#deathcommando

Currently, I am suffering. I just had my legs blown off from a plasma core explosion and was shot in the stomach with a bolter round. Yet nothing could compare to the pain I was experiencing right now. Matter of fact, this might be the worst pain I have ever felt, actually, this is my first time experiencing any kind of severe pain.

My back is killing me and I feel like somebody crushed me into a tight ball and forced me out of a small hole. I can’t see anything through my blurred vision, and my ears are ringing violently as noises bombard my ears like the cracking of railguns. I can’t make sense of anything, all my senses are under attack right now. I wasn’t a believer, but I was sure now, this was hell and I was damned to suffer here.

Suddenly, a warmth spread through my chest and out through my body, going all the way to the tips of my fingers. It felt like somebody had injected morphine straight into my solar plexus and it made me feel amazing. Almost instantly my body stopped hurting.

More importantly, I could finally see again. My vision corrected and staring at me intently was an ancient-looking old man with thick slabs of glass for glasses. He took them off and his bright emerald green eyes were almost shimmering. No… the iris of his eyes was actually swirling. He smiled at me and without a word he picked me up. Wait, how is that possible?!

I am 7 feet tall and weigh well over 300 pounds, but this old geezer just lifted me with ease. Confused and feeling… angry? I tried to push him away from me only to realize I couldn’t control my…tiny little brown arms. I was suddenly flipped like a pancake and was face down staring at the wooden ground when I got a swift smack to my rear. I attempted to scream out profanities at the old man but instead, my voice just came out as a high-pitched cry. This is awful, hell sucks.

My eyes began to water as the old man turned me back over. He smiled and said something in a language I didn’t understand. What the hell is going on? He is clearly human, and I know nearly all of Earth’s languages. What kind of dialect is that? He walked over a few steps and bent down, he handed me over to somebody else. I tried to scream at him but I was still just letting out a shrill cry.

The new person hugged me tightly to their soft chest and smiled down at me. Her white alabaster skin was gleaming with sweat, she had long blonde hair that went past her shoulders, her facial features were so sharp you might be able to cut yourself on them.

Her eyes… weren’t hazel, no instead they were almost like pools of gold. And just like the old man, her irises were also swirling around. My eyes drifted upwards, poking out of her matted down hair were…long dagger-like ears, just like an Elunari. I am so screwed.

She was an albino, she had to be. I didn’t know they could have blond hair and gold eyes but I guess anything is possible at this point. Even though I should be feeling an insurmountable amount of dread as the most dangerous Xeno known to Humanity held me to their chest, I felt awfully calm about all of this.

She was attempting to speak to me, her voice was so soft and warm. But I couldn’t understand a word she was saying. She picked me up and gave me a warm smile as she handed me over to a man.

He had long black hair, brown skin, and softer facial features. His eyes swam just like the others, but his were like pure purple amethysts. And coming out from the side of his head were droopy pointed ears, he too was smiling at me. Ah, man….

—

It’s been about two months since I’ve woken up. I have come to a startling conclusion about my current situation. I have somehow survived my battle with Elysium Squad and have been put into a Naval Intelligence artificial reality simulation. It’s the only thing that possibly makes sense. I had heard the Navy was working on something, but to think they could go this far was astounding.

Although I have never felt pain or half the emotions that currently swell inside of my head, they have perfectly managed to replicate what I imagine they should be like. I was unsure what exactly their goal was by making me go through all of this, rather than just ending my life, but I suppose I should play along for the time being.

Besides, the Navy had even managed to fully recreate what being an infant was like. Currently, I am nothing more than a baby. I had gotten a good look at my tiny body when I was being cradled. And to be expected, I was as useless as an infant. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t even control my arms and legs, let alone my bowels.

I have slept more in these last two months than I have in the last 15 years. I can not keep myself awake, especially after I am fed. All I could do was eat, sleep, defecate on myself, and drown in my own thoughts. I might actually be going mad.

I stuck to counting when I wasn’t thinking about my situation or crying out when I was hungry. Hunger… that was a new thing for me, I had never been hungry before, but now I feel like I could eat 40 trays of nutrient paste in one sitting.

I was currently laying down in a bed of sorts looking up at the ceiling, thinking about all of these things. The female Xeno walked over to me and began to wrap me up tightly in this INFERNAL CONTRAPTION. Whatever this teal cloth was made out of it gave me a slight tingling sensation on my skin, and the heat it gave off was always perfect. I didn’t have the strength to kick myself out of its warm embrace, while I drifted off to sleep once again.

—

Another 6 months sped by in the blink of an eye.

Finally, after months of boredom, I have finally strengthened my arms to where I can army crawl around. I had been doing everything in my power to gain this ability. With this new power, I can finally gain my freedom. I began to crawl at blinding speeds, dragging my body across the wooden floor. This is my second attempt at investigating this place. This home was rather large but it was only a single story. Everything was made of wood and was in shades of deep brown and green. It was almost like a tribal hut but this was very much a house.

Somehow they managed to blend together modern aspects with nature. There were also no squares or right angles present… Everything was curricular. The chairs, the couches, everything was a circle. Even the walls lacked right angles. I guess that is what makes this feel more like a hut than a house.

I had noticed a distinct lack of technology as well, it appears the simulation has me in some early time period. There are no lights, instead, the only light that reaches the windows is from outside. Not only that, the windows don't appear to be glass, but some kind of transparent wood-like material. I attempted to get a better look but I have yet to master the ability to stand yet, it seems strengthening my legs will take some time. From what I could see, the outside was covered by large green trees. It appeared to be less like a forest and more like a jungle but it was too difficult to tell without being able to look out the window.

I was speeding down the hallway when I noticed a door was left ajar that led to a room I had not yet been in. I forced my fat little body in between the door and the frame and slid myself in. The room was rather small and had a single window illuminating it. Inside was a giant dusty chest. Actually, the entire room was a dust hazard. I crawled over to the chest and attempted to get the lid open but I couldn’t even manage to get my fat little body up. Damn this body, why couldn’t they just make me a bit older.

Instead, I turned my attention to a piece of dusty grey cloth that was draped over something. I moved over to it and pulled down the cloth that was just barely in my reach. The cloth and what felt like pounds of dust threatened to smother my life away. I began coughing and thrashing around as I attempted to get the damn thing off of me.

I finally managed to roll out of the cloth when I looked up. On a wooden stand was a set of black armor, it was elegant and beautiful, it was more like a warrior’s armor than a knight. Its design was intricate yet efficient, the purple gems accenting the metal were eye-catching. I didn’t know much about medieval armor but I knew this was high quality. I also knew the wear probably favored mobility over defense. The armor almost reminded me of my armor.

Laying next to the armor stand was a long spear made of some black metal. It was also adorned with purple gems and matched the armor perfectly. The spear itself seemed to suck the light in from the room; it was such a deep black. I got lost in the armor’s craftsmanship as a voice called out to me,

“Kaladin, what are you doing in here you little speed demon. I swear I take my eyes off of you for just a second and you speed away.”

Shit. I’ve been discovered. These 8 months I have not only been strengthening my arms to crawl. I have also tasked myself with learning the spoken language. It took some time but I finally managed to grasp it. I have also learned what my name is, I am now Kaladin. The system has dictated that this Xeno witch is to be my mother. She scooped me up into her arms and began wiping the dust off my face.

“How did you manage to get in here, huh? Daddy must have left the door open,” She said with a hint of annoyance. But her smile quickly returned as she giggled, “But look at you, you are just so cute with all that dust on you!”

She finished cleaning my face as I gave her a deadpan stare. I couldn’t speak back to her. Any attempt of speech just came out as me gargling my own saliva and moaning like an idiot. This is how low I have fallen. She took me back to the kitchen and set me on the counter in a basket.

“Would you stop glaring at me, you are so cute when you smile, see,” she stretched my cheeks into a smile and began playing with my face. I’ll make you pay for this humiliation one day.

Just then my father walked into the house. He often disappeared for a few days and didn’t come back for a few days at a time. I figured he worked some kind of shift-based job that kept him out for days at a time.

“ Welcome home, dear.”

“Mmm. Good to be back, how is Kal doing?”

“I caught him crawling around in the storage room, he pulled down the cover on your armor. He could have been hurt, you know!” My mother chided.

“Sorry… I thought I closed it all the way before I left,” He said dejectedly.

I stared into my father’s eyes and attempted to create a telepathic link with him. ‘You should keep doors open more often for me’ I repeated in my head.

“I see he still likes staring into your soul just like you used to do,” he said while smiling and walking over to me.

“Hey… I never did that,” My mother pouted.

“I do wonder what he is thinking about, do you think he can understand us yet?” Asked my father as he stared down at me and began to tickle me under the armpits. Damn it. Why do I always giggle? I can’t control this sensation. THIS HURTS YOU KNOW?

“No way, he isn’t even a year old yet… but sometimes I do think he does somewhat understand us.”

Haha… only if you knew, witch. Simulation or not I am still a dangerous weapon. I was just in stasis, awaiting my time to strike. You two will rue the day when I can walk again!

