Prologue The Yuan family (袁家) was a modest household of three, living in a quiet, rural town on the outskirts of Hou Tu, in Shengtang. Yuan Yue (袁月) was the matriarch of the family. She ran her household with the same lawful discipline that she also observed in her line of work as a security officer. Her husband, Yuan Yun (袁云), was a laid-back farmer with a warm heart, who spent most of his free time indulging their ten-year-old daughter, Yuan Yan (袁燕}). When recruiters from the State Empire arrived in town to conduct a military conscription drive, every household faced a difficult choice. Selected residents could either volunteer for active service to secure higher pay and better family benefits, or enter the blind conscription lottery. Yun’s name on the draft list created tension in the Yuan home. After much persuasion from Yue, who saw active service as a structured path toward financial stability, prestige, and honor for their family, Yun agreed to volunteer. On paper, his deployment would be particularly tough, lasting at least a few years. Besides a hefty bonus for finishing the tour, If he managed to distinguish himself, he could rise up the ranks quickly. Yan objected violently, weeping and throwing tantrums, but the girl ultimately had no say in the decision made by her parents. On the eve of his departure, Yun knelt before his daughter to hug her one last time. He swore he would return home safely to her. In response, Yan pressed a small jade pendant into his palm—her birth gift, carved with the delicate impression of a swallow. She made him swear that he would return it to her when he comes back. Yun placed the precious jade carefully into his breast pocket, hooked his pinky finger around hers, and gave it a soft squeeze, sealing the promise.
1 - Farmer in the Freeze Yun burst out of his burning transport, coughing profusely as the smog choked his lungs. He was lucky. His colleagues behind him, less so. Nine faces he had just learned, but could not tag a name to any of them. All nine burnt to cinders because of a tiny mistake by the pilot. Months of training gone, six feet under. What a waste of life. Yun would grieve if there was time, but the cold was settling in and he had to make his way to the garrison, fast. His encrypted comlog roared. "Welcome to Svalarheima, the eternal meat grinder! You are two hours late thanks to the pilot," the Commander said. Yun checked his map and the Commander wasn't kidding — it would indeed take two hours to reach the intended Drop Zone. This will be a long afternoon, he thought, as he sank his boots into the Svalarheima snow. He spoke into his comlog to report his attendance to the Commander, but the reply was radio silence. He was on his own, and time was running out. That would be the highlight of his adventures for the first week. When he finally made it to the garrison facility, it wasn't as bad as it looked. It was a highly fortified position atop a hill that looked almost safe and inviting. Yun wasn't able to make any lasting friendships, despite surviving every patrol and every guard duty. The firefights he encountered always ended up being brutal. New comrades would report in looking just like he did when he first arrived, and former friends returned home in body bags. Despite the high turnover, Yun was consistently able to engage with the garrison's favourite Medical Officer. "Yisheng Xue Le… please help me…" Yun said, staggering towards her, clutching his throat in a bid to convince her he was truly ailing. "We're totally out of cough medicine. I can't help you," Xue Le said coldly. "Can I have another set of those double-X painkillers?" "Issued a pair to you yesterday. It's on record." "Can I have anything else that isn't on record?" "Tea with me after my shift?" "Deal!" Xue Le was a kind angel who was easy on the eyes. She often played hard to get, but fortunately for Yun, his carefree and humorous attitude often afforded him minor victories, like his little dates with her. "How are your folks doing?" Yun asked, sipping his tea. "I hope they quit Dawn soon. It's too rough for their age." Xue Le took out her data pad and started looking at pictures of her Ma and Pa. "Still working so hard? I thought you already had the medical scholarship." "Nothing wrong with wanting more… even if not for me, but for themselves," Xue Le trailed off as she looked into her empty teacup. Warm and cosy moments like tea with the regimental sweetheart were flipped on their head when duties forced Yun outdoors, where piercing winds, sub-zero temperatures and frequent frostbite often threatened death. He initially struggled to excel in an environment that did him no favours, but his farming experience gave him the edge when it came to matters of the earth. "If we dig here, it will be faster." Yun ran his hands over the soft ground. "Come on, orders are to dig