“Wait… we’re not Valkyries anymore?”

The squad was picking its way through a pass in the ridgeline on patrol, part of the effort to secure their perimeter. Rúna’s concerns had found fertile ground as the battalion went on the offensive, searching for anything that might have been deliberately left behind by one of the other mercenary groups. Shuttle overflights had been crisscrossing the skies all morning as part of the effort, but it would satisfy no one until every square meter of the ground had been thoroughly investigated. Becca, their best scout, was on point while they discussed this latest turn of events.

Rúna shook her head. “It’s… complicated, Tawfiq,” she sighed. “Plus, we’re still trying to figure this out ourselves. The Marines played by a different set of rules than what we’re used to.”

“It’s a goal, being Marines again,” Kai chimed in, “and no one, not even the Colonel, expects it to happen overnight.”

The squad members were still coming to terms with the news. They all were, in fact, though at least she and the sergeant had a head start. Even though they were out on patrol, they were still hashing out the ramifications.

“If we’re not mercs anymore, how do we get paid?” Rivka chimed in.

“I’m sure they’re looking into that,” Kai answered. “Besides, I seriously doubt we’d be walking away from the business entirely, though maybe we’ll be a little choosier about the jobs we take.”

“You mean like Dzan,” Doc Svoboda said thoughtfully. “Not gonna lie, never dealing with that crap again would be okay in my book.”

“Amen,” Becca chimed in from the front… only to abruptly clench her fist and come to a halt.

Kai’s fist went up a split-second later, the hand signal rippling down the line, waiting in place as Becca checked her instruments. “Talk to me,” the sergeant ordered.

“Just got a massive energy spike,” she informed him. “Trying to track the source now.”

Arthur looked around, confused, before shifting position to take a knee.

“Don’t move,” Rúna hissed. “Stay perfectly still. For all you know, you’re about to kneel on a landmine.”

“... freakin’ Newbie,” Yendrick muttered.

“At ease that shit,” she snapped as they waited for Becca to make the call. They didn’t have to wait long.

“Sarge?” their lead scout said at last, “I think we’re in trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”

In an abnormally calm voice, she said, “... I’m pretty sure we just activated a booby trap.”

“Damn it, I hate being right,” Rúna muttered, shaking her head.

“... Crap,” he sighed, glancing around. “Dead center of the pass. I’m guessing they were planning on cutting off our line of advance.” He considered their situation for a moment. “I take it then, that going back the way we came isn’t an option?”

Becca shook her head. “Pretty sure if we move, we set it off.”

“Can you tell what kind of trap it is?” Rúna asked.

“That much energy?” She thought for a moment. “Beam weapon maybe, tied into a motion sensor. We move, it fires.”

“All right then,” he nodded carefully. “How do we disarm it?”

“Gotta find it first,” she told him, “and you can bet it’s camouflaged. And we need to take it out quick before it triggers its defensive measures.”

“We could call it in,” Rúna suggested. “Get a shuttle to stand off with their nose cannon and blast it to pieces.”

“Too risky,” Kai answered. “I’m willing to bet that trigger is sensitive to electronic transmissions for just that reason.”

“No bet,” Becca chimed in.

“Okay, so we can’t call for help. How do we dig ourselves out of this?” Rúna asked.

“Like I said, first we gotta find the weapon,” Becca answered. “We do that, we have some options.”

“Right,” Kai agreed. “So, the question is, how do we trigger the weapon without getting ourselves killed?”

“Can we hurry this along?” Yendrick said through gritted teeth. “I’m gettin’ a cramp, and I’m pretty sure Newbie there is about to piss himself.”

“Shut up!” Arthur snarled.

“All of you shut up,” Rúna barked. “Seriously, are you trying to set it off?”

That earned her a few abashed looks and a moment’s respite. “Becca, how fast would its reaction time be?” she asked carefully.

“Depends on the software,” she told her. “Hardware is pretty standard. They’d want to make sure it wasn’t triggered accidentally, but still be sensitive enough to pick off the likes of us. It’ll zero in on us if we try to shift our position.”

“So, without knowing for certain…” she began.

Becca nodded. “It’s a gamble no matter what we do.”

“I know that look,” Kai told her. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking we’ve only got one item with us that has a prayer of triggering it, without getting all of us killed in the process,” Rúna summed up, before glancing over at her grenadier. “Arthur.”

“... Corporal?” he said nervously, his eyes darting around in sudden panic.

“I want you to slowly point your weapon in a safe direction, angled at about forty-five degrees, and fire a round.” He stared at her as if she’d just gone mad. “That weapon has a muzzle velocity of almost two hundred meters per second,” she explained, “and at that speed, by the time the round registers on those motion sensors it should be far away from us.”

