The Forever Wars

"What the hell are we doing here?" Commander Dustin asked as the pursuit of glory had started fading within the unit.

"Rapid redeployment… HQ figured we can end this damn war much faster if we strike the reds hard and fast.", replied the Captain of the deploy ship.

The crew started preparing for the deafening sound associated with the touchdown.

Seamus, half-jokingly, announced, "Welcome to paradise brothers and sister."

Unit 44 descended further down the stratosphere. Before any more remarks could be made the drop pod slammed into the ground, stunning even the stern rookie Blight. By this point, all ambitions of medals and the maidens that come with them had been replaced with panic.

The unit stepped out, yet words could not be muttered. As the red sun bathed the men's faces, they could do nothing except marvel at the beauty of this world. They saw fields where the cool breeze rustled the waving red grass around the ranch they had landed on.

"Never seen a Sun that big.", claimed Ingern as if he was only thinking to himself. Even flora and fauna of the world were shades of red. They began their march with the calm wind at their backs. The unit walked through the tall, garnet grass to meet with the larger 8th army.

"Word from the sky is that they the reds are pinned down, they'll sure as hell won't be able to reinforce from the air." Explained Dustin

"What about our planes?" questioned Nela.

"I doubt it; they can't try for ground support without air superiority first.."

The thing about planet Bodiam is that the sun never completely fades from the sky; even in the late hours, there is still an aura of red which at the least made night vision gear a non-concern.

"The statement from HQ is claiming that resistance in the country side is no more; of course, that was supposed to be the easy part. Now comes the siege."

All the men there had heard stories about the mighty fortress, tales about how it had held off the mighty armies of the past and how its moat had an electric current capable of killing warriors with a few drops of water.

"Could have given us something other than blue camo no?" Ingern's complaint went unanswered.

"KRRRRRRRRRRRT"

As if the Red Emperor had personally heard Ingern's remark, 2 soldiers emerged from a particularly tall patch of grass and opened fire.

The unit of five, caught in a plain with no cover, drew their Type-12 Energy Rifles and retaliated. Two men went prone while Nela and two others rushed toward the enemy.

"KRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT"

The sound of automatic fire could be heard for miles as bursts of crimson tracer light buzzed around the men. Dustin landed the first hit, carving out a three-inch hole in the Red's belly. Nela, who had trained in the fighting pits of her homeworld, pierced the second with her bayonet. The whole ordeal was over in seconds.

Dustin ordered a continuation of the march following a brief check to see if anyone had any new holes in their body. Despite the commander's directive, Seamus did not get up from his prone position.

"Are you daft son? Get up!" Dustin insisted.

Blight offered his arm to Seamus before quickly realizing that the boy had been hit with one of the tracers. The round had hit him in the face and came out on the other end.

Blight and Ingern hastily flipped Seamus so his head would face the sky. They failed to notice the wound as his blood had blended in quite well with the grass. His face bore a hollow look; Seamus was no more.

"Commander, I thought the countryside was clear?" Nela asked with a slight crack in her speech.