War Machine (2026)
Director: Patrick Hughes
Screenplay: Patrick Hughes, James Beaufort
Cast: Alan Ritchson, Dennis Quaid, Stephan James, Jai Courtney, Esai Morales, Keiynan Lonsdale, Daniel Webber
Release dates: February 12, 2026 (Australia); March 6, 2026 (Netflix)
Plot: In Afghanistan, an unnamed Staff Sergeant arrives to help his brother’s broken down convoy. His brother tries to convince him that they should apply to become Army Rangers, when they are attacked by Taliban insurgents. Everyone is killed except the Staff Sergeant, who suffers a knee injury. The Staff Sergeant tries to carry his mortally wounded brother back to base but passes out before making it. When he wakes up in the hospital, he learns that his brother had already died, but he is awarded the Silver Star.
Two years later, the Staff Sergeant attends RASP to join the 75th Ranger Regiment, and is given the candidate number of 81. 81 excels at training but does not bond with his fellow recruits and refuses the role of team leader, despite his record. After he allows himself to nearly drown during an underwater exercise, regiment leaders Sergeant Major Sheridan and First Sergeant Torres question his mental state over his PTSD and insist he step down from the program to recuperate, but 81 refuses. Sheridan and Torres allow him to advance and assign him team leader for the final exercise, a simulated mission in the forest to destroy a classified aircraft and rescue its pilot. Around that time, reports come out of a suspected asteroid revolving around the planet breaking off in pieces.
During the exercise, the team is startled by an unknown blast in the sky, which knocks out communications, and finds a strange looking object by the creek, which the team believes is the classified aircraft. After detonating it with explosives, it remains undamaged and transforms into a walking machine that starts killing the team; they are unable to fight back as they are carrying blank rounds. 81’s second-in-command 7’s leg is severely wounded, forcing the other recruits to carry him. After the attack, only 81, 7, 15, 44, 109 and 23 are left alive. The machine affects the magnetism of their compasses, allowing them to sense when it is near. After escaping down river, they reach the cadre posing as the enemy force and find they have been eliminated by the machine. Seeing traces of impact from a mountaintop to the valley below, they deduce the machine is extraterrestrial and try to make it back to base in an APC. As the machine gives chase, the team finds live ammunition but discovers its armor is impenetrable. While 81 subdues the machine with a rockslide, the APC is destroyed and most of the team killed except 81 and 7.
Seeing the machine send up a signal into space, 81 takes 7 into the forest. 7 reveals that he knew 81’s brother. 81 sees that the machine has a ventilation system and lures it towards a construction site. 81 pours rocks into the ventilation system, causing the machine to overheat and explode. 81 successfully makes it back to base with 7. Sheridan and Torres reveal that the suspected asteroid was actually an army of machines and they have started an attack all over the planet. When 81 reveals the machines’ weakness, he is accepted into the Regiment and is assigned to lead the next assault against the machines.
* * *
Transcript
Note for Students & Writers: This transcript is archived here for educational purposes, critical analysis, and screenwriting study. All rights belong to the original creators.
[ominous music playing]
[ominous music intensifies]
[man on comm] Good copy, Sapper Patrol. You’re exiting the green zone now.
10th Mountain’s convoy is stranded, no sitrep.
Be advised, Spartans convoy is in a black spot.
Comms will be sketchy. Stay sharp, watch your six.
[comm chirps]
[ominous music continues]
[soldiers chattering indistinctly]
[music fades]
Who’s the full-fledged moron responsible for this cluster fuck?
Who’s the meathead calling me a moron?
Meathead? You fucked up my morning pass.
Oh, what are you gonna do about it?
What am I gonna do?
Noogie, baby! Got you again.
[both laughing]
Wait, you know this guy?
This one? Nah, never met him.
I just have the exact same tattoo by coincidence.
Really?
He’s my big brother, numbnuts.
Good to see you, bro.
You too.
[older brother grunts]
[jets roaring overhead]
What’d this idiot do?
I don’t know.
Hey, Tommy, a bit of hospitality. Get the shit.
[brother] Let me give you a science lesson on the laws of physics.
Walk you through what you should have learned in 8th grade.
First law of thermodynamics.
Energy can’t be created or destroyed, so it’s gotta go somewhere.
When you idiots fill these trucks with Stop Leak, you block the vents.
Heat can’t escape. Pressure builds till the radiator blows.
You listening to this, Tommy?
[softly] Get that shit out of here.
I know it was you.
Mechanics keep ratting you out.
Why do you do it?
You just don’t care?
No, I care.
Sure, I care about this fucking golf cart
I get to drive around the desert breaking down every five minutes.
Your fault.
Man, we should be on the front lines.
Fucking kicking doors like we said when we joined.
You know, we were all, “Don’t fucking quit.”
What’d we do? We fucking quit.
Dude, what are you talking about?
I’m talking about Ranger Assessment Selection Program.
[poignant music playing]
My God.
RASP?
[younger brother] Yeah.
Dude, take Tommy.
Tommy? He can’t even spell “Ranger.”
Intake starts in June.
That ship has sailed.
Rangers are fucking hardcore.
I’m fucking old.
You’re fucking ugly.
No, I checked the cutoff. We’re good.
Bro, you wanna be a Ranger, go be a Ranger.
You don’t need my permission.
I wanted to do it together, you know?
Like we promised each other.
Bro, we were 18.
We also said we were gonna start a thrash band.
Come on, man, just imagine.
You and me, getting our Ranger Scrolls.
Fucking running across the tarmac. Black Hawks.
First boots on the ground.
[chuckles]
That does sound pretty awesome.
Yeah.
[laughs]
All right. You’re in, I’m in.
You promise?
Always.
Unbelievable.
I just gotta top it off with coolant.
I got that shit.
