Return of the Nightmares:Dawn of the Third Day

The Sun shone brightly over Zimstreth. A military base world, it hasnt seen any pain or hardship since the second Nightmare war, but that is about to change. The sky over Zimstreth ripples and distorts, 57 nightmare ships appear over the planet and open fire on the 87 Hyperion ships in orbit tearing them apart. The Hyperion ships counter attack feebly against the Nightmare ships disabling 3 of them, the surviving 12 Hyperion ships are drowned in a wave of super-heated plasma. The Nightmare ships begin blasting the surface of the planet from orbit killing millions.

Reinforcements arrive, 25 Hyperion ships arrive as the Nightmares finish up glassing the planet. The ships open fire on the Nightmares. The surprise attack catches the Nightmares off guard destroying 12 of their ships. Both fleets close in on eachother and engage in a deadly 'knife-fight' Hyperion ships pound the Nightmares with Dart missiles and the Nightmares return the favor with plasma. Both sides take heavy losses but in the end the Hyperion forces withdraw, with 5 ships escaping leaving 25 others disabled. The Nightmare ships stay and destroy the surviving ships and escape pods.

"Repeat!! We need Fleet reinforcements ASAP!!"
"Negative sir, the ENTIRE fleet is engaged, there are not more reinforcements."
"There has to be something! Anything."
"There is nothing, They've taken out most of our orbital Plasma cannons and our ground forces are being torn apart."

<Incoming Transmission>
Hostile Forces Engaging Allied fleets over Hyperion.
Allied fleet size:587 ships
Enemy Fleet size:679 with aprox 25 more every few seconds.
Reinforcements needed!
<Transmission Ends>

"Keep those firing lines tight!!"
Sergeant Michealbee never thought he would ever fight on Hyperion, let alone against, the Nightmares. He had lost about half of his platoon and the other half was running low on ammo and moral. They had expended all of their Tac Nukes but they still kept coming. Plasma worked well though, it only took a couple of hits to kill a warrior but there were so many. So many billions....
Corporal Ricardo screamed into his Mike "SIR!!! I see a SHIT ASS LOAD MORE COMING INTO THE VALLEY!! I think we should get the FUCK OUT OF HERE!"
"NO!! WE HOLD HERE!! THose were our orders!! Fight to the last man, give the enemy NO ground!" The Sergeant replied.
Michealbee was surprised the Corporal didnt just leave. Most soldier he knew WOULD leave in such a situation. His plasma rifle stopped firing and his helmet started beeping. Out of ammo... He pulled out his MK2 knowing bullets dont really affect Nightmares and unloaded the fiftey caliber rounds watching them harmlessly bounce the Nightmares.
Michealbee dropped his MK2, his M4A1 and his MKL9. He pulled out his Morita MR7 Laser Rifer and began firing at the Nightmares watching as every 5th shot actually pierced the armor of the Warrior. The Nightmares were practically breathing on them now. Ricardo's Bio signs on his helmet flat-lined. Michealbee looked over and saw a Nightmare warrior tearing Ricardo's body to pieces. He knew this was the end, air support was gone and there was no fleet support...He looked up in time to see several Nightmare fighters drench him and his squad in super-heated plasma.

Admiral Dufrane "We cant continue to resist an attack of this magnitude...Reminds me of the first war...They would send wave after wave until they wiped out the defenders...How many ships have we disabled?"
Lieutenant Bradford "About.....1500, the NOVAs are keeping them from overrunning us."
Dufrane "That wont stop them. What about ground forces?"
Bradford "They have stonewalled the Nightmare advance about 50 miles south of the capitol."
Dufrane "Their tactic are still the same, start at the south pole and move north from their."
Bradford "Sir? Do you think this time that they'll? That they'll win??"
Dufrane "That will be all Lieutenant. Dismissed."

