The Fate of Nenoria

Chapter 1: Landing

Onboard the Hornet dropship, a squad of IFU (Interplanetary Federation Union) military personnel are to secure their designated drop site to protect the later arriving supplies that will help in the construction on the newly discovered habitable planet, Orgon-4c, which would be the home for the IFU's first 2nd generation colony for the ever-increasing population from the 1st generation colonies Earth first colonized.

Before the squad's descent onto the planet, they were debriefed by their superiors, which was comprised of several senior IFU representatives of both the military branch and the recently established governing board for Orgon-4c. The main leaders were their regiment's brigadier general Howard J. Sherman and senator Edith Cowan. During their debriefing, it was announced that the regiment would break off into smaller groups to cover more area due to their lack of manpower. A suitable environment was chosen beforehand so the troops could prepare and ensure that when the colonist do arrive, their safety would be ensured. The reason they were going to such lengths as explained to the confused soldiers was that the reconnaissance drones that they had sent before their arrival malfunctioned while trying to survey the land for more detailed information and about the specific makeup of the land/environment. Bewildered by this unexplainable situation, they decided to be cautious and warned the soldier's to look out for any signs of 'alien life'. The soldiers in the briefing room burst out in laughter when they heard this announcement. One of the soldiers even joked saying "Will we find any facehuggers and have little aliens bursting out of our stomachs?" The soldiers continued to laugh and many shrugged off the senator's previous statement about there being a chance of encountering 'alien life.'

While waiting for their squad's touchdown as they were entering the planet's atmosphere, the fresh team or codename D-squad, as they were meant to land at drop site Delta, were all anxious as they were to step onto another planet for their very first time since everyone in the squad was an Earth-born citizen. The leader of D-squad was a 22-year-old man of average height about 5ft 7 (174cm), a well-built body and short black hair. Sergeant Xander Chain. Having only recently been promoted and shipped off to another planet, the pressure was mounting as it was his very first time leading a squad of his own. The man sitting next to him was his second in command. Corporal Otto Kretschmer. His distinct blond hair stood out from the rest of his squad. Noticing Chain's shaking leg as he was a bit stressed on his first ever mission as a Sergeant, Kretschmer approaches him to help him relax a little.

"Sergeant Chain was it? I mean no offence but you seem to be a little, how do you say it, stressed. Don't worry, you are not the only one here to feel the pressure too. You know what, I'll let you in on a little secret of mine since we'll be in the same squad together from now on." Chain looks at Kretschmer and suddenly feels much better from the tone of his german accent friend. "My vather told me that being scared of something means you haven't seen what the rest of the world has to offer. To better understand why you are scared of something, try and look beyond it and figure out the reason why you were scared in the first place. For fear doesn't exist unless we want it to."

Enlightened by Kretschmer's words, Chain feels the heaviness in his heart lighten. "You know what, thanks for the advice um coporal-"

"Corporal Kretschmer" Kretschmer finishes Chain's sentence when he was trying to say his name. "The name is Otto Kretschmer." He enthusiastically introduces himself.

They both quickly became friends in a matter of no time and started to talk about each other's lives and why they entered the military. As they were chatting away, they were rudely interrupted by the tomboyish private Amelia Cowan sitting across them as she lay down occupying three seats. "Hey you two, will ya shut up already! Jeez, I'm tryna get some sleep here."

Chain was now going to face his first trial of becoming a leader for his squad. Gaining the full trust and cooperation of his subordinates.

"That is not how you address your C.O private. There's no point in sleeping anyway as were going to be arriving at our drop site soon. I'll overlook this and I hope you change that attitude of yours. " Chain addresses the free-willed Amelia.

"Blah, blah, blah... Whatever sarge." She rolls her body and faces her back towards him, going back to sleep.

*Sigh* Chain's first attempt embarrassingly fails. Kretschmer tells him there's no need to worry as things like this will take time. "Sooner or later she will open to the rest of us." Chain nods his head in agreement. Leaving Amelia aside, he notices another member of his squad sitting away from the rest of them in silence. Private Sophia Hanson. A young lady with fair skin, quite beautiful if she didn't try to hide her presence. Noticing her squad leader looking at her, she turns away in trying to avoid eye contact while continuing to give him the silent treatment for whatever reason.

"Is she perhaps a bit shy?" Chain thought to himself. Realising the small squad of 4 he commands, he has only befriended his second in command Kretschmer, with the one being rebellious and the other remaining silent. "Oh dear God, help me for what's to come."

"Alright, D-squad, ETA 2min to drop site D." The pilots of the dropship calls out to them. Everyone gets up from their seats, even Amelia, to prepare for landing. The squad suit up in their LS 4's, a 4th generation body armour with up-to-date integrated protection system with their added exoskeletons underneath it that enhances their physical strength and endurance. Their complete ballistic protection includes nanotechnology to strengthen the already tough metal alloy layer surrounding most of their vulnerable body areas from top to bottom. Their helmets, also include an inbuilt display that allows them to see in thermal imaging and night vision. Finally, they all equip their standard IFU 3B7 Assault Rifle's which can shoot 6.8mm rounds.

With everyone ready and standing by, the red beacon in the dropship blinks to indicate their drop. The pilot calls out again, "Approaching drop site D. You should be able to see the crate of supplies in front of you where your outpost should be. The construction bots should have already begun constructing your outpost. All you need to do is to secure the perimeter and protect them if any danger arises."

"Roger that!" Chain replies.

"Opening drop bays now and good luck out there." All of the four members of the squad step out and feel the foreign ground under their boots. "So this is another planet." Squad leader Chain said to himself.

D-Squad arrived at drop site Delta at 0925hrs local time. What they were to expect later, would prepare them for what this planet has installed for them.