Tisus held onto his gun to his chest, awaiting certain death. Squadded down on the floor, all he could hear was the wailing of the dead and dying surrounding him in the trenches. Clouds of smoke, black and grey surrounded him. Bodies flayed together in an orgy of decay and blood. Limbs and heads sticking out like trees in a forest. Tisus was among the battered remnants of a multitude of mutilated companies, arranged in a stand against the encroach of Terran forces. Whatever line of defense remained was likely not reinforced by anything around or behind them. Any and all coordination was lost, some tried to flee but were either shot down by us or disappeared into the dark abyss. The armies of the coalition were making their last stand on Pluto, all of the cities which dotted the area had been smashed to dust, swept away by winds spurned up by artificial machines, in its place was a vast sea of ice.

breaking out of his stone like position, Tisus dredged through the corpses and met up with the rest of his pack. Tisus was originally supposed to find other survivors in the heap, but no matter how far along the trench Tisus looked for, it was an mile long sea of corpses or had been made delirious from the shock of Terran bombardment. As he had come about, he could see the different colored uniforms of his comrades, what was left of them anyways. Many were survivors from other armies across the coalition. The city stats of mars, asteroid belt of Jupiter, mega city of Neptune, even a couple from the new earth, formerly known as Venus, before it was shifted away from the Suns deadly raze and re-colonized. The uniforms of the men were brightly colored but had all been collectively colored black and grey by smoke, fire, and the dust storms kicked up by the plains of Pluto.

This was a far cry from what we all thought was supposed to happen. When the whole of the Solar system came together to create the solar coalition. Tisus had remembered those early days. On Titan, he remembered how the skyscrapers dotted with people waving flags and showering praise on the marching columns of soldiers. The air of optimism was overwhelming. It infected everyone all across the Solar System, from the lowliest asteroid colony to the higher echelons of Solar Society. A new age was meant to be heralded as we threw off the shackles of the Earth pact and pooled in our resources collectively. The coalition had thought that such a show of unity would dissuade the Earthlings into backing down. And if it didn't, we could have embargoed the planet till it ran out of steam, as it had been depended on imports from the solar system to support their worldwide city scape. Both assumptions were woefully wrong, and our current predicament came from it.

We should have known, thought Tisus as he and his squad members were being bombarded by artillery. Each hits sending shockwaves throughout their stomachs, causing some to wretch blood, and others to start screaming in madness. We should have known the ambitions of Earth were more would never be subdued. He came upon officer Jarak of mars, his eyes unmoving onto the horizon, what he was trying to make out of the clouds of smoke and incoming bullets he couldn't say. But his strength of will still be stood within him. To his right was second in command, Jared. with his compact machine gun stationed on the edge of the trench, ready to shred bullets into any incoming enemy. Behind them was fierce old Allec, sharpening his knife, made of the hardiest material available on Jupiter. Able to slice metal like cloth. Around them were near a dozen men, many just stared at the ground, tattered and mentally beaten. To their right stood varying array of loosely spread-out soldiers, possibly numbering a couple dozen. It was hard to tell in the smoke and each moment casualties piled on. As Tisus moved up, gun to his back, none of the other gave him so much as a look. Tisus put his back against the trench wall near Jarak. "Report, Lieutenant Tisus" Jarak said, unmoved and unconcerned by Tisus appearance. "Nothing sir, as far as I could see, was just corpses or men that might as well be." Tisus tried to search for a cigarette in the multitude of pockets on his uniform, frantically searching throughout his body.

"Maybe you just didn't look hard enough boy" Allec said, eyes barley moving from sharpening his blade. Tisus slowly raised and lit his cigarette, glaring at Allec. "Maybe if I-" "Nows not the time" Jarak interrupted before Tisus could get a word in. "If we are to hold out, we hold out as true inheritors of humanity, not as men of Venus, mars, or Jupiter, but as Solarites, destined to join the rest". Tisus gave a scoff while Allec gave a large spit at his knife, shortly giving a glare right back at Tisus. Alec had always Resented my status among the intellectuals on Saturn's Mining colonies. Tisus family owned a large mining factory which spread throughout Saturn's rings and moons. Tisus had, like many children of corporate families, been shipped off to the best colleges in the solar system bar Earth. Tisus, being a ninth son, had leeway in what he wanted to pursue in his career. And he had decided to go into history, a respectable endeavor among those who understood it's value. Less so to those born in the many mining colonies in the habitable asteroids on Saturn's rings.

Though none of that mattered when the Earthlings fleets Smashed Saturn's most valuable mines with surgical precision. Tisus families fortune went asunder, and once Saturn was subjugated, Tisus status didn't mean much once the order by the coalition to raise every single body was issued. Alec though was apparently on nearly every campaigned the Coalition had embarked on. Regardless though, now, none of that mattered, class, race, religion, or even the ideal of a greater coalition didn't mean anything. We were all supposed to be survivors, tied together by our common "Humanity". Or So Jarak would say in the past couple days, as our food supplies ran short, contact with the rest of the regiment completely severed, and the storm of steel surrounding us coming ever closer.

Jarak gave Tisus a slight glance and said "Seargent Jared do you feel that?" Jared dimly nodded his head slowly and responded curtly "It's coming". Tisus  asked "W-what's coming?" Tisus suddenly felt his mouth dry, and his body suddenly felt like it was poured over with lead. "I can feel it, an offensive is coming" Jarak said as he unsheathes his saber with his right hand and took out his pistol with the left. Jarek then crouched down and walked among the corpses to the middle of the trench where he could address the bulk of the men on either side. Jared unfolded his Machine gun and followed Jarak behind his back. Tisus, not wishing to die alone among the demoralized men and Alec, Followed both of them. "Wha-why another o..offensive, I mean look at us, most of us are barely able to pick up our rifles and go on, why would they care about a couple stragglers, maybe they expect us to surrender maybe we should just S-" Before Tisus could finish his statement he felt a large twang of pain in his nose and felt his world flip upside down. Tisus looked up and saw Jara's bloodied Basked hilt. Tisus felt blood gushing down on his nose like a fountain, and was fumbling his fands on his nose, trying to squeeze it to stop the bleeding. 

