Honor

Chapter 1: Quenched in Blood

The battlefield tasted of sweat and blood. There had been many battles here, but today would be a special one. The sand was caked in blood, and the sun watched over the battlefield. I looked to the massive burning eye that was the sun. It hurt to look at, but I didn't care.

I returned my focus to the march. By now, I could see the red of Jarvon. Their banner rose in the air, a massive golden cross. They were all that was left of the ancient religions. And now, it was finally time to kill a god. The smell of rotting corpses flooded my nostrils, but after being in service for such a long time, I didn't mind it. To my horror, I didn't mind many things. All that mattered was living to fight another day.

I tightened my grip on my rifle. Firing lines were already forming. I raised my mighty weapon, prepared to fight. This war had lasted over ten years. I was tired. I gave a silent prayer to whatever god would listen that I would either die here or that this battle would finally break the long tie.

I took my place beside my friend Krip. We'd served together for a long time. His standard silver outfit was stained in blood, but so was mine. All of ours were. We didn't care. Morale was at an all time low.

Commander Dolt, a tall and powerful built man, took his place on a raised platform us. He had his hands behind his back, a pistol dangling at his side. He raised a hand. I could already hear the countdown in my head. The calm before the storm.

Five.

I raised my rifle, taking aim at a tall red trooper on the other side of the battlefield. He had his rifle raised as well, but I found it strange he wasn't targeting me.

Four.

Krip nugged me in the shoulder a few times. I looked to him for a split second, as he whispered in my ear remember the rule. The rule was simple: kill shit, don't die.

Three.

Kowalsky, another friend of mine in the melee units, came over the coms. "Remember your training." He said over the private comms link. "If I find your body, Nick, I'm gonna find you in hell and kick your ass so hard you get life scared into you."

Two.

Tension built up as I prepared myself for the inevitable storm of bullets. My muscles were tense, even tenser than normal. I didn't know why. After the last few months of loss after devastating loss, I was starting to wonder why we were even trying anymore.

One.

I looked to Kowalsky, giving him a nod before returning to my target. It was almost time.

"FIRE!" Came the command from Dolt.

I slammed the trigger down, and instantly I watched as the bullet went straight through the shorter man's head. The body slowly dropped to the floor, as his comrades charged forth. Instantly, I knew using my rifle would be useless. This battle was a melee fight.

Dolt seemed to realize this as well, as he cried out "get your swords out! We'll hold them here!"

I knew a charge was near suicide, but I didn't care. I slung my rifle across my back, drawing forth the long saber at my side. I charged forth, driving my ornate saber into the skull of the nearest redcoat.

I pressed onwards, watching as Kowalsky got surrounded. I rushed to his aid, slamming my sword into the nearest of the redcoats. It went directly through his skull, instantly penetrating the very center of his brain.

Kowalsky was a tall and broad man, dressed in white armor befitting of his presuitious rank. Out of all of my friends, he was the highest ranking one. Being in the melee squad most certainly had its perks.

I slashed all those around me, earning groans of pain from those affected. They didn't look too pleased, but I didn't care. I slammed my saber into another one's skull, before turning around to parry a blow of a charging redcoat. I threw his saber out of his hand before swiftly driving my sword into his gut.

Onwards I pushed through the blood-caked sands, sweat dripping from face. I'd learned to tolerate it, but it didn't make it any less exhausting. I surveyed the battlefield.

We were doing worse than normal. I saw fresh corpses and the smell of fresh blood filled the air, and more of them were dressed in silver then in red. I bit back a curse, scanning them to ensure none of my friends were among them. The shouts of battle and the clash of steel was all around me as all had foolish broken formation. I reached for one of the grenades on my belt, throwing it into the enemy forces with all my might.

A few seconds later, cries of pain erupted from the lips of those who stood in the center of the barely existent formation. And then, all of a sudden, I heard the bark of gunfire from behind me. I looked back to see a firing squad had formed. I rolled to the ground, driving my saber through a nearby man's chest as his comrades were torn apart by the next volley.

I brought myself up, just in time for a bullet to go straight to my shoulder. I groaned in pain as I slowly staggered backwards, putting a hand to it. A heavily armored man charged me, a crested shield raised for defense along with his sword, hoping to finish me off.

For the briefest of moments, I thought I was actually going to die. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, Kowalsky charged the man, slamming himself into the other man with such force I heard ribs cracking. The man paled for a moment as Kowalsky brought down his long sword with such force, the man's skull cracked like a walnut.

I looked onwards, seeing the glint of silver. I grinned. We were losing. Again. We were most certainly outnumbered ten to one by now. A foolish man charged me, spitting a battlecry in spanish. I turned my attention to him, parrying his ornate saber. I growled, throwing his saber out of his hand. And then, as if on cue, a miracle happened.

A massive sonic boom sounded off. I looked up, seeing a hammer-headed ship glowing from recent warp travel. Both me and the spanish man gasped in awe. I recovered first, slamming the hilt of my sword into his skull with such force it put him down.

I rushed across the battlefield, a stab here, and jab there. Quite a few kills later, I found Kowalsky, battered and bruised, his armor heavily damaged. There were cracks where sabers had struck, and he was breathing heavily. Around him, redcoats scattered the ground. I took note that they were all missing their weapons.

"Hey, whose side is that ship on?" I asked.

He blinked at me, before looking up. An "oh" expression crossed his face, and he shrugged. "The hell if I know."

I looked up to see the miracle we were hoping for. The ship's hull dispersed in certain places, revealing long, slender guns that were nothing more than ants. The ship made a steady path to the enemy formation, it's guns all trained under it. And then, it fired.

Little pew, pew sounds went off as the guns discharged. I could hear the screams of the enemy as plasma seared their flesh. I looked for Dolt, finding him just in time to watch him stab a redcoat through the heart.

"Well, I'll be damned! I never thought Command would favor us!" He laughed. "Push forwards! Try not to get killed by plasma fire! If we're lucky, they'll beam us up."

I nodded. "You heard the man! Let's go!"

A roar of a cheer erupted from my fellow soldiers as we pushed forwards. I unslung my rifle from my shoulder, pressing a button. A soft hum emerged as it glowed blue. I unleashed a torrent of bullets that moved so fast, they glowed hot red. On impact, their targets fell over. I mowed down the enemy line like blades of grass, smirking all the way. It felt good to finally kick some ass after the bitter taste of defeat. Others came up, among them Krip. Blood caked his face, but it was hard to tell who its owner was. He came up the rear, his rifle emitting a crackling boom as he pulled the trigger.

The enemy force's were wide-eyed in shock. We were actually going to win. After so many defeats on this damned world, we finally gained some ground. That fact alone gave me the strength to push on. But the ship had other plans. It opened it's massive bay doors that lead into its bellow, letting out a hiss of steam barely heard over the chaos of battle.

Once opened, a soft blue glow came out. Instantly, I clutched myself as I felt my whole body destroyed as the glow came into contact with my skin...