Tales of the MERC Part Two: A Deadly Introduction

As a former enlisted soldier, Malice thrived in the treacherous northern slopes of the Lochlan Heights. Fearless and independent, she earned five battle ribbons over nineteen treks and has the scars to prove it. Her dream had always been to command a combat platoon. Now, nine months after her commissioning, she found herself stuck in the mundane role of training officer for new enlisted recruits. It was boring, thankless work, trekking through the lower Heights, at least until one cold winter morning when she took the newest set of recruits on their first trek. Wakened in the pre-dawn stillness by her intuition, she struggled to guess what portents lay ahead. As the squad set out she grew certain that some momentous doom awaited. Upon reaching their destination, she found it to be the least likely doom of all.