Prologue

ARC-2447 gazed out of the window of his High Altitude Dropship down to the terrain below. The upper canopy of the forest. Sitting on a metal seat in his Commando Mark I armour with his weapon resting on his lap felt familiar, it was the only familiar thing in his current situation. ARC-2447 looked up from the forest below him to the rest of his squad. Three other soldiers like him, except they weren't. Outwardly they looked almost identical to him. They all wore the same Commando Mark I armour, but they moved differently, they stowed their gear differently, sat differently in their seats. Their entire body language was… wrong.

ARC-2447 was pulled out of his thoughts when the interior of the HAD lit up in a reddish tint.

"One minute to jump." The pilot warned ARC-2447 from his helmcom.

"Acknowledge" ARC-2447 reported to the pilot. "Squad, prep for jump." He radioed to his squad. They all sent back their own acknowledgements. They were all different. All unfamiliar. Each man made the final check on their own equipment before securing everything to their combat webbing.

"Twenty seconds to jump, dropping the Puma." The pilot said over the squad-com. ARC-2447 felt the clamps holding the box release and slid out of the back of the Dropship.

"Fifteen seconds to jump." The pilot reported.

"Copy that. Squad,-" ARC-2447 started.

"We heard, Squad Leader." One of the other Commandos said. They all raised to their feet and shuffled forwards towards the rear hatch of the HAD. The next few seconds seemed to stretch on eternally.

Finally, "Five seconds to jump." The pilot said. ARC-2447 braced himself. He was in the front, the first one in and the last one out. It was his job. His duty. His responsibility.

ARC-2447 saw the red light turn green and, acting on years of relentless training, stepped without hesitation into nothingness.

My apologies for this being so short, I promise you that the following chapters will not be this short again.