SAM: Our galaxy.
Humankind colonized space
so long ago that no one remembers which came first:
civilization, or the corporations.
But a centuries-old conflict between the Grotto Corporation
and our mortal enemy, the mega-corporation
known as Helion, has led to endless wars
and broken planets, making life
for most on Grotto planets - known as Homeworlds -
a living hell of indentured servitude.
And I was no different.
My only way out was to join Grotto's army,
the Reapers.
The Resource Exploration
and Procurement Engineer Regiment,
also known as the Salvage Marines,
where the hazard pay is high
but the survival rate is low.
[THEME MUSIC] [TENSE, MENACING ELECTRONIC BEAT]
[ELECTRONIC BEEPING]
[HEAVY ELECTRIC GUITAR]
[BEEPING] The more we do this,
the less of ourselves we become.
Are you talkin' about unionization?
Maybe.
Why do they want me to wear a camera?
Tyrol takes pleasure
in giving you orders that go against
what the Salvage Marines are about.
And if the public finds out,
then they'll know what the Grotto really is.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Trade specialists such as engineers
have experience and training.
That gives them < substantial value.
Understood.
I mean this time the crew is the salvage.
On my mark...
We have five engineer non-coms in custody.
< MARSTERS: Copy that.
Coulda been worse.
It might just be.
If you're unable to recover the assets,
your secondary objective is to ensure
that the slavers walk away empty-handed.
-But, Sir-- -That's an order, Hyst!
We gotta end this! We can't lose anyone else.
Liquidate the assets.
Aaghh!
Every day, we become less and less Salvage Marines.
They're startin' to use us like criminal troops.
Now you listen to me. You keep your head down
and hold on to that footage.
-Who else knows about this? -Everybody.
You've come a long way, Reapers.
I'm very proud.
I think today
perhaps the time...
is upon us.
Yeah.
And for the specifics of this mission
I will defer to Commander Soren Aiken the Third
of House Indron.
Boss Aiken? I thought he got transferred out after Vorhold?
He did, back to House Indron,
but he's only just one of us now.
Guess he sold us out.
There has been much speculation about the nature
of the machine race we have been battling.
Many of the reapers today in this room were with us
when we first encountered them.
As you know...
..charting an accurate starscape
this side of the Ellisian line has always been difficult.
Grotto has a prevailing theory about this.
And that is why we are here today.
< TAK: Hmph! Here we go, the hard sell.
Research indicates that between twenty
and thirty thousand years ago there was an event.
A gigantic energy weapon was deployed,
with cataclysmic results.
The very quantum fabric
of this entire sector became unstable.
And over eons and eons,
that stability has gradually returned.
The more matter and energy we bring across the line,
the more momentum we've allowed the correction to gain.
Logic follows that the entire sector
will eventually return to normal.
This image was captured by one of the body cams
of the penal Legionnaires.
Most have adopted the term
'gun spider'. [SCREAMING IN VIDEO]
A very apt description.
We have named this machine race the 'Gedra'.
Each of these creatures
has similar devices embedded in their core.
The High Cognate believed
that these were master control devices.
This control also, in theory,
extends to the resurrected humans
that I believe you've started to refer to as 'hollows'.
That was me! That was...
I came up with that. That's mine!
He's very proud.
We believe that if we're able
to capture an intact Alpha Cyborg,
then we will be able to control
both the reanimates and the gun spiders.
Helion forces have clustered
in significant numbers around this system,
we believe, making a play for exactly the same power.
And with the Alpha Cyborg, they can control
gun spiders and raise soldiers from the dead,
tipping the war in their favor.
Our recon elements have reported Helion's discovery
of a massive tomb world, far greater
than anything we've ever encountered.
We call this world Gedra Prime.
Helion forces have anchored above it
and we are part of the task force
responsible for taking it back from them.
Now rest assured,
you're not alone in this endeavor.
The same briefing
is being given to the Kratos
and the Lokani Reaper tugs as we speak.
People, you gotta consider yourselves
a joint vanguard now. You're seconded to House Indron.
You have the Elites, the Merchant Militant,
they're gonna be fightin' with us
and make no mistake, this is massive.
This is unprecedented.
But if we gotta summon the rains of hell,
we'll be the storm on the mountain.
We're gonna serve.
We prevail.
Grotto salutes you.
Dismissed.
Platoon leaders, we are
cutting through the Gedra Prime atmos now.
I'm detecting some similar magnetic interference
like we experienced on planet UK 6713 - be aware.
Do you know what that is?
-It's the crest of House Indron. -Mm-hmm.
-How'd you get this? -I got it from Aiken.
He slipped it to me before the Gedra briefing.
He knows about the strike
and he wants to be our man on the inside.
Why would he risk that happening
during a campaign funded by his own house.
I asked him the same exact thing.