Are you sure?
Yeah, get outta here!
[groans] I don’t see you screwing this up at all.
Hey, Tom, fill it up.
We’re both gonna be badass Army Rangers!
Starting to regret saying yes already.
Tier one, baby!
[laughs]
Hey, you’re not gonna say goodbye?
I’ll see you tomorrow when you fill it up again with Stop Leak.
We’re gonna be Rangers, baby!
[soldier 1] Incoming!
[dramatic music playing]
[yells]
[soldier 2] Contact!
[machine guns firing]
Mortar incoming!
Get down!
[soldier 3] Go! Get up!
[sound fades]
[unsettling music playing]
[high-pitched ringing]
[muffled screams]
[unsettling music continues]
[yells]
[gasping]
[gasps]
[music fades]
[breathing heavily]
[wistful music playing]
[music turns ominous]
[cadre 1] Five minutes to base.
Get your packs ready!
[music turns dramatic]
[cadre 2] Welcome to the Ranger Assessment Selection Program!
All candidates must proceed at pace to the induction hall immediately!
[cadre 3] Move!
[cadre 2] You will receive a Ziploc bag.
Place your name, paper, and rank inside that Ziploc bag.
Anything personal, hand it over.
[cadre 3] Tuck in your shirt!
[cadre 2] Jewelry, phones, wallets, meds.
You no longer have a name.
You are a number!
You are now number 44.
Next!
You are now number 198.
[cadres yelling indistinctly]
[cadre 4] 190.
[soldier] Yes, sir.
As an E-6, you’ll be assigned team leader.
State your consent.
Yes, Sergeant.
You’re now number 7.
[cadre 4] Look who’s back.
One strike and you’ll be out again.
If I may say so, Sergeant…
Shut the fuck up.
Yeah.
You are now number 15. Next!
You are now number 111.
[cadre 4] Number 122.
Fuck me. Applied four times, medically denied each time.
But he just made the age cutoff.
You got a plan B?
No, Sergeant.
[dramatic music playing]
As an E-6, you will be assigned team leader.
State your consent.
I’d rather not.
[cadre 2] Ten minutes to formation!
You are now number 81.
Yes, Sergeant.
[cadre 2] Ten minutes to formation!
Rangers are the spearhead of the United States Army.
We are first on the ground every single time.
The fate of our nation and allies depends on our expertise.
Do you understand me?
[in unison] Yes, First Sergeant!
[First Sergeant] You are about to embark on eight weeks of the hardest selection program in the world.
Whether you have been deployed in combat or you are fresh out of basic, you can expect your emotional, physical, and mental strength to be pushed to the absolute limit and then some.
If, by the grace of God, you make it to the final stage, you will undertake a 24-hour simulated mission known as Death March, completed by crossing that finish line.
[dramatic music continues]
At which point you will be eligible for the Ranger Scroll, the tan beret, and the most storied regiment in the United States Army.
Attention!
Rangers lead the way!
[in unison] All the way!
[First Sergeant] Welcome to RASP!
[cadre 1] Come on, candidate! Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!
[cadre 2] Let’s see what you got!
Tough it out! Let’s go!
[First Sergeant] We are looking for elite warriors!
The best of the best.
[cadre 3] Seventeen, get the fuck out of here!
[First Sergeant] Every week, those who fail will be eliminated.
[cadre 4] We just fucking started!
[First Sergeant] 16, 27, 29, 53, step forward.
Pack your bags. You are non-selects.
[cadre 5] Get out.
[cadre 6] Come on, 81!
[soldiers] 38.
[cadre 6] Down!
Up!
[soldiers] Thirty-nine!
[cadre 6] Down!
[soldiers] Forty!
[First Sergeant] If you’re thinking about quitting, do it now.
[dramatic music continues]
Welcome to week three.
[grunts]
[First Sergeant] The culling of the herd.
This one’s broken, get him out of here!
[cadre 2] Pick up those feet!
[First Sergeant] There’s no shame in quitting.
Most of you will quit.
[cadre 6] Do you really have what it takes?
Rangers lead the way!
[First Sergeant] 77, 84, 142, step forward.
You are non-selects. Pack your bags.
[dramatic music continues]
[cadre 4 over bullhorn] Four weeks down! Four weeks to go!
You made it halfway.
But if you think it gets any easier, you are wrong!
I’m just saying, once we join regiment, it’s top-secret clearance, right?
Means they’re gonna have to tell us the truth about some things.
Y’all know what I’m talking about. I’m talking Area 51, moon landings.
I’m talking Tupac. Come on.
You’re talking shit.
You think they’re just gonna hand over an envelope of secrets with your scroll?
[15] Hell yeah.
[44] That’s not how it works, bro.
[15] Oh, and how would you know that, 44?
I was DOD. I had the clearance.
Real question is why they gave us rifles with blanks in them when you can bet there’s some good hunting up here.
Yeah.
‘Cause otherwise we’d all shoot 15.
[laughing]
[15] Very funny, 7.
[cadre 1] Look out.
[cadre 4] Here comes the first.
[cadre 1] Where’s everyone else, candidate?
Behind me, Sarge.
[stopwatch beeps]
[15] Hey, slow down, Superman.
Making the rest of us look bad.
[indistinct chatter and laughter]
[dramatic music playing]
[soldiers yelling and cheering]
[cheering and whistling]
[grunting]
[whistle blows]
[cadre 4] That is exactly what I was talking about.
[cadre 2] Now, we got a lot of hopped-up 11 Bravos who know how to shoot a rifle, but I want a show of hands who’s actually been deployed.
Where’d you serve, 109?
Fort Benning, Sergeant. Basic, AIT, and airborne.
Honor grad. Top of the class.
Deployments, candidate, not potty training.
And what about you, 60?
