A cadre member pushed a button at the back of the aircraft, lowering the cargo ramp to reveal the screaming void beyond. Inside the plane, a dozen pairs of anxious eyes looked out.

“Okay ladies, this is your final exercise,” shouted the cadre over the roaring engines. “If you do not die, you will graduate from Ranger School and be posted to a real unit to begin operations in the field.”

The combat exercises had ended, and the Rangers finished the last week of Maneuver Phase in the classroom, discussing the theory of maneuver warfare. That morning, they had been dragged out of their bunks at dawn, told to dress in basic PT clothes, and were then driven to an airfield.

An instructor handed each of them plastic-wrapped maps of the region, which they were to secure to their wrists with a cord loop. Then they were ushered onto an aircraft, while planes carrying groups of Rangers raced down the landing strip, climbing away and heading in different directions over the hills of Tyr. Tired, confused, and nervous, Kayla exchanged glances and shrugs with the others. Eventually, the engines of their own transport started up, and they were airborne.

Now, after less than an hour of flying, the girls had no idea where they were, or what new ordeal was in store for them.

“In this organization,” the cadre yelled over the background noise, “we believe personal experience is the best teacher. You have gotten to know your enhanced bodies, but you need one final lesson to underscore how tough you can be. We are now approximately one hundred miles from Tent City at one thousand feet in altitude.” She grinned. “Your objective is simple; when instructed, you will exit this aircraft, and navigate your way back to the camp. Should take you about two to three days.”

“Where are the parachutes?” Kayla asked. She hadn’t seen any on board, and was praying they had been stored out of sight.

“You don’t need one,” the cadre said. “Your bodies can survive the fall.”

The Rangers stared back in shocked disbelief.

“Oh, Lord!” said Thandi. “I knew there was a reason I was afraid of heights! God was trying to tell me something.”

“Congratulations,” said the instructor. “Because in about thirty seconds, you will be cured of your fear!”

“You did the airborne training,” said Kayla encouragingly.

Thandi was growing pale. “That was completely different!” she snapped.

Rose grabbed her by the shoulders. “Come on, Thandi, we can do this. You and me—we’ll go together. Remember your breathing, right?”

Kayla walked up to the ramp and looked out at the world below. The trees and lakes looked small and fragile, and for a moment she imagined she could step out and float across the toy landscape. Suddenly, terror jolted her consciousness like a shock of electricity. She looked up at the cadre, hoping to see a wink, or some other sign that the whole thing was a joke.

“Once you get down, you’ll be in bad shape,” the woman said grimly, “but you’ll heal quickly, and it will be the best high you’ve ever experienced. Believe me.”

Kayla blinked. She felt too dizzy to respond. Was the whole thing a nightmare? Was she really going to jump? Was the whole organization actually insane?

The cadre nodded to her to go.

Thandi, Christie, Rose, and the rest of the Rangers were lining up behind her, eyes wide as saucers. With nothing but unintelligent gibbering coming from her rational mind, Kayla settled for not thinking at all. Inhaling slowly, she stepped down the ramp and leaped into the void.

Following her usual procedure for a jump, she stabilized into the free-fall position, then checked above her to see the other Rangers spreading across the sky. When she looked down, the ground was rising fast. The cadre said she would survive, so she assumed the position for a parachute landing fall, not sure if it would even help.

Kayla struck the ground like a missile. Time and space collapsed in on themselves, then exploded into a flurry of chaos. The ground flexed as she bounced off it, tossing her through the air until she hit again. Her body rolled down a slope, and the world spun like a washing machine as rocks and bracken ripped her skin. She tumbled, unable to feel the pain, or even think, until she collided with a boulder. The impact tore her consciousness out from her skull, stretching it out to breaking point, before it snapped back like a rubber band.

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Dizzy, and almost drunk with confusion, Kayla tried to breathe, but nothing happened. She willed her lungs to expand, heaving her chest until her eyes streamed tears, and she was almost retching. As air began to inflate her collapsed lungs, her senses returned, bringing a new world of agony. At least three ribs were moving strangely, punishing each breathing attempt with stabbing pain.

