Thea’s eyes opened slowly as her consciousness returned.
Still hazy, she tried to orient herself and figure out where she even was.
She was leaning back against a red-brown dirt wall, inside a tunnel roughly two meters wide and three meters tall. Aside from herself, she could make out two or three dozen other Marines through her blurry vision, all slumped against the tunnel walls around her.
She could feel constant vibrations through the ground and the wall at her back, a clear sign that the battle was still going on not too far from her position.
She blinked rapidly and frowned as she tried to push herself to her feet.
A muffled groan slipped out despite her best efforts to stay quiet, every muscle and fiber in her body aching worse than after one of her Old Man’s punishment workouts.
‘Just what exactly did you do, Thea…’ she scolded herself.
After a moment, she finally managed to stand, her vision slowly sharpening enough for her to take in her surroundings more clearly.
She was definitely inside one of the underground tunnels leading toward the center of the hill and the main HQ.
This crude field hospital—if it even deserved the name—seemed to be set up in a side tunnel, judging by how narrow it was compared to the main passages she remembered.
She couldn’t spot any medics nearby, but small flying drones drifted past from time to time, briefly scanning each Marine resting against the walls.
“Now… where’s my weap—wait. How did I even get here…? And maybe even more importantly, how long was I even out for?” she muttered, trying to piece together a plan to keep going.
She glanced at the timer in the top right corner of her HUD and her eyes widened.
Only about an hour and a half remained.
She had been unconscious for more than three hours.
“Fuck,” she blurted out, then immediately clamped her hands over her mouth. She glanced around, checking if anyone had stirred from the noise, then hurried off toward the nearest light and sound.
Stepping into the next tunnel, she realized she was back in the main passage she’d walked through just hours earlier with Captain Sable.
Her sense of direction snapping back into place, she immediately headed toward the western front, not waiting for the—likely incoming—medics to properly discharge her.
‘Hopefully I can find Kellerman and his squad… They should know where I can get a replacement weapon,’ she reasoned with herself as she jogged through the tunnel.
Inside, she passed dozens upon dozens of UHF Marines, all of them busy with one task or another. Some were hauling crates, ammo boxes, or replacement parts like HMG barrels. Others were carrying injured Marines back from the western front.
From the sheer number of casualties moving past her, and considering how little time she had spent in the tunnel so far, Thea could already tell the fighting had escalated hard.
That thought pushed her to pick up the pace, even as her body protested with sharp, aching pain.
She also realized, with growing annoyance, that she had woken up without her helmet.
The sound dampening and smell filters it provided would have been extremely welcome right about now as she pushed closer to what she assumed were the front lines.
The tunnel felt like it had been soaked in a grav-truck’s worth of perfume made from blood, bile, and filth.
The constant stream of wounded and dying Marines only made it worse. The stench was so thick she felt like she could taste it, and breathing freely became harder with every step.
‘I really need a helmet… I won’t be any use like this,’ she finally decided about halfway through the tunnel. With every meter, the noise and smell grew more intense, to the point her body almost recoiled on instinct.
She simply wasn’t used to sounds this loud or smells this overwhelming.
Most games had never bothered to model this side of war—it was simply far too unpleasant for players. And now, she understood exactly why.
Scanning the area for a supply station—one had to be nearby in a main tunnel like this—she quickly spotted one a few hundred meters away, tucked into an off-shoot on her right.
Finding it so quickly felt like a small miracle.
‘Finally something’s going my way,’ she thought, heading toward it.
When she arrived, she saw about a dozen Marines already lined up, waiting for resupply.
Not wanting to draw attention, she slipped into the shortest line and waited her turn.
The station wasn’t very large. It was a medium-sized hovel carved into the hill, roughly dug out of the dirt to about a ten-by-ten meter space.
It barely fit enough equipment to count as a proper supply station, which was obvious from the way supply crates and ammo boxes were stacked from the floor all the way up to the ceiling.
At the front of the queues stood three UHF supply staff members, handling requests with a level of speed and precision that left Thea staring in utter disbelief. No matter what the Marines asked for, the staff seemed to pull the requested items out in mere seconds, almost like they were grabbing them from thin fucking air.
It took less than three minutes for the dozen Marines ahead of her to be processed, while another dozen had already lined up behind her.