He said it's all about games.
Games of war, and games of economics.
And the best that we can hope for
is to leave behind some kind of legacy.
Personally, I think he wants to help us out.
Once a Reaper, always a Reaper, right?
I hopped aboard a Reaper tug
one week out of graduation. Hyst this is all I know,
And I'm good with that.
I've got two brothers, a sister,
more cousins than I can count,
and I fight so that they don't have to.
One Marsters for every generation
has to enlist in the Salvage Marines,
without exception.
Now this has been going on
for nine generations. It was just my turn.
Every penny that I make is sent home
and that includes the death benefit.
And if we have the glorious opportunity
to make the ultimate sacrifice...
..then our families are the better for it.
I appreciate you sharin' all this with me
but why are you tellin' me all this, Boss?
Gedra Prime's gonna be a bloodbath.
Sam... I know why you're fighting.
But sometimes...
..it's about more than the job.
[GRUFF TONE] Alright, Boss Hyst! I want you to take your squad
and meet me on the deck, battle ready, in eight minutes.
Yes, Sir.
One more long mile.
[BACKGROUND CHATTER]
Tango Platoon present and accounted for, Boss.
Can't believe we're actually doing this.
It's already happened.
The engineer footage is being uploaded
as we speak to the Grotto communications network.
The feeds are live and they're linked
to the global communications channel.
We're good to go, Boss.
The Grotto has been operating
without a union for the last 100 years.
What that means is they've gone unchecked
for over a century.
The last union they had was weak and ineffective
or at worst, it was corrupt
or tyrannical.
And we are poor as a result.
Some of you may be familiar with
the underground unionization movement that's been popping up
all over Grotto space.
More specifically,
in the Baen district or the Reaper fleet.
How the hell are we gonna pull this off?
I mean...I WANT this,
but how are they just gonna let us win?
I think Lord Indron is secretly backing us.
Aiken?
I thought he and Marsters hated each other?
They do.
But we're all Reapers.
If anyone's having any doubts, now is the time.
We're with you.
-Until the end, Boss. -Until the end.
The workers back home have seen the engineer footage
and they see that the corporation
is controlling the corps.
That they are using us to do their bidding.
To handle their illicit slave trade.
The Grotto is here to take this planet
And we're gonna kill
an Alpha Cyborg, and that's how
we beat the Helion for good.
ALL: THIS IS THE JOB!
This is the job.
[ELECTRONIC BEEPING]
[STEADY BEEPING]
[EFFORT GRUNT]
[PERSISTENT BEEPING]
AIKEN'S VOICE: And this is proof
that Grotto have illegally killed
civilian engineers.
TYROL'S VOICE: Your secondary objective
is to ensure that the slavers walk away empty-handed.
???? will die!
This is Tyrol Gaius of Grotto Executive 2216
of Reaper Corps Baen 6.
Listen!
I have a full-scale insurrection...a mutiny.
Just get me boots on the ground - now!
Send two squads of shock troopers immediately.
We MUST maintain control.
Over!
So if we're not gonna fight,
why are we in full kit and stackin' rifles!?
Don't ask me!
The last labor strike on Baen 6
was 100 years ago...
..at Assemblage 23.
It didn't last very long. Instead of getting
the negotiations that they asked for
the strike ended with the massacre of 174...
..unarmed citizens.
We, however, are not unarmed.
Footage has shown the common worker
that we are just as exploited
as they are.
That the Grotto would rather massacre civilians
than have their enemy see a profit.
Now, unlike the common worker,
we can actually make a difference.
And this ... is where we force ... OUR negotiations.
So we stand side by side, Reapers
and be ready for the wrath that will face us.
ULANTI: Tango Platoon!
Defensive position! Arms at ready!
MARSTERS: Easy.
MARSTERS: Easy, Reapers. Take it easy.
They will not fire, so do not
take the bait. Just stand your ground
and take a deep breath.
Take a deep breath.
Keep it steady, Reapers.
This is being broadcast live.
Everyone's gonna know what's happening here.
If a fight breaks out, the war effort will fall apart.
Hey Boss, do we just wait till someone
gets bored and starts shootin', or is there a plan, no offense.
We hold the position until I get
the right guarantee from the right command rating.
Move!
So what?
What now? Hah?
We just gonna stand here all day and point guns at each other?
Keep steady, Reapers!
You'll die for this, Marsters.
You first.
Interestin', we'll see.
AIKEN: Indron troops, stand down.
Hah.
Dirty scoundrel! Traitor!
This concept of yours
of total forgiveness of the life bond...
..you run the numbers on that?
It seems catastrophic
for Grotto...and uh, society
as a whole.
No?
Is that what you want, Marsters, huh?
To ruin Grotto?
With all due respect, Sir,
that impact is of no concern to us.
Huh?
Well, I guess that brings us right back, doesn't it?