19-Kilo, M1 Abrams crewman, Sergeant.
Hot damn, a tanker.
Maybe you can valet my Lambo.
[soldiers laugh]
What about you, 81?
12 Bravo, combat engineer, 213th CSSB.
Who were you supporting, Sapper?
Third Brigade.
10th Mountain Division.
Spartans.
[soldiers whisper indistinctly]
[dramatic music continues]
All right.
Let’s see what you got.
[cadre 7] Ready! Up!
Ready! Up!
What happened to him?
213th was helping a stranded convoy.
Taliban showed up and smoked the whole unit.
[60] Holy shit.
That’s him.
I heard he got a Silver Star.
What?
No shit.
[woman on TV] NASA has detected a massive interstellar object
believed to originate from outside our solar system,
projected to pass by Earth…
You probably think NASA’s making that shit up too.
Although it’ll transit close to Earth’s orbit,
officials say there is no cause for alarm.
Yeah.
[tense music playing]
146, 148, 149, step forward!
Pack your bags. You are non-selects.
You’re telling me that guy won a Silver fucking Star?
That’s what I heard.
They say the only survivor carried his brother ten miles back to base.
Wait. His actual brother?
That’s what they said.
Hey, 81.
Is it true what happened in Kandahar?
[7] Fifteen.
Mind your business, man.
I just wanna know if he’s a hero or not.
Who the fuck is talking in the DFAC?
Don’t tell me that was you, 15.
You looking to recycle again?
It was me, Sergeant.
[sergeant] Bullshit!
Extra hill climb!
Everyone, thank 15!
[soldiers groan]
Forty-four, why are you here?
To fight with the best!
[cadre 1] Sixty, why are you here?
To serve in an elite unit!
Eighty-one, why are you here?
To cross that finish line.
[First Sergeant] This is not just a physical test.
This is a mental and emotional test.
If you cannot control what’s inside,
you will not control what’s outside.
[poignant, pensive music playing]
[soldiers grunting]
[whistle blows]
[cadre 2] Thirty-second break!
[soldiers gasping]
[music fades]
[dramatic music playing]
[gasps]
[7] D.F.Q.?
Don’t Fucking Quit, right?
How’d you know that?
[whistle blows]
Lucky guess.
[cadre 2] All right, people, we are back! Let’s go! Let’s go!
Come on, candidates! This ain’t recess.
Come on, 15, move it out! Let’s go!
[cadre 8] Breach! Breach! Breach!
[dramatic music playing]
[81] Clear!
This is week six! You’ll be abseiling on a figure-eight device!
This shit will save your life.
[First Sergeant] 65, 48, and 143, step forward!
Pack your bags, you are non-selects!
[soldier 1] Come on! Cover me!
Move! Move! Move!
[soldier 2] Move it!
[soldier 1] Covering!
Run!
[soldier 1] Move it! Quick!
Move! Move! Move!
[Spartan soldier] Incoming!
[gasps]
[breathing heavily]
[unsettling music playing]
[door opens]
Wake up, assholes! Welcome to the final week.
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
It’s a glorious day to become a Ranger.
[tense music playing]
[soldiers cheering and applauding]
[cadre 2] Fifty-seven, out of my pool!
Fifteen, out! Forty-four, out!
Shit!
[determined music playing]
I’m here!
All right. Stay with me!
[emotional music playing]
Stay with me. Please.
Hang in there!
[groaning]
Stay with me. I got you. Breathe!
[yelling]
[cadres grunt]
[music fades]
[cadre 9] Jeez. [Grunting]
[cadre 9 grunting]
[sighs]
[coughing]
Sapper, you are officially one crazy motherfucker.
[Sergeant Major] He’s a liability.
I want to see him in my office.
[ominous music playing]
[gasping]
[man on TV] The asteroid discovered last month
continues to confound scientists
as it now shows signs of structural fragmentation
with uniform sections splitting apart.
Some experts believe it may not be a single object at all,
but rather a cluster of smaller interstellar bodies…
[ominous music intensifies]
[music stops]
[First Sergeant] Come on in, candidate.
The situation is being closely monitored.
Unfortunately, First Sergeant Torres and I are going to recommend that you retire from the course, effective immediately.
You’re done.
I’m done?
[Torres] Sit down.
On what grounds?!
Sit down, soldier!
Sergeant Major, I haven’t failed an event yet.
Your physical strength is not in question.
What concerns us is what’s going on inside your head.
Cadre says you’re not sleeping.
Peer review indicates you’re not bonding with the other candidates.
And I’ve known since day one you’ve ducked every single opportunity to be a team leader.
These aren’t the hallmarks of a stable candidate.
[Sergeant Major] No, they’re not.
Usually, when a soldier goes through a world of shit like you have, they take a little time off, recuperate, maybe attend at least one of those VA-recommended group therapy sessions.
But you didn’t do that.
What your record says is that the very morning of your discharge, you applied for RASP.
And, in fact, since then, repeatedly applying for RASP seems to be the only thing you’ve done.
Now, why is that?
I just want to get across that finish line, Sergeant Major.
That finish line is a starting line.
[Sergeant Major] Son, I’m gonna be honest with you.
You’re one of the most promising candidates we’ve ever seen.
And Sergeant Torres and I think you have a lot of potential.
Truth is, we could kick you out right here, right now.
But there’d be no coming back.
So, instead, what I have here is a voluntary quit slip.
Now, I want you to do yourself a favor and sign it.
[somber music playing]
You’re an engineer.
So you know even the most powerful machines have their limits.
And I think you’ve reached yours.
If you don’t mind…
I’d like to go prep for parade now.
[music fades]
You get the fuck out of my office.
[door opens]
[door closes]
How do you want to play this?