“Well I have to make dinner, can you play with Kal for a little while?” Asked my mother.

“Why don’t I help you and he can sit and watch. Babies like watching their parents do stuff right?”

“Sure… maybe one day I can teach him to be a master chef, fit for a king!” Exclaimed my mother. My father turned around and gave my mother an empty stare with dead eyes,

“I doubt that,” My father said in a cold voice.

She looked like she was about to cry. I had only tasted a little bit of her cooking. It was some kind of rice porridge. I thought it tasted good, it reminded me of nutrient paste. But it looks like he didn’t agree.

My father consoled her and they began preparing the food. I didn’t really pay attention to what they were doing but I actively tried to listen to the names of items when they called out for them. It wasn’t until my mother went to start what I could only assume to be the stove, did my interest finally get peaked. She loaded the stove with wood, and without a match, lighter, or any flame source for that matter, set the wood on fire.

I didn’t see how she started the stove, but I knew it couldn’t have been gas or electricity. So what the hell did this witch just do? I did the only thing I could do and attempted to alert this witch to my confusion by crying out. She stopped and came over to me with a look of concern.

“I think he wants to see how you set the stove up hun,” My father said.

Yes, you are so smart for a Xeno, that is exactly what I wanted. You get me so well.

“Really? Do you think Kal responded to my magic? Maybe he is a fire mage!” She exclaimed practically jumping around with joy.

Wait, what? Fire Magic? Freakin Mages? Is the Navy really going this route, why on Earth would they be going this far?

The witch came over to me and summoned a small orange ball of fire out of thin air. The ball just sat in her hand as she tossed it around. She summoned two slightly different color balls of fire and began to juggle them. I could feel the heat from the balls from here as this witch just casually juggled them around like a circus clown. I was amazed, this looked so real, the Navy had gone so far as to include magic into their simulation.

Aboard the Silent Night orbiting Odeus 5, 2 months after the initial assault.

It was a long 2 months but we finally routed Elunari forces off of Odeus 5. Their fleet had jumped away last week and there were only small pockets of resistance left on the planet. It was a shame we couldn’t just bomb them from orbit, the lush planet was just too valuable for humanity’s future colonies to be devastated like that.

All of Hades Squad was currently gathered in our shared “multipurpose room” as the engineers called it. It was just a small hangar that had been retrofitted to fit our needs. The room had everything from our training grounds, to Hepestus’s engineering bay, to Apollo’s medical station, even Nyx had a little spot where she had a couch to sleep on.

I was rhythmically smacking my hand against a datapad confirming all these damn reports. I had long since given up on reading these tedious AI-generated reports. They were just the same thing over and over again, weapon replacements here, munitions requests there, armor repair over there… Kill me now.

As if responding to my request, the hangar filled with the chimes of our communicators getting a ping. That’s odd. Normally, everybody doesn’t get a ping about a mission unless it goes through me first. I scrolled through the packet on my datapad. A search and clear on an abandoned Elunari space station? The Elunari rarely used space stations. Didn’t make sense for them, when they had so many habitable planets to live on. Not only that, they were orders from a Fleet Admiral, the highest-ranking officer in the Navy. Artemis was who was practically smashing her datapad with her finger groaned out,

“Commander this is bullshit! Why the hell are we going to some abandoned station in the middle of nowhere!?” Artemis asked fiercely.

That is something I wanted to know as well. This station was at the fringes of Elunari space according to the maps. Not only that…

“Who is a part of this Elysium Squad that we know?” questioned Apollo.

Seems I’m not alone. I’ve never heard of this Elysium Squad. And it was the lack of details about the squad that bothered me.

“According to the briefing, they are a fairly new team put together only a week ago, this is to be their first mission,” informed Nike.

Not only that, it was a Death Commando squad fully composed of the new third generation. It was also abnormal that they weren’t being led by at least a second generation. Normally when we worked with a squad I could pull up everything from medical records, past missions, even their specialties. But this Elysium Squad had almost none of that.

“I mean, I guess the information is incomplete if they are new. Makes sense to me,” shrugged Zeus.

“Doesn’t matter. Orders are orders. We won’t be taking the Silent Night out there, so get ready. We depart in 2 hours for the Stormspike,” I ordered.

—-

Two weeks later on the bridge of the dreadnaught class capital ship, Stormspike. In the fringes of Elunari controlled space.

It had been a long two-week trip to the middle of nowhere but we had finally arrived. A short older woman with blonde hair in a bright white officer attire stood at the helm of the dreadnaught, Stormspike. Very few people outranked a Commander of a Death Commando squad. I technically only answered to officials on Mars, but I was often under the jurisdiction of Rear Admirals or higher, sometimes even Marine Major Generals or higher as well.

But to be issued an order by a Fleet Admiral was a first for me. There were only about 20 of them in the entire Human Navy and they were responsible for well, entire fleets. I imagine they had far more important things to deal with than handing out missions to us Commandos, but I guess it’s time to find out. She turned and gave me a wide smile extending her hand and saying,

“At ease, it’s an honor to finally meet you, Commander Kronos, I’ve been looking forward to giving you my thanks in person for years now,” I returned the handshake.

Had I met her before? I must have had a dumb look on my face as I thought this because she answered for me,

“I don’t suspect you would remember me, I was just some lowly Captain when you saved the life of my crew and ship at the battle of Ingor. You knocked out the planetary guns just in time to save us. So, thank you, Commander. I owe you one,” She said thankfully.

Ah, the battle of Ingor was a particularly bad battle for the Navy if I remember. The Zantons were an aquatic Xeno race that had living bio-weapons that ate away at even our strongest metal. It was a gruesome fate to be blasted by one of their weapons.

“Just doing my job Admiral. But I suppose I’d like to call in that favor early. What can you tell me about the situation?” I asked. She smiled commenting,

“Straight to point with you, huh? Well, this mission has two objectives, Commander. You are to search the space station for anything of importance along with the reason the Elunari abandoned it. And you are to be with Elysium Squad on their maiden voyage.”

“I understand. I’ll do my best ma’am.”

“I know you will, Commander. In regards to the space station. All bio scans have come back negative and we believe the station to be abandoned. However, the station’s defense systems are still online. We will jump as close to the station as possible, then the fleet will engage with the station’s automated defenses. Once we wipe them out you will board the station, along with Elysium Squad, understood?”

“Understood, ma’am. We will complete our objectives.”

'“Good. We plan to make the jump in 2 hours. You are dismissed, Commander.” At least Admiral Wilson moves quickly. I imagine everybody doesn't want to be out here any longer than we have to be.

—

Hangar bay of the Stormspike, 30 minutes before assault.

I jolted awake in my harness. Another nightmare. This time was different, however. This time I was that Xeno child. I was falling as a long black arm stretched out to grab me. I felt so afraid and confused. What does this damn dream mean? And why would it change now all of a sudden? While combating my conflicted mind I peered downwards, Nyx was crouched down in front of me staring into my eyes intensely. Her nearly black eyes gazed right through me.

“Are you okay? You normally don’t doze off before a mission, that’s normally my thing,” She asked with a hint of concern.

“I’m fine. Just a dream, that’s all.” She stood up and furrowed her brows at me.

“Actually, I’ve never even seen you sleep before. Do you even sleep?” She asked honestly while tilting her head.

“Yes Nyx, I do sleep when I need to. I just don’t have to very often. I’ve been very tired recently is all,” I said shrugging off the feeling these nightmares left me with.

After Odeus 5, I’ve had this lingering feeling of fatigue over me that I can’t seem to shake off. Not only that, I wasn’t sure why I was telling Nyx my problems. Maybe I just felt comfortable around her. Nyx transferred to my squad after her entire squad was wiped out. She was the sole survivor. She has been with me ever since. By now she should have been promoted to a squad Commander at this point, but she had turned them all down. Maybe I was just looking too much into this, not everybody wanted to be a Commander. Nyx gave me a quick nod and stood up,

“If you say so.”

Currently, Hades Squad was making its final preparations for the assault. It shouldn’t be much longer before we launch out in a Tiger class transport craft. The Tiger class was just a flying tank specifically designed for boarding enemy stations and spacecraft. The craft used an onboard AI to fly the ship, which allowed the vessel to forgo having a cockpit that was normally a weakness on most ships. This allowed the craft to boast an immense amount of frontal armor and a far more powerful plasma shield.

While walking out the back of the craft to grab my bolter, the door to the hangar bay opened up. A group of 12 individuals wearing Navy blue and Marine red Death Commando armor sauntered into the hangar.

Why isn’t their armor black? I had never seen Commandos not use the standard black armor. Not only that, why was the squad double the standard size? Most Commando squads utilized 5-7 members. Perhaps they were trial-running everything with this new squad. A tall lanky man with short-cropped dirty blonde hair swaggered over to me, he was wearing the bright red version of the armor. He extended his hand,

“It feels good to finally meet the famous Commander Kronos, not only that I get to go out on my first mission with him, it’s an honor, sir.”

