The Wolves still buzzed after Carla's sudden arrival. She hadn't gone far before Min-seo stepped forward, his voice respectful but curious.
"Veteran Carla... what planet are you from? Juno's big, but I've never heard your name attached to a colony."
Carla stopped, glanced back over her shoulder. For a moment, her smirk faded into something quieter.
"Eryndor Prime."
The Wolves froze.
Woo Jin's eyes widened. "Wait... same as me."
Jerome stiffened, his visor glowing faint. "...Same as me, too."
Carla's gaze softened just slightly, locking on the two of them.
"Then you know. You've seen it. Our capital burned, our people cut down. Eryndor doesn't give its children peace. It gives them war."
⸻
The Connection
The hangar noise seemed to fade. For a heartbeat, only Woo, Jerome, and Carla existed — three souls tied by a world that had suffered fire and blood.
Woo clenched his fists. "I thought... we were alone in this. That we were the unlucky ones."
Carla shook her head slowly.
"No. You're not unlucky. You're forged. Eryndor breeds Marines the way Dravo breeds killers. We don't get to choose peace. We only get to choose how we fight."
Jerome exhaled hard, his chest tight. "...Guess we're family, then."
Carla's scarred cheek lifted into a faint smile. "Family in blood. Family in war."
⸻
The Wolves Realize
Raul muttered, half in awe. "So half the pack's from Dravo... and the other half's from Eryndor Prime."
Marco shook his head. "Guess it's true. The hardest worlds breed the hardest soldiers."
Asura stood silent, but his calm nod was enough. John crossed his arms, silent agreement radiating from his stillness.
Hunter gave a low chuckle. "Looks like Hammerfall isn't just Marines marching in. It's Dravo and Eryndor walking side by side. But don't underestimate the other Juno planetary folks, they're hardcore too."
Hudson added, voice flat but firm: "Yup. Same fire."
Raul got fired up and said. "YEAH! THAT'S WHAT SUP! FARM BOYS WE UP!"
Marco also got hyped up too
Reaper simply muttered, his voice like death itself:
"The Typonians don't know what's coming."
⸻
The hangar rumbled as the fleet prepared to exit Quantum Drive. Pandora's voice echoed overhead, steady and sharp:
"All units: prepare for Hammerfall deployment. Typonian sector ahead. Brace for war."
The Wolves stood together, realizing something profound:
They weren't just recruits anymore.
They were the blood of Dravo and Eryndor.
Two worlds of suffering.
One pack of wolves.
And war was waiting.
-
The fleet exited Quantum Cosmic Drive with a blinding ripple of energy. The void of the Typonian sector stretched out before them — stars distorted, planets ringed with alien fortresses, and massive hive-ships looming like dark gods.
Pandora's voice thundered across every channel:
"All units, prepare for deployment. First wave: CF-256 strike fighters. Drop in T-minus 10 minutes."
⸻
The Fighter Wave
From the carriers' vast hangar bays, the CF-256 Jet Fighters launched in endless streams — sleek black-and-silver craft, wings glowing sky blue with quantum light. Each one carried the speed of infinity in its engines, designed for more than flight: they could bypass infinite distances, distort time itself, and fight across entire galaxies in seconds.
Their engines ignited, trails of cosmic sky blue burning through the void.
Woo Jin and the Wolves stood at the viewing deck windows, their helmets reflecting the storm of fighters. His heart pounded.
"That's... thousands. No... millions."
Jerome whispered back, wide-eyed. "And that's just the first wave."
⸻
The Enemy Answers
From the hive-world below, the Typonians responded.
Alien starfighters erupted from hangars — grotesque bio-mechanical vessels that pulsed like living hearts, their wings jagged, their engines glowing fire with corrupted energy. They screamed into the void in swarms, matching the UNE fighters in impossible speed.
Within seconds, the stars became a battlefield.
⸻
The Chaos of Space War
The two fighter swarms collided in the void with light brighter than suns.
• CF-256s blinked in and out of existence, warping across impossible ranges, firing infinite cosmic plasma rail rounds at MFTL+ velocities.
• Typonian fighters screeched through space like predators, firing bio-plasma bursts that bent across dimensions.
• Dogfights stretched across entire light-years in seconds, then snapped back into single kilometers as time bent under Quantum Drive surges.
Explosions lit the void. Entire swarms vanished into fire, only to be replaced by more waves.