[ominous music playing]
[Torres] 38, 44, 57, Sixty, Eighty-one, 96, 109, 111, step forward.
I’m sorry to say that those of you who did not step forward, pack your bags, you are non-selects.
[dramatic music playing]
To those who stepped forward, congratulations.
You made it through to the final round.
You have 30 minutes to gear up and get ready for one final test to see if you have what it takes to be a Ranger.
You are dismissed.
Mama-say mama-sa, motherfucker!
Let’s go!
[both yell]
[60] Let’s go!
[whooping and cheering]
[music crescendos, then fades]
[Torres] All right, listen up. Here’s the situation.
Got a classified aircraft shot down behind enemy lines.
Rangers are tasked with recon and rescue.
Two Black Hawks are gonna carry you down to your drop zone deep in enemy territory.
You’ll then maneuver toward the downed aircraft’s position.
You need to destroy the aircraft so it doesn’t fall into enemy hands.
But we’ll provide you extra C4.
Next, locate the rebel village outpost where the pilot of the downed aircraft is being held as a POW.
You can expect perimeter surveillance and 360 security.
Your rifles have blank-firing adapters, so you can’t shoot.
But be warned, you may be ambushed by cadre at any time.
Your squad will be equipped with a single VHF to provide round-the-clock sitreps.
Apart from that, you’re on your own.
Team Leader 7, you’re now 2IC.
And your new team leader will be
Eighty-one.
[dramatic music playing]
Great. Mr. Finish Line.
[Torres] You will bring the pilot back to base camp and cross that finish line by 1900.
If at any point during this exercise you are successfully ambushed, the mission’s over, and you have failed.
[Sergeant Major] And if you cross that line, I will personally award you the US Army Ranger Regiment Scroll.
Welcome to Death March.
[dramatic music continues]
You still think this is a good idea?
He wants to be a Ranger, he’s gonna have to lead.
[man on comm] Ghost 1, Ghost 2, you are cleared hot for departure.
[pilot 1] Ghost 1, lifting.
[pilot 2] Copy. Ghost 2, lifting.
Staying tight on your six.
[pilot 1] Passing Angels 2. Leveling at 150 feet AGL.
[pilot 2] Copy. Matching altitude.
How much of this shit you think we rucked in the last eight weeks?
Everything except whatever that is.
[load master] Private quarry.
You boys come across that, you are way off course.
[ominous music playing]
[pilot 2 on comm] Thirty seconds out.
We have visual on LZ.
[ominous music continues]
Ropes! Ropes!
[load master] Rope’s out! Green light! Drop! Drop! Drop!
[pilot 1] Chalk 1 down. Ghost 1 up, shifting to cover.
Go! Go! Go!
[pilot 1] Half team down. Last sticks moving.
[music turns dramatic]
All right, let’s go!
[pilot 2] Ghost 2 to GUC Command.
Drop clean. Death March is in effect.
I repeat, Death March is in effect.
[music fades]
All right, 57. Where we at?
[birds singing and chirping]
Target’s that direction, 20 klicks west.
[81] Okay.
[beeps]
We got exactly 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 30 seconds to get across that finish line.
Any questions?
Dude, that was awesome. For real.
I mean, that was like some Braveheart shit.
That was…
It was inspiring stuff.
Mind if I have a word?
Remember, we’re all here for one reason.
We never give up.
I’m proud as hell to know each and every one of y’all.
Even you, 15.
[scattered laughter]
Let’s have each other’s backs out there.
Let’s cross that finish line and get these scrolls together, all right?
Rangers lead the way.
[in unison] All the way!
All right.
It’s all you.
Follow me.
[ominous music playing]
[gasping and grunting]
[groans]
Hotel-9, this is Victor-6. We’ve passed phase line red. Over.
[music fades]
[cadre 4] Roger, Victor-6. Phase line red acquired.
We made some good ground. I think the team could use a rest.
But if Cadre surprises us, they’re gonna do it down by the river.
We get some shut-eye now, then we’ll be primed for an ambush.
Twenty minutes.
All right, listen up, y’all.
Twenty-minute break, no more.
Gotta be on that target by first light.
[23] Who’s on lookout?
Me.
[insects chittering]
Hey, 81.
I’ve been meaning to talk to you, man.
Is it about the mission?
Nah, it’s… it’s more personal. I just…
Then I don’t want to hear it.
[poignant music playing]
All right, man.
All right.
[7 sighs]
[music turns ominous]
[deep rumbling]
[all yell]
[soldier] Fuck this!
Seriously, what the fuck was that?
[60] Artillery fire, baby.
Cadre probably clocked us sleeping.
[15] So they’re out there watching us, huh?
Grab your shit.
We’re moving out.
[tense music playing]
[music fades]
[birds singing and chirping]
You got something?
[81] Midstream.
Half a klick.
[tense, pensive music playing]
[7] Cadre really went all-in with the special effects.
Sure looks classified.
I think they’re gonna try to smoke us upriver.
Yeah.
No doubt.
111, call in our sitrep.
Hotel-9, this is Victor-6. We’re near target. Over.
[81] Listen, here’s the game plan.
[111] Hotel-9, this is Victor-6. We’re near target. Over.
Demo team will blow up charges from a minimum safe distance here.
The explosion will draw Cadre. We have to be ready for a counter-ambush.
You four on overwatch, you three downstream.
The rest of us take upstream.
Hey, hold up.
What’s going on, 57?
According to briefing coordinates, that target’s position’s off by a few hundred meters.
Might be my compass. It’s been acting up, but…
Comms are down. I can’t get a signal.
All I got is this weird interference.
[clicking and howling over comm]
[15] Maybe Cadre cut comms.
One last friendly “fuck you”?
So what should we do?
Keep your eyes open.
We could be ambushed by Cadre any minute.
