"How about here?" Ryan suggested.

Syd looked around, examining their surroundings with an unconvinced expression.

"I don't see what makes here any different from the last five places you asked that question."

"No... no, this one has potential." Amy pointed upwards, indicating the ridge that loomed over them, then over at the entrance to the valley they were standing in. "If we were set up in that line of trees... and the Zorvax arrived from over here..."

"...all the rocks and brush would slow them down while they're coming through the gap, spread out their formation." Ryan finished the thought for her. "We could get the jump on them."

"Exactly. The lines of sight are clear, and there's plenty of room to maneuver. I'm sold. This is the best site for an ambush we've found so far."

"Then we ought to start searching for somewhere nearby that we can set up camp."

"I'll head back to the car and bring out all that gear you bought," Amy offered. "You take care of finding us a campsite."

"And me?" Syd asked. "What should I be doing?"

"You can..." Amy's voice trailed off uncertainly. "...come along with me to help carry things, I suppose?"

Stepping in closer to Amy, Syd put an arm around the taller woman's shoulder and took her aside. The two began a hushed, rapid-fire discussion. Something that Amy said made Syd burst into laughter, and in the conversational lull that followed, both sent a meaningful glance in Ryan's direction.

Syd leaned over to whisper something into Amy's ear, and she blushed furiously before looking away.

If I didn't know better, I'd think I was being conspired against.

Finally, they parted. Amy turned to face Ryan, but she was oddly reluctant to meet his eyes.

"On second thought," the policewoman said, "I think it would be better if Syd stayed here to help you with... stuff." Before he could ask about the sudden reversal, she blurted out, "I'm going to leave now! Goodbye!"

Watching Amy go tromping off through the undergrowth, Ryan muttered, "What was all that about?"

"Just a continuation of our girl talk from the other day." Syd said with a dismissive wave. "Nothing that you need to worry about."

Well, that doesn't sound ominous at all, he thought to himself.

Once Amy had departed, a long moment of quiet followed. Then, gradually, the sounds of nature returned. Birds chirped. Bees buzzed. Leaves rustled in the breeze. If the weather had been just a few degrees cooler, it would be a perfect day. Even so, it was... nice.

And, of course, any day became better when you had attractive company to share it with.

He glanced over at Syd. By unspoken mutual agreement, they picked a direction and started walking.

Taking the lead, he began pushing his way through the dense brush to clear a path.

"So, um, what exactly are we supposed to be looking for, Ryan?" she prompted him.

"A campsite," he responded, using his good arm to raise a low-hanging branch so she could pass beneath it.

"Right, right. A campsite. Everybody knows how to find a campsite. It couldn't be more obvious." She paused. "But, um, hypothetically speaking, if someone didn't know what to look for, how would you explain it to them?"

Ryan chuckled, fighting the urge to affectionately muss up her hair. He'd been doing that a lot lately; her fault, for being so adorable.

"We want to find a spot with level ground, for a start. A clearing that isn't too rocky, with good drainage and no standing water nearby. Shade would be nice, with how hot it's been lately, and that would also give us some cover if it rains. The weather report said sunny and clear for the next few days, but you know how that goes..."

Realizing that he was starting to ramble, he paused in his recitation.

"Hey, don't stop on my account!" Syd protested, fanning herself with one hand. "Listening to my boyfriend talk about macho outdoorsy stuff gets me all hot and bothered. It's so... rugged and manly. Were you a lumberjack before the aliens abducted you? A park ranger, or something like that?"

"Something like that. Honestly, I learned most of this on camping trips when I was a kid. The rest came while I was in college. I got a part-time job with the Bureau of Land Management, working as a surveyor. Helped pay for my tuition."

"A surveyor? Hmm." As she walked, she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Not as cool as a lumberjack, but I guess that's still pretty cool," she finally decided with a sharp nod of the head.

Moving over to his side of the path, Syd leaned her weight against Ryan's shoulder. When he didn't immediately move to do it himself, she impatiently grabbed his arm with both of hers, lifting it up and moving it to lie across her shoulders.

