They’d had almost nothing to eat in nearly two weeks and lethargy had set in that was almost worse than the fights that had plagued them before from boredom and frayed nerves. Not that the lack of food, and therefore energy, had completely eliminated the eruptions of violence. The frequency had declined dramatically, more because no one really had the energy to spare than due to any disciplinary actions, but the disputes were far more savage than before when they did erupt.
It was for that reason that Danika’s first thought was that someone had found food and there was going to be another killing. The ‘incidents’ had been put down as ‘accidents’, but they could say what they liked. She knew the fights had erupted over food and they’d been settled by who was faster and stronger.
Disoriented, she whipped a look around for her squad before it dawned on her that they’d been sent out on a hunting detail.
That had been command’s solution to the ‘problem’ of sharing the few supplies they had left with the cyborgs who’d remained with them.
A riot had broken out among the men when the supplies they’d been expecting never materialized. They’d demanded that the little that was left should be for the humans. She’d pointed out that they needed the cyborgs and the cyborgs needed food to sustain them just as the humans did. She’d thought, or at least hoped, that the voice of reason had won the argument. Instead, the officers had ordered the cyborgs out on patrol and hunting missions—so that they could divide the remaining food stores among the humans in their absence.
“Grab your gear, soldiers!”
The order bellowed by the Master Sergeant jolted through Danika, primarily because it hadn’t dawned on her until then that the sounds outside might actually be enemy soldiers.
If it was, she thought wryly as she grabbed up her helmet and rifle, they were probably fucked. She was weak enough she doubted even adrenaline was going to keep her going if they encountered a prolonged battle, to say nothing of the fact that she had damned little in the way of ammo.
And if it came to hand-to-hand, they really were fucked because most of them were as weak as water, and there were few cyborgs left in camp—or at all as far as they knew. Only one out four of the groups sent out actually made it back to camp—because they were weak from lack of food just as their human counterparts were, she supposed.
Because they’d fallen victim to the hellish weather or terrain.
Or they’d encountered the enemy.
Or the hunters had become the hunted.
Because from what she could recall in the data on Xeno-12, the few animals that inhabited it were really, really big—most should have been in hibernation since it was winter, but then they were bound to be far more dangerous if rousted from their slumber.
No one knew for sure, or seemed to care—except her, apparently.
On the other hand, she thought at least some of them might have joined Reuel CO469 and the cyborgs that had gone with him when he was forced to leave—or kill or be killed.
The firing outside the cavern had stopped by the time they managed to assemble. The silence was almost as ominous as the furious firefight they’d heard and everyone glanced at one another uneasily.
“Cpl. Hart! Take point!”
Danika jumped when her name was called and sent the Master Sergeant a disbelieving look, wondering if she should point out that her squad was absent. She saw immediately, though, that he knew damned well she had no squad to lead. The suspicion instantly arose that he’d decided she was a loose cannon and expendable.
Her lips tightened. Stepping from the line, she made her way to the front, pausing at the entrance to scan what she could see of the terrain before she stepped outside.
“Pvt. Clancy, Pvt. Morgan—go with her.”
Danika relaxed fractionally despite the fact that she didn’t have much faith in either of the men he’d sent to watch her back. Having assured herself there was no sign of movement close enough to present a problem, she braced herself and dove from the entrance. She still more than half expected to hear a volley of shots and feel the burn of impact as she rolled to a position behind a drift of snow. When nothing happened, the two men followed her.
She’d spotted dark, still shapes against the snow maybe a hundred yards east of their position when she’d reconnoitered. Since nothing else seemed out of place, she slowly made her way toward that area, still watchful for any sign of an attack. By the time she was halfway there, she’d become convinced that they’d completely missed the action—whatever it was. It was certainly not an attack by enemy soldiers or they would’ve drawn down on her at some point after she left the cavern. And that also ruled out the possibility of rogue cyborgs attacking.
Numb-nuts Clancy and Morgan settled the matter by standing up and making convenient targets of themselves. Danika sucked in a breath to order the idiots down, but when they weren’t immediately blasted by sniper fire, she decided she’d been right and it was safe to advance on the scene.
It was a bloody mess. Her stomach tightened in revulsion as she stared at the body parts, trying to shake her shock and disgust sufficiently to figure out what had happened.
“They weren’t shooting at each other,” Pvt. Clancy muttered.
“How do you figure that?” Danika asked.
“No weapons.”
“Too much blood,” Pvt. Morgan added.
Danika shot a quick look around to verify the statement and dropped to the ground. “Get down, you idiots!”
They promptly dropped in response to her command, but she could see both men were both indignant and confused.