The Wolves' helmets shook with the sound of it.
Raul muttered, stunned. "This... this isn't war. This is madness."
Asura's calm eyes stayed on the battlefield. "This is humanity's reality."
⸻
The War Builds
Behind the fighters, the colossal interstellar ships shifted into formation.
The UNE's standard carriers — each carrying 150,000 soldiers — lined up beside cruisers, dreadnoughts, and supercarriers, their hulls glowing with Scripture and tactical insignias. Opposite them, Typonian hive-ships loomed like mountains of flesh and alloy, their weapons pulsing with energy.
For a long heartbeat, both sides stared each other down through the wreckage of their fighter swarms.
Then Pandora's voice cut through every comm, steady and sharp:
"All units: engage. This is no longer a drill. This is war."
And the stellar war began.
-
The Wolves pressed against the viewing deck glass, their visors reflecting the chaos outside. The void was fire and light — UNE CF-256s ripping through infinite space, blinking across impossible ranges, clashing with Typonian fighters in battles that stretched from light-seconds to galaxies.
Woo Jin's mouth hung open. He finally blurted out the question rattling in his head.
"How the hell... are those pilots even able to react? They're fighting at MFTL+ speeds — faster than thought! How?!"
Hunter chuckled, leaning his elbow against the railing. His voice carried that half-serious, half-teasing tone.
"Their Jet Glass AI helps them, kid. Think of it like this — in the cockpit, time doesn't work the same way. The fighter's systems slow everything down, stretch out seconds, make a blink of light feel like a minute."
Woo blinked, stunned. "...So the jet bends time for them?"
Hunter smirked.
"Exactly. The Glass System AI runs their reactions faster than their nerves ever could. Their helmets sync with it — feed every bit of info straight to the brain before the pilot even knows it. Makes them react before they've even thought about reacting."
He jabbed Woo lightly with an armored finger.
"Same thing your UNE helmet does with your armor. You ever wonder how you move faster than the eye can see in that suit? That's not just you, rookie. That's the helmet making your body keep up."
Raul whistled low. "So it's like... you're fighting in another layer of time."
Hudson spoke flatly, arms crossed.
"Well kinda. Exactly. Out there? One second for us could be a thousand decisions for them. That's why UNE Air Force needs people who are damn smart and good almost prodigy like."
Woo swallowed, eyes drifting back to the void. The fighters weren't just machines. They were time-bending coffins, and their pilots were half-human, half-ghosts.
Hunter grinned under his visor, voice low.
"Don't worry, kid. You'll get used to it. And when your boots hit dirt, you'll thank God your helmet keeps you alive just the same way."
Asura finally spoke, calm as ever.
"Pilots fight the war in infinity. We fight the war in blood."
The Wolves fell silent, the truth heavy in their hearts.
-
The Wolves clustered near their VTOL's bulkhead, nerves buzzing as the void outside burned with dogfights.
Carla snapped her helmet on and pointed at them, her scarred cheek lifting into a sharp grin.
"Alright, enough talking you goofballs! Focus on the mission!"
Woo Jin shot straight up like he'd been electrocuted, hands snapping to his rifle. "Yes ma'am!"
Hunter chuckled low under his breath. "You heard her, rookie."
⸻
The Launch
The carrier's bay doors yawned open, revealing the blinding light of battle beyond.
Then, with a roar, their VTOL launched into the void — one of millions that poured from UNE carriers in every direction, a storm of drop-ships streaking toward the Typonian hive sector. Engines screamed, formation lights blinked, the sheer number was beyond comprehension.
Woo pressed against the side window, his stomach tight. He whispered, barely audible:
"So many..."
⸻
The Ambush
The fleet surged forward — then the void lit up.
From the enemy hive-worlds below, kinetic beam bombs tore upward — vast streams of hyper-accelerated plasma beams, cutting across the void like scythes.
The first wave of VTOLs vanished instantly. Whole formations exploded into fireballs, spinning wreckage slamming into others and igniting chain reactions. Screams filled the comm channels.
"MAYDAY! MAYDAY!"
"We're hit! We're—" static
Woo's blood ran cold as he watched dozens of dropships vaporized in seconds.
Raul cursed loudly. "¡Dios mío— they're cutting us down like flies!"
Marco's jaw dropped, his hands gripping the seat. Jerome turned pale, whispering, "We're next... we're next—"
⸻
The Wolves
The inside of the VTOL shook violently as shockwaves rippled through their hull. The rookies panicked, clutching helmets and rifles, some praying, others frozen stiff.