I took the man’s hand. This was always an awkward situation. Although we share the same rank I was technically his senior, however, he was nearly double my age and had probably been serving before I even popped out of my growth tank. I guess I’ll just take this in stride.

“Likewise, Commander. Say, what was your callsign, I didn’t catch it?” I asked.

In truth I didn’t know any of Elysium Squad’s names, apparently, I hadn’t been privy to that information.

“Ah sorry, that was rude of me. Commander Nicholas Clarkson, former Marine Force Recon turned Death Commando.”

No callsign? What was the purpose of that I wondered? Why would they give the squad a name that was associated with Human gods but not assign names of gods to themselves? I didn’t understand Doctor Octario’s logic on this one, but then again I rarely understood her genius. Apparently not noticing my internal struggles he continued,

“Anyways, I figured since the station has two wings we can just split the station and work through it that way.”

“That’s fine with me. Do you want us to take a few of your members with us? Balance things up a bit more?”

“Nah. No need. Might as well start working together as a team now, you know?”

“Sure. We can do it that way.” I responded a little dejectedly.

I would have liked to take a few of his men and show them how we operated. But I was just ordered to go with them on this mission not hold their hand. This was Elysium’s squad’s mission, I should just defer to Commander Clarkson. Only the best of the Marines joined Marine Force Reconnaissance, and an even smaller portion got chosen for the new 3rd generation God Program. Let’s see what the new guys are capable of.

“Awesome man, well, I’ll see you out there, Commander. Glory to humanity,” he said while giving me a large grin. Guess the guy is a patriot. That’s nice.

“To humanity,” I shot back with a salute.

We parted towards our respective landing crafts. I walked up the ramp into the back of the Tiger. Everybody was strapped in and we were ready to launch. We should be dropping out of warp any time now. I strapped in and awaited the gut-churning suffering that was about to be bestowed upon me.

As we came out of warp the thunderous blasts of the dreadnaught’s heavy rail guns battered away at the station’s defenses. So far, no Xeno race had managed to defend themselves from the sheer destructive power of a dreadnaught class rail gun as they thundered off. A few volleys later, and a synthetic voice ringed out in our helmets,

“Launching in 3..2..1.”

We blasted straight out of the hangar, barreling towards the station. The Tiger class transport would breach into an enemy ship or station by ramming into it using its plasma shield as a sort of battering ram. Once the shuttle gained purchase into the target, it would seal the breach using a metallic foaming agent, of course, any sort of environment would be sucked out into space. But our suits were more than capable of surviving the vacuum of space or any hostile environment.

Just moments after launch we were violently thrashed around as we slammed into the station. Hephaestus and I would lead the charge using portable plasma shields almost like riot guards as we forced our way onto the station. We weren’t expecting resistance, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

The gangplank slammed down and we charged into the station. We were greeted by long hallways painted pastel blues and greens. Although the Elunari used plastics for construction it seems they used metal for this space station. I pinged both squads and got all green lights. Elysium squad must have had a successful breach as well.

We walked carefully down the hallways clearing each and every room we passed. We didn’t even use our built-in communication systems, instead, relying on tried and true hand signals, to clear the station. So far the station seemed rather simple, with plenty of crew quarters and what I can only assume to be common rooms. The station itself was actually well lit and seemed to still have its power active.

We reached a large atrium, an artificial ecosystem was set up, plenty of lush greenery that was common on most Elunari worlds was present here. It seemed almost like a park, with benches and tables to sit down at it. The place even had a running waterfall. Seems this was just some kind of housing station.

I was getting lost in the moment when I peered back up at my radar. Suddenly all of Elysium Squad’s pings had gone away. They weren’t killed or they would still be showing up, also there hasn’t even been a single sound besides us stomping around. I flicked around to see if everybody noticed, only to catch a glimpse of Zeus and Nike standing at the entrance we came in from. Not expecting me to turn around suddenly, Zeus quickly smashed the controls on the wall, dropping the metal bulwark door. Before I could even question what the hell was going on they dropped off the radar as well. I tried beckoning them on the communication implants but I was being jammed.

I looked around to see the rest of my squad appearing to be just as confused as me. Artemis yelled out,

“What the fuck is going on!”

"No idea,” Apollo stated, not even bothering to cover up the worry in his voice. Hephaestus looked over to me and asked,

“Commander?”

“I don’t know. Everybody just dropped off the radar and our comms are being blocked. I can’t even reach the Stormspike.”

Upon my response, everybody dropped into a defensive position. I maxed out my plasma shield core and waited.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Commander,” Nyx whispered from behind me.

Yeah, something was very wrong. Then that’s when I heard the rhythmic thundering of armored feet running on metal. I looked over to the second entrance that leads towards the other side of the station and saw blurs of red and blue in the hallways. We waited a few moments then an enhanced voice called out to, it was Commander Clarkson,

“What's up Hades Squad. Sorry about this but let’s talk things out, yeah? Don’t be doing anything you would regret, okay?”

“What the hell is your problem, Commando?!” yelled Artemis.

“Artemis, stop. We are surrounded,” I ordered.

By this time the last hallway leading out had also been filled with blue and red blurs moving around. It seems Elysium Squad has some alternative objectives on this mission. And I wasn’t about to fire on these humans. Not yet at least.

“Alright now. Go ahead and listen to your Commander right now, miss. He knows what’s best. Listen, we only want one thing you see. I’ll be honest, I’m not too happy about it but I gotta do what I gotta do, you know? Mars has deemed Commander Kronos as defective and we are to terminate him. Simple as that, nobody else has to get involved. Just turn yourself over Kronos and the rest of your squad gets to go home.”

Well. This is completely unexpected. I always knew my time would come in my service to humanity, but I didn’t think it would end like this. Although I couldn’t see their faces, my entire squad looked at me questioning just what I had done. Hell, don’t ask me.

"It’s alright everyone. Really. Don’t worry about me, okay?”

Artemis walked over to me and head-butted me. Although it probably hurt her more than me I just stood there shocked as she began to rail into me,

“Fuck all of that! Like we would let anyone terminate you, I don’t care what you did. You are MY Commander and I refuse to let things end like this”

Everyone voiced their agreements with Artemis. Ah, of course. I couldn’t help but smile a little bit at their kind words. I appreciated it, but it was unnecessary. There was no way around this and I wasn’t going to ask my squad to perish with me, there was no way I could do that.

“Thank you, everyone, I couldn’t have asked for a better squad,” I said as honestly as possible.

I truly did mean it. I’m not exactly sure how I felt about everyone, but I knew I was thankful they were with me. And valued each and every one of them immensely. That's why I couldn't let them come with me. I sadly didn’t give anyone a chance to respond to my parting words.

I forced the injection of my Ambrosia into my bloodstream. It was a cocktail of highly efficient combat stimulants, pain killers, and a mix of other useful drugs. Normally it was only injected when a Death Commando was on the brink of death. Once Ambrosia was injected into you, it was pretty much a guarantee you wouldn’t survive the side effects of the drugs, only us first-generation Commandos could survive it.

With my speed, strength, and reflexes being pushed to the absolute extreme I released the flashbang I was holding in my hand, although our helmets would negate most of it, the blinding light would still affect them for just a few moments.

I opened palmed striked Hephaestus under the chin. He would be the only one that could physically stop me and I couldn’t allow that. I swept Artemis and Apollo’s legs from out under them and dropped another flashbang just to be safe.

I ripped the plasma shield from Hephaestus’s limp hands. I maxed the core out making a makeshift bubble around me as I forced my way through my squad towards the hallway Commander Nicholas wasn’t in. I smashed the door controls in just as Zeus had done and dropped the bulwark as a black figure quickly slid under the falling door and tackled my legs from underneath me. While tangled up under her I yelled out,

“Nyx! What are you doing!”

“I can’t let you go too, Commander. I can’t let you die alone... not like them.”

“It’s suicide! Please don’t do this! They want me not you. It doesn’t have to be this way,” I pleaded.

It wasn’t too late for her to turn around.

“I don’t care. I made this decision a long time ago. You are all I have left,” she said with equal parts conviction and sadness. “I can’t be the last one left, Commander. I just can’t…”

I didn’t have time to argue anymore as bolter fire rained down the hallway smashing into the plasma shield bubble. These things were meant for Elunari energy weapons, not bolters. The shields wouldn’t hold for long.

I rolled over and stood in a closed doorway with Nyx. I didn’t want things to end like this, I wanted to simply put enough distance from Hades Squad so they wouldn't get involved as I turned myself in peacefully. But now… I can’t let her die here. Guess I won’t be getting a medal for this.

I grabbed a shredder grenade from my belt and turned off one of the plasma shields. Normally, a simple shredder grenade would barely damage a Death Commando in their armor. But combine that with a plasma core explosion and they would be lucky to be alive. I used the last bit of energy from my shield to step into the hallway and toss the nade along with the shield core down the hallway.

I took cover as the white-hot plasma shrapnel turned the hallway and its occupants into a paste. I motioned for Nyx to get ready as I unslung my bolter to finish off any survivors. We charged down the hallway and blasted a few stragglers who survived the explosion. As we made it down the hallway a door slammed open as a man in navy blue armor shot me in the shoulder.

