“Movement at the top,” a cool voice said through Kayla’s earpiece. “Guy exiting the doorway.”

She shifted against her boulder, made particularly comfortable by its mossy blanket, grabbed her rifle and peered through the scope. The target mountain’s open slope lay at an angle, since she and the other climbers were working their way around the southern flank to the cliff face. From the cover of a dense tree line, however, she could just about resolve their enemy’s defenses. In the dim light of dawn, a man was strolling down the path towards the base’s small collection of shuttles.

“Three more, exiting now,” the voice said again.

One of the ODT snipers was closely monitoring activity outside the underground facility’s entrance. A small contingent of VennZech’s security force were maintaining a watch outside, and for the last several hours, long range optics had been trained on them.

The Valkyrie assault group had arrived at the site within four days, and spent the fifth in reconnaissance of the area. Elmira and the other Combat Controllers of element Raven had already mapped out a valley thirty kilometers away for their makeshift drone field, shielded by ridgelines that would block landing and take-off. A single, smaller craft was doing laps of the mountain, streaming live video, by both sun and starlight, to the Banshee.

The crew of the distant warship were not completely detached from events, and had kept the teams updated with satellite tracks and aircraft activity throughout their hike to the objective. It had been a long and grueling struggle, as they could only sleep during the short periods when Helvet and VennZech cameras passed overhead. Both the Raiders and ODT set a relentless pace, and though the Rangers had begun to adapt to their higher level of fitness, they barely managed to keep up. Forests, mountains and lakes had blurred past, leaving Kayla with the bittersweet reflection that she only got to see more of her home world when it was being threatened.

Now, after a final night’s slog, they were supposed to be sleeping during the daylight hours, ahead of the final climb. The rest of the squad were slumbering peacefully, but Kayla kept jolting awake with every radio call. She was too desperate to glean every piece of information that might affect the upcoming attack. The rest of Second platoon were stuck in Rackeye, leaving her alone to figure out how to fit her Rangers into the unfolding chaos. The radical increase in responsibility brought by the last week had only just begun to sink in, now that six lives were dependent on her decisions. It was a burden heavier than any she had carried before.

“Okay, he’s prepping a shuttle,” the distant sniper announced. “I’m calling this in.”

Kayla shrugged her tiredness away and felt adrenaline seeping into her muscles. There had been no flights leaving the mountain since Rayker had arrived there, which suggested that something important was about to happen.

A dull roar engulfed the landscape as the small vessel’s engines spooled up, then lifted their payload into the air.

“Turning south now,” another sniper called.

“Maintaining low speed and altitude,” someone pointed out. “He’s not leaving.”

Kayla reached down and squeezed Ray’s shoulder, then shook her until she jerked out of her fetal position.

“In the lake of cheese?” the woman muttered, before looking around in confusion.

“Maybe some trouble,” Kayla said.

Ray blinked her eyes, nodded, and readied the rifle she had been cradling.

The radio buzzed again. “Landing pattern on point delta.”

Which was the peak of the smaller mountain Kayla and the other Rangers were currently hiding on. She and Ray moved purposefully, but slowly, kicking and shoving the bodies of the squad and returning their bleary, annoyed gazes with urgent expressions.

The whine of engines grew deafening, then faded to a muffled roar as the vessel landed up the slope.

“Three pax disembarking,” someone said. “Two men, and a girl—probably a teenager, looks like.”

Kayla recognized Masey’s urgent voice next. “Orca Four, are you compromised?”

There was a brief pause, then a quick burst of static interrupted the silence—a negative. But the two ODT snipers hiding close to the landing spot obviously couldn’t risk speaking.

“Are they dressed for hiking, or what are they doing?” the voice of Urtiga asked.

“I confirm they are dressed for hiking—both men have small arms,” the first voice replied. “The girl is uh… using her phone.”

“Doing what with her phone?” Urtiga insisted.

“Seems to be… taking pictures.”

Another dull roar filled the air, and the radio conversation narrated the flight path of the shuttle as it climbed to high altitude, before turning East towards Rackeye. Then attention turned back to the three hikers it had left behind, and their relaxed journey back to the base.

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Kayla’s heart hummed. The teenage girl had to be Milani Mayosi, and for some reason Rayker had let her take a trip outside with only a minimum of protection. It was a clear indication that the upcoming assault would achieve complete surprise. Even better, they now had an opportunity to get some information on the base, before they went in.

Kayla listened keenly as the team principles discussed the implications. A snatch was the favored option, even though it meant potentially alerting the defenders, who would no doubt be in constant communication with the hikers. Either way, the assault would have to be moved forward into daylight, and the Rangers still had several kilometers separating them from the start of their climb.

“Just confirmed with Banshee,” Urtiga said eventually. “Our friends in the city have planned to surrender within the next hour. So, we need to go now, before the Helvets decide to start playing around with all those free assets. Who’s in position to jump those hikers?”

Kayla listened to the plan unfold, then turned to her waiting squad. “So, here’s the deal. We’re initiating within the hour.”

“What, in daylight?” Lyna demanded. She and the others looked unhappy with this news.

“That’s right,” Kayla replied. “But it’s a risk worth taking. We know they haven’t prepared for visitors, and this little outdoor trip proves it.”