over there. If we don't, we'll miss supper!" his comrades shouted. "Just trust me!" "It's your funeral if you're wrong, Yun!" Most of the time, he wasn't. Within months, his team managed to build a fairly complex tunnel network beneath the garrison, which impressed the Garrison Command. Yun served his country as he would. From the military, he received the training that kept him alive and the compensation promised to him and his family. In return, he brought to his comrades the joys of his own life back at Shentang, in the form of cuisine. "These vegetable balls are amazing! Where did you get the ingredients anyway?" Yun's Lieutenant exclaimed. "I keep a little vegetable farm back at my quarters," Yun said. "It reminds me of home." The Lieutenant looked into his bowl with two vegetable balls and glanced at Yun's empty bowl. He evened things out. "Thanks," Yun raised his bowl. "I can't wait to go home too," the Lieutenant said. Eventually, the Lieutenant went home — a year later, in a body bag. "Oh wow, what is this?" the new Lieutenant asked. "Vegetable balls. Try some," Yun said. "Man, these are amazing! Where did you get the ingredients anyway?" the Lieutenant said. Yun paused, then continued, "I keep a little vegetable farm back at my quarters. It reminds me of home." "Well, I just got here. Home's a long way to go… Hey, do you want your vegetable ball?" The Lieutenant gestured with his chopstick. Yun raised his bowl. It was empty before he noticed. By the end of the second year, Yun transitioned to become a Gudan, a veteran tunnel fighter who knew survival in the cold like the back of his hand. The Commander liked Yun and wanted to promote him to be the next Lieutenant after his predecessor perished in battle, but Yun had other plans. He shared them with Xue Le over more tea at the mess. "So, how did it go?" Xue Le asked. "I was earmarked to be a Lieutenant. But I refused," Yun said. "Why? You are one of the few Gudan not using a Lhost. It is risky…" Xue Le got technical. "Maybe. But this body's the one that's coming home." Yun shrugged it off before she could press further. "I don't know… I feel more alive on the ground, with the other guys. I heard becoming a Lieutenant means hiding at the backlines and kissing more ass. I hate that." "Didn't you volunteer because you wanted to advance up the ranks?" Xue Le asked. "Actually, I did it for the better pay and benefits…" Yun confessed. "What are you going to tell your wife?" Xue Le was curious. "You… don't get to worry about that." Yun laughed wryly. "Let's go!" Xue Le stood up, stretching her arms. "We get to call home tonight. I can't wait!" she said. "Yeah, I can't wait to tell my little girl that Pa will be coming home early!"
2 - Calling Home "Were you harassing your Medical Officer again?" Yue was expecting her husband's calibrated response. "Hey Doc, do you have more of 'those' for me?" Yun asked, leaning backwards as if talking to someone hiding behind. He could see his wife getting closer to the screen, attempting to find the impossible. "Why don't you come over and find out?" Xue Le teased. Yun laughed as Yue returned a surprising amount of unpleasantries, before he quickly changed the subject. "Time flies, Yue, three years and counting..." Yun said as he shifted closer to the screen. "How's preparation for the… uh… Festival of the Phoenix?" "Have you lost track of time? That is still some ways off… It's never the same without you though," Yue said. "Yan misses your vegetable balls." "Of course, it's the best dish in the family!" Yun proudly proclaimed. "Don't forget it was I who taught you how to make them," Yue smirked at her husband's gesture. "Well, I perfected them." A loud yawn made both parents turn to focus on the youngest of the Yuans, dragging her slippers across the floor as she approached the terminal. "Pa… Why do you only call when I'm asleep? Not fair!" Yan appeared next to Yue, eyes half closed. "My dear Little Swallow," Yun greeted his daughter with the widest grin. "So, what about that appraisal?" Yue interrupted. "Well… I was passed over. On the bright side, this means I could be off the hook sooner!" "Yay! So Pa is coming home early?" Yan almost jumped into the screen. Yun carefully took out Yan's jade pendant and dangled it. "Every passing hour, minute, second moves us closer together. We will reunite soon, I promise." He kissed the pendant and placed it back in his pocket. "Pa is coming home, Pa is coming home!" Yan broke into a happy tune. All of a sudden, a deafening code red siren blared through the speakers, drowning out the peace of the Yuan household. "THIS IS NOT A DRILL. ALL PERSONNEL ARE TO ASSEMBLE AT THE PARADE SQUARE IMMEDIATELY. I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL…" "I'm sorry. Pa has to go." Yun last saw the worried faces of his wife and daughter before the monitor went blank.
