An HFY Tale: Drop Pod Green

Once it became clear that the enemy had withdrawn to lick their wounds, Rhidi and the rest of the drop troopers were cycled back towards the rapidly growing forward operating base.

Regs were quickly mounting themselves along the road and digging in, having gotten their much needed second wind and gaining the ability to fully retrieve their equipment. While their losses were far more than any commander would have liked, they were still eighty percent operational and able to fortify the landing area. Ships still came down in droves, pock-marked with damage to their armor, and at times even landing with smoking engines.

Rhidi stayed for a moment to help set the M2 heavy machine gun tripods in place, then jogged down with the rest of her Pod Section, taking off her helmet as everyone else did.

Sergeant Flores looked pleased, but annoyed, looking around at her own 1st Pod Section before turning to look at the rest of the Wild Hunt's 1st Company. "No KIA, can't ask for a better drop for what we came into."

"Sergeant," Specialist Fredrick began, and he spoke in a way that made all the new recruits pay attention, as if he was leading them on a lesson, "Do we have any intel on what we are up against? You mentioned that we may have to stay down here, soil-side."

Sergeant Flores pulled up her data-slate, taping along it with her armored glove in practiced ease. "Nothing has changed in that regard, anytime they try to launch the retrievers, enemy destroyer class ships zip out of nowhere and attempt to engage. The infantry landers require counter escorts, and each attempt to land supplies and troops turns into a skirmish void-side."

"How are we managing to stay aloft with enemy destroyers coming in?" Rhidi asked, looking up at the sky with a puzzled look. "Destroyers are a big deal, even for skirmishes."

Despite her question, the Kafya standing nearby looked at Rhidi with raised eyebrows. They had heard the "we", and were suddenly remembering that they were, in fact, a part of Humanity.

Humans by right.

While a few of the Kafya looked perturbed at the realization, more brightened up at the thought, looking around with smiles.

Sergeant Flores didn't seem to notice, putting her data-slate back onto the combat rigging of her armor. "Our destroyers rate the same as most common cruisers despite their size, and we are supported by three heavy cruisers. The Thunder Bringer has been easily manhandling whatever destroyers they throw at us, and has even claimed a full kill. The carcass should start coming down and raining on the planet here soon, it's plenty far away from us, so we don't have to worry about it."

"And the enemy?" Fredrick asked.

"Same." Sergeant Flores said evenly. "We have no idea who these people are, they are not on the IDC registry. They are well drilled, understand how to move in modern combat, and are at scale with our Regs. All we can glean so far is that they were plucking the locals and transporting them off-soil by force."

Fredrick nodded. "Automatic kill on sight."

"AKOS" Sergeant Flores agreed. "Article 19 override came into effect as soon as we figured out what was going on, these people are to be eradicated with no quarter given." She then turned to the rest of her Pod Section. "That means at no point do you render our enemy aid, you kill them during combat, or you kill them after. Expect the same to be given to you. We do not parlay with those who trade in the lives of others."

There was a darker, deeper "Hoi!" that answered her from the throats of those around her, and Sergeant Flores flexed her jaw as her inner-skull implant detected her helmet was off, sending a message straight into her ear drum.

"Drop Officer Duluth is ordering us all to head into the FOB for debrief, in which we are going to shed our armor and eat. We have two hours cool down before we get back in our armor, two hour rotation for meals and latrine access. We have no idea how these people are getting down to the surface, so he wants some of us in armor at all times unless we are sleeping or taking care of biological duties." Sergeant Flores called out, gesturing vaguely to the late Bronze Age city behind them. "We have eggheads working out how to communicate with the locals, but they are friendly enough… don't go near them though, just do as the penguins do, smile and wave. We'll have bunk tents set up shortly by the Regs, and after that we'll be point defense for the FOB. Any questions?"

No questions came, though some wondered what penguins had to do with anything, so Sergeant Flores clapped her armored gauntlets together. "Alright then, off you go. Keep your helmets near you in case a message goes out."

With nothing else about it and a slowly grumbling stomach, Rhidi filed after the rest of the drop troopers.

The debrief was short, all the gathered Platoons staring up at Drop Officer Duluth as he outlined what their main goal was; Rhidi and the other drop troopers were to be point defense for the base, jumping in their armor and running off to take the full brunt of an assault should one arise.

There were little doubts that the enemy would likely get around the main line the Regs were setting up on the berm-road, but those gaps could be quickly plugged by the sprinting suits of Heavy Onslaught Infantry.

After Rhidi had carefully eaten her fill of field rations with her armored fingers, she stomped over to where her Platoon was staging their armor near their bunk tents. She had never gotten to actually do this yet since training, but she always got a chuckle out of it; To shed their drop armor was akin to a crab or spider molting.

Rhidi planted her feet beside another suit of armor, then tilted up her head as she readied herself. She took another breath, then spoke out into her helmet. "Armor staging execution, occupant ready."

