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Hill to put his tools ahen Bobbie’s radio crackled to life

“Outpost four to sticker four,” Bobbie replied “This is stickuys? You’re half an hour late and so down over here”

“Sorry, four, equipht be going down, but not enough to ask about it over an open frequency

“Return to the outpost i into lockdown”

It took Bobbie aat her, their faces aat you?” she finally asked

“Not yet, but they’re shooting Get your asses back here”

Hillreens on her diagnostic She gave Hilly a nod of thanks, then said, “Double-time it back to the outpost Go”

Bobbie and her squad were still half a kiloeneral alert went out Her suit’s HUD cae went to work looking for hostiles and linked up to one of the satellites for a top-down view She felt the click as the gun built into the suit’s right arm switched to free-fireif an orbital bo up at the sky anyway No flashes orbut Jupiter’s bulk

Bobbie took off for the outpost in a long, loping run Her squad folloithout a word A person trained in the use of a strength-auground quickly The outpost came into view around the curve of the dome in just a few seconds, and a few seconds after that, the cause of the alar the Martian outpost The yearlong cold as going hot So and discipline, she was surprised She hadn’t really thought this day would come

The rest of her platoon were out of the outpost and arranged in a firing line facing the UN position Someone had driven Yojimbo out onto the line, and the four- like a headless giant in power ar slowly as it tracked the inco the 2,500 meters between the two outposts at a dead run

Why isn’t anyone talking? she wondered The silence co froot to the firing line, her suit squealed a ja at her The top-down vanished as she lost contact with the satellite Her teans and equipment status reports went dead as her link to their suits was cut off The faint static of the open co silence