Sergeant Major Marco Icardi of the United Earth Coalition was not supposed to be on Altair Prime to begin with. Born and raised in Rosario in the Earth-nation of Argentina, he had planned to join its national army. Had that happened, he would have been on Earth, far away from the front, when the Alliance of Planets invaded Altair Prime and began the Lambda War. But Providence had other things in store for him. His bride left him at the altar all those years ago; and he too seek escape. So he looked up, looked to space, and in time found himself a member of the UEC’s 13th Independent Military Group, known also as the Cisalpine Legion.

Earth was lucky to have Sergeant Major Icardi on that unfortunate planet. With the UEC in full-retreat on Altair Prime, anyone else would have missed the opportunity to ambush and surround the isolated Alliance vanguard.

Not Marco Icardi.

Thus, the UEC finally prevailed over the seemingly invincible invaders from planet Lakamodis. Not through exceptional bravery or skill, but rather through sheer numbers. That, and cunning.

Even then, victory at the time was by no means assured...

Alliance hoplites drew themselves into a phalanx, daring their enemy to attack. Icardi saw where this was going. After all, he was witness to horrendous UEC casualties when the Earthborn first clashed with the Alliance. But simply attacking from afar with artillery was not an option either, as Alliance energy shields meant that they could hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

Icardi had one final weapon to break the deadlock, but he was loathe to use it. Commander Green had already authorized its use in the Altair Prime Revolt, and the Sergeant Major did not like the results. The look of terror on the rebels when it was unleashed upon them was enough for Icardi to want to swear off its use. Of course, Marco was in no position to ever make such a decision.

That weapon in question was the the Insectoid Army of Antarctica, known to the soldiers as the ‘Buggies’.

The Sergeant Major shook his head in frustration; he had made his decision. And the ground shook. Alliance soldiers, despite their powered armor, was losing their balance. The UEC, knowing what was about to happen, kept steady. Creatures of claws appeared out of the ground. They swarmed the Alliance position, and crashed into the shields of Lambda. Far from helpless, the hoplites began to slice the bugs with their energy swords and pikes. In the middle, medics with healing guns kept the frontline intact. It was a slaughter... for the buggies.

But Icardi kept calm; everything went according to plan. It was finally time; he told his artillery to fire. Explosion rang out; Under his helmet, the Sergeant Major forced a grin. Alliance soldiers were being blown apart. The buggies too, but the UEC had reserves of them.

The time was finally right, and Icardi sent in his riflemen. Even without their energy shields, the armor of the Alliance hoplites remained sturdy. But the tanks got involved, and the killings began in earnest.

Icardi could still remember the screams of the Alliance warriors when buggie claws sliced into their armor. Hoplite powered armor was tough, but they still had their chinks, which the buggies under the Cerebrate known as Gracchus took full advantage of.

Marco thought that his enemy would surrender once it was clear that their position was untenable; he was sorely mistaken. The men of Lakamodis always fought to the death. Icardi could only watch in horror as his enemy fell one by one. Eventually, all the hoplites were killed, leaving only the medics, shown by their white powered armor. And much to the shock of the UEC soldiers, they began to pick up the weapons of their fallen comrades. But their resistance didn’t last long and they were soon put down as well.

Remnants remained, but they dropped dead, suddenly; it was poison injection from their armor. But one medic remained, her injection was a dud. She was now surrounded by Icardi and the UEC; the medic moved to pick up a weapon on the ground.

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“Don’t,” Icardi said, his rifle drawn. “Please... just surrender.”

The woman in the white powered armor ignored Marco.

“Open fire!” Icardi commanded.

The UEC infantry focus fired upon the medic until she lied prone on the ground, presumably dead.

Icardi shook his head. “Stubborn idiots.”

The Sergeant Major wished he could take a prisoner, and not just out of mercy; he wished to know why there was war between the two. Alas, he had lost his opportunity.

Or so he thought.

“Sergeant Major!” one UEC soldier called out. “I detected vital signs from the white Lambda. She’s alive.”