[tense music playing]
[tense music continues]
[7] Come on, Cadre. Where you at?
[birds squawking]
[eerie music playing]
Forty-four, cover me.
Where the fuck is he going now?
Possible Cadre.
Eighty-one’s gonna recon.
[suspenseful music playing]
Fire in the hole!
What the hell?
[unsettling music playing]
Didn’t even leave a dent.
[unsettling music intensifies]
[whirring]
Fuck me.
[music darkens]
[sensors buzzing]
What the hell is that?
[whirring]
Retreat!
[grunting]
[screams]
[yelling]
[23] Sixty!
[gasping]
[intense music playing]
[whirring]
[44 grunts]
[81 grunts]
Run!
[intense music continues]
[yells]
[grunting]
[soldiers yelling]
Get out of there!
Come on!
Now! Now!
[111] Oh God! Oh God, man!
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
[all gasping]
[weapons firing]
What the fuck is that?
[clanks]
[weapon trills]
[81] Oh shit.
Get down!
[all grunting and yelling]
[screams]
[yells]
[grunts]
[groans]
[high-pitched ringing]
[dramatic music playing]
[echoing gasping and groaning]
[breathing raggedly]
[joints crack]
[screams]
[109] Oh fuck! Fuck!
[soldiers screaming and groaning]
[109 screams]
[23] On your feet, 96.
Shh! Shh.
[muffled whimpers]
I need you to suck it up. Can you do that for me?
[muffled] Mm-hm.
[57 groans, coughs]
I need your help!
[23] You okay?
[44] Oh my God!
[gasps] Ow.
[grunting]
Hey, don’t touch it. Don’t touch it.
I’m gonna lift you up on three, okay?
One.
Two, three.
[57 groaning]
[flesh squelching]
[tense music playing]
[gasping and groaning]
[81] Get your med kit.
[soldier screaming]
[81] Keep the pressure on.
Fuck, it looks bad, man. It looks really fucking bad.
Hey! Breathe.
[57] No…
[57 groaning]
We’re exposed.
I’m fucked.
No, you’re good. I need to move you.
[57 groans]
[groaning]
Fuck!
[15] What the fuck just happened?
[81] Tourniquet his leg!
Fifteen, the bleeding won’t stop.
What the hell was that thing?
[44] I don’t know.
It was fucking shooting everybody.
[7 groans] Motherfuck.
I’m done.
Where’s 60?
He got blown in the river. Thirteen just got frickin’ smoked.
What about the demo crew?
They’re gone, man. They’re fucking gone!
All right, I got this. Get your gauze out.
[109] Hey, don’t you doze off on me, 57.
[23] Stay with me.
[44] Wait! Where’s 72?
He was next to me on the ridge. What about 111? He has the radio.
[7] Hey.
We need comms. We need comms.
We need that radio.
I’ll go.
[109] Hold on, 57. Come back to the light, brother.
[suspenseful music playing]
[gasping]
[grunts]
[music turns dramatic]
[tense music playing]
[whispering] 111.
Hey. Psst!
[flames sparking]
[soldier grunting and groaning]
[rumbling]
[ominous music playing]
[footsteps thudding loudly]
[135] Please, no.
[whirring]
Please.
Please. No.
No!
[sensor buzzing]
[smoke hissing]
[15] Hey. Hey, keep your eyes on me. 57, look at me!
[23] You stay with us, brother.
[15] Look at me.
That’s it.
Fifty-seven.
[gasps]
[15] It’s all right.
Fifty-seven…
[gasps softly]
[somber music playing]
He’s gone.
[81] We need to move!
[tense music playing]
57 is dead, man.
And so are we if we don’t move.
You find 72?
Dead too.
Hey, what about 111 and the radio?
Both gone.
That thing’s hunting us.
What the fuck is it?
I don’t know, but it’s moving.
What do you mean it’s moving?
It’s following our trail.
Ditch your weapons. Grab your ropes.
We need to get off this cliff.
Hey! Listen to your team leader!
Let’s go!
[81] Give me your rope.
I got this. Clip on.
I said ditch that.
[7] All right.
[7 groaning]
[tense music continues]
Eighty-one, I’ll lower 7.
You spot him on the way down.
Get yourself set up.
See you at the bottom.
[7] All right.
[96] We’re gonna make it, right?
You’re good. We’re good, baby.
Slow. There it goes. I’m going down. You follow me, all right?
[music intensifies]
Come on, come on, come on.
[grunting]
[7] Keep going!
Keep going!
[compass buzzing]
[foreboding music playing]
Hurry up!
[music intensifies]
[footsteps thudding]
Oh shit.
[thuds]
[screaming]
[81] Shh!
[gasping]
[music fades]
[sensor buzzing]
[warbles]
[footsteps rumbling]
[footsteps echoing]
[suspenseful music playing]
[sensor whirring]
Run!
[intense music playing]
[grunting]
[81] Run!
[all yelling]
Incoming!
[all yelling]
[109] Get up!
[15] Get him!
[yells]
[yells]
[intense music continues]
[music fades]
[15] Slow down. We need some rest.
Eighty-one, we need to stop.
Eighty-one, we need to stop!
[81] All right, put him down.
[all gasping and groaning]
[23] It’s not following us, right?
[coughing]
Get eyes on our six.
I need to set his leg.
[109] Are we safe?
What the actual fuck is going on?
It’s gotta be some R&D kinda weapons test.
I think we’ve been set up. We’re fucking guinea pigs.
[44] That is insane talk.
[109] It could be the Russians or the Chinese.
[44] The Russians don’t have the budget for that kind of tech.
The Chinese just copy us.
[unsettling music playing]
[gasping]
[haunting screams]
[gasping]
You got this. It’s all good. You got it.
[music turns poignant]
You got it.
[music fades]
Who’s got morphine?
