They reached the entrance of the command post, flanked by mounted guards whose feathered mounts shifted restlessly. To Luca's surprise, the Varnathi waved them through immediately. System mechanics at work, probably. Some unseen flag triggered by their presence.

Inside, the feeling of urgency crackled through the air. Holographic displays glowed with tactical data, commanders barked orders, their words sharp and economical, and troops moved with purpose.

Luca scanned the room, taking it in. The Varnathi leadership was composed entirely of females, their armor functional and adorned with insignias of high command. Unlike the scientists they'd protected in the previous portal, these Varnathi were all business. Each one radiated determination, a stoic strength that was impressive and more than a little intimidating.

A tactical map dominated one wall, displaying the planet in detail. Major population centers marked in blue. Red triangles scattered across continents showing Vexillari fortress locations. This wasn't a small-scale conflict. This was a planetary invasion.

One of the leaders approached, her fur a deep brown. She was taller than the others, her presence commanding immediate attention. "You've proven yourselves, adventurers," she said, her voice steady and clear as her gaze swept over each team member. "We will take all the help we can get. The Vexillari have begun their incursion. They are terraforming our colony into a poisonous hive. Billions of our kind are at risk. We will not allow it."

This isn't a light combat mission. This is their last stand. And we just walked into the middle of it.

"Our plan is simple," the leader continued, her voice carrying absolute conviction. "We will hit their shielded fortress with orbital strikes. When their defenses weaken, our ground forces will breach it. The shield can repel most bombardments, but we have the tools to drain its energy. We will stop at nothing."

Her words held such unwavering resolve that Luca felt a surge of respect mixed with fear.

Danny's jaw clenched, admiration clear even through his visor. Ryan, for once, was silent, absorbing the magnitude of the operation.

The commander turned back to them. "You will be assigned to support units appropriate to your capabilities. Technical specialists for demolitions and breach operations. Scout elements for forward reconnaissance. Medical support for casualty management."

Wait.

Luca's hand moved to his utility belt, fingers brushing the small pouch where he kept miscellaneous items. The medal. The [Varnathi Medal of Valor] from that portal back in New Dawn, the one Ryan had insisted was part of a chain quest.

Oh shit.

He fished the bronze disc from the pouch, the metal catching the light. Inscribed Varnathi script covered its surface. At its center was the symbol of their military command.

The auburn-furred leader's eyes widened. She reached out, taking the medal carefully, studying it with something approaching reverence. Her eyes snapped back to Luca, sharp and assessing, then softened with recognition.

"You have served with honor," she said simply, her voice carrying weight. "This changes things."

She turned, speaking rapidly to the other commanders. Luca struggled to keep up, but he caught fragments. Experienced. Trusted. Command potential.

Oh no, what did I just do?

She turned back to face them. "If you bear the Medal of Valor, then you have earned the right to command. We will assign you units appropriate to your skills."

Ryan's face split into a grin visible even through his visor. "Called it! I fucking called it! Chain quest!"

"Ryan, shut up," Emily muttered.

The Varnathi commander gestured to her subordinates. Immediately, several officers began pulling up personnel rosters and unit assignments. As they worked, Luca noticed the details he'd missed before. A soft blue light pulsed behind one officer's ear, synchronized with her rapid eye movements as she scrolled through invisible data. Another had an eye that gleamed, the iris contracting and expanding independently as she processed information at inhuman speed. Neural implants. Cybernetic augmentation. Technology humanity was only beginning to explore, already integrated seamlessly into Varnathi military command.

"You," she said, pointing to Luca. "You will command Reconnaissance Company 47-Kappa, Third Army. Forward observers and long-range elimination specialists."

Reconnaissance Company. A whole company.

Before Luca could process that, she moved to Ryan. "Combat engineer. You will lead Sapper Platoon 23-Theta, Third Army. Breach specialists and demolitions experts."

Ryan's grin somehow got wider. "Yes!"