He must have had time to close the door and hide in the room, lucky bastard. Nyx reacted faster than him and blew his head off with a single shot. I signaled a ‘Thanks’ and we began to move down the hallways. The only chance we had of surviving was to make it to Elysium Squad’s Tiger.

Suddenly, bulwarks started closing manually as we were running down the hallways. Our engagement had killed half of Elysium Squad and now we were being corralled like livestock through the station. I only had one more plasma core and we were nowhere close to the Tiger, so I couldn’t blow through the bulwarks. We started running again at max speed down the hallway when a thunderous boom echoed through the halls. Time slowed as I flicked around to see Nyx shove me out of the way. There was no doubt that it was a railgun.

Without thinking, I scooped her up into a princess carry and carried her down the hall. I barged straight through a door hoping to find somewhere to hunker down. I turned and began to take stock of her injury.

I looked down at my hands and shoulders that were now smeared in blood. Blood was pooling around Nyx quickly as I noticed the head-sized hole in her abdomen. No… no this can’t be happening. The railgun had gone clean through her, destroying her insides and her spine. Time was moving so slow as I racked my brain to find a way to save her… Nyx dimmed her visor to reveal her face.

“Sorry, Commander…,” She repeated like a mantra over and over again.

“It’s fine Nyx, you are gonna be okay,” I lied. I tried injecting hemostatics, to slow the bleeding down but it wasn’t working.

“Hey Commander, we were friends, right?” she asked, coughing up blood into her helmet.

What? Why are you worried about this now of all times you airhead! I… I don’t know. Nyx didn’t really talk to anyone. I guess she spoke to me the most out of everybody, and I did feel closer to her. It’s not that I wasn’t close with the rest of the squad, it was just that I was closer with Nyx. She always made an effort to speak to me, even if it seemed to make her uncomfortable. I was just thinking early about how I felt comfortable around her as well. Perhaps. This is what it means to be friends. I stopped fiddling around with random medical equipment and steeled myself. I can’t save her…

I dimmed my own visor to respond, “Yeah Nyx, you might have been my only friend… thank you for sticking with me all these years, I probably wasn't a very good friend,” She gave me a genuine ear-to-ear smile I had never seen her smile so brightly before.

“Yeah... you kinda sucked. But I wasn't much better, but I’m glad… and hey, I told you didn't I. That I didn’t trust Zeus and the 3rd Gens,” she said weakly.

She has lost a lot of blood. The fact she was still alive was a miracle in itself. She should have died instantly. I ignored the thundering of metal boots outside, it didn’t matter right now, all that mattered was seeing my friend off.

“Yeah… you did try to warn me, sorry.”

“It’s fine. Sorry I have to die first. I didn’t want you to go alone but looks like I failed.” She said even weaker now, the light was starting to fade from her eyes.

There was no point in sugar-coating it. The odds of us surviving this was astronomically low from the start. Even if we managed to get to the Tiger we were surrounded by an entire fleet with a dreadnaught. We wouldn’t have even made it out of the station alive.

“I’ll be joining you soon enough Nyx,” I said.

With her dying breath, she left me one with one final wish,

“Maybe… if we are lucky, I’ll get to see you again someday, Commander.”

I didn’t get an opportunity to respond to her final wish as her squad light went from a bright red to black. I closed my eyes and I prayed for the first time in my life, not for me but for Nyx. Perhaps, if there really was a god they would be merciful to her. She didn’t deserve to die, not like this. Yeah, maybe one day.

A familiar voice called out to me from the hallway,

“Doesn’t have to be like this Commander, just turn yourself in and this can all be over,” yelled Zeus.

I could see the barrel of the railgun he was carrying from the doorway. Currently, I was in some type of shopfront type room behind the counter. A swelling feeling rose in my chest and reached my head. It clouded my vision and my heart raced in my ears. Is this what it’s like to be angry?

I might have been suppressing this rage since the raid on the facility, not sure what to do with it. I had never felt that way until that night. I prepped and tossed the shredder grenade with a plasma core towards the doorway. Zeus surprisingly stepped into the doorway and activated a plasma shield. He then swatted the grenade combo using the damn shield, right back at me. Shit.

The explosion destroyed the counter I was using as cover. I didn’t need to feel pain to know I was beyond repair. My legs had been ripped clean off from the plasma core explosion. And I had taken an immense amount of internal damage. I was only conscious because of the combination of my armor and the Ambrosia.

I took out my bolt pistol and began firing through the walls. I might be on the edge of life and death but I could still shoot. I heard the distinct noise of Zeus’s plasma shield being battered so I adjusted my aim further down the wall. I was rewarded with sounds of bones and amour being blown to smithereens as my bolt rounds exploded through the walls into anyone unfortunate enough to be in their way. I wasn’t sure to what extent the other members of Elysium squad were involved, but it didn’t matter to me. They will pay for their transactions with their dying breaths. However, I had to reload at some point and I wouldn’t last long after that. My ammo was stored where my legs used to be and those excess rounds just added to the carnage that was my body.

Finally, my bolt pistol clicked instead of fired, the steam rising from the red hot barrel clouding my vision. Elysium squad breached the room and dispersed the haze. Zeus sauntered over to me a crouched down in front of me with a plasma pistol in hand poking my chest,

“Well, you just had to go and make a mess? Do you know how many good men died today because of you? You killed a lot of my friends today... Hey! Are you listening to me,” Zeus continued to yell at me while poking the barrel of his plasma pistol into my injuries. Of course, I felt nothing and I said nothing.

He just laughed, “Look at how the mighty have fallen. Don’t tell me you bled out now, Commander? Humanities finest weapon done in by blood loss? Pathetic.”

Of course, he seemed to be enjoying himself a little too much. Perhaps he is a sadist or something. But he got careless. I may be dying but I am far from dead, as I was beyond pissed for the first time in my entire life.

With surprising speed from what seemed like a corpse just moments ago, I swatted the pistol out from his hand then dragged his arm into me as I put him in a bear hug. I squeezed as hard as I possibly could. I felt my own ribs crack as I shattered his as well. I put every ounce of strength I had left into crushing this bastard.

He was screaming and trying to push away from me. He was far beyond a normal human. But he was nowhere close to my strength on Ambrosia and adrenaline. But it seems I underestimated my injuries as I began to waver. I guess I had lost a lot of blood already, I was probably squeezing even more out now. Eventually, I couldn’t keep the same strength up as he pushed off me and rolled over gasping for air and coughing through his helmet. Nike walked over to us while I began to struggle to stay awake.

“You fool Zeus, you should have just shot him in the chest and been done with it. Doctor Octario only needs his head intact. Now here you are dying right with him. Just because you wanted to play around, you always do this shit,” Nike stood over me now and pointed his bolter at me.

“Sorry, Commander. It really wasn’t personal, but I guess you had to go and make it personal. In my honest opinion, I thought you were a good man and a good leader. And if it helps, I am sorry about Nyx, she shouldn’t have died with a bastard like you. I'll make sure her body gets a proper burial." I heard the bolt crack as time slowed down again. The bolter round barreled into my stomach as I began to blackout.

At least I could die in solace knowing I had avenged Nyx. I used Zeus’s own ribs as daggers to stab into his lungs, stomach, and heart. It was doubtful there would be enough time to save him. I felt the round heat up and expand. Then there was nothing.

I seemed to be floating away in an endless black void now. So, this is what it’s like to die. It was warm, even comforting. No pearly gates or bearded man awaiting me, nor was there a hellish fiend waiting to drag me down to the depths of hell.

Wait, what was that? Who’s there?

The feeling of someone being there was replaced instantly by a bright light. Ah, the infamous light at the end of the tunnel, huh? I had heard many final breaths on the battlefields as Marines called out to the light, embracing it, only for the light of their life to flicker out from them. I had often just subscribed that behavior to the dying. But now it seems it is real. I was moving faster towards the light or was the light coming to me? Guess it doesn't matter. Suddenly, the light began to hurt instead and excruciating painful noises assaulted my head.

Vitality Medical Station in human-controlled space. 1 week after the raid on the Elunari Facility.

“Draining Bio-Sculptor. Warning. Draining Bio-Sculptor,” repeated a synthetic voice.

I sloshed out of the Bio-Sculptor tube onto the cold floor white floor. I began coughing my lungs up as I attempted to clear my system of this awful gel-like substance. I imagine this is what bleach tastes like. After coughing for a good few minutes, I looked up at the man dressed in all white with a datapad standing over me,

“Commander Kronos of Hades Squad?” He asked.

“Yes, that’s me,” I croaked.

Fuck, this gel really dries your throat out. The nurse tossed me a warm bottle of water, which I promptly destroyed in seconds. Ah, much better. Although I need to consume much less water than a Human, water was still so refreshing.

“What is the last thing you remember, Commander Kronos?”

“Being admitted to Vitality Station to regrow my left hand.” I fired back. The nurse began tapping away at his datapad and continued,

“And last question. How old are you, Kronos?"

