The squad ran out of their hole and into one of the long trenches. Whiplash and Vixen led the charge, spotting and pinging targets for everyone else. While Copper and Raccoon brought up the rear, Artemis and Husky had their guns up, ready to take out any targets their two front runners couldn’t. For this part, they stayed fast, avoiding larger groups of Sentinels and only engaging when they needed to.

“MG nest on our right!” said Vixen. “Fuck! They’re firing on Ripper’s squad!”

Artemis scanned their surroundings to make sure no Sentinels were too close. After a bullet narrowly missed her head, she turned around. “Copper!”

“Suppressing fire!”

Now set up safely in cover, Copper unloaded into a group of Sentinels. Vixen joined them, precisely shooting Brutes before they could retaliate.

“Raccoon, you’re up!”

Wordlessly, the young demolitions expert kneeled down, aimed his rocket launcher, and fired. The Sentinel encampment went up in flames, and Raccoon couldn’t help but laugh in joy.

“Thanks for the assist!” said Ripper to Artemis.

“No problem, sir!”

“Nice shot, Raccoon!” said Husky, lightly bumping his shoulder.

“You too, guys,” replied the boy. “Copper, you getting a hand of that thing?”

“Hell yeah! I should’ve been using LMGs from the start!”

“Says the guy who can’t aim for shit,” said Whiplash.

“Hey!”

“Focus, everyone!” said Artemis. “We still have a ways to go until the checkpoint! We can rest and talk there!” With that, the squad was on the move again.

Ripper’s group moved similarly, running parallel to Artemis’s. Although she couldn’t make out details, there were things that caught her attention. A group of Sentinels was tackled by a Raptor in heavy armor. A wave of machine-gun fire assisted her squad. Ripper stood high and drew fire to himself. There was a flash of some sort of laser weapon. It seemed that his squad was doing just fine. Before she knew it, they were at their objective.

“Hey LT?” asked Vixen, who was prone on top of a small mound. “Didn’t Ripper choose this for a checkpoint because another group of Raptors was holding out here?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“We weren’t fast enough,” she replied with bitterness in her voice.

The small encampment of various pods and equipment was covered with blood, bodies, and Brutes. Lots of Brutes. More than both her and Ripper’s squad could handle normally.

“We could’ve saved them.”

“Or we could’ve ended up like them,” said Whiplash.

In seconds, Vixen was in her face. “You don’t know that. Any help can turn the tide!”

“I have to agree with Whiplash on this one,” said Husky, quickly pulling them apart. “Right Artemis?”

“How’s everyone’s ammo?” asked Artemis, completely ignoring the exchange of barbs behind her. The general consensus from everyone was that they were running low.

“I still have a few rockets, Ma’am,” said Raccoon.

“We can’t risk destroying the ammunition in the camp. Give me a minute.”

“LT?”

“What?”

“I got something that might help,” said Vixen, pulling out some kind of heavy bullet. “Piercing slug. I only got a few of these, but each can piece up to five Brutes, ten if all of them are shot in the head. If we can line them, I can bring them down.”

Artemis narrowed her eyes. “Any reason why you waited until now to tell me?”

The moment Vixen started stuttering, Artemis waved her off. “Nevermind, it’s not important. Besides, it’s too dangerous unless…”

Her mind began to work. Because the camp had natural cover surrounding it, the Brutes would line up against it if they came under fire. If Husky could hold them in place, and Vixen could take them out, and then they’d move out of their position, taking them far enough away from the camp and out of cover, and if Ripper’s squad could help-

“Artemis, you there?” asked Ripper. “This camp is too heavily guarded. We’re gonna go around and make do with what we have.”

“Hold up,” she said. “I got a plan.”

“Oh?” She could almost hear the smile in his voice as she took a minute to explain her idea.

“Not bad! Give me a minute to explain to my people and I’ll give you the go-ahead.”

With that, Artemis turned to her squad and gave her orders. She could see Vixen buzzing with excitement and Husky already prepping his Cryo grenades. When she finished, they already started moving.

“Remember to prioritize your safety! If anything goes wrong, turn around and head back to us- where’s Vixen?”

“Already left,” said Whiplash, pointing to the orange blur not too far away. Both of them facepalmed while Copper laughed.

“I like her!”

“Me too, Copper. Now get ready. We have a narrow window for this,” said Husky.

“Ma’am, can I go with Vixen?” asked Whiplash, pulling out a combat knife. “She’ll need backup, and I feel like this battle is going to involve CQC.”

“Granted,” said Artemis, not wanting to waste time.