“And if it isn’t?” he squeaked.

Part of her wanted to calm his fears, but this was neither the time nor place. Maybe later if they survived this. “Private...fire the damn weapon. That’s an order.” She glanced back at Kai, who gave her a nod. Nice to know he trusted her with their lives. Plus, there was a decent chance he didn’t have any better ideas at the moment.

“Eyes out, people,” the sergeant ordered. “Spot that weapon.”

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The private swallowed, and then carefully chambered a round with a hollow-sounding thunk. Moving like he was drowning in oil, he lifted the weapon to his shoulder, aiming away from the squad, before closing his eyes and squeezing the trigger.

Fwump

The round spit out the barrel and arced into the sky, only to be obliterated a scant fifty meters from their position by a flash of white light. Arthur worked up the courage to open his eyes a few seconds later, before breathing a heavy sigh of relief.

“Got it!” Doc Svoboda sang out. “About two hundred meters that way, just under that overhang,” he informed them, nodding towards the surface feature. One by one they located the camouflaged device for themselves, as all eyes went back to Becca.

“Okay, we found it,” Kai acknowledged. “Now what?”

The scout grimaced. “Um...you’re not going to like this part.”

“Just tell me,” he groaned.

“Well, I’m guessing its only real weakness is it takes time to recharge. That’s when it’s most vulnerable,” she clarified. “If we had a rocket launcher it’d be easy, but since we don’t…”

Her eyes traveled to Tawfiq, and the machine gun slung around his neck.

“Somehow, I was afraid you were gonna tell me that,” he said in resignation. He checked to see that it was fully loaded, and then braced the weapon against his hip. “Just tell me when,” he told them, giving his assistant Rivka a jerk of his head to get back.

“Wait,” Rúna interrupted. “You can rig that for remote operation, right?”

“I can,” he admitted, “but the accuracy goes way down. Can’t risk it,” he said with a shrug.

“We’re not risking you,” she snapped, earning a look from the sergeant.

“Accuracy isn’t an issue with the tripod,” Rivka said quietly, managing a half-turn to show them the gun mount slung on her back.

“It’s too dangerous,” Tawfiq objected, “there’s no need to risk anyone else besides me.” The massive gunner and his diminutive assistant shared a look as she stuck out her chin in defiance.

“I’m not letting you kill yourself, not when there’s still a chance,” she vowed. “Becca? How do I get to him without triggering the booby trap?”

The scout squinted, gauging the distance. “There’s about ten meters between the two of you,” she said after a moment, “and he’s between you and the weapon. If the motion detector is located nearby, then his bulk should help conceal your movements.” The tone of her voice said pretty clearly this was all guesswork, but it was all they had. “You still have to move slowly, though, like… caterpillar slow.”

Rúna and Kai glanced at one another. It was one hell of a gamble.

“Rivka, do you think you can do it?” the sergeant asked her.

“I can,” she nodded, swallowing her fear. “I’ll be careful.”

“We’d all appreciate that,” he smiled. “Take your time.”

The assistant gunner took a deep breath, and then… didn’t do much of anything. Even watching closely, it was hard to tell if she was moving or not. Only the tensed muscles and look of concentration on her face said otherwise. Millimeter by millimeter, she gingerly shifted her position as the squad collectively held their breath.

It took her almost half an hour to move a scant ten meters, and when she finally arrived beside him she was panting from the effort, her clothing now heavy with sweat. Rivka turned her back to Tawfiq as he gently removed the tripod from her pack, his movements economical as he pulled it free. His assistant pivoted back to face him, taking the base, holding it steady as he slowly extended the legs one at a time.

“Now comes the tricky part,” she said in a massive understatement, before the pair pirouetted again, the big man playing blocker once more as she cautiously lowered the tripod to the ground, stepping on its corners to anchor it in place.

Next came the pintle mount, which snapped on easily with a turn of the wrist, and then finally, the gun itself. Still acting as a barrier, he unslung the weapon and handed it over as Rivka lowered it into place, locking it down tight. Tawfiq passed her the remote module as she attached it to the trigger, running a brief test to ensure it was functioning properly. The gun was already loaded, but she connected a second belt of ammo to the first, just to be sure.

Just accomplishing that simple task had taken the pair another full hour, performing a drill they routinely accomplished in fifteen seconds or less. The gunner spent several more minutes aiming the weapon, dialing in small increments to get it exactly where he wanted. With the machine gun now charged and ready, it left them with one last task.

“You both need to get clear,” Rúna told them, “as far as you can manage without triggering the device.”

“Which is about another ten meters,” Becca informed them, “we’re already pushing our luck as it is.”

