I awoke in a tub of warm water that was green because it was mixed with other chemicals. I immediately recognized the med bay. My squad was naked in their cots and letting the medical robots repair cells and damaged tissues. I saw Rickard lying on his massive back, staring at the ceiling as a robot worked on his feet, which were completely black due to severe frostbite. I couldn’t describe Rickard’s smell other than if the dumb alpha male had a scent, it would be his.

Diaz walked into my view. His smell was tangy and bitter, and his hands were bandaged, pink at the fingertips, an indication of cellular reconstruction and repair.

“Oh, hi, Sam. Don’t move too much. You got hit with an energy blast and suffered some serious frostbite, over 40% of your body. The tub is to raise your body temperature, and we have some nanobots programmed to work on the cellular repair. You’ll have some scars, but you will be alright,” Diaz said.

He checked the control panel next to me and nodded before moving on to check on the others. I needed the tub because my kind was cold-blooded. Everyone in my squad suffered from frostbite. Fucking miserable ice rock.

“I heard from a buddy in the 15th that they finished their VR simulations and they are being deployed,” Jimmy said.

He was sitting up as his hands were worked on by the medical bot. Jimmy had a sweet smell, like roses, and it was unclear if it was his genetics or from the way he groomed himself with his soaps and colognes.

“They are getting ready for war!” Flute exclaimed, her voice high-pitched.

Flute was our demolition expert, and she had a sharp smell to her that tickled my senses. I’m unsure if that was because the chemicals from all the explosives she worked with had somehow seeped into her DNA. She was right, though. It looks like hostilities with the Galactic Federation were ramping up.

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“What the fuck is VR?” Rickard asked.

Of course, that hick wouldn’t know.

“Virtual Reality,” Tool answered from behind his Sheet Computer. It’s rare that you see him away from any type of technological interface.

He smelled like wires and machines.

“VR is for pussies. Makes you soft, and it doesn’t condition you like the real shit. Next time I hear you talk about VR, I will break your jaw,” Lieutenant Grimes growled. She always growled.

For a female, Grimes had a heavily masculine smell that was all musk but with a gentle touch of mint.

Johnson chuckled. That dude never talked. I’ve been with this squad for about a year, and I don’t think I ever heard him say a complete sentence. Like his bald head, his smell was plain.

To me, most humans didn’t look threatening with their soft skin and nonsensical hair placements, despite the fact that most were almost double my size. However, Lieutenant Grimes had a predatory look, all lean muscle, and scars. No one knew where she served before FORF, but rumor had it that she used to be a ranking officer, a captain maybe, but she didn’t play by the rules and was demoted and sent to FORF.

“Command is all about efficiency. It would be a waste to spend money on VR equipment for FORF when it is expected that we die during an operation,” I said.

Maybe having nearly half of your body covered in frozen dead tissue makes you sarcastic and angry.

“Dying in service to Government is an honor,” Rickard said.

I looked around, and all of my squad mates nodded and gave me that look. In training for FORF, they practically drill that motto into your brain to the point where you say it no matter what whenever someone mentions death in battle. Unless you actually have a brain, like I do. I don’t buy into the honor crap, but my squad mates did, and I didn’t want them killing me in my sleep. So, I said another famous phrase.

“Huzzah!” I rasped.

“HUZZAH!” Everyone shouted in response and returned back to what they were doing.

Me? I passed out again.