09:50 Janurary 9, 2298 (military calendar)

MOONS OF CAIRO, BETA KELIN SYSTEM, QUAD BINARY SYSTEM

UEC HEAVY BATTLE CARRIER – 798 "SPIRIT OF ENDURANCE"

The Spirit of Endurance jumped into the belt surrounding Cairo. A relatively uninhabited planet. It was where the stealth ships of the fleet were originally laid down and constructed before the war, they moved them to inside of UEC Controlled space to prevent technology from falling into enemy hands. They needed peace and quiet for a while, time to lay their friends to rest in the great beyond.

Barnes walked onto the deck of the hangar bay. They laid out the bodies they recovered from the deck. 29, the others were ejected out into space. He got the finally body count, 298, the crew was undermanned when they took over the Spirit of Endurance, now they were truly undermanned. The only good thing off a ship her age is that she could be easily maintained, it was all about some oil, and computer engineers to keep the ship going. When he looked up he saw the rest of the crew that gathered there, the rest were on duty, he and Colonel Jarvin were both on the deck.

"Commander on deck!" The entire crew snapped to attention and saluted.

"As you were." He walked up to their fallen comrades, they gathered their dog tags. "These men, you all wish you could have taken their place, maybe all of you wish we all were with them, don't you? In a way, so do I. But we can't let their deaths way down on us, yes, they were our friends, our brothers in arms, but that is beside the point. We all joined the military because we wanted to make a difference, to help curb the war, and going in, we all knew the risks we were taking. These men did as well. Their deaths will not be in vain. We are alone, on the very edge of known charted space, hunted by those who want to destroy our very freedoms. The Insurrectionists want to destroy everything we take for granted, that's all they want to do. Our task of survival will not be an easy one, our enemies are well trained, well equipped, and battle-hardened, they will fight savagely. The Schindler Jews once said, that if you save one life, you save the world entire, to survive, we must fight like them. To make those who lay before, those who died in the line of duty, not in vain, we must survive, if one survives, we all will live with them." The crew all looked forward at their friends, no one wants one of their brothers to have died in vain. With the deaths of millions of people, they knew the meaning he had. If even they changed the fate of one person, they would save them entire, they had their stories. "When we lay our brothers in arms before us, to send them into the place where all life came, we must remember, that no matter what, not one man here, died in vain, they died fighting for what they believe in. What we hall believe in. Freedom. Semper Fi."

"Semper Fi." The entire crew said in unison.

"Ten-hut!" The entire crew saluted, they don't want to fire weapons off inside a ship. Commander Barnes turned around and faced their crewmen. He knew several of those killed, they all were feeling the same thing. Sadness, despair, hopelessness, revenge. They watched as the airlock lifted to the wall and blocked their view. For a moment, they heard clunks as their friends, their brothers, were sent to the great expanse of space. "Dismissed."