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"You can surrender when we are all dead. But as long as a single true Solarite still stands you best hold that rifle up." Jarak swung back without a word, with Jared following through. Tisus, through the broken bone in his nose, managed to stop the bleeding and follow them once more. Why oh why were they being targeted Tisus thought. Off all the gods forsaken fucking cities, forts, and more which could have been focused on they decide to aim on us. Tisus had remembered when he still had a chance to leave the front, as the coalition was more or less still intact, though he had loss his chance earlier than he had expected.  Tisus remembered when the commanders summoned all on board. They gave a rousing speech which aimed at rousing their spirits, and like the idiots they were it worked. Tisus had remembered a good many who complained about their chances, but none of that mattered then. When they, along with all the others who didn't want to look bad, had cheered along with the rest. Whether they believed it wasn't even a question, they were all cowards and idiots besides. What good would it any of this do now?

As Jarak, Jared, and Tisus reach the middle of the front, Jarak had yelled and gather all those around him. Many of them were so injured they were only able to pick their rifle up and inched as close as they could. Others came close enough so they could hear the officer's speech. Jarak stood up, bullets whizzing past him, his figure was gaunt and sickly, yet the fire in his eyes still shone bright. Jarak yelled as loud as he could, shells blowing up around him "Solarites! Hear your commanding officer now. We come at the conclusion of a harrowing journey. The god forsaken Terrans continue their bombardment. their cowardly way of warfare shows how weak and sickly they are, hiding behind screens and armor. But I say now that they, out of foolishness, have take the fight to us! Now it is not their doman they fight in but ours. Who among them have even held a powerbulter, walk through the winds of mars, climb the cliffs of an asteroid, or survived the conditions of Saturn's mines! Pick your rifles men, your axes, power blades, and ready your grenades for we fight for a new daw-" Before Jarak could finish his speech a distinct and cruel whip was heard, the smoke was cut in half and so was Jarak's arm from the elbow, blade still clutched in hand. Jarak Leape behind shooting his pistol as fast as he could at the figure behind him. The figure was a grey hulk of a man, its head sloped in a perfect hill which connected to his shoulders. The suit it was it looked as slick as melted silver, with three dots of various sizes constituting its eyes, black as space. In its hands was a long staff, in which the end was two protruding sticks. 

The Grey beast jumped into the trench, men surrounding his left and right. Jared fired his machine gun from his hip, screaming obscenities Tisus never heard before. The bullets though soaked into the grey man's skin, sinking into nothingness. The grey beast swung his staff and decapitated Jared, though his gun was still firing, as blood sprayed from his neck and his kneels collapsed under him. The Grey man than became a whirl wind of fury and death. Tisus saw Heads, arms, and jaws splinter up into the air, with mountains of blood spraying in all directions. Tisus scrambled from the action and ran as fast as he could from where he once came from. He occasionally looked back, seeing Jarak standing, shooting his pistol. Tisus ran so far, when he looked back again, he saw that cloud engulfed behind everything behind him. All he could see was the light from small arm fire.

Tisus didn't know how long it had been since then. By the time he knew it, he was sitting down in the same place he had when he decided to turn back and find Jarak and his group. Tisus started laughing hysterically. It was hubris, all of it was hubris Tisus thought. The idea that a bunch of backward colonies stood a chance against earth was laughable. The idiot's higher ups let the size of their planets make them think they dwarfed earth. They thought that by surviving so long, isolated from Earths would mean they were as powerful as the nature which they had transformed into livable areas. Well, you do you think let them do that? As Tisus's laughter turned into sobs he felt himself being pulled up. "Coward where the hell are you running too?" Tisus could Hardley recognize the voice, but his face became clear soon, it was Allec, his ugly squat face, closest it's ever been. Tisus shoved him and fell backwards, barley registering the world around him. "Finally have some fight in you. Wish you used it when it counted. Your body could have bought us a bit of time. Come up you smug little coward, we are going back" Tisus knew that resisting meant another broken bone. And so let Allec half drag and direct Tisus back to where the fighting had been. 

The firing from before had stop, only the distant thundering of artillery could be heard. Tisus wondered if they had won before he saw the carnage before him. Jarak laid on top of the grey beast, somehow with his sword in the other hand, while around him were the mutilated corpses of the whole company. Tisus had then noticed Alecs condition. Their was a large gash on this thigh as well as shoulders. What remained of his armor and clothing were rags, revealing many open wounds. His knife broken in half still in hand. "Look where braver men then you are now" Alec pushed Tisus close to the grey beast and Jarak's dead body, a mess of silver and red mixed, almost beautiful Tisus thought. "I ought to gut you like a pig" He heard behind him. Although nothing mattered now, Tisus could feel Allec's killer intent right behind him. Tisus closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable, when, he heard the activation of a laser rifle. He opened his eyes and all around him were the soldiers of Earth. Their white and blue armor looked pristine and clean, near enough a dozen surrounded both of them. One of them shouted, "Drop your weapons and surrender!" Alec paced around, seeing all the rifles pointed at him and Tisus.

"Fucking Terrans, finally" Allec gave a smile, his eyes insane with fever. "Put you're weapons down! We will not ask aga-" "And you won't have too!" Alec screamed before he lunged. But before he could go out in a blaze of glory, he was cut down at the back by a couple bullets. Tisus's rifle smoked in in his hands. And he immediately dropped his rifle to surrender.