Ammo crew engineers prepared the last 200 smart rounds. Commander Acksel -L- Vinagorix gave the thumbs up, as each smart round was loaded into the cannons ready for launch.
Each smart round was as large as a man's fist and was as long as a man's forearm. The one-piece, solid black projectiles had the ammo crew chewing their lips searching for any defect in the round. They had to be perfect - this was the last load.
The battleship was armoured from stem to stern with defensive dark matter technology which left space around it featureless and almost invisible. This was vital to prevent the ship from being targeted during battle. The armour had two layers. The multiple layers of dark matter were a form of massive, dark energy field that was formed around the ship, causing it to merge with space - making the ship impossible to spot through normal Omega scanners.
The ship had a powerful armament and a complement of four thousand troops, hidden in its vast dark matter field. Two hundred and fifty troops were armed with dark crysteel, the power source and stock of the dark matter fleet. Those were the troops in the ship's crew.
The remaining two thousand troops were elite troops known as the Guardians of the Universe. They were all named after the astronauts of the last unknown human race. The Guardians were a secretive and very highly trained elite force. They served aboard the Guardian's warships and were under the direct command of no one but the Guardians. They were few in number and always on the move – forever on the way to the next secret mission.
Each of these highly skilled, elite troops were all hand selected from the front line troops who had earned the right to be part of the elite. None had any idea of where they were going, when they would leave or how long they would be gone. They never knew their departure time or where they were heading. These troops were to be expendable, unlike the rest of the crew – this was one reason why the crew members had volunteered for the wars.
It was a well known fact that the events of the past, unknown human race had been kept in secrecy. It had not been revealed that a new form of dark matter weapon had been created. That dark matter weapon was so strong that it could destroy a planet by accident. If a normal matter weapon was fired at a planet, it could destroy everything living on that planet, including the planet's indigenous inhabitants - but not its habitat.
The dark matter weapon could destroy the habitats of an entire race of beings - but not their planet. The dark matter weapon would destroy the planet in one hit. The dark matter multiplies about the planet, destroying all its habitat and inhabitants in one shot.
The dark matter weapon was a very powerful, devastating and top secret weapon. It was not used every day by the dark matter for only special situations could require its use. If the dark matter was discovered to use the dark matter weapon - the dark matter would be targeted and destroyed. The dark matter fleet would be decimated without a backup. The dark matter fleet would cease to exist forever; itself.
The dark matter fleet would be destroyed and the dark matter weapon - with it. But the dark matter, itself, would never be destroyed. The dark matter was a natural force. It was said to be the source of all dark matter energy in the universe. It was a force that was as strong as gravity.
The dark matter weapon was a blast - so strong that it could destroy everything within one solar system. The dark matter weapon had its own protective dark matter energy shield; a system that prevented the weapon from destroying its builders.