***

When Commander Jack Green heard that Icardi had just defeated an Alliance vanguard and even captured a prisoner in the process, the legionary commander felt only relief. Finally something went right for the UEC. They were now in the process of moving her. But they needed to move fast, as the Cisalpine Legion were still in full retreat from Altair Prime. They were now in Khankord, the last UEC-held starport on the planet.

At the moment, Jack was flanked by Special Agent Nikolai Petrovsky. Jack hated using the psionic soldier, but he knew he had to use what weapons he could. The commander remained impassive as Marco and his squad brought in a large person in white-powered armor. Jack had been informed that the person was a woman, as all Alliance medics were women. Hard to believe, given how this woman was towering over the men of Earth, but Nikolai had learned of this through mind-reading. And Jack knew he could trust the information, despite his personal feelings.

“Sergeant,” Jack began. “I assume this is the medic you’ve been talking about?”

Icardi saluted. “Yes, sir! Our men had taken to calling her Lambda.”

Green’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t know her name?”

“No,” responded Marco, “she’s been silent ever since we took her. The Alliance symbol is the only thing we have to identify her.”

Both Green and Petrovsky were taking a good look at the Lakamodian woman. Though she towered over everyone else, she was looking down. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking or feeling.

“I see.” Jack crossed his arms. “Well, we can’t have that.” He looked at the medic in her visored helmet. “What’s your name, young lady?”

In response, the medic spoke, but in her native Lakamodian tongue.

Petrovsky was not impressed. “Don’t bother!” he barked. “You can understand us perfectly.”

A feminine gasp came out.

The special agent continued on, “What’s wrong, Princess? Never seen a psi-op before? Better talk unless you want me to fry your brain!”

Despite the helmet covering her face, it was clear that fear was gripping the maiden of Lakamodis. She was unable to respond, so horror-stricken she was. It was as if her mind had gone blank. But an unlikely hero came to her rescue.

“That’s enough you freak!” cried Icardi. The Sergeant Major turned to the girl, his face showed warmth. “Listen, Miss. I’m sorry for my friend here. Our commander just wants to know your name. I promise we won’t hurt you. The Cisalpine Legion are soldiers, not brutes.”

A pregnant pause hovered over everyone.

Green broke the silence, “This can’t possibly...”

“Arlena.”

“Pardon?” asked Icardi.

“My name is Arlena,” the medic said. “Arlena Spektre.”

“Spektre?” Jack interjected. “As in Alexios Spektre?”

Once again, Arlena went into total silence.

But once again, Petrovksy was not impressed. He barked, “I already know what’s on your mind, wench! So you might as well tell the rest of us!”

“Stop it!” Icardi cried. He turned to the girl once more. “Arlena, please tell us. What is Alexios Spektre to you?”

“Alexios,” Arlena began, “is my brother.”

Icardi’s eyes widened. “No way...”

“Talk about a lucky coincidence,” Green said. “Perhaps we can use this to our advantage.”

“Don’t bother, Earthborn!” Arlena responded, almost shouting. “We knew the risks when we embarked to liberate you. My brother will not jeopardize our mission, not even for me.”

“Now she’s talkative all of a sudden,” Jack quipped. The UEC Commander was deep in thought, then turned to the special agent next to him. “Petrovsky, take her to the brig. Show our prodigal sister here our accommodations.”

“Yes, sir!”

“You can’t win, Earthborn,” Arlena cried. “Surrender while you still can!”

“Move it!” Petrovsky commanded.

And the UEC soldiers, led by the psi-op agent, took away the Alliance medic.

Icardi moved to join his comrades, but was stopped by Green:

“Wait, Icardi,” he said. “Good job, Sergeant.” He placed a hand on Icardi’s shoulder.

“Sir?”

“You and Petrovksy did a masterful job in getting that Alliance girl to divulge her identity. Can’t believe she fell for the old good cop, bad cop routine though.” The Commander chuckled.

Icardi’s mouth was agape. “But I wasn’t...” He sighed. “I guess it doesn’t matter.”