"Heavy infantry." She turned to Danny. "You will command Heavy Assault Company 112-Sigma, Third Army. Shock troops for breakthrough operations."

Danny nodded slowly, looking honored and terrified in equal measure.

"Air assault specialist." The commander addressed Emily. "You will lead Air Assault Company 68-Phi, Third Army. Jump infantry with aerial insertion capability."

Emily's hand found Luca's, squeezing tight.

"Medical officer." She turned to Joey. "Forward Medical Unit 31-Lambda, Third Army, attached to Heavy Assault Company 112-Sigma. You will keep our breach forces operational."

Joey's eyes went wide. "Attached to Danny's unit?"

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"Tactical Systems Engineer." She gestured to Chris. "You will command Mechanized Infantry Platoon 19-Epsilon, Third Army. Mech support for the primary assault."

Chris just stared. "A mech. An actual mech."

"Hey!" Ryan protested. "Why does he get a mech?"

The commander ignored him, turning finally to Zoe. "Scout and aerial combat specialist. You will command Air Superiority Squadron 5-Delta, Third Army. Stalker MkI, Colonial Variant."

The room went silent.

"I'm sorry," Zoe said slowly. "Did you say I'm commanding fighters? Space fighters?"

"Atmospheric superiority craft," the commander corrected. "You will coordinate with ground forces to eliminate Vexillari air support."

Luca felt excitement surge through him, razor-edged with terror. They were getting actual commands. Real units. Entire platoons and companies under their control.

Then reality crashed down.

We're splitting up.

"Commander," Luca said. "My team's effectiveness comes from operating as a unit. Splitting us reduces our combat efficiency."

The leader's expression didn't change. "Your team's effectiveness will be multiplied by the forces under your command. You are no longer a seven-person unit. You are Third Army."

The commander continued as if she hadn't just upended their entire operational doctrine. "Each unit has different objectives. You will coordinate via command channel, but your forces will deploy to separate sectors."

No. We stay together. That's the rule. We always stay together.

But what could he say? They were in the middle of a System portal scenario. The mission was clear: help the Varnathi take the fortress. And apparently, that meant commanding actual military units.

"How long?" Luca asked. "How long will we be separated?"

"The assault begins in two hours," the commander said. Her eyes swept across them, hard with conviction. "Initial breach will take four to six hours. Your units will converge on the fortress interior for final assault." She paused, her voice dropping to something colder. "This is our colony world. A stepping stone to the rest of the empire. We will take that fortress. There is no alternative. The Vexillari will be driven back or exterminated. We will not fail."

Four to six hours. Separated. Each of us commanding strangers in the middle of a war zone.

Emily's hand tightened on his. He could feel her fear through the contact, her fingers trembling slightly inside her gauntlet.

"Luca," Ryan said, and there was actual uncertainty in his voice. "This is... this is what we signed up for, right?"

No. This is not what we signed up for. We signed up for a simple combat mission. Not commanding armies.

But they were here now. In the middle of a war zone, with a portal gated until they could get behind enemy lines and complete the mission.

He looked at his team. Emily, terrified but trying to hide it. Danny, processing the enormity of commanding shock troops. Joey looked steady at least, staying with Danny as medical support. Chris, still boggling at the mech assignment. Ryan, excited despite the danger. Zoe, looking at him for direction.

They were looking to him. Waiting for him to decide.

Fuck.

"Alright," he said, hating the words even as they left his mouth. "We accept the commands. We maintain constant comms. Any trouble, any at all, we extract and regroup immediately."

The commander nodded. "Your attachés will brief you on unit capabilities and tactical objectives."

As if summoned, seven Varnathi officers appeared, each one moving to stand beside a team member. The one who approached Luca was lean, his fur a mottled gray, his eyes sharp with intelligence.

"Commander," he said in accented but clear English. "I am Gant'Jiran, your second. Your reconnaissance element awaits."

Commander. They're calling me commander.

Luca felt Emily's hand slip from his as her attaché guided her toward the exit. She looked back, her eyes meeting his through her visor.

