Rise of a Valkyrie

Part 66

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"You have a friend in Tier One?" asked Thandi's other fire team member, Beydaan Burale, who had caught sight of the note.

"No, Bibi, it's that other FNG, Kayla Barnes," corrected Lyna, "She's been on the ground since the start of this thing—she's Calderan and they wanted some local knowledge."

The other Ranger nodded. "Oh, yes, of course," she replied and fell silent.

"Seems like a big operation," Thandi said.

Lyna nodded, her eyes flashing. "I hear this one's going to be serious. A real stand-up fight."

Ray agreed. "I saw them dragging that body off the drop ship the other day. Nasty looking thing. Obviously not bullet proof, though."

"It will depend on their tactics," Bibi cautioned. "Let's not jump to any conclusions."

"What do you think it would feel like to get hit by one of those bone spikes? The tips looked nasty sharp," Lyna asked, addressing no one in particular.

Thandi thought they looked like spears, then immediately shut the image away.

"Not much different than being shot," Bibi replied with confidence. "They may have more mass than a bullet, but their momentum would drive them straight through you." She spoke quietly, but with a detached, analytical tone.

As Thandi had gotten to know her over the last several weeks, she thought that the woman was the last person she would have expected to find in a Ranger battalion—much less with the aggressive Vipers. She never spoke unless she had something important to contribute, and when not in a gym or working with the squad was usually to be found hidden in a quiet corner with a book.

"You'll be picking yourself up off the floor," Tian Bao argued. "The things are an inch wide and more than a foot long. All that mass travelling at high speed—talk about stopping power."

"No Tian, I just explained why that is wrong," Bibi replied patiently. "There is no transfer of momentum. You would have a big messy wound, but it would probably be survivable if it doesn't hit a vital organ."

"You're not accounting for hydrostatic shock, though."

"Because it is a pseudo-scientific concept that doesn't stand up to scrutiny."

"How strong do you think they are?" Thandi interrupted. The pair had a habit of filling the squad's downtime with endless arguments.

"Big, nanite enhanced muscles?" Tian smiled. "Probably could rip you in half if you give them the opportunity. Don't give them the opportunity."

Lyna sighed. "It's always some eldritch horror bent on killing us all. Why can't we meet nice aliens for a change?"

"They're not aliens," Bibi corrected. "They are transformed humans."

"Okay, fine, but you get what I mean. I'm waiting for the day we can meet another intelligent species and just... hang out or whatever. You know? Talk about our similarities and differences, and what we've learned about the universe."

"Not in this quadrant," Tian cut in, her eyes gleaming. "Everything out there wants to kill you, so get ready to destroy it with fire."

Lyna gave a tight smile. "When we make first contact, I'm going to make sure that you are on desk duty somewhere."

Tian raised an eyebrow. "Why would you assume that an intelligent species doesn't have something to gain by hurting you? That's a dangerous philosophy."