Drake took a deep breath in lieu of checking his ammo reserves again, trying to steady his nerves for the upcoming battle. He wouldn’t be of any use to anyone if he froze up in the middle of the fighting. One of the older, more senior members of the ACTF saw what he was doing.

"The first one’s always the hairiest," the man, Lieutenant Colonel Eric Edwards, said. "Hell, I near-panicked when I first caught sight of one of those ugly freaks. And I didn’t even have the kind of intensive training you got with that Barker guy to fall back on. You’ll do fine, Shep, just keep your mind on what you’re doing and you’ll come out of this with your skin intact."

"Thanks, sir. That helps," Drake smiled with grim good humor.

"I thought it would," Lieutenant Colonel Edwards said.

The harsh rumble of the truck’s engine and the sensation of movement both stopped at the same time, so all of the soldiers knew that it was time for them to get off their asses and start killing some Zoanoids. The doors of the truck unlocked, and were then shoved open by Lieutenant Colonel Edwards.

"ACTF, fall out!"

Drake ran out with the other soldiers, falling into a rough semicircle with the rest of his unit. Out of the corners of his eyes, Drake could see three of the four other ground gunner units doing the same. The headset-radio he was wearing crackled with static as it activated, and Drake knew that the real fighting was just about to start. This was the big moment. God, I hope I don’t screw this up, Drake thought as he saw the ranks of Zoanoids just starting to charge. He wasn’t quite sure if that was a prayer or not.

Bringing his Zoanoid Buster Cannon to bear, Drake aimed at the nearest Zoanoid and fired. The horned, green, lizardlike Zoanoid stumbled forward as its head was blown apart down to the shoulders. Just like that, Lieutenant Drake Shepherd claimed his first kill. Instinct and training took over after that, and for Drake the battle became a series of moments.

Breathe in.

The cries of another Zoanoid as it attempted to blindside him were cut off as Drake fired a Cannon shell directly into its face. The body disintegrated after the head was gone.

Breathe out.

Running soldiers obscured Drake’s view of the battlefield for a moment, and then a mottled-brown Zoanoid with huge shoulders came into his line of fire. Drake took the shot.

Breathe in.

Ducking a swipe that would have taken his head off, Drake rewarded his attacker with his second-to-last shell.

Breathe out.

The doors of the last remaining transport had opened, and now the Alpha unit and the ACTF’s own Guyver were out and mixing it up with the Zoanoids. Drake was glad to see them in a detached sort of way.

Breathe in.

Firing his last shell at an apelike Zoanoid, Drake took a moment to reload while the others covered him. Chambering another round, Drake stepped to the side and fired at another lizardlike Zoanoid that had come up while one of the others was reloading.

Breathe out.

Drake could hear someone shouting for a reload, and ran to the place where he saw another of his fellow soldiers kneeling. Handing her one of his spare ammo-packs, Drake watched as Barker dealt a lethal blow with his arm-blades to another ape-Zoanoid.

Breathe in.

Another of the lizard-Zoanoids charged at the group of soldiers that Drake had found himself among. Firing another shell, Drake watched his enemy’s midsection explode in a shower of bone and blood.

Breathe out.

Two of the Alpha units overtook Drake as he ran, firing at the knot of Zoanoids that had been attempting to brake the defensive lines around the ammo storage truck. Drake smiled coldly, and returned to his lookout duty.

Breathe in.

Drake found that he was running, and he took a moment to reorient himself. The cries and screams of dying Zoanoids still echoed around him, so the battle couldn’t have been going that bad.

Breathe out.

Drake stood in a line with a group of other ACTF soldiers, shooting at a charging knot of Zoanoids that had managed somehow to get past the Alphas.

Breathe in.