When they’d first arrived on Sonoitii Prime, the Valkyries had envisioned a simple static defense. Dig out a few trenches, build a few bunkers, lay out some mines, then sit back and let the enemy come to them. It would have worked too, had the Troika not decided to make an example out of them. Once they recognized the shitstorm they found themselves in, those plans were immediately tossed out and new ones hastily drawn. Hence the battle of Cemetery Ridge, the forced retreat, Operation Jericho, and the last battle that had taken advantage of Terrans’ freakish stamina and turned the tide.

Now they faced a new challenge. They hadn’t opposed the landings of their former enemies/new allies because of limited resources and the hope of playing for time, but their present circumstances required a fresh approach. Simply allowing the Troika to come to them now would be a mistake, ceding initiative to the enemy and forcing the Allies to respond to their stratagems, instead of the other way around. So instead of a passive defense, their best chance at survival was adopting tactics that were a bit more... proactive.

Rúna and the rest of First Squad held on for dear life as their transport roared across the landscape. Not knowing the Troika’s plans had forced them to adapt on the fly, and once they realized they would blanket the terrain with drop pods, it became obvious their best chance to defeat them was before they ever hit the ground. While the big guns had already shot their bolt, there was still barely enough time to meet the falling pods in a few key positions, though it would be close. At least they were heading for familiar territory; the last position they’d held during the retreat. Foxholes were still dug out from that day, and they’d brought with them all the ammo they could carry.

As the vehicles came skidding to a halt, the squad was already up and moving, tossing out the crates of ammunition before leaping to the ground and running for the foxholes. The transports didn’t bother sticking around; as each one emptied, they turned around and hauled ass back to the rear. The odds of them being able to make a second run before the pods landed were infinitesimal, but at least they could try to get back under cover and relative safety.

“Move! Move! Move!” Kai shouted, grabbing Tawfiq by the harness and dragging him to where he wanted the gun set up, while Rivka trotted behind them, lugging the ammo. The scratch company they’d thrown together dove into the fighting positions and readied weapons as they nervously scanned the sky.

They didn’t have long to wait.

“There!” Rúna shouted, pointing at a dark shape as it passed in front of a moon, throwing her weapon to her shoulder and opening fire as those around her did likewise. In a heartbeat the entire company was taking aim and blasting away, with scattered cheers breaking out as pods began exploding and erupting in flames. Most of their shots were going wide, but any target they could take out before it hit the ground was one less they’d have to face. Debris tumbled from the sky while the pods began slamming into the dirt, the soldiers inside protected by some sort of inertial dampener, with Arthur launching one grenade after another into the growing thicket of metallic cylinders as they landed.

Not all pods landed as the Eleexx intended. Several toppled over on their side as the landing gear collapsed, trapping the soldiers within. Others slammed into the ground when their retro-rockets failed, cratering the landscape or even landing on top of their fellow warriors. It was another mistake in a growing list by the would-be conquerors, yet despite their losses they forged ahead, turning their weapons towards the Allied defenders as they emerged from their pods and opened fire.

As it happened, this group of pods were filled with Aggaaddub. On the rare occasions the Troika committed troops to a joint operation of this size, they almost always segregated their forces. There were several reasons for that… logistics, for one… but the truth was that the three races didn’t really trust one another, and never had. When the Allies saw the big lizards emerge from their metal cocoons, the cry “For Freya!” could be heard up and down the line as they sought their revenge for the crippled battleship.

But as the reptilian soldiers landed in ever-increasing numbers and opened fire, the momentum shifted.

Pods were still raining down as the Allies discovered they were being increasingly cut off. Without transports there was no realistic chance of them escaping anyway, but as the third and fourth waves of pods came crashing down, they realized they were in an increasingly untenable position. Outnumbered, surrounded, the only chance they had was trying to winnow down the ranks of their enemies before they were overrun.

Dead and wounded Aggaaddub began piling up all around them, though many of the defenders’ foxholes had gone silent as the Valkyries within fell where they stood. Rúna could hear the steady Budda-budda-budda-budda of Tawfiq’s gun, the Clack Thwump Boom! of Arthur’s grenade launcher, the crackles and bangs of the defenders mixed with the Brrrrt-whing! of the lizard’s rocket projectiles as they screamed past. The shouts and cries from Terran throats clashed against the reptilian roars as she slapped in another magazine when Becca screeched, “Behind you!”

