Kara Discovered: Episode 6, Moving Out

“Michelle! Cho! Front and center,” Jeffries yelled.

Both sergeants stepped from the blur in moments.

“No more patrolling inside the perimeter. Cho, your squad is to take Michelle’s squad’s place on the line. Michelle, get your men lined up and ready to move in three minutes. Assign one private specifically to stay at the elbow of each of the two scientists accompanying us. Move!”

“Not at the elbow,” said Titus.

“Private!” screeched Green

“It is no insult to you, Green,” Titus said to her. “It is how the Legion works. All jobs are done by privates. He isn’t going to pull a squad leader from his job to watch over us.”

“Michelle! Make that two steps behind the scientist. Sound off drill as we walk.”

“Sound off drill?” Titus inquired.

“Every member knows where they are alphabetically listed in their squad and have to say their name in the right order as we move. Without being able to see each other clearly, it serves an extra purpose. I have a constant way to monitor each man in the squad. As Platoon leader, I have to know how each man sounds and know what any change in that sound means. Like now, I may not always have suit instruments to feed me that information.”

Before Titus could say more, Jeffries yelled, “Ready, Michelle!”

“Ready, Sir.”

“You may lead the way, Dr. Green.”

Four steps in, he heard, “Adderson.”

Four more and Chin shouted, “Chin.”

The sand pulled at his feet. The air sucked water from him. An hour of it was going to be brutal on the men.

The fourth time he heard Adderson, he yelled, “Corporal Wess!”

That man near the head of the column said. “I am sorry you haven’t found your plant yet, Dr. Green, but we need to start circling the camp.”

“Just a little further,” she said.

Dr. Titus spoke. “Now Doctor, turning right is as good as straight for our search.”

He heard her huff before she said, “Very well, right it is. But we better find something.”

“Then consider what not finding even one more in this amount of time means for the ecology of this place,” Titus replied.

Six Addersons later, her voice rang out in excitement. “A plant. By damn, we have another plant. Don’t step on it!”

“Squad, halt!” Michelle bellows.

Giant, dark brown shapes erupted from the sand on both sides of his column.

Jefferies barely saw the staff that the creature swung at his head in the fog that was his vision.

But a glimpse of that moving weapon was enough, his martial arts training took over as if a big man was swinging a staff at him. He stepped inside the blow and placed his hand where the staff would have the least momentum to stop. His other hand shot out in a hand-strike to the midriff.

He felt something snap, likely a rib.

The creature collapsed, leaving the staff in Jefferies’ hands.

He whirled and struck, whirled and struck, and two more huge brown shapes went down.

His glasses flew from his face on the second whirl. His ears told him that at least two of his men had used the training he had given them to good effect and also had staffs. He hoped they still had their glasses.

He blocked a strike at his head that had little force behind it, and counter struck. Another creature went down, even though Jeffries was only swinging at a big dark brown blur.

He sensed rather than saw the next strike and barely got his staff up in time.

That blow jarred him to the bone, nearly taking the staff from his hand. Was that small tan spot almost the same color at the sand his opponent?

He assumed so and moved to block the blow he suspected was coming from there.

It was even more forceful than the first, but Jeffries was set to use it as part of his counter.

He hit the tan spot. Then a blow caught him in the side of the head.

This story is updated weekly on the following platforms. The first five episodes are up there now if you want to read them.