In a last-ditch effort to fend off the Stellar Republic's soldiers before close combat ensued, Thea and the UHF marines around her hurled grenade after grenade towards the oncoming tide of enemies.
A series of devastating explosions tore through the soldiers and the landscape, showering both defenders and attackers in a continuous rain of viscera and debris.
The relentless barrage of grenades carved a massive scar into the no-man's-land in front of the trench lines, a testament to the unsustainable rate at which the UHF defenders expended their resources in a desperate bid to hold their ground.
At last, after what felt like an eternity of explosions, the assault began to ebb around Thea’s stretch of the trench line.
Located near the field-hospital, her position held critical importance for both sides of the conflict.
The hospital was the last remaining area with access to functional medical assistance outside of the main HQ’s tunnels, making it a vital objective.
For the UHF, the field-hospital represented the final fortified position in their line of defence. Meanwhile, for the Stellar Republic, conquering it meant overcoming the last obstacle before gaining access to the underground tunnels.
Although there was one more trench line behind the UHF marines, the thirteenth line had never been fortified for combat and was primarily used for logistical purposes. Due to the strategic importance of Thea's position, an increasing number of marines converged around her location, bolstering their firepower and gradually repelling the Stellar Republic's assault.
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Ten minutes later, they had finally gained enough presence in the area and caused enough damage to the enemy’s frontline, to take a bit of a breather.
Enemy soldiers had come perilously close — within fifty metres of the UHF trenches.
The marines who fought with unyielding determination knew that it was only a matter of time before the Stellar Republic would break through their last stand. In their desperate bid to hold the line for just one more push, they had expended more than 84% of their remaining stockpile of grenades.
Morale within the trenches around Thea was undeniably low, yet none of the marines seemed to entertain the thought of surrender. Their resolve remained unshaken, despite the overwhelming odds they faced.
Amidst the tension, Thea could even hear small groups of marines joking about who would wake up in the rez-pods first and making bets on their predictions.
She figured that access to these rez-pods was a significant benefit in this scenario, as it alleviated some of the feeling of futility associated with laying down one's life for an inevitable loss.
However, for Thea, losing the position was not an option. She had promised Old Man James she would do her best, and failing to defend this strategic point was out of the question.
Determined to find a solution, she racked her brain for a way to help the UHF defend against the next push that was bound to occur. Yet, time and time again, she came up empty-handed, as no clear answer presented itself.
Overcome by frustration at the futility of it all and her own inability to make a difference, she slumped down, her back against the trench wall. Bitter thoughts of inadequacy gnawed at her as she absent-mindedly stared into the sky, thinking, 'If only I was as powerful as Lieutenant Frost, I could single-handedly turn the tide of this battle...'
As Thea wallowed in her frustration, warning calls of the enemy regrouping and preparing for another charge reached her ears. Knowing that time was running out, she forced herself to stand and face the coming onslaught with her fellow marines.
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Soon after, the Stellar Republic's forces launched their seemingly final assault, surging over the no-man's-land in an unstoppable wave towards the UHF's last line of defence.
Thea and the remaining UHF marines, their faces etched with grim determination, unleashed a torrent of gunfire and explosives, more fierce and deadly than ever before.
Yet, despite their valiant efforts, it became increasingly clear that their dwindling numbers and depleted resources could not hold back the enemy indefinitely.
With no more strategies to employ and their stockpiles of grenades exhausted, all the UHF forces could do was fight tooth and nail for every metre of ground as the enemy soldiers closed the distance and engaged the marines in brutal close-quarters combat.
The more marines that were caught in these deadly skirmishes within the trenches, the more Stellar Republic soldiers managed to reach the front lines, as the gunfire that had held them at bay diminished by the second. This created a self-perpetuating cycle of defeat for the UHF forces, spelling disaster for their already desperate situation.
Thea’s position was the last to be reached by the enemy soldiers, as most marines that had not been killed or bogged down in skirmishes inside the trenches had gravitated towards its strategically important location as the fortification for the field-hospital.
Thea had long since reached the point of exhaustion, as the relentless fighting took its toll, yet she kept shooting the assault rifle in her hands with reckless abandon. Sweat poured down her face, which had long been caked in a layer of blood, dust, and debris.
She was strangely grateful for the sheer number of enemies approaching her position, as she was certain that if she had even a second of relief from the constant fighting for her life, she would likely collapse from exhaustion.
As this thought crossed her mind and brought a pained smile to her face, she saw the first enemy soldiers approach her and the remaining marines through the trenches to their west.
