"Anyone can deal with victory. Only the mighty can bear defeat."

- Adolf Hitler.

7/5 2035.

Göringstadt, Reichs Kolonie.

The sirens were sounding. Those damn sirens built just a few months ago. All frontier colonies had them. To signal incoming attacks. There were regular drills of course, but this was not a drill. One of the science vessels that had been deployed to open the relay had hurried itself back to the colony. The warning it brought with it had been spread far and wide.

'We are under attack. Prepare defensive positions.'

That was backed up by official instructions from the fifth fleet. The colony would have to defend itself for at least 2-3 days. This frontier colony, barely 3 years old, was to hold the line from an Alien race, hellbent on fighting the Reich. This colony had next to nothing in the form of actual defenses. It's garrison was small, barely over 3000 able-bodied and equipped soldiers. A far cry from the large garrisons and giant Surface-to-space missiles found on the crown jewel of interstellar Reich, Neue Germina, with its main city, Hitlerstadt.

Stefan Lechner so often thought of home, the beautiful city of Baden-Baden in Württemberg. This colony was nothing like that. It was more like something from Asia, with rainforests and lush fields. No mountains in the background.

He was an officer, actually the rank was Unterfeldwebel. In the Americas, that would go for staff sergeant. Sent here after finishing his training, and sent to train and lead a small band of volunteers. His men included different nationalities. He had been excited at first… but now? Now he wished he had been stationed in northern Norway or on the outskirts of RK Moskowien, anywhere but here.

The air in the barracks' HQ was too hot for his liking. His superior officer sat at the desk, writing up something on a notepad. Stefan stood at attention, before he dared to utter a word.

"Orders sir?" Stefan asked Major Günzburg. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, he felt very unsure at what would happen next.

"Admiral Schütz has ordered us to get ready. We have no intel on these aliens, other than they possibly have very advanced technology. We don't know their numbers, their tactics, their morale… Nothing. I want you to start preparing the men. We'll be on our own for a while…" Major Günzburg replied, his voice was heavy. He had never expected to experience this in his lifetime, yet here they were. At the edge of history.

"If I may, sir?" Stefan requested.

"Go ahead Unterfeldwebel." The major granted, which was unlike him, but these were not exactly ideal terms to work on.

"We have no Panzers, no air support, no shuttles. We only have trucks and old APCs, which are as prone to breaking down as they are driving. How are we supposed to hold off an enemy force?"

"We aren't facing them head on, Unterfeldwebel. That would be foolish. Generalfeldmarshall Kürger has already relayed possible strategies for us to employ. We're going for the hill, but not before giving them a few surprises when they land. Here-" The Major handed Stefan some papers. "These are the orders. Set up traps, evacuate the civilians from the main city, and make sure the old trenches are still working properly, they don't need to hold up for long, just enough to give these alien bastards a taste of German steel."

"Jawohl!" Stefan gave a salute.

"And Unterfeldwebel?" Stefan's eyes jumped back to the Major. "I'm counting on you here. If we are to survive, we have to work together." The Major said.

"I understand." Stefan quickly replied.

"Sieg heil."

"Heil Germania!"

"I want forward positions and mines laid out on the main roads. There's not a chance in hell we'll be facing these aliens head on, but we can surprise them. Our AA batteries and radar are already working overtime in trying to take down as many landing shuttles as we can. You have a brief window here Unterfeldwebel, once our shields go down orbital bombardment will blow anyone not in their trenches. Don't fail us here Stefan." The Major gave Stefan's squad the orders through radio transmission.

"Plant and retreat. Simple as pie." John Walker adjusted his last magazine on his belt. He was their main gunner of the group. A bit trigger happy, but able to keep his head cool under pressure.

"Orders then, Sir?" Günther asked as he clipped his helmet on.

"Only hold out as long as you can. If the numbers we estimated are correct, we will be dealing with a huge invasion force. Once we get overrun, we will run for the hills, and start a campaign of harassment, try and annoy these aliens as much as possible until reinforcement shows up. Understood?" Stefan said. He would be lying if he said his hands weren't shaking like hell. He had never seen war before.

"Jawohl!" Could be heard in almost perfect union by the troops under his command. 48 soldiers, all hailing from different countries. In fact, Stefan and Günther were the only Germans in his platoon.

They worked through the night, readying themselves for the incoming onslaught. They dug trenches, defensive positions and made countless traps. This entire plan was based on a hit and run. Which was very unusual for German tactics, the Oberkommando was probably shaking their heads at this. Stefan's only hope was that reinforcements could show up before the Aliens got a good grip on the colony.

