I am Captain Enoch Murkins of the TCS Cerberus. The Cerberus is the newest ship in the fleet, and although she doesn't support the number of ships the Midway, she's quick and packs a punch.

Now the Cerberus is officially under the jurisdiction of the Terran Confederation Intelligence Service.

Because the TCIS "own" this boat all of you are now special operatives working with a higher level of clearance than some Confederation commanders have. We will be dealing with the evaluation, containment, and eradication of any possible threats to TC security.

This makes any outside communication with family, friends, whomever, extremely limited. Once we reach Courage sector consider yourself squelched from the outside galaxy.

You have been picked, due to your impressive record and unmatched piloting skills, to fill out the Cerberus' small compliment of fighters as we hunt for any bug stragglers who might be hiding from us.

We don't expect to encounter any significant enemy resistance during the next few weeks. Essentially, we are taking the Cerberus out to put her through her paces.

You will encounter some new weapons that have been retrofitted into some variant fighters. These weapons are so new you can smell it, so we don't have a lot in the way of documentation for you. Over the coming weeks we should be able to make available some of the research documents for these new devices. Basically, you folks are the final stage of field-testing. I've been guaranteed that they won't blow you up, so just squeeze the trigger and experiment. Your final input will be vital in the determination of tactical documents prepared for wider release to other pilots who will be using these toys.

You may have noticed that my tone is slightly less than the official line you would expect from the Captain of a TCS assault cruiser. I prefer to speak with my actions rather than bureaucratic double talk. I prefer that you hear it straight and understand that we are all together in this. Also, all of our correspondences are R2 classified and not intended to leave this ship. So, I expect you to be just as up front with me about any and all concerns you may have. When we rely upon one another for life and death, protocol should take a back seat to performance.

However, do not mistake this informality as an opportunity for self-determination. I am the law here and I'm a hanging judge. If you get out of line I will smash you back into it. If you cross me, I will crush you. If you fulfill your responsibilities and succeed at all objectives I will be happy. You want me happy. Trust me.

I am not going to go over my record. I am not going to justify any decision I make. I will judge and act and God help you if you are in my way.

Welcome aboard, Pilots.