With practised speed and efficiency, she swung her rifle toward the encroaching enemies and opened fire, a mere twenty metres away. The lasers from her rifle ripped through the enemy soldiers, but Thea couldn't help but wish she had chosen a projectile-based weapon for this last stand.
While lasers were exceptionally effective at penetrating low-armour targets, they didn't impart any kinetic energy. Without the pushback from that energy, any enemy not immediately killed by a laser-inflicted wound could simply press on or, even worse, return fire with ease.
As her first salvo decimated the approaching enemies in the trenches, she pressed her body against the trench wall to reduce her target profile just before the return fire of the enemy soldiers reached her and the marines nearby. Despite the Stellar Republic's technological gap compared to the UHF, their weapons were still exceedingly deadly at close range.
Around Thea, marines began to collapse as the gunfire reached them from the sides. She only managed to dodge most of the initial return fire due to her quick reaction of pressing against the trench wall, but she hadn't escaped unscathed.
A gaping hole had opened up in her unarmoured left arm, which now hung lifelessly from her shoulder, gushing blood onto the trench floor at an alarming rate.
Dropping her rifle, as she could no longer wield it with just one functional arm, she smoothly dropped to a kneeling position while pulling her HX-12 sidearm from the holster on her left waist.
Weapon in hand, she immediately unloaded the entire magazine of supersonic projectiles into the enemy soldiers, killing or effectively maiming all of the remaining enemies from her first salvo of lasers.
Pressing a button on the left side of her pistol, she ejected the spent magazine before squeezing the gun between her left arm and chest to retrieve a spare from the holster at her waist.
Reloading with only one arm had been something Old Man James had drilled into her at a young age, insisting she would need this knowledge at some point in her life if she truly wanted to become a UHF marine. While she had initially hated these drills, she was now infinitely grateful for the old war veteran's persistent insistence on the matter.
Jamming the magazine into the pistol and aiming it back toward the trenches, ready to fire at any potentially approaching enemies, she realised she was reaching her limit. Her vision blurred slightly as tears rolled down her dirt and blood-caked cheeks.
"One more magazine left... That's all. Nobody can say I didn't try, though… I shouldn't be upset about the outcome. This scenario is just way too unfair..." she muttered to herself bitterly, any marines who could possibly overhear her long dead.
Frustration finally taking over, her voice cracking uncontrollably as pent-up emotions burst free, she yelled into the empty trench, "I did everything right, why am I still losing?! This is bullshit!"
Nothing but the continued sound of desperate fighting echoing through the trenches answered her frustrated plea.
Thea sank against the wall of the trench, as a spell of dizziness from her rapid blood loss overcame her.
Barely managing to keep her right arm up, she fired her pistol into a group of Stellar Republic soldiers that turned into her line of vision through the trenchline to the west.
She was hit by another two rounds in her stomach before she successfully killed the squad of four soldiers that had appeared. However, the searing pain she expected didn't come, as her body had long stopped processing those kinds of signals.
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With laboured breathing and her vision reduced to a blurry speck in a sea of darkness, Thea finally let her arm sink, pistol still in her grip.
She could do nothing but listen as another squad of Stellar Republic soldiers ran past her towards the repurposed bunker that served as the field-hospital.
As her consciousness started to fade, her vision suddenly turned bright blue.
A massive beam of concentrated plasma, its radius at least twice the size of Thea's own head, soared over the trenchline. Thundering metallic footsteps that shook the very earth emanated from the location of the thirteenth trench line behind her.
The last thing Thea could perceive in her delirious state before everything ended was a massive, four-metre-tall exoskeleton suit stepping over the trenches, wielding a colossal energy weapon.
The last vestiges of her brain power were spent on identifying the colour scheme of the exo-suit. A matte-grey coat of paint with a few highlights of dim crimson red were the last things she ever saw.
With a final defiant smile, Thea closed her eyes and accepted the embrace of death…
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Major Atlas Daxton sat inside a shuttle headed for Lumiosia's southeastern starport, reflecting on the duties he had completed in the city over the past sixteen hours.
Setting up more than a dozen cubes in the span of a single night-shift had taken a toll on even his impressive Vitality, yet the subtle movement of his fingers against the armrest suggested a restless energy, a constant readiness for the next assignments to come.
He was a tall man, standing at 194cm, with broad shoulders and a lean, muscular frame that spoke of years of rigorous military training. His face was chiselled, with sharp cheekbones and a strong jawline, which was covered in a sleek and well-maintained short beard, giving him a commanding presence.