<Incoming Transmission>
*Computerized voice*
Casualty Projection: Upwards of 5.2 Trillion within Year 1. Upwards of 500 Billion by Year 2.
All remaining Sentient lifeforms by middle of Year 3.
<Transmission ends>
Fleet Admiral Gorbachev stared blankly at his computer screen. He was watching a live-feed video transmission of the attack on Hyperion. He looked back at the transmission. He knew what needed to be done, stop their advance and crush them before they wiped out all life, but their was only one problem.
"Where are you coming from?"
* * *
[Dairy entry of Unknown civilian]
Did the military see this coming? Probably not. They wiped out half the fleet in seconds and burned the other half in a less then a minute. I can still hear people screaming from inside the city even though they arent here yet. My wife and kids from down South are supposed to be coming, they were in the town of Gerdord, ten miles from the initial Nightmare landing...I told them where I was, they should be here in a few minutes. I cant help but feel though that they're dead. I haven heard from then since the initial invasion... I need to calm down and not think like that, but then again I've never been THIS scared before in my life...

70% Of all Civilian on Hyperion are dead as of 1400 hours military time.(89million Dead)
80% Of all MI forces deployed KIA(24million Dead)
60% Of all Fleet Forces deployed KIA (67million Dead)
Remaining military forces:43,975,401
Majority of all military forces killed.
DRASTIC ACTION MUST BE TAKEN IMMEDIATELY!!!!

"Why havent they rushed us yet Lt?"
The Lieutenant stared at the young private and didnt answer his question. They always attack, even if theres only a few left. Somethings not right. He looked back at the rookie, Only 3 days out of boot and thrown up against these monsters. He stared blankly at the clock on his HUD. Already 1600 hours, already they've been here for six hours.
"Here they come!!!"
The Lieutenant raised his plasma rifle and fired.

Missiles darted across the blackness of space impacting an unshielded Nightmare ship.
Crewman "Thats a Kill!"
Captain "Dont get cocky! Theres alot more where that came from!"
The carrier maneuvered to dodge a wave of plasma fired at it. The carrier made a 180 to face the attacker only to be cut to pieces by the multiple plasma hits.
***
Admiral Dufrane "Thats another one gone."
Lieutenant Bradford "At this rate we'll be out of ships by tomorrow morning."
Admiral Dufrane "Well, they're slacking of on the assault, meaning they are gathering more and more ships before they strike and overwhelm us."
Lieutenant Bradford "Sir, when do you think they will hit us?"
Admiral Dufrane "Tomorrow morning. Lieutenant you are now on R&R for the next Eight hours."
Lieutenant Bradford "Sir??"
Admiral Dufrane "You heard me, now go home and see your family."

Hyperion troops had dug in 50 miles south of the capitol, 23 divisions of troops all ready to absorb the next Nightmare advance, whenever it came. Everybody was anxious, if the Nightmares out numbered them at least 20:1 the entire line would break and the planet would be overwhelmed. At dawn(0600 hours) the Nightmares attacked the line with millions of warriors, Consumers and several dozen ground based anti-orbital ships plasma guns. The line was devastated but they fought back furiously repelling most of them.
In orbit The Nightmares attacked with over 20,000 ships. Most of them were destroyed by NOVA bombs but the rest tore into the Hyperion fleet destroying most of them.

<Intercepting News feed....Done>
"...Orbital plasma attacks continue to wipe out ground forces. Most of the fleet has been destroyed and Hyperions military is being stretched to its limit."
"GET DOWN!! INCOMING PLASMA FIRE!!"
<News feed ends>

