Deathworld Commando: Reborn

Chapter 4 Prologue. 4

Aboard the HFAX Silent Night orbiting Odeus 5, two months after the initial assault.

It was a long two months but we finally routed Elunari forces off of Odeus 5. Their fleet jumped away last week, and there were only small pockets of resistance left on the planet. It was a shame we couldn’t just bomb them from orbit, saving a countless number of our soldiers' lives. The lush world was just too valuable for Humanity’s future colonies to be devastated in such a way.

All of Hades Squad were currently gathered in our shared “multipurpose room” as the engineers called it. It was just a tiny fighter hangar that had been retrofitted to fit our needs. The room had everything, from our training grounds, to Hepestus’s engineering bay, to Apollo’s medical station. Even Nyx had a little spot with a couch for her naps. But I couldn’t for the life of me remember where she got that thing.

I was rhythmically smacking my hand against a datapad confirming these damn reports. I had long since given up on reading these tedious AI-generated reports. They were just the same thing over and over again. Weapon replacements here, munitions requests there, armor repair over there… get me out of here. As if responding to my request, the hangar filled with the chimes of our communicators getting a ping.

That’s odd. Usually, everybody doesn’t get a ping about a mission unless it goes through me first.

I scrolled through the packet that had been sent to my datapad which described a search-and-clear on an abandoned Elunari space station? The Elunari rarely used space stations. It didn’t make sense for them when they had so many habitable planets to live. Not only that, they were orders from a Fleet Admiral, the highest-ranking officer in the Navy.

Artemis, who was practically smashing her datapad with her finger, groaned aloud. “Commander, this is some BS. Why the hell are we going to some abandoned station in the middle of nowhere!?” Artemis asked fiercely.

That is something I wanted to know as well. According to the maps, this station was at the fringes of Elunari space. Not only that…

“Who is a part of this Elysium Squad that we know?” questioned Apollo.

It seems I’m not alone. I’ve never heard of this Elysium Squad. And it was the lack of details about the squad that bothered me.

“According to the briefing, they are a fairly new team put together only a week ago. This is to be their first mission,” informed Nike.

Not only that, it was a Death Commando squad wholly composed of the new third generation. So it was also abnormal that at least a second-generation wasn’t leading them. Usually when we worked with a squad, I could pull up everything from medical records, past missions, even their specialties. But this Elysium Squad had almost no available information. Some of them didn’t even have names.

“I mean, I guess the information is incomplete if they are new. Makes sense to me,” shrugged Zeus.

“Doesn’t matter. Orders are orders. We won’t be taking the Silent Night out there, so get ready. We depart in two hours for the Stormspike,” I ordered.

—-

Two weeks later on the bridge of the dreadnaught class capital ship, HFAX Stormspike. In the fringes of Elunari controlled space.

Another two-week trip to the middle of nowhere, but we finally reached our destination. Currently, I found myself alone meeting our commanding officer for this mission. I gazed out from the glass windows into the black void of space.

My eyes drifted towards a short, older woman with blonde hair in bright white officer attire who stood at the helm of the dreadnaught, Stormspike. Very few people outranked a Commander of a Death Commando squad. I technically only answered to officials on Mars. Still, as per orders, I was to follow the commands of Rear Admirals or higher, sometimes even Marine Major Generals or higher as well.

To be issued an order by a Fleet Admiral was a first for me. But, of course, there were only about twenty of them in the entire Human Navy, and they were responsible for whole fleets. I imagine they had far more critical things to deal with than handing out missions to Commandos, but I guess it’s time to find out.

The Fleet Admiral turned and gave me a professional smile while extending her hand and saying, “At ease, it’s an honor to finally meet you, Commander Kronos. I’ve been looking forward to giving you my thanks in person for years now.”

I returned the tiny Human’s handshake. Had I met her before somewhere?

I must have had a dumb look on my face as I thought this because she answered for me. “I don’t suspect you would remember me, Commander. I was just some lowly Captain when you saved the life of my crew and ship at the battle of Ingor. You knocked out the planetary guns just in time to save us. So, thank you, Commander. I owe you one,” she said thankfully with an awkward smile.