Her visor turned from its calming blue to a shade of amber, the words "Executing" coming up in front of her eyes.

Slowly the armor plating began to rattle and shift like the scales of a great wyrm, sliding over each other and rearranging themselves to allow Rhidi to wiggle out. Getting out was, naturally, much harder than getting it, but Rhidi slowly shrugged and shimmied her way out of the armor like a butterfly coming free of their cocoon.

If butterfly cocoons were made of steel and ballistic plate, that is.

With a puff of air, Rhidi came down behind her armor with a thump of her IB suit boots to grass, pulling off her helmet with an inhale of foreign air.

"Whew." Rhidi gasped out, running her gloved fingers through her hair and flicking the sweat away with a twinkling spray.

Normally a small hook near the waist of her armor would be where she hung her helmet, but she instead tucked it under her arm, the metal-streaked drop pod green paint clashing against the far more plain olive drab IB suit.

"Let's see what kind of bunks they have for us-" Rhidi began, turning around as she talked to herself, but skittered to a halt; There were locals standing right behind her, apparently having been watching her unsuit herself.

Rhidi took a step back as she looked down at them, reaching behind her to pull down her rifle from the ammo pack of her armor.

They were quite small, smaller than she had realized at nearly half her height; The moth was clearly female, the biological registers too apparent, but Rhidi was trying to logic that one out. Insectoids had little to no need for hips and breasts, they laid eggs, and any kind of mating rituals were normally pheromone based or involved creative dances. The insectoids of Bintu had been a very colorful race, with their many dances and gestures, but they had very clearly evolved from insects. Their bodies were harshly anguled, articulated at many joints, their heads sporting mandibles and many faceted eyes.

But this moth woman… she was too… soft. Too Humanoid. Too… normal. Her multifaceted black eyes were set in a face too Human, too civilized, not the face that would come from the normal evolutions of an insectoid race. She had a pert little nose, as if it had been molded onto her face by a master cartoonist that preferred the feel of realism, her bow-shaped lips pressed together in curiosity. Her bright lilac hair glittered as if it was covered in powdered glass, her braids shimmering in the sunlight like the glass beads in road paint. Her golden skin was the color of honey, but Rhidi knew that insectoids shouldn't have skin.

Her wings were small, useless, but fluttered with a mood, as if they were a part of how she portrayed her feelings. Antenna sprouted from her head in attractive angles, roughly ten inches long and twitching for whatever reason that was beyond Rhidi's understanding. Around her neck was some kind of odd, fluttering fur that looked the same as the hair of a rabbit, though it shimmered as well with that odd, reflective light.

She wore a billowy, airy tunic that buttoned down the sides, open at the back for the likely ease of wearing it with her wings. Her pants were well crafted and equally… poofy, as if the creature feared overheating. Her feet were chitinous, black, covered in armored scales in the same way her elbows and knuckles were.

Now that Rhidi thought about it… the being looked designed, as if someone had tried to take a creature and craft it into something new. The unerring beauty of the moth woman unsettled Rhidi; It was completely unnatural, flowing against the tide of natural evolution.

The other little beings around the moth woman, four of them, looked more like something the Humans would call a "pocket monster" from their games. These made sense to Rhidi, and were clearly following the natural progression of evolution; They were harsh, angular beings, much akin to an Earthen mantis with a little more flare. Their hands were nothing but gleaming blades, as if the creatures had somehow figured out how to produce metal along the edge of their chitinous appendages. Their slit-pupiled eyes were sharp, cunning, crested with fluffy brows that kept the sun from overwhelming them.

Oddly enough, even they looked crafted in some way; Their shoulders held pauldron-like plates of armor to cover their arm joints, their legs built for speed with long, white claws, and short necks covered in fur. They were as multicolored as the moth woman, a splash of reds, greens, and blacks, and stood close to the moth, their eyes wary and bladed hands twitching. They wore clothes, too, though the clothing looked more ornamental than utilitarian.

Rhidi had never seen anything like this before in her life, shouldering the strap of her rifle so it hung behind her.

She didn't know what else to do, as she didn't have a clue of the language they spoke, so she instead bowed forward slightly in greeting.

The moth woman smiled openly, presenting black, flat teeth, then closed her eyes and bowed forward as well. Her little guardians did the same, crossing their bladed hands and bowing forward with their apparent charge.

The moth woman gestured towards Rhidi with wiggling fingers, and Rhidi had no idea how to respond. There was absolutely no telling what the little being wanted, but the moth woman was also hopping up and down on her feet, still wiggling her fingers.

"You've got to be shitting me…" Rhidi muttered in sudden realization, but rolled her neck as she came down onto a knee.

With the clapping of four happy hands, the moth woman quickly stepped forward, reaching up and scritching at Rhidi's furred cheeks