[color=orange][center][h2]Plutonian Outpost, 588th Army of Humanity[/h2][/center][/color]

Intel Sergeant Barry Murphy reclined in his chair, gazing through a window in the outpost towards the horizon of Pluto. Taking a sip of a strange, bitter drink the natives called “coffee”, he yawned, and went back to studying the plutonian relic on his table. It was a strange object with the weight and density of an average metal, but its exterior looked much like a crystal. 

[i]
Its properties just don’t add up.[/i]

He took another sip, wincing at the bitter taste. 

[i]Whatever. I’m just supposed to find the history behind this thing. Grunigen’ll see what it’s made of.[/i]

However, even its history still puzzled him. The relic was dug up from Pluto’s core; Considering that no one on Pluto had the mining technology to successfully complete such an operation until yesterday, it had to be there for a long, long time. From when the planets had first formed. Barry left it on his desk and went out to walk down the hall, towards the molecular science division. Hopefully, they would have some way to radiometrically date the object. 

Barry saw Captain Faraday pass by with a full company of fresh grunts, shouting out the orientation even though she really didn’t need to. He stuck to the right side of the cramped hall as the seemingly neverending train of soldiers passed by him. 

He saw some notable individuals come by; a big, rough man who looked like he’d hit the gym every single day, twice. Barry had seen others like him, patriotic to a fault and ready to fight the Bulwark wherever they may be. Hopefully, he could be a real asset to the army. Hell, at least he looked the part. 

Another one stood out to Barry, not because he was physically built, but quite the opposite. He was quite thin, at least by military standards, and he looked like he had just come out of high school. Barry knew he wasn't supposed to judge a person solely by their physical appearance, but one’s look can reveal a lot about their character. Still, he had seen the toughest-looking grunts run scared at the first bullet fired, and the wimpiest-looking run out bravely into the fray, only to be cut down by Bulwark fire. 

A woman who seemed to be in her twenties or very early thirties passed by as well. Not many would see it, but Barry noticed that her right arm moved a bit more stiffly than her left. It may have been an ache or pain, but he knew better. Most likely, the woman had lost her arm in some fight, and in joining the military, she received a bionic arm. Bionics and prosthetics were in high demand these days, since more and more soldiers were getting wounded as the Bulwark closed in.

Another soldier walked by, this one checking and double-checking his gear. He seemed to be quite handy with technology. Judging by his reserved and calculated demeanor, even when marching in line with a company of soldiers, he was pretty smart. 

[i]Hopefully he doesn't die. The tech division could use a few more smart people.[/i]

Another giant of a man walked by, around a head taller than most of the people around him, even more jacked than the first one he noticed. With his sickly pale skin, he looked more like an ancient Roman statue than some grunt. 

A young woman walked past, looking like she wouldn’t take shit from anyone. Again, Barry knew those types. They could either be the most heroic in a fight, emulating their tough exterior in order to push through adversity, or they’d crumble at the first sight of a Bulwark ship.

As the last grunt disappeared behind the corner, Barry sighed. Those six looked well enough, but the same couldn’t be said about the rest of them. It seemed that High Command was getting desperate. From barely pubescent children to old men well past their prime, almost all of them were conscripted, and about half had never even held a gun before now. The fact that Pluto was the largest object in the Kuiper Belt, and therefore a strategic and symbolic stronghold, didn’t help his concern at all.

He had a headache, and decided to go outside for a stroll. The outpost was smack dab in the middle of a plain, so that Bulwark forces could be seen for a mile. The reddish-brown dirt helped highlight the contrasting greys of the enemy, particularly the Argon. Barry took another deep breath, and continued down the trail, towards the North guard towers. 

Linda Lee, or Dusk, as she preferred it, was up on the right tower, as usual. Barry never knew why Command had wasted the talents of such a useful scout by relegating her to guard duty. He gave her a thumbs up, checking if the coast was clear. She didn’t return it. Instead, she had her eye to her scope, her rifle aimed North. When she turned back to him, the look in her eyes was enough for him to understand.

Ahead of the tower, Barry saw an arc of blue light rise from the horizon, heading towards them.

[i]Shit![/i] 

He turned to run as the plasmic artillery bolt reached the towers, obliterating them both in a thunderous burst of superheated energy. Debris rained down around Barry, and as the outpost came into view, another artillery blast decimated half the building. Both civilians and soldiers raced out of the molten wreckage, CO’s shouting orders to the grunts and moving them to the North line. 

Among them was Captain Faraday and her company, 250 strong. 

“Get your asses in gear, grunts! This is what we trained for! Let’s go kick these Bulwark sons-of-bitches out of the damn Solar System!”

As the massed infantry gathered at the front, the Bulwark made their presence known. The first thing everyone saw were the Griks. Swinging their primitive weapons, some even wielding basic firearms, they charged into the fields with no fear of death, kicking up a hellish red cloud upon their arrival. The grunts around Barry were scared, he could tell. Some recited prayers, some said goodbye to their loved ones, and others simply gripped their weapon tighter, pale as ghosts. 

A Lieutenant rallied the troops from behind, raising his ceremonial blade.

“Alright, troops! Remember: this battle is bigger than just this base! This battle is the first test of us Humans! This will be the beginning of our last stand! Ready!”

“OORAH!” 

The soldiers at the front let out a desperate cry and raised their rifles.

“AIM!” 

For an instant, a dead silence hung over the army. Nothing stirred, and not a sound was heard. Then, the Lieutenant's sword came down.

“FIRE!” 

And right at that moment, Hell came to Pluto.