Private First Class Delmore lay on his unyielding cot beneath the calm night sky. In the recently war-torn country of Iraq, within the confines of an artillery base named after a fallen paratrooper, Delmore deeply inhaled the smoke of his cigarette, mixed with the intoxicating fragrance of diesel.

As he listened to the clanking of engines nearby and traced the stars carving ivory-thin arcs across the night sky, Delmore's thoughts wandered to his future and the life eagerly awaiting him back home. Despite his yearning to be with his family, this moment was one he cherished.

With his mind adrift in the vastness, Delmore noticed a star unlike the others—ominous and unsettling. It carved the sky not with an inviting white streak but with an uncanny, ghostly one. The terrifying beauty of an explosion sent a shockwave that trembled throughout the sky.

“Fire mission!” A shout erupted from the nearby HUMVEE. The burst of the explosion reverberated in Delmore’s ears, and the sudden cries from his battles jolted him from his solace. He was abruptly pulled from the center of the universe, thrown back into the stark reality of his surroundings, and thrown back to the reality of war.