Lyna nodded glumly. “Fine. Are we at least going to go sneak up on them?”

“No. Three-one is closer.”

“Psshh. Nobody in third platoon can match you and Ray.”

Kayla bit back a smile. “I have to run over there and make contact with Milani. Ray, can you take the others to our cliff sector? As close as you can get without breaking concealment.”

“Sure, thing,” Ray said with a smile.

“Oh uh…” Kayla paused for a moment. Her next announcement was oddly nerve wracking. “So, also, you are now an acting Lance-corporal.”

Ray’s smile turned glacial. “The hell I am.”

Kayla gave her a pained expression. “You can actually consider it an order.”

“Yeah? You and what army?”

Tian reached over and grabbed the woman in a headlock. “Don’t worry, Kayla,” she said with a wink. “We’ll make sure she does her job.”

Milani was chatting happily as she led her two guards through the forest back to the base, discussing her various plans for group outdoor activities. They listened idly, but spent most of their time scanning the trees. Kayla scanned the notes Gaz had given her and did her best to project an air of compassion. Unfortunately, she was way out of practice. She watched from a distance until the bushes around them shook, and they both went down like sacks of potatoes. Two Rangers ran forward and grabbed Milani, carrying her a good distance through the trees from the two new prisoners.

Kayla sprinted to join them, and found to her surprise, that their damsel in distress was slapping and punching anyone who went near her.

“Let me go,” she yelled. “Madame Divine will punish you when she comes to get me.”

Kayla knelt before the furious young woman and tried a gentle tone. “Uh, hi, Milani, I’m a friend of your mom, and she says there’s a slot in Grovemore architecture school still open for you—”

Milani kicked out at her, causing Kayla to stumble back.

“Go to hell,” she hissed. “I hate my mom, and I hate you. You’re more of those terrorists, aren’t you?”

Kayla inhaled slowly. “Milani, we’ve come to rescue you from—”

The girl threw her head back and screamed. Third platoon’s lieutenant stepped forward and slapped her hard across the face.

Then she leaned in close and hissed, “Another sound from you, and I will have your two friends killed.”

Nearby, a radio chirped to life. One of the Rangers standing over the prisoners held up a device to the handset and spoke into it.

“Negative, Hawk-eye,” she said, and her voice came out male and unfamiliar. “She saw a spider.” There was a short pause. “No bite, but it was a big spider. It’s gone now, but she scratched her arm trying to get away. ETA still looks good… okay, will check-in later.”

The assembled women turned their grim expressions back to the now terrified teenager.

The lieutenant turned away and keyed her headset. “The girl’s uncooperative, and we don’t have time to hang around. Can you send someone to pick her up?”

She nodded at the response, then grabbed Kayla’s shoulder and steered her away through the trees.

“We’ve got this. You carry on ahead… Lance—I mean acting-Corporal Barnes.”

“What is that, Stockholm syndrome?” Kayla asked. The violent reaction had left her feeling a little shaken. Hadn’t the girl been living a nightmare?

The lieutenant shook her head. “Nah, that’s a myth. I’d guess she was exposed to trauma through her own family. Probably was willing to suffer to get out and felt like she had more control over the millionaires. Now she’s been brainwashed by the Helvets.”

Kayla’s expression turned incredulous. “Control? Are you serious?”

“A limited amount. Everyone has strings, and messed up kids figure out how to pull them. It’s the only way to survive.”

“Jesus,” Kayla said softly. “At least we can go kill the men who kept her there.”

“Uhuh?” The Lieutenant smiled. “And that will fix what, exactly?”

“Um…”

“Evil exists in the world because a child’s mind takes seconds to destroy. Then they grow up and decide to turn the hurt outwards. And there’s always a Rayker around to help them do it. Do you think you can shoot them all?”

Kayla ran her hand through her hair. “Hmm. Trust an officer to give out morale boosts.”

The lieutenant gave her shoulder a friendly shake. “Might want to think about that, now that you’re a team leader. See you up top.”

Kayla caught up with her squad near the base of the cliff. They stayed below the trees, anxious not to give anyone on the mountain a hint of what was coming.

“That is a long, long climb,” Thandi said, as her wide eyes fixated on the towering rock wall.

“Hey, babe,” Kayla said, and grabbed her arm, forcing her attention back down to Earth. “I need you to stay with Jess, and make sure she manages okay. Got it?”

Thandi nodded. Her skin was a little paler than usual, but she wore her usual look of determination.

“Girlboss, you can climb, can’t you?” Thandi asked.

Jess gave her a gentle kick. “Stop calling me that. Anyway, yes, I did a lot of bouldering.”

“That’s not the same,” Thandi said. “You really need to pace yourself. Plus, the height will make everything different.”

“I know,” Jess said. “We did this in Ranger school.”

“With ropes,” Kayla said. “Without ropes, you will feel less enthusiastic. Follow Thandi, do whatever she says, and don’t try to be clever. And whatever you do, don’t slap the wall and jump off when you hit the top.”

Jess nodded. “Yes Lance— uh… Corp, uh… whatever you are.”

Kayla smiled, then looked around suspiciously. “I tell you what,” she said quietly. “For now, you can call me Kayla. But don’t tell anyone else, or the entire structure of military hierarchy and discipline will come crashing down around us.”

Jess giggled.