Rise of a Valkyrie

Part 59

Buy the book now at your preferred store: https://books2read.com/u/bM2Nna

***********************************

While they waited for the intelligence team to produce something actionable, Urtiga and her fellow operators began venturing into the surrounding countryside in small teams. They carried concealed weapons, just in case, but there wasn't a single mutant creature to be seen. To fill the time, the bored soldiers transformed the old workshop equipment into makeshift weight sets and began working out.

To Kayla's delight, they even laid down rubber mats in a square and began practicing grappling. After some pestering, Christie reluctantly agreed to join her as a Jiu Jitsu partner, and with some mentorship from the unit women, they were soon rolling around, locking each other in chokeholds and armbars.

The women of Urtiga's unit were quite different from the Mountain Rangers Kayla had been getting to know. Instead of a disciplined hierarchy they were a wild mob. They did and said what they wanted, though there was nothing lazy or thoughtless in their behavior.

When they weren't training, working out, or maintaining their gear, they played chess, read dense theoretical tomes, or sketched pictures. One woman was even working on a novel.

An unknown sergeant sat Kayla down for an impromptu lecture on the merits of her actions in Caldera.

"You introduced the element of chaos, and unpredictability," the sergeant explained. "An off-balance enemy is liable to make mistakes, which can be capitalized upon, got it?"

Kayla nodded, though she found the academic conversation difficult to follow.

"Always look for ways to interrupt the enemy's decision-making processes through dynamic and unpredictable courses of action, got it?" The sergeant continued. "The more centralized their C-2 structure the more effective this can be."

"C-2?" Kayla asked.

"Command and Control. Brain and nervous system effecting action through decision and co-ordination."

Kayla rubbed her temple.

"Conversely, communicate with your own team," the sergeant said, suddenly sterner. "Lone wolf shit is no good. You might answer to your platoon leader, but in this world your reputation is the only thing that matters. Don't start building a bad one, got it?"

Kayla was grateful for the advice, though she wasn't sure she understood everything she had been told.

The unit had only one officer—Captain Nazli—at the safehouse. She mostly listened to whatever the soldiers said—all of whom were sergeants or more senior NCOs—managing the support and logistics required to turn their plans into reality. Team discussions were free form, and everybody chipped in their opinion. While some arguments got heated, they always seemed to get on the same page in the end.

Their culture seemed chaotic to Kayla. Why did the organization allow them the scope to do mostly whatever they wanted? How had they earned so much trust? She interrogated Urtiga as much as she could, but got only short answers.

"It's the Ranger Intervention Detachment," Urtiga eventually admitted, while she worked on a disassembled rifle under Kayla's fascinated gaze. "Or Raiders. But we rarely use that name. To you and everyone else, it's just the unit."

"Are you going with subsonic rounds?" Gucci interrupted as she reached for a multi-tool.

Urtiga glanced over. "Sure; nice and quiet. You're taking that 6.5 millimeter, right?"

"Oh yeah," Gucci held up a slender, bronze-colored bullet the size of her pinky finger. "These babies will punch a hole through any of those creature freaks."