“Do you think he’s telling the truth?”

Once the enemy delegation departed, they sent First squad back to the line after a quick debrief. There wasn’t much they could tell them, certainly nothing the brass couldn’t figure out for themselves. All that was left now was to wait.

“I think we have to assume he was,” Kai answered. “If he’s bluffing, nothing happens. But if he’s on the up-and-up…”

“Yeah,” Rúna nodded grimly, and then threw up her hands in frustration. “How did we end up here?” she demanded. “How the hell does a security gig on a backwater planet guarding fish eggs turn into goddamn World War III?”

Kai shrugged, “One step at a time.”

She glared at him with foul intent. “Seriously? That’s the best you’ve got?”

“I think we might have misjudged just how jealously the Troika guards their status,” he decided after a moment’s thought. “Like the Paygan said, they’ve been the top dog in these parts for thousands of years. We humans tugged on a loose thread, and now they’re terrified we’ll unravel everything.”

“That’s crazy,” she scoffed. “Us, topple the Troika? They occupy dozens, hundreds of worlds, and those are just the ones they physically possess! There isn’t a species in the Arm they can’t lean on to get what they want, and they’re worried about us?” She shook her head in disbelief. “That’s like a tiger worrying about a mouse.”

“Or Goliath worrying about David?” he suggested. She looked at him in surprise. “They didn’t get to where they are by being fools, Rúna, and no one stays on top of the heap for as long as they have without ruthlessly downsizing the competition.” He paused for a moment, looking around to see if anyone could overhear. “Besides, you and I both know what’s really got them spooked.”

“New Terra,” she whispered. “If we can locate it and actually find a way in…”

“... then, if the rumors are true, we’d be the ones in the driver’s seat,” he finished, nodding in agreement. “They’d love nothing more to wipe us out for that reason alone, but they also know that a human somehow made it past the planet’s defenses, something no one else has accomplished in almost a billion years. How? How did he do it?”

“No one knows,” she shrugged. “You were there when Maggie briefed us. Whatever secrets that scout might have possessed, he took to his grave.”

“But they don’t know that,” he pointed out, “and even if we told them, do you think they’d believe us?”

“Not in a million years,” she said sourly.

“So where does that leave them?” he asked. “Sure, they could wipe us out, remove the threat once and for all, but what if that kills the goose that laid the golden eggs? If that’s the case, then they get nothing. They’ll still be the masters of all they survey, sure, but as long as New Terra is out there, it’ll always be a threat. They want in, so they can grab all the goodies for themselves. So they’ll harry us, hobble us, keep us off balance, but never out of sight. We’re the bird dogs, the ones they hope will lead them to the biggest treasure of them all.”

She took her time, digesting that. “So you think they’re coming then,” she said at last.

“I do,” he said quietly.

Rúna sighed, looking away. “Yeah… me too.” Pushing herself up, she brushed the worst of the dirt from her trousers. “We need to head back,” she told him, “and get them ready for what’s coming.”

“There’s just one other thing,” he told her, rising to his feet as well. She gave him a quizzical look, one that turned to surprise as he leaned forward and kissed her lips.

When they finally broke apart, his hand briefly caressed her cheek. “Stay safe,” he whispered, before turning and heading back to his foxhole.

“...you too,” she murmured, but he was already gone.

They worked like demons, improving the trenches and fighting positions. The medics made another round, deciding that some of the wounded they’d initially triaged as low priority now needed to be evacuated to the rear, reducing their strength even further. Many of them protested, demanding to stay and fight alongside their brothers and sisters, but the colonel overruled them. If it got to where they were needed that badly, odds were the enemy had likely already pushed them all the way back to the sea.

As day turned to night, they munched on Soya bars, napped when they could, cleaned their weapons, played cards and swapped stories, but mostly they waited, watching the enemy encampment below for any sign of movement. She couldn't believe they’d risk another frontal assault, not after the way they’d repulsed the first one, but the annals of warfare were filled with tales of warriors doing the unexpected. Perhaps they’d come up with some new wrinkle, or maybe some weapon they’d been keeping in reserve for just this moment. Something that would give them an edge as they fought their way back up the hill.

