I feel a cold chill crawl up my spine, his eyes had not left mine as he died. Fixated upon the man whom he had the hated most.

You always envied me, Mallius. Now you die at my hand, and yet it is you who is free, and I who is caged.

I stare down at his body before me; at the blood that pools at my feet. I tap the mask again, and the grey barrier returns. When I look up, most had returned to their duties. He was not a loved or even liked man.

Many seem glad he’s dead.

They don’t care who commands them, so long as the one who does can lead them to victory. The realisation strikes me coldly. This how you win in this Universe. You kill, you butcher, you plot, and you beat all who stand in your way.

I will win. I will doom this Universe to fire and blood, death and sorrow. But I will win.

One woman watches me with heated eyes, she thumbs her pistol in its holster. Her gaze is one of a woman who watched one she cared for die before her very eyes. “A lover,” I murmur, a small smile crept on my lips. Orno, maybe I shouldn’t have felt so guilty for killing you after all.

“You traitor!” She roars at me, spittle flying against my mask and chest. Heads snap as she screams, nobody had expected a confrontation. The fact that I had been allowed into the Command Centre meant that I had at least some soldiers on my side, and Orno was already dead, there was little anyone could do now.

Behind me, there was a single shot. Her mouth opens, but instead of words, only blood comes out. She spits it forward, spraying it over the ground as she falls, clutching at her chest. Her fingers claw as she tries to stop the bleeding, as she desperately tries to save herself.

Instinctively I go forward, trying to help her. I stop half way, half kneeling before her. I look to see who saved me from the woman who attacked me.

Calvins looks at her, his eyes wide in horror. He stares at his shaking hands that hold the rifle. His rifle is still raised.

I go for him, silent as the grave. I lower the rifle.

“I couldn’t… I couldn’t just let her-“

“It’s alright,” I reassure him, my voice as calm as I can make it. Yet, even so, I hear the crack. “Thank you, Calvins.”

I turn back to the Command Centre. Most have turned to watch us now, usurpations of power are common, but even so, seeing such death in the Command Centre was a rare thing.

With this mask, who I was before must be stripped away. I must disregard all weakness, all doubts, all fears. “I must be stone,” I whisper as I try to seal away my heart.

“I will introduce myself,” I take a small bow. I choose who I will be. “My name is Hannibal, and by right of strength, I have claimed this army and the fleet above as my own.” Not necessarily true, I did just appear from nowhere and cut General Orno down. “This is not a rare occurrence for you, as I know. Likely Orno got his position by executing his superior officer also.” I receive a few nods that confirm my suspicions. “Because of this, I have a question for you all. Why do we fight?” I ask them. “Why is it that each and every one of us bleeds for the Universal Collective? Why do we give so much?”

“Is it because we fight for Democracy? For the right of all the peoples to be free, not just the rich and wealthy? Or, is it deeper than that? What drives you to fight?” I look at them all, heads had bowed, all had begun to think over what their reason for fighting in this war was, all whilst our lines crumbled. But, I need them now. Not in a month when they trust me. Now. Or else we’re all doomed.

A tear sounds above us as the battle draws closer. The Command Centre shakes violently. I hesitate.

“When I was younger, all I ever wanted was to do my father proud, to live up to the name I had been born with. I wanted to honour my family, to protect them, too.” I allow a small, hollow laugh to emerge from my lips. “I used to fantasise about fighting with huge Armadas with my brother. How we would stand side by side, united against our common enemy. How, we would be heroes, how we would bring victory where others brought defeat…”

“This war took my brother from me, stole his life. Stole my dream.” Their eyes are rooted on me now, relating my pain with their own. The friends that they had watched die, the family members they had lost, or who they had left behind. All of them thought that I was speaking of how the Imperium had stolen my brother, not a soul here but me knew that I was speaking of their own cruelty.

“That is why I fight, to bring about an age where my brother won’t die at the age of thirteen, to make a Universe where peace is eternal, where all men and women are free to do as they will. I need you now, I need you tomorrow, and I need you in ten years from now. Together, we can stand against our common enemy, and we can win.”

There were no cheers, no outbursts of loyalty. Sombre nods greet my plea for aid, nobody speaks. They turn away, ready and willing to fight to the end.

“General, what do you need?” Calvins asks, his voice like shattered glass.

Time, and maybe a miracle. “To know how many on the right wing survived.” Myron, Monika. Please. “Find it out, and when you know, report to me.” He nods and I hear him run down to communications.

I click my fingers and the screens come to life before me. An overview of our army, an topographical map of the terrain, the enemy’s formation, individual units and casualties also. Everything I need to form some cohesive plan.

We don’t have enough. I feel the fear welling in me as I realise everyone here relies on me.

The left wing had all but fallen, the right wing was damned and drowned beneath an avalanche I caused. This battle cannot be won. I see that winning this battle would be unlikely, that it had already progressed to the final stage.

Change the paradigm.

