“The craftsmanship is exquisite,” Colonel Holme remarked, turning over the Ixi blade in his hands. “I know a few collectors who would pay handsomely for it.”

“It’s not for sale, sir,” Rúna sniffed, taking the sword and sliding it into its scabbard. “Besides, the Paygan seemed certain he’d be getting it back. I’m tempted to say, ‘Over my dead body’, but I’m pretty sure that was implied.”

“It was, I’m afraid,” Captain Inaba agreed, handing her and Kai each a glass, before taking a seat. “The Ixi are some of the best warriors out there, and they don’t like to lose.” She took a sip from her own glass and then shrugged. “It’s not personal, if that’s any consolation.”

“It’s not,” she grimaced. “Any suggestions, ma’am?”

“If you can arrange it? Artillery strike,” the captain replied. “Safest option all around.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Rúna sighed as the colonel pulled up a file on his tablet.

“We’re getting good telemetry from the camera you planted,” he informed them, “and what it’s showing us is disconcerting. It confirms your reports that the Ixi, the Legion, and the Zaitai are all part of the forces being assembled against us. They’re digging in just like we’ve been, but they won’t stay put forever.”

“What I don’t understand is why they’ve landed so far from us?” Sergeant Kai wondered aloud. “With three brigades at their disposal, why not just drop on top of us and finish it?”

“Four,” earning him a surprised look. “Don’t forget our good friend the Administrator from Elimination Associates. I doubt we’ve heard the last from them.” He took a sip from his drink and then set it aside. “We’ve puzzled over their deployment as well, but we suspect it’s another part of their overall strategy. They’re trying to nudge us into doing their work for them,” the colonel explained. “If they can get us to surrender on our own, especially before any actual battle takes place, not only does it get them what they want at rock-bottom prices, it also blackens our good name across the sector.” He shook his head in disgust. “Who would hire a mercenary band that runs from a fight?”

“So we’re staying then?” Rúna asked quietly. “Even knowing what we know?”

“We are, corporal,” Inaba agreed, “despite the odds against us.”

The two NCOs stared at their cups, and then concurrently took a healthy swig at the news. “Yes sir,” Kai said at last.

“Don’t write us off just yet, sergeant,” Holme chided him. “We’ve still got a few cards in our favor.”

Kai managed a polite expression. “As you say, Colonel,” he murmured.

“I know when I’m being humored,” the colonel sighed, before forestalling Kai’s response. “Don’t deny it; if I were in your shoes, I’d be thinking the same thing.” Setting down his glass, he leaned forward, eyeing the pair. “There are things in the wind I’m not at liberty to discuss, for a variety of reasons… not the least of which being they may not play out.”

He bobbed his head. “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”

Holme waved his apology aside. “Forget it. You’ve both had a long night, and I know you’re worried about your teammate. How is she doing, by the way?”

“The Knights tell us she’s responding well to treatment,” Rúna answered. “They also said if we’d gotten her to them any later…” Her voice trailed off as she stared into her glass once again.

“But you did get her to them in time,” he reminded her. “Never forget that. Don’t start traveling down all those dark alleys marked, ‘What If?’ There’s nothing good to be found there, I can assure you.” He sighed, with a sudden distant look in his eyes. “Take it from one who knows.” He drained the last of his glass, and then rose to his feet, the others half a heartbeat behind him. “We’ve kept you both long enough, and I’m certain you’re both dead on your feet. Go get some rest. We’ve got your reports, and if we have any further questions, we know where to find you. Dismissed.”

“Aye aye, sir,” they said in unison, before turning and exiting the CP.

“I want to see Rivka,” Rúna insisted, once they were clear of the command post.

“Me too,” Kai admitted, as they headed towards the Aid Station. Luckily, it wasn’t far, and relatively deserted. Making their way to her bed, they found Tawfiq beside her, sitting vigil and holding her hand. He looked up at them, his disfigured face a study in misery as the corporal instinctively gave him a hug.

“She’s going to be okay,” Rúna promised, plopping down next to him. “The Knights all say the same thing.”

“I know,” he rumbled, his eyes never leaving his teammate. “It’s just… I mean, look at her,” he said helplessly, staring at her as she slept. “She looks so fragile. So broken.” He hung his head as a tear formed at the corner of his eye.

