Good. The company commanders were already moving to the front of the transport. Time was short and Colonel Per Raynne had only minutes earlier learned the mission details.

    “Listen up” he began, “General Parker wants me to impress upon you how important this is. The So-Nari will be closely watching and our actions may help determine earth’s place among them.

    “They reached out to us because they lack an effective ground force, and we will prove their trust in us sound.”

    He not only sounded confident, he was. His men had more than proven themselves in the Afghanistan mountains and Iraqi deserts. The closest thing to a shortfall was that they could be too aggressive and needed to be held back from time to time.

    “We’re about to touch down on a mining planet about 90% the size of earth. The Lerrine raided this system a few weeks ago and before being driven off, managed to land a small ground force. Don’t be fooled by their numbers though. They easily killed all garrison troops and miners and have been systematically destroying some sort of very important ore since then. It’s been made clear to us that it is absolutely critical that those bastards be stopped ASAP. Normally they would simply pulverize it all from orbit and collapse the network of tunnels, but the loss of the mine would apparently be extremely bad for the war effort.”

    It had been only two weeks since a So-Nari armada appeared in orbit above earth. Per Raynne remembered the feeling in the pit of his stomach when military analysts suggested that these were in fact warships circling the planet. Their abilities far outmatched anything the U.S., Russia, China or anyone else could muster. Luckily though, they weren’t looking for a fight, but actually wanted help.

    An alliance of four species, they wanted us to join their war against the Lerrine, a species attempting some sort of conquest and colonization of this part of the galaxy. There were still communication problems between So-Nari and humans, but it was understood that the Lerrine were quick, strong and rather mean.

    “No problem,” Per Raynne thought. He had spent time with representative soldiers of each of the new allies and thought a 20 pound dog could overwhelm three of the four. The last species was large and quite strong, but slow and clearly lacked any sort of fighting instinct. It seemed they evolved perfectly suited for cracking something that translated to “plant pods”, which made Per Raynne think of coconuts. Compared to them, his battle tested troops were great white sharks among guppies.

    Also, it was a near certainty that the Lerrine didn’t even know earth existed, and should be rudely surprised when the first combat teams hit them. Unfortunately, the 3^rd Battalion would receive that honor. His 1^st would follow the same path down into the planet a full 30 minutes behind. Hopefully they would arrive before hostilities ended and his disappointed men had to settle for mop up duties.

    “The initial cavern is wide enough for two platoons to lead in spread formation. Jack, they’re gonna be from your C Company.” Jack’s intense face bobbed slightly in understanding. “B Company following C, then HQ Company. Bren, your A Company is rear guard. 2^nd Battalion is several hours behind us, so watch your ass while you watch ours.

    “A division of British are landing as we speak at another entrance. The plan is to pin the enemy between us and systematically rip em’ apart.”

    A dull thud and slight list to the transport signaled that it had landed.

    Per Raynne stepped up on a bench and shouted so all 600 of his men could hear. “Masks on! Remember, you have twenty-six hours of air. Your new weapons operate just like our old gear, but the So-Nari have really loaded some punch into them. Don’t let it go to your head – the Lerrine also have good armaments.”

    He continued, “We were selected because there are none better. Use your training and know that all eyes – both human and alien – are on you. Fight like hell at every opportunity! Now move!”

    A chorus or stout cheers rose from the men in response to their capable leader. C Company led them out into a light rusty fog. They moved fast in the low gravity, past abandoned alien equipment and into a large cave mouth. Hundreds of glowing orbs provided by the So-Nari moved above and ahead, lighting the way.

    Silently, but quickly they descended. An hour in, the tunnel narrowed and then opened into a cavern larger than any seen on earth. The orbs rushed into it and spread out, illuminating the subterranean room. At least a quarter mile across and just as high, some splattered blood and a few weapons appeared through the fog as they neared.

    “The 3^rd battalion made contact”, Per Raynne thought. Not hearing any fighting, it was likely the 3^rd had given the Lerrine a bloody nose, sending them scrambling deeper into the caves.

    C Company entered and spread out. Per Raynne was at the head of B Company and listened for the outbreak of weapons fire. So far, nothing. He entered the great room. C Company had set an expanding perimeter just as they had been trained, allowing the rest of the battalion to enter safely, but he hardly noticed.

    Up on the walls and ceiling dangled the bodies of every member of the 3^rd Battalion. Enabling the fancy new field glass over his right eye, he zoomed and focused on the closest of them. Each lifeless mass had been pinned in place by other body parts. Arms and legs had been ripped off and jammed through the torsos into the porous rock walls. Some had their rib cages opened up and many seemed to have their skin and sinews pulled away from the skeletons. Some skulls had been crushed and jaws dangled loosely by strips of skin.

    Per Raynne had that feeling in the pit of his stomach again.