Calvins taps my arm. “Commandant Eleusis is unaccounted for, Lieutenant-Commandant Myron survived and is gathering the remaining Frames and we cannot make contact with Lieutenant Monika, she is likely dead. Three thousand Frames survived. All infantry units were destroyed in the avalanche.” He salutes, and stands to the side, his rifle gripped in his hands. My stomach sinks as I realise that I had caused her death, Monika would never rise to greatness as she had planned, that she would never return to her home, never tell her father and mother that she loved them.

I subdue the sorrow that sweeps through my chest. I blink the tears away and lean forward. A new determination sparks like flint within me. For your memory, Monika. I will avenge you.

“Have the right-wing retreat to the final Trench, deploy all reserves to that flank under command of…” I glance at the roster of men who were now my subordinates. “Commandant Galvian Morne, he is to take command of the entirety of the right flank and is to hold at all costs.” I drum my fingers against the railing, my mind races. Every possible solution opening upn before my eyes.

In this world, I am its God. I will do this. I will succeed.

If only those heavy infantry units were still alive on the right flank. I grimace. My ploy to eradicate a large portion of the imperium’s forces had worked, yet at great cost to my own soldiers.

“Get me Lieutenant Myron,” I order, a moment later a signal was connected and his face appears on screen. His eyes are narrowed as he strives to see forward, flashes of purple and orange beam against his face as plasma bolts and missiles are fired by the remnants of both sides. On the screen before me, I see that the survivors from my unit had linked with Myron’s. A visual appeared. A Frame advances under fire as its pilot tries to save two comrades buried beneath snow. There is a burst of flame from the right arm, and a second from the cockpit a moment later. Plasma bolts decimate the Frame, and then the other two explode into flames and shrapnel as well.

So much death, and all for nothing.

Seventeen soldiers die beneath the snow while I watch Myron. They scream, trying desperately to free themselves or their comrades before death’s cold hands grip them by the throats as he tears them into the underworld.

“Lieutenant Myron,” I speak, and his gaze locks with the screen for merely a moment. Yet, then he turns away and cries into a different channel.

“Monika! Can you hear me? Monika?” I watch as my friend bashed at his screen, cursing and begging for our friend to answer. If he found her channel, then she could be alive, but… She could also be buried beneath a thicket of snow, losing breath and dying.

“Lieutenant Myron!” I roar. He ignores me, merely leaning back against his chair. A pained look crosses his face.

“You’re not General Orno,” He stated. Dumbfounded by the death that had happened so quickly.

“No,” I continue, “I’m the person who’s going to lead you to victory.” I try to believe my own bravado, but it is difficult when I could see the casualties mounting around me, I see entire squads were being gunned down in seconds by the Imperium’s soldiers.

“With Commandant Vixiua dead, you are now in command of his forces. Firstly, you will –“

“Myron!” A crackled voice comes through the communication, Myron’s eyes immediately turns away from my orders and to Monika’s comm. A breath wavers as it leaves me. Monika is alive. She won’t die, not yet.

But both of them will die, all of them, if I do not figure out a way to save us from this.

We had the high ground, we had the numbers, still. They had the technology, the determination, the breeding. Everything. The men and women that I was pitted against have been trained from birth to be soldiers, I would know, I was trained with them. I knew their strengths… and I knew their weaknesses.

The idea hit me like a punch to the stomach. I felt the breath leave my body as I knew what I would have to do.

“Myron,” I interrupt his reunion, “take a thousand Frames, head straight for the city of Ravnall. We broke the right flank of the Imperium, we have a clear path straight to the city. When you reach Ravnall, storm to the Palace and demand the surrender of the entire planet or you will bring about the death of the entire city.” He looked at me in confusion, and then in anger.

“Whoever the hell you are, are you an idiot? We’re in the middle of a battle! We can’t just leave!”

“We’re in the middle of a battle we can’t win. Our only chance is to get the surrender of all Imperial soldiers here.” He opened his mouth to argue against my point, but I raise my hand, silencing him. “Lieutenant Monika, you will work beside Morne to command the two thousand remaining Frames. You will-“

“Smash into the flanks of the Imperium’s Forces attacking our centre. Rout them, kill them, then reorganise the soldiers so we can beat the Imperium’s dogs from the left flank also.” Her face appears on the screen, a ruddy grin splitting her face, pleased to feel like we would make some progress.

I nod, a small smile beneath my mask. “Very good, Lieutenant. But, interrupt me again, and I’ll have you imprisoned.” She nods, the communication ends.

Myron’s eyes linger on my mask. I can see the gears work beneath his head, see how his mind processes everything I had commanded and whether or not he would do it. He must, it is our only hope and chance to win this damned battle. Please, Myron, succeed in this.

He nods to me, and I release a sigh of relief. “Very good, all officers, to your stations, keep your units organised and everyone in coherent formations. We have jobs to do, see them done. Onward, to victory.”