“Hey, Rivka’s a fighter,” Kai reminded him, giving the gunner some space. “Besides, if she saw you blubbering over her like this, she’d kick your ass.”

That earned him a watery snort, as Tawfiq wiped at his eyes. “Yeah, she would,” he agreed, picturing the diminutive young woman beating on someone twice her size. “The Knights say she can get out of here in a couple days,” he continued, “but it’ll be a while before she’s a hundred percent.”

“We’ll look after her,” Rúna vowed, “you know that. We take care of our own.” She gave his arm a squeeze before standing up. “You need anything?”

Tawfiq just shook his head. “We’ll check back in soon,” she told him, “I promise.” The pair stood there for a moment, waiting to see his reaction, but the big man simply turned his attention back to the wounded young woman before him, his mind shutting out everything else. Kai jerked his head towards the door as they made a discreet exit.

“God, I hate that,” she shuddered.

“Yeah, and it doesn’t get any easier,” Kai agreed. “Been doing it for years, and I still don’t know what to say.” He came to a halt, turning to her. “If you get your own squad, you’ll have to deal with that too.”

“I know,” she said quietly. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“There’d be something wrong with you if you did,” he acknowledged, before taking a deep breath. “We need to talk, Rúna. About what happened. About what’s been happening.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she told him, looking away.

“Yes, you do,” Kai said firmly. “Taking the lead when we found that boobytrap. Tracking down the Screamer. The minefield. And now you’ve taken up fencing, it seems,” he said pointedly, glancing at the sword tucked in her harness. He folded his arms and leaned up against a sandbagged wall, regarding her. “You keep putting yourself at risk like that, eventually you’re going to face something too big for you to handle. What happens then?”

“I seem to recall you saying how proud you were, last time we had this conversation,” she snapped, her eyes suddenly full of fire. “Maybe you remember… we were sharing a bottle and watching dragon sex? Ring any bells?” She glared at him defiantly. “What the hell changed?”

“You changed,” Kai fired back. “What are you doing? Are you trying to prove something? That you deserve that squad? Because if that’s the case, this path you’re on is the surest way to lose it.”

“I did my job,” Rúna snarled, getting right in his face, “and I’d do it again. I stand by every decision I made, and the fact we’re all still alive to talk about it tells me I made the right fucking choice.” The sergeant’s hackles flared as she jabbed her finger into his chest. “Maybe I should have just let Becca die out on that minefield, huh? Is that what you’re saying? Cause if that’s the case, then I am sorry to disappoint you,” she blustered, the sarcasm dripping from her mouth.

“Damn it, I care about you,” he snapped, grabbing her by the arms. “Do you have any idea what it does to me, watching you risk your life like this? Do you?”

“I did what had to be done,” she seethed, pulling herself from his grip, “and if you don’t like the way I operate, then maybe I should see about that transfer.” Giving him one last scowl, she turned on her heel and stormed away.

It was several hours later when Kai made his way up the hill overlooking the bay. Rúna glanced over in his direction, and then pointedly looked away, even as he sat down beside her. That changed when he broke out a bottle, holding it up for her inspection.

“If you think you’re getting lucky, guess again,” she growled, taking it from him and cracking the seal.

“Last thing on my mind,” he said honestly, as Rúna took a long drink.

Wiping her lips, she handed it back over. “I’ll give you this much, it’s better than the last batch,” she said grudgingly.

“I asked Yendrick to find me the best stuff he could,” he nodded, before taking a drink of his own. “Told him it was important.”

“Wonderful,” she grimaced, rolling her eyes. “Now they know we’re up to something.”

“Just how long did you think we could keep that a secret?” Kai asked her.

Rúna sighed and took back the bottle. “A least a little while longer.”

The two drank in silence, watched the waves crash on shore, before Kai finally spoke up. “What exactly are we fighting about, Rúna?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “You thought I was being reckless, and I resented it.”

“Sounds about right,” he agreed, taking another swig. “So?”

“So, I don’t know what to tell you,” she answered. “Every one of those examples, at that moment I was doing what I thought was right.” She turned to look at him. “And I’d do it again.”

“Somehow, I had a feeling that would be your answer.” They spent several more minutes contemplating the ocean, both as still as the night air.