"Okay, mister professional surveyor, master of the wilderness... since we're out here, why don't you teach me something?"

"Uh, sure. Let's see..." He gave their surroundings a quick scan. "This cleared path that we're walking on is what you call a game trail. Made by deer, probably, but there could be wolves out here too, or even bears. There's no guarantees, but if you follow a game trail, a lot of the time it'll lead you to a source of water –"

Syd stumbled over a protruding tree root. Ryan caught her before she could fall.

"Are those really the best hiking shoes you have, Syd?" he asked, once she was back on her feet.

She looked down.

"What's wrong with my shoes?"

Where do I even start?

With their tall platform heels, the nonfunctional combat boots she was wearing looked better suited to the dance floor than the forest floor.

"...I'm guessing you didn't spend a lot of time out in the woods before today."

"This is my first time," she confirmed. "I've always been a city girl."

"You never went camping? Or even for a hike? No summer camp, no vacations?"

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Syd rolled her eyes.

"The kind of vacations I got dragged along on, there were a lot more fancy hotels and ski chalets and tropical beaches, and a lot less of –" she gestured all around them "– all this."

"Sounds rough."

"Hell yeah, it fucking sucked." When he gave her a skeptical look, she added, "Really! Do you know the difference between a salad fork and a dessert fork?"

"Point taken." He held his free hand up in a placating gesture. "I think I'd rather risk the wolves and bears."

"You don't know the half of it," she said, slipping herself back under his arm and snuggling against his side. "Formal receptions are unbelivably shitty, Ry. I'm so glad that part of my life is behind me now."

"...do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head.

"Later. Right now we're having a moment, and I don't want to ruin it."

***

Ryan did his best to keep the conversation light. He pointed out the edible and dangerous plants that they came across, and the signs of animal life all around them: indentations that had been left in the mud by deer hooves, the long-fingered tracks of a raccoon, even faint paw prints that might have belonged to somebody's pet dog.

At one point, a squirrel had burst out of the undergrowth ahead of them. Syd squeaked in fright, nearly jumping into his arms, but tried to play it cool afterwards. Besides that brief scare, however, they didn't encounter anything unexpected. After the hectic pace of the last few days, the walk was a wonderful opportunity for both of them to finally relax and unwind a bit.

The path they were following turned downhill, as he'd predicted, eventually opening onto a picturesque little creek shaded by drooping willow trees. He stepped over the burbling stream, then turned and give Syd a hand across.

With her cradled against his chest, he couldn't help noticing that her hair smelled nice.

It's the same shampoo I've been borrowing for the past few days, he thought. Cucumber and lavender, or something like that.

So why does it smell so much better on her?

Very mysterious.

Peeking up at him, she grinned, gleaming lips (purple today) parting to reveal a glimmer of her perfect white teeth.

"You're thinking about something perverted right now, aren't you?"

"What? No!"

"You totally were! Was I naked?"

"Nothing like that."

"Aww." She sounded genuinely disappointed. "So, what was it, then? Fantasizing about other girls?"

Stopping, he turned her so that they were facing one another.

"Never," he said seriously. "I'm still not sure exactly what it is that we've got going on between us, but I care about you, Syd. Trust me. I'd never do anything to hurt you."

She nodded, wordlessly, then looked away and continued walking. With a mental shrug, he followed.

A beat passed in silence.

"Amy likes you, you know," she finally said, speaking over her shoulder, her tone matter-of-fact.

Ryan missed a step, stumbled, and almost walked face-first into a tree.

Confused, and a little apprehensive, he examined Syd's expression, but there had been no accusation, no jealousy he could detect. Rather than hurt or anger, the faintest spark of amusement could be seen dancing in her eyes.

He'd been expecting to have this conversation, or one like it, ever since the day Syd proudly announced that he was her boyfriend.

That didn't mean he expected it to be a fun discussion.

"Amy's a good person," he replied, trying to avoid saying anything he'd regret later. "I like her too."

"No, I mean she likes you, likes you" Syd told him, placing additional emphasis on the last two words.