Ah, the battle of Ingor was a particularly bad battle for the Navy, if I remember correctly. The Zantons were an aquatic Xeno race with living bio-weapons that ate away at even our most robust metal. It was a gruesome fate to be blasted by one of their weapons.

“Just doing my job, Admiral. But I suppose I’d like to call in that favor early. What can you tell me about the situation?”

“Straight to point with you, huh? Well, this mission has two objectives, Commander. First, you are to search the space station for anything of importance along with the reason the Elunari abandoned it. And you are to be with Elysium Squad on their maiden voyage.”

I see. What a roundabout way to ask for my guidance on a mission. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to lead another squad to teach them the ropes.

“I understand. I’ll do my best, ma’am.”

“I know you will, Commander. In regards to the space station. All bio-scans have come back negative for signs of life. However, the station’s defense systems are still online. We will jump as close to the station as possible. Then the fleet will engage with the station’s automated defenses. Once we wipe them out, you will board the station with Elysium Squad, understood?”

“Understood, ma’am. We will complete our objectives at all costs.”

“Good. We plan to make the jump in two hours. You are dismissed, Commander.”

At least Admiral Wilson moves quickly. I imagine everybody doesn't want to be out here any longer than we have to be. But I have to agree with Artemis. This does seem trivial indeed.

—

Hangar bay of the HFAX Stormspike, thirty minutes before assault.

I jolted awake in my harness. Another nightmare. This time was different, however. This time I was that Xeno child. I was falling as a long black arm stretched out to grab me. I felt so afraid and confused.

Afraid? Fear… is that what it’s like to be frightened of something? I’ve never felt that way before.

But what does this damn dream mean? And why would it change now all of a sudden? While combating my conflicted mind, I peered downwards. Nyx was crouched down in front of me, staring into my eyes intensely. Her nearly black eyes gazed right through me.

“Are you okay? You normally don’t doze off before a mission. That’s normally my thing,” she asked with a hint of concern.

“I’m fine. Just a dream, that’s all,” trying to reassure her as much as myself.

She stood up and furrowed her brows at me. “Actually, I’ve never even seen you sleep before. Do you even sleep, Commander?” she asked honestly with a tilted head.

“Yes, Nyx, I do sleep when I need to. I just don’t have to very often. I’ve been exhausted recently, is all,” I said, shrugging off the feeling these nightmares left me with.

After Odeus 5, I’ve had this lingering feeling of fatigue over me that I can’t seem to shake off. Not only that, I wasn’t sure why I was telling Nyx my problems. Maybe I just felt comfortable around her.

Nyx transferred to my squad after her entire team was wiped out. She was the sole survivor, and she has been with me ever since. She should have been promoted to a squad Commander by now, but she had turned them all down. Maybe I was just looking too much into this. Not everybody wanted to be a Commander.

Nyx gave me a quick nod and stood up. “If you say so.”

Currently, Hades Squad was making its final preparations for the assault. However, it shouldn’t be much longer before we launch in a Tiger class transport craft. The Tiger class was a flying tank designed explicitly for boarding enemy stations and spacecraft. The craft used an onboard AI to fly the ship, which allowed the vessel to forgo having a cockpit that was usually a weakness on most spaceships and enabled the craft to boast an immense amount of frontal armor and a more robust plasma shield.

While walking out the back of the craft to grab my bolter, the door to the hangar bay opened up. A group of twelve individuals wearing Navy blue and Marine red Death Commando armor sauntered into the hangar.

Why isn’t their armor black? I had never seen Commandos not use the standard black armor.

Not only that, why was the squad double the standard size? Most Commando squads utilized five to seven members. Perhaps they were trial-running everything with this new squad?

A tall, lanky man with short-cropped dirty blonde hair swaggered over to me. He was wearing the bright red version of the armor. He extended his hand. “It feels good to finally meet the famous Commander Kronos. Not only that, I get to go out on my first mission with him. It’s an honor, sir.”

I took the man’s hand. This was always an awkward situation. Although we share the same rank, I was technically his senior. However, he was nearly double my age and had probably been serving before I popped out of my growth tank.

“Likewise, Commander. Say, what was your callsign? I didn’t catch it? And it wasn’t in the documents.”