His piercing blue eyes were both observant and calculating, always seeming to assess the situation at hand, despite the apparent exhaustion he was suffering from this night of work. Daxton's dark-brown hair had begun to grey at the temples, and a few creases had started to form on his forehead, leading any potential onlookers to assume for him to be in his mid-40s, age wise.
He wore an elegant black coat that seemed to reflect no light, impeccably tailored to fit his outstanding physique. The insignia on his left chest bore the typical colour-palette of the UHF, matte-grey with a hint of dim crimson.
As the shuttle hummed along, Major Daxton's thoughts were focused on the mission he had just completed and the amount of effort that had gone into convincing the upper brass of this operation. If he hadn’t owed a life-debt to the retired General, he would have never considered throwing his weight behind such a wild idea, but a debt was a debt.
The UHF was always struggling to find enough recruits to fill out all of their legions, as they required exceptional marines, not just any abled body. Their general recruitment motto had always been quality over quantity, so it came as a surprise to everyone in command, when Daxton had suggested this plan:
To place Deep-Dive Simulation cubes all over mid-worlds to find exceptional recruits, coupled with a severe monetary incentive for the, comparatively, poverty-stricken population of those planets to attract them.
He remembered the loud uproar of the older command staff vividly, yet could not stop himself from cracking a smile, as he had ultimately succeeded in paying his debts to his old tutor.
Why exactly General McKay had decided to call in this debt in such a round-about fashion was beyond him, but so had been many things that his old tutor used to teach him. Yet, without fail, everything that he had been taught had come in useful, one way or another, even years or decades down the line.
General McKay simply had a way of thinking, that took all manner of parameters into account and provided a supremely optimised solution to issues that most people didn’t even know existed for years to come.
Daxton had really hoped he would be able to meet the old General on his trip to Lumiosia, but he had ultimately declined the opportunity to catch up. The General was as elusive to get a hold off as Daxton remembered, from their time together in the UHF.
Deeply engrossed in reminiscing about these past memories, he got startled when his datapad suddenly chimed with a priority notification, “What the…?!”
With practised efficiency, he pulled the datapad from one of the hidden chest pockets inside of his jacket and flicked it on.
[Priority Message]: Lumiosia South-Eastern Undercity Candidate#313 has successfully completed Deep-Dive Simulation #6,473 (Mission: Rog’An Prime Theta Outpost Defence) with a score of 26,453, placing 17th on the overall ladder for this mission.
Staring at the message on his pad, he couldn’t help but stare at the ceiling of the shuttle and let out a deep-seated chuckle, “Damn this old bastard… That can’t be a coincidence. I refuse to believe he didn’t have anything to do with this.”
Checking the message once again, he decided to take a closer look.
He entered his credentials to unlock the Deep-Dive Simulation’s assessment file on Candidate#313 and looked through it, pulling up half a dozen highlight reels of the mission that the simulation’s AI had identified and prepared beforehand.
As the highlight reels played one after another, a frown formed on his forehead and grew deeper and deeper with each passing moment.
“How the fuck is this even possible...?” he muttered to himself after finishing the last reel. Struck with confusion, he pulled up the mission parameters. Confirming what he had assumed was the case, his confusion intensified.
“Something doesn’t add up… This mission should undoubtedly be impossible for a random mid-worlder,” he concluded with an incredulous look on his face. “This score is also just insane. What even happened in this mission…?!”
Frustrated, he pulled up the entire report for the mission.
“Captain Sable… some squad leader named Kellerman… never heard of him… Lieutenant Frost…” as he read over the assessment for the Lieutenant and looked at the prepared highlight reel for her, he broke out in a hearty laugh, “Yes, that does seem very much like her.”
Returning back to the question of Candidate#313, a picture started to form in his head.
“Lack of full basic, knowledge of some advanced-only aspects… Priority Request as a shoe-in private with no possible connection to the UHF due to being a mid-worlder…
“Uncanny accuracy and perceptive abilities that could rival mid or even high-tiers… There’s no doubt: This is an exceptional find,” he finally summed up his feelings with a mix of confusion and elation. He had never expected that General McKay’s recommendation would bear fruit this quickly!
There were still a myriad of unanswered questions in his head but he had made a decision: He had to meet this candidate in person.
Informing the pilot of his shuttle to change the course, Daxton’s chest started swelling with giddy anticipation at meeting this impossible candidate. After all, it had been far too long since he had gotten to crack a mystery like this!
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Finding herself sitting in an impossibly comfortable armchair inside of a small, well-lit room, Thea felt very out of sorts.