The night's sky gave no room for optimism. All the men knew what would happen. They hadn't been stationed here because they were skilled, or because they were meant to hold it. They were just here to showcase the Reich's population that the outer colonies were, in fact, protected.

The shield wasn't holding up, it was never meant to hold up. They could see the shield was failing fast. The amount of punishment it had to hold up to was staggering. Sometime around 4 am in the morning, the shield finally came down. Hellfire rained down on them, nonstop orbital bombardment, from a massive fleet. All of the volunteers were shook to their very core by the brutality of the bombing runs.

Neither city nor military installations were safe. All of it was bombed, quite clearly to make way for Alien ground forces. It was so textbook: soften up the enemy, then come in and sweep up the remaining forces. Stefan could only hope the civilians had listened to the official instruction about evacuating the main city. Otherwise… Well, the relief force would be digging out corpses when they finally got here.

"You see anything yet?" Stefan asked the radioman. The poor private almost jumped out of his skin, he must have been awake for close to 36 hours. Stefan hadn't gotten too much sleep either, none of them had. The waiting game was the worst part of a soldiers' life. Knowing that the enemy would storm them at any moment, but never knowing when.

"No sir, it's been quiet for an hour or so. Maybe they wish to starve us out instead?" The private suggested. If this had been in the normal Wehrmacht, the private would have faced disciplinary action for speaking without permission. But this ragtag union of different nationalities with little to no organization.

"Alright. Alert me right away if anything happens." Stefan ordered. The private nodded before he turned his eyes back to the screen. Stefan did another inspection of the defenses. They had done as much as they could given the time limits they had to operate with. The first casualties had already been counted or at least estimated, about 500 men had already been killed. They never even had a chance to fight the aliens… They had been killed by some alien fuck, sitting in his spaceship with his feet kicked up.

A lot of soldiers had already been injured. A minute didn't go by where medics weren't rushing wounded soldiers back to camp. Where another soldier discovered an arm, or a leg, lost by their comrade in the mud. This was madness, pure madness. Why couldn't the aliens just have entered a dialogue with the Reich?

As Stefan was making his way to the final trench, the one on the very outskirts, a call came over the comms.

"THEY'RE COMING! THE ALIENS ARE COMING!" The call wasn't just directed at him, it went out all over everyone's comms. Before Stefan could make his way back, he saw the sky filled with smaller ships. All of them inbound.

"Fuck…" he muttered under his breath. "EVERYONE, BATTLESTATIONS. It's now or never." adrenaline rushed through everyone's veins, the bombing had stopped. Now came the real enemy. Bitter hatred had developed over the last 24 hours for this new enemy. The AA stations, at least those not destroyed during the bombing, began firing blindly into the sky.

Only a few shuttles were shot down, but every one mattered. The men readied their heavy machine guns, and anti-tank rockets into their rocket launchers. They had no idea if they would be effective or not, but it was all they had.

During all this chaos, Stefan had found refuge in one of the most forward trenches. There, he sat alongside the men under his command. Awaiting the doors to open. And open they did. Alien after alien swarmed out.

"OPEN FIRE!" Stefan ordered, echoed by the orders from the major.

Soon enough… Even the aliens would understand pain in its purest form. They fell like flies, they walked straight into the fire from the volunteers, it was like watching Normandy on repeat, where the Americans had failed to storm the beaches. When one turret overheated, they held off the aliens with small arms fire until they could return with heavy fire.

The ground was soaked in Alien blood after 20 minutes of nonstop fire. There wasn't enough ammunition to keep this up, and not to mention that the aliens never stopped coming. More and more shuttles came to drop off fresh meat for the grinders. With all these things considered, the odds were stacked against them. Stefan got orders from the Major.

"Retreat."

"Everyone, retreat!" Stefan echoed what he had heard the major said. One of the other platoons was ordered to protect the rear as the majority ran for the hills. As Stefan looked back, the aliens overran the last platoon, they moved so fast. How were they to ever stand up to such an enemy? An enemy who had probably been in space longer than they had, an enemy who had probably fought a war in space before… How were they to survive?

Lieutenant Herus Surion walked with sergeant Maxtus Velinis through the killing fields. They were counting the dead, of which there were many. Maxtus was holding a hand counter device, his finger was getting numb from the countless times he had to click on it.

