Fire Team Blue 2

“Blue two-one to base command. The fourth marker is secure, over,” First Trooper Geela Ral whispered into the commlink.

“Roger that, Blue two-one. Proceed to marker five, over,” came the quiet reply. Geela had turned the volume way down. Last time a loud comm had given away their position. Good thing it was just a training exercise.

Just a training exercise. That’s why you failed. The harsh words of Lieutenant Bast rang in her ears. Geela steeled herself and glanced left and right. Focus. Like her, the other members of Fire Team Blue 2 were lying in the underbrush, blaster rifles at the ready. They want this as badly as I do, Geela thought.

Geela secured her commlink and picked up her rifle. Taking a deep breath, the Rodian gave the signal. The four Trooper Recruits under her command rose silently and moved forward, passing on either side of the electronic sensor array. Geela stood and followed them into the trees.

Twenty minutes later the group was nearing the south caves. The slender spire of the south observation tower rose above the forest in the distance. The rocky ridge behind it was home. Suddenly Trooper Recruit Rayne Kappa stopped and dropped to one knee, flashing a hand signal. The rest of the fire team swiftly followed suit, each of them finding suitable cover and scanning their assigned arcs for targets. Geela swelled with pride watching their training kick in. Now we’re getting somewhere, she thought with a smile.

Keeping low, Geela crept up next to Kappa. “What do we have, Rayne?” Geela whispered.

“Movement. Third cave from the left,” Rayne whispered back.

Geela took out her electrobinoculars and scanned the area in question. “Nice catch, Recruit,” Geela whispered. She was genuinely impressed. She couldn’t tell what it was, but something moved out of sight as she swept the specialized field glasses over the cave entrance.

“Maybe we’ll win this time,” Rayne offered.

“Doubtful,” Geela answered him, going for her commlink. “Blue two-one to base command. We have contact near the south caves, sector three-three-two. Requesting support, over.”

These SpecForce guys were tricky, Geela thought. This is probably another trap. Geela swiveled about in place, looking carefully at her surroundings while she waited for a response from command.

“That’s a negative, Blue two-one. You’re on your own. Over.”

“Didn’t hurt to try,” Rayne whispered, grinning.

“If you were going to ambush someone approaching that cave, where would you hide?” Geela asked.

Rayne spent some time studying the terrain. “Behind those rocks, I guess,” he said, pointing to a pile of large stones situated 10 meters from the opening.

“Exactly,” Geela replied with a smile. “Let’s go.”

After a series of hand signals, Fire Team Blue 2 was on the move again, creeping through the trees, angling toward the mound of boulders.

Closing the distance, Geela gestured and the team raised their rifles, ready for anything. Warily, the group moved through the trees, circling the rock pile, hoping to beat the ambushers at their own game.

The far side of the rocks came into view just as they neared the edge of the treeline. Nobody was there.

Clink, clink.

A metallic cylinder landed between Geela and Rayne.

“Boom,” came a voice from above.

In a flurry of motion, three SpecForce soldiers dropped out of the trees, landing softly on the forest floor nearby.

“Nicely done, Troopers. You almost had us,” the nearest SpecForce operator said. “Best we’ve seen thus far.”

Geela couldn’t keep the scowl from her face as she straightened up and slung her rifle. Glancing toward the cave she saw a fourth SpecForce soldier emerge from the dark opening.

“Good catch on the potential ambush,” he said as he trotted over to join his companions.

The two groups stood face-to-face for a moment, some of the newest recruits in the Alliance military on one side and some of the most highly skilled and battle hardened veterans on the other.

“Three-three to Command. Exercise concluded, over,” the lead SpecForce trooper said into his tactical comm unit.

“Roger that, three-three. See you back home.”