The Chemically Pure Warriors

A regiment of armored occupiers patrols and garrisons a chemically contaminated planet they hold but cannot physically inhabit, living and fighting from sealed safety-suits. Daily life is governed by ritualized drills, banter, and longing for ordinary comforts while native wildlife and empty village streets underline the absence of civilians. Officers and service-company personnel maintain morale and decontamination routines in a windowless barracks complex, yet command rivalries and human frailty persist. When a tear-gas grenade ignites combustible housing, smoke and fire force an officer to plunge into the blaze in search of a comrade, exposing the surreal costs and ordinary heroism of enforced isolation.