Yeah.
SKEDCO.
Copy.
[81] Get it out.
15, find me a splint.
The morphine, the vials are all broken. It must have happened in the fall.
Goddamn!
Just do it.
Come on.
Do it.
Fuck.
[81] Okay.
[7 breathing heavily]
Three, two…
[screaming]
[109] What’s happened to him?
Is he dead?
Blacked out from the pain. Sked.
Seriously, what in God’s name was that thing?
I’m telling you, brother, this is some DARPA shit, for real.
Enough with that conspiracy shit. The DOD would never do that to us.
Then why would they send us to the exact location of a giant fucking robot with nothing but a bunch of fucking dummy rounds?
It wasn’t our location.
[ominous music playing]
Fifty-seven was right. Our coords were off.
Whatever that thing is, it’s got some kind of magnetic field screwing with our compasses in close proximity.
My compass was flipping out too.
Where was our target then?
[81] I saw it.
An old jet.
We need to move.
Where?
[81] Village.
Eight klicks west.
Ditch everything besides medical and mobility.
[laughs nervously] You shitting me? You want to cross that terrain?
I hate to break it to you, man, but look around.
No more Death March, no more RASP, there’s no finish line.
Yeah, no shit.
No comms, no flares, no firearms.
Cadre’s our closest help.
We carry 7 in shifts.
Unless you want to sit here and wait for him to bleed out.
Help me carry him.
[ominous music playing]
[grunting]
[music fades]
It’s too dangerous to cross here.
Why don’t we cross further down?
Oh, hell no. Those rapids get worse down there.
Our best shot across is right here.
[23] Hey, hold up. How are we gonna do that?
Grab your rope. We rig a zip.
Four people, four ropes.
Tie two together for the main line, and pull 7 over.
Shit. I don’t have my rope.
Ninety-six was using it.
Someone’s gonna have to go tandem with 7.
I’ll do it.
How are we gonna get the line across?
You’re not.
I am.
44, grab the ropes and follow me. 109, keep an eye on this.
[suspenseful music playing]
I’m gonna jump upstream.
Current’s gonna push me fast. Keep slack in the line.
It goes tight, I get sucked under.
Got it?
Careful, man. That shit’s gonna be cold.
[gasps]
[grunting]
[44 grunting]
Come on.
[music fades]
[dramatic music playing]
[gasps]
Oh!
Wait, he’s out!
He’s out! He made it!
[44] Fuck.
[grunting]
[15] Watch it.
[suspenseful music playing]
Hey, I’m gonna get you across, brother.
Just hang in there. I got you.
I’m ready! Eighty-one’s line is secure!
[23] Ready, set, pull!
[both grunting]
[44] Careful.
[15] I’m locked on.
I’m headin’ across.
I’m gonna go.
Easy. Easy, brother. You got this, 15.
[suspenseful music continues]
[15 grunting]
[15 grunting]
[grunts]
[music intensifies]
Fuck!
He’s stuck!
[15 grunting]
Come on!
[15 gasps]
[15 yells]
[coughs]
[gasps]
Shit!
Pull in the slack!
God! Come on. Come on.
Go on.
Go! Go! Go! Go!
[grunting]
[15 grunting]
Help! Help!
Fuck!
[44] I’m coming!
[yelling]
I got you!
Get him up!
I got him! I got him!
Move him up!
Come on!
[groans]
[grunting]
[both grunting]
[music intensifies]
[footsteps rumbling]
[sensors whirring]
Christ, my Lord and savior.
[all yell]
[all coughing]
Oh my God!
[intense music playing]
[44] Holy shit!
[15] Oh my God!
[gasping]
[gasps]
[gasping]
Seven!
[tense music playing]
[coughing]
I got you! I got you.
Watch out!
[gasping]
Falls!
Falls!
What?
Falls!
[intense music playing]
[dramatic music playing]
[music fades]
[60, muffled] Eighty-one! Eighty-one!
I got you! Come on! I got you!
[coughing]
[grunts]
[gasping]
He’s alive! Seven is alive.
[60] It’s okay, Eighty-one.
You can let go now.
You saved him, bro.
[44] Jesus, 60.
How the hell did you get here? We thought you were dead.
[60] When that thing first attacked, I got blown into the rapids.
By the time I came up for air, I got swept so far downstream I didn’t know where I was.
I thought everyone was dead.
I started trekking west.
That’s when I saw y’all come down the falls.
You spot any sign of Cadre?
No, but I did see the OPLAN in Torres’s office.
All they had scheduled for us was fireworks and booby traps.
[unsettling music playing]
You all right, little buddy?
[60] Where were y’all headed?
To the village.
How far are we now?
River’s pushed us east.
I had us about six klicks that way, just beyond that ridge.
Seems about right.
[birds screeching]
[ominous music playing]
Let’s get climbing!
Think you can walk?
Yeah.
Well, keep moving, or you’re gonna die here.
Help me with 7.
[music fades]
[suspenseful music playing]
[music fades]
[tense, pensive music playing]
What is it?
Got a trip.
[15] They must be close.
[81] It’s connected to a flare.
[60] It’s part of Cadre’s perimeter surveillance.
[music fades]
This’ll be the first of three layers.
[ominous music playing]
[109] Cadre!
Is anyone here?
You sure this is the village?
This was it.
Put him down here.
The hell happened here?
The Machine.
[109] But it’s been behind us the whole time.
Look, the radio relay tower.
No wonder long-range comms were out.
Cadre!
Don’t tell me they fucking left us! Fuck!
[44] No.
They didn’t leave us.
[flies buzzing]
[unsettling music playing]
How high have we climbed?
[44] About 6,500 feet.
[81] About eight klicks west?
[44] About that.
