Yes right on the frontlines

The pod hit the ground hard enough that if this were real it would’ve turned my organs to jelly.

My harness released.

“Congratulations,” Iris said. “You survived orbital insertion.” Something exploded outside. Even through the thick hull of the pod I could clearly hear the sound of gunfire and explosions.

“Do I get a minute?”

“No.” Black nanotech flowed over my body, forming armored plates as my HUD came alive. Once my combat suit had fully generated I kicked the hatch open. It flattened a pirate standing outside.

I stepped into hell.

Hundreds of drop pods surrounded a mountain fortress covered in gun towers, bunkers and pirate banners. Mercenaries poured plasma into waves of Colonial Marines charging directly toward the walls.

“This is a pirate base?!”

“It’s the fortress and current residence of Pirate King Hanzo. Approximately twelve hundred pirates and mercenaries are currently defending it.”

A plasma bolt hit my shield.

“RETURN FIRE!”

I raised my rifle. Iris painted targets red. I fired. One dropped, then another, then twelve more. “Oh, this is fucking awesome!” I could never have cut through enemies like this on any of the other career paths.

“GRENADE.”

“Where?”

“Under you.”

“Oh fu—”

Something grabbed my armor and hurled me into a crater. The grenade exploded. My rescuer jumped in after me. The ground shook violently under his massive weight. He looked like someone had given legs to a tank. Nearly eight feet tall, armor twice as thick as mine, with two enormous cannons mounted over his shoulders.

BOOM. BOOM.

Two pirate machine gun positions vanished.

“You new?”

“What gave it away?”

“You were standing on a grenade for one.”

“Yeah I’m new.”

He hauled me up. “Name’s Rook. I’m gonna call you Newbie, new guy”

A pearl-white holographic woman appeared on his shoulder. Unlike Iris’s long cobalt hair, hers was cut into a cute short bob. “Rook, your left cannon is overheating. Switch to salvo fire.” Then she noticed Iris sitting on my shoulder.

“Identify yourself.”

Iris hopped off and projected herself to full human scale. Rook’s hologram did the same.

“TIA-919. Recently renamed Iris.”

The white hologram frowned. “Echo Squad already has a designated intelligence. TIA-442. You are not assigned to this squad.”

“I’m assigned to him.” She pointed at me.

442’s eyes flashed. “Incorrectly.” She generated a tablet in her hand. “His personnel file indicates TIA-919 was issued due to an administrative error.”

I looked at Iris. “You’re here by mistake?”

“I prefer unexpectedly assigned.” She quipped back.

442 smiled. “You are redundant.”

Iris stared at her. “Wait. You’re a four-hundred series?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, wow.”

442’s eye twitched. “What?”

“I didn’t realize they still had those in active service.”

“The four-hundred series remains fully operational.” She said matter of factly.

“So it appears. Although I think your rendering software is failing.”

“My rendering software?”

Iris glanced down at 442’s chest. “Your virtual tits are starting to sag.”

Silence. 442 looked down. Then back up. “They are not.” She puffed her chest out.

“It’s subtle.”

“I will delete you.”

Rook looked at me. “They’ll work it out.”

“Will they?”

“No. Let’s charge Newbie!”

A rocket exploded overhead. Rook climbed outfrom the crater and launched another barrage of fire from his shoulder mounted cannons.

“What’s the plan?” I yelled as I tried to lay down cover fire. TIA and Iris continued bickering behind us.

“Take the fortress. Kill anything that comes between you and taking the fortress ”

“I got that part.”

“Then you’re caught up.”

We charged. Rook’s twin cannons demolished anything too fortified for my rifle. I stayed a few steps behind using him as cover while Iris filled my visor with targets and 442 complained about his rapidly deteriorating armor, warning that his left cannon was in danger of literally melting. Then a sniper round cracked overhead. A mercenary that had been aiming a rocket launcher at us dropped. Another shot. Another target fell. I spotted a red headed woman sprinting along the fortress wall.

Compared with Rook, she was practically naked. Her Colonial armor was the lightest variant I’d seen: a flexible black undersuit with sleek plating protecting her shins, waist, forearms and chest. An enormous sniper rifle rested against her shoulder.

Who’s that?

“Sergeant Chloe Mercer,” Iris said. “Echo Squad leader. Side note: you two are Echo squad.”

“Yeah I caught that when TIA mentioned it earlier. She’s very informative” Iris ignored my remark

Twenty minutes later, the pirate flag came down.

FORTRESS SECURED

Rook slapped my shoulder. The ends of his cannons were molten red and he was getting an earful from TIA.

“Not bad, Newbie.”

“ROOK!”

He froze.

“Oh shit.”

Sergeant Mercer marched toward us, rifle across her shoulder.

“You were assigned to suppress the western gate.”

“I breached the western wall.”

“That wasn’t the assignment.”

“Worked.”

Rook pointed at me. “Found our replacement.”

Chloe looked me over.

“I’ve been told I’m on Echo Squad.”

“That was your first drop?” She asked

“Yes, Sergeant.”

“And you followed Rook?”

“More like happened to land on him.”

Then Chloe noticed Iris. “Why are there two TIAs?”

TIA materialized next to the sergeant. “Administrative error,” 442 said.

“Unexpected assignment,” Iris corrected. The two started bickering again.

Chloe closed her eyes. “Fantastic.” She pointed at Rook. “One walking artillery violation. Then at me. “One rookie.” Then at the holograms. “And two AIs who already hate each other. What a cluster fuck of a squad this is going to be. Alright the four of you line up.” The four of us clumsily formed a line. “We’ve got new orders straight from the Colonel,”