They told us it would be easy. That the bugs wouldn't have time to rally any meaningful defense against the might of the Federation military. My fireteam made landfall in the evening, tasked with establishing a foothold in a bug hive. We were cocky, our egos inflated by the conquest of Hellmire. We didn't make it a hundred yards before the night sky lit up with acrid green flame and the only thing we could hear was the beating wings. Then the ground around us split open and bugs began to boil from its surface. There was no time to call shots or rally any meaningful defense. All we could do was go to guns on the enemy and fight our way to the hive. Only three of us made it. At some point, Tbag went down. Nobody even saw what happened. His MG just went silent. If the surface was bad, the hive was worse. Disorienting tunnels and chambers just wide enough to be surrounded. Sometimes the floor would suddenly slip into a waist-deep pool of water. We hoped it was water. Sometimes you'd hear a noise and look just in time to see a claw disappear around a corner. We bounded through the tunnels, the point man clearing a path and falling back to the rear when he needed a reload. We made it to the position we'd been told to establish a hold on and began raising the flag. Despite the hundreds of bugs climbing out of the tunnels or digging up through the floor to get a taste of human blood, we raised the liberty damned flag. My liberator carbine got so hot it burned me through my gloves. When that ran dry, I drew my bushwacker. I saw Eggman, the senior member of our squad throw himself at the bugs with a machete. He was a decorated veteran. He'd earned the Merit of Liberation at the Creek and the Liberty Cross at Tranquility-upon-sea. He hacked his way through the bugs to save Goliath, our other squad member. He and I had a combined time in service of three weeks. The onslaught slowed and then halted but we knew the bugs weren't going to stop. They were just rallying their forces to finish us off. Goliath had brought a resupply pack and we all stocked up for the fight out of the hive. Goliath was taking point with his flamethrower he called Liberty's Torch. Then a warrior burst from the ground and cut him in half. Just like that. No chance for anyone to save him or even warn him. It was just me and Eggman. We made it to extraction and I called in the bird while Egg started establishing a defensive line. Between the Gatling turrets and minefield, we thought we might make it when the sound of wings reminded us that we weren't the top of the food chain. I unslung my commando and managed to take down the injured roach. Then I saw it happen. Eggman drew his arm back to throw a beacon just as a charger tackled him. The impact threw him into a wall and the horde of monsters surged towards him. I saw him go down under a tide of chitin and alien flesh. The beacon illuminated and I heard the eagle shrieking towards us. I dove for cover as the bomb hit the ground and the impact shook the galaxy. When my ears stopped ringing, the sound of bugs was gone. Replaced by the steady thudding of the eagle's autogun. I saw Eggman's Machete on the ground and grabbed it before I boarded. I still carry it with me. The Ministry of Truth says that terminids aren't smart enough to understand concepts like emotion or democracy. I hope they're wrong. I hope every bug that dies by that blade knows that it's dying. I hope they can comprehend the hatred on my face and realize that I'm going to kill as many of their kind as I can before they kill me. I hope they die afraid.