Overachiever

 

Sand-filled wind howled through the empty streets of Okeme’s capital. Broken skyscrapers cast long shadows through blasted streets as the bright sun dropped toward the horizon. The sporadic pops and thuds of combat echoed in the distance as the militia patrol’s booted feet stepped over broken glass and empty shell casings.

Catching his breath behind an abandoned vehicle, a young soldier named Ekanji adjusted his glasses under the bulky goggles to protect his eyes from sand and sun, adjusted his over-sized helmet, and whispered. “Just come out and attack us already. I’ll die of anxiety before these wretches get me at this rate.”

Strolling by with her light machine gun over her shoulder, a robust lady covered in tattoos named Lerissa smirked and nudged her fellow trooper. “Told you, can stay in the bus if you’re scared.” She spoke at a regular volume.

Ekanji frowned and followed behind her. “And I told you I’m not a coward.” Having just missed the chance to join the main offensive that broke Rampage’s hold on the city, the hastily trained recruit was both eager to defend his home, and jittery at the thought of actual combat. He jumped at the chance to join this crew to mop-up any pockets of hidden raiders who might escape with loot and captives.

Resuming their patrol down the war-torn streets of their home, an on-edge Ekanji sensed a presence behind him that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention. Spinning around, a firm hand grabbed the barrel of his carbine. His heart skipped a beat as he stared into the feline eyes of a legionnaire sent to support them.

Vondra Sa’Vas, a scarred Ra’Shasi with a warrior’s build and aura, reached over to switch the safety off his weapon and turned him back around before whispering in his ear. “Get your shit together and be quiet, or you just might get your wish.”

Lerissa chuckled. “Relax, Ekanji. This offensive spanked those raiders so hard, they’re either all dead, or scurrying away like the skaff rats they are.” She removed her helmet and wiped the sweat from her brow. “By the sands, it’s too hot for this shit. Are we done yet? Command gave us the okay to head back to base hours ago.”

Noting the trooper still speaking at a regular volume, Vondra raised an eyebrow. “Worried about missing your bedtime? Why don’t you ask our esteemed commander if you’re feeling so bold?” A gust of sandy wind blew by, and Ekanji shielded himself out of reflex. When he opened his eyes, Vondra was missing.

The tattooed woman shouted, “Hey, captain! This sector’s clear and there’s a sandstorm coming. What are we still doing out here?” Her voice echoed through the windy streets before she doubled over coughing and spat out globs of sand that got caught in her mouth.

Lerissa stood up and cursed as their officer, another well-built Ra’Shasi woman wearing a camouflage poncho, stood in front of her. Teryn Sa’Vas flipped up her hi-tech goggles to stare the insubordinate trooper in the eyes and spoke in an even tone. “I get that this whole situation is stressful for folks here, but I’d hope a citizen of this city would care more about being thorough. I know you lost people in this attack and many more are still missing. If you knew some of your relatives were being held here, you think they’d appreciate you making all this noise and giving up?”

The militia’s boot camp was pretty bare bones, but the legionnaire’s gaze and tone compelled her to stand at attention. “N-no, captain.”

“Then be silent, listen to those who know what they’re doing, and finish the patrol.”

Lerissa snapped her weapon’s stock into her shoulder and rounded up the other ten troopers before falling in line behind the legionnaires.

Another gust of sandy wind blew by, and Vondra reappeared next to Teryn. She flashed a fang-filled grin and spoke softly. “Couldn’t resist getting one last chewing out in before our tour’s up and we become civilians too, eh, sis? You know Mari and Sula are already waiting for us at the starport.”

Teryn flipped her goggles back down and took point. “If this is our last assignment, we’re doing it right.”

Vondra shook her head. “You just want more medals. An overachiever to the very end. It’s kinda sick, Ter. Or is this actually about you avoiding something? Or someone? You should get your head checked when we rotate into real life.”

Her sister fired back, “Speak for yourself.”

Vondra chortled. “Not wrong. But at least I acknowledge how messed up I am. We’ll find out if your Ms. Perfect routine holds up when you’re forced to be out of uniform after all this time. Aren’t you excited? This is what we’ve been fighting so hard for. We get to finally rejoin our pride. What’s left of it, anyway. Maybe you can finally take up Naer’jan on his proposal.”

Teryn frowned. “Stop that. He’s a child.”

Vondra bumped her sister with her shoulder. “It’s been ten years, stupid. He’s a grown-ass man now. You know he was always your biggest fan, even when you were with his older brother. Give him a chance. Not like anyone else is lining up to date your bossy self.”

Now Teryn chortled. “Please. Only way you’re gonna get a mate is if you tie them up with your fangs wrapped around their throat.”

“Sounds like a great time to me.”

They laughed and swatted at each other a little more. Vondra said, “Imagine, you two can get together, settle down, and pop out a few more kittens. Just like you always wanted, ya weirdo. Might even try spending time with the kid you already have. Remember, the one you’ve been neglecting and pawning off on relatives this whole time?”

Teryn shoved her sister harder than expected. “Not like I get any credit for it, but I always do what’s best. Someone’s got to be the mom with miscreants like you around. Best take notes. If anything happens to me, the pride’s your responsibility.”