Clearly, the supply staff were just as busy as everyone else during this massive attack.
‘Oh, fuck me! I really hope I won’t hold everything up, simply ‘cause I don’t know how to request a resupply…’ She thought, anxiety starting to curl in her chest.
As the last Marine in front of her stepped up, she glanced around nervously and replayed her request in her head again and again. Somehow, this whole situation made her far more anxious than any of the fighting she had done earlier.
When it was finally her turn, she stepped up to the first staff member who freed up and delivered her well-rehearsed line, copying the tone of the Marines before her.
“Private Thea under Captain Sable. I require a new X-23R-L and a standard-issue light-armour helmet,” she said, trying her best to sound confident.
The staff member entered her details into his datapad at frightening speed.
To Thea, the short wait felt downright endless.
Her mind immediately filled with worries as she replayed her words over and over.
‘What if they didn’t hear me right…? Why did I say my name like that?!’
A quiet chime sounded, and she nearly sagged in relief. She had heard that same sound for every Marine before her—it had to mean everything was fine.
Or so she hoped.
The staff member finally nodded, then turned and disappeared behind a holographic privacy screen, similar to the ones used in the field hospital. A few seconds later, he returned with a brand-new Mjollnir and a helmet, handing both to her.
After she signed his datapad, she was dismissed with a simple gesture.
Thea left the station feeling slightly dizzy. The whole process had taken less than half a minute, yet she had stressed over it like it had lasted half a damn hour.
Frustrated with herself and her inability to handle simple social situations like that, she grumpily put on her helmet. She took a deep breath of cool, filtered air, and her hazy mind cleared almost instantly.
The sound suppression kicked in as the seal formed, leaving a faint droning noise in her ears—an afterimage of the constant barrage she’d endured over the past few hours, especially on her way toward the western front.
Feeling refreshed and combat-ready again, she headed back into the main tunnel and continued toward the western front at a brisk pace.
As she walked, she muttered to no one but herself, still thoroughly annoyed by her own earlier performance, “Shooting people is a whole lot easier than requesting supplies…”
A short time later, Thea finally reached the end of the tunnel.
She immediately noticed that the entrance had changed since the last time she’d been here.
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When she had passed through with Captain Sable, there had been a massive plasteel gate in place. Now, there was only a wide opening leading straight out into the fortifications beyond.
The reason was obvious at a glance.
Dozens of marines streamed through the opening in both directions, either heading toward the battlefield or retreating from it. A gate would have bottlenecked the flow badly, so it had clearly been removed once the fighting had pushed further up the hill.
As she stepped out onto the hillside, the sheer noise hit her first like a sledgehammer to the chest—an overwhelming wall of sound from the nearby battle—followed by the heavy stench of burned ozone, gunpowder, and blood.
Even the heavy-duty filters in her helmet struggled to keep it all out.
The air itself felt thick and absolutely suffused with desperation and brutal, ongoing combat.
The sheer intensity of it made her stumble half a step, as if she’d walked straight into the plasteel gate that no longer existed instead of out into the open air from the narrow tunnel.
From her position atop the UHF fortifications, behind the thirteenth—and final—trench line, she could see just how far things had deteriorated while she’d been unconscious.
The Stellar Republic’s forces had already pushed up to the eleventh trench line.
There was very little room for error left.
If the thirteenth line fell, the western front would be lost entirely.
She had just started looking for a way back into the fight—maybe even for Kellerman and his squad, if they were still alive—when a loud voice boomed across the nearby area.
“All marines returning from rez-pods, med-bays, or resupplies—line up on me! We don’t have time to sort you back into squads. We’ve got freaks to kill!”
She turned toward the source of the voice—and froze slightly at what she saw.
Around thirty metres away, atop a large stack of crates roughly four metres high, stood a woman with the largest heavy machine gun that Thea had ever seen strapped to her back.
She had one leg propped on an empty ammo crate and was scanning the area for lost marines with a sharp, penetrating gaze.
She was slightly taller than Thea herself—and noticeably more muscular—with short-cropped black hair and a fierce expression. Her battle-worn Heavy-type armour bore the insignia of a lieutenant, and she carried an air of authority that was impossible to ignore.
