War isn’t about glory. The last time war was for glory was back when the Vikings fought for the honor of going to Valhalla, and fighting for all eternity alongside Thor. Since that era, combat hasn’t been glorious. I never knew that until I joined the marines, and I wish that I could still find the glory of it. But when you are forced to pull the trigger at another human being, both by duty, and to save your own neck, every ounce of glory you thought you were fighting for has been sucked out of it.

Lt. Col. Timothy B. Taft, age 26, United Planetary Marine Corps, Special Operations unit TRF176.

The mission sounded simple enough. Infiltrate the St. John Mass Correctional Facility on the planet Bargath, and locate the information on a group that planned on attempting to overthrow the United Planetary Control, also known as our current government.

The year is 2245. It hasn’t been very long since mankind made the jump into space, and found other inhabitable planets. Since then, Bargath has become basically a universal prison. All kinds of criminals from all planets are sent here. As compared to older times, near the year 2100, these prisons are massive. The facilities themselves average over one square mile. So you can imagine that the security would either be airtight, or lacking in almost every area.

I was selected for this mission because, with a few days of facial hair growth, I happened to look just like Myles, the major information officer in St. Johns. I was boarded onto the prison ship outside of the headquarters on Tessera, and began the journey to Bargath. I heard the sadly familiar hiss of the cryogenic pod sealing around me, and the cold breeze emanating from the freezer, and instantly, I was frozen.