“We’ve been through this before, Team Scarlet,” Nic huffed as he ran. “We got through it then. We’ll get through it again.”

He threw these encouragements over his shoulder while running to keep pace with the rest of the line. Lieutenant Reeve summoned everyone in this half of the dormitory, with Lieutenant Welch herding the other half. Over ten dozen soldiers bolted in two orderly, parallel lines through Red Base toward the Armory. It housed the Gen-3 Achilles Powered Armorsuits as well as weapons, ammunition, and other equipment that would be needed momentarily.

“FTX Plan Niner!” Lieutenant Welch yelled over the klaxon and the cacophony of boots pounding the concrete floor. “We’ve run it twice this week. Remember your training. Squad assignments! Vermilion, Rufous, Cinnabar, Maroon, you’re on the roof. Carmine, Garnet, Crimson, Barn, you’re the welcome wagon at the choke point. RTIFIS, astrosteel seals on every door except the main entrance!”

the AI answered dutifully.

“All other squads, establish a perimeter around these buildings,” Welch went on, donning his own Achilles armorsuit. “Turrets. Launchers. Sentries. 100 meters out, 360 degrees, nice and tidy. I want this perimeter airtight before their bugged-out eyes even catch a glimpse of this planet, understood?”

“Sir, yes, sir!” came the collective reply from those not already mobilized.

“Make it happen, Red Battalion! Practice is over! Let’s get to work!”

“Perimeter team, follow me!” Lieutenant Reeve called over the ruckus. “Two pieces of equipment each. Let’s hustle!” He was the first one to gather equipment using the powered strength of his armorsuit, lifting a machine gun turret in one hand and a rocket launcher in the other. Reeve trotted out the door and led by example, erecting the first turret while Nic and the rest of Team Scarlet grabbed their share.

“Good hustle, team,” Nic told his squadmates, lugging two turrets. “Only a few more trips!”

“Five each,” Maqsud replied, “but who’s counting?”

“You, apparently.” They shared a brief chuckle. Keep it short and sweet—Welch will probably chew someone out the second someone gives him an excuse, Nic thought. I’m glad we got Reeve for the actual operation.

“RTIFIS,” said Jarek, “you know how far out they are? How many?”

the AI answered.

“One’s not bad,” said Nic. “We had three on Aegis.”

“Yeah, but the facility on Aegis was practically its own little city-state,” Perri answered. “And we had, like, most of Red Battalion instead of just 28 squads.”

“Plus, we were part of the last line of defense,” Jarek agreed, “so, end of the day, wasn’t much action for us to see.”

“Positives, guys,” said Nic. “Think of the positives. One Seed. High probability of success with minimal casualties. Sure, we’re on perimeter instead of indoor duty, but that’s fine. It’s not like this means we’re gonna be stri—”

“Scarlet, Venetian, Brick, Ruby, and Cardinal,” said Lieutenant Reeve. “Perimeter needs to be secure in 30. When that’s done, you’re going to be our strike team. Rendezvous in the hangar in 30 minutes sharp, not a second later. Understood?”

“Sir, yes, sir!” the tapped squads answered in unison.

When everyone had resumed their perimeter-setting duties, Nic sighed, “I just had to open my mouth.”

***

26 minutes later, the perimeter was complete. Every squad was where they needed to be. Four of them were on the roof armed with sniper rifles. Four of them were stationed in and around the Proxima Manufacturing factory entrance, creating a choke point for invading Hexadians; any of the aliens that wanted to break in and set their acid bombs to destroy the facility would need to go through twenty Red Battalion soldiers armed to the teeth—assuming they made it past the snipers.

And this was all assuming the invasion force penetrated the perimeter, which consisted of 75 soldiers manning swiveling machine guns, rocket launchers, and sentries with standard loadouts staggered behind and between them. This perimeter encircled the entire facility as well as Red Base. There was little chance that the invaders would even set foot on the doormat of the critical weapons factory.