Moments later, Artemis received the go-signal from Ripper. Everyone was in place and ready to attack. They were just waiting for her. She took a breath, then aimed her gun.

“Light them up!”

Gunfire erupted from the two squads, already eliminating a few of the Sentinels. Brutes began to return fire, marching into cover just like Artemis predicted. Before she could give Husky the order to fire, however, the sound of a massive crack erupted and a line of Brutes fell. The survivors already started turning toward the source.

Fuck! She fired too soon!

“Husky-”

“Already on it!” he shouted, launching a cryo grenade. An explosion of white mist froze another group of Sentinels in place, allowing Vixen to eliminate another line. Her and Whiplash flanked the Sentinels, bringing down a good number of them before they finally gained their bearings and turned towards them. Between their flanking maneuver and everyone else’s fire, the Sentinels were being brought down quickly.

Good thing, too. I’m running out of ammo-

“More Brutes!” shouted Copper, readjusting his fire. “I’m running low!”

“They’re gonna hit Vix and Whip!” shouted Husky, launching another cryo grenade.

“Ma’am, should I fire a rocket?”

“We’re pinned,” said Whiplash, yanking Vixen behind minuscule cover.

Artemis tried to keep her panic in check. Raccoon could fire, but they really needed any supplies they could get. Husky was doing his best to keep the Sentinels in place, but there were more than he could handle. The best thing she could do was fire at the new group. They weren’t in any cover, so as long as she aimed correctly-

Click.

W-when did I run out?

She barely registered the shouts of her squad members next to her. All she could do was watch the enemies close in on Vixen and Whiplash. Should she charge forward? Throw something? Do something? This was her plan, didn’t she have a backup? Or was it going to be like two years ago? Where everything collapsed and she had to abandon her best friend-

Suddenly, a navy blue Raptor ran through with a laser Katana and sliced two brutes in half. Someone with a rifle followed up with powerful shots. Finally, Ripper himself blasted another few Brutes with a charge and a shotgun. With the distraction, Whiplash got to work. She darted behind a Brute and stabbed her knife into its neck before moving to the next. Vixen, who had grabbed ammo from a nearby crate, jumped out of cover and joined the fray.

“Don’t just stare!” shouted Husky. “Cover them!”

Artemis finally snapped out of her thoughts and saw the full picture. The full might of Ripper’s squad charged forward, pushing back the Sentinel guards. With everyone else moving, Artemis gave a shout before running forward as well. The next few moments were a blur of shooting, shoving, and hitting. Soon, the entire area was clear. Everyone took the time to rest and refill. Artemis reached for a drink only to find it was missing.

“Nice job, Artemis,” said Ripper, offering her a water canteen. “I don’t think we would’ve survived if we didn’t get these supplies.”

“It could’ve been better, sir,” she replied. “I should’ve accounted for enemy reinforcements.”

“Yeah, you should’ve,” he said with a shrug. “But you’ll never forget to do that again, right?”

She smiled and nodded her head.

“Can you show off that sword again? Please, Tsunami?” asked Raccoon. Artemis turned to see the boy talking to the Navy-blue Raptor that saved her squad.

“Alright, alright, fine,” he said with a chuckle, igniting the blue blade again. He waved it around before cutting a Sentinel wreck for good measure.

So cool!

“That’s so cool!” said Raccoon. “Can I get a closer look?”

“Custom-made weapons are badass, right?” asked Vixen, sitting down next to her.

“Is that what your piercing slugs are?”

“Well, not the slugs themselves, but they’re supposed to be fired from mounted guns, not the underside of a marksman rifle,” she said with a nervous laugh.

“As long as you don’t hurt yourself, I’ll take any asset we can get.”

“I’d still use it even if it hurt,” said Vixen, looking at everyone talking and resting in the camp. “If it means I can save someone…”

“What’s with your tanlines, boy?” asked Copper, hitting Raccoon on the back, who had taken off his helmet to study Tsunami’s weapon.

“Oh! Uh, well, I did a lot of engineering work, and I guess the goggles stopped my eyes from getting dirty.”

“Is...is that why your callsign is Raccoon?” asked Whiplash, who seemed genuinely surprised for once.

The boy could only sheepishly rub the back of his neck, giving everyone else a good laugh. Everyone else started sharing how they got their callsigns. Copper said he ranked third in his class and in a lot of other random contests as well. He also mentioned that Whiplash got hers since that was what her slaps were rumored to feel like, which only earned him a slap. Vixen said how she was a bit disobedient in training yet always slippery and fast in combat. Someone else in Ripper’s squad said that Ripper was rumored to have ripped a Brute’s arm off, which he only replied with, “no comment.” Artemis abstained, to which everyone nodded and moved on. Tsunami got his for charging straight forward without stopping.

