This was the first time I had ever used my spare helmet. No one had ever wanted to ride pillion on my bike before. Now Mia’s arms clung to my body as we cruised over the harbour bridge. It was the perfect day for Mia to experience Auckland for the first time and I had been stricken by how beautiful Mia looked in the real world when first saw her outside the hotel. She had all the same attributes. Her figure, the athletic physique, and unblemished skin. The smile was also the same, stretching from cheek to cheek. I could only imagine the things she had seen and done, both in the real life and in The Dream, but the smile was one of the purest things I had ever seen and it was unwavering.

As if the world was coming together to show Mia what a slice of paradise New Zeland could be, the clouds parted just as we were crossing the bridge, the sun came out in full force and the harbours waters shimmered. The air was so clear that we could see Mount Rangitoto standing tall in the distance and make out the rocky peak. A visit was on my list of things to show Mia, but not today. Today we were doing a tour of some of my favourite places, and it started with a nice ride up the coast then across through the countryside for a late lunch at a café up in the Waitakere Ranges. I just really hoped Mia was the kind of girl that liked mussel fritters and hours on a motorbike.

Mia soaked it all up with nothing but an even bigger smile as she pressed herself against my back. She even smiled as, in keeping with Auckland's weather patterns, the clouds rolled in and the heavens roared with less than a few minutes warning. It created a perfect excuse, and we rounded out the evening by pulling our soaked clothing free from our bodies to warm up in her hotel room.

When we fell asleep in the hotel's king-sized bed and entered The Dream, we were in much the same position. Only this time it was a small single bed and alarm sirens were blaring.

It’s a strange thing, going from asleep to combat-ready in a matter of nanoseconds. It’s kind of like waking up and realising you’re late for work. Only a million times more exhilarating. Your bloodstream fills with adrenaline so quickly that I wouldn't be surprised if my pupils dilated.

Mia and I didn’t discuss anything, we didn’t look at each other to ask what was going on. I rolled out of the bed while Mia jumped over me. I pulled on my armored pants without bothering to put on underwear first. Then my armored shirt and new vest came on as one, followed by my belt and weapons. By the time I was finished, Mia was dressed and waiting by the door.

“Downstairs?” I asked, Slamming a fresh magazine into my rifle and stashed it on my back. I grabbed the full bag of grenades that slid into the belt clip.

“My room first, need my spare gear.”

We took off down the hall as I scanned the surrounding floors of the guildhall, checking that it was clear. Mia grabbed her spear, rifle, and vest before we bolted for the staircase. We weren’t sure what was happening, but sirens were never a good sign. Clearly, we had missed something while away from The Dream. The Grey scarred company hall was occupied only by a few people still entering from the real world, rushing from their dorm rooms with weapons in hand in a search for what the hell was going on.

“Erick, maybe you should call Jack?” Mia shouted over the sirens blare, looking at me like I should have done it before. I was about to argue that she could have done it herself, before realising that now wasn’t the time for jokes or arguing. I opened my scanner and began dialing.

“Jack, what’s going on?!” I yelled.

“Erick! You’re here. Is Mia with you?”

“Yes! We’re both here. What's going on?!”

“We have incoming on the western side of the mountain, a full army is moving in from the plains and they will be here in a couple of hours, maybe less!” Jack said. In the background, I could hear boots stomping on the ground, by the hundreds.

“Well, where the fuck do we need to be?” I asked.

“I’m sending you coordinates now, They set up an armory tent on the western lawn. You might want to swing past and grab some extra ammo and gear. Mia should know what you need.” The line went dead and I pulled Mia down the stairs and out the front doors.

We sprinted between the buildings, dark anticipation rising. Simple fights were my bread and butter. Put me up against an individual opponent and I was good to go, hell even two, three, maybe four. The idea of a large scale battle, of two even armies clashing head to head, gave me the chills.

As Jack had said, the western lawn now had a canvas tent erected in its center. Tables beside stacks of crates all marked for ammunition. As we approached, we were greeted with a nod by a long-limbed alien. A Nestrotar as I had learned after witnessing the duel with Daron and his brother.

“Company or guild?”

“Um, Grey scarred.”

“You’re in sector two. Right in the thick of it. Good job. You need ammunition?”

“Um… sure. I need, two-inch Carbon UTR’s with a hard or nanite point if you have them,”

“We have a load of everything,” he reached a long arm behind him and pulled a sack from one of the crates. “More magazines? What does it take, six point two standards?” I nodded and he pulled a stack of five magazines from a different crate, dropping them on the table between us.

“You need anything?” I asked Mia,

“Nope. I’m all set. Never leave home without being prepared for a war?” She winked, patting her bulging vest pockets.

“Okay. Let's go to war then,” I said with a shrug.

The line ran for three miles around the contour of the mountain top in the form of shallow fox holes, each holding a team. I had seen enough war movies to know that these holes would be the graves for most of the soldiers. Near the center of the line were the humans of the Grey Scarred company, made obvious by a flag emblazoned with the large [GSC].

Fighters ran back and forth along the lines, some hauling weapons and ammo, others rushing to their correct stations or carrying out orders. Just who was giving the orders, I couldn’t tell. There were no officers in the Company, at least not among those of us on Nerion, and I couldn’t see anyone standing around coordinating others.