Whirling about, she cut loose with a burst as an Aggaaddub warrior clambered to reach her, its weapon at the ready. Her rounds impacted mid-chest and stitched upward, the last slug entering its snout and exiting the back of its skull. A fist-sized chunk of bone and brain went with it as it toppled forward, but she had no time to spare reveling in her victory as she blasted two more in its wake. The first dropped like a stone while the second fell to its knees, crawling towards her, intent on finishing what it had started until she clubbed it down with her rifle’s stock.

Kai was shouting orders to anyone that would listen, but she could only focus on the fight in front of her. The pods had finally stopped falling, giving them a brief respite, but they were still fighting to hold on. If they could just bleed them, give them pause, force them to reconsider their actions, they might have a chance.

Movement out of the corner of her eye made her turn, spinning around once more to face an additional threat… just as Tawfiq’s gun went silent as he toppled onto the sandbags surrounding his position. His assistant gunner screamed, frantically pulling him out of the line of fire as she howled for a medic. Doc Svoboda braved the withering volleys of incoming as he rushed to save him while Rivka stepped up and took over the gun, socking the butt into her shoulder as she started raking the enemy with deadly precision.

How she could see anything through the tears was a mystery.

Dropping an empty magazine and slapping in a fresh one, Rúna realized they’d bitten off more than they could chew. Whatever hope they might have had of scattering the enemy with a preemptive strike had vanished, leaving them with the bitter recognition that their clever tactics had devolved into a brutal forlorn hope. Wave after wave of Aggaaddub crashed against the Allied rocks, each one eroding away just a little more.

In the struggle between sea and shore, the sea always wins, given time.

Well, then… if this were her last battle, she’d damn well make it one for the ages. With a warrior’s cry, she yanked a grenade from her belt and pulled the pin, throwing it into a cluster of the enemy huddled behind a pair of empty pods. The resulting explosion shattered the makeshift stronghold, as the currents of combat seemed to alter slightly, shifting in a way that was more sensed than seen. Whatever it was, whether it was real, she couldn’t concern herself with it. It wasn’t important. All that mattered was the fight.

Becca shrieked and went down as yet another of the enemy’s whizzing rocket projectiles found its mark. Rúna shouted “Medic!” at the top of her lungs, but whether they heard her was another story. Besides, it was taking all she had to avoid sharing her fate, as the enemy seemed to redouble their efforts, hurling themselves against the Allied redoubt with an almost crazed sense of zeal. Why? she struggled to understand, Why are they doing this? Why does it feel like it’s personal for them?

The battle seemed to shift once again, and this time she knew it was no mere figment. The Aggaaddub were reacting, refocusing their attention to the right flank as the sounds of fighting drew near. Her heart pounded in her chest as she dared to let herself hope relief was on the way, though even if it were, she doubted it would arrive in time. Not to save her, of course, though maybe some of the others. That would be nice.

Arthur pirouetted and fired a grenade at point-blank range, the impact vaporizing a Troika warrior who had snuck up behind them, bathing them both in its sticky green blood as her rifle finally clicked empty. A quick pat-down of her pockets and bandolier proved fruitless, so she threw the rifle aside and drew her sidearm, firing into the mob once more. She shot that dry less than a minute later.

And there it is, she thought grimly as she drew her sword. Rúna risked a brief glance at Kai, but he had troubles of his own. It would have been nice… she thought wistfully, before shoving those thoughts aside. That future had always been a pipe dream. Family and children were never in the cards for her; somehow a part of her had always known she was fated to die on a forgotten hill, on a barren, alien world, fighting a lost cause.

So be it.

Vaulting over the parapet of her foxhole before her brain had time to object, Rúna waded into the fray, her Ixian blade flashing in the moonlight as she assailed the astonished Aggaaddub. She could only imagine how she must appear to them; a tiny creature half their size, bathed in their blood, eschewing modern weapons for something as primitive as naked steel, attacking when any rational being would be in full retreat. They must have thought her mad.

