[right][sub]Hartford Military Base
New Star, Mars Colony
1113 hrs Local Time[/sub][/right]

Damian listened to each person and then proceeded to match the Duelist’s gaze evenly after everyone had finished. He didn’t immediately speak after they’d finished either, instead approaching the holotable and pulling out a modern USB drive. While it would seem that with all the technological advances made, mobile storage would have changed after so many improvements, scientists found that the size of a USB was excellent for easy transport, even decades later.

As he plugged it in and started browsing through the files, he finally spoke, his Irish accent finally coming into full swing. “Well, a pleasure to know all of you better. Now before I give all of you more information about me, let me sum up what I’ve just learned. Private Devries, you joined the UEG military out of either a sense of moral obligation or because you enjoyed the training sims in high school. Likely the latter based on your excellent ability to defeat the Crescent Moon Empire’s emperor so quickly. You, Private Steinboden, likely joined the UEG to find access to metals that you’re not allowed to handle on Earth and see what it was we actually faced in the war. Perhaps also because you like smashing things with your ax.” The video he had been looking for was now queued, but he didn’t play it yet, instead turning to put a flat gaze on Helene.

“And then there’s you, Specialist Helene Weisser, granddaughter of the legendary Psi Op Steven Weisser. Your records called you a prodigy, even at a young age, and the Templar program is keeping an eye on you according to rumors. I can give the other two members of our squad a pass, they don’t have the legacy of a hero to look up to and live up to, but you? You’re here with grandiose ideas of just what this fight will be like, the role you’ll fulfill and where you’ll end up. You’re going to be the one that insists on being the first off the skimmer and the first in the door, throwing some psionic power around with the intent to intimidate and kill as many aliens in one fell swoop as you can.” He shakes his head. “You’re a right idiot. Rancor Squad was formed a few weeks ago, just before we started mobilizing, full of new recruits full of potential and heading off on their first chrysalid hunt to get them some combat experience. Typically these aren’t particularly dangerous and most of both the UEG’s and XCOM’s new bloods cut their teeth on them regularly. But Specialist Ria Blackwell had big dreams and plans concerning her new position as an XCOM prospect. Here’s how that ended for them.”

Hitting play on the holo terminal, the video starts up. From the angle of the camera, it’s clear that this was pulled from someone’s body cam. The video starts out with the usual patrol banter as the squad heads into a tunnel just behind another squad, XCOM patches and a Chimera patch on their backs as they move into the cave. “Chimera squad was to be their leash, their handlers. Get the new blood squad in, and get them out in one piece. Specialist Blackwell was Rancor’s temp NCO until their actual CO recovered and she, unfortunately, had other ideas.” The video had continued playing and as Chimera Squad made a left at a fork, a voice came into the private channel of the soldier’s radio, presumably Specialist Blackwell’s, that ordered them right. In minutes, she’d lead them to a small hatchery, if the grotesque scene before them could be called that as gestating bodies littered the ground. The voice came in again as the group took up positions around the nest on higher ground. 

“Alright, we’re going to toss incendiary to rile up the bugs and then deploy the Napalm grenades to deal with the main rush. Clean up should be easy after that. Prep,” the camera shifts around as the person it’s on pulls an incendiary out, “and throw.” There’s the sound of numerous metal things hitting the nest before flames ignite it. There’s an inhuman screeching before chrysalids come out of every faucet that the camera can see, way more than the nest size would indicate. The scene that proceeds to play out is horrifying as the squad of new bloods attempts to fall back towards the tunnel they’d come in at. Plasma shots sear into the darkness, tearing apart the bugs as they surge forwards, but not fast enough and the last person in the group, a youthful looking red head, gets grabbed and pulled back, screaming as she’s ripped apart.

Two more get pulled into unseen side tunnels as they run past, their fates no less grizzly as purple psionic power rips into the tunnels, too late to save anyone. The video cuts as Chimera squads flamethrower armed MEC comes into sight, bounds past the last two survivors and unleashes napalm on the horde behind them. The Corporal pulls the USB and turns back. “Former Specialist Ria Blackwell was the great niece of Colonel James “Rusty” Blackwell, an accomplished assault specialist within XCOM who lead the attack on the underground base that truly turned the tide in the Invasion war. If that name isn’t familiar, Specialist Weisser, then you didn’t pay attention to the men your grandfather served with and under. Because of her Uncle’s stories, she got the idea that she could be the next Colonel Blackwell, especially after she manifested the Psionic powers her great-uncle had lacked. Because of them and his name, she assumed she knew better than Chimera Squad. That nest? That nest has never been cleared because of what happened to Rancor. We called it the Feeding Grounds because while it looks small, there are more chrysalids hiding in it than in the other three major nests on Mars combined.”

He looked over each of the new bloods before continuing. “Blackwell is now serving time in prison, charged with willfully disobeying a superior and getting her three squadmates killed in action unnecessarily. And this was routine and standard for training out here. Now we’re going up against the Ethereals and their armies and I can practically see the delusions of grandeur in your head. For the luck of the Irish, get rid of ‘em before it gets ya killed. I want all of you to be able to tell stories like Stefan Weisser got to.” His grim story delivered and point made, the Irishman lightened up. “As for my hobbies, I build firearms, camp and hunt. I also enjoy the odd bit of gene modding where it’s permitted, making and testing new mods in the simulation programs.”

Unknown to the group, the Captain hadn’t actually gone that far, instead stopping to listen to his Corporal and second in command give his warning and make sure he didn’t go overboard about it. The other survivor of the squad, now Sergeant Ethan Sanders, was still attending therapy after what he saw. The body cam didn’t show it, but Sanders had seen what happened to the squadmate that was pulled into the left tunnel and it had him waking up in screams some nights. His promotion to sergeant had been a reward for surviving his former NCO’s arrogance, but he had yet to be given a new squad due to the PTSD. A chirp in his ear had him rounding the corner, acting like he wasn’t aware of what had happened, but after the others had responded. “Alright everyone, time to get to the skimmer. After that, we’ll need to get comfy.”