To the Helion frigate and the slavery scandal,
or whatever you're gonna term it next.
It all makes for great theater.
We're not talkin' theater.
We're talkin' loss of life.
And this was a brazen breach
of protocol.
I've heard that back on Baen 6
there's a foundry
that ah...Reaper Green used to work.
It's tagged with graffiti...
..urging unionization.
Well, this has become quite somethin'.
TYROL: Quite--
That is why all of you,
regardless of your rank or title...
I'm not even gonna comment on that.
That's why you're sittin' here...
..and not elsewhere.
Please?
Our labor is all that we have to offer the Grotto.
And we are very proud of what we do.
However, the Grotto WILL compensate us for that loyalty.
They will EARN it.
And not through some
assumed institutional obligation
or toll.
We fight and we work.
And if we refuse, they kill us.
Well, that's fine, because if we die,
we will take all of Grotto down with us.
So I suggest the very least that you can do is start
showing some allegiance to the sacrifices
that we've given.
Alright.
See...significant changes take time.
Sometimes decades.
Or this whole system just suffers.
I think this represents tangible and immediate gains
for the bonded population.
And I think you'll agree.
Don't think this is over.
I'm gonna take this up
with Grotto's board of directors...
..personally.
And we'll see.
Oh, we'll see.
We'll see.
FEMALE VOICE: Mission objective: Helion and mercenary troops
to be engaged on Southern Quarter.
Mechanical gun spiders to be eliminated
by aerial cannon strikes.
Alpha Cyborg to be demobilized and destroyed.
Beware, possible reanimation of the deceased.
[EXPLOSIONS] SAM: Give 'em hell!
[EXPLOSIONS AND GUNFIRE]
Open 'em up!
Medic! Medic!
HAROLD: Looks like Helion put up one hell of a fight
before they gave up ground.
It ain't over yet!
Alright, cut the chatter people! We're here to provide
rifle support for the Shock Troopers.
Got a hell of a lot of ground to cover.
And at this rate, we ain't goin' nowhere.
Move out!
SAM: Advance! Advance!
What's the plan, Shock Trooper?
We're gonna take the Third Parallel, Reaper.
Grotto! Let's move in!
Tango Platoon! Advance!
They're tryin' to flank us!
Don't get cut off!
Open 'em up!
[YELLING]
Agh!
Reaper down!
Medic!
Push forward!
Ah! It's my same knee!!
Boss this isn't a proper battle, it's a bloodbath!
-Oh! -How does that feel?
-Feels like shit! -Sit up.
-I'm fine I can move. -Sit up. Sit up.
Uh!
Command dropped us in a goddam meat grinder.
They knew this was gonna happen. This is payback for the strike.
Where's my gun? Where's my gun?
You sure you can handle this much iron with that leg?
Pipe down, and give me that piece!
-Thank you! -You're welcome.
-Let's do it. -Thank you!
[BIANCA PANTS] [HAROLD GROANS]
Boss, we are glorified scrappers,
not trench warfare soldiers.
We gave our word to the Anointed,
and we WILL honor it. Reapers, dig in!
[YELLING]
[VERY LOUD EXPLOSION]
KELKIS: And make no mistake, this is massive.
This is unprecedented.
But if we gotta summon the rains of Hell,
we'll be the storm on the mountain.
< AIKEN: Grotto Squadron, prepare for heavy artillery.
Engaging Helion Zion 9 Cannon.
Repeat, Zion 9 Cannon.
We'll have to get some elite contractors in here to help us.
ULANTI: Reapers, the Folkens are our enemy.
Repeat, our enemy.
Reapers, take cover!!
Shit, Boss. This isn't good.
Understatement.
Folken.
Exactly who are they loyal to?
Whoever's payin' 'em.
And today ... it ain't Grotto.
[DISTANT BOOM]
MARSTERS: Fall back!
Fall back!
Reapers, fall back! Fall back!
?????
???? fire.
MARSTERS' VOICE: Don't get cut off.
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
SAM'S VOICE: Protect the line!
MARSTERS: We're penned in!
Go! Go! Go!
SAM: We got reanimates!
We just gotta hunker down here until we get some cover fire.
Copy that!
[HAROLD CRIES OUT IN PAIN]
-Ah! -Oh, goddamit!
You are not going to die today.
Look at me!
You are not going to die today.
-Is it-- -Take this!
Uh! I can't--
We are gonna make it through this!
[VIRGINIA PANTS]
[YELLS]
VIRGINIA: Come on, you bastards!
See? I got your back.
[CHOKES]
NO!
Virginia!
No! Virginia!
VIRGINIA!
[SAM YELLS]
[BIANCA AND SAM PANT]
-Boss! -Yeah?
What is that battery taste in my mouth?
Alpha Cyborg, just over that ridge.