"Savages. Clearly this is a race still early in their space adventures. Can't believe we lost so many." Maxtus remarked. He wanted nothing more to burn this place to ground. 300 Turians had lost their life in this first push, and they hadn't even destroyed the enemy yet.

"It's far from over. The garrison managed to escape. We'll continue the bombing. These brave Turians gave their life for the Hierarchy." Herus replied as he walked along. The medics were on the scene, ready to extract any Turian still able to be saved.

"We'll get them. I suspect we have gotten the main force. Any reinforcement would be several days away, by that time we'll have most of the 8th fleet here." Maxtus said as he found another breathing Turian, barely alive. "Medic, over here!" He called. The medic ran there as fast as he could.

"Did we capture any prisoners?" Herus asked as he began to read the full report of the battle.

"Yes, about two dozen. We have been able to adjust our translator, so we can speak with them. This Salarian technology is amazing." Maxtus answered as he looked to see how many more they were missing to count. Not too many it would seem.

"Good, then we can start gathering intel. Some of them must know something. We are not dealing with idiots here, we should keep that i-" A beep on Herus' omni tool pulled him out of his thoughts. "We have to report back to the major. We'll get new orders." Herus said.

They began walking back. Herus gave the order to begin bagging up the dead. They would be shipped back to their families soon enough. It was a shame, this would not go down well for General Coslio Ramidas, the Hierarchy usually wouldn't look favorably upon bad tactics.

"What about the city?" Maxius asked, he hadn't seen the settlement yet.

"It's in ruins, mostly." Herus replied as they walked along.

"And the population?" Maxius was generally curious. He knew the bombing had been ruthless.

"We only found a few corpses there. We assume they have been evacuated. Not much left for them to find. We aren't sure if they've gotten off the planet, or if they ran to the forests." Herus explained. The few corpses they had found had probably refused to leave their home, and paid dearly for it.

Full occupation would begin, and once reinforcement came along, they could start focusing on whatever their enemy could throw at them. The Hierarchy had yet to lose a war, and they weren't about to start now. They would win this, regardless of cost.

13/5 2035.

The forests outside Göringstadt.

Stefan was so, so tired. He had fought like hell for the past six days. Whenever he wasn't ambushing the aliens, he was listening in on the one radio that could breach the alien jammer. He held out hope, the only hope there was, for the Wehrmacht. He was longing for when the cavalry would swoop in. Luftwaffe fighters in the air, Kriegsmarine in space and jackboots on the ground. Yet every hour that passed had only served to grow his fears for the inevitable offensive that would be his last. He couldn't remember the last time he slept a good hour without interruption, and it was not only him running on fumes.

"Another one Sarge." Walker came in with a briefing report. "24 by the old bridge nearing our camp, I think they might be coming onto us."

"Are they armed?"

"Do tigers have teeth?"

"Alright then, you and 5 others go and set up the ambush. They still haven't mapped this part out yet, so they're going in blind."

"Jawohl..." Walker said as he gave a salute.

As Walker exited out the small makeshift hovel they had dug out for themselves Stefan looked at the dirty and disheveled remains of his uniform. If he were back home, his father would have spit on the image in front of him. But war does this to a man, that much he had managed to learn in these short yet painful few days.

Now was not the time for recollection however. This was a guerilla campaign, it's where you can't give away where you are. This was probably the same way the enemy of the Reich in Afghanistan had fought their war. The Irony was not lost.

"Sir!" A private came running up to Stefan, clearly out of breath. Stefan recognized it as one of the scouts he had send out earlier that day to keep an eye on the city.

"What's up Gallo?" Stefan asked as he rubbed his temples.

"Something is going on in the city. A shuttle came, and it seems that a high ranking alien was with it! He is still there!" Gallo informed him, as he tried to catch his breath. "I ran as fast as I could once I saw it."

"Good man. Are you certain it's a high ranking alien?" Stefan asked, he had to be sure if he were to send somewhere there.

"All of them saluted him. Even the majors. He must be a general, or something." Gallo was certain of it. Stefan could see as much. He thought about it for a while, it would be a risk going that close to the city, but then again….

"Soanescu?" Stefan asked.

"Yes sir?" Soanescu asked as he stood up.

"Are you still the best sniper in all of Romania?" Stefan asked.

"Sure is." Soanescu replied with a slight chuckle as he padded his sniper rifle.

"We'll go together. I'll be your spotter." Stefan ordered. Soanescu nodded to show he understood. "If I don't return, Günther will be the new CO." Stefan announced to his ragtag group of soldiers. All of them understood, but they were indeed sad by the thought. Regardless of all that had happened, Stefan had kept them safe.