“15 standard years old.”

The nurse looked confused at my answer and knitted his brows at me as if I was lying. I was currently naked and standing over him. I was easily 2 feet taller than him. My appearance betrayed my age, however, I really was only 15. After a few moments of swiping away at his datapad, he responded,

“So you are… What the hell did they feed you?”

“Nutrient paste,” I answered non-committedly.

With a look of slight disgust, the nurse said, “Nutrient paste, huh… anyways you don’t seem to have any side-effects from the Bio-Sculptor. You are to be aboard Vitality Station for another 3 weeks while your hand finishes the regrowing process. Head Doctor Suárez will be your primary care physician while you are on board… and your room is 117. Clothes are on the table before you leave. Any questions?”

“None.”

The nurse gave me a nod and walked out of the room. I tried to flex my fingers but realized I didn’t have fingers currently. My wrist and palm had regrown over my time in the Bio-Sculptor. But it would take at least a week or so for my fingers to grow. I walked over to the jet-black sleepwear they left out for me and slipped it on.

I disliked this 3 week waiting period. But I was at the mercy of the medical staff while I was here. There wasn’t much for me to do in this kind of situation. I didn’t need to eat or sleep as often as Humans. There was nowhere I could train at this station where I wouldn’t cause damage. And I didn’t do anything else but train or go on missions. So with nothing left to do, I just opted to sleep. Maybe help my hand grow back faster, and get me out of here sooner.

—-

I jolted out of bed sweating and breathing heavily. Damn, another one. It’s only been 72 hours since I rolled out of the Bio-Sculptor and this is the second time I’ve had the same dream. Or I guess people might call this a nightmare. The events on Odeus 5 replay over and over again until I wake up in a cold sweat. I hear the final words of that Xeno child and watch as I fail to grab him.

I’m not sure what’s more problematic. The fact I’ve never had a dream in my entire life until now. Or that this event is somehow affecting me. Not wanting to think about it, I rolled out of bed and hopped into the sanitation unit cleaning myself. I readied myself so I could go get something to eat.

I strode through the halls, the recovering Marines or medical personnel were unconsciously moving out of my way. Thankfully these hallways were much wider and taller than normal so I could walk comfortably down them. I walked into the mess hall, grabbed a tray, and avoided the lunch line. I headed straight to the empty nutrient paste dispenser. Does nobody ever grab this stuff? It’s really good for you.

I sat down in the corner of the room and began chowing down. I had come to enjoy the taste of nutrient paste. I often heard the regs complain about how bland the stuff was, but it wasn’t bad. It was also the most efficient thing a soldier could eat anyways.

I sat alone and looked out into the vast room, everybody was sitting a healthy two whole tables away from me like I was a disease. It didn’t bother me. It was par for the course actually. I was about to finish my food when a short Hispanic woman wearing a dark blue lab coat walked over to me carrying a meal tray,

“Seat taken Commander?” I motioned to one of the many open seats around me. And of course, she sat down directly in front of me. The Doctor in front of me was probably in her early thirties. Brown hair and eyes, average height. Let’s see, and she’s th-…

“Are you checking me out Commander Kronos?” she asked innocently with a smile on her face, wrapping her arms around to cover herself.

“That’s not the word I’d use, Head Doctor Suárez. I’m just simply investigating you, that’s all."

“Ah, well you’re no fun,” Suárez said dejectedly. “Anyways, it’s nice to meet you, Commander Kronos. I’m the lead Doctor on this station. And I apologize that I haven’t had time to speak to you since you have arrived. I was a little preoccupied with a fresh batch of Marines off of Odeus 5.”

“It’s fine. I’m just passing time at your station. I don’t need any extra care while I’m here.”

“Nonsense! I pride myself on being the most passionate and compassionate Doctor in the Navy! It’s unforgivable that I’ve neglected you these last few days, especially someone as important as you Commander!” Suárez stated, standing up from the bench and striking a pose with her spoon in her hand.

Not wanting to draw any more attention than I’m already getting. I attempted to defuse the ranting Doctor,

“Yes, yes, of course. It’s fine. My hand is growing back fine and I’m in no pain to speak of. I’m sure there are plenty of people on this ship who need your help far more than I do.”

“I suppose you are right… however, I want you to come in for some checkups next week.” I was about to protest when she hit me with a “Non-negotiable checkups, Commander.” Not wanting to risk the wrath of the Doctor who decides when I get to leave this station. I simply nodded and agreed to her terms.

“However, there is something I want to discuss with you currently, Commander. I have to admit this is the first time I’ve met a Generation 1 Commando. There aren’t many of you guys left out there after all,” She said with a tint of remorse.

“It’s fine really. To be expected even. We were merely weapons to be used in the service of Humanity.”

“Huh… so it is true,” Suárez said incredulously. “I read some reports about the evangelists being pretty aggressive with you guys, and how you often diffused the situation just by agreeing with them. But do you really believe you aren't a real human, Commander Kronos? That you don’t have a soul?”

Ah shit, here we go again.

I've already had this conversation an infinite amount of times. When I was first deployed many were so zealous in their efforts to demonize us Gen 1s. Spouting how we weren’t real humans and we lacked a soul. Of course, I agreed with them. This would often surprise the vast majority of them. It was hard for them to call out the thing they were complaining about when they just sat there, nodding their heads agreeing with them. I never considered myself to be a real human. Just a weapon for Humanity to wield. I had grown in a tube on Mars after all, and I doubt I had a so-called “soul” if those even existed.

“If you have read my file Doctor, then I am sure you understand my opinion on these matters. I, along with all of my comrades understand what we are and what our purpose is. There is no mistake. We are not real humans and we never will be. Doctor Octario created us in a lab. I spent my first few months of life in a tube, only to come out as an adolescent. Before I even reached my first decade of life I was already a man being sent into battle. We are soulless weapons, not humans.” I stated with conviction.

Doctor Suárez stared at me with a look of shock for a few moments, while tapping her rice with her spoon,

“Have you ever heard the saying Commander, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it’s probably a duck? Well, you look like a human, you walk like a human, you talk like a human, then you’re probably a human, Commander.”

“Such a simple line of deduction doesn’t apply to us, Doctor. We are merely weapons masquerading as humans.” The Doctors wrist watch let out an alarm as she sighed,

“Duty calls. This conversation isn’t over Commander. You and I are going to have lunch together till you leave this station.” I raised my finger to protest when,

“NON-NEGOTIABLE! A prescription of a daily lunch with the cutest Head Doctor on the station for a Mr. Commander Kronos!” I sat back down as she beamed at me with her spoon in hand pointing at me. Flinging rice onto my face in the process. I simply nodded to confirm as she picked her tray up and left. I enjoyed the remainder of my cold nutrient paste in peace and silence.

—

It’s been two weeks since I’ve been on this station and I'm beginning to grow restless. My daily prescription dose of Doctor Suárez was really starting to wear me down. I didn’t have a very large social battery but it seemed the Doctor's was infinite. To alleviate myself I decided I’d go on a nightly jog around the station. I had just made it back to the crew quarters when one of the crew doors slide open and out came a familiar face,

“Heimdall. It’s good to see you.”

“Howdy ho, it’s even better to see you, kid. I’d say you look good but seems you’re missing some fingers, their young man.”

My fingers had only regrown the first digit at this point and I could start flexing them now. They looked very awkward.

“I’ve had it worse,” I responded.

“Oh, I know you have, boy. Come walk with me a bit.”

Heimdall was one of the first Gen 2 Death Commandos I ever had in my squad. He eventually got promoted to Commander as well, he even leads his squad now. He was on the shorter side for a Gen 2 and he had some kind of reaction to the implants that greyed his hair out. Even though he was only in his late twenties, he looked 20 years older.

“What brings you to this station, Heimdall? You seem fine to me.”

“Oh you know, just getting a routine checkup. Nothing special, just the usual. Besides, I'd choose beautiful Doc Suárez over old hag Octario any day, aha!”

“In your dreams, Heimdall. You don’t stand a chance against her,” I quipped at him.

“Did you just? Nevermind… Anyways, that was cold, kid. A man can dream can’t he?”

“Not a fan of dreaming currently.”

He winced a bit at my harsh words but didn’t ask, I didn’t mean to say it so aggressively either. Heimdall had led us to the rehabilitation ward. I was about to ask him what we were doing here when he opened a door to reveal a large white room with brown pads on the walls. It had a bunch of Parallel Bars for patients’ rehabilitation. He walked over to one and slid out the metal bar from its housing and tossed it to me.

“What am I supposed to do with this?”

“You are stressed out kid. You haven’t unclenched your fists since we started talking. I can tell they got you cooped up in here with nothing to do but sit on your ass. So, we are gonna spar a bit.”

“Heimdall, I’m fine really. Besides, it's against the rules, you know that.”

“Get the stick out of your ass kid, you know you want to. Besides, did somebody give you orders saying you couldn’t swing a metal bar around with an old squadmate?”

“No…. I guess not.”

