The Realmic Concord, Olympus Squad, White Squad, the crew of the Cerberus, they were all ready, but had explicit orders to let Cameron, Agent Dionysus, try her plan first. Their one attempt to end a run-in with Orcs with little or no bloodshed. Ian trusted her, as did Luke and Jacqueline, but the rank-and-file had little to base their opinions on.

To them, they were trusting the enemy. An Agency goon.

Cameron stood outside the wall in the meadow, but she had no gun this time. Instead, she had called in a favour with Thanatos and taken his blade to look the part. She stood, a lone warrior facing down the horde, the last Spartan against the Persian army.

Then came the drums. Boom. Boom. Boom. The drums were rhythmic, built only to sound the approach of war. The sounds of metal, the crackle of fire, the roars of young, eager Orcs could be heard along with the heavy footfalls of the approaching army.

Ian breathed in hard at the sight. There were hundreds of them. All in a few asteroids?

The Orcs had noticed Cameron standing alone in the meadow, and stopped. Normally, there was an army waiting for them, not a lone warrior. They didn't know how to approach this problem.

'What's the problem, weaklings!' came the booming, commanding voice from just behind the frontline. A giant, greenskinned, sharp-toothed, metal-cladden Orc pushed to the front. He was muscle on muscle, holding a large axe made from scrap metal in his hand, his black hair tied back into a standing ponytail. He looked at Cameron, and laughed.

'One Human!? You're all scared of one Human!? Hold on, boys... I'll kill it.'

The Orc walked with purpose, confident in his strength and Cameron's weakness. But when she raised her hand, palm out towards him, he stopped.

'Orcs!' Cameron said, megaphone at full. They were a little surprised she could shout so loud. 'I am Dionysus... Protector of this world. You have one chance... Leave of be destroyed.'

Silence was quickly followed by boisterous laughter. The Orcish line erupted in disbelieving guffaws and chortles. Cameron smiled under her helmet as the Orc before her cracked his neck.

'Well, Die-oh-nee-sis, I'm not scared of you. I'm Blackpaw! And you are nothing to my power!'

'Oh, Blackpaw,' Cameron said with a sigh. 'We are stronger than you realise.'

Aaron heard the code word, then fired the wall defence gun at Cameron. The shell erupted in the air and a torrent of fire engulfed Cameron's body, making Blackpaw take a step back.

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'Ha! They hit their own friend! Stupid Humans!'

Blackpaw bravado was changed to ice-cold terror when the smoke cleared, and Cameron stood where she had always been, but now engulfed in green flames. Alice changed her voice to distort in the megaphone, and Cameron shouted.

'I warned you, Blackpaw! Now you shall all perish!'

Cameron walked forward, matching the confident swagger Blackpaw had once had. The Orc felt fear for the first time, and he heard the Orcs behind him break ranks, fleeing and running for the hills.

'Leg it!'

'We can fight again another day!'

'No one said nothin' 'bout a flamin' lady!'

'Run!!!'

Blackpaw realised just how alone he was when he wasn't the strongest, but he was frozen in place, unable to move. This one woman, this... Dionysus... scared him. She stopped before him, using the blade to lift up Blackpaw's chin. He saw no eyes, like one of those Wights. Despite the fire... she felt cold.

'And now... you pay.'

Blackpaw took the opportunity to scramble backwards and run, roaring fearfully and sprinting towards the ships. The sight of the fleeing Orcs made those on the walls cheer.

Ian smiled. He knew his trust was well placed. 'Well done, Cameron. Had me worried a bit there.'

Cameron turned, jogging back to the gate, her suit's temperature gauge warning her she'd start cooking soon. 'I told you to trust me. Orcs and New York gangs... same difference.'

'Noted,' Ian said.

The gates opened and Cameron was sprayed with fire retardant foam, dousing her and cooling her down all at once. The cheering in the city was loud, much louder than her loudspeaker had been. November Victor was saved, by a new squad's member. Everyone here would remember this day, the day Dionysus defended them from the Orcs. With a little embellishment, maybe.

A day had passed since the Orc 'attack' and Cameron's genius plan. Cameron had been inducted into the Realmic Concord almost immediately, but despite her genius plan, it had not proven the loyalty of the other members of Olympus Squad. That was fine. Ian knew that they would effectively be trading one boss for another, but had hoped there would be less proving.

'Cameron, well done,' Ian said, starting off their next meeting. 'You've proved we're ready to work and defend the Concord... but we've got one more thing to do before we're all in.'

'But my plan wouldn't have worked without you,' Cameron said, pouting.

'I know,' Ian said. 'Aaron, Snezhana and Thanatos, you three did well to help her. But it was only Cameron out there facing the Orcs. So while we have to do this, Cameron does not. So-'

'Don't,' Cameron said quickly. 'I'm coming.'

Ian smiled widely. Even now, she was still one of them. 'Alright then. The Concord received a distress call from a Jackson Knox on the planet Jukkete. Apparently it means "fuck" in Elven.'

'We're going to a planet called "Fuck"?' Maeve said in disbelief. 'What's wrong with it that it deserves such a name?'

Ian pressed a button on the table, showing a holographic image of a planet slowly hollowing out as if it was being eaten, an apple to giant worms.

'It fell to the Klisk seven years ago,' Ian said solemnly. 'The fact someone's there is concerning... and Jonathan wants to rescue him. Apparently Jackson Knox is an important Alliance diplomat.'

'Then why is he there?' Aaron asked. 'Alone, I'll point out.'

'That's what we're going to find out, Olympus,' Ian said. 'I know none of us are going to be... happy to be fighting Klisk again. I still have nightmares about that first mission. But last time, we didn't have our amazing crew backing us up. This will be a cakewalk. I promise.'

'We're holding you to that,' Thanatos said with a smirk.