Another morning to wake up on this hellhole… The smell of burnt metal, dried blood, and dirt covers every aspect of the senses. “I have been in service for too many years, yet I can't stop….” Eva whispers in her mind. She gasps for air, tasting the dried flavor of metal in her mouth. “What happened?” she murmurs, trying to piece together her fragmented memories. The echoing cry of “IIINCOOOOMIIIIING!” rings in her ears.

“Who am I again?” she questions herself, struggling to recall her identity. Suddenly remembering; SSGT Blackwood, Eva from Bravo Company 1st Cybernetics Combat Division, an enhanced soldier from the U.N.A Special Combat Units, better known as Crimson Scarlet. As Eva becomes aware of her surroundings, she sees nothing but smoke and hears only the persistent ringing in her ears. “What day is it?” she wonders, remembering the Lieutenant’s briefing from hours ago: “The time is 0500 hours on 29 July year 2133, commencing operation.”

Gasping for air, she manages to dry swallow and crawls into a seated position, still unable to see clearly due to the smoke and the weight pressing down on her head. Suddenly, sharp pain courses through her body, accompanied by memories of screams. The realization dawns: they were hit. Yes, it was war, a battle against the Concordia Combat Army. Their mission was to infiltrate a secret laboratory where intelligence suggested a new weapon capable of destroying every single nation at war was being developed. Her team’s task was to take out the artillery camp protecting the lab.

As the blurriness in her eyes began to clear, her mind kept recalling these events. She looks to her left, suddenly feeling a sharp, cold shill rise from her stomach to her chest. There lies PVT Morrison, the new soldier just assigned to the team prior to this mission, now unresponsive, burnt, and disfigured. Eva has seen this scene many times in war. “People die…” she whispers. Lives are always at risk, and people will die at war, yet it never gets any easier. Trying to maintain composure, she gags but holds herself together, repeating, “People die, this is war, people die, this is war, people die, this is war,” stabilizing her emotions.

She looks away and continues to recap. She remembers arriving on-site for the mission, her team of six enhanced cybernetic soldiers preparing for a full-frontal surprise assault on the CCA artillery site protecting the laboratory. “But what happened?” she wonders. “Were we being waited on?” she thinks for a second as it dawns on her, “could it be?” thinking that someone might have leaked the mission, leading to an ambush before they could flank the enemy camp.

“Think, think,” she urges herself, recalling the incoming T92-XC90 Heavy Artillery Round, a small artillery round with minor nuclear properties—a dangerous ammunition round for a direct hit. “That was it!” she realizes. Fear creeps into her mind; this was technically a nuke that hit her team, and the chances of others surviving were slim. “Not again… not again…” she thinks frantically, repeating louder, “This is war… this is war… people die….”