Reclaimer stood as he often did facing Hyperion, watching flashes of lightning dance across the dark sky. The city looked lifeless, dead, still. The lights that normally lit the city were no longer there.

Instead they were replaced by the speckles of orange fire, the faint flash of a rifle. The lightning lit the carnage below, the shadows of once great buildings clawing their way into the sky.

He heard the sound of fighters battling for control of the sky, rain coming down in sheets. Somewhere within the labyrinth of destruction Mirage commanded the Rogue army. 

Somewhere within the maze Oracle continued to kill his men. There had been reports of her movements. He knew what she sought, and he knew she wouldn't give up until it was done.

As of now however everything was going according to his plan. Well, almost everything. Mirage was the new thorn in his side as of late.

He didn't like to admit it but he had underestimated the young General, and he had learned he wasn't afraid to play the game of war. Now he had lost men because of that mistake.

He heard a knock on his door and turned as one of his Captains entered and he turned, facing the him. The soldier cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably as Reclaimer pinned him down with his icy gaze.

"Well?" He asked.

"Most of our wounded were killed in the attacks. We managed to get a force down to our Northern and Western hospitals in time to protect them and resist the Rogue forces." He said.

"Eastern and Southern  stations were searched for medical equipment and were found ransacked. Now we have a surplus of wounded and limited space to put them."

Reclaimer said nothing, turning back to the window. He had challenged Mirage, testing him, seeing if he was willing to make decisions he knew would weigh heavy on his mind.

To see if he would play the game of war, go outside the sets of rules that had been established.

These attacks had proven that he would make those decisions, that he wouldn't play by the rules.

It may be time that I pay you a visit. He thought, watching the fighting in the distance.

"Relocate the wounded here and find the location of the Rogue Command Post. Get into their communications, move behind their lines. Find their General. Do not come back to me until it is done."

He waited for the soldier's answer before speaking.

"Do not fail me." He said, his voice a dangerous whisper, eyes boring into the Captain's.

Reclaimer saw the soldier trying to hide his fear but it was ill disguised. He saw it flash like lightning in his eyes. He knew what would happen if he failed.

"Go." He said, thunder rumbling over their heads.

You won't win Mirage. He thought, smirking as the soldier left.

Your fight is coming to an end.

**                  **                  **

Mirage had talked among his Captains and Platoon Leaders as they returned from the mission he had sent them on.

They all looked weary and most came back bloodied but alive. He told them to get what sleep they could, they would be moving out again soon for another assignment. There was no rest for the weary, not here, not now.

Not when at any second you could be attacked, not when death followed you like a friend, when you could feel him breathing down your neck, waiting.

Mirage nodded to the Platoon Leader that walked past him, greeting his men as they came back, glad to see them back alive.

To his surprise most had come back alive. They only had around 70 wounded, twenty dead, but it had been worth it, the mission had been a success. It had given the force Oracle was with enough time to push forward and reinforce their position.

It was still a delicate balance however, their forces were still severely outmatched. From what Delta Battalion had said the soldiers fighting for control over that section of the city were tired, beaten and bruised.

They still fought but they needed some sign of hope. The success of this mission has served to boost morale, but Mirage didn't know how long that would last.

He glanced up at the sky, at where it threatened to rain. The cold wind made him shiver and he suddenly wished they weren't fighting a battle during Vargo's cold, wet fall season.

Their winters were much the same, cold and wet, but the rain froze and thin sheets of ice covered everything.

It was beautiful when Hyperion's lights sparkled off the ice and the snow fell like soft rainbows from the sky. He suddenly felt a pang of longing but shook it off. If they didn't fight they wouldn't have those moments anymore, and Mirage wasn't willing to give up, not yet.

Hold on a little longer. He thought.

The other cities were being pushed back. They fought for every inch of ground they held but were seeing a similar situation to theirs. Their wounded were being targeted and the field hospitals were overflowing.

Troop transports couldn't get wounded to their bases fast enough, they didn't have enough of them now that they had lost transports when Reclaimer went after them shortly after they first started transporting wounded to other bases.

Now their wreckage lay somewhere in the pine forest where they would be reclaimed by the forest.

Mirage wished they had more medics, more supplies, more men. Then they would have a better chance, but they didn't. They had to work with what they had, and what they had were limited resources and limited time, and they were running out of time.

He had heard whispers of movement in the Southern part of the city that weren't their men.

Reclaimer was moving men for something he didn't know about. He had sent a recon team to go try and figure out what was going on, and he hoped they came back alive.

He glanced up at the sky, lightning piercing the night. Then he did a double take, glancing up again, searching the night sky.

"What?" Asked Phoenix from beside him, seeing the confusion on his face.

"I thought I saw something," he said, searching the dark clouds again.

He hadn't dreamed it. The lightning had reflected off something in the sky. As he watched he saw the side of a battleship illuminated in the light, then cast in shadow once again.

He read the name emblazoned across the silver hull of the ship, shocked into silence.

Dauntless.

It was in fact a Paragon battleship, nothing could deny it. He hadn't been hallucinating.

Somehow, someway someone had gotten a signal through before Reclaimer cut off their communication. Someone had told them they were fighting for their very lives.

Someone had given them hope.

As the battleship broke through the cloud cover hope filled Mirage. They had another chance, they had another way to win this fight. He heard his men begin to cheer, the cry rising into a roar.

Where fatigue had been before hope replaced it, and he knew they were ready to fight again.

Mirage smiled and Phoenix beamed beside him.

"They're here!" She exclaimed, gazing up at the sleek battleship.

"They're really here."

"Yes," said Mirage, "by some miracle they are."

This war continued to throw surprise after surprise at him, never ceased to shock him. Their allies had arrived, now it was time to take back what was theirs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The calvary has arrived! So, do you think this changes the tide of  war? Will they be able to unite and fight as one? Hope you enjoyed as always!

~~Nightfury107