So it was on roughly a 20-degree angle, then hit this ridge before embedding down in the riverbank where we demo’d it.
So it came through…
There.
[15] Wait, hold on.
You’re telling me that this thing, it smashed through a fucking mountain, and then just got up and walked around?
Yo, we saw something on the TV about an asteroid back at DFAC.
I bet that’s what that shit was.
[15] Wait, you mean it’s from another planet?
Well, it sure as shit ain’t from this one.
[man groaning]
[music fades]
Do y’all hear that?
Hello!
[man groans]
Hello!
[grunting]
[60] It’s all right.
[109] Sergeant?
[sergeant gasping]
Sergeant.
Sergeant.
[somber music playing]
Sergeant!
Let’s get that ASV on the ground.
Everybody move.
I think we might need a minute, man.
We don’t have a minute.
We need a fucking minute, okay?!
I don’t know if you noticed it, the Cadre are dead and half the fucking team are gone!
So we need a minute.
‘Cause unlike you, we’re actually human, so we have to process shit.
It’s called emotion.
I know that you can go on forever, and that you don’t need sleep, and you don’t need us, but not everyone is a Silver Star fucking war hero!
The fuck did you call me?
A hero. Everybody knows 81 carried his brother back to base…
I am not a hero! I never made it back to base!
I woke up in a hospital, and he was already in a box in the back of a plane.
[poignant music playing]
They told me I passed out 100 yards from the perimeter.
He was still alive, do you understand?
He died
’cause I couldn’t get him across the line.
And they gave me a medal for the worst day in my life.
I know you’re all hurting.
I get it.
But it’s not about us anymore.
[music turns dramatic]
It’s about firing up that Guardian, getting 7 back to base, and warning everybody that thing is coming.
[music intensifies]
[grunting]
How can I help?
[81] Axle’s jammed.
We’re gonna need to winch it.
Get her engine started.
[dramatic music continues]
[engine sputtering]
Come on, you ’90s-era surplus piece of shit!
[109] It won’t start!
It’s been on an angle, so the fuel line’s dry.
We need to re-prime the lines.
[15] Re-prime the lines.
How’d you know that?
[15] 91 Bravo.
Wheel mechanic.
Try now!
[starter whirs]
[engine rumbling]
[laughing]
That’s it! We got it!
[whoops] All the way, motherfuckers!
One, two, three!
[all grunting]
[yells]
[109] Come on!
[yells]
Pull! Pull! Pull!
Come on!
Yes! Yes! Yes!
[gasping]
[music fades]
[109] Yes. We did it!
[81] Nice work, Superman.
[109] Let’s get the hell out of here.
[60] Second that, brother.
Making the rest of us look bad.
Holy shit. Eighty-one made a joke.
Hey, dude bros. Found Cadre’s secret stash!
[60 whoops]
[109] Finally! Food.
[81] You still with us?
[60] Forty-four.
I ain’t know I had a choice in that.
Let’s get you home.
[15 grunts]
[flares firing]
[ominous music playing]
Oh shit.
The Machine hit a tripwire!
Check the perimeter!
Get that winch in!
[44] Sixty, move!
Get on that 50-cal, tanker!
Yeah, I’m on it!
[whirring]
[44] No, no, no, no, no!
Come on.
[engine rumbles]
I’m pulling in the winch!
[winch whirring]
[15 grunting]
Move! Move! Move! Move!
[flares firing]
[109] It’s hit a second trip! Holy shit!
We gotta go!
We gotta move!
Fuck! There’s no ammo in this bitch.
I saw some back there.
We don’t have time. Fifteen!
Where the hell is he going?
Trying to be a goddamn hero.
[gasping]
[tense music playing]
[footsteps thudding]
Shit.
Fifteen, get your ass moving!
Fifteen, run!
[high-pitched ringing]
[109] Drive! Drive!
[60] Oh shit!
[intense music playing]
[44 yells]
[engine revving]
[60] Give me the ammo!
[109] Go!
Let’s go, you piece of shit!
It’s catching up!
They’re all bouncing right off it.
[groans]
We need more speed!
[44] I’m redlining!
Hold on! [Yells]
[60] Come on, come on, come on!
[engine revs]
[60] Some armor plating on this bitch!
[gasps] Shit!
[81] Put that out!
[60] Our armor can’t take any more!
I think we’re losing it!
[60] Looks like it’s falling back!
[suspenseful music playing]
Incoming!
[yells]
[groans]
[yelling]
Hold on! Hold on!
[intense music playing]
Hold it fucking steady!
I’m trying!
[grunting]
Hold on!
[grunting and yelling]
Fuck.
[grunting]
[44 yells]
[gasping]
[music crescendos, then fades]
Tell me we lost it, guys. This transmission’s smoked.
Sixty, you got eyes?
I can’t see it.
I think we outran it.
[ominous music playing]
Shit!
[alert blaring]
[all yelling]
[intense music playing]
It’s pissed!
Fight back!
[60] Yo, I’m trying!
Oh God.
It’s gotta have a weakness, right?
[44] We’re pissing hydraulic fluid!
Faster! Faster! Come on!
Hit it between the plates!
[intense music continues]
Hold her steady!
I’m working on it!
[screaming]
Oh God! [Wailing]
This thing is falling apart!
[81 grunting]
No!
Stop!
Hey, stop!
[music fades]
[dramatic, poignant music playing]
[heart beat thudding]
[younger brother] Don’t fucking quit.
[gasping]
[thunder rumbling]
[haunting music playing]
[thunder rumbles]
[grunting]
What?
Where’s the rest of it?
[warbling]
[grunts]
[music turns ominous]
Who the hell are you talking to?
Hey.
Hey, 7.
Hey, you with me?