He sighed.

"I... thought that might be the case."

Tilting her head curiously, she made a go-on gesture.

"And?" she prodded, when he didn't immediately continue.

"...and, she's a nice girl, but I've already got a girlfriend. Apparently. That's important to me. You're important to me. I'm not about to risk what we have, worrying over something that might have been." He sighed again, knowing what he needed to do, but not looking forward to it. "The next time we're together, I'll explain to her that you and I are dating, and let her down gently."

And I'll just have to hope that the team can survive the fallout. Amy is definitely going to flip out. When it comes to Syd, she's even more overprotective than that weird butler guy.

Syd's expression didn't change, the slight smirk remaining fixed in place.

"...so, that was a test, right? Did I pass?"

She hummed noncommittally, then waved her hand to indicate the clearing they'd stepped into.

"Hey, this looks like a nice spot for a camp, don't you think?"

***

"This is a nice spot for a camp," Amy said. "Good find, Ryan."

"Believe it or not, Syd was actually the one who found it," he said, scratching the back of his neck embarrassedly.

"I'm an apprentice surveyor!" she announced proudly with her hands on her hips.

He watched as Amy visibly bit back a sarcastic response, eventually settling for a doubtful grunt.

"Let's get these bags unpacked," Ryan suggested.

Setting up the campsite went smoothly enough. It helped, he thought, that all their gear was new, high-end stuff. Compared to his childhood memories of fighting with guy lines and tent poles, it felt almost insulting how easy it was to set up the fancy pop-up models they'd brought.

"Let me get this straight," Syd began as they worked, "the plan is that we're just going to... hang out in the middle of the woods until the Zorvax come after us again?"

"More or less," Ryan agreed. "They'll be able to use the teleporter again soon. Tomorrow at the earliest, if my math checks out. Once it's recharged, you'd better believe they're going to make another attempt at getting their Changers back. Especially now that we've got three of them on our hands."

"But they have spaceships, don't they?" she asked. "Couldn't they just, you know, fly one of those over and blast us from orbit, instead of waiting?"

"I've never heard of the Zorvax using their warships that way, and going by what their officers said, this planet is too much of a backwater to even have a space battlecruiser permanently assigned. There's a transport that swings by the system every month or two, dropping off personnel and supplies, but it isn't due back for a while yet, and I don't think any of the aliens here have the authority to commandeer it, anyway." He shook his head decisively. "No, if they attack, it'll be using the teleporter."

"What if we tried taking the fight to the Zorvax instead?" Amy mused out loud. "They say the best defense is a good offense."

"That's the idea, eventually... but right now, we don't even know where their base is located. The whole time I was there, nobody entered or left it by any way other than using the teleporter, which makes me think it must be located in a pretty inaccessible area. We need to figure out where the Zorvax are staging from before we can start planning how we're going to turn the tables on them."

"If you never got to see the outside, can you even be sure that you were still on Earth?"

"The teleporter's range isn't infinite. It's got to be installed somewhere on this planet, but that covers a lot of ground. For all we know, it might have been built under the polar ice caps, or at the bottom of the Marianas Trench."

"Or in the middle of Ohio," Syd added helpfully.

"...or there, yes." Ryan frowned. "Why is that funny?"

"Don't worry about it," she told him, snickering. "Heh, heh. Ohio."

Ignoring Syd, Amy gave him a serious look.

"And you believe the two of us can win against the force they're going to send?"

"That's what all those hours of training were for," he said. "On a battlefield we've chosen and prepared in advance, and with surprise on our side... maybe. At worst, I think we can give them a bloody nose and make a clean getaway afterwards. Hopefully, though, we'll be able to force them to retreat, make them think twice about coming back for more."

"So, what should we do while we're waiting?" Syd wondered. "It might take days for them to get their act together, or even longer, and there's going to be a lot of downtime between Changer training sessions."

"You remember those shovels we bought?"

"Oh, no. No, no, no. I'm more of a direct-and-supervise girl, thank you very much."