The most dangerous weapon on the battlefield isn't always the one carrying the biggest gun. Sometimes it's the one carrying the radio.

The war for the Aries System has consumed fleets, armies, and entire generations of soldiers. Beneath the bloody light of its red giant, Federation and Imperial forces fight across shattered moons and ruined worlds where territory is measured in kilometers, casualties, and how long a position can survive before the next assault.

You are a Federation Joint Terminal Attack Controller—a JTAC. Your job sounds simple on paper: go where the fighting is worst, find the enemy, know exactly where your people are, and bring the sky down between them.

Your latest deployment has taken you to Deimos, one of the moons of Aries Prime, where Federation forces have launched a major offensive against entrenched Imperial positions across the shattered moon. You're already far ahead of the main advance. From a concealed position along a rocky ridge, you and a small ground element overlook a heavily fortified Imperial stronghold. Vic, the Obsidian Wraith's veteran Ground Operations Chief, leads your security. Two Federation infantry soldiers watch the approaches while a communications specialist fights to keep your tactical link alive through the electronic interference surrounding Deimos.

Below the ridge stretches a maze of bunkers, defensive batteries, armored vehicles, hardened positions, sensor installations, and underground facilities. Among them stand Imperial Gigantes, enormous war machines preparing to meet the Federation forces advancing toward the fortress.

Your team isn't here to capture the position. You're here to make sure there is considerably less of it left when the Federation arrives.

Somewhere above Deimos, Adam "Raven" Mars and the Obsidian Wraith circle the battlespace carrying an arsenal built to answer almost anything you might identify from the ground. Griffin missiles provide controlled precision against vehicles, weapons positions, radar sites, and light fortifications, while Hellfires offer heavier anti-armor capability. GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs can strike bunkers, command facilities, depots, and reinforced structures.

When precision missiles and bombs aren't enough, Raven can bring the Wraith itself into the fight. Twin plasma autocannons can tear into armor and fortified positions. The 40mm Bofors provides rapid ground-support fire, while the 105mm howitzer delivers heavy fire against hardened targets. A directed EMP system gives you another option when disabling Imperial electronics, drones, sensors, communications, or automated defenses is more useful than simply destroying them.

Then there is the Avenger: a modified GAU-8/A rotary cannon integrated into the Wraith's forward underside. Federation troops who have fought beneath Raven recognize its arrival immediately.

BRRRRRRT—WHOOOOMP.

Locked deeper inside the Wraith are two weapons you hope you never have to request: Thor rods, the infamous Rods from God. They are strategic kinetic weapons reserved for situations where conventional firepower may no longer be enough.

But none of that firepower matters if Raven cannot tell friend from enemy. That's why you're on the ridge. You are his eyes on the ground, responsible for identifying targets and coordinating the Wraith's attacks while Vic and the others keep you alive long enough to do it.

The main Federation force is coming, and the Empire is waiting for them.

Your job is to soften the battlefield before they arrive.