“Then let’s get to it. I promise I’ll go easy on my crippled Commander, ahha!”

I spun the improvised staff around. It was difficult when I was missing two-thirds of my fingers on a hand, but I would make do. It felt good to swing something heavy around, instead of just doing bodyweight exercises all day. Heimdall didn’t give me much time to warm up as he ran straight for me, smiling his wicked smile. Crazy man. I mainly just deflected his blows as I couldn’t really challenge him with one hand.

“Say kid, what are you gonna do after the war?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh come on, the war isn’t gonna last forever. We have already crushed a majority of the Xeno council races. The Elunari might have a lot of worlds but they are gonna run out of them eventually. There are even some whispers of peace talks.” Heimdall said all this why attacking me relentlessly. So much for going easy on me.

“I don’t know. I’ll probably stay with the Commandos till the day I die.”

“Bullshit! A young man like you should have DREAMS! ASPIRATIONS! You don’t need to fight forever. There are plenty of things you can do! You can train the next generation! Hell, you could even go private! I’m sure people would pay top dollar for a Death Commando chief of security.” Heimdall didn’t really give me time to think as he backed me into a corner.

“I haven't thought about it, Heimdall. Besides I don’t think that far ahead about unimportant things. I’ll go wherever humanity needs me.” He swung at my legs as I leaped over him using the bar like a pole vaulter.

“BAH! There you go with that “humanity needs me” shit. You’ve done plenty for us boy! Make your old man a promise, and think about the future a bit, will you? Go settle down somewhere, buy a farm, and live your days out in peace. I’m sure you and Nyx would be very happy together,” He stopped, sweating and staring at me with an intensity I'm not sure I’ve ever seen from him. And when did he become my old man? He’s only like 13 years older than me. And what’s all this talk about Nyx being happy with me? I sighed,

“Sure thing, old man. I’ll give it some thought.”

He just gave me a big stupid smile,

“Good… good. I know that’s all I’m gonna get out of you today. I gotta go kid. I can see you already feeling much better,” Heimdall smiled back at me.

Huh. Maybe Heimdall did understand me. I do feel alot better. Matter of fact I haven’t felt this good in weeks.

“Thanks, Heimdall,” I said honestly.

“Anytime kid. Next time we meet, I’ll buy you a drink or something… ah, wait shit, you got a few more years for that huh? Eh, whatever, doubt anyone is gonna check your birthday you bald-headed demon, haha!” He said as he walked out tossing me his makeshift weapon that was now dented to hell and back.

What am I supposed to do with this?

—

It’s my final day at this station. My hand is brand new and feels perfect. Normally a soldier would just have their hand replaced with a bionic one. But my normal hand was much more efficient than some simple bionic replacement. The month I had to take off would be worth it in the long run. I just have one final examination left and I can return to Hades Squad. They are still on Odeus 5 mopping up the last of the Elunari forces.

“Sooo Kronos, I have a question for you. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about a few Parallel Bars being destroyed, would you?” asked Doctor Suárez, eyeing me.

“Sorry.”

“Sorry as in you did it or sorry you don’t know?”

“Sorry,” I replied again.

She just smiled at me and began tapping away at her datapad,

“Serious head trauma… requires two weeks of observation…” She mumbled out.

“Commander Heimdall of Asgard squad did it.” Sorry old man, I apologized internally.

“See that wasn’t so hard. But in the future, please refrain from smashing my medical equipment. They might just have been some metal bars to you, but that stuff is expensive!” Rather than repeating myself again I just gave a nod of understanding.

I really didn’t mean to break the stuff. It just kind of happened. Besides, Heimdall was the one who went hard, not me. Doctor Suárez sighed at me and continued,

“Well, your hand looks good. All your scans are coming back just fine, and your one week of rehab was a success. I’d say you are in tip-top shape. Unless there is something else? Perhaps you wanna stick around just to see me some more?”

Oh no, I definitely didn’t want that. But there was something…

“Do you dream, Doctor?” I asked.

“Huh? I mean yeah of course. Don’t we all?”

"What do you normally dream about? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Well… nothing really. They are just dreams. My dreams are just a weird mess of random things that I end up forgetting as soon as I wake up. I mean like, for example, I had a dream last week where I just walked out the airlock and started swimming in space.”

“Swimming in space? I see…” I answered.

“What, do you normally not have weird dreams, Commander?” Suárez asked me.

“No, I’ve only started dreaming recently.” Not wanting to go into detail or mention that they might actually be nightmares rather than dreams I omitted some details.

“Huh. I’m not really knowledgeable about dreams. But I mean you sleep so you should dream, right? I don’t really know what to say… I guess I’ll just report it and Doctor Octario can probably help you out.”

“That would probably be for the best. Thank you, Doctor.”

I didn’t think she would be able to help me. If anybody would know what was wrong with me it would be Octario. She turned her datapad towards me,

“Place your hand on the scanner and you are set to go, Commander.” I did as I was told and was rewarded with a little beep of confirmation.

“Well, this is it, Commander. You are free to go. Just one more thing. Try to live for yourself, just a little bit, okay? And don’t be so hard on yourself either. You are a good man, you don’t need to go through life like this,” She asked me with a wry smile.

“I’ll do my best Doctor and thanks,” I answered.

She gave me a salute as I began to walk out. I technically outranked her anywhere but on this station and she had never actually saluted me before. But I turned and returned the salute anyway. Somebody was waiting for me with a transport craft to take me back to the Silent Night.

I went back to my room and slipped on my undersuit. It felt good to be back into it. I left my room and headed to the hangar bay. A hangar of a medical station always smelt unhealthy, it was an awful concoction of oil and cleaning chemicals that singed your nose hairs. I walked towards the shuttle that had a young woman with black hair waiting for me on the ramp, giving me a warm smile. She really needs to stop making this a habit. Or maybe I should just stop losing limbs.

“Welcome back, Commander,” chimed Nyx.

“It’s good to be back.”

—

Mars. Mount Olympus facility 2502.

“I have a medical report that you should read ma’am.”

“Just send it to me and I’ll get around to it,” said a pale older woman with salt and pepper hair, wearing a jet black lab coat.

“I believe it to be important ma’am. It’s in regards to A002.”

“What’s wrong with it? I get medical reports about the first generations all the damn time. What makes this one so special?'' questioned the older woman. The other woman wearing jet black office attire responded,

“A Doctor Kassandra Suárez of Vitality Medical Station recently reported that A002 had successfully regrow his han-”

“Will you just tell me what is so interesting! My weapons lose limbs all the damn time. I don't care about that stuff!” The younger woman sighed at her outburst,

“Doctor Suárez reported that A002 admitted to having dreams for the first time and sought consultation.”

Aboard a Panther class stealth transport craft in hanger C2 of the Silent Night

“Hephaestus… will you please turn that shit off.” groaned Artemis.

“Artemis, are you asking ME to turn off DJ Blyatman? I’ll have you know he is a 21st-century Hardbass genius! Besides, Nyx was the one who enlightened me to his genius, so I’m not the only one who wants to hear it,” Said Hephaestus with a look of false devastation then switching to a coy smile. Nyx was, as usual, just silently nodding her head to the beat in her harness already geared up and ready to go.

I didn’t understand the appeal of this Hardbass music. It just sounded like somebody slapped a drum and base electronics randomly until something came out. Then again, I had yet to hear any music that interested me. Perhaps it was just a me thing. No matter it’s time to get moving.

“Alright, that’s enough Hephaestus turn it off. Get ready we are deploying in 15,” I ordered.

Everybody sounded off and began donning their Commando armor. The armor itself was imposing. Its sleek black finish with red visors gave us quite an imposing appearance. But it was the armor itself that was truly terrifying, even I didn’t completely understand it. The armor was the culmination of years of reverse engineering Xeno technology along with humanity's natural ingenuity that gave birth to this armor.

The armor was capable of withstanding repeated barrages from nearly all types of enemy fire rather it be, laser, plasma, or ballistic. Not only did it boast impressive defensive capabilities, but the armor was also individually crafted for each Death Commando, further increasing our physical abilities and allowing us to achieve even greater feats with our augmented bodies.

“Man, I’ll never go back to using exosuits again. This armor is something else,” mused Zeus as the armor seemingly came to life.

“True, the military has this armor under lock and key. I doubt even most of the High Admirals know how it’s constructed,” explained Nike while stretching in his new armor.

Over the loudspeakers, a female voice rang out, “This is Foe Hammer we are nearly done over here and ready for take-off commandos, strap in.”

We all followed suit and strapped into the Panther’s harnesses in silence. The clicking of mechanisms and the whirling of the interior fans were the only sounds present. There was no need for words during the descent to the planet.

The space battle was still going on and everybody knew what that meant. The possibility of getting hit randomly in a battle like this was always on your mind. It was somewhat frustrating knowing there was nothing you could do to increase your odds. The Panther transport crafts had high spec plasma shields and stealth fields, but it didn’t matter if a stray rail gunshot from a capital ship deleted us or a downed Elunarii fighter barreled into the craft.