Time passed, and the world swam back into focus, though her body felt like a heap of jelly. When she tried to shift her shoulder from an awkward and painful position against the rock, something clicked, and the joint wouldn’t move at all. The same sensation occurred when she tried to move her left leg more than a few inches and it stopped—pinned by a horrible internal break.

Though she was in great pain, a flood of relief washed over her. She was still alive! She had passed Valkyrie’s final test, though now she wasn’t sure if that boded well for her future. While birds and insects flew lazy circles through the sky, Kayla lay still, wondering what had possessed her to sign up with a bunch of sadistic psychopaths.

After an hour, she found she could move her leg again, and the agony in the rest of her body had diminished. She forced herself to her feet and limped forward. The first steps sent jolts of pain shooting through her knee, but with time, the movements got easier. The map was still tied to her wrist, so she moved towards higher ground to get her bearings and see if she could spot the others.

As she moved slowly through the countryside, much of the pain faded, and she was eventually able to maintain a stiff walk. Euphoria began to build inside her as she thought about what she had just done, jumping out of a plane without a parachute. Now a broken leg—and who knew what other injuries—were healing as she walked. She felt more alive than she had ever felt before, and she began to run awkwardly, building up speed through the grass that whipped at her legs.

Kayla whooped and screamed as she vaulted over streams and boulders. She did handstands and backflips, she laughed, and then she cried tears of joy as she rode the rollercoaster of emotions. Once the intensity of the feeling began to dissipate, she felt a warm glow spread through her nerves. She could do anything; she would live forever, travel the galaxy, and fight epic battles with the greatest women humanity had to offer.

Someone whistled through the still air, and Kayla looked around to see Christie cresting a rise. When they got closer, Kayla saw that she had a horrific gash in her arm, though the bleeding had already stopped.

“Incredible, isn’t it?” Christie said with wonder.

As they watched, the wound was slowly healing, cells stitching back together. It was a bizarre sight, like something out of a dream or a nightmare.

Once they had checked each other’s injuries, they headed for the nearest hilltop together, fixed their location, and set off in the direction of Tent City.

“I feel high,” said Christie as they walked at a fast pace. “That was … insane.”

“I know what you mean,” agreed Kayla. “Never felt anything like it.”

“And now we are Valkyrie.”

Kayla shrugged. “Whatever that means. I just want to get the job finished.”

Christie raised an eyebrow. “And what will that involve?”

“Finding my way to whatever part of this organization can put a stop to the monsters on Caldera.”

“Hmm.” Christie smiled. “But do you ever wonder what all this is doing to us? Psychologically?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, we’re becoming almost demi-gods, like the Amazons in Greek myth.”

Kayla chuckled. “I’m pretty sure these women were the Amazons of Greek myth.”

“But anyway, what does that mean?” Christie asked. “Are we still human?”

“I don’t know, and I’m not sure I care.”

“Yes.” Christie paused and reflected for a moment. “I can’t imagine a life after this, that’s the problem.”

“Is it a problem?”

“We’re going to spend the next few decades touring the galaxy,” Christie said, “seeing and doing incredible things. Then what? Jump straight back into the body of a typical young woman, and act like nothing happened? How do you go back to a normal life, surrounded by normal people? You could never tell them what you experienced, and even if you tried, they wouldn’t understand. How can you build relationships when you have no shared reference?”

Kayla’s brow furrowed. “Uh… not sure what you’re getting at.”

“How can you build a family with someone when the most important moments in your life will be memories to you, and fantasy to them?”

“You want that someday—to have a family?”

“Of course,” Christie said with a sincere expression. “Don’t you?”

Kayla was at a loss for words. “I… honestly am not thinking about anything beyond tomorrow.”

“I hope you do Kayla, you’d make a good mother.”

Kayla’s mouth dropped open. She had never heard the slightest encouragement of that sort in her life, and certainly hadn’t expected it from Christie. “Uh—I… thanks.”

“I don’t want to be like those long timers we met on the beach or in the bar. Even Urtiga. No offense, I know you look up to her, but those are women who neither want nor need to rejoin the real world.”

There was a long pause.

“You know, Christie,” Kayla said, “five minutes ago, I felt like I was the queen of the universe. Now I’m kind of bummed.”

“You’re welcome.”