They reached a small square at the end of the commercial district they were sent to patrol. A dead end with no sign of trouble. Lerissa smiled, lowering her weapon, and Ekanji took a deep breath. Vondra pointed an angry finger at her sister. “Hey. don’t put that shit on me. That forgotten runt will be a way worse off if I—“

As everyone motioned to head back, Teryn raised a fist to stop the squad. Vondra gestured for them all to fan out and take cover where they could as the captain knelt in the centre of the road. With a dust devil threatening to form around her, she caught sight of something on the broken cobblestones. She reached down and touched a spot where the sand collected.

Blood. Fresh too. Roughly the shape off a footprint heading into one of the buildings in the square. To the left stood a community centre, straight ahead, a café with a blown open roof, and a department store to the right.

Teryn surveyed the surrounding area. Apart from the sandy wind and a few torn flags, everything in the square stood silent and still. A tense two minutes passed as the squad breathed as shallow as they could to not make noise.

Vondra locked eyes with her sister and shook her head. Teryn gave the hand signal to round up the squad and head out.

As she passed, Lerissa spat, “All that for a whole lotta nuthin’. Let’s get outta here.”

Looking over her shoulder one last time, Teryn looked up at the torn flags hanging from the department store. The wind blew into the second-floor window and she heard the crash of a mannequin falling over inside. Just beyond a flag that blew high enough for her to see past, she saw the silhouette of a figure holding a weapon. In that hair’s breadth of a moment, the raider locked eyes with her.

“Contact! South side! Get to cover!”

Hell broke loose as automatic fire sprayed across the road. Teryn reflexively pulled a device from her vest and threw it to the ground. It detonated, filling the square with smoke that mixed with the sandy wind. The captain sprung to action, shouting orders to direct the shocked militia across the street into the community centre. Vondra and Lerissa laid down covering fire as they dragged one of their fallen brethren into the building. They paused at the entrance as they noticed one trooper was missing.

“Ekanji! Get your skinny ass over here! I’ll cover you!” Lerissa shouted.

She roared and hip-fired her weapon, spraying the enemy building with bullets. As Ekanji squeezed through the door, the tattooed fighter took a hit to the vest and one in her leg before Vondra yanked her inside and shut the door.

Teryn aimed her rifle out the window and dropped a trio of raiders hustling across the street. Though terrified, her firm commands focused the surviving militia enough to keep up the pressure and seal the building. Any hope of holding out faded as Vondra reported the flood of enemies rushing their position. They needed air support, but the comms were all the way back in their vehicle. The captain took a moment to ponder their next move.

As she passed, Lerissa reached out a bloody to grab Teryn’s vest. “We can hold them off, cap. This is our fight. Get back to the bus and bring the heat. We got this.” She used her weapon to stand up, then slipped on the growing pool of blood pouring out of her leg.

Teryn locked eyes with her sister. Vondra knew what she was thinking and set her jaw.

With raiders shouting war cries and hacking at the boarded up doors and windows with axes, the captain put a hand on Ekanji’s shoulder as he finished bandaging Lerissa’s leg.

“Now’s your time, soldier. I need someone fast to hustle quick and quiet to the APC and call in support. This is your home. You know a way out the back?”

Ekanji nodded, making his oversized helmet fall over his eyes. He adjusted it and said, “Yes, but… I-I can fight, captain. I don’t want to leave my—“

His helmet fell over again as a plank of metal fell off a window and hit him across the back. Vondra caught the raider’s axe before it hacked into the lad, drew her sidearm, drilled the pirate twice in the head and whipped the axe outside to drop another.

As others rushed in to fill the gap, Teryn walked Ekanji toward the back. “This is how you fight. Get back to the vehicle, call in for support, and raise the flare drone. Pre-authorize danger close fire and tell them not to miss. You can do this. Do you understand?”

Ekanji recited the instructions, threw his ill-fitted helmet to the ground, and nodded. With renewed determination, he climbed onto a set of tables and squeezed through a window out the back.

Teryn checked her rifle as Vondra approached. “There’s a lot of heat out there, sis.”

Vondra reloaded and flashed a big smile. “Come on, Von. This is our last day as legionnaires. Let’s rip these fools apart.”

Her scarred sister rolled her eyes and cursed in their native tongue. “Zsavé! You’re sick, overachiever.”

***

A few minutes later, Rampage Raiders practically stacked on top of each other trying to hack away at the community centre. Was bad luck someone bumped over that mannequin, but the wild pirates relished the chance to take out militia and load up on more equipment. There were some legionnaires in this hapless squad too. They had the really good stuff. The boys would fight over who got those items, for sure.

They were so focused on their prize, they didn’t notice the agile Ra’Shasi sisters leaping from the second floor onto the cafe balcony. A cluster of frag grenades clinked across the stones before blasting many raiders to pieces. Capitalizing on the sudden explosive shock, the legionnaires poured enfilading fire across the square, dropping enough enemies that several raiders had to use the bodies of their comrades as cover.