“Back directly away from the trap,” Kai advised them. “Maybe it won’t register as movement so easily that way.”

“Roger that, Sarge,” Tawfiq acknowledged, as the pair began yet another slow crawl journey, inching away from the gun. Both wanted to just get it over with, taking turns to restrain the other’s impulses if they looked ready to move any faster than was safe. Finally, they were as far away from the gun position as they dared.

“How do you want to play this?” Kai asked Rúna, once everyone was in position.

She thought furiously for a moment. “Timing is going to have to be dead on for this,” she told him. “Arthur?”

“Yes, corporal?” the new kid replied.

“It all starts with you,” she told him. “When we’re ready, I want you to fire another round, exactly like you did before. Understand?”

“Yes, corporal,” he nodded, chambering another round.

“Once he does that,” she told the gunner, “it’s up to you. Not only do you have to keep firing on that position, but you have to get clear of the gun while you do it. Can you keep it locked on target in remote fire, even when you’re hitting the deck?”

“I sure can,” Tawfiq nodded. “Locked in place like it is, I just need to keep the button pressed. I’ll get us clear, don’t worry.” He smiled down at Rivka, reassuring her.

“All right then, once the gun opens up, Arthur, I want you to take a knee and get out of that thing’s line of sight. It should keep its focus on the weapon firing at it, and while it is, I want you to pump as many grenades into it as you can, as fast as you can. You keep shooting at it until it stops.” She locked eyes with him. “Can you do that?”

He swallowed before nodding. “Yes, corporal,” he said once more.

“And the rest of us?” Yendrick asked. “What are we supposed to do?”

“Absolutely nothing,” she answered. “We already have more people moving about than what’s healthy and adding any more is just too risky. So the rest of us stay where we are playing statue, and hope that between the gun and the grenades, it’s enough to take it out.”

“Right…” he grimaced.

“All right then, are we all clear on our roles? Any last-minute questions?” She looked around at the others, but each of them shook their heads. “Then Arthur, Tawfiq, and Rivka, the three of you get ready. I’ll give you a five-second countdown before we kick it off.” The trio tensed, like horses in the starting gate. She took a deep breath, and said, “Here we go. Five… four… three… two… one… fire!”

There was another Fwump as Arthur fired, followed a split-second later by the crackling snap of the energy beam lashing out to destroy the grenade, but even as it did so Tawfiq was already moving. One hand gripped the remote tightly as the machinegun began hammering away, while with the other he scooped up his assistant, yanking her off her feet. She barely had time to yelp as he took three long strides, all he dared, before flinging them both into the dirt and covering her with his own body.

While they were moving Arthur had pivoted and loaded another round, firing yet again. There was a brief pause as the alien device recharged, but quicker than anyone liked it sent out another blast of energy, this timed aimed at the machinegun. It hiccupped for a moment, with the entire squad fearing the worst, but by some miracle kept throwing lead at the target, though it was sounding worse for wear. Whether it would survive a second shot was something no one could answer, but it looked as if they were about to find out.

Arthur’s grenade detonated, precisely on target. An angry squeal of feedback howled as the gun continued to chew away at the device, but then yet another of Arthur’s grenades went off in its bowels... and that was just enough to tip the scale.

A massive explosion rocked the narrow pass, sending a geyser of rocks and dirt high into the air, while knocking them off their feet. Debris rained down all around them, covering them with a thick layer of grit as heavier stones impacted the ground nearby. It seemed to last for days, though in reality it couldn’t have been more than a few seconds. The rumbling went on and on and on, echoing and reverberating across the ridgeline, until finally it receded.

Kai coughed, the dust coating his mouth and nose, as he rose unsteadily to his feet. “...talk to me, people,” he rasped, as he looked for the rest of his squad.

“Get off me, you big oaf,” Rivka cursed as she clambered to her feet. Tawfiq’s head poked up a few seconds later, looking around them in surprise.

Rúna wheezed as she pushed a rock aside, struggling to stand as she searched for her own people as well. “Becca? Arthur? Yendrick? Are any of you hit?” she demanded, before sighing in relief as they appeared one by one, apparently without serious injuries. The new kid looked especially shell-shocked, something she’d have to deal with soon enough.

“Wait… nobody’s dead?” Doc Svoboda said in amazement, before going to each of them to look for injuries.

Kai looked over at Rúna. “I’m calling it in, even though they must have heard the blast. And I’m demanding at least a twenty-four-hour stand down for the squad. We damn well deserve it after that.”

“No argument here,” she agreed, pressing her canteen to her lips to clear her throat, while the sound of approaching shuttles off in the distance began drawing near.