In truth, I didn’t know any of Elysium Squad’s names. Apparently, I hadn’t been privy to that information.

“Ah, sorry, that was rude of me. Commander Nicholas Clarkson, former Marine Force Recon turned Death Commando.”

No callsign? What was the purpose of that, I wondered? Why would they give the squad a name associated with Human gods but not assign names of gods to themselves? I didn’t understand Doctor Octario’s logic on this one, but then again I rarely understood her genius.

Not noticing my internal struggles, he continued talking, “Anyways, I figured since the station has two wings, we can just split the station in half and work through it that way.”

“That’s fine with me. Do you want us to take a few of your members with us? Balance things up a bit more?” I suggested.

Clarkson had to reach high but he just gave me a pat on the shoulder. “Nah. No need. Might as well start working together as a team now, you know?”

“Ah…sure. We can do it that way.”

I would have liked to take a few of his men and show them how we operated. But I was just ordered to go with them on this mission, not hold their hand. This was Elysium’s Squad’s mission. I should just defer to Commander Clarkson.

Only the best of the Marines joined Marine Force Reconnaissance, and an even smaller portion got chosen for the new 3rd generation God Program. So let’s see what the new guys are capable of accomplishing.

“Awesome man, I’ll see you out there, Commander. Glory to Humanity,” he said while giving me a large grin.

Guess the guy is a patriot. That’s nice.

“To Humanity,” I shot back with a salute.

We parted towards our respective landing crafts. I walked up the ramp and everybody was strapped in and ready to launch. We should be dropping out of warp any time now. I strapped in alongside everyone else and awaited the gut-churning suffering that was about to be bestowed upon me.

As we came out of warp the thunderous blasts of the dreadnaught’s heavy rail guns battered away at the station’s defenses. So far, no Xeno race had managed to defend themselves from the sheer destructive power of a dreadnaught class rail gun as they thundered.

A few volleys later, and the ship’s onboard AI voice ringed out in our helmets, “Launching in three..two..one.”

We blasted straight out of the hangar, barreling towards the station. The Tiger class transport would breach into an enemy ship or station by slamming into it using its plasma shield as a sort of battering ram.

Once the shuttle gained access into the target, it would seal the breach using a metallic foaming agent. Of course, any sort of environment would be sucked out into depths of space but our suits were more than capable of surviving the vacuum or any hostile environment.

Just moments after launch we were violently thrashed around as we slammed into the station. Hephaestus and I would lead the charge using portable plasma shields almost like riot guards as we forced our way onto the station. Of course, we weren’t expecting resistance, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

The gangplank slammed down, and all of us charged into the station as our white plasma shields flickered to life. We were greeted by long hallways painted pastel blues and greens. Although the Elunari used plastics for construction, it seems they used metal for this space station for whatever reason. I pinged both squads and got all green lights. Elysium Squad must have had a successful breach as well.

We walked carefully down the hallways clearing each and every room we passed. We didn’t even use our built-in communication systems. Instead, relying on tried and true hand signals to clear the station.

So far, the station seemed relatively simple in design—plenty of rooms made to fit one or two occupants comfortably. We even cleared a large room with lime green lounge chairs facing large flat screens. Yet, it felt odd for some reason. The design, although simple, was all over the place almost like a melting pot of Elunari and Human influence.

Another odd thing was the station still had power. Oxygen levels were perfect, and all the lights were on. So far I haven’t seen a single sign of somebody even living here. No messes or clothes were panically thrown about in the rooms. The lounge room sparkled with cleanliness. It was hard to imagine anyone had lived here. There were no signs of a hasty evacuation.

We reached a large atrium, an artificial ecosystem was set up, and plenty of lush greenery that was common on most Elunari worlds was put out on display here. It seemed almost like an indoor park with benches and tables to sit down. A running artificial waterfall supplied a gentle white noise to the room.

Could this station have been built to house people, but nobody ever occupied it? That seems like the most likely answer. Was the Navy worried that this was supposed to be dangerous? This might be one of the weirdest missions I’ve ever been a part of.