Here to raise the hollows.
-Not another cyborg! -[SAM GROANS]
[SAM AND BIANCA YELL]
Helion.
Folken.
Gun spiders.
Who do we got left, Boss?
Jada! Jada, come in!
Tak?!
Marsters?! Anybody!
We're on our own, but we still fight!
We still fight!
[YELLS]
No, no, no! [SOBS] Virginia.
No, not you. [SOBBING]
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry!
I'm sorry.
Helion's bringin' in
the heavy artillery. We gotta move.
Oh hell, this guy's still alive.
Hey, he looks like he's Tango Platoon.
Harold!
Hey, hey, hey, hey! Harold!
Hey! Hey!
[HAROLD GASPS]
Hey!
Come on, we're gonna get you home, alright?
-Understand? You with me? -Yeah.
Come on, little buddy, I gotcha. Come on.
-Okay. -Come on. Come on.
Come on, I gotcha. Come on.
We got reanimates!
[JADA GASPS AND GROANS]
We have Alpha Cyborg in sight!
Repeat! In sight!
Calling all troops! Lead in!
Lead in!
[DETERMINED GROAN]
[YELLS]
[JADA CRIES OUT]
Not dead yet, Reaper?
[JADA GROANS IN PAIN]
COMMS: Stand by. All thrusters overdrive.
[ELECTRONIC BEEPING]
They should reserve a spot for you in here
as much time as you spend laid up.
Bianca was with me.
She alive?
Takeda too.
Other than Marsters
everybody else is pretty much
as shot to hell as you are.
There's something you're not telling me.
I'm shipping off
with the Dire Swords on the morning cycle.
They gave me enough coins to join the Merchants Militant.
Grotto's letting me expatriate.
Aren't you gonna say something?
We already said goodbye once.
Not sure I can do it again.
[SHARP INTAKE OF BREATH]
Part of me wishes...
..I could go with you.
Chase contracts.
See the galaxy.
You've already seen more than you ever wanted or imagined.
Now it's time to go home.
See your family.
< Jada Sek, please report to the Bridging Room, Number 5.
Goodbye.
Leave the guts and glory to the pros.
We've got six months of sweet salvage ops
on the way back to Baen 6.
Plenty of those could turn hostile.
-We can handle hostile. -Can we?
Yes.
Talk of the tug
is that Red List squatters
have been following both Helion and Grotto ships.
Starting migrant labor camps, scrap haulers, the works.
Look, everyone's gotta make a living.
And we know better than anybody how good a salvage
can be in the wake of a trade war.
Yeah, squatters and pirates.
Like maggots
on an old corpse.
Stop it!
And the body's decomposing and it's all swollen.
Okay, that's enough!
[LAUGHTER] If I have to keep eating
this pressed algae crap I don't wanna do it
with you talkin' about dead bodies and bugs.
[LAUGHTER]
What's it taste like?
Dead bodies and bugs.
-Okay, no more. -It's good.
-You done? -Yeah, I'm done.
Aw, I'll take it.
Tak!
I've been lookin' all over for you.
Yeah.
I heard that you ah, officially filed
and you're... you're getting out.
News travels fast on this ship.
-Hey. -Mmm.
Looks like Harold pulled through.
But eh...
..with you and Jada both leaving...
..things just won't be the same, Sam.
Seems a bit unfair that she gets to muster out
while you have to fight your way back to Baen 6 for it.
Well, Dire Swords are under contract with the Grotto,
so technically, she's still on the payroll.
I really hope that you and Sura finally find
what you're looking for out there, Sam, I really do.
Me too.
So...what now?
Quiet life on the homestead that you've always wanted?
It's always been the dream, Tak.
Sura left the station
and she's...waitin' for me on Longstride.
You know that's...
..six months hostile salvage
all the way back to Baen 6.
And once you expatriate,
it's what, another two months
on transport just to get back to the cabin?
A thousand ways to die
before you even get home.
It's a long road, brother.
We've seen a lot of those.
[SIGHS] Yeah.
Even after I'm out of the Reapers,
we will always be brothers.
Always.
Well, Samuel Hyst givin' me a call
for a change. Well this is an honor!
I did it, Torrin. I paid off all my debt.
Yeah, so? Why tell me?
After this, I never wanna hear from you again.
[TORRIN LAUGHS]
Never say never, mate.
I'm plannin' on it.
[DISCONNECT BEEP]
[BIRDSONG]
[BIRDS SINGING]
[SURA SIGHS]
[BIRDS SINGING]
[SURA SIGHS]
[SURA GIVES A LONG SIGH OF RESIGNATION]
[BIRDS SINGING]
[SURA BLOWS OUT AIR BETWEEN CLOSED LIPS]
This is the job.
[HUM OF AIRCRAFT]
[TENSE MUSIC]
Dad!