through the fortress Darin greeted his troops and helped tend to the wounded. The guy who had lost his legs was given tier 3 mecha legs made by Zephyr Armaments and was promoted to Major Starfighter pilot, which made Darin happy for the man. Suddenly a ringing sound blared in Darin's head which made his brain hurt. The ringing was his mobile implant which allowed him to surf the Galactic web and make calls without holding a phone, but his implant must have been damaged during battle because it wasn't supposed to be this loud. Touching the side of his head where his implant was Darin answered the call.

"Hello?" He said as he answered the call. A man with a deep voice responded, "Darin Ferrel, my name is Gunther Carlisle. I'm the Head of Military forces for Ru Saa."

Darin was surprised to be receiving a call from the Head of Military after all most of the Ru Saa elites rarely called any of the 1st star Generals most of the time.

"Hello Gunther, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" Darin said in an angered tone he wasn't really a fan of the Ru Saa elites. They were all snobby rich drug dealers in his eyes and when they declared war on the Galactic Regime they forcibly conscripted Ru Saa's males.

"Well Darin due to your commendable efforts to defend Sapphire Fortress against the Galactic Regime I have been instructed to promote you to Admiral of the Fifth Fleet. First you must complete a cognitive test as well as a physical. Once promoted to this rank you will have full access to all resources the Fifth Fleet offers." Gunther responded.

The news surprised Darin, before Ru Saa declared war on the Galactic Regime Darin had simply been a Intergalactic History teacher, now he was being asked to command a fleet. "When should I take the tests?" He asked

"Tomorrow." Gunther simply responded and then hung up.

Darin stood still and thought about it for a moment. Tomorrow he would be reporting to Ru Saa's military school to study for his cognitive test. The thought excited and scared him at the same time, he had recently married his childhood sweetheart and had never been off world. This would change his life for sure.