Robin doubled over, trying to catch her breath. “That shit don’t even work well in movies.”

“It was worth a shot,” Anitra said.

“We don’t know the Interstellar Alliance protocols for the first time someone challenges us. At any point, guns start blazing.”

“We do,” Ellis said. All eyes turned toward them. “There would be a standard security strike of any vehicle approaching the compound. An automated response. Afterward, they send a cleanup team to retrieve what was left.”

“They leave a clean scene after scooping up anything useful for study would be my guess,” Robin said.

“Which brings me to plan B,” Anitra said. “We drive up, let ourselves get painted, let them blow us to shit.”

“Now you’re talking a plan that makes sense.” Robin hoisted Busta.

It took Ellis less than an hour to get the once-overturned vehicle running again. Epyc Ro worried about how the natives would do in combat. Mzisoh soldiers hadn’t overly impressed her. At this point, she just hoped they wouldn’t panic and lose all their sense. Though Ellis wasn’t one of hers, they had potential. They’d been an invaluable cultural bridge so far and possessed intimate knowledge of the land and firsthand experience with their common enemy. Their eyes, large and owlish, worked against their fear. For now, they remained eager to serve and anxious to prove themselves. She’d be bringing Ellis along with them. But if she was to be the leader her squad needed, not curled into a fetal position, the mission came first.

<Heavy chatter coming in from the base.> Chandra tapped the side of her skull. <Quick response team.>

The Hellfighters rumbled toward the refining base. The bodies of the dead soldiers who originally occupied the vehicle had been propped up. Once the enemy locked on to them and blew up their unannounced vehicle, in the best-case scenario, the bodies should leave the base’s investigation team suitably confused. Maybe second-guessing themselves for possibly killing their own, who may have made a daring escape posing as natives. At the very least, Epyc Ro just needed biological material for them to recover.

“That’s their recovery unit designed to swarm any approaching mobile units,” Ellis said.

“You about ready?” Epyc Ro asked.

“Confirmed. They’re locking on to us now,” Robin said.

“Then it’s go time,” Epyc Ro said.

With that, Chandra and Anitra peeled off over the back edge, diving into the night. They would set up the Hellfighters’ exit strategy, finding good positions along the rocky terrain from which to provide cover.