Ideally, they wouldn’t even approach the perimeter. This was the purpose of a strike team—one of the most dangerous parts of an operation like this.

And Team Scarlet had been voluntold to participate.

"Best defense is a good offense," Lieutenant Reeve told them when they assembled in the hangar. "Confuse, stymie, and overwhelm the enemy with mobile defense before the enemy can even approach static defenses. This is not a new tactic when utilizing defensive ops against Hexadians. It works. It worked on Aegis, it worked at Magellan Station, and it'll work on Telum."

"Permission to speak, Lieutenant Reeve?" Kincaid interjected.

"Go, Brick 1."

Right. She's their Squad Leader, Nic remembered.

"Well," said Kincaid, "frankly, this is my squad's first combat mission. We've never run strike team during FTX, either."

"It's not much different from standard ground combat. Only difference is we're cutting them off before they get too close. As we all know, Hexes aren't much for space or aerial dogfights; they prefer sending out foot soldiers to get the job done. Rather than let them advance across Telum to their point of interest, we mow down as many as possible a few klicks out. Make sense?"

"It just means we're the front lines," Nic added.

"That's right, Scarlet 1," Reeve agreed. "And we're in the hangar because we'll be taking Gryphons to their estimated landing site once the Hexadians are inbound."

"Why Gryphons, sir?" asked Theodore. He was one of the squad members of Team Venetian. "If it's a ground op, I mean. Why not Centaurs?"

"Ideally, Gryphons will be further out of reach for enemy ground forces," the officer answered. "Jetpacking down will make you a moving target, which will be harder to hit, too. Driving or running up would make you much more vulnerable, since we're the ones approaching them." This explanation seemed to suffice for Theodore. "Now, Team Brick, you'll be going with Team Scarlet when the time comes. They're veterans by this point. They'll show you the ropes."

Nic nodded. "The jump is the toughest part. But it's not too bad. I'll make sure to look out for you guys." Four members of Team Brick nodded gratefully; Danny stood frozen in place.

"Much obliged, Nic," said Kincaid. "I know you're a capable Squad Leader. You do what needs to get done." There was a pause. Nic cringed at the memory of his outburst against Danny. The punch out of the blue, the kid hitting the floor like a bag of meat. Nic's knuckles had finally stopped hurting only a couple days ago.

Not sure if she's making a dig at me or if she actually thought Danny deserved to get hit like that, Nic wondered. He was too ashamed to risk an apology in the moment—especially with a superior present. All he said was, "I try."

Lieutenant Reeve led the way deeper into the hangar. There were a few Harpies parked—Nic took notice of Perri's lingering looks at the single-passenger aerial vehicles, her favorite—but most of the hangar was occupied by Gryphons. Rows and rows of the ten-seater tandem-rotor aircraft, easily ten times as many as would be needed for an invasion of this scale. "Okay, platoon. Three Gryphons. I'll be piloting one with Team Ruby. Venetian and Cardinal, you're together. Scarlet and Brick, of course, you'll take the third one--pick the pilots amongst yourselves."

Kincaid spoke up first. "I do have some experience piloting—"

"Actually," Perri interrupted, "I've got this."

"Well, teams," said Nic, eyeing their strike vehicle. "Let's board now. We'll set out when Lieutenant Reeve gives the order."

After days of waiting followed by a flurry of activity, Nic and his squadmates were back to playing the waiting game. These next minutes would drag on longer than the days had before them.

He eyed the starry, thin sky of Planet Telum, waiting for the invaders to arrive. Another fight was coming for him. The sour feeling in the pit of his stomach was replaced by a jumpy, light excitement, and his heartbeat quickened for a different reason this time.

There was a hole in his heart that had existed since Nereus. Deep down, some part of him knew it was even older than that.

Trying to fill that hole with Hexadian blood hadn't worked so far.

Nic was always eager to try again.