It had only been an instant ago that she had closed her eyes and died on the battlefield, the last marine in her stretch of trenches to fall. Yet, that memory felt detached from her in a weird way and its vividness was fading quickly from her mind, as she tried figuring out where she was.
The room was cosy and inviting, with soothing earth-toned walls adorned with tasteful artwork depicting serene landscapes. Soft ambient lighting illuminated the space, casting a warm glow that seemed to envelop Thea like a gentle embrace. A plush, beige area rug covered the polished wooden floor, adding another layer of warmth and comfort underfoot.
In one corner of the room, a modest wooden bookshelf was filled with an assortment of books on self-improvement, psychology, and a few novels that looked like they had been carefully selected for their ability to provide solace and reassurance.
A small potted plant thrived on top of the bookshelf, its vibrant green leaves a symbol of life and growth amidst the calming surroundings. She noted absent-mindedly that she had never seen a plant that looked as lively and invitingly fresh as this one.
She was startled as her vision had continued to wander and landed on another person, looking right at her.
Across from Thea's armchair, a similarly inviting chair was positioned, a gently smiling Sergeant Selene sitting on top of it and patiently waiting for her to acclimatise herself to the sudden shift in environment.
“Ahhh—! Sergeant Selene! My apologies, I—” she started, before being cut off by the Sergeant across from her.
“Take your time, Miss Thea. We have all the time in the world to talk once you are comfortable with the environment. If there is anything that causes you discomfort, please let me know and I shall fix it up immediately,” the Sergeant offered with a gentle, calming smile.
The thing that created the most discomfort for Thea however, was the forthcoming nature of the Sergeant itself, more so than the environment. She was not used to being doted on or even having her opinion asked on such things in the first place.
Uncertain about her current circumstances, she hesitantly inquired, “Ah, thank you, Sergeant! I’m fine, really. It’s just a very sudden change, is all… So, what’s going on? I thought I had some respawns available, why am I back here? Did I mess up somewhere… Ma’am?”
Now it was Sergeant Selene’s turn to be taken aback. With a confused look on her face, she replied in a gentle tone, “No, of course not! You have completed the challenge successfully, Miss Thea. Were you not aware of this? Did the timer for the primary objective not function properly…?”
Only now did all the information in Thea’s head come together to form a full picture.
The appearance of the UHF exosuits, which she had seen right as she died, had been the reinforcements they had been waiting for all along…!
Feeling embarrassed about her obvious lack of attention to the mission timer at the later stages, her face felt very hot. Unable to meet the worried gaze of Sergeant Selene, she looked at the rug on the floor between them, which had suddenly become oh-so-interesting to her.
“I— I forgot to check the timer…,” she meekly mumbled, staring intently at the rug in the hopes of conjuring a hole to sink into and vanish from sheer force of will.
A moment of silence, which seemed to stretch on forever to Thea, followed her admission.
Finally, the silence was broken however, as Sergeant Selene erupted into a hearty belly-laugh that startled Thea into staring at the woman across from her with an incredulous look on her face, which seemed to only fuel the Sergeant’s enjoyment of the situation further.
While she felt extremely uncomfortable with the situation and was very confused as to what was happening, she could not stop her face from forming a slight smile at the Sergeant’s unrestrained laughter. It was rare for Thea to be part of such genuine enjoyment, but she definitely did not hate it. She even noted that the Sergeant’s laugh sounded very pleasant to her.
As the Sergeant managed to slowly reign in her laughter, she raised both of her hands in an apologetic manner, “I am so sorry, Miss Thea. I was not laughing about you, in particular, but rather the sheer absurdity of all this. My apologies once again, I hope I did not insult you in any way with my unprofessional conduct.”
Once again taken by surprise by the turn of events, Thea quickly assuaged the Sergeant, “Ahh! No, no! Don’t worry, Sergeant Selene, Ma’am! I’m simply a bit confused as to what’s going on, really.”
Thinking about the conversation for a second, she added, “Actually, if it would be possible, just Thea is fine. I’m not really a Miss. Just Thea.”
With a gentle and warm smile, mirrored by the green depths of her eyes, Sergeant Selene nodded, “That sounds very do-able. You can call me Selene then. No need for all that Sergeant business, you’re not technically a member of the military, after all.”
“And I definitely don’t feel nearly old enough to be a Ma’am either!” she added with a pout that Thea found to be suspiciously cute. Thea felt like that particular expression held a lot of firepower and made a mental note to try and emulate it at a later date.
One could never have enough weapons at their disposal, after all…