Hyperia, a once beautiful prosperous City, now, it lays in ruins. Smoke drifts lazily from the outskirts and plasma rains down all over it. The city is burning, the people are dying and the military is breaking. A Nightmare ship descends from the atmosphere and drops millions of Nightmares into the City. The ships sits there for a moment before it is disabled by a Plasma beam from a Carrier overhead. The ship crashes devastating a quarter of the city.
The fleet dropped the last of its troops, 20 million in all. To what was most likely, their deaths. The fleet was low on missiles and fuel and wouldnt last much longer during this protracted siege.
Hyperion ships hold their position around the planet protecting it from hostile plasma as more Nightmare ships move in. The Nightmare ships close in quickly and fire on the Hyperion fleet penetrating the shields and igniting the ships. THe Hyperion fleet fires back cutting through the Nightmare ships like paper but the Nightmares distraction worked, and Millions of Nightmares stream planetside.
The garden of the Holy Palace in Hyperia. A place with beauty beyond measure, large even green grass fields, meadows of rare flowers and a forest in front of the palace itself. The sunset at 6pm is almost picturesque. SCREEEEEEECH!!!!
A Nightmare fighter crashes in the center of the garden leaving a blackened crater. Fighting erupts all around the palace, plasma impacts the garden burning the fields and forests. Rockets fly in from the opposite side flying over the garden. The sun is soon blocked out by a Nightmare ship, it hovers over the Palace, unmoving. Bright blue light collects on its underside and unleashes vaporizing the Holy Palace and setting the Garden and nearby buildings on fire. The second most revered monument in Hyperion, destroyed in seconds by plasma.
MI forces dig in on the other side of the burned Garden, waiting to absorb the next attack as well as they could. Knowing that they will most likely end up in the Halls of Dreams, the place where all those who died in the Nightmare War are listed...All 978billion of their brothers in arms and civilians who fell before these monsters.

<Illegal Civilian Transmission intercepted>
<Message playing>
Been given 24 hours
to tie up loose ends
to make amends
His eyes said it all
I started to fall
and the silence deafened
Head spinning round
no time to sit down
just wanted to
run and run and run
Be careful they say
don't wish life away,
now I've one day

And I can't believe
How I've been wasting my time

In 24 hours they'll be
laying flowers
on my life, it's over tonight
I'm not messing no I
need your blessing
and your promise to live free
please do it for me

Is there a heaven a hell
and will I come back
who can tell
Now I can see
what matters to me
it's as clear as crystal
The places I've been
the people I've seen
plans that I made
start to fade
The sun's setting gold
thought I would grow old,
it wasn't to be

And I can't believe
How I've been wasting my time

In 18 hours they'll be
laying flowers
on my life, it's over tonight
I'm not messing no I
need your blessing
and your promise to live free
please do it for me

In 13 hours they'll be
laying flowers
on my life, it's over tonight
I'm not messing no I
need your blessing
and your promise to live free
Please do it for me

I'm not alone, I sense it, I sense it
All that I said, I meant it, I meant it

And I can't believe
How much I've wasted my time

In just 8 hours they'll be
laying flowers
on my life, it's over tonight
I'm not messing no I
need your blessing
and your promise to live free
please do it for me

In just 1 hour they'll be
laying flowers
on my life, it's over tonight
I'm not messing no I
need your blessing
and your promise to live free
please do it for me
<Lyrics to song End>
<Message ends>

Night sets over the world of Hyperion, the Nightmare advance has been stonewalled once more...But for how long?