It turned out they were wrong on several accounts, as it was the sounds of explosions and weapons fire to their rear that announced Round 2.

Rúna was instantly alert, her rifle at the ready as she scanned their sector. The rest of the team stared wide-eyed, looking for answers, only she had none to give them. But if the clash was coming from behind them…

“Get ready to move,” she hissed over the team freq, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

Confirmation of just how bad it was came two minutes later.

“They found a pass through the ridge we missed,” Kai said in a rush, relaying from further up the chain. “They circled around and hit our flank, and now they’re cutting through us like a hot knife through butter. They‘ve ordered us to redeploy so we can head them off.”

“God damn it,” she swore, already moving and giving orders of her own. “On your feet!” she shouted, throwing her ruck on her shoulders with the others quickly following suit. “Becca, front and center!”

The scout double-timed it to her position. “They outfoxed us,” she told her, “and right now they’re smashing through our rear. It’s up to us to stop them, so I want you out front making sure we don’t run into an ambush. Questions?” Becca shook her head. “Good. Go. Head for the guns.” The young woman was off like a flash, darting ahead and disappearing into the dark. “The rest of you? On my six.” She charged after her with the team on her heels, as Kai and Alpha fell in behind them.

Between the thin scrub and their night vision, the squad made excellent time. They spotted other units moving as well, rushing to form a new line to halt the enemy advance. If they could get in place fast enough, hold out long enough, they still had a chance to keep them penned up.

It was when they stumbled into fellow Valkyries running in the opposite direction that they realized just how bad it was.

There are three categories where soldiers are forced to back away from the enemy. The first is Redeployment, which meant withdrawing and consolidating your position, perhaps allowing follow-on units and supplies to catch up, before pressing forward once more. It was an orderly maneuver, done as a temporary measure, little more than a pause before resuming one’s attack.

The second was Retreat. It meant the battle wasn’t going well, that perhaps you were in danger of being forced to surrender, so instead of allowing your troops to be slaughtered needlessly, you ordered them to fall back to somewhere safe, someplace they could defend. You destroyed what you couldn’t take with you and disengaged in an orderly fashion. It was a setback, maybe even a bad one, but you still had unit cohesion. Orders were still being followed, and with a brief resupply and respite you might take back what you’d lost.

And then, finally, there was the Rout.

Routs were bad. A Rout happened when a unit shattered, like a hammer striking a pane of glass. When an overwhelming force slammed into your position, and absolutely nothing you did could stop it, human beings reverted to the oldest and most basic response hard-wired into their brains… Fight-or-Flight. And if you couldn’t fight, you ran. You ran as fast as you could, and you didn’t stop running until you were safe or exhausted. Maybe not even then. You dropped anything that slowed you down, rucksacks, weapons, helmets; if it had weight, you jettisoned it. All you could think about was getting away.

Any Routed unit was no longer capable of combat. It would take days to just get them back together, days spent searching for stragglers and resupplying them with new equipment to replace the gear they’d lost. Days, maybe even weeks more to rebuild their morale, to help them locate their courage again, letting them find that place that allowed them to stand against the enemy when the bullets and beams were flying. That part was trickier, and there would always be some Routed soldiers who never recovered.

So when they stumbled into wide-eyed and unarmed Valkyries running the other way in abject terror, Rúna realized with a sick feeling just how badly they were about to get fucked.

A Lance Corporal appeared out of the darkness and almost ran into her, dodging at the last moment without bothering to slow down. Pivoting on her heel, she slammed the butt of her rifle into his stomach, driving the wind out of him and knocking him to the ground. He gasped in shock, struggling to catch his breath, but still he squirmed around, trying to keep going.

“God damn it, stop!” she shouted, landing on his chest and pinning him down as she grabbed his lapels. “What the hell is happening?” she demanded. If they were going to have any chance for survival, then she needed to know what they were about to face.

The man screamed, trying to get away, so she slapped him across his face hard, then slapped him again. It took two more whacks before it finally registered, and even then, all he could do was howl, “Let me go!”

“What the hell is coming!” she shrieked into his face, coating it with her spit. “Tell me!”