But not all.
Carla stayed calm, eyes narrowed. "Stay strapped in. Breathe. Trust the bird."
Hunter reloaded calmly, smirking under his visor. "First war's always the worst. Get used to it."
Hudson and Reaper said nothing, visor fixed forward, a stone among chaos.
And Asura... Asura sat still, unflinching, eyes closed as though he were meditating in the storm. Not a flicker of fear touched him.
Woo looked at him, wide-eyed. How is he so calm?
⸻
The Reality of War
Outside, the void became a graveyard of shattered VTOLs and burning soldiers. The Wolves' own ship dodged a beam by meters, the hull glowing red-hot from the near miss. Privates who just graduated like the Wolves screamed, some tearing off helmets to vomit, others crying, "I DON'T WANNA DIE HERE!"
Monarch's voice cut across the chaos, calm and sharp as ever:
"All units: maintain formation. Push through the killzone. We are inside their range window for another 90 seconds. Survive it, and you live."
Carla slammed a fist against the wall, voice fierce:
"You heard Pandora! Ninety seconds, Marines — hold on and don't lose your heads!"
The VTOL banked hard, dodging another beam as explosions lit the void around them.
The Wolves braced, hearts pounding, their first taste of war burning into their souls.
This was no drill.
This was no simulation.
This was war.
-
The soldiers VTOL shook violently, alarms screaming across the cabin.
"WE'RE HIT! HOLD ON!" the pilot roared through comms.
A Typonian beam had grazed their hull, tearing through the left thruster. Smoke filled the cabin, sparks rained from the ceiling, and the whole ship spun sideways as it plummeted toward the planet's surface.
Marines inside screamed, clutching straps and rifles. Woo Jin's stomach dropped as gravity yanked him sideways, his visor slamming against the bulkhead. Jerome cried out, Raul cursed in Spanish, Marco's knuckles turned white as he gripped the seat frame.
Carla's voice cut through, commanding, furious.
"STRAP IN! KEEP YOUR HEADS DOWN!"
Hunter laughed bitterly, steady even as the cabin tore itself apart. "Guess we're skipping the welcome mat!"
Hudson stayed silent, holding tight, visor locked forward.
Asura? Still calm. Still unshaken.
⸻
Impact
The ground rushed up in the viewing glass — a warzone of fire and smoke. Plasma blasts lit the horizon, alien war machines lumbered across the battlefield, UNE soldiers traded fire in the ruins of burning cities.
Then the Wolves' VTOL slammed into the ground.
The world became fire, metal shrieking, sparks exploding. The hull skidded across the battlefield like a comet, smashing through wreckage, flipping once — twice — before slamming to a dead stop in a crater of broken steel and dirt.
Silence. For a heartbeat, silence.
⸻
The Aftermath
Woo coughed hard, vision blurred, his ears ringing. His helmet HUD flickered before stabilizing. Around him, Marines groaned, pulling themselves out of the wreckage.
Raul spat blood, laughing shakily. "¡Madre mía... I thought that was it!"
Jerome muttered, trembling. "I-I can't believe we're alive..."
Marco forced himself up, clutching his rifle. "We won't be for long if we stay in here."
Carla ripped the buckles off her seat, voice sharp.
"MOVE! Everyone out — NOW!"
The back ramp had blown off during the crash. Smoke and fire poured in, but so did the sound of battle — explosions, screams, alien roars.
Hunter grabbed his rifle, chambering a fresh round. "Welcome to the frontlines, Wolves."
Hudson and Reaper slung their AR-90K, visor burning blue. "Let's hunt."
Asura stepped off the wreckage like it was nothing, scanning the battlefield calmly. His voice cut through the chaos:
"The war has already begun."
⸻
The Battlefield
Outside, the world was hell.
The Wolves emerged into fire and ruin, UNE soldiers exchanging fire with Typonian infantry that towered in grotesque forms, weapons glowing with alien light. Dropships burned in the distance, twisted husks marking where whole squads had died on impact.
Overhead, the sky was fire — fleets clashing, beams streaking across the clouds, CF-256s locked in dogfights above.
Woo Jin clutched his rifle, his heart pounding like a drum.
This was it.
No more training.
No more simulation.
The Wolves were in the war.
————————————
To be continued...