They were all hunkered in, the last 3million soldiers in Hyperions military force. Inside of shacks, apartments, bunkers, anything that provided some cover. The sat across the street from what was once the Palace garden, now, nothing more then a series of blackened craters. The story was the same with everything else, the Nightmare Memorial, Veterans Hall, and, perhaps the most symbolic of all, the massive Hyperion flag that flew proudly, visible from everywhere in the city. The Flag now waves brilliantly, but now with burn marks, tears and dirt. The soldiers sit quietly, waiting, most of them listening to the fleet transmissions, hearing thousands of people dieing above their heads.The Soldiers armor systems detect Nightmares advancing several miles away, LOTS of Nightmares. The Soldiers unleash a wave of Tac Nukes at the Nightmare forces vaporizing thousands but more come up from underground closer to the Soldiers lines. The Soldiers unleash another wave of Tac Nukes, they vaporize the forwards lines but the Nightmares continue to charge. The unleash five more waves of Tac nukes before they run out, they have killed several million Nightmares but they havent slowed down, they continue to advance on the Hyperion lines. The Nightmares reach the Nuclear mines and set off all of them. The Hyperion soldiers pointed their Plasma rifles at the Advancing horde knowing that they probably wouldnt survive the encounter. Massive building sized Blobs of plasma arced across the sky, fired from the other side of the planet, the plasma still hit with deadly accuracy killing thousands of soldiers.
"ALL FORCES OPEN FIRE!!!"Screamed over the radio, all the Hyperion forces fired their plasma rifles cutting down millions of Nightmares. As the Nightmares came within fifty feet of the Hyperion lines, the collapsed beneath them, a million soldiers fell into Nightmare infested tunnels. The soldiers still alive down in the collapsed lines prayed that they would make it out, those prayer went unanswered as a consumer came up from beneath the ground crushing hundreds. Nightmare fighter strafed the ground troops with plasma and the Nightmare horde had reached the Hyperion lines tearing them to pieces.

Ground based strategic nuclear weapons all with a force of 100 megatons, was unleashed. The missiles flew all across Hyperion vaporizing any Nightmares with 20miles of the blasts. The bombs turned much of the surface into debris and radioactive wastelands. A cameras video messages are recorded, and they are a major blow to moral for the surviving Hyperion forces. It shows Hyperia as nothing but pieces of buildings lying everywhere, amongst the debris, a Hyperion flag is seen on its tilted pole. The flag is covered in dirt, grime, has numerous tears and scorch marks. The design is barely visible and the right end of the flag that is supposed to wave it aflame. The flag slowly burns over the period of two minutes before it is nothing but ash, a Nightmare Warrior steps ontop of the ashes, looks at the sky and screeches.

Dawn breaks on the Third day and the surviving soldiers get ready and prepare for the enemy attack. The Nightmares attack just after the break of dawn and quickly rush the ground troops. The soldiers open fire and quickly expend all of their plasma and laser rounds. They switch to the MK2s knowing that bullets arent very effective against Nightmares. The Nightmares reach the lines and cut most of the soldier to ribbons in moments. The last surviving squad gets into a circle formation as the Nightmare close in thinking that they were about to die. The soldiers open fire on the Nightmares but right as the Nightmares were about to cut them down they disappeared.
One of the Privates was dumbfounded and asked "Sarge, What the Fuck just happened?!"
The Sarge thought for a moment and replied "They must have found the device that makes these things and turned it off. How they were able to do it I dont know but they did it."
The Private had to know one more thing "So, its over, they wont come back?"
"These bastards? You can bet your ass they will be, and next time, they just might win."
At that the Private turned towards the ruins of the palace garden, stared for a moment and fell onto his knees crying.

TOTAL MILITARY CASUALTIES:140,567,798
TOTAL CIVILIAN CASUALTIES:134,577,239
ORIGINAL FLEET SIZE: 5200 ships
REMAINING FLEET SIZE:3 ships(Needing heavy repairs)
REMAINING GROUND FORCES: APROX 2million
TOTAL WORLDS REMAINING:27
TOTAL WORLDS GLASSED:1(ZIMSTRETH)
WORLDS REQUIRING EXTENSIVE TERRAFORMING:1(HYPERION)
TOTAL NIGHTMARE CASUALTIES:APROX 2.5 Trillion
TOTAL NIGHTMARE SHIPS KILLED:45,000

Hmm...I'm not quite sure what to make of this. It has all the ingredients for a gripping story, but it seems to move a bit fast for me. I understand that the oddly done format was probably intentional, but what I would immediately work on is making those numbers mean something. Saying something like '57 ships tore 83 of them apart' doesn't do anything for me. Creating a character, connecting with me (the reader) and telling me about these people stationed on these doomed ships would be good writing. A lot of the time, it just seems to be listing vocabulary from a FPS game.

Could use some work, but the Jem song was a nice touch.