Rise of a Valkyrie

Part 18

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"Is someone hurt?" Kayla asked. She couldn't see much as Masey blocked her view, but blood was soaking into the sand where the body lay still.

"The situation is under control. Go sit back down. I'm not kidding—now, please."

The girls did as they were told and waited while the tall woman bent over the injured surfer. Eventually she finished working, and the prone figure sat up. Kayla recognized Urtiga, wearing a red-stained bandage around her head and her usual grin. The tall woman helped her to her feet and walked her towards the girls, despite Urtiga's attempts to wave her off.

The memory of the night they had met popped into Kayla's mind. There had been something unnatural about Urtiga's speed and agility, and now she was shrugging off a serious head wound. Kayla exchanged a glance with the others. Christie raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"That was like the inside of a washing machine," Urtiga explained as she sat down next to Thandi. "Surfboards were flying everywhere, and I got lucky."

"Can't you take a break for like, twenty minutes?" the tall woman asked.

"Haha, yeah I guess, since you're asking nicely," Urtiga said. "Girls, this is Cara Favre. She's a medic. Sit with us, Cara. Introduce yourself."

"Hello." Cara shook their hands and flopped down in the sand. "I'm a pararescue jumper. That means I jump out of fast-moving vehicles in a bid to prevent someone else from dying."

"We call Cara and her teammates PJs for short," Urtiga explained. "They are also the only unit in the organization that are allowed to call themselves Valkyries, because they're awesome."

"Which we never do, because that's lame," Cara objected.

"They totally do it all the time." Urtiga kicked sand at Cara, who ducked away. "But it's cool, because of the whole 'not dying' thing."

Cara shrugged. "I mean, if you were all dead, then surfing out here alone would be super boring."

"Cara has to do a bit of everything. She might have to jump into the middle of whatever catastrophe me and my friends created to get control of the situation, fight off anything dangerous, and provide emergency life-saving treatment to the dumbass," Urtiga pointed at herself, "who got herself blown up." She turned to Cara. "Did I miss anything?"

"Orbital insertion is pretty cool," Cara said to the girls. "That means you jump out of a spaceship and enter a planet's atmosphere in a wing suit. You get to do your best meteor impression."

"Oh god, I love doing that," Urtiga said. "I wish we could practice it as much as you do."

"Horrendously dangerous though." Cara grinned. "Anyway, I'll give you some advice that will serve you well in your time here; avoid at all times intersecting with moving bullets, projectiles or shrapnel. Follow this guidance, and we will hopefully avoid an on-the-job encounter."

"So...um... do you have any tips for bootcamp?" Thandi asked.

"Sure, I have a tip for bootcamp," Urtiga said. "Do what you're told and don't quit. What, do you want a manual for how to pass?"

"Oh no, but I do a lot of sports and I like to optimize my training routine. If there's a top recruit trophy, you can bet I'm going to win it." Thandi chuckled. "I'm just hypercompetitive."

"Sure, aren't we all?" Urtiga said. "But bootcamp is not a competition. It is a gut check, meant to test your resolve while they grind you down. Actually, a lot of sporty girls quit on their first day once they figure out what they're in for."