Don't go. Please don't go. We stay together. We always stay together.

But she was already moving. So were the others. Peeling away one by one, each with their Varnathi attaché, each heading to their assigned units.

Danny and Joey went together at least, the medical unit attached to the Heavy Assault Company. Small comfort.

Luca stood frozen, watching his team disperse across the staging ground. Seven people who'd survived everything by staying together, now being scattered across a battlefield like pieces on a game board.

"Commander?" Gant'Jiran prompted.

This is wrong. This is all wrong. But we're stuck. We're in a portal scenario and we have to see it through.

The mission timer was counting down. Two hours until assault. And somewhere out there, a reconnaissance company was waiting for their new commander.

Luca climbed into the hover vehicle, his comms already expanding to include dozens of new channels. Squad leaders checking in. Unit positions updating on his tactical display. Information flooding in faster than he could process.

Through it all, he kept one channel open. Team channel. The one connecting him to Emily, to Ryan, to Danny, Joey, Chris, and Zoe.

"Everyone check in," he said, his voice cutting through their expanding comm channels with command authority. "Sound off."

One by one, they responded. Voices strained but present.

"We've got two hours," Luca said. "We learn our units, we execute the mission, and we get through this together. Even if we're apart."

He'd gotten them into this. Now he had to get them through it. Two hours to learn how to command. Two hours to keep them all alive.

Two hours. Then four to six hours of combat. Then we regroup.

Gant'Jiran gestured politely toward the exit. "Commander, if you will. Your reconnaissance element awaits."

Luca took one last look at the command post, at the holographic displays showing the world and its defenses, at the Varnathi officers coordinating an assault on a scale he'd never imagined. Then he followed Gant'Jiran outside.

The staging ground stretched before him, vast and organized. Thousands of troops in formation. Mechs being loaded onto transports. Artillery pieces rolling into position. The machinery of war in motion.

Then the horizon flashed.

Brilliant white light bathed the entire field, so bright Luca's visor automatically darkened to compensate. An expanding disk of energy radiated outward, shimmering like a second sun being born in the sky. The shockwave followed seconds later, a physical force that rattled his armor and shook the ground beneath his feet.

A ship had just been destroyed. Not a small craft. A capital ship, one of the massive transports he'd seen disgorging troops. Thousands of tons of metal and technology, gone in an instant.

Those were people. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people.

The light faded slowly, leaving afterimages burned into his vision. Long, stark shadows stretched across the staging ground. Troops who'd been moving stopped mid-stride, looking up at the dissipating energy cloud.

Then, as if nothing had happened, they resumed their preparations. Loading equipment. Checking weapons. Preparing to assault a fortress that could call down orbital strikes on their own ships.

"Destroyer Keth'Mara," Gant'Jiran said quietly beside him. "She was providing orbital fire support. The Vexillari fleet is... aggressive."

A space battle. There's a full fleet engagement happening above us right now.

Luca's breath as he understood.

"How many ships have we lost?" Luca asked, his voice hoarse.

"Seventeen vessels in the last three hours," Gant'Jiran said. "Destroyers, frigates, two heavy cruisers. The Vexillari are contesting orbital superiority. Until we can eliminate their ground forces and fortresses, they maintain staging areas for reinforcements and resupply."

Seventeen ships. Thousands dead. And we're about to add our names to the casualty list if I don't get my shit together.

He took a breath, forcing his tactical brain to engage. Two hours to learn his unit's capabilities. Two hours to identify how Recon 47-Kappa could support the others. Two hours to find a way to keep his team alive.

The vehicle waited, its engines humming softly. Through the staging ground, he could see other vehicles departing. Taking his team to their units. Emily to her air assault company. Zoe to her fighters. Ryan to his sappers. Danny and Joey to the heavy assault forces. Chris to his mech.

Emily's voice came over their private channel. "We got this, Luca. Remember to breathe."

Alright. Let's do this.

All of them heading into this meat grinder.

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