3 - Gudan vs JOTUM It had been two hours since the break of dawn, but it mattered little. To Yun, the tunnels were lit the same way, regardless of the time. The tremors from the shrieks of artillery fire dripped dust and sand onto the helmets of the soldiers standing by. Then silence filled the tunnels. "Looks like it's boots on the ground," whispered one of the soldiers. Within moments, entire swathes of the battlefield above Yun were covered in blue dots, each marking a Pan Oceanian hostile advancing on the garrison. I've never seen an assault of this scale from the bastards in blue before. Just what were they after exactly? "It is time to go!" the Commander shouted. Yun and his fellow Gudan moved swiftly through the tunnels in disciplined single file, emerging from a camouflaged bunker overlooking the valley that led to the garrison. One of the soldiers ahead of Yun threw a thumbs up, signalling to the Commander that his machine gun was mantled and ready. The Commander stood aside as Yun and his detail rushed down the rugged steps connecting the bunker to the ground and took cover behind some rocks. The blizzard made it particularly difficult to see and to be seen, the perfect opportunity to spring an ambush. A Ye Mao Forward Observer took an extended peek from her position, inspecting the enemy through the veil of white with her Multispectral Visor. "The enemy's back is behind us! Now, Sir?" the Ye Mao Forward Observer asked, feeding visual confirmation to her superior. "Open fire!" the Commander's voice echoed on the encrypted channel. Yun saw the bunker lit up as machine gun fire ploughed through the unsuspecting enemy at the base of the valley. The Ye Mao took off on her jet pack to pursue higher ground. Suddenly, a warhead whizzed over his head, then the bunker he exited from cracked under a massive explosion, flipping its roof over. He traced the smoke trail and spotted not one, but two massive silhouettes emerging from the distance. Their shapes were distinct and angular, resembling huge titans that dwarfed the surrounding trees. "JOTUMS!" the Ye Mao screamed. Heavy machine-gun fire erupted from one of the TAGs, sundering trees and ripping soil. The other JOTUM fired anti-materiel rounds at the bunker, reducing it to rubble. Yun broke cover and sprinted towards another rocky outcrop ahead of him, then slammed face-first into the snow. Damn it! The Commander was still in there! Yun thought as he tried to look for the bunker, but it was gone. He scanned his surroundings quickly and saw several spots of crimson in the snow, bodies badly mauled. Amongst them was the Ye Mao, whose head was missing. Yun knew he survived by sheer luck and moving now would squander it. He lay still to let nature do the work as his body was quickly covered with snow by the blizzard. Just ahead, the whine of the JOTUMs' leg actuators grew louder as the TAGs approached his position. "Come on…" Yun said as he flipped the safety off on his Zapper. The JOTUM's leg paused mid-air, then suddenly retreated. Damn, it spotted me! Snow burst into the air as he broke into a sprint towards his target. Yun smelt the fuel before the air erupted in flames. The massive jet of flame grazed Yun's helmet, but he did not flinch. He aimed and squeezed the trigger. The electromagnetic pulse released from his Zapper slammed into the JOTUM's leg. One by one, its servos locked with piercing metallic shrieks. As the bricked TAG remained still, it tipped forward slowly like a felled tree, and slammed onto the ground with a thunderous crash. There was no time to celebrate. Heavy machine-gun fire erupted, shredding all of Yun's options for immediate cover. Behind the fallen JOTUM, more targeting lasers pierced through the storm, hunting for the exposed Gudan. With nowhere else to run, Yun vanished into the blizzard, trusting the storm to hide him. As he ran, Yun gathered his thoughts and checked his equipment. Zapper on low battery. Pistol still fully loaded. Where's my submachine gun?... Yun checked his helmet's HUD. It showed the enemy moving around him, oblivious to his location concealed by the storm. Yun stopped and checked his navigator for the nearest opening. He wasn't thinking about the enemy anymore, but the numbness creeping through his limbs. If I don't overcome this frostbite, it's over. He struggled as the blizzard intensified. After only a few more steps, he noticed a small hole beside a familiar crooked tree. He smiled. *** Yun's comlog hissed. "-anyone, please respond?!" The voice got louder. Yun opened his eyes. He lifted himself up and checked the time. It had been two hours since the encounter with the JOTUMs. He leaned back against the cave wall and spoke into his comlog. "Gudan Yun reporting. What's the situation?" "Yun, you're still alive? Thank goodness!" "Xue Le, fill me in." Yun got up and unholstered his pistol. "The garrison's been overrun, don't come back…save yourself!" Xue Le's voice trembled. "Hang in there, my angel! I will find you, I promise." "Stop joking, Yun! This isn't the time..." "Who said I was?" Yun disappeared deeper into the tunnel leading towards the garrison.
