Over the next fifty years, a religious cult known as the Morgan Atkins Believers—“Mogats”—spreads across the 180 colonized planets, preaching independence from the Unified Authority government.
In 2510, spurred on by the growing Morgan Atkins movement, four of the six galactic arms declare independence from Unified Authority governance.
On March 28, 2512, the combined forces of the Confederate Arms Treaty Organization and the Morgan Atkins Believers defeat the Earth Fleet and destroy the Broadcast Network, effectively cutting the government off from its loyal colonies and Navy.
Believing they have crippled the Unified Authority, the Mogats then turn on their Confederate Arms allies in an attempt to take control of the rebuilt Galactic Central Fleet. While the Confederates manage to hold on to approximately fifty ships, the Mogats take control of over four hundred ships, giving them the most powerful self- broadcasting attack force in the galaxy.
Fighting for its survival, the Confederate Arms forms an alliance with the Unified Authority. Under U.A. leadership, the combined forces stage a counterattack on the Mogat home world, destroying the entire Mogat Navy and leaving no survivors on the planet.
PROLOGUE
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The video feed froze on the image of the creature. The image was blurry and indistinct, like a picture taken by a child who can’t stop jiggling his camera.
“Master Gunnery Sergeant Harris, perhaps you could give us your opinion about the nature of this creature,” Admiral Brallier said, the forced calm in his voice fraying on the word “creature.”
I had retired, only I wasn’t allowed to stay that way. These officers would not have had any authority over a retired Marine—I was back on active duty so that they could decide whether or not they wanted to lock me up.
“I have no idea,” I said. I could feel the heat rising in my blood. Brallier and I stared at each other, saying nothing.
Finally, Brallier broke the silence, asking, “Do you think it was a Space Angel?”
That video record was shot during the invasion of the planetary home of the Mogats—a religious cult that had all but overthrown the Unified Authority. In his writings, cult founder Morgan Atkins discussed meeting a radiant alien being, which he referred to as a “Space Angel.” Other than Atkins, no one of any note had ever mentioned making contact with space aliens, so it was hard to take Atkins seriously.
“He fired a gun at me,” I said.
“So?”
“That doesn’t seem very angelic,” I said.
A few people in the gallery laughed, but tensions ran high in those chambers. Most people sat mute as stone.
“No one but you saw this creature,” Brallier said, turning to the screen to take another look. “I find that strange, Master Gunnery Sergeant. Don’t you find that strange? From what we have been able to ascertain, the creature in this frame is nearly ten feet tall and carrying a giant rifle, but you were the only person who noticed it. How do you explain that?”
The bastard had just called me a liar. He did it in an eloquent, formal style, but he had just called me a liar,