— — — — — —
In the world of Starship Troopers...
"Renzo! Emergency deployment! Gear up and move out!"
StarTroops Renzo had just returned from the consciousness space and was still digesting his latest gains when Rico's voice suddenly shouted out from nearby.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!"
Snapping out of his thoughts, Renzo quickly got to his feet, threw on his gear, and caught up to Rico, asking on the move, "Do you know what the mission is?"
"Not sure on the details," Rico replied. "But the captain said we're heading to support Colony Planet D-4976. Apparently, a massive wave of bugs just hit the place."
Soon after, the two of them arrived at the hangar where the rest of their squad was already waiting. They boarded the transport ship together with the team.
...
A few hours later, after jumping through a wormhole and flying for a bit, they finally arrived at D-4976.
Without delay, they boarded a drop pod and began their descent to the surface.
From the outside, the drop pod looked like it was wrapped in fire, blazing through the atmosphere.
And it wasn't just them—several drop pods were descending in formation.
It was clear this wasn't a small-scale mission.
Which made sense. D-4976 wasn't just home to millions of colonists—it was a key mining and trade hub. Losing it would be catastrophic.
"Go, go, go! Move your asses! Kill those damn bugs!"
Ratatatatatatatatata!!!
They barely made it a few hundred meters after landing before they ran into a swarm.
Renzo jumped right into action, blending in with the rest of the unit and opening fire.
Only, with his current abilities, 'blending in' was a joke.
His marksmanship was off the charts—every single bullet found its mark, headshot after headshot, never wasting a round.
Not a single bug survived more than a second in his sights.
"Nice shooting, Renzo! What the hell did you eat this morning? Your aim's unreal!"
Captain Ibanez praised him through the comms, half-joking but clearly impressed.
Renzo's sudden spike in performance was taking a lot of pressure off the squad.
"No kidding. Renzo, you're on fire today!" Rico chimed in.
Renzo grinned. "Heh, I've been training lately!"
He casually threw out an excuse, laying the groundwork for revealing more of his strength later without it seeming too out of nowhere.
Of course, he didn't plan to show off his true power anytime soon. Not unless he absolutely had to.
He had a roadmap for the future, and rushing things would only draw unnecessary attention.
Better to take it slow and keep things believable.
"Oh yeah?"Captain Ibanez raised a brow. "Maybe you can tell me how to train?"
"Haha, no problem."
Renzo didn't mind. His squadmates were solid folks, and if they were going to be his foundation in the military, it was worth teaching them a thing or two—like basic body training techniques.
Maybe toss in a little mental exercise along the way, too.
---
Meanwhile, in the ruins of the city...
"Mom... Dad... are we going to die?"
A beautiful young girl huddled in her mother's arms, her face pale as she peeked through a small crack in the rubble they were hiding under.
Her name was Tia Durer.
Everything had happened so fast.
The bugs had poured into the city like a living wave, tearing through buildings and leaving everything in ruins. By sheer luck, her family had found shelter in the collapsed wreckage of a building.
But luck doesn't last forever.
Outside, the sound of skittering legs and alien screeches echoed constantly. The bugs were everywhere. Their senses were sharp—sooner or later, they'd be found.
"No, honey. No, we won't die," her mother whispered, hugging her tight. "Didn't you hear? The army's here. We're going to be rescued."
She tried to sound confident for her daughter's sake, but inside, she was terrified.
Rescue? When?
Even if soldiers came… could they really stop this many bugs?
There were just... too many.
Shriiiek!
Suddenly, a sharp, piercing cry rang out from outside—the unmistakable screech of a large bug.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunfire erupted.
Tia recognized it immediately—it was her father's sniper rifle. He had modified it himself, and the distinct sound was burned into her memory.
She and her mother tensed.
Without thinking, Tia scrambled toward the edge of the rubble, pushed open a makeshift lid, and peeked outside.
And there he was—her father, standing alone against a swarm of bugs, firing shot after shot in desperation.
But it was no use.
There were just too many of them.