"As soon as we drop out of warp I'm punching it to the surface so pray hard ladies and gentlemen,” Foe Hammer called over the radio.

Pray hard, huh? If there was a god for humanity they sure didn’t care much for us. And they sure wouldn’t recognize me as a member of their flock anyways.

I didn’t have much time to ponder this as we dropped out of warp space. It was always uncomfortable, no matter how many times you went through it. It felt like somebody had quickly readjusted your internal organs and only placed half of them back.

The craft lurched upwards and launched out of the hangar into open space. There weren't any windows in the craft and the ride was silent besides the roar of the engine now. It was eerie knowing a full-blown space battle was roaring just outside this small metal casket.

After what seemed like an eternity before Foe Hammer called out once more, “We are entering the atmosphere, prepare for landing, my friends.”

The landing was elegant and efficient as always. Foe Hammer rarely disappointed. Most of the regs wanted little to do with us Death Commandos. But Foe Hammer never complained. She was always kind and cordial to Hades Squad even going as far as to call us her friends.

The liftgate dropped and we were greeted by a lush green forest. The Elunari were blessed with hundreds of lush fertile planets in their systems and Odeus 5 was no exception. Although the gravity was a little less than what was normally comfortable for Humanity, the planet would make an excellent colony one day. Once we exterminated the Elunari off of it of course. Everybody gathered their packs and slug rifles. It was a shame we couldn’t use our bolters or rail guns for this mission, they were just too loud and cumbersome.

“Stay safe out there Kronos, may God’s hand guide you all,” Foe Hammer sand kindly.

“Of course, thank you for the landing. Let’s move out, Hades Squad. I’ll maintain a speed of 50mph. We should reach the rendezvous point before nightfall.”

The squad answered with a mix of affirmatives and dejected “Yes, sirs” from the Gen 3s. The Gen 3s weren't normally capable of such speeds without their armor and it would be a long run, but they shouldn’t struggle too much.

----

Running through the forest was satisfying as we barreled towards the rendezvous point. The scenery was okay, something out of a picture book. I’ve been on enough of these planets, I’ve seen it all. However, it was so different when compared to the concrete citadel of the Mount Olympus facility on Mars. Or the black metal used in the construction of the Silent Night. Humanity rarely used such vibrant colors in their construction anymore.

Now we were about 8 miles away from the rendezvous point. We only ran into one patrol which we just went around. A welcomed boon. I signaled to activate our active camo as we closed in. We couldn’t maintain the camo forever so it was a waste to use it when we were less likely to be spotted.

The friendly Marine squad began pinging on our radars as we got within range of their camp. When we arrived they were well hidden within the foliage of the forest. For regs, they sure were the best of the best. I located their commanding officer and approached only uncloaking when I was right behind them. Although I couldn’t see the face of the Marine they were talking to, she let out a surprised scream as I seemingly materialized out of nowhere. The commanding officer turns around as well and lets out a very unmanly yelp and curse of surprise as well,

“FUCK… can you please not do that, sir…” they breathed out. Looking down at the Marine I replied,

“Sorry, Marine I didn’t mean to startle you.”

After taking a few deep breaths the Marine while looking me up and down responded,

“It’s fine, no worries sir. We just weren’t expecting Hades Squad. Command told us we were getting back up but didn’t think they would send you guys.”

“Sorry to disappoint Sergeant.”

“No... no, it’s fine this should be a cakewalk with you guys. We’ve been scoping out the area and its surroundings for two days now. There is pretty much nothing out there. Forest patrols are sparse and the guard patrols in the facility are a joke. There can’t be any more than 20 guards active at any given time. These Xenos are acting like the planet isn't under siege at all.”

“I see then this should be a “cakewalk” indeed Sargent. Send over any of the relative information. I’ll have a plan of attack done in just a few minutes and we can begin.”

----

With the information provided by the Marines, we were ready to commence. Artemis and Nyx had already scouted the facility during my conversation and confirmed the Marines’ report. I called back Artemis and Nyx and beckoned the 13 man Marine squad over as well. Once everyone gathered I began the briefing,

“Nike set up a jammer and keep them off comms for as long as possible. Nyx and I along with 5 Marines will enter through the back motor pool where there is only one guard stationed. Artemis will take the guard out and provide overwatch. Zeus and Apollo will lead the rest of the Marines and surround the facility. You are to stay silent in the forest until we trigger any alarms. Hephaestus stay with Nike and keep the jammer up.” 19 arms went up in a salute of confirmation.

“Then let’s do this, for humanity.”

We broke up into our respective teams and began to converge onto the facility. As we got into position I noticed one of the Marines breathing was erratic. I couldn’t see their face through their mask but I could tell she was nervous, “What’s your name, Marine?” I called out to her.

“Private first class, Miranda, sir,” she said with a hint of nervousness in her small voice.

“Don’t fret Private Miranda, stay close to me and watch my back, okay? We are going to make it out of here,” She let out a breath I’m sure she was holding for some time.

The regs didn’t like talking to us, however, not a single one was unaware of what we were capable of. There were plenty of stories of Death Commando squads single handly storming fortified bases and flipping the tides of planetary battles. So a personal oath of protection from one was as good as a ticket home to a nervous soldier. And giving her a more simple command would help her focus.

As we closed in on the facility I finally got a good look at it. The Elunari used bright-colored plastics for most of their construction, however, that’s not what pulled my attention away. This looks more like a hospital than a black site. The building was large and was colored a teal-ish blue color, it was also 5 stories tall. And the front had a roundabout that resembled that of a hospital.

However, the Elunari soldiers in their forest green camo guarding the front and posted up in sentry towers around the facility broke any illusion that this was a civilian site, not that it mattered either way. As we skulked through the forest towards the back of the building the number of guards dwindled significantly. They didn’t even have guards posted in the towers at the back. How prideful these Xenos were acting, pretending like their planet wasn’t about to fall. And sitting in a weird chair that resembled a purple scorpion at the back door with multiple garage door esq holes was a soldier struggling to stay awake. Fortunately for him, Artemis could help with that.

I waited a few moments and gave Aremtis the signal. The Elunari had hearing that far surpassed humanity and I doubt they could hear my voice through my helmet but it was better safe than sorry. Just a few seconds after the signal I watched the soldier’s head become nothing more than a red splatter on the wall. Artemis was sitting well over half a mile away on top of a tree as she fired her modified slug rifle. The subsonic tungsten bolt not even making as much as a woosh as it sent the guard into an enteral slumber.

One of the Marines quickly cut away the plastic fencing as we moved into the facility. The guards that would have seen us were already being dealt with. We made a dash for the door as we stuck together. Any fear was elevated as we made it to the door, the equivalent of a bio scanner for a handle was there. Nyx casually lifted the dead guard’s hand and slapped their pink hand across the scanner. The scanner responded with a small beep and the door slid open revealing the interior of the building. She just shrugged and we moved into the building.

Heat maps of the facility showed that our objective was on the 4th floor. That's most likely where they had their servers at. A quick bio-pulse showed the next hallways were clear so we made our way deeper into the facility. We came through a set of double doors, the teal plastic was replaced with a bright sterile white color. It seems the concept of cleanliness and sterile colored environments transcends species.

Another bio-scan pinged back that the entire first floor was clear. We found some stairs and I signed for Nyx to take 3 Marines and clear the second floor while I took the third. Upon reaching the 3rd floor I pinged for any lifeforms and came back negative again. Strange why don't they have guards in the building?

The building maintained its sterile white coloring as multiple rooms branched off from the hallway. This definitely was a hospital at some point. I was pondering these things for only a moment when I heard Miranda scream.

I turned quickly and saw a white-hot blade piercing the other Marine’s heart. Lifting him off the ground. I instantly noticed the small amount of blood that was seemingly floating in the air and sent 3 bolts center mass into the target. I was rewarded with the sound of bones and armor being crushed as a tall Elunari’s body in a sleek set of blue armor crumpled to the ground, their stealth field failing. Impossible.

The Elunari don’t have active camo or wear that kind of armor? And why is it as tall as one of them? The lights flickered briefly from an explosion outside and I saw the distortion of active camo changing behind Miranda,

“TURN AROUND MARINE AND SHOOT!” I yelled at her to get her attention.

I was already moving to take a shot however, she was in the way and I couldn’t make out the target beyond her. They must have been using some version of our active camo. Miranda’s training must have kicked in as she responded without hesitation to my order and raised her laser rifle to fire at the invisible enemy. I began to move in to help her when I realized my worries were spot on. They always come in 3s.

I pivoted only to catch a glimpse of another white-hot blade aiming right for my neck that was swung down at me. Without any space to react, I did the only thing I could. I shoved my slug rifle and hand right into the path of the blade. The white-hot plasma blade sliced clean through my weapon and separated my left hand above the wrist. I didn’t really feel pain, just a small prick telling me something was wrong with my body. A wound like this would send a human into pain shock in no time at all, but not me.

