"Forward, The Light Brigade!"

For years they have prepared. For this single moment. All their training, all their technology, was to ensure that the day would be theirs. 

the sky was blocked out by their planes that almost seemed like floating cities from afar. 

Below them was once a great city of the old world. the height of civilization, a city where dreams came true. 

Just as those that lived before dream saw their dreams realized, they too would see theirs come true. 

Within its depths lay a secret, one that was lost to the old world. A secret that would have given its wielder the keys to the world. but war had ensured that no one would claim it. 

The once utopic metropolis was the first of many cities to be ravaged by the old war, and as such, it was one of the cities that nature had taken back from them. 

Broken streets, crumbling buildings, even street poles and billboards, all held together by vines and foliage. 

They looked in awe, piecing together the old technology that was still used in their cities today and wondering what the unfamiliar ones were used for. 

As they reached the center of the city, their alarms screamed. warning them too late of the incoming attack. 

A flash of black cut through one of the planes and a second later it burst into flames and fell apart as it fell to the ground. 

They could barely comprehend it but the city had come to life. their machines told them that there were energy readings all around them.

Flashes of  black would shoot from every direction, each easily dispatching their planes. 

it took no longer than one hour for their entire fleet to be shot down. the burning wreckages seemed destined to be taken back by nature as well. 

What little survivors rallied towards a single man. 

He was known as Alpha. the hero of Pangaea. He shone brightly, clad in what the best that Pangaea could offer. 

To be precise Alpha was a mantle, not a name. it was given to soldiers or agents that had given everything they could for the sake of others and would still give more if they could. over time the mantle was passed down from hero to hero. until the identity of the person behind it became an after thought. 

Alpha led the charge deeper into the city. Whatever it was that their superiors deemed pivotal in Pangaea's continued prosperity, would likely be underground. 

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They were cautious, and quite frankly traumatized. just a few hours ago they were thousands strong, ready to combat any adversary that Lemuria would have thrown at them or even the nameless rabble that had chosen neither Pangaea nor Lemuria. 

now they were no more than ten. 

How horrifying was it that whatever attacked them had not made another move since then. What kind of organization or force would it take to keep an entire city powered and maintained so well that its armaments were more than enough to tear through the best they could offer. 

Their scanners and radars gave of readings that would have otherwise told them that they were within the cities of Elysium, Valhalla, Eden, or any other of the Great Capital Cities of Pangaea. 

Through parking garages, basements, and sewers, they made their way deeper underground. closer to the heart of the city. After hours of traveling they came upon a vault similar to the ones that their military facilities used. 

unlike their entire journey, there was no foliage, plants nor dirt. it was a well maintained vault. 

"You couldn't leave well enough alone." Someone spoke. 

The survivors looked around, trying to find who was speaking to them but to no avail. 

"Filthy Pangaeans, You honestly think that you own the world don't you?" the voice spoke again but eerily closer.

"While the rest of the world burned around you, you were happy to ignore them." 

their eyes widened, realizing that the voice was inside of their heads, using the microchips that were implanted in their brains that they could communicate with a neural network instead of speaking to each other.

"I control everything you see and feel, the same way your beloved Pangaea does, but unlike them, I'll show you the truth"

All of them blinked once, and as their eyes opened, they could see a figure almost drowned in darkness, the ragged texture of its armor barely visible. but in contrast, Alpha shone brightly. and at that time they wish he didn't.

His armor was ravaged and destroyed, his helmet crushed, and his limbs twisted in different directions. 

All around them were signs of a fierce battle but the result before them showed that it was a massacre. 

What lies were told to them they wondered. 

As the figure in the darkness slowly approached them, they couldn't even try to draw their weapons. 

What point was there when their hero was already dead?

What point was there when all they saw was what it wanted them to see?

What was even real? Did they even truly make it out of the wreckage? 

They could not even tell if they even survived long enough to hit the ground. 

They were told not to question. 

They were told to follow orders. 

It was their duty to die for Pangaea. 

and so they blindly followed the orders to go into a dead city to look for hope. 

They did not find hope, there was no honor, not even an ounce of glory. 

All they did was charge blindly into a valley of death.

At Pangaea's Mission Control, they watched as each signal from each soldier vanished from their monitors. 

"A total failure" one of them remarked. "Minerva was wrong." 

"Minerva is never wrong." another replied. "We were told there was an unknown assailant and now we found it."

on their screen was an image of a robot they had no record of. 

"Now that we know what it is, we can gather information and prepare for the next assault."

Everyone murmured in agreement. 

"Theirs not to make reply,

Theirs not to reason why,

Theirs but to do and Die"