Volume 2 - Chapter 32 - Priority
| “Before the Allbright System, warfare was about numbers. Strategy helped, equipment mattered, but no single soldier on the ground could ever truly shape the outcome of an entire battle. That era is long over. The arrival of the System changed the very nature of warfare completely. A single individual, with the right training, equipment, Ability loadout, and enough System Accomplishments under their belt, can turn the tide of battle on their own. From this brutal new reality, a new type of soldier was born—the Battlefield Ace. These aren’t just soldiers anymore. They’re strategic assets rivalling entire planets in worth.” Among some of the most famous of the UHF’s Battlefield Aces is “Witchglass,” a Psy-Warfare Psyker whose presence during the Fall of Tridael Port resulted in the capture of three enemy warships without requiring her to fire even a single shot. Within minutes of her arrival, enemy communications failed, commanders collapsed from targeted hallucinations, systems corrupted, and mass-suicides took out critical leadership. What was expected to be a twenty-month siege ended in a seven-hour surrender. Equally legendary, but on the completely opposite end of the spectrum for Battlefield Aces is “Gravepath,” a mechanized Ultra-Heavy specializing in mass-destruction loadouts, who single-handedly held Mirevale Crossing during the Third Push of the Iros Offensive in Dominion space. Over twelve hundred fully-Integrated enemy soldiers fell at that choke point before any UHF reinforcements arrived. No backup, no air support, no retreat—just Gravepath and a storm of explosives and firepower that nearly cracked the planet’s crust beneath him; an unstoppable dreadnought who refused to fall or give any ground. “In another war, in another age, they would have been myth and legend. Today, we call them by nicknames—and assign them to squads.” Their stories aren’t just rare occurrences anymore either. The System made it possible, and humanity’s need for heroes made them essential. The UHF may never match the overwhelming numbers of its enemies, but thanks to its overwhelmingly powerful Battlefield Aces, it doesn’t need to. While we will always find ourselves outnumbered, thanks to their existence and them standing side-by-side with us in every Battlefield, we are never outgunned. They are more than symbols; more than extraordinary soldiers or Marines. They are the very heart of modern warfare; and not just for the UHF itself. They are the difference between losing ground and holding firm. Between victory and death. They deserve all the awe, fear, and respect they receive—and more. For without them, Factions like the UHF simply wouldn’t exist... [Excerpt from Gilded Shadows: A History of Post-System Warfare, 936 PFC]
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