Thea quickly figured that this had to be the one organizing the impromptu group.
‘Not the first high-ranking woman I’ve seen in the simulation so far, huh?’ She noted with mild curiosity. ‘Also one of the few Marines not wearing a full helmet…’
Without hesitation, Thea hurried over to the crate tower and joined the quickly forming line of marines. A quick glance around showed that the others were just as eager to get back into the fight, an electrifying energy sparking between all of them.
The lieutenant swept her gaze over the group, clearly taking stock. Once she was satisfied that everyone she’d spotted lingering nearby was present, she barked out her orders.
“Listen up, Marines! I’m Lieutenant Frost. You’re under my command now. Group up with the closest four Marines—congratulations, they are your new squad.”
She didn’t pause.
“We’re reinforcing the western-most trench sections, and you know what that means: Lots of Freaks to kill. Fall in with your squads. We move in thirty seconds!”
Thea and the others snapped to attention, answering with a sharp chorus of “Yes, ma’am!” before quickly sorting themselves into squads.
Weapons were checked, armour seals verified, grips tightened.
Thea’s new squad consisted of three heavies, one medium-armour marine, and herself.
They shared quick nods before falling into line, waiting for Lieutenant Frost to lead them out.
Despite being complete strangers, a faint sense of camaraderie settled in extremely quickly—born from the simple fact that they were about to face the same enemy together.
“Definitely better than requesting supplies…” Thea muttered to herself, a faint smile tugging at her lips as the lieutenant ordered them forward.
The battle for the western front had been raging for nearly six hours, and the damage was impossible to miss as they moved toward the trenches.
Most of the fighting had stayed close to the UHF fortifications, but stray rockets, grenades, and constant explosions had ripped the surrounding hillside apart. What had once been a simple slope was now a nightmare of scorched earth, smoking craters, and jagged rock.
Any vegetation that had once grown there was gone, reduced to blackened stubs, and the red-brown soil had been churned into fine dust that swirled around them as they advanced.
The air was thick with the acrid stench of burnt metal, ozone and gunpowder.
Thea shot another glance at the lieutenant’s bare head, still leading the mass of Marines, and felt a flicker of disbelief run through her.
‘How is she not even flinching at any of this?’ The thick smog, the ear-shattering noise, the stink of blood and burned ozone—’and she’s doing all this without a helmet?!‘
Her respect for the lieutenant climbed another notch at the thought.
As Thea and her squad picked their way through the torn-up terrain, a knot tightened in her stomach. They were walking straight into the worst of it, and she knew it.
The constant crack of gunfire and the deep, gut-punching booms of explosions ahead made it impossible to forget.
‘Yeah. No turning back now,’ she told herself, matching the pace of the other Marines as best she could.
Still, not a single one of the Marines hesitated. Training took over, sharp and drilled deep. Everyone knew what freezing up meant out here.
Thea hadn’t gone through the same kind of frontline training, but she knew pressure.
‘Honestly? This is easier than some tournament finals,’ she thought with a hint of surprise. ‘Like… At least here I’m not alone.’
Having a squad around her—and a leader who clearly knew exactly what she was doing—made a truly massive difference.
They moved in tight formation, weapons up, eyes sweeping the horizon. When they reached the thirteenth trench line, the noise spiked again, louder and closer.
The flashes of gunfire and explosions ahead lit up the sky like a twisted fireworks show.
‘That’s close. Way too close,’ Thea thought, tightening her grip on her rifle as they dropped into the trench and kept moving. Lieutenant Frost didn’t slow down for a second, pushing them forward at a pace that was starting to really hurt.
Thea gritted her teeth, legs burning.
‘What in the Void is this woman eating?’ She thought incredulously. ‘I swear, I’m going to ask for her workout routine if we somehow fucking survive this.’
They reached the opening that led down toward the twelfth trench line, and Lieutenant Frost finally raised a hand, stopping them just short of it.
The pause was brief, but very welcome.
“Alright, Marines,” the lieutenant said, voice sharp. “We’re about to head into the open. We’re not at the actual front yet, but we’ll need to cross about a hundred metres with no real cover. I want all of you on the other side. If any of you die out there, I will kill you myself. Staggered formation. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Ma’am!” the group answered in unison.