“What about you, Husky?” asked Copper. Husky in turn only turned away and kept preparing to move out.

“Oh! I know this one!” said Tsunami. “It’s super cute!”

“No, it’s not!”

“Really?” asked Artemis.

“Yeah! You gotta get him to tell you one day! It’s honestly hilarious,” said Tsunami.

“Until then,” said Ripper, standing up. “Rest time is up.”

Both squads gathered up, said their goodbyes, then mobilized once again. Things continued normally as they made their way to the Obliterator cannon, but Artemis stayed on guard. Her vigilance and her squad’s skill carried them all the way until they came across an artillery encampment.

“Should I blow it up?” asked Raccoon.

“It’s not too heavily guarded,” said Husky. “Plus, it looks like a manual model. We could hijack it for ourselves.”

“We could do it,” said Vixen. “Whiplash and I can hit it from the sides while the four of you distract the front.”

Artemis considered their options. On one hand, this wasn’t their objective. They could just destroy it and move on. On the other hand, this could become a new gathering point for Raptors. Plus, having access to artillery could be good to support everyone else on the ground. Either way, this cannon was killing every time it fired, and it had to be stopped.

“We do both,” said Artemis. “Ripper won’t be here to assist, so if any reinforcements show up-”

“Fall back, yeah yeah,” said Vixen, before running away. “See you on the other side, Whip!”

The other Raptor sighed before running in the other direction. Artemis and the others set up before making sure the other two were set.

“Copper, you know what to do,” she said with a smirk.

“Yes, Ma’am!”

With that, the four of them started firing, already eliminating a few of the guards. Artemis could feel herself getting more comfortable with active combat. She was compensating for recoil, maintaining her pattern, and eliminating targets faster. The same went for the rest of her squad. Even though they’d only been fighting for a few hours, she noticed Copper becoming more accurate with his new machine gun. Husky seemed the same, but Raccoon definitely was gaining confidence in himself. She could only imagine what more experience would do for them.

And that’s when she saw Brutes punching the support beams of the artillery cannon.

No, tearing them out, so the gun fell down and tilted directly at them.

“Everybody d-”

She barely had any time to warn them. One moment, all four of them were standing and firing together. The next, Artemis was thrown so hard that her vision blacked out. She tumbled backward until she landed on her back hard and lost her breath. She gasped and scrambled to clear her visor, relief flooding her systems at the sight of familiar armor.

“C-Copper, you okay?”

It was then that she noticed his helmet was off for the first time. There laid a man with olive skin, a shaved head, and stubble. In addition, there were a pair of amber eyes. Amber eyes that weren’t moving.

Artemis wouldn’t forget the sight when she looked down. Copper’s entire bottom half was blown off, leaving only his blood and guts spilled all over the floor. She scrambled away from his body as the sound of her breathing overtook the gunfire. Copper was dead. For good. She wouldn’t hear his laugh, his goofy comments, anything. Was anybody else dead? She looked around and found that she was in a ditch.

“Artemis!” shouted Husky. Before she knew it, he was right above her, outstretching his hand.

“Copper...Copper’s-”

“I know!” he said. “We need to move! Let’s get you on your feet-”

She only blinked once, but that was all the time it took for a bloody hole to replace his visor. Husky’s body slumped forward and went limp, multiplying Artemis’ fear. She didn’t know what to do. Husky was reliable. He was kind. He was her backup squad leader. He was a good soldier.

He was dead.

Artemis shrunk back, trapped between two bodies that were her squadmates moments before. Without thinking, she tried to climb out of the hole, only to freeze.

Sentinels were supposed to be machines of utility. What was standing in front of her was not. There were too many teeth, too many blades. It walked bipedally on three-foot claws that seemed unfinished as if to ensure a cut was anything but clean. Its arms were somehow worse than their legs, accented by heavy yet jagged torso armor. It was a sleek machine of blades, teeth, and fear.

A Reaper.

A Reaper that was currently holding an impaled Whiplash. The Raptor struggled, trying to stab the arm with her knife before the Reaper tossed her aside like a ragdoll. Her armor stopped the initial flailing of limbs, but once she slowed down, everything slumped onto the ground.

“A...Artemis...”

Beneath its feet was Raccoon, on his back reaching out to Artemis. His voice was weak and raspy.