And now, with the gunfire drawing attention, even more bugs were flooding in. The whole street outside was crawling—hundreds of them, all converging on their location like a living tidal wave.
"Tia! Get back inside!" her mother screamed from the shelter.
But Tia didn't listen. Instead, she shut the slab behind her.
"Tia! What are you doing?! Get back! Now!" her father yelled, barely glancing over his shoulder while keeping up his frantic fire.
Was this really the time to play hero?
"No! Dad, let me help! There's too many of them!"
Tia rushed over to her father's side, grabbed a rifle from his gear pile, and started shooting.
"Agh... fine!"
Her father sighed heavily but didn't argue anymore. He focused back on the swarm, squeezing off shots as fast as he could.
Still, it was hopeless.
Even with Tia's help, the tide didn't slow.
Dozens of bugs were closing in fast—massive, armored creatures crawling and leaping through the debris. In seconds, ten or more broke through the outer perimeter and lunged straight at the pair, their razor-sharp limbs raised and ready to strike.
"Watch out!"
Seeing the danger, Tia's father didn't hesitate. He threw himself forward and shoved Tia back, trying to shield her with his own body.
"NO!!"
Tia screamed as she was flung backward, watching in horror as the monsters closed in on her father.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Suddenly, a new burst of gunfire rang out—a rapid, precise volley.
A figure rushed in from behind Tia, gun blazing.
And in the blink of an eye... every single bug attacking her father was taken down. One shot each. All of them clean headshots.
Tia stared, stunned.
None of the shots missed.
Not one.
The stranger reached her father and yanked him clear just before the collapsing corpses of the bugs could crush or impale him.
"We're... alive?" her father muttered in disbelief.
Renzo nodded coolly, helping him up. "No need to thank me. Reinforcements have arrived. But this area still isn't safe—come with me."
As he spoke, he fired again, dropping another wave of bugs closing in on their position.
Ratatatatatata!
Effortless, clean kills—one after another.
"Understood!" her father nodded quickly. "But my wife is still hiding back there—please give me a moment to get her!"
He turned and ran back toward the hidden shelter.
Renzo gave a short nod. "Go. I've got you covered."
Tia, meanwhile, stood frozen for a moment... then slowly approached the man who'd just saved them.
"H-Hi... I'm Tia Durer. Thank you for saving my family," she said, cheeks flushed red. "Can I... can I ask your name, hero?"
She stared at him with wide eyes full of admiration, watching the way he moved—confident, calm, lethal. There was something magnetic about him.
She had to admit, she was totally falling for this sudden, badass savior who'd literally dropped in to rescue them.
In fact, right then and there, she made up her mind: She was going to marry this man.
Yeah, she knew it was sudden.
But hey, this was Starship Troopers—the world didn't have time for slow-burn romances.
"Oh? Tia, huh? Nice name." Renzo glanced at her with a smile, casually dropping another bug with a perfectly aimed shot. "I'm Renzo. As you can probably tell, Mobile Infantry—just got here."
He didn't even need to look to aim anymore. His shots were mechanical, precise—every bullet a fatal blow.
Tia's eyes sparkled with awe.
"You're amazing! I bet with your skills, you'll be a general in no time. Being a regular soldier is totally beneath you!" she gushed.
Renzo chuckled. "Hey, someone gets it! I've been saying that myself."
And yeah, now that he got a good look at her, he recognized the girl.
Tia Durer, nickname "Trig".
She was from Starship Troopers: Invasion movie—that sharpshooting Asian girl with sniper talent and solid combat instincts.
Back in that movie, she'd lost her family and enlisted, eventually dying in one of the brutal later battles.
But now? Renzo had just saved both of her parents.
Which meant her fate had already changed.
He had to admit—Tia was stunning. Beautiful face, great figure—even though she looked like she was only seventeen or eighteen, she already had that mature, warrior-girl presence.
Renzo couldn't help but grin to himself.
Yeah… this timeline's going to be different.
Humanity will have hope now.
.
.
.