Thea let out a quiet breath of relief when she noticed she wasn’t the only one struggling.
Almost everyone was breathing hard under their helmets, shoulders rising and falling as they tried to recover.
‘Okay. Good. It’s not just me getting absolutely fucked here,’ she thought, bracing herself for what came next.
Several seconds later, seemingly enough time for them all to recoup in the eyes of the lieutenant, she moved first, darting into the open with a speed and sheer level of confidence that Thea would have thought utterly impossible for a mere human being—especially with that absolutely monstrous heavy machine gun still strapped to her back.
The Marines followed a heartbeat later, spreading out into the staggered formation she had ordered. Thea felt adrenaline surge through her as she sprinted alongside the others, her focus narrowing down to one simple goal: ‘Get across alive. That’s all that matters.’
A few stray shots snapped past them as they crossed, kicking up dirt and sparks, but their movement was as fast as their legs could carry them and thankfully disciplined through and through.
Thanks to the pace and the lieutenant’s timing, they made it across without losing anyone, which seemed like a damn miracle in itself.
They dropped into the twelfth trench line and regrouped quickly.
The air was thick with smoke, burned ozone, and gunpowder, and the noise of heated, ongoing battle pressed in from all sides. Looking around, Thea could see hundreds of Marines packed into the trenches around them.
Most were firing down the slope at the Stellar Republic’s forces roughly one-eighty metres away, who were still pushing toward the eleventh trench line. Others hauled crates and ammo, while Squad Medics worked on wounded Marines slumped against the trench walls.
‘I wonder how many people have died on both sides so far—actually, nevermind. I don’t think I really want to know that…’
Less than half a minute after arriving, Lieutenant Frost waved them forward again.
There was no time to rest.
As they moved through the trenches, the lieutenant peeled off squads whenever they passed pillboxes or strongpoints that needed more bodies, ordering them to stay and reinforce the defence of the twelfth trench line before pushing the rest onward.
When they reached the crossover to the next trench line, the group had shrunk by roughly a quarter.
Just over a hundred and fifty marines remained with the lieutenant.
At the edge of the twelfth trench line, Lieutenant Frost raised a hand and called for a short halt. She looked out over the no-man’s-land between them and the eleventh trench line, where the front was now uncomfortably close.
The open ground was scarred with craters from stray rockets and littered with debris, turning it into a dangerous maze of cover and death.
“Listen up, Marines!” Frost shouted over the roar of battle. “We cross this ground fast and clean. Keep low, stay sharp, and follow my lead exactly. Stick close to the person in front of you and watch each other’s backs. If you get hit and can’t keep moving, fall out and die somewhere else. Do not block the path for the Marines behind you, simply because you feel like dying in the moment. Are we fucking clear on this?”
“Yes, Ma’am!” came the immediate reply.
Thea flinched slightly at how easily the crass order was accepted, then forced herself to swallow it.
‘This is normal for UHF Marines, Thea. We’re on a battlefield here. Death isn’t shocking—just expected…’ She reminded herself, refocusing on what was to come.
And just in time, as with no further delay, Lieutenant Frost broke into a sprint, tearing across the open ground with that same unreal speed and agility.
The Marines followed, pushing themselves hard as their training took over.
They all moved as one, weaving between craters and wreckage, keeping their heads down as enemy fire snapped and burned through the air.
The crossing was brutal.
Bullets whistled past, lasers scorched armour, and explosions rocked the ground around them.
Thea locked her focus onto Frost’s back and the Marines beside her, refusing to slow down.
By the time they reached the eleventh trench line, they had lost just over a dozen people—an awful number, but far less than it could, or realistically probably should, have been.
They tumbled into the trench and were immediately swallowed by the chaos of the front line.
Gunfire, shouting, screams, and explosions blended into a constant, violent roar.
This was the heart of the battle, and there was no room left to give.
Lieutenant Frost flashed a wide, almost manic grin and bellowed into the trench, “Reinforcements are here! Let’s kill us some fucking Freaks! Fire at will!”
She ripped the massive heavy machine gun from her back, stepped up to the edge of the trench like nothing on the battlefield could even touch her, and simply opened fire into the mass of Stellar Republic Soldiers pouring up the slope without any cover for her in sight…