sometimes, but he does his best to look out for me. I suppose he considers it some kind of professional courtesy between high ranking soldiers. His behavior sometimes seems weird and at other times it feels like he’s trying to be supportive. I’ve never had anyone pay that kind of attention to me before. The fact that someone cares can take the edge off a rough day.
I pull over the straw of the hydration unit that’s built into my suit and take a long draw of the warm liquid. Trying not to think about the fact that I’m drinking my own purified body fluids, I hydrate and scarf down the rest of the protein bar. One of the benefits of this alliance is shared tech. My Earth Gov uniform has been modified with a hydration system and armor plating. It’s made fighting the Moltan a bit more comfortable and a lot more safe.
Making it back to base takes longer because Borak’s traveling at a lower speed. I’ve got too many things on my mind to put much time and effort into worrying about why he does all the things he does. My best off the cuff guess is he’s being super safe because of all the extra lives we’re carrying on the return trip. The vibrations of this rough vehicle make my knees and back hurt. I’ve spent my entire life in the military, and at coming up on forty I’m getting too old for this kind of shit. Once this war is over, I plan to find myself a safe haven to spend time with my daughter and any grandchildren I’m fortunate enough to end up with.
Suddenly, a shadow blocks out part of the sunlight, and before I can get turned around to see what it is, something slams into the side of our vehicle so hard it almost throws me to the metal floor. The shifter growls, slaps his hand on the shield modulator and leaps into the air during the brief disruption. Before any of us can recover enough to respond, he’s fighting like a berserker.
I realize we’re being attacked from all sides by huge four-legged animals the size of a small car. Both of my laser pistols are in my hands in an instant, and I thumb the intensity up to high. The Draconians hit the shield modulator and all jump at once, leaving me alone on the platform. They’re engaging what appear to be five, no six of the huge creatures. I hit my com and call for backup, taking a shot whenever I can be assured of not hitting any of the Draconians. Draconian tech is designed to work together. Therefore, my laser pistol travels effortlessly through the static shielding, enabling me to fight with a measure of protection.
I realize they’re all working in concert to keep the feral beasts away from me. That pisses me off. My pistols continue blazing, leaving a trail of laser fire in their wake, catching one animal in the neck and another in the leg. I watch one of them bite off someone’s head, and my anger ratchets up five notches.
“Oh, hell no. We’re not going out like this,” I mutter under my breath.
Planting one foot on the safety bar, I hit the shield modulator and jump off the platform. Landing on the ground, I plant myself at the back of the vehicle, putting myself between our vicious attackers and our hibernating allies. I’m not about to let this mission go sideways on us. My excessive rapid fire begins to drain the batteries. Before they power down completely, I hold them out in front of me, click the battery case open with my thumbs and slam them straight down onto the extra batteries ringing my belt. Within seconds, I’m back in the game.
One of the creatures has broken off from the rest and is heading my way. By this point, half our warriors are down. My adrenaline is in full flow like it always is during a battle. Like many of my generation, Earth Gov military gave me light body modifications. The most precious one is the controlled adrenaline surge. It ensures my body is pumped to the point that I eagerly step out to greet the mutant disaster bearing down on me without being so out of control that I make stupid mistakes.
I’m vaguely aware that Borak is screaming at me to take cover, but he should know by now that Earth Gov soldiers don’t run from