The squad fell out. Soshal came up to Sevs as they were heading back to their bunks. "Are we ready?"

"I think we'll be okay."

"I don't know. What about Doomslayer? He didn't even show up for the briefing."

"I don't know how that man is a sergeant. We'll have to act like he's not there and work around him if he is."

Sevs hoped the man would not show up. From the last couple of months of training with Doomslayer, Sevs had not gotten a good impression of the man. More like his first impression had never been contradicted. The man was a player and treated this like a game. Technically they were all players, but this guy was someone Sevs wouldn't trust in any situation, even in a typical game. But this game world had many more consequences than most.

Soshal nodded, accepting Sevs's reassurance. They returned to the bunks, where they began to suit up. This trip would be their first mission off the ship. The first time they'd been off ship ever in this world. The briefing was long and full of details they may not fully understand or need to know, but Sevs did his best to pay attention. From what he gathered, they had information about an interstellar research station that might not be as heavily defended as it should be. And this was a prime target for a raid. They weren't looking for resources or anything but Intel. Capturing technology was one of the best ways they could sustain themselves.

Captured technology could be reverse-engineered, and sometimes the components could be reused. Some of the rare materials would be useful as well. However, if they could also get it to work, they might learn other Intel about local systems. They could get ideas of where to go to be safe.

Apparently, the system had the Tarlaki place incredible security on their devices, in which case most engineers could never get anything out of them. However, every once in a while, they would get rare pieces of information like this station. Another problem was the language; it didn't seem to be something humans were built to understand.

One had to have a very high intelligence score to even be offered the skill. Both a high base and a high modifier. But non-military targets like this research station were usually less defended. Also, their encryption and software technology could have been more well-secured. They would have been a brief period of questions, but Sevs hadn't asked any; he was only interested in how involved the system would be. But someone already asked that during training.

Once they started the raid, they might get a quest to complete the attack or gather something, but that would be it, which was not always guaranteed. So the system was pretty hands-off here.

Sevs and Soshal kept walking in companionable silence until they reached their bunks. The rest of the team wasn't far behind. The room exploded into a massive activity as Carl, Jason, Becky Sevs, Soshal, and Robert started getting ready. Didn't take them all that long. This was something they had practiced many times. And under two minutes, they all stood in a line by the door as Sevs fulfilled Doomslayer's obligation to check them over.

Everything was in order, and they fell out. This time it was a light jog instead of a walk. They still had some time but wanted to get to the staging point early. There was a small room outside of hangar E that they were to gather in. They weren't the first, but they also weren't the last. The four squads were the only ones that arrived together, though. They were also the only squad in training, so that might have something to do with it.

They lined up and waited for another few minutes while everyone else trickled in. Finally, both lieutenants and the captain showed up along with the other three sergeants. Their Sergeant was still missing; no one else seemed to even notice. Sevs's team didn't complain, either. They would be much happier if Doomslayer didn't come at all. Well, he was good in combat. However, he had no idea how to organize a group of people. When they had done training simulations and other teams when he was there, they did markedly worse than when he was not. And in actual combat or real game combat, they didn't want to have him around.

Doomslayer had no tactical mind. He fell for every feint. In every ambush they moved when they shouldn't move and stayed still when they should move. He was an excellent shot, but when it came to making decisions, he seemed to either make them at random or intentionally choose the worst one. However, he didn't seem to see it that way. Every decision he made was the best and why they failed was always their fault. If they got caught in an ambush, they were too loud. If they stayed still and the enemy avoided them, they weren't watching carefully enough.

Because of this, he refused to listen to any suggestions, advice, or contact that the squad reported. And there was no chance of him ever getting better as he wouldn't listen to Dan's guidance. As a result, the only time the team ever won their simulation fights against other squads was when Doomslayer was taken out early. Then they managed to succeed on their own. And then he still would take credit for the victory as he set them up with their plan that they didn't follow.

Robert offered to put him down as soon as they entered actual combat several times. Of course, everyone hoped that it was a joke, but Sevs thought he might not be joking.

All four squads fell out and filed into the hangar, where they started boarding two dropships. Dan's half of the company went into the first, whereas the captain and the other lieutenant went into the second. As the doors closed, Doomslayer came running into the hangar and managed to hop on the ramp as it lifted off the ground. Sevs could hear his whole squad groaning behind him.

Lieutenant Dan just gave him a nod as he fell into place. Sevs did not understand how this man did not receive so much as a reprimand. There must be something going on that he wasn't aware of because Dan acknowledged that this was a game. None of these people were actually soldiers. Nevertheless, he did his best to treat them with some level of professionalism. In fact, every officer, NCO or otherwise, Sevs had encountered did the same.

Maybe Doomslayer had high-placed friends. Oh well, there wasn't much Sevs could do about it now. The ship took off with no word from the pilot as soon as everyone was strapped in. They sat around waiting for a few minutes until they felt the shudder of the carrier going into light speed. The target was small enough that it was just our ship leaving the group.

Each jump was expensive, and they had to use them sparingly. So it was with minimal force that the team went. The ship would also have to make its way back which was an issue. It also meant that people stationed on the smaller vessels not only were on the edges of the fleet to protect everyone but also spent the most time on raids. The larger carriers and battleships only jumped when there was a real need or when the whole fleet was moving at light speed, which had yet to happen in years.

This was the first time Sevs had traveled at light speed. Luckily it wasn't that long of a distance, and the light speed was very efficient here. So it was only a few minutes before they dropped out. And as soon as the pilot was given the all-clear from the ship's captain, the hangar doors opened, and the two ships carrying the company launched.

The ride was bumpy, and there were none of the comforts the carrier had; they were in a metal can firing as fast as possible. The ship landed outside of weapons range, and they launched as quickly as possible, giving them as little chance to hit. By the time the missiles from the station could reach intercept vectors, the attack ship was at top speed.

Next to him, Sevs could hear Carl muttering something under his breath. Sevs wanted to give him his privacy, but with everything going on, his mind couldn't help searching for a distraction. When he focused on it carefully, he could hear the ending of The Lord's prayer whispered from Carl's lips. He couldn't blame him; this might have been a game, but it felt real.

Sevs felt the ship flip suddenly, and the shaking intensified to the point where he wasn't sure if they would even hold together. And as fast as they had launched, there was a thud in a ship as it stopped. The sound of torches blowing through metal resonated throughout the ship as the entry hole was cut.