The Earth is embroiled in a desperate war against alien invaders, and this series focuses on one squadron of Marine pilots involved in it.

Capt. Shane Vansen: McQueen was born with a ka-bar and a Corps tattoo.
Lt. Paul Wang: Can you imagine if he was anything else? Like a plumber?
Lt. Paul Wang: [imitating McQueen] Okay, listen up. This one's in the kitchen. I'm here to fix your faucet, so check your six. I'm gonna replace the strainer part, and I'm gonna replace the washer. It's gonna be a real knife fight. Now I'm gonna utilize a monkey wrench and perhaps even a plunger. And when I'm done, you'll have water.
[McQueen enters]
Lt. Paul Wang: It'll be hot, and it'll be cold. And one more thing.
[Wang flips table]
Lt. Paul Wang: It's okay to be scared.
Lt. Paul Wang: [realizes McQueen is standing behind him] Sir, sir, it... It's the greatest form of flattery. Sir.
Felicity O: Fate's a bitch.
[Commodore Ross is briefing his pilots about Chiggy Von Richtofen]
Commodore Glen Van Ross: Now hear this, CFB! This is Operation Red Baron! All our plans are on hold until this Chig dies! I want you to go out there, find this bastard, and you pile on!
[first lines]
Lt. Col. Tyrus Cassius "TC" McQueen: [narration] We thought we were alone. We believed the universe was ours. Until one night in 2063, on a Earth colony 16 light-years away, they struck. Now we're at war. We fight when called, in space, on land, and at sea. To lose this war means more than defeat; to surrender is to never go home. All of us must rise to the call... above and beyond.
Lt. Col. Tyrus Cassius "TC" McQueen: The dim glow falling upon the dried blood of Union brothers in the Manassas eve still guides our path. Constellations, hidden by fierce Pacific storms in the Bataan sky remain obscured by rain. The stars - a billion for every life laid down in Vietnam - still shine on us and will guide those who follow.
Lt. Cooper Hawkes: What dead guy wrote that?
Lt. Col. Tyrus Cassius "TC" McQueen: I wrote it.
Lt. Col. Tyrus Cassius "TC" McQueen: This war wasn't just made for Nathan West!
Kylen Celina: Nathan! I believe in you.
Capt. Shane Vansen: Even if we are trained to die, we have got to believe that we're going to live.
Lt. Nathan West: In fifty years, on that burned spot, the trees will be back. And so will we.
[repeated line]
Capt. Shane Vansen: Enemy is superior!