Helldivers: A Day in the Life

Prepare to Drop

"Hellport launch sequence initiated. Crew to stations." A female voice screamed over the speakers.

Startled awake, Bruce cursed his life after taking a deep breath. The Lord Commander had said that it would be at least a few weeks before he deployed again. Rubbing his eyes, he looked to his right to see a readout of the planet that he would be on within 15 minutes.

He'd be landing on the planet of Lastofe in the Glassium sector.

Fucking bugs.

When Bruce had fallen asleep a few hours ago, he'd been in the Polo sector. He zoomed out the read out to the galaxy level to see where he was at now. The sight bothered him. Why had they flown a third of the way across the milky way to fight the bugs? Polo was still being contested by the Cyborgs and they'd just finished liberating Alkeron VI. The plan had been to swing by Super Earth for a month of R and R before heading out again. Ohh the joys of being a helldiver.

"You awake yet Bruce?" Doug's voice drifted into his living pod from the catwalk outside.

"Of course Doug," Bruce croaked, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. "That announcer bitch is loud enough to wake the dead." Bruce brought a hand to his mouth to stifle a yawn. "You see what we're up against?" He swung his legs out of his bed to put his feet on the floor. The Helldiver living conditions were less than spectacular. Each Helldiver had a small hexagonal living pod plugged into the barracks wall of a ship. Each was barely big enough to hold a bed, desk and a locker for uniforms.They were given all the food and liberty time they could use when they weren't on mission. He supposed it could be worse.

"Fourteen minutes till planetfall." The voice screamed.

"We know." Bruce shouted. Fuck, would they not even allow them enough time to eat before dropping to their death? This was the 4th day in a row he would be rocketed toward some arbitrary planet with little intel. At least Lastofe was more or less an earth like planet. Alkeron VI had been an ice planet on the far edge of Alkeron's habitable zone. It boggled his mind how the Cyborgs were able to wander around in negative fifty five degree snow drifts without freezing to death. Bruce had shivered for hours once he got back onboard.

Why did the aliens even settle on these worlds? It didn't matter, Bruce supposed. His job was simple:
Land on the planet.

Do the objectives.

Call the shuttle.

Try not to die.

The only difference was whether he was shooting at the automated Illuminate, inhuman Cyborgs, or the Bugs. Why did they call them Bugs? They needed a better name than that. Bruce clapped his hands and the pods lights bathed the room in a warm lavender glow as he stood.

"Good morning Bruce. Your uniform is ready," A different disembodied, but manly voice this time, said to him. "Will you be needing nutrients for your day?"

"Well, that depends, Wallace. If I die, will I be hungry in the afterlife?" Bruce responded. He heard chuckling over the intercom. Probably Doug.

"I don't understand the question sir. Please restate the--"

"No Wallace I will not. Which Hellport am I being shot out of this morning? Is it even morning?"

"Yes sir. You will be leaving out of Hellport five. It is approximately 1345 Standard Super Earth time. My sensors indicate that you were asleep for four hours and thirty eight minutes."

Wonderful. No wonder Bruce felt like shit. He and Randy were the only two to make it off of Alkeron VI no less than seven hours ago. He took a deep breath and blew it out in a sigh. This isn't what the recruiter told him it would be. "Alright, Wallace. I'd like three eggs, an orange and fifty ounces of slightly warmer than room temperature coffee if you could."