My sacrifice slowed down the blade just enough as I weaved around and aimed roughly where the head should be on the tall Xeno. Maxing out my augmented body, assisted by my suit, I punched the air with all my strength. I didn’t feel much resistance as I shattered the visor on their helmet. The strength of the punch sending my arm up to the forearm through what used to be their face. I quickly pulled my arm free of their face and kicked up their plasma spear catching it.

I turned just in time to see Miranda have her arm and rifle kicked in, sending her to the ground. I threw the plasma spear barreling down the center of the hallway. The Elunari let out a surprised grunt as the spear went straight through its stomach, sending them flying 10 feet down the hall impaling them to the wall. I moved towards the downed Miranda.

“You alright Marine?” I asked.

She was breathing heavily again as she responded,

“Yeah.. yeah. Arms broke, so is my rifle, but I’ll live. Thank you, sir. For saving me.”

“Not a problem Marine, sorry about him. I didn’t know they had active camo.”

“It’s fine you couldn’t have known, at least he died instantly,” She mourned while looking at her fallen comrade.

I walked over to the impaled Elunari. They were still alive as they were choking on their own blood. I silenced the Xeno’s moans of pain by crushing their windpipe with a swift punch to their throat.

To confirm my suspicions I ripped the blue helmet off the corpse. I was greeted by the appearance of a pale white Elunari, an albino as we called them. They were the elites of their race and we didn’t understand much about them. They were some abomination of biologically altered Elunari with a serious amount of combat implants. They were far more dangerous than you average Elunari.

Hell, they were easily the most dangerous Xeno humanity has fought against for the last 20 years. But why are they wearing this blue amour instead of their normal grey? And what are they doing all the way out here at this facility? I needed answers and I needed them now.

I removed the spear from the body and commed over to inform Hades Squad of my findings. Warning them about the possibility of active camo albinos roaming around. The squad list was all lit green confirming they were alive and heard me.

“Let’s meet up with the rest of the team. It will be safer that way.”

There was no telling when more of those active camo users were going to show up. They didn’t register on bio scans so this whole facility could be swarming with them. I couldn’t just leave this marine here either. We needed to regroup and fast.

“Yes, sir. But sir, your hand… do you need help?” Miranda asked me with worry.

“Oh, no, I’m fine. The suit is handling the bleeding and I don’t really feel any pain. Besides this isn’t the first limb I’ve lost and it probably won’t be the last.”

Miranda gave me a dejected nod a followed me a bit closer this time back down to the first floor. According to her file, this was her first mission as a Marine Force Recon member. She has a lot to learn but she is going to make a fine soldier. By the time we made it to what I would assume was the lobby, everybody else was already here. Apollo upon noticing my lack of a left hand rushed over to me,

“Let me take a look at that sir.”

“I’m fine Apollo. Look over this Marine for me will you?”

“Yes, Commander.” I couldn’t see his face but I knew he wasn’t all that happy about me refusing medical treatment. Bad habit of mine.

Apollo began to splint Miranda’s arm as I walked over to Nike. He met me halfway and without missing a beat gave me a quick rundown of how the other squads were doing.

Zeus, Artemis, and their Marines were still clearing the last few patrols that were coming in to check on the facility. Nike had managed to keep the jammer up the entire time and it was still holding, a task worth praising,

“Good work, Nike. Can you possibly scan the rest of the facility for lifeforms, we still have yet to clear it completely and those active camo users are causing us problems.”

“Of course, it should not be a problem, sir. I’ve already begun working on a way to scan for the active camo users since they are most likely using our tech. Just give me a moment.”

Hephaestus was effortlessly carrying Nike’s large terminal on his back that was being used as housing for the jammer. Nike began to tap away on the invisible hard light keyboard that only he could see.

“Got it, sir. I’ve got 4 signatures on the 5th floor. Back of the building, near the roof access.”

“Heph, Apollo, stay with Nike and the wounded Marines. Nyx and I along with any able-bodied Marine will clear out the 5th floor.”

My new team consisted of Nyx, 6 Marines, and myself. We separated at the two different stairwells and began our ascent to the 5th floor. Nike couldn’t get an exact pinpoint on the signatures but we knew they were towards the back of the building near the roof access. Their jerry-rigged active camo was being used to hunt them.

The Marine taking point walked first into the hallway followed by me. As soon as I breached the corner a laser bolt smacked me where my heart is and two separate laser bolts tagged the unfortunate Marine in front of me in both his legs. My armor absorbed the laser round but the Marine wasn’t so lucky. The bolts of energy welded his exosuit and armor to his legs, dropping him to the ground in agony as he screamed.

I immediately returned to cover as a barrage of laser rounds flooded the hallway. The Elunari didn’t even bother finishing off the poor Marine as he screamed for help. My perfect memory got a good snapshot of the hallway. It was about 30 feet long and there were 2 on the right side and 1 on the left. Sadly for them, it seemed they were trapped on that side.

Not wanting to risk any more lives I tossed a modified flashbang down the hall right into the group. These flashbangs were specifically designed to counter Elunari. Even Albinos with their armor couldn’t withstand the perfectly tuned sound that was meant to burst their eardrums.

Before the flashbang went off I was already running down the hallway at full sprint cracking the plastic tiles under my feet as I ran. Unlike them, my helmet would mostly negate the flashbang. The flashbang went off with a bright white light and a loud bang as the Eulnari’s active camo shimmered.

They all fell to the ground screaming bloody murder. I quickly finished off the 2 on the right while they writhed on the ground, impaling their heads with my commandeered plasma spear. I thought it best to use this mele weapon in the narrow hallways of the facility. I didn’t have much ammo for my bolt pistol and I needed it just in case we got into a fight in the forest. The spear would be useless out in the open. I didn’t need to tell Nyx anything as she stayed close behind me and finished off the last one with a few bolts of her slug rifle.

“Nyx, tend to the marine. I’ll finish off the last one.”

“Yes, sir.” She ran off to go help the downed Marine who was still screaming bloody murder and who I may or may not have flash banged as well.

I peered through the glass door into the room the 3 Albinos were guarding and what I saw surprised me more than the active camo or the blue armored albinos. It’s a child's playroom?

I entered the room and looked around, I didn’t see anything and my bio-scan showed nothing as well. It was just full of oddly shaped wooden toys and other things I didn’t really understand. But then I heard the faint sound of a door being slammed open above me.

At the end of the room was a door leading to the roof. I moved quickly and burst through the door. I looked up the center of the stairwell and rather than climbing them, I jumped straight up. I slammed the spear into the side of the stairs and used it as a platform to hoist myself up.

At the top was a door, I left the plasma spear and pulled out my bolt pistol. Being ambushed out here without a projectile weapon would mean the end for me. I rushed out onto the roof. It was running outside now, the gusts of wind battering against me.

At the opposite end of the roof were two small figures huddled over the edge looking down at the ground trying to fight the wind and rain. I walked over to them and once I was about halfway I stopped and turned on Nike’s auto-translating AI,

“Stop. You have nowhere else to run,” The synthetic speech from my helmet came out as a garbled mess that was the Elunari’s spoken language.

Now that I was closer to the two children I could fully make them out as they stared at me in complete and utter terror. The taller one was body blocking the smaller one and was wearing a dress. I’ve never seen an Elunari child before but I could only guess she was around 10 standard years old. However, it was the one behind her that surprised me the most. Today just keeps getting crazier and crazier.

Behind her, was of all things, a small Elunari child with pale white skin, hair, and bright pink eyes. They couldn’t have been older than 6 standard years old. So it seems they do start off as children.

I was about to repeat my order when the older one just suddenly began smiling, her bone-white teeth and yellow eyes gleaming off the landing pad lights. She turned to the little albino and said something while the rain poured down her face. Before the words finished translating in my helmet I was already in a full sprint. I didn’t know how I knew but I had a bad feeling about what was about to transpire. My body moved before my brain even registered anything. Time seemed to slow as the AI’s words read out into my helmet, “Please, forgive me.”

I watched in slow motion as the girl's upper body pulled back and tensed. She then pushed the child off the edge of the roof with all her strength. I was already on top of them as they were falling. I swiped out with my left hand to grab them only to remember. I didn’t have a left hand anymore. I could only watch as I swiped the open air. I couldn’t take my eyes off the child’s screaming and crying face as they fell towards the ground. And I’d never been able to forget the sound they made that day when they hit the ground. Why? Why did she have to push him?

As I stared over the edge I heard the distinct fhwoop of a slug rifle being fired. I turned in time to see the body of the girl crumple over, a kitchen knife falling out of her hand as she fell over. My gaze went straight to Zeus who was standing there aiming his rifle. I yelled at him,

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING ZEUS?”

“What do you mean Commander that Xeno was about to stab you in the neck!?” He screamed.

I looked at the dull kitchen on the floor. It wouldn’t have even chipped the paint off.

“She wasn’t a threat,” I growled back.

Zeus seemingly surprised at my response said,

“Commander, are you mad at me? What difference does it make? I believe you said it yourself. Orders are orders. We were to wipe out any and all personal at this facility.” He spat at me. Wait am I angry? Is that even possible? I’ve never been angry before.

“She could have been useful,” I responded half-heartedly.