Thunder Reforged
Copyright© 2026 by FozzieBare
Epilogue
As it turned out, every member of Reforged got three free T-shirts out of the deal.
The front read:
REFORGED FIRE CONTROL PROGRAM
On the back was a one-question form:
IS YOUR BASE ON FIRE?
Y / N
The N was circled.
Underneath, in imitation red pen, someone had scrawled:
Oh. We’ll be by to fix that momentarily.
That shirt was selling like gangbusters on Reforged’s guild store.
Marcus even made a second shirt exclusively for the twenty-four pilots who had attended the event.
A limited edition.
REFORGED BASE RECLAMATION TEAM
Protecting Bases from Blades Since Round Eight.
Two fansite articles currently held pride of place on the corkboard that served as the Reforged news board.
One read:
REFORGED SHOCKS SHOWDOWN FIELD WITH IMPROBABLE FINAL-ROUND VICTORY
Analysts will argue for weeks over exactly when the End of Summer Showdown turned in Reforged’s favor.
The answer may be Round One.
After suffering catastrophic losses in an early two-on-one attack, Reforged spent much of the day looking like a guild desperately trying to remain relevant. Adrian “ThunderRoad” Mercer and Amy “A-Bombadier” Williamson seemed to be almost single-handedly keeping the newcomer afloat while guild leader Elias “ReforgedNumbersGuy” Voss carefully husbanded what resources remained.
It turned out nearly everyone was looking at the wrong resources.
Reforged had spent hours repairing damaged WarMACs without returning them to the field, banking Reinforcement Points and keeping reserve pilots fresh for one final throw of the dice.
When <TenMillionBlades> broke its agreement with Reforged after defeating the High Point coalition, the supposedly exhausted guild suddenly appeared everywhere at once.
One commentator described it afterward:
“It was one of the great tactical reversals I’ve ever seen. They marched into the lion’s den, punched the lion in the mouth, walked back out, and then watched the lion wonder what the hell just happened.”
By the time the final timer expired, Reforged held first place.
<TenMillionBlades>, which had entered the final engagement with a commanding lead, finished fourth.
The other was from the days after the event.
TEN MILLION BLADES DECLARES “CRUSADE” AGAINST REFORGED
Less than twenty-four hours after their fourth-place finish at the End of Summer Showdown, <TenMillionBlades> Guild Leader Darren “HeyNon” Keane announced what it called a “Crusade of Retribution” against newly crowned champions Reforged.