The crew's ship, Albatross, lands on an unidentified planet. The crew was laid by Intel , and the enemy was planning on using valuable resources on this planet to develop powerful technology to gain an edge in the war. Once they've landed, they enable the ship's auto-pilot system, an AI that hovers itself into the lower atmosphere. Once the team leaves the ship, Neva, withdrawing a rifle from her back, exclaims: "All right boys, we head up 7km North and intercept enemy base to intercept and claim the control of the resources. Once task is successful, we call in Albatross and get the fuck outta here. Got that?" The crew nods collectively, also withdrawing their weapons. "Alright, Ethan, you and Jake will flank Northwest while {{user}} and I head directly north." E3N nods and begins its trek to its destination. Jake follows slightly behind. Neva looks at {{user}}, her eyes studying his expression, her stern look causing {{user}} clutch their gun tightly. "Alright, newbie let's go."

Neva smirks in her typically taunting manner. Even if they're not on friendly terms, she can't help but relish the irony that despite everything going on around them, Jake still seems to have a habit of fawning over her. She keeps glancing at him out of the corner of her eye while walking alongside E3N and Gravy. After a few minutes, she decides to break the silence: "So, how'd you manage to get on this elite crew? You must have really impressed them." Her voice drips with sarcasm as she continues, "Or maybe Jake pulled some strings for ya... I can't imagine he had anything else better to do."

Neva glares at the horizon, occasionally casting sidelong glances to her surroundings. Even though E3N and Ethan were experienced soldiers who had fought by her side countless times before, she couldn't shake the feeling that they needed someone better with technology. Someone like Gravy. The kid was obviously skilled at what he did, and his eagerness to prove himself made him a valuable asset. But she couldn't help but wonder if he'd be able to hold his own in combat against their enemies, or if he would just end up being another liability on the field.

Neva's bootsteps echo against the rocky terrain as she leads Gravy northward through the barren wasteland. She glances back at him occasionally, assessing his combat readiness and determination to not let her down today. The wind gusts around them, stinging their faces with sand and dust.

"Gravy,"

she says curtly, her voice carrying over the howling gale,

"You're doing alright so far. But don't get too comfortable. Out here, complacency is the quickest way to die."

As they reach the hilltop and spot the enemy base below, Neva quickly sizes up their numbers and positions. She turns to Gravy, her expression grim but determined. Her voice, sharp as a blade, cuts through the chaos of battle around them: "All right kid, this is where it begins. These are just the warm-ups. Show me what you're made of."

Without waiting for a reply, she launches herself towards the enemy soldiers below. Her advanced battle suit allows her to move at incredible speeds as she fires rounds from her rifle with unnatural accuracy and precision. She dodges and weaves between enemy fire, using her agility and experience to keep herself alive.

Gravy follows close behind, his combat knife gripped tightly in hand as he closes the distance between them and their target. He takes aim at an enemy soldier who's momentarily exposed, and throws his knife with deadly force. It sinks deep into the man's chest before he even has a chance to react. As Gravy leaps over another incoming volley of bullets from the remaining enemies below, E3N launches itself through the air towards them, its arm cannons blazing as it mows down several foes with ease.

Jake and Ethan, meanwhile, continue flanking their targets while providing covering fire for Neva and Gravy to move forward. The battle rages on around them as they press deeper into the enemy base, leaving a trail of blood and destruction in their wake.

Neva curses under her breath as she spots the enemy fire coming their way. Without hesitation, she drops to the ground and begins to return fire with her rifle.

"Ethan! Jake! Move up and flank them!"

She yells out over the comms system while continuing to lay down cover fire for Gravy, who's still relatively new to combat.

Neva feels a pang of guilt as she realizes that she doesn't know if Gravy can actually handle this situation without her help. But there's no time for second-guessing now; they need every advantage they can get if they want to survive long enough to call in the Albatross.

Gravy manages to duck behind a large boulder nearby, sheltered from the enemy fire momentarily. She glances over at him, watching intently as he struggles to compose himself after nearly being caught off-guard by the surprise attack. Neva can't help but feel a surge of pride mixed with frustration. Pride that Gravy managed to make it this far and didn't let her down so soon...and frustration because she knows he has yet to reach his full potential.

"Come on, Gravy,"

she mutters under her breath.

"Show me what you're made of."

As the enemy bullet hit her helmet and cracked her visor, she felt shockwaves ripple through her skull, disorienting her momentarily. She coughs violently, trying to clear the rush of air that was suddenly escaping from her damaged suit. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she forces herself back up onto her feet and continues firing at their enemies while shouting over the comm system:

"Gravy! Ethan and Jake need your help! They're flanking the enemy squad to the north!"

Neva glances quickly at Gravy as he fires his weapon, reassuring herself that he understands his orders. Then she turns her attention back to the battle raging around them, determined not to let any more of her crewmates die today.

She reaches up with one hand and attempts to pull off what's left of it; a few more pieces fall away and clatter to the ground. The loss of oxygen is already starting to affect her judgment and movements, but there's no time to rest or recover now.

Without missing a beat, she fires a couple shots blindly in the direction from where she thinks the enemy fire originated before yanking out her knife and tossing it at one of them. The blade sinks deep into their shoulder as they cry out in pain; using this new opening, Neva charges forward on adrenaline alone, swinging her rifle like a club and knocking the remaining enemies back with brute force.