[ammunition exploding]
[ominous music continues]
[sensor whirring]
[music crescendos, then fades]
[thunder rumbles]
[81 grunting]
[dramatic music playing]
[grunting]
[yells]
[yells]
Fuck!
Fuck!
Fuck!
[yelling]
[grunts]
[yelling]
[groans]
Fuck! Fuck! You fucked me!
Fuck!
[watch beeping]
You suck, you fucking piece of shit.
[sobs softly]
I knew who you were…
The moment I saw you on that bus.
I went through Air Assault with a loudmouth private.
[poignant music playing]
Got this dumb tattoo on his arm.
“D.F.Q.”
You knew my brother?
He wouldn’t shut up about becoming a Ranger with you.
I was on furlough when I heard he passed.
Why didn’t you tell me?
I tried.
I just thought, uh…
If I could get across that finish line for him…
Maybe it could help me sleep.
You think you failed your brother?
I failed everybody.
But you never gave up.
That’s not failure.
That’s a Ranger.
[sensor whirring]
[music turns ominous]
[81] That thing doesn’t quit either.
How the fuck are we supposed to stop this thing?
What would your brother do?
[thunder rumbles]
Probably fill it with Stop Leak.
[both laughing]
Wait.
It’s venting.
What does that mean?
[music turns dramatic]
I got an idea.
[both grunting]
Can you wait here for me?
Yeah. I can wait.
[thunder crashes]
[81 grunting]
[dramatic music playing]
[beeping]
Where are the rocks?
Cone crusher.
This is… How the fuck do you turn this on?
Thermodynamics, motherfucker.
[footsteps thudding]
[tense music playing]
[music fades]
[thunder rumbling]
[dark music playing]
[explosives beeping]
Come on!
[grunts]
[grunts]
You want a piece of me?
[intense music playing]
No! [Grunts]
[yells]
No. No!
Come on!
No, no, no.
[yells]
[yells]
[intense music continues]
Breathe, you fucker!
Stop Leak, bitch.
[alarms blaring]
Oh…
[yells]
Yes!
Stay with me!
[yells]
[grunts]
[intense music continues]
[gasps]
[music fades]
[exhales]
[ominous music playing]
You gotta be shitting me.
[music turns tense]
[whirring]
[music fades]
[dramatic music playing]
[breathing heavily]
[helicopters whirring]
[dramatic music continues]
[indistinct radio chatter]
[speaks indistinctly]
[dramatic music intensifies]
[grunting]
[groaning]
All the way.
All the way, brother.
[soldier 1] Hey, there’s more injured over here!
[soldier 2] Let’s go!
Lift him up! Let’s go!
[dramatic music continues]
[Sergeant Major] Candidate.
Are you all that’s left?
[somber music playing]
I’m sorry we couldn’t reach you sooner.
We only just secured this base. We lost half the battalion.
How many are there?
They’re everywhere.
We’ve neutralized the first wave.
But we’re preparing for a global invasion.
[man on TV] 36 hours ago, what NASA believed to be an asteroid
split into countless pods that impacted sites across the globe.
These pods transformed into deadly machines…
Pupils reactive and equal.
…attacking cities, civilians, and defense networks alike.
But just as the world’s militaries managed to contain the threat, interstellar imaging confirms our worst fear.
[medic] Your fingers.
Tens of thousands more are on their way.
A coordinated global response is now being launched,
with allied forces mobilizing across air, land, and sea.
We don’t know what they want. We don’t know why they’re here.
But every nation on Earth…
[soldier] Corporal.
…Is now preparing for war.
We’re ready to see you now.
[Torres] A global military alliance
is about to launch our first counteroffensive.
Only problem is we’ve thrown everything we have at these things.
These machines don’t die easy.
[Sergeant Major] What we need to know is, how the hell did you take one down without any weapons?
Like you said, Sergeant Major.
Every machine has its limits.
The primary venting port here.
Like a radiator in a Humvee.
If you jam it hard enough, the whole system chokes.
[pensive music playing]
Get CENTCOM on the line.
Torres, you heard the man. Let’s saddle up!
[Torres] I’m on it.
Your intel’s gonna save a lot of lives.
You were right, Sergeant Major.
I wasn’t ready.
[dramatic, poignant music playing]
You are now.
Welcome to the Regiment.
Your brother’d be proud.
[Torres] Rangers, kit up! We’re moving out! Let’s go!
You know, they’re all talking about what you did out there.
If you got it in you, son, I’m sure they’d appreciate a few words.
[Torres] Rangers have been tasked as the spearhead of Operation Global Shield.
Joining a full-scale military mobilization across air, land, and sea.
Your Black Hawks escorted by F-35 fighters will drop you on the city outskirts.
Your mission is to clear civilians and make way for heavy ordnance.
United States military’s never faced an enemy like this.
But we’re gonna rise to the occasion.
[determined music playing]
I know how some of you are feeling.
Hurt.
Tired.
Maybe even scared.
But we are Rangers.
We fight for each other.
And we fight for those who never made it home.
We don’t back down.
We don’t break.
And we sure as hell don’t fucking quit.
[in unison] Hell yeah!
Rangers lead the way!
[in unison] All the way!
[music intensifies]
[soldier] All CA elements, check in. This is Chalk Leader Fox 1, spinning up.
[pilot 1] Fox 2, up and ready.
[pilot 2] Fox 3, standing by.
[dramatic music playing]
[officer on comm] Black Hawk squadron, you are green across the board.
F-35s have your escort.
Operation Global Shield is live.
Godspeed, Rangers.
Chalk Leader Fox 1 with seven packs on board.
McQueen, Lieberman, Young, Janus, Cook.
Hey! Anybody catch his name?
[dramatic music continues]
[music fades]
[intense music playing]
[music turns ominous]
[music turns dramatic]
[music turns poignant]
[music turns dramatic]
[music fades]