“H-help…”

Her body wanted to move. To save one of the last members of her squad. To fight the Sentinels. To save a young boy who shouldn’t be on the front lines. To do her duty.

And yet, her mind stopped all forward movement. She willed her arm down to the ground. She forced her legs to crawl backward. She screamed at her head until it turned around. She used every ounce of her energy to stay perfectly still. The mantra she repeated at the very beginning came back in full force.

Survive.

She took solace in the fact that his helmet hid his eyes.

Then the screams started. Every impact of flesh. Every wail of pain. Every cry for help. It only made her shrink lower and lower into the hole with her other dead squadmates.

Why? Why why why why? We were doing so well. We were careful. We planned. We trained. I changed!

You know why.

No, that was the old her. This was supposed to be a new page in her life after leaving behind everything. Her school, her community, her friends, her planet. She was going to survive and get her inheritance back.

You can’t escape the truth.

All the training, all the work, all the suffering, it didn’t matter. The last few hours didn’t matter. It only took one moment for everything to collapse. Just like when one secret led to the collapse of her entire life.

It always goes wrong, no matter what you do.

She was going to die. Everything she ever accomplished would be washed away in an instant. Her best friend wouldn’t even know how she died. The one person who remained by her side when the entire world turned on her.

Eliza...I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you. I should’ve let you know where I was. You deserved better.

Footsteps approached her, and as every part of her became ice cold and she curled into a ball, she finally accepted fate.

I hope Eliza’s doing better than I am.

There was a voice somewhere.

She was always brilliant, if not a little shy.

“Artemis.”

Maybe she’s an officer now. That would be fitting for someone like her.

“Artemis!”

She looked up. It was Ripper.

“What happened?”

She wasn’t dead. She was alive. Surrounded by her dead allies. Curled in a hole. Tears down her face. The weight of the situation came back to her, and she didn’t know whether to cry in relief or grief. She could only shake her head.

“...I understand,” he said, tapping her shoulders. “Vixen! Only Artemis is alive!”

“...Fuck!”

“Artemis, we’re going to move out,” said Ripper, talking slowly to ensure she understood. “The area is clear, but when you can move, follow Vixen. She’ll take you to an artillery installation we took. It’ll be safe. Can you do that for me?”

She nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment.

He stood up. At this angle, she could only assume he looked down at her with cold, judging eyes. She deserved it. Everyone was dead because of her.

“You did what you could.”

And with that, he left before she could beg him to stay.

She didn’t want to move. She couldn’t move. Any movement would surely bring back the Reaper. Any movement would imply changing what she saw at this moment. She would have to look at their bodies. She didn’t even move when Vixen popped into her vision.

She stayed silent for a while, shifting around and running in and out of vision. Artemis wasn’t sure how long she sat there. Time just...seemed to blur. Even when her breathing started to calm down, even when the icy grip on her heart loosened, her mind still couldn’t catch up to the moment. Then…

“Get up,” said Vixen, holding out her hand. “Staying here isn’t going to do you any good. It...it isn’t going to do them any good.” Her voice hiccuped for a moment before she pulled Artemis to her feet. To her credit, she didn’t immediately collapse.

“We’ll come back for them, okay?” said Vixen, turning Artemis away from their bodies and toward where Ripper said to go. “When everything settles, we’ll bury them together. It won’t be pretty, but y- we have to do it.”

Artemis turned toward Vixen slowly. Although her face was covered, her hesitance and long stare were enough for Vixen to understand what she was asking.

Is it ever going to settle?

“Yeah...it may look bad, but things are clearing up. Look.”

She pointed toward the Obliterator cannon, which started exploding into a massive fireball. Around the area, she saw a few Raptors cheer before continuing their attacks with newfound energy.

How long was I sitting for Ripper to do that?

“It’s not just there. We got more reports of enemy encampments being destroyed and defensive positions being established,” said Vixen with a smile in her voice. “Even after all we’ve lost, we’re winning this. So how about you look up a little, huh?”

Comforted by her words, Artemis looked up. Vixen stood next to her, a little scratched up but alive. The chaos from hours ago had ceased, and in its place was something out of the videos she watched. Rapid movement that surrounded enemy groups. Barrages of bullets, blades, and bombs that blew the Brutes away. Soldiers fighting side-by-side, not leaving anyone behind. Raptors rushing into unfavorable odds yet still coming out on top.

Artemis felt her lips twitch upwards. It took many sacrifices, but their situation was starting to brighten. Even the sky seemed brighter than before.

And then it became filled with flames.