Johny finally made it into his hideout. He entered his passcode, scanned his eye, and let the security system take a drop of his blood. Each measure alone was relatively easy to bypass, but together they were nearly impossible - even for a seasoned code slicer. He smirked, recalling Lieutenant Garibaldi's favourite saying: "Just because you aren't paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you". And in Johny's case, paranoia meant survival. Not that he cared for his life. But he owed that much to his fallen comrades - he was alive, and they weren't.

It had just occurred to him that this bar interaction was the ghosts of their last mission. He now remembered the Lieutenant's last words vividly, as if they had been spoken yesterday...

"Johny, listen to me; as we both know, I'm not going to make it." Johny was about to object, but when he looked into the Lieutenant's eyes, he knew better. They were both aware that the Lieutenant didn't have much life left in him, despite the resolve. Sometimes things simply don't work out the way everyone wants. Such is life, and such is war. The Space Commandos had learned to make peace with it - and the Lieutenant was the one who taught them that.

"Take this crystal, Johny, and do not give it to anyone. Ever. Hide it, but make sure no one but you can access it. Only if you're in ultimate danger, you may open the information contained in it. Remember the code words: The Sun Project. I've programmed the crystal to your DNA code; it can only be opened if you are alive."

The Lieutenant was talking fast, clearly afraid he'd black out before he said everything to Johny. Blood poured from his numerous chest wounds. And as much as Johny tried to stop the bleeding with their standard medkit, he was no medic. Even Tristan, their medic, wouldn't have been able to help - and he was gone too. Johny and the Lieutenant were the only ones left. And the Lieutenant was about to join his platoon in the afterlife.

The Lieutenant looked into Johny's eyes: "Promise me, Johny, you will do the right thing when the time comes. I trust you on that." "Sir, yes, sir, for you and the boys".

The Lieutenant gave him a tired yet peaceful look and said: "Now, piss off, and let me die in peace". They both smiled...and then the Lieutenant was gone.

Johny stared blankly for a minute...before he returned back to the present. He reached for his secret stash and took out the info-crystal. He inserted it into the terminal's triangular slot, entered the passcode, "The Sun Project", and donated some more of his blood.

He was startled to see the Lieutenant's face projected from the crystal and to hear his voice again. It felt surreal to see him so alive again, wearing that trademark smirk. Johny felt a sting in his heart - a reminder that some wounds never quite heal.

"Hi, Johny. Seems you made it - good for you. But you're probably in trouble; otherwise you wouldn't be listening to me right now. It is only four of us left, and it is time for me to record this message. By the way, it'll self-destruct immediately after you hear it. No second chances, so you'd better pay attention. I know you will, though, you were always a diligent and reliable soldier."

"Anyhow, Johny, long story short, I have never liked our last mission. In fact, I didn't like it right from the start. It looked good on paper, but I knew it would be trouble the moment I saw the plan. I had a feeling that everything would go south. And it did, didn't it? Spectacularly so. Well, rhetorical question, as you can only listen to me, there won't be any one last conversation between us now, and you were there after all. Not that I really want to talk to your sorry ass anyway."

The Lieutenant's holographic face smirked and, without thinking, Johny smirked too. As battle-hardened as the Lieutenant had been, he'd never lost his soul or his famous sense of humour. Johny recognised the background behind him — the Command Center they had entered at the end of their mission. Yet something about this room was different.

"So where was I...Yes, the details of our mission were so secretive that I was surprised I was even made privy to them. I don't have much time left because my injury is actually much worse than I told you. But that doesn't matter. You probably remember when I left to request for a secure channel with our High Command. I can only wonder now who I actually spoke with...The name and rank of this mysterious fellow were never shared with me."

"Now I realise we were not supposed to make it out of this shithole of a planet. That's why. Only four of us left, and am I going to ask Ben and Alex to initiate a sacrifice protocol. You'll find out soon enough - there's no other way. Sorry, boys, we do what we have to do. But it'll buy you and me a bit of time."

"If anyone can make it further, it is you, Johny. And if you can't...well, that won't be our problem anymore. Let them all burn in hell; if there is one, anyway."

"OK, Johny, enough with the background. I need to wrap it up, so listen carefully - this is the most important part of our mission, something our masters thought we'd take to our unmarked graves. Something you were never supposed to know..."