Soldier

In 1996, a group of orphaned infants are chosen at birth to be raised as highly disciplined soldiers. They are indoctrinated to follow military routine and to become ruthless professionals with no understanding of life beyond drills. Those deemed physically or mentally unworthy are executed, while the survivors are molded into peak combat machines.

The surviving infants are drilled to be emotionless, efficient killers who obey orders without question. Their world is rigid and devoid of outside context, turning them into nearly unbeatable soldiers. They exist as tools of the program, with little sense of humanity.

Colonel Mekum introduces a new group of genetically engineered soldiers designed with superior physical attributes and a complete lack of emotion, except aggression. The intent is to replace the original unit with more capable fighters. This new batch is stationed to test the old soldiers' limits.

Captain Church orders a demonstration comparing the new engineers with Todd's unit. Caine 607 easily defeats three of the original soldiers, revealing the threat the enhanced group poses. Todd fights back, gouges out Caine's eye, and then plunges from a height, knocked unconscious as a dead soldier cushions his fall.

Mekum orders the bodies of defeated soldiers disposed of like garbage. The surviving older soldiers are demoted to menial support roles, effectively removing them from frontline command. This signals the collapse of the original unit's status within the project.

The older unit is dumped on the waste planet Arcadia 234. Todd limps toward a nearby colony, where he is sheltered by Mace and his wife Sandra who try to make him feel welcome. He struggles to adapt to life among the colonists.

Todd has difficulty assimilating to the colony's conflict-free existence due to his conditioning. He experiences flashbacks from his soldier days and even mistakes a colonist for an enemy, nearly killing him. The community's routines clash with his instinctive aggression.

Feeling strong emotions for the first time, Todd experiences loss and cries, leaving him confused and vulnerable. The colonists view him with fear and expel him from the community as a result.

A snake attack nearly harms Mace and Sandra, but Nathan uses Todd's technique to save them. This incident convinces the couple of the value in reintegrating Todd, though other colonists remain wary.

The new soldiers arrive and spot Mace, killing him just after he finds Todd. The colonists realize the new batch poses a direct threat to their way of life and to Todd's fragile place within the community.

Outnumbered, Todd uses his battlefield knowledge and guerrilla tactics to outmaneuver and defeat the remaining soldiers, including Caine 607. His victory demonstrates that experience still outmatches the engineered force.

Fearing an unseen threat, Mekum orders the transport ship's crew (Todd's old squad) to set up and activate a portable doomsday device powerful enough to destroy the planet. He orders the ship to lift off, leaving behind the colony and his aides.

When Captain Church objects, Mekum shoots him dead. Todd's old comrades silently side with him, seize the ship, and evacuate the colonists while leaving Mekum and his aides behind.

Mekum accidentally activates the portable doomsday device, killing himself and his aides. Todd then pilots the ship away from Arcadia, escaping the planet's imminent destruction.

Todd picks up Nathan and sets course for the Trinity Moons, the colonists' original destination. He gazes out at the galaxy, signaling a new future beyond Arcadia as they depart.