The Lance Corporal pointed with a shaky hand. “Tanks!” he screamed, “fucking Tanks!” Rúna stared at him in horror, loosening her grip just enough so that he pushed her off and scrambled away, resuming his pell-mell flight as he disappeared into the dark.

Tanks. Holy Mother Terra.

Kai was already at her side, rushing to her aid while she was wrestling with the deserter. “You heard?” she gasped, still struggling to catch her breath.

“Yeah,” he swallowed. The pair looked longingly over their shoulders, to where the Lance Corporal had fled. There were only two choices now. They could run and hope the tanks didn’t catch them... or they could stand and fight.

And no human born could outrun a tank forever.

Something clicked between them, an almost telepathic agreement as they realized what had to be done. Kai turned away, shouting into his helmet mic as he updated the brass, while Rúna faced the rest of the squad. “Right here!” she snarled, sketching out a line on her HUD display for the squad to see. “Start digging in, ten-meter intervals!”

“Against tanks?” Yendrick said in disbelief. “And fight them with what?”

“With whatever we’ve got!” she screamed. “We are not running, so cowboy the fuck up and dig in!”

She saw Rivka lick her lips before sharing a glance with Tawfiq. Doc shifted nervously on his feet, while Becca stared back at the enemy line. Only Arthur failed to react, mostly because he was too green to even consider what the others were already contemplating.

Rúna hefted her rifle and flicked off the safety. “Don’t even think about it,” she growled, daring them to try. If even one of them cracked, if a single member of the squad decided they’d rather take their chances shooting it out with her than stand, that was it. The squad would break, their flank would collapse, and then the tanks would roll over them like they were fucking speed bumps.

Her lip curled as she raised her weapon, staring them down… and then the moment passed. With an almost collective sigh, the squad dropped their rucks and started digging. She waited until she was sure, then flicked the safety back on and set her rifle aside as she broke out her own entrenching tool and started attacking the rocky soil.

Kai hunkered down beside her, apparently in between radio messages. “Higher’s been apprised,” he told her, “and they’re sending us everything they’ve got. We’re first priority for all fire missions, and they’ve forwarded our coordinates to the other units to rally. There’s just one catch,” he grimaced.

She already knew what he was going to say. “They’re not sure they’ll get here in time.”

He nodded glumly. “They promised to do what they could.”

Their heads whipped around in unison at the sound of a strange high-pitched whine, mixed with the crunching of rock and gravel. “Let’s hope it’s enough,” she prayed.

“They’ve tasked me to coordinate and made me the primary spotter for the artillery,” he told her, his eyes glued to the direction the sound was coming from, “so I’m leaving the squad to you.”

Another time she might have reacted with panic, but she simply nodded. “I won’t let you down,” she vowed.

“I know you won’t,” he smiled, briefly squeezing her shoulder. “Get ready, there’s not much time,” he told her, before darting away, taking his own position where he could better see what was coming.

Judging by the sound, it wouldn’t be long before the tanks arrived, minutes at most. And if they were smart, and so far, she had yet to see anything that suggested otherwise, they’d send infantry ahead to scout for ambushes. It was likely those soldiers would be here soon.

A fresh sound whipped her head towards their rear, as another squad appeared from the scrubland. “Third Squad, Fox Company,” the sergeant announced, as his people came forward. “Command just rerouted us here. What’s the situation?”

“We’re about to get hit with tanks, and the flank has already buckled,” she informed him. “We’ve got maybe five minutes to prepare.”

He blanched visibly at that. “And what are we supposed to do?” he stammered.

“Hook your squad into mine, dig in, and get ready,” she snapped.

“Here?” He looked around, searching for better ground. “Why the hell here?”

Something broke inside her. She didn’t have the energy to be scared anymore; she was just pissed. Fuck these alien assholes. Fuck them, fuck their mothers, fuck their fathers, fuck the fucking planets that gave them birth. Fuck everything.

“Why?” she cackled with delight, jacking a round into the chamber and grinning like a madwoman.

“Because we’re the Valkyries… and this is as far as the bastards are going!”