They hit the deck as heavier fire from the department store windows shifted over to fire on their position. Glasses left on tables shattered and the balcony railing got picked apart by machine gun fire. The sisters split up, then waited for the raider weapons to jam or run out of ammunition before popping up and returning fire. Teryn ducked behind a table as a makeshift grenade blew up overhead. A shard of shrapnel clipped some of her fingers. Vondra caught and hurled back another one with a longer fuse. A shotgun blast from below tagged her shoulder with some buckshot before the grenade detonated in the raider’s face.

As expected, the battle-hungry marauders abandoned their assault of the community centre and charged toward the cafe. Taking a moment to reload and take stock of what gear they had left, the legionnaires looked up in the distance, squinting against the huge blistering sun on the horizon, to see the flare drone shining bright in the sky.

Vondra turned to her sister. “Satisfied yet?”

Teryn smirked, then grabbed Vondra and huddled under some furniture as another cluster of grenades exploded around them. As the smoke cleared, they picked off a few raiders scaling the balcony railing, then dashed inside. Splinters of the already battered walls dug into them as machine gun fire from the department store risked hitting their own to get more shots in.

The sisters’ wounds mounted as the enemy surged into the cafe. Working in unspoken unison, they covered each other and made the enemy pay for their reckless greed. When their primary weapons clicked empty, they switched to their sidearms. When their sidearms ran dry, they drew their blades. Soon the ruined cafe was a bloody melee of flashing knives, teeth, and claws.

Before the dog pile could fully consume them, they heard a sound from above. The whirling turbofans of an Okeme gunship created a vortex of sand and smoke below. It cleared enough visibility for the autotargeting guns below to unleash a hail of minigun fire, ripping the swarming raiders to shreds.

Still fighting, Vondra finished her opponent and noticed movement across the way. A pirate leaned out the window with a rocket launcher aimed at their airborne saviour.

Praying it was loaded, she grabbed a handcannon out of her deceased dance partner’s holster, and snap fired a shot at the anti-air raider. Reeling from the hit, the rocket went wide, striking an empty water tower on top of the community centre.

Teryn saw it first. The blasted tower descended right for her sister’s side of the cafe. Before she could celebrate, Teryn dashed across the dead raiders’ bodies and hurled Vondra out of the way. Her world went black as the mass of screeching metal fell on top of her.

***

On her back, coughing against the sand and dust, Vondra’s whole body ached. Rolling over with her ears ringing from the impact, every cut, bruise, bullet, and stab wound pulsed in agony. All that dissipated when she realized what had happened and didn’t see her sister.

Leaving a trail of blood behind her, the legionnaire clawed back to her feet. “Ter? Ter?!”

She lifted loose pieces of rubble and tossed them aside, her heart racing as the panic grew inside. They’d lost plenty of people in their lives, but the crew of four Sa’Vas sisters always defied the odds. Like four pillars of a building, Vondra felt her knees buckling under the weight of losing a sibling.

“No, no. Not like this, you sick buu’gaj.” Her breath caught in her throat as she tossed a heavy sheet of metal aside and saw Teryn’s hand poking out from under the rubble. She couldn’t tell if it was still attached or not.

With tears building in her eyes, Vondra braced her feet and strained to lift the larger chunk of rubble. “Come on, Ter. Don’t leave me like this.”

The gunship still overhead, Lerissa and the surviving members of the militia squad limped in. A dozen hands lifting and using metal bars for leverage, they slowly pried the rubble away. With her arm mangled and barely holding on, Teryn lay unconscious in a growing pool of blood.

Vondra checked for a pulse. It was faint and growing weaker by the second. For the first time in her life, the abrasive sister didn’t know what to say. Her mouth struggled to form the words to call out for help. Before she could scream for a medic, an out of breath Ekanji climbed the stairs, pulled something out of a bag, and tossed it to Vondra.

She couldn’t believe it. The lad remembered a conversation they had last week about a pouch in one of their bags that held a special insurance policy and had the forethought to run it back here.

With shaking hands, Vondra popped open the lazarus pin, jammed it into her sister’s neck, and hit the injector. The rare, expensive, single-use devices contained specialized nanites to stabilize a dying person, putting them in stasis before they could get proper medical treatment. They found it on assignment years ago and had no idea if it was real or even still worked if it was.

Breathing heavily and fighting back tears, Vondra shut her eyes and held her sister’s limp body close. The next few moments lasted an eternity. There was a moment of calm as the gunship flew off and the militia stood in sombre silence. Vondra felt her vain hope fading away on the sandy wind.

She jumped as Teryn’s good hand reached up and clawed into Vondra’s shoulder. She couldn’t be happier to feel that pain. Tears fell on Teryn’s face as she looked up to her scarred sister.

Vondra kissed her forehead and slapped her cheek. Her voice quivering, she said, “If you ever pull that shit again, I’ll kill you, you sick overachiever.”

Teryn’s eyelids wavered as the sudden shock from the nanites started to wear off before putting her into stasis. She managed a small smile. “Can’t blame a girl for wanting another medal. Only needed one more to fill out the last row on my uniform.”

Vondra laughed as the medivac chopper hovered overhead.