The floor dropped out. For a second, there was the stomach-flipping void of space, then the violent shudder of the atmosphere hitting the heat shield. Outside, the sky of Klendathu was a bruised purple, filled with the streaks of a thousand falling stars—each one a soldier.

Johnny didn't look up. "Maintenance is the difference between a jump and a burial, Sarge."

"Keep your intervals!" Johnny shouted into the comms, his voice steady. He wasn't the scared kid from the history classes anymore. He was a piece of the Federation's shield. He squeezed the trigger, and as the first wave of Arachnids burst through the crust, he realized that while the universe was vast and terrifying, as long as the Infantry held the line, humanity had a home.

The humid air of the base camp smelled like ozone and recycled sweat—the permanent perfume of the Mobile Infantry. Johnny Rico sat on his bunk, methodically cleaning the hydraulic joints of his powered suit. Around him, the barracks of the Rodger Young hummed with the nervous energy of soldiers who knew they’d be dropping onto a hostile rock in less than six hours.

He hit the ground at terminal velocity, his retro-rockets firing a micro-second before impact. The pod shattered. Johnny leaped out, his flamethrower clearing a circle of scorched earth before his boots even settled.

Johnny stepped into the suit, the neuro-mechanical interface stinging as it synced with his nervous system. Suddenly, he wasn't just a man; he was a steel-clad titan, capable of leaping buildings and leveling hills. He felt the familiar weight of the Y-rack on his back, loaded with tactical nukes and jump-jets. "To the capsules!" Zim roared.

The sirens began to wail, a dissonant screech that signaled the "Drop."