Four months, almost.
Almost four months ago, the first of those dastardly maelstroms hit the Bubble. Taranis, they called it. We had been watching them for weeks, sure. We first noticed them a couple of months before that; we had no clue what they were but we knew they were big. Very big. And fast. Nobody knew what was coming when the "Stargoids" got to us, but we knew they were on the way.
And then they came. First one, then three, then more. Now there's eight of those suckers kicking around. Surrounding the Bubble on several sides, spewing out their corrosive gas. Nobody knows what's in the middle, we haven't been able to get anywhere close. New tech and all, but we're still no match. Thousands of systems lost, billions of people dead. And we still don't even know what we're dealing with.
At first, it was full on panic. Everybody with a ship jumped in to help. Combat pilots going toe to toe with the 'goids, other people running supplies in and people out. Even the Feds and the Imps played nice (well, ish) together in the face of the bigger threat. Not everyone, though. Some people ran off into the black, to Colonia, or even all the way out to Ishum's Reach. Cowards, we called 'em. Oh well. People will do whatever they feel is necessary. Me, I stayed to fight. Never been much of an AX pilot, but I'm learning.
As the War dragged on though, our spirit has begun to break. Imagine that? Thousands of years of Human history, and the great writers always talk about the strength of the "Human Spirit", whatever the hell that means. But people, real people, get tired. We get burnt out. Human spirit be damned, we just don't have the energy to keep fighting this war. We're doing what we can to give 'em hell, though.
It's eerie, war. Especially a war of this scale, this magnitude. Never in Human history have we fought a war like this. On some levels, it seems like the fight is all that matters. One day it feels hopeless, but then you watch an interceptor pop and you're inspired. Then two more drop in, and we carry on. At the same time, life is strangely normal. Trade is booming, factions are still fighting amongst themselves, tourists are still paying for rides to every corner of the Galaxy. I wonder if this is what other catastrophes have been like, in our history. Where those closest are affected, but those unaffected are just...apathetic. What does that say about us? Do we even deserve to win?
Rumor has it that something big is coming, in a April or May. Just whispers for now. Nobody seems to know what it is, or where the whispers started. We'll see, I guess. It gives me something to look forward to. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm excited. Can't be something bad, right? After all, what can be worse than what we're currently dealing with?
How much longer will this war continue? How many more soldiers must lose everything protecting their home? I'm going to do my part to help end the war!