Author's Note: "Part II: Truth" takes place before the events of EV Override, and before the events of Part I. Part II is set during the closing days of the Voinian War, just before the climactic Battle of Sol.

Commander Jackson glanced down at the stacks of paperwork on his desk. He sighed to himself, as he started another busy week of work. Jackson, who was in charge of the largest defense fleet in the UE Navy, found his job to be incredibly boring.

In the early days of his career, Jackson had commanded a UE Destroyer on the front-lines. Instead of filling out forms and requisitions all day, he was out there battling the dreaded Voinians. He was out there destroying Voinian Frigates and Cruisers, escorting troop transports filled with the marines that would attack Voinian worlds, he was a part of the Voinian War, the war that would be spoken of for generations to come... But, now, Jackson sat behind his desk at Lunicus Base. The walls were bare, and they'd been painted a solid shade of dull gray. Jackson hated it. Ever since his promotion to the rank of commander, Jackson hated his career. He wished that, for once, some of that excitement he'd once had would return.

But, as the saying goes, "be careful what you wish for..."

"Sir?" said Aaron, the commander's assistant.

"What is it?" replied the commander, never looking up from his paperwork.

"Incoming transmission from Commander d'Erlon. Level Five priority."

Jackson sighed again. What did d'Erlon want this time? Since he was the commander of the Sol Defense Fleet, Jackson was, by default, also the leader of the entire UE Defense Armada. When the other commanders wanted supplies or back-up ships, they had to come through Sol Commander Jackson.

"I'll take it in here," said the commander as he swiveled his chair around to face the comm-screen.

"Level Five security encryption. Please enter access code," said the computer in its mechanical voice.

"Jackson, alpha, pi, gamma."

"Access granted," said the computer as the seal of the United Earth government faded, and the face of Commander d'Erlon appeared.

D'Erlon opened his mouth to speak, but Jackson beat him. "Good day, commander," he said. "And to what can I attribute this call? More supplies, perhaps? More troops?"

"Oh, no, commander. Nothing like that today. My scouts have discovered a large number of Voinian vessels gathering in the Vorik system. We have received encrypted transmissions from unknown sources, but, after decrypting all that we could, we discovered the target of this massive Voinian fleet... the Sol system."

Commander Jackson blinked. This news was unexpected. "How... how many ships?"

"Hundreds... And more are arriving with each passing moment. We've been winning many of the recent battles, Commander Jackson. The Voinians are throwing their fleet at Sol, because, if Earth falls, so does the Human race."

Jackson considered this situation for a moment. "What proof do we have that the intercepted transmissions are not fakes? That the Voinians do not plan to lure all of our defenses towards Sol and then strike at Saalia or Paaren?"

"My agents have," the commander cleared his throat, "'convinced' several captured Voinian prisoners to reveal some strategic information. Sol is a target, commander. Of this, I can assure you."Alert klaxons began to roar behind d'Erlon. The other commander rolled his eyes. "I reccomend that you coordinate your defense plans with Admiral McPhereson. You must excuse me, commander."

With that, the face of d'Erlon disappeared, and the seal of the United Earth returned. "Aaron," he called. "Get Admiral McPhereson on the line, ASAP. Level Five priority." Jackson was once again alone in his office, but, for the first time in several months, he was no longer bored with his job...