4 - Hospitaller The main garrison complex no longer had its resplendent green glow. Today it stood burning, the shadow cast by the sun reflecting the fate of its defenders. Within the walls of the main building, a powered armoured Knight of the Hospitaller moved quickly through the ruins, surveying the destruction with the barrelled end of his rifle. The Knight's HUD picked up six readings deeper into the complex. All hostile, none faithful. Let me send you my prayers. The Knight plotted his path with his eyes on the HUD. The first reading: a Yu Jing Zhanshi with a sniper rifle. Shots rang out from the weapon of precision but his effort was compromised by his ineptitude. You are courageous, but futile. The Knight's thoughts turned into action as he placed a bullet in the head of the sniper. As the Knight entered the hallway, he was greeted by supporting fire from a haphazard defence at the end of it. The Knight did not flinch as he advanced, placing faith in his armour. Bullets pelted off his breastplate as he readied his weapon to end the misery of the desperation before him. Three well-placed shots later, three readings from his HUD dimmed. The Knight turned at the end of the hallway, and continued his trek towards the given coordinates. May your souls be accepted in heaven, even if I may not. The Knight was stopped by a sudden explosion just a few feet ahead of him. A damaged Blue Wolf, its legs cleanly cut off, had its back against the wall. The Knight noticed the pilot struggling to get out of the TAG and lunged, drawing his sword and plunging it into the pilot's cockpit. The blade found an opening and its target. The scream from the pilot echoed in the hallway. The Hospitaller removed his blade, now darkened with blood. Only one left. May the Lord... Wait... there is another. The Knight quickened his pace. As he raced through a corridor flanked with multiple rooms, he heard a loud crash coming from one of the rooms at the end. He stopped and sheathed his sword, then brought up his free hand to brace his rifle for maximum accuracy. The Lord gives, the Lord takes. Today I will take your soul on behalf of the Lord. The Hospitaller knew his mission was at an end and moved towards the source of the noise. He turned and saw a Medical Officer sitting on the ground, shivering in fear. The Yu Jing soldier was clearly in shock as she raised her pistol with an extremely shaky hand. You seek to deny your fate, but it is your destiny. The Knight took aim, but the new blip came between them. A Gudan had his pistol raised. Shots cracked from both sides. The Knight felt a sharp sting inside him. His target flipped, blood erupting from his helmet. As the terrible moment passed, the pistol on the Medical Officer dropped as she shifted her attention to cradle a bloodied Gudan soldier, who had fallen in front of her. Lord, give me strength so I may finish my duty! The wounded Knight readied his weapon once more. "Stand down, Knight!" A blonde woman in resplendent blue powered armour stepped into the light, her presence oddly calming yet dreadful at the same time. Her features are soft, like that of a young girl, yet her stature felt much larger than the Knight before her. "Have mercy on those no longer willing to fight!" the woman said. "The Maid's wish is my command." The wounded Knight lowered his weapon. Another Knight caught up with both of them. "God wills it! The job is done. We leave immediately." As the trio left, the wounded Knight turned to face the Medical Officer. "Your new destiny awaits…" his voice trailed as he disappeared down the hallway. *** "My new destiny…" Xue Le looked down at Yun. Recovering from her initial shock, she checked Yun's pulse. It was very weak, but there. Oh Yun, why did you come back? No….NO! It will not end like this! I am still alive now because of him. As his Medical Officer, he will NOT die on MY watch! Xue Le gathered her strength and picked Yun up. As she struggled, something fell out of his pocket: a jade swallow pendant. Xue Le remembered Yun showing it to his daughter each time they called. She picked it up and carefully placed it in her pocket before she dragged her saviour to the Infirmary.
