I turned the engine on and got the thrusters going. I activated the gyro-stabilizers and lifted the ship off the ground. I pushed the throttle forward and the ship launched out of the hanger. Drake yelled up to me, "We've got incoming!" Two light combat ships were heading toward us on an intercept course. "Hold on!" I yelled as I took the ship into a steep climb. We rocketed up into the atmosphere. I could hear Drake yelling from behind me as he tried to bring the ships down. I jerked the joystick hard and the ship responded by spiraling out of control. We all screamed as I desperately tried to regain control of the ship. At the last possible second I yanked the joystick back and the ship leveled off. "Hex!" I called while explosions sounded behind me. Drake was really enjoying that turret. "What is it?" Hex asked me. "Can we go to warp?" I asked. He stared at me, incredulously. "You want to go to warp within the atmosphere?! That's insane! Who knows where you'll end up?" "Can you do it?" I asked, again. "While we are inside the Earth's atmosphere, I can't set a destination. We could end up on Mars or in the middle of the sun!" "That's a risk we'll have to take." I said as another explosion rocked the ship. "Alright. Going to warp." Hex said. I reached over to my console and pushed the button to retract the gun turret and close the door. "You might want to strap in Drake. Its about to get bumpy." I called back to him. "Here we go! In Three... Two... One!" Hex yelled. The ship launched forward into warp. After about a minute, I pulled the throttle back and we fell out of warp. "Where are we?" I asked. Hex looked at the console. "We are currently in orbit around Diemos, Mar's second moon." he said. I brought the ship into a low orbit then shut all non-essential systems down so our energy signature would look like a piece of space debris. As I walked back to see my friends, Jedesia lifted the safety restraint off. She looked at me and Drake. "Thank you both for saving me." she said. Drake nodded. "It was nothing." I said. "Soo... He's a friend? She asked pointing to Drake. "Ya, he found me on Vexus and I explained everything to him. He actually fought in the Faction Wars against Lysander and the Concordat. When he realized that I was against Lysander he joined me and then we went to the resistance. I had just wanted to stop and see Galon but then you were there, and then the plan went off the rails." I said. Drake grunted and the pulled a cot built into the wall down and climbed into it. I did the same and so did Jedesia. We each lay down and pulled the blankets over ourselves. Just before my eyes closed I said, "Don't worry Jedesia. We'll get your powers back." [u]Location, Tower consensus council chamber...[/u] Lysander stood in front of the Consensus. Three representatives from each Faction, New Monarchy, FWC, Dead Orbit, and the Concordat. "I have gathered you all here today, to witness a beginning, and also, and end. For too long we have fought against the Darkness, losing more than we can afford. No more. We have cowered from the Fallen, been beaten by the Hive, but no longer. We now have a solution. And we will win." He motioned to the two guards standing at attention beside the massive iron doors behind him. They opened the door. It opened with a groan, revealing a bright light shining from behind a curtain of gray mist. Or it might have been smoke. A shape appeared in the mist. Misshapen, lumbering, it plodded forward, each step shaking the entire room. Arach, a representative from Dead Orbit stood. "What is that?!" he asked, a look of fear on his face. "That," Lysander said with a smile, "Is the future."