I was getting lost in the moment when I peered back up at my radar. Suddenly all of Elysium Squad’s pings had disappeared. They weren’t killed, or they would still appear as deceased. There hasn’t even been a single sound besides us stomping around and the ambiance of the waterfall.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I flicked around to catch a glimpse of Zeus and Nike standing at the entrance where we came in. Not expecting me to turn around suddenly, Zeus quickly smashed the controls on the wall—dropping the metal bulwark door and separating us from that side of the station.

Before I could even question what the hell was going on, they dropped off the radar. I tried beckoning them on the communication implants, but I was being jammed from outside the station.

What is going on? How are we being jammed from outside the station? Our ships have surrounded this place…

I looked around to see the rest of my squad appearing to be just as confused as me. Finally, Artemis yelled out, “What the hell is going on here?!”

"No idea,” Apollo stated, not even bothering to cover up the worry in his voice.

Hephaestus looked over to me and asked, “Commander?”

I shook my head at my team. “I don’t know. Everybody just dropped off the radar, and our comms are being blocked. I can’t reach the Stormspike.”

Upon my response, everybody dropped into a defensive position. I maxed out my plasma shield core and waited.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Commander,” Nyx whispered from behind me.

Yeah, something was very wrong. The rhythmic thundering of armored feet running on metal echoed out around us. I looked over to the second entrance leading towards the station's other side and saw blurs of red and blue in the hallways.

We waited a few moments. Then an enhanced voice called out. It was Commander Clarkson, “What's up, Hades Squad? Sorry about this, but let’s talk things out, yeah? Don’t be doing anything you would regret, got it, champs?”

“What the hell is your problem, Commando?!” yelled Artemis.

“Artemis, stop. Control yourself, soldier. We are surrounded,” I ordered.

By this time the last hallway leading out had also been filled with blue and red blurs moving around at blinding speeds. So it seems Elysium Squad has some alternative objectives on this mission and I wasn’t about to fire on these Humans. Not yet, at least.

Clarkson snickered. “Alright now. Go ahead and listen to your Commander, missy. He knows what’s best.” Bolt and laser rifles started aiming at us from the hallway.

“Listen, we only want one thing you see. I’ll be honest, I’m not too happy about it, but I gotta do what I gotta do, you know? Mars has deemed Commander Kronos as defective, and we are to terminate him. Simple as that, nobody else has to get involved. Just turn yourself over, Kronos, and the rest of your squad gets to go home.”

Well. This is entirely unexpected.

I always knew my time would come in my service to Humanity, but I didn’t think it would end like this. Although I couldn’t see their faces, my entire squad looked at me, questioning just what I had done. Hell, don’t ask me.

"It’s alright, everyone. Don’t worry about me,” I said, attempting to reassure them.

Artemis walked over to me and head-butted me. Although it probably hurt her more than me, I just stood there shocked as she began to rail into me, “Screw all of that! Like we would let anyone terminate you, I don’t care what you did. You are MY Commander, and I refuse to let things end like this.”

Everyone voiced their agreements with Artemis. Ah, of course.

I couldn’t help but smile a little bit at their kind words. When was the last time I smiled at something?

I appreciated it, but it was unnecessary. There was no way around this, and I wouldn’t ask my squad to go down with me. If those on Mars wanted me dead, that was fine. But everyone else didn’t deserve to die. They were just following orders.

“Thank you, everyone. I couldn’t have asked for a better squad,” I said as honestly as possible.

I honestly did mean it. I’m not exactly sure how I felt about everyone, but I knew I was thankful they were with me—and I valued each one of them immensely. That's why I couldn't let them come with me. I sadly didn’t give anyone a chance to respond to my parting words because I could see them tensing up already.

I forced the injection of my Ambrosia into my bloodstream. It was a cocktail of highly efficient combat stimulants, pain killers, and a mix of other useful drugs. It usually was only injected when a Death Commando was on the brink of death or if they had been poisoned. Even attempting to knock us out using gas would activate the drug.

And once Ambrosia was injected into you, it was pretty much a guarantee that second and third generation Commandos wouldn't survive the side effects of the drugs. They had a far less potent version of Ambrosia to use but it didn’t have nearly as strong an effect. Only the first-generation Commandos could survive the harsh effects of the real stuff.

With my speed, strength, and reflexes being pushed to their peak, I released the flashbang I held in my hand. At this close range, anybody who wasn’t shielding their eyes would be blinded completely. The white flash exploded like a miniature sun.

