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Released by: IDW Publishing, Inc.
Released on: Apr. 02, 2014
Blue takes Breaker back to a small outpost safely, discovering once there that his squad name is actually “Virgin†and, further to his own chagrin, that the rest of the troops are referring to him as “Rogue Trooper.â€
Captain Crieff is head of the small, poorly-outfitted squad in an old outpost that had been long-since abandoned. As he and Rogue talk they're joined by the combat medic, Corporal Rudd, who's very interested in Rogue. But he's pretty exhausted, choosing to take his rest outside the structure, guarded by his own instincts and the 3 bio-chips of fallen brother troopers that are assimilated into his gear.
Meanwhile, Col. Trage is getting an earful from Col. Cheng of Security & Investigation. Cheng wants to bring Rogue in for questioning about what, exactly, happened in the Quartz Zone, that left Rogue the lone survivor. Trage, though, has sent his best field team down to the planet to locate and exterminate Rogue. After Cheng storms off that team reports in to Trage as they're now planet-side…
Rogue is awakened from his rest by a bug buzzing near him that, he determines, is actually a Nort' recon drone. So now that the Norts have located their location Rogue cannot abandon them to their fate of overwhelming odds and pitches in to level the playing field. Angel, floating high above, informs him of Trage's team and that he needs to escape. But Rogue is a trooper so he does what he does best, namely killing lots of enemy soldiers. And while the rest of the squad is feeling relieved Rogue knows that this is just a recon wave and that the heavy stuff - the heavy-mech “gundogs†- are coming next for them all.
Brian Ruckley's story still moves at a great clip and, in this outing, gives us some more regular humans for context and contrast, making Rogue's plight all the more sympathetic. Is he helping out these soldiers because it's the “right†thing to do or because that's the only place he feels safe? Alberto Ponticelli's artwork keeps the pace right with the taut story, too, making this overall a very enjoyable read and, thus far, a great series to pick up.
