///LOCATION - NLTT-512///TIME - 8:23 LMT///DATE - 19-05-2232///

Just like a few days ago in a different solar system, a bright light shun across the sky of NLTT-512, showering the worlds in its rays. The origin of the light came from the arrival of the 3rd Defense Fleet, which was closer than ever to completing its task: Find Eric Callaghan.

Back in Equestria, everyone looked up at the sky, trying to find the source of the mysterious light. Eventually, some were able to make out faint shapes out in the brightest parts of the sky. No-one was able to identify the object, and some thought that they were simply seeing things due to the incredible brightness eminating from those shapes.

"What is that?!" Goodall shouted. He taken Eric out of the building, and he was walking with him towards a truck that was being driven by part of the 2nd Logistical Batallion. Eric was still not trusted by the Guards, and he was therefore forced to have his hands tied together with rope behind his back. Goodall turned to Eric, and asked: "Do you have any idea what's going on?!"

Eric didn't respond. He just looked up at the sky, at the presence of the massive armada. He knew that they were looking for him. He knew that it wouldn't take them long to find him. He knew what that fleet was capable of. And most importantly, he knew that his captors knew nothing. He didn't respond to Goodall's question. Instead, he turned to the 2 Guards escorting him, and said: "If I were you, I'd be VERY carefull about your next step."

Solar Streak had just arrived at Lightning Sky's house, when he was suddenly blinded by the strange light. He ran towards a window, and looked at the sky in awe. Never had he seen such things. The weird shapes, moving, glowing, far out in space. The bright shining light had ceased, and in its place, a group of objects similair to the one they found Eric in, but many times larger, was now hovering between the planets. The exact shapes of the objects were hard to make out at such a distance, but Solar recognised atleast one thing.

The blinking red lights.

"Argh, my head hurts..." Lightning moaned, rubbing the sides of his head with his wings. The bright light had given him a headache, eventhough he hadn't even looked outside. The mere reflection of the light off of other things was still enough. "What in Tartarus was that?!" he asked with confusion.

"I'm not sure, but I suspect that it has something to do with the alien that we found. You know, the one with the ship?" Solar replied, unsure of what was about to happen. "I might be wrong, and I hope I am, but I think that those -things- out there are similair to the ship that the alien arrived in, only a lot bigger."

"Seriously?! We should do something! Anything!"

"Calm down! Right now, there isn't much we CAN do. We'll just have to wait and see what happens."

"Haven't you ever read one of those comics about aliens? They are going to invade us! That first one was just a scout!"

"Relax! We'll be fine! Even if they attack, we will win. Do you have any idea how advanced our military is?"

"Well, yeah, I did, but still..."

"So calm down. It's going to be okay."

"If you say so..."

Solar had finally managed to calm down Lightning, when someone knocked on the front-door.

"I'm coming, hang on." Lightning yelled to the door, as he started to walked to see who was out there. Whoever was at the door, they had to be in a rush, as they kept knocking. "Calm down, I'll be there in a sec!" "There, how can I help..." He was interupted by one of the two Guards standing at his door, both of which were wearing their standard DPU's.

"Sir, we received word that Captain Streak was at this location. Is that correct?" One of them said in a strict tone.

"Uhm... Yes, he's here... Should I go get him?" Lightning asked.

"No need." the Guard said, as he proceeded to push Lightning aside, as he entered his house. The other Guard followed, and the two of them trotted straight towards the livingroom, where they found Solar, who was lost in thought. Solar snapped out of focused-mode, and looked up at the Guards. He quickly noticed their patches, and realized that they were part of his Regiment, though they were 1st Division, not 2nd Division like him.

"How may I help you gentlecolts?" he asked, eventhough he already knew the reason of their presence.

"Captain Streak, we are here to notify you that General Armor has requested your presence." One of the Guards answered.

"Ah, I see. Well, I suppose I shouldn't leave him waiting! I'm sorry Lightning, I'll see you soon!" Solar said, as he proceeded to walk out of the door with the Guards, who were guiding him to a truck waiting outside. Just before he got in, he looked back at Lightning, and said: "Oh, and don't worry! If the aliens arrive, I'll make sure to create a good first impression!"

The Public-Announcement-System aboard the various vessels of the 3rd Defense Fleet switched on with a crackling sound. Shortly after that, Admiral Bishop could be heard announcing their arrival. The warp was succesfull, and all systems were in optimal shape.

