The acid rain had finally stopped, leaving behind a sizzling fog that clung to the trench walls. The soldier clutched the pulse rifle tighter, nervous twitches running through tired limbs as eyes strained to scan the horizon through a cracked visor. The barren wasteland that separated the trench from enemy lines remained still, but that meant nothing.
Three cycles alone now. The communication device had fallen silent after the Commander’s death scream echoed through the neural link. The offensive had been brutal, efficient, and merciless—exactly what the intelligence reports had warned about.
“Steady,” the soldier whispered, a habit from youth. The sound of a voice, any voice, was reassuring in the eerie silence of the trench, a crude construct that now served as both fortress and tomb.
The stories veterans told around campfires hadn’t prepared anyone for the reality. How could they? How could words describe the methodical precision of the enemy’s attacks? The way they showed no mercy, taking no prisoners, collecting remains as trophies? A shudder ran through the soldier’s body at the thought.
Movement. Something disturbed the mist 200 meters away. The soldier’s pulse quickened dramatically. Pressing deeper into the trench wall, hoping for any advantage of concealment against what was coming.
The enemy had weapons that could tear through armor in seconds. They had chemical agents that destroyed on contact. Worst of all, they had those mechanical beasts—walking nightmares of metal and fire that crushed everything beneath their endless rotating tracks.
A distant rumbling grew louder. The ground began to vibrate. They were coming. Again.
The soldier whispered a prayer to the ancestral guardians. This would not end in a cowering death. Checking the weapon’s charge—barely enough for one last stand—preparation was made to face them. If death was inevitable, it would come with honor, taking as many of the enemy as possible into oblivion.
The rumbling intensified, and then they appeared—emerging from the mist, walking upright on two legs, their hideous pink faces visible through clear barriers in their helmets.
Humans.
The most terrifying species the galaxy had ever known.