“... I meant what I said back there,” Kai said at last.

“I know,” Rúna mumbled. “So where does that leave us?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted, “but I know this: I don’t want to lose you. Not now. Not after everything we’ve been through.” He turned and looked her in the eye. “But you don’t have to act like you’re some one-woman army, either. Maybe you’d consider letting the rest of us pick up some of the slack, now and then?” he asked hopefully. “I mean, we’re a team, right?”

“Right,” she smiled. “You know, it goes both ways.”

“What does?”

“I don’t want to see anything happen to you, either” she finished. “I guess that might be part of why I’ve been… well, you know,” she flushed.

“You and I need to work on our communication skills,” Kai chuckled as he wrapped a protective arm around her. Rúna snuggled in, enjoying the closeness, before finally checking her chronometer.

“We have to go back, don’t we?” she sighed, reaching for her weapon.

The sergeant just smiled, kissing the top of her head.

“... we’ve got some time yet,” he told her.

Sometime later the pair made their way back to the line, only to be met by a frantic Becca. “Jesus, I’ve been looking all over for you two,” she said in a frenzy. “The LT and Gunny were by earlier.”

“Just how much trouble are we in?” Kai sighed.

“Naw, you’re good, I covered for you,” she told them, but not before giving Rúna a knowing wink, earning her a groan from the corporal. “Besides, after the patrol we’re still technically off the clock.”

“So what did they want?”

The scout made a sour look. “We’ve got early Stand-To in the morning. The brass is expecting a probe.”

“Damn it.” Kai reached up and pinched his nose. “I suppose that was fairly inevitable. Where’s the rest of the squad?”

“Sleeping, most of them. Except for Tawfiq and Rivka, of course. They’re both still at the Aid Station.”

“Right. Okay, get ‘em up and have them report to me on the double. Then head over to the Aid Station and tell Tawfiq to get his ass back here ASAP.”

Becca gave him a wary look. “He ain’t gonna like hearing that, Sarge.”

“I know, but we need him on the gun. I don’t care how you do it, but get him here. Copy?”

“I’m on it,” she nodded, before heading back to the fighting positions to wake the squad.

“She’ll make an excellent team leader,” Rúna smiled.

“Yeah, she will,” Kai agreed, as he found a convenient spot to sit. “Might as well get comfy,” he told her, “I imagine it’ll be a while.”

It was the better part of an hour before the squad, minus the still recuperating Rivka, gathered together. Tawfiq had a dark and dangerous cast to his eyes; being torn away from his teammate’s bedside had put him in a venomous mood.

“All right, you’ve all heard the news,” Kai told them. “We’re expecting a probe in the morning, and they want us ready. So until then we’re on fifty-fifty security; one up and one down. Stand-To is at 0330, and I better not catch anyone making their damn breakfast. Noise and Light discipline until the end of morning twilight. That means no talking, no open flames… and no falling back asleep, or it’s your ass. Understood?”

The squad nodded and mumbled their assent. “Ok then, with Rivka down, Yendrick, I need you on the gun as Tawfiq’s assistant. Any problems with that?”

“No problems, Sarge,” Yendrick shook his head. Tawfiq started to speak, but Kai shot him a look.

“It’s Yendrick or the new kid,” he told him, forestalling any argument, “and being honest, I need Arthur on the grenade launcher. So really, it’s either Yendrick, or Yendrick. Deal with it.” The big man muttered something under his breath but said nothing else aloud. Kai ignored it and turned to Rúna. “You got anything you want to add?”

“Just one thing,” she told him, as she addressed the squad. “I know what you’re thinking. Maybe they’ll hit some other section besides ours. Maybe they won’t come at all. The brass has been wrong before.” She glared at each of them. “Get that shit out of your head right now. Assume that they’re coming here in force, and that they’ll do their damndest to punch straight through us and leave nothing but charred meat in their wake. Whatever you might think about the enemy, especially after our encounter with the Ixi, just remember one thing: they will do everything they can to kill you, unless you kill them first. Never forget that.”

The silence that followed her warning was deafening. Kai checked his chronometer and stood up. “Stand-To is in six hours. Get some rest… because you’re sure as hell gonna need it.”