"Listen up!" he said. "Although we have made it to our destination, we are far from done. While it is good that we were able to locate the rough whereabouts of Eric Callaghan, we will still have to keep looking. So far, we only know which planet he is on, namely planet NLTT-512-3A. Now, Captain Lenox would like to give you all some more information on the planet, since many of you will have to land there, and walk around. Captain, the microphone is yours."

"Thank you Admiral." said Captain Kevin Lenox from the bridge of UENCCV-02. "Scans from Falcon 3's Squadron have shown that this planet is an Earth-like world, complete with vegetation, and a suitable atmosphere for human life. Mister Callaghan was lucky to have found a planet like this. The ground-teams will be able to walk around on the planet and look for the target without requiring Atmo-Suits, which will greatly improve performance. However, just because the air won't kill you, doesn't mean other things won't kill you either."

Many people, especially the civilians who signed up for the mission to help, were confused as to what he was talking about. At the same time, many of the Marines were quite certain that they knew exactly where he was going with this, and they were not looking forward to it.

"You see, we have detected movement across the planet. What this means, is that there's alien-life on this world."

Now, even more people were starting to get worried. "Do they mean creatures like the On'San or Iknomi, or more like the Lomnéra and Sotrani?" some asked.

"We're not certain as to the intelligence of these creatures, or the threat that they pose to our mission, but we are damn sure that they won't stand a chance against our armaments and defences. Now, before we make planetfall, your Squad-Leaders will brief you on your task, and they will inform you in terms of your equipment."

In the end, a corps of 80.000 men and women was established, which was divided into 4 battalions of 20.000, each of which was seperated into 8 regiments of 2.500 each, which in turn consisted of 5 500-strong divisions. Battalions 1 and 2 were the main bulk of forces, tasked with security and search for the target. 3rd Battalion consisted primarily of trained Marines, and they would be stationed on the UENCV-53, which was equipped with Orbital Drop-Pods for QRF-purposes. The 4th Battalion was designated as a Logistical Battalion, meaning that they would handle supplies and equipment, both on the ground and on the ships.

Each Division was grouped into 25 20-man Squads, each of which consisted of 1 Squad-Leader, 2 Machine-Gunners,21 Assisting Machine-Gunners, 2 Ammo Bearers, 4 Shield-Bearers, 1 Marksman, 1 Medics, 1 Grenadiers, 1 Breacher, 1 Anti-Tank, and 4 Riflemen. Everyone, except for the Machine-Gunner, the Marksman, the Breacher and the Medics, received an MRX-3 Rifle with a standard Assault-Rifle configuration. The Machine-Gunner carried an LMG-configuration of the MRX-4, the Medics had SMG-configurations of the MRX-3, whilst the Breacher received a Prototype MK-5 Energy Pellet Gun, and lastly, the Marksman received an SRG-400 Shoulder-Fired Railgun.

The Shield-Bearers were equipped with ESP-3, a personnel-version of standard Ship-Mounted Energy Shields. Shield-Bearers were affectionatly called "Espers", due to their equipment. Like all other Marines, they also had an R-55 Pistol, 2 S-5 Stun Grenades, 3 MK-23 Pulse Grenades, and a pair of SMK-8 Smoke Grenades.

With their weapons equipped, the 1st and 2nd Assault Battalions, with a combined force of 40.000 men and women, were preparing to make planetfall. The fleet entered a holding-pattern above the planet's equator, where it stayed in orbit at an altitude of around 500 kilometers. Then, the command to board the Drop-Ships was sent out. Several thousand Marines, spread across 3 gigantic Carriers, marched to their respective ships, ready to find Eric Callaghan, and to fight of any creatures in their way.

With the Marines loaded up, the ships refuelled, and the destinations set, all personnel left the hangars, and after it was confirmed that everyone had left the hangar-bays, the bays were de-pressurized, and the blastdoors were opened, releasing the swarm of Drop-Ships into the deep void of space. Every ship had their own destination, and every Squad had their own plan, but they all had one common task: Find Eric Callaghan, AKA The Missing Pilot.

After about 30 minutes of carefull re-entry procedures, 1st Assault Battalion, 3rd Regiment, 2nd Division, Golf-Squad set foot on the planet NLTT-512-3A.

The UEN had landed.

Author's Note

If you want your character to be featured as a human soldier, pilot, politician or civilian, or a pony civilian, politician or royal guard, please send me a message with the character's name, looks, characteristics, and role if you have any preference. All featured characters will be credited.

Featured Characters:
Lightning Sky - Oskar