Book 3: Chapter 119: Surprise Attack

Book 3: Chapter 119: Surprise Attack

USD: 62 Days after arrival at Fort Glisson

Location: Van Biesbroecks star, Meltisar, Fort Glisson, Company S, 1st Cadre

Snow fell as lazy flakes in the nearly still air. Alexs fur-lined parka insulated her from the cold, but shed been idle for an hour and she was a white blob against the snow covered forest floor. Only her head and rifle poked out of her cover as she covered one sector, looking for any sign of the incoming hostiles.

Tia was beside her in the same hole covering the other side of the hemisphere, their foxhole covered, both girls watching in nearly unbroken silence other than the sometimes static call on their earpieces.

Their instructors had called in a platoon of experienced professional infantry to do adversarial training with them. Each platoon would go a round with them, with the recruits slated to play the role of insurgences in a dug out position in the forest. Cadre S was put up first, and it was just their luck that they were being snowed on for the 6 hours of setup and dig in time theyd been granted.

Instructor Hills gave them all the same stun rifles they had become accustomed to, and Alex hated with an unusual vehemence. After her trick on the field, the DIs had brought her a special mesh vest to wear.

It had a special name, did some fancy other things, but more importantly to Alex: it caused any hit by a stun bolt to shock the living shit out of her until it was impossible for her to do anything but fall to the ground screaming.

Contact, 1000 meters, 6-man squad. Tia said.

Alex suppressed the desire to turn and look at the other girl. As insurgents, they hadnt been given any surveillance or other gear to help them, and she didnt believe that Tia could hear them from a kilometer away!

There was no way she could see them through all the trees, either. Visibility from their position was limited to just a couple hundred meters at best.

What Alex could hear were small drones flying about, although the type of fan blades made them sound strange compared to the ones the recruits had been training with. Instead of high pitched and easy to locate the drones, the infantry team had emitted a muffled warbling sound that diffused into a wide area. It made it very difficult to tell where they were.

She didnt know whether those drones had IR or just optical cameras, but she was betting they were fully kitted out and that their cover was probably useless. Theyd be two big hot spots in the snow.

Alex, if you cant camouflage yourself, go under the snow.

Now she did look over at Tia. What?

Youre going to give us away. Go under the snow. Ill tell you when they are in range.

Alex wanted to demand how Tia wasnt going to give them away, or even how she was tracking them, but then decided to just comply. One thing that she knew for sure was that Tia wasnt a liar, and she liked to win.

Alex liked to win, too. Scooting deeper into the snow, she used her arms to pile up the snow over her rifle and cover her head, leaving a small pocket for breathing. Her SNO2 gauge popped up on her HUD, showing that shed have limited air eventually, but it would not be a concern for how long theyd be there. Hopefully.

It didnt take long for the drones to get closer and buzz past their position. Only a few minutes longer than that before, Tias voice popped into her ear on the radio.

Targets acquired, three right, three left. Prepare for contact on my mark.

Alex tightened her grip on her rifle, mentally preparing herself.

Go! Tia said.

Alex popped up. Tia already had opened fire on the ones on the right. She sighted the three on her side that were already moving to cover and took aim. Two went down before they could duck behind the nearest tree, but the third found cover.

Two down, one in cover. Alex called out.

Three down. Ill flank left, you flank right. Tia answered.

Alex nodded and the two girls worked their way around, taking turns to provide cover fire while the other moved. Eventually, they worked their way around the infantryman to where they had an open shot, and Alex took it.

You idiot, if you get handsy with your principal, youll get A15ed. Tia said shaking her head.

Hikari stuck her tongue out at her. So serious. No, Im joking. But you get to meet important people and networking is good.

Alex looked at Tasha. Tash?

Infantry, Ranger.

Hikari looked surprised, but then she shook her head. Well, that fits.

Why? Because Im big and dumb?

Your scores are higher than mine! Hikari objected.

A smirk appeared on Tashas face. Yeah.

Alex smiled at the chatter and focused on disappearing her food while she still had time. Social interactions still made her self-conscious, but she felt like that had gotten much better during her time in basic. At least she knew she wasnt the weirdest oddball anymore.

Classes lasted for the rest of the day but they were more of a mental exercise than a physical one, and they were excused from evening PT. Everyone had met and exceeded the physical fitness test in their group. Not that it got them out of morning cardio every day, but it was nice.

It certainly gave her more time to spend in her bunk sleeping or looking up things on the net. Shed contracted a private investigator to go find the Iron Horse and take photos for her. Not exactly a cheap job, considering it was moored on a military shipyard, but since it wasnt technically part of the Meltisar Navy, it wasnt stepping the line into espionage

Relaxing in her bunk and browsing on her datapad, Alex was happy to see that the ship was being worked on steadily. Outer hull plates were in various stages of removal and replacement. She doubted theyd be able to do much for the age of the ship, but making it structurally sound again was possible.

If she ever got her computronics back, fixing it up would be super easy and probably quadruple the value.

She frowned as she thought about it. That would make the ship illegal to take out of the inner systems, though, essentially grounding it.

Blowing a tuft of hair out of her eyes in frustration, she mentally put an X on the box of Iron Horse repair. Although

Maybe she could just fix it up but not do any visible changes?

Lost in thought, she didnt notice Rachel came into the dorm room until she closed the door. Oh, hey. Alex mumbled.

Her thoughts about how they would be traveling through Solarian space to get back to 92 Pegasi came to a halt as Rachel sat down on the edge of her bunk. Alex looked up from her datapad.

Rachel? Alex said, taking in an expression she had never seen on the other girl before.

Alex I like you. Ive not been able to figure out well Ive thought I wanted to know. Do you like me? Rachel asked.

Alex blinked, feeling confused, but the way Rachel stared at her like the entire world depended on the answer prompted her answer, Yes? For sure.

It seemed like a silly question to Alex. Of course she liked her. They had gone through basic together and been through so many hardships and traumas that she couldnt remember them all. Theyd won, lost, laughed, and cried together. More than any other recruit in the Cadre, Alex felt most at ease with her, not fearing that shed be singled out for being a weirdo for not knowing some basic thing that everyone took for granted.

Rachel leaned into the bunk, straddling her before leaning forward causing Alex to freeze, eyes wide with shock. The smell of the Rachels shampoo filled her sense of smell and her heart started pounding in her chest as Rachel hovered inches away from her face. Rachel's hands came up to cup her cheeks.

I like you too. I'm sorry if it took me a while to notice. Rachel said, as if that explained anything.

The gears in Alex's brain failed to output more than a confused and paralyzed, Huh?

The question died on Alexs lips as Rachel moved in and kissed her.