J1

It was so cold. 

Tickles of warmth slowly crept up from his toes to his chest. Opening his eyes was painful. How long had he been iced? 

“Welcome, Helldiver.” 

He blinked. Things were a bit blurry, but he managed to look down at his armored boots before staggering forward off his pod and onto a steel walkway. Behind him, he could hear the machinery shutter off to select its next recruit. The clang of his heavy uncoordinated feet rang in his ears despite the fact he was wearing a thick helmet. His head hurt. 

“Good to see you, recruit.” 

Gingerly stepping forward, he looked up to see a tall woman scribbling something on her clipboard. She looked up and ushered him forward impatiently. 

“I’m Ship Master Eriksson,” she said, standing proudly at attention. “You inspire me Helldiver. You inspire us all.” 

He paused for one moment too long, wracking his brain for the proper response. Was he even fully thawed? His mind felt sluggish and slow to react. Then he remembered what to do and brought his fist up to his chest in a salute. 

Eriksson nodded and looked at her clipboard. “Your requisition slips have been processed. Head on over to that terminal to gear up. Democracy Officer Lindqvist is waiting for you at the bridge.” 

Dipping his head in a nod, he headed over to the ship’s management terminal tucked away under a giant screen playing educational videos on the Terminids. Right, the bugs. He was here to fight the bugs and any other threats to Super Earth. 

It was slowly coming back to him. He stepped up to the computers and tapped the screen. Welcome, Jonathan Williams. Oh. Right. His name was Jonathan. 

“No way! I’m on my very own Super Destroyer!” a booming voice sounded behind Jonathan. 

Turning, he saw a very brawny Helldiver step out of his pod and confidently strut towards Eriksson. Jonathan was honestly impressed that they’d found a pod to fit this recruit. The terminal next to Jonathan flashed and he turned his attention back to his station. 

There were so many stratagems he could choose from. In training, he’d only been able to access a few and barely managed to keep track of everything then. Jonathan’s breathing quickened. This was the real thing. Training was already terrifying and the most basic of courses and now he was here on a Super Destroyer, preparing to face the Automatons and Terminids. 

How long had it been since he’d been iced? The last thing he could remember of his life before he entered the Helldivers’ facility was his mother’s face beaming with pride while holding his four-year-old brother on her hip. Issac. 

Jonathan’s mother had kissed him on the cheek and Issac had shouted “I wanna go with you, Jon Jon!” 

His mother laughed and patted Issac on his back. “Not until you turn sixteen, mister.” 

Jonathan’s vision blurred as he stared at the stratagem screen. His palms grew sweaty, and his mouth suddenly felt very dry. He could feel his heart beating harder and harder into his chest. Each painful beat raised a new question: was his family still alive? How much time had passed? Could he go home? 

Suddenly, a pair of very large, gloved hands slammed onto his shoulders, jolting him from his spiraling thoughts. The large recruit had made his way over to Jonathan and was loudly exalting his excitement. 

“Bro can you believe it?” He said, thumping his fist over his chest. “We’re here! They called for us and we’re about to kick some ass!” 

Jonathan managed to force a smile but realized he was wearing his helmet and the other recruit probably couldn’t see his face. He nodded instead. 

“What’s your name, dude? I’m Connor! I always wanted to be a Helldiver ever since I was a little guy.” Connor puffed out his chest, an impressive ability in the heavy armor he was wearing. “Spent my whole life training for this shit in my backyard.” 

Jonathan didn’t believe for a second that Connor had ever been little. “I’m Jonathan.” 

“I wonder who the rest of our crew will be? I had my gym bro enlist with me, I hope he gets pulled!” 

As if on cue, the pods shuffled around in the loading dock and pushed another recruit’s cryochamber forward. The doors hissed as the de-icing began and a figure stumbled forward. Connor grabbed Jonathan’s arm and pulled him towards the pods. 

“Come on, don’t be shy!” Connor exclaimed. “We’re going to be squad mates let’s go say hi.” 

As Jonathan was pulled, well, dragged, across the walkway, he noticed a shrouded figure tinkering with some tools near the space shuttle. Then, he noticed how small the shuttle was. They had to fit in there for extraction? He started sweating. 

“What’s up fellow diver dude?” Connor dropped Jonathan’s arm and ran to give the new recruit a suffocating hug. 

A small meep came out of the engulfed Helldiver from between Connor’s arms. “Can’t. Breathe.”  

“Oops.” Connor let go and stepped back. 

The latest recruit wobbled a bit and steadied herself. She looked like Jonathan’s little brother learning to walk for the first time. He understood the feeling. The frost on her armor hadn’t even melted yet and she’d been grabbed up like a sack of feathers by this hulk. 

“H-hi,” the Helldiver said, shyly. “I’m Jen.” 

“Diver Dudette, love it!” Connor exclaimed. 

He loudly ushered Jen in and waved around at the various stations inside their Super Destroyer. Jen started to walk over to Eriksson to get her briefing but was interrupted by a loud voice over the intercom. 

“Allied Destroyer joining orbit.” 

Jonathan turned in surprise. He didn’t expect to have a seasoned Helldiver join their squadron for their first mission. He turned to face the pod doors, anxious to see who would be stepping on board. 

“Orbit synchronized.” 

A flash of vapor burst from the doors as a lightly armored figure stepped out.  

“Holy shit,” Connor breathed, vibrating with excitement. “That’s a Skull Admiral.” 

