Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation

A squad of Federation troops and psychic soldiers is pinned down on a planet overrun by Arachnids. General Jack Shepherd leads a last stand that buys time for the rest of the force to escape. The survivors face constant attacks as the alien threat closes in.

The escaping troops take refuge in an abandoned structure that contains the disgraced Captain V. J. Dax, who is believed to be dead. He survives the massacre and becomes a crucial ally to the group. The shelter becomes their temporary headquarters as supplies and morale dwindle.

Within the shelter, Dax assumes command after deeming Lieutenant Dill's leadership ineffective. Dill’s prior decisions haunt the group as they confront the crisis. The changed dynamic shifts responsibility to Dax and the plan to survive intensifies.

General Shepherd reappears alive, accompanied by three soldiers who rescued him from the slaughter. They join the shelter and offer fresh intelligence and support. The group's prospects improve as new leadership and backup arrive.

With the newcomers' help, the team restores some communications equipment. They brace for a fleet dropship to locate and extract them. The looming rescue becomes a tenuous lifeline as the siege continues.

Several survivors, including Private Duff Horton and Private Jill Sandee, start acting strangely as the stress and infection take hold. Their behavior unsettles the group and hints at a deeper danger aboard their makeshift sanctuary. The atmosphere grows tenser as the threat of infection spreads.

Sahara experiences nightmares and vomiting, signaling her deteriorating health. She later brushes Griff's hand and has a psychic vision that reveals the broader danger they face. The others realize psychic abilities can be a double-edged sword in the crisis.

Dill and Sahara discuss the recent visions, and Lieutenant Rake suggests Sahara may be pregnant, a condition known to temporarily heighten psychic abilities. The revelation ties Sahara's perilous condition to the group's fight for survival. This context reshapes the team’s approach to the threat.

Dax and Sahara confront a new breed of Arachnid that can infest humans by entering through the mouth and propagating inside the brain. The threat now includes a more insidious, brain-based infection. The team realizes their current defenses are inadequate.

After attempting to bring order to the group, Dill expresses the guilt from past decisions and suffers visions that haunted him. The others reconcile with him, acknowledging his burden while continuing to push toward safety. This emotional moment refocuses their resolve.

Dill discovers that General Shepherd has also been infected by the Arachnids. The threat now extends to a figure who had offered the most hope for rescue, complicating the plan for survival. The group faces the grim realization that the infection is inside their leadership.

Dill’s attempt to capture the infected with Soda’s group ends in tragedy when Otter kills Dill. The act is blamed on Captain Dax, who is detained as part of the fallout. The leadership crisis deepens as the fate of the rescue mission hangs in the balance.

Sergeant Rake is ambushed and infected by Horton and Otter. Otter even tries to infect Sahara but is killed in the attempt. The group’s internal strife intensifies as the infection spreads through their ranks.

Rake fights the infection with adrenaline, wounds Sandee, kills Horton, saves Sahara and Dax, and then kills herself to prevent further spread. Her sacrifice buys the group crucial time to mount a defense. Sahara and Dax begin to sense the depth of the looming threat.

Sahara uses her restored psychic abilities to uncover the Arachnid's plan and the betrayal by the infected Shepherd. Dax arrives and kills Shepherd, then sacrifices himself so Sahara can escape to the rescue ship. One year later, Sahara, now discharged with her newborn son, speaks at a recruiting seminar about Dax’s actions, but the Federation has altered his final words to hide his past; a morbid joke by the officer prompts her to flee.