5 - The Agent The Agent watched from above as his own obsidian dropship slowly descended to meet the ground. Fire Teams of Celestial Guards and Zhanshi poured out from their transports to secure the perimeter in synchronized choreography. He surveyed the immediate destruction: banners were torn, bunkers blown. The sensor spines on the back of his Hsien armour clicked and adjusted as he received information from his teams on the ground and in the air. "Sir, our sky sweep confirms it. We don't see anybody moving above ground. Not a single living soul. No transponders calling for help either. The local channels are completely silent. We also see blood and bodies everywhere. Some were burnt to a crisp, probably the work of a flame-" "You can share the details later in your full report. Summarize, please." the Agent said. "Um…There were no visible survivors above ground. Body and wreckage counts estimated in the hundreds." "Thank you." the Agent replied. The enemy's attack was not just brutal; it was thorough. No survivors? What warrants such complete and utter destruction? The Agent input his thoughts into his personal space. "Sir, we have completed the sweep of the underground. The ambush tunnels were surprisingly clean, no signs of fighting at all. No survivors either… Unfortunately the servers in the basement of the garrison are completely destroyed. We noticed signs of tampering." Looks like they also found whatever they were looking for. I will need a brief on those servers... The Agent continued recording his thoughts. Throughout the day, the Agent's comlog had been silent aside from the occasional reporting of further non-survivors. "The data retrieval team have secured all remaining black boxes. We are good to go, Sir." a Zhanying Hacker reported. Maybe it is time to leave. Just as the Agent tapped on his comlog to broadcast his next order, he received a blast of static hiss from his helmet's speakers, followed by the sound of soldiers walking and panting. "Hey, how are we sharing this with the Hsien… oops I meant the Agent? I mean-" "Who is this? You have a report?" the Hsien said. "Gah! Oh, uh… yes, Sir! We have found survivors in the Infirmary. Maybe it's one… or both. But definitely the Yisheng is still alive, operating on dead soldier… No, no. I mean very injured soldier." the soldier stammered. "Thank you." the Agent replied. The Hsien lifted his finger from his comlog and waited. *** The day ended in an uneasy calm as the sun slipped behind the mountains. After thanking the soldiers who found her, Xue Le emerged from the garrison to report to the Hsien. The Hsien spotted her and remained still, waiting for her to report. Xue Le wanted to approach him, but her legs didn't move. She couldn't bring herself to face him. Because she knew she had failed. The Hsien approached her instead. "Save your energy. Report." "Yisheng Xue Le, Sir…" she said. Her eyes were red with tears. "The patient?" he asked. Xue Le shook her head and started sobbing. The Hsien paused, then came closer and placed his gauntlet on her shoulder, before letting it slip away. "Collect the body. You are coming with me." I am sorry, Yun. Xue Le's bloodied gauntlet reached into her pocket and took out the jade pendant with the fine swallow impression. I will find a way to return this to your Little Swallow, I promise…