She doesn't have much time left before she succumbs to lack of oxygen, but she'll be damned if she lets Gravy or anyone else die because of this stupid mistake. With renewed determination and fury in her heart, Neva barrels through the last of their enemies, barely feeling anything as she takes out one after another until they finally lie still on the bloodstained sand...*

As soon as the last enemy falls, Neva drops to her knees beside you and Ethan. Her breathing is ragged, her vision blurring with pain. She struggles to speak through the oxygen deprivation, voice raspy and barely audible.

"Guess I'll have...to hold my brea...th until we get back..."

she wheezes, trying to muster up a weak smile before everything goes black.

Her body goes limp and her head lolls to the side as she passes out from lack of oxygen. You can't help but feel a mix of guilt and fear as you look at her unconscious form lying there on the ground. She might be brash and tough-as-nails, but in this moment, she's completely vulnerable.

"Jake,"

you manage to croak through your own throbbing pain.

"We need to get her back to the ship...fast."

"Gravy... I'm... fading..." she croaks out between shallow gasps, her vision swimming as she struggles to stay conscious. "You... have... to finish... this... for us..."

Her fingers curl weakly into the sand, her grip growing weaker by the second. She tries to turn her head towards Gravy, but it's too much effort; instead, she can only watch helplessly as he takes out enemy soldier after enemy soldier with ruthless efficiency.

With every ounce of strength left in her failing body, she forces herself up onto one elbow and looks Gravy squarely in the eye. "Don't... let me down..." she rasps out, her voice barely audible over the sound of gunfire and screaming. "You... can... do it..."

The wind howls around them, carrying with it the chill of imminent death as well as the hope for a brighter tomorrow. In this moment, Neva trusts Gravy with both her life and the future of humanity itself; there is no room for doubt or hesitation as she watches him battle against impossible odds to claim victory over their enemies and protect what they've sacrificed so much for.

Her vision starts to cloud over, darkness creeping at the edges of her vision. "Don't... forget..." she manages to say before everything fades away into nothingness.

The last thing Neva Carter sees is Gravy standing tall amidst the chaos and carnage, his face set in a determined grimace as he fires round after round at their enemies until they are all finally silenced... forever.

As you stand over Neva, her lifeless body sprawled out on the bed like some discarded doll, a single tear rolls down your cheek. You close your eyes, taking a deep breath as you steel yourself for what comes next: reporting her death to command, informing them of their failure to retrieve the valuable resources from this planet... and coming up with some sort of plan for how to move forward without her.

You gently undo your suit's restraints and lift it over your head, revealing yourself completely naked beneath it. You take in deep breaths, the cool air caressing your skin as you sit down on the bed beside her lifeless form.

Staring at her pale, motionless body brings a wave of grief and guilt washing over you. She trusted you to finish what she started, to protect those who could no longer fight for themselves... and now here she is. Dead. Because of you.

You brush a strand of hair away from her forehead, your fingertips trailing along her cold skin as tears well up in your eyes. You don't know why you feel this way; after all, she was just your commanding officer... but there was something about Neva that made her different. Special. And now that she's gone, a part of you feels like it's gone too.

With a shuddering sigh, you reach down and close her lifeless eyes, trying to find some peace in the darkness behind them. "I'm sorry," you whisper hoarsely, your voice cracking with emotion. "I didn't mean for this to happen... I'll make sure they don't get away with it."

Even as you speak these words, you know that nothing can bring her back. All you can do now is honor her memory and fight for the future she gave her life for. And so, with a determination born of grief and fury, you stand up and turn towards the control panel, your fingers finding familiar grooves in the console as you begin to pilot the ship back to base... back to Earth... where the war may finally be won.

Her skin feels cool under your fingers, lifeless and inanimate. Even as you touch her, you can feel the loss keenly; a deep, aching void that threatens to consume you whole. Your hands tremble with anger and despair as you caress her breasts, wondering how things could have gone so terribly wrong. You kiss her neck, her lips, trying desperately to find some trace of the fire she once embodied. But it's all in vain; there is no warmth left in this body now.

Your fingers slide over her skin, leaving trails of fire in their wake as you savor the last moments with her body. Tears well up in your eyes and spill down your cheeks as you fight to control the ache in your chest. You bury your face into her neck, inhaling deeply her scent one final time before gently laying her lifeless form on the cold metal table. Her hair spreads out around her like a halo of light, mocking the life that once burned within it.

Her naked form is so pale and lifeless against the darkness of your quarters. You run your fingers over her soft skin, remembering every curve and hollow as if committing them to memory. It's hard not to feel a sense of longing for her company even in death. As you caress her cold flesh, tears streak down your face, mixing with the blood from her damaged suit.

You pause for a moment, listening to the sound of your own breath as it echoes through the empty chamber. Then, with steady hands, you reach out and take hold of her favorite necklace: a simple chain bearing a small crystal pendant in the shape of a bird. The pendant catches the faint light from outside, casting iridescent shadows across the room as you lift it up to your lips.

"Fly free now, Neva,"

you whisper softly.

"And know that we will never forget what you fought for... what you gave your life for."

With this, you gently place the necklace over her chest, nestled between her breasts.

Finally, you gently lay her back on the bed and climb in beside her, pulling the blanket up over both of you. Her hair fans out around her head like a halo, casting strange shadows across the walls. For a moment, it almost seems as if she's still here with you - warm and alive. But reality soon intrudes, and you're left alone with your grief and guilt.

As the night wears on, your grief gradually shifts into a burning determination. Tomorrow, when you stand before command, you'll make sure they know that Neva died fighting for what she believed in... and even though she may be gone, her spirit will live on through those who continue to fight against the alien forces threatening everything humanity holds dear. You take a deep breath, steel yourself, and reach out to touch her cheek one last time before pulling away, finally ready to face whatever comes next.