A quick slash and reverse cut emptied the belly of one Troika warrior, its boots slipping on its entrails before it collapsed in the mud, as she searched for a new target. A nearby Aggaaddub had turned away, facing some new threat, and with a scream she leapt, driving her blade before her as she plunged it into its back. The reptile bellowed with pain and rage, fighting to shake her off, but she grimly held on, using her body weight to plunge it even deeper into its chest. It roared once again, drawing the attention of its mates even as it fell to its knees. Rúna’s eyes widened as one raised a shotgun analog and fired, her death-grip on the sword’s hilt yanking it free as it cast her aside.

She landed on a pile of rubble, her sword clattering to the ground as she rolled over on her back and stared up at the starlight sky. So this is how it ends, she thought numbly, closing her eyes as she waited for the grand finale. She didn’t want to see it coming. A sense of peace seemed to wash over her as she accepted her fate. No more fighting, no more pain, no more anything. Just… nothingness. It sounded wonderful.

Instead, she was rudely shaken back to awareness as someone shouted at her. Her eyes fluttered, finally focusing on young Arthur screaming at her, “For God’s sake, get up!” He grabbed her by the harness and hoisted her to her feet, dragging her back to their position, her sword pressed into her hands. That was silly, she thought dreamily as he hauled her back. He should have left it behind. Should have left me behind, too. She tried telling him that, but the words refused to form, even as he dumped her on the far side of the sandbagged position and resumed firing.

Well, this is no good, she groaned, struggling to get back on her feet. If you’re going to die in the thick of battle, you have to actually be in the battle, not off on the sidelines somewhere. There was something about that thought that didn’t quite make sense, but she was too tired and too irritated to chase it down now. Clutching her blade, she started climbing over the sandbags once more, only to stagger and fall to her knees as her limbs refused to obey. Something in her eyes made her wipe a sleeve across her face, only for it to come back red. Head wound, she nodded sagely. Probably some TBI to go with it. That would explain why everything was so fuzzy, why nothing seemed to make sense.

Rúna slumped against the sandbags, exhausted from her struggle, her sword still tight in her grasp. Is Becca okay? she wondered. Is Tawfiq? It didn’t seem likely, but you never knew, though maybe a more important question was, “Is Rúna okay?” Somehow, she was fairly sure she knew the answer to that one.

How long she sat there she didn’t know, but after a while she noticed a curious thing. Unless her ears were playing tricks on her, the fighting seemed to have stopped. Did that mean she was dead? She looked around groggily, before trying to stand, only to fall back in a heap. She wasn’t an expert… who is?... but it seemed likely she was still alive.

Huh. Pity.

She blinked as she sensed others nearby, craning her neck to see them. Kai was there, looking worried, and the Paygan was there, which made even less sense. Must be hallucinating, she reasoned. Doc knelt beside her, flashing a light in her eyes, while Arthur kept watch.

“... ow… stop that…” she mumbled.

“She’s got a concussion,” he announced, putting the flashlight away. “Some head and upper body trauma too.”

“Is she going to be okay?” Kai insisted, taking her hand. It felt nice.

“She should recover,” he explained, “but when? No idea. Clean and dress the wounds, keep her hydrated, and let her rest.” He rose to his feet. “I’ve got other patients who are in worse shape,” he informed them, clutching his medical bag as he rushed off.

“Right,” Kai nodded, taking gauze from his medkit and dowsing it in alcohol. “This is going to sting,” he told her, as he started cleaning her injuries. It did more than sting, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. Instead, she stared up at the Ixian. “...you’re not here…” she muttered.

“In fact, I am,” the Ixian smiled. His eyes traveled down to the sword in her hand. “It seems you have blooded it yet again.”’

Her brow furrowed as she tried to make sense of it. “...how?” she wondered aloud.

“They led the counterattack,” Kai explained, as he tended to her injuries. “Hit the enemy’s rear while they were focused on us. Caught ‘em off guard and chewed right through them.”

She nodded, taking that in. “And Becca? Tawfiq?” she asked hopefully.

“Becca is going to be okay,” he assured her. “Took some more shrapnel in the hip, but she should recover just fine.”

There was a long pause. “Tawfiq?” she asked again.

Kai sighed and turned away.

That was all the answer she needed, as tears filled her eyes.