Jonathan watched as the Skull Admiral walked up the steps to greet them. Their armor shone remarkably well for a Helldiver who’d completed countless missions. Their cape fluttered magnificently behind them, and Jonathan noticed the trim was made of gold thread. This was what Helldiver should look like. 

“Hello, Cadets.” The voice behind the sleek gold and black helmet was a commanding yet almost seductive timbre. “I’m Skull Admiral Rose.” 

Jen almost fell over rushing to Rose’s side. “Ohmigosh I’m a huge fan Skull Admiral, I’ve heard so much about you and can I just say your work in the Orion Sector was literally my inspiration for enlisting!” 

“Well then it seems I’ve made the right choice in joining your squad for your first mission,” Rose said, kindly. “Have you prepared and been briefed?” 

Jonathan shook his head. “No ma’am, we just got on board.” 

“Then let’s get to it. No need to be wasting time that could be spent dispensing liberty.” 

Jen ran to the terminal to set up her stratagems while Connor looked over some of the weaponry in his locker. Rose strode over to that mysterious figure working on the side of their space shuttle and tapped them on the shoulder. The figure turned and exclaimed something Jonathan couldn’t make out and the two of them embraced. 

Jonathan felt his anxiety rising in his chest again. Would he survive long enough to see his family again? How long had Rose been a Helldiver? Could she save them from dying horrifically? He swallowed hard, trying not to think of what they might face today. 

He forced himself to go back to the terminal to figure out his stratagems. Jonathan chose the machine gun, the one support weapon he felt most confident with. His three remaining stratagem spots went to air support: Orbital Gatling Barrage, Eagle Strafing Run, and the Orbital Precision Strike. Jonathan knew he could rely on their pilots and ship systems for those. 

The less he had to personally handle, the better. 

Jonathan looked over at his team. Connor had somehow found even heavier armor to gear up with and Jen was quietly practicing her inputs on Stratagem Hero. Jonathan felt a surprising amount of relief in seeing Jen’s impeccable speed and accuracy.  

“At least one of you will be able to call me in quickly.” 

Jonathan turned to see Rose and the previously hidden figure standing on the stairs behind him. He quickly recognized the voice and stood frozen in shock. The fighter pilot Eagle-1 stood next to Rose with her arms crossed.  

“Don't worry, Cadet,” Eagle-1 said, nodding in Jen’s direction. “You seem to be in good hands here. I’ve seen worse rookies gear up.” 

Rose patted Eagle-1 on the shoulder in thanks before the pilot walked back off into the shadows of the ship. Rose jerked her head towards the front of the ship, gesturing to Jonathan to follow her to the bridge. He trailed behind her and glanced back to see if he could get another glimpse of Eagle-1. She was gone. 

“You made it,” said Democracy Officer Lindqvist dryly as Jonathan and his squad walked up. “About time, Helldivers. The enemy is attempting to seize one of our planets. We must plan our defense.” 

Rose leaned over the war table and quickly navigated through the galactic war map. The holoscreen flashed with each sector Rose switched to until she settled the Mirin Sector. She pointed to Hellmire. 

“We’re infiltrating the Terminids here, recruits,” she said, firmly. “I hope you’ve had your Super Wheaties™ today because we’re droppin’ hot.” 

Rose waved her hand over Hellmire and rotated the holographic planetary model over the various regions with available operations. She settled on a large region in the middle of the planet. She tapped the display and stepped back. The ship shuddered under Jonathan’s feet as the navigation system whirred to life. 

“Initiating FTL jump to the Hellmire System.” 

Before Jonathan could process the intercom announcement, the ship just popped. In a fraction of a millisecond, Jonathan felt his very being compress and stretch at the same time. He felt like he was being squeezed into a tiny atom while simultaneously feeling his entire being get violently torn apart. 

Then, everything smashed back together. 

The Super Destroyer thumped back into space, positioning itself above the vast dry and orange planet, Hellmire. Jonathan loudly swallowed back the chunks of his last meal that had come up in his mouth.  Connor and Jen seemed just as bewildered and nauseous as Jonathan but Rose seemed wholly unbothered. 

The ship intercom sounded again, “Hellpods armed. Helldivers to hellpods.” 

“That’s us, Cadets. See you on the ground,” Rose said as she stepped over to the pod platforms. 

Jonathan watched in horror as she stomped her feet into the boot bindings and descended into the pod. Connor and Jen staggered over to the other free pods and positioned their feet on the bindings. Fear gripped Jonathan’s entire body. He couldn’t get his feet to move. What if the pod dropped early? What if the pod didn’t drop at all and just exploded? What if- 

“Helldivers to hellpods, I repeat, Helldivers to hellpods.” 

The glare from Lindqvist gave Jonathan the push to move. Left, right, left, right, he thought to himself. Just keep moving, you’re in this now. As he neared his hellpod, Jonathan looked up and gasped. There were dozens of other Super Destroyers positioned above Hellmire. He watched as other hellpods deployed from nearby ships. 

He was still terrified but seeing other Helldivers launch into the battle below gave him a spark of hope as he stepped into his boot bindings. Just as the clamps tamped down on his feet a thin red flash of a laser beam shot past their ship. Jonathan whipped his head around to see one of the Super Destroyers above them explode and shatter to a million pieces. There was no sound, no reaction, and no survivors. 

Jonathan desperately tried to pull his feet from his shackles, but he was sucked down into his hellpod and the lid closed above his head. 

Shit.