Günther shook Stefan's hand, a show of respect. They all knew this could be important. That general had probably been the mastermind behind this attack, and they had the opportunity to make him pay for it. Both Stefan and Soanescu bid them all farewell. This was high risk, but high reward.

They set out and moved west through the thick forest. They moved fast, as it was still early morning. The sun was burning, and they didn't know how long the General was to be on the planet. Soanescu was a skilled sniper, Stefan had seen it. But he wasn't sure if it was enough for this. They couldn't get too close to the city, lest they be spotted by alien soldiers. They had mapped out the routine of the soldiers, but would it really be enough?

Stefan's thoughts ran wild. He had already been taught that the good of the Reich came before him. If killing this general would help the Reich in retaking the colony, then it could only be a good thing, even if it becomes the death of him. Soanescu tried to strike up a conversation a few times, but Stefan wasn't in the mood. He was focused on the task at hand.

A good hour after leaving camp, they came to the edge of the forest, to a hill that overlooked the main city of the colony. Soanescu began setting up the sniper rifle. Stefan checked the direction of the wind, how fast it was and how far it was between their position and the city. They readied themselves for extensive waiting, that was the rule of the game.

Soanescu understood hunting. He learned how to fire a rifle before he learned how to walk. At this point, he was their best bet for landing a clean shot on the General. Then it was just a matter of getting out of there alive, which was less than likely. But perhaps they would be remembered more fondly, maybe even martyrs.

They waited for a long time, regularly recaluting the wind data, and the distance to different waypoints. Stefan wasn't that used to this waiting game, and he could feel himself getting restless. Soanescu was calm as a cucumber. He was in his zone.

Stefan was taking a bite to eat, he knew their rations were running out. Just as he struck his teeth into the sandwich he had made, he spotted a shuttle coming down. It looked well armored, and was probably carrying someone important. Stefan zero'ed in on the shuttle, and waited for the doors to open to confirm the target. He was tapping his fingers on the binoculars.

Out came what could be only described as a high ranking alien. His armor was much more refined than that of the common soldier, or even the officers they had seen. Stefan saw what Gallo had meant. Everyone saluted the alien.

"Possible target. one o'clock." Stefan said.

"I see him…" Soanescu remarked as he trained his sights on him. "Permission to take the shot?" Soanescu asked.

"Yes. Take the shot. End this bastard." Stefan ordered.

"Copy that." Soanescu once again zoned out. His breathing ceased as he lined up the shot. There was about one kilometer away, Stefan would never been able to make such a shot. A few seconds went by before Soanescu took the shot. Even Stefan held his breath as they waited for the shot to land. It took some time, but finally, both of them were treated to the glorious sight of the General's brain splattering all over the shuttle. His lifeless body fell to the ground.

"Confirmed kill!" Stefan cheered. He felt relieved. They had done it. But the heat came soon thereafter. The aliens soon understood where the shot had come from, and they unloaded their own guns on that hill. "Time to go!" Stefan ordered.

"Seems so." Soanescu remarked as he holstered his sniper rifle on his back. And then they bolted, they ran like hell through the forest from where they had come. It was a long way back to camp, but a thought dawned on Stefan. They might very well lead the aliens to their camp.

"You keep running-..." Stefan said as he caught his breath. "I'll run the other way, make sure they don't follow us." Stefan remarked. He could hear the voices of the aliens in the background.

"Are you sure sir?" Soanescu asked concerned.

"YES! Just go!" Stefan pushed Soanescu ahead, and looked back at the aliens, fumbling around the forest. Soanescu nodded, and began running back to camp. Stefan readied his assault rifle and began running in a different direction. He knew these woods better than the aliens.

He made a few kills by firing in the general direction of the aliens as he kept running. He led them into a few traps, which only served to anger his pursuers even more. They were still after him, they weren't giving up, and it made Stefan feel even more hopeless. What would happen if they captured him? No, they would never capture him, at least not alive. His grenade would ensure that.

It only became more hopeless as a stray bullet hit his leg. His legs gave out under him, and before he knew it, he was on the ground. He tried to crawl, but it was not going to cut it. He positioned himself by a tree. He never stopped firing his rifle, even as they came closer. He would be damned if his father would be told his son died a coward's death, or that his son allowed himself to be captured.

Stefan pulled the pin out of the grenade, and would let fate do the rest…