2245, The Beginning

After what seemed like an eternity, the violent shaking stopped. Loud wailing klaxons sounded from outside her room. Frightened, Katherine cautiously picked herself up, wincing at bruised muscles, and forced herself to look outside.

She froze again, in sheer terror. Bearing down on the station with an abominable number of guns were five giant warships, painted red, like demons from Hell itself.

"ALL PERSONNEL! GET TO THE ESCAPE PODS! REPEAT, ALL PERSONELL, GET TO THE ESCAPE PODS IMMEDIATELY!" a voice screamed over the intercom.

She backed towards the door, unable to take her eyes of the certain death those ships brought with them. She heard people shouting, screaming, and running in the corridor outside. Wrenching the door open, she joined them as through the deck plates she felt impacts, surely the weapons from those demonic starships.

The last thing she saw was a blinding storm of energy as the area in front of her was ripped to shreds by the unstoppable force of the cannons.

(2 Days Later)

"Good afternoon. As I am sure you are all aware, on the 19th August, at 1650 hours standard, the Vega 3 Colony Station was attacked and destroyed by the terrorist organisation ?Fires of Change'." Senator Liam Aldritch stares up at the sea of sober faces in the Senate chamber before continuing.

"Over 500,000 people lost their lives in this savage and brutal act of genocide. Five Hundred Thousand INNOCENT PEOPLE!" He hears angry murmurs circulating among his audience.

"This is a tragedy the likes of which we have not seen in 200 years. A crime of this audacity, of this magnitude, cannot go unpunished."

"This so-called revolutionist movement has proven itself to be a malignant cancer on what remains of our fragile stability. That is why, in conjunction with Fleet Admiral Bausch, I have ordered the 2nd Task Force to hunt down the ?Fires of Change' leaders and bring them to justice. I will see those bastards shot, and every last one of their followers hunted down like the dogs they are!"

The Senate erupted with violent applause and angry cheers. The senator knew he had them, knew that, like him, they would not stop until every last one of the goddamn terrorists lay dead or dying at their feet.