The dirt had been churned into a thick mud by the constant stomping of heavily ladened boots, and after trudging through it for almost a mile we finally found Jack, Sam and Keg, bathing in the muddy bottom of the fox hole. Moist earth caked their armoured pants and back so much that it was hard to tell where their bodies ended and the muck began.

“This looks warm and cozy,” I mocked.

“Oh it is, have you seen the kitchen?” Keg waved an arm at an auto cooker the size of a coffee mug, steam fluttering from a stew within. “Or the lounge?” He motioned to a cut in the holes back wall where they sat.

“About time you two got here, Late night?” Jack asked

“Not all of us go to bed at six-thirty in the evening you old fuck,” I said, sliding into the hole, mud splattering my pants.

“Whatever, that beauty sleep is how I look so good." Jack said, "It's good to have you, though. Keg, stop fucking with your breakfast and keep up,” Jack barked. Keg grumbled, passing Sam the auto cooker.

“Jack. What the fuck are we doing here?”

“Battles coming, We got the orders an hour ago,” Jack said with a raised eyebrow.

“Who’s giving the orders by the way?” I asked, taking the auto cooker from Sam and spooning stew into my mouth before passing it over to Mia, she hated missing meals.

“Our orders, they’re coming from the Vice-chancellor. He and a few of the higher-ups are back at the campus coordinating the defense,” Jack said.

“That fuck wit. Why aren’t they down here in the mud?” I complained.

“Always the Civie.” Jack muttered. “That’s not really the point in the campus wars is it. You can rest assured they’re watching though,” he said, pointing up. I could feel a drone as it drifted over our heads. “They have been going back and forth all morning,” Jack informed us.

I signed. Always with the tests. “What kind of fight are we looking at?”

“The worst sort,” Keg mumbled, Jack just nodded as he pulled his own drones from a pocket and sent them out to scout the area.

“Seriously. Can someone tell me what we’re expecting?” I asked. They all seemed to forget that I wasn’t trained for this sort of situation.

“Kegs right, the worst sort,” Mia said, between the last spoonful of stew. My stomach grumbled as she visibly swallowed. “Judging by the terrain and the fact that we’re digging in. We will be sitting here for hours, while we get shot at and blown up. All while trying to do the same to whoever is coming up that hill.”

“Why don’t they just drop in with shuttles rather than trying to push a fortified position like this. It seems like a suicide mission,” I pointed out.

“Anti-air on all the rooftops. Best guess is that there are more of them than there are of us. Expect to be taking a heavy shelling as well. They will try to turn their approach into swiss cheese, to create defilade. Then they will advance from cover to cover. At least that’s what I would do,” Jack said with a shrug.

“Defilade?” I asked. I was sure Jack had told me this before, either I didn’t listen properly or it hadn’t stuck.

“Fuck, you’re an idiot. Something blocking our line of sight. They will use the craters from their shells to hide,” Jack said, still not looking up from his scanner's screen as he sorted the drone feeds.

“Thanks, Professor, I got that bit,” I looked to Mia for some shred of sympathy, “I just didn’t know what defilade was…” All I got in response was a soft pat on the arm.

I pulled the rifle from my back and began converting it from the black metal box. Setting the sight to two hundred meters. With the number of trees around us, it was unlikely I would see anyone further than that. With the rifle cradled lovingly in my arms, I sat back against kegs ‘couch’ in the back wall of the hole. My eyes only just scanning past the edge of the hole and down into the valley below. Then we waited. Eventually, the entire line turned silent except for murmurs of conversation and the occasional hurried patter of boots.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, its rays beat down on the mud, turning it to a crusted layer of brown icing over the ground and our clothes. I began to sweat, my back feeling damp where it pressed against the wall. I would have removed a layer except for the nagging voice in my mind that reminded me we could be attacked at any moment. I didn’t want to get caught in the middle of getting changed. So I suffered through the increasing warmth and humidity that was my body. My eyes scanning the treeline just like everyone else.

It wasn’t peeping faces or stray bullets that sparked the start of the fighting. Jack was right, we were in for a heavy shelling. Two hours into the wait, and the silence was ripped apart by a screeching, whining whistle. It was the only indication before the hillside in front of us exploded into a shower of dirt and fire.

“Heads down. More incoming,” Jack barked and I was pulled from our little seat and down into the bottom of the hole by Mia, She copied the others in covering her head and crouching down.

Dirt showered over us as the ground violently shook. “If we're all hiding in this hole, What happens if a mortar lands right in it?!!” I yelled over the roar.

“Then We’re all fucked!!” Keg screamed back with a laugh. His face was split into an excited grin that only seemed to grow with every explosion. “This is more like it!”

We all jumped as a tattered body slammed into our heads when the fox hole beside us exploded. Misted blood blew over us, staining our skin a sickening red. I grabbed the now dead man by his only remaining limb and pulled him off of Mia and Sam. Grunting, I tossed his body up over the wall of our hole. While my head cleared the edge I was momentarily stunned by what I saw.

“Ah guys, we have a problem!” I yelled, ducking my head back behind cover.

The others blinked at me, then all together they grabbed their weapons and peaked down the hillside, right down at the towering, raging, violent wall of flame that was burning up everything in its path as it advanced steadily towards us. “Fucking elemental augments!” I swore.