I open-palm struck Hephaestus under the chin, making the large man crumble to the ground like a ragdoll. He would be the only one that could physically stop me, and I couldn’t allow that. I snatched his plasma shield from his limp hands on the way down.

I dropped to the ground and swept Artemis and Apollo’s legs from out under them. Then, I bounded off the ground with my hands like a springboard and dropped another flashbang just to be safe. I wanted not only them to be blind but the Commandos aiming at them as well.

Maxing out the core, I created a makeshift bubble around me using the two riot shields as I forced my way through my squad towards the third empty hallway. Lazer and bolter rounds whizzed past and connected with the shield. The core whined from the strain as I smashed the door controls just as Zeus had done and dropped the bulwark. A black blur slid under the falling door and tackled my legs from underneath me.

While tangled up under her, I yelled out, “Nyx! What are you doing!”

Nyx looked up at me, her red visor obscuring her face. “I can’t let you go too, Commander. I can’t let you die alone... not like them,” she said sternly.

“It’s suicide! You don’t have to do this! They want me, not you! It doesn’t have to be this way. Go back, Commando,” I ordered.

It wasn’t too late for her to turn around.

Nyx pinned me to the ground and brought her face to mine. “With all due respect, I don’t care what you have to say to me. That’s an order I can never obey. I made this decision a long time ago. You are all I have left,” she said with equal parts conviction and sadness. “I can’t be the last one left, Commander. I just can’t…

”

We didn’t have time to argue anymore as bolter fire rained down the hallway smashing into the plasma shield. The core whined from the stress of the repeated explosions. These things were meant for Elunari energy weapons, not bolters.

I rolled over and stood in a closed doorway with Nyx. I didn’t want things to end like this, I wanted to simply put enough distance from Hades Squad so they wouldn't get involved as I turned myself in peacefully. But now…

I can’t let her die here. Guess I won’t be getting a medal for this. Not that I wanted any in the first place.

I grabbed a shredder grenade from my belt and turned off one of the plasma shields. Typically, a simple shredder grenade would barely damage a Death Commando in their armor. But combine that with a plasma core explosion and the following explosion would mince anything. I used my shield's last bit of energy, stepped into the hallway, and tossed the grenade along with the shield core down the hallway.

I took cover as a burst of white-hot plasma flashed, and the shrapnel turned the hallway and most of its occupants into a red mist. I motioned for Nyx to get ready as I unslung my bolter to finish off any survivors. We charged down the hallway and blasted a few stragglers who had managed to survive the explosion. Most of them were discombobulated or attempting to stem the flow of blood from their missing limbs.

As we made it down the hallway, a door suddenly slammed open as a tall man in navy blue armor shot me in the shoulder. The bolter round at close range tore through my armor and exploded. He must have had time to close the door and hide in the room, lucky bastard.

Nyx reacted faster and blew his head off with a single well-placed shot. I signaled a “thanks,” and we began to move down the hallways. My shoulder was torn up but it was still usable. My armor had taken the brunt of the attack while my Ambrosia-enhanced body dulled any pain. We had to get out of here, and the only chance we had of surviving was to make it to Elysium Squad’s Tiger.

The bulwarks started closing manually while sprinting down the hallways at breakneck speeds. Our engagement had killed half of Elysium Squad, and now we were being corralled like livestock through the station. Unfortunately, I only had one more plasma core and we were nowhere close to the Tiger, so I couldn’t brute force through the bulwarks.

We kicked up the pace, and Nyx was keeping up with me, which meant she had also injected her Ambrosia. A thunderous boom echoed through the halls, and time slowed as I barely managed to turn my head around to see Nyx shove me out of the way.

A rail gun had just been fired.

My brain shut off, and muscle memory took over as I scooped Nyx and carried her down the hall. I barged straight through a door, hoping to find somewhere to hunker down for the moment.

I looked down at my hands and shoulders, which were now smeared with red blood. Blood was pooling around Nyx quickly as I noticed the head-sized hole in her abdomen.

No… no, this can’t be happening!

The railgun had gone clean through her, destroying her insides and spine. Time was moving so slow as I racked my brain to find a way to save her.

Nyx dimmed her crimson visor to reveal her pale face. “Sorry, Commander. Sorry, Commander. Sorry, Commander,” she repeated like a mantra over and over again.

“It’s fine Nyx, you are gonna be okay,” I lied to her as much to myself. I tried injecting hemostatics to slow the bleeding down but it wasn’t working.

“Hey Commander… we were friends, right? Like real friends?” she asked, coughing up blood into her helmet.

What? Why are you worried about this now of all times, you idiot! And I… I don’t know. What’s it like to have a friend?

Nyx didn’t talk to anyone. I guess she spoke to me the most out of everybody, and I did feel closer to her. It’s not that I wasn’t close with the rest of the squad. It was just that I was closer to Nyx. She always made an effort to speak to me, even if it seemed to make her uncomfortable. I was just thinking earlier about how I felt comfortable around her.

Perhaps. This is what it means to be friends. I stopped fiddling around with random medical equipment and steeled myself. I can’t save her… I can’t save my friend.

I dimmed my visor to respond, “Yeah, Nyx. You might have been my only friend. Thank you for sticking with me all these years,” I chuckled nervously to myself for the first time in my entire life. “I probably wasn't a very good friend.”

She gave me a genuine ear-to-ear smile. I had never seen her smile so brightly before. “Yeah— you kinda sucked. I wasn't much better, but I’m glad… and hey, I told you, didn't I. That I didn’t trust Zeus and the 3rd Gens,” she said weakly.

She has lost a lot of blood. The fact she was still alive was a miracle in itself. She should have died instantly from this wound. I ignored the thundering of metal boots outside. It didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was seeing my friend off.

“You did try to warn me. Sorry, I failed you.”

“It’s fine. I’m just sorry I have to die first. I didn’t want you to go alone but it looks like I failed the both of us,” she said, even weaker now. The light was starting to fade from her eyes.

There was no point in sugar-coating it. The odds of us surviving this was astronomically low from the start. Even if we managed to get to the Tiger, we were surrounded by an entire fleet with a dreadnaught. We wouldn’t have even made it out of the station alive.

“I’ll be joining you soon enough, Nyx,” I said.

With her dying breath, she left me with one final wish. “Maybe… just maybe…if we are lucky… I’ll get to see you again someday, Commander.”

I shut my eyes tightly. I never would get an opportunity to respond to her final wish as her squad light went from a bright red to black.

I prayed for the first time in my life, not for me but for Nyx. Perhaps, if there really were a god, it would be merciful to her. She didn’t deserve to die, not like this.

A familiar voice called out to me from the hallway. “Doesn’t have to be like this, Commander, just turn yourself in and this can all be over,” yelled Zeus. I could see the barrel of the railgun he was carrying from the doorway.

Currently, I was in some type of shopfront type room behind the counter. A swelling feeling rose in my chest and reached my head. It clouded my vision and my heart thumped in my ears. Is this what it’s like to feel anger?

I might have been suppressing this rage since the raid on the facility, unsure what to do with it or even make of it. But, I had never felt that way until that night.

I should just give in, turn myself over to them. Fighting these soldiers has no point anymore. My time has come, and I should be embracing the fact that Humanity no longer needs me. It means I’ve finally completed my purpose. But when I look down at Nyx’s cold dead body…. none of that matters anymore.

I prepped and tossed another shredder grenade with a plasma core towards the doorway. If I was going to die then I would take as many of the scum that killed her with me to hell.

What I had not been expecting was for Zeus to suddenly appear in the doorway and activate a plasma shield. He used the shield like a bat and swatted the grenade combo right back at me.

The following explosion destroyed the counter I was using as cover and decimated the entire room. White flakes of heated plasma metal pelted my body. I didn’t need to feel the pain to know I was beyond repair.

My legs had been ripped clean off from the wave of superheated plasma from the core explosion while the shrapnel turned me into mincemeat. I had taken an immense amount of internal damage. I was only conscious because of the combination of my armor working overtime to stem my bleeding and the Ambrosia coursing through my veins. But my hands still worked, and I wasn’t dead yet.

I took out my bolt pistol and began firing through the walls. I heard the distinct whining noise of Zeus’s plasma shield being battered, so I adjusted my aim further down the wall. I was rewarded with sounds of bones and armor being blown to smithereens as my bolt rounds exploded through the walls into anyone unfortunate enough to be in their way. I wasn’t sure to what extent the other members of Elysium Squad were involved, but it didn’t matter to me.

They will pay for their transgressions with their dying breaths. Unfortunately, I had to reload, and no good soldier would let me get away with that. Not to mention my ammo was stored where my legs used to be, and those excess rounds just added to the carnage.

Finally, my bolt pistol clicked with every pull of the trigger, the steam rising from the red hot barrel clouding my vision. Elysium Squad breached the room and dispersed the haze. A random soldier shot me once in the shoulder, only for the round to ricochet off my armor.

Zeus slapped the weapon away and sauntered over to me, and crouched down in front of me with a plasma pistol in hand, poking my chest. “Well, you just had to go and make a mess? Do you know how many good men died today because of you? You killed a lot of my friends today…” Zeus gave my helmeted head a hard slap. “Hey! Are you listening to me?!” Zeus continued to yell at me while driving the barrel of his plasma pistol into my injuries.

Of course, I felt nothing, and I said nothing.

He just laughed. “Look at how the mighty have fallen. Don’t tell me you bled out now, Commander? Surely this can’t be how Humanity's finest weapon is done in? By losing a little bit of blood? Pathetic. Guess your stories were just stories after all.”

Zeus seemed to be enjoying himself a little too much. Perhaps he is a sadist or something. But his overconfidence will be his downfall. He got careless. I may be dying but I am far from dead, as I was beyond angry for the first time in my entire life.

With surprising speed from what seemed like a corpse just moments ago, I swatted the pistol out from his hand then dragged his arm into me as I put him in a bear hug. I mustered all my strength and squeezed as hard as I possibly could. I felt my ribs crack even more, but I also shattered his in return. I put every ounce of strength I had left into crushing this man into a pulp.

He was screaming and trying to push away from me. He was far beyond an average Human in strength and speed but he was nowhere close to me. Ambrosia only made the gap between us wider.

However, it seems I underestimated my injuries as I began to waver. I guess I had lost a lot of blood already. I was probably squeezing even more of my own blood out of me now. The warning in my helmet was ringing incessantly but I ignored it.

Eventually, I couldn’t keep the same strength up as he pushed off me and rolled over gasping for air and coughing through his helmet. Finally, Nike walked over to us while I began to struggle to stay awake.

“You fool, Zeus. You should have just shot him in the chest and been done with it. Doctor Octario only needs his head intact. Now here you are dying right with him. Just because you wanted to play around, you always do this crap,” Nike reprimanded.

Nike stood over me now and pointed his bolter at me. “Sorry, Commander. It really wasn’t personal, but I guess you had to go and make it personal. In my honest opinion, I thought you were a good man and a good leader. And if it helps, I am sorry about Nyx. She shouldn’t have died with a bastard like you. I'll make sure her body gets a proper burial."

I heard the bolt rack as time slowed down again. The bolter round barreled into my stomach as I began to blackout.

At least I could die in solace knowing I had avenged Nyx. I used Zeus’s ribs as daggers to stab into his lungs, stomach, and heart. It was doubtful there would be enough time to save him even if they worked right now. Even a Death Commando needed a heart. I felt the round blossom with heat in my chest and expand.

Then there was nothing.

I seemed to be floating away in an endless black void now. So, this is what it’s like to die. It was warm, even comforting in a weird way. No pearly gates or bearded man awaiting me, nor was there a hellish fiend waiting to drag me down to the depths of hell.

Wait, what was that? Who’s there?

The feeling of someone being there was replaced instantly by a bright light. Ah, the infamous light at the end of the tunnel, huh? I had heard many final breaths on the battlefields as Marines called out to the light, embracing it, only for the light of their life to flicker out from them.

I had often just ascribed that behavior to the dying mind, but now it seems it is accurate. I was moving faster towards the light, or was the light coming to me? I guess it doesn't matter. Suddenly, the light began to hurt, and excruciating painful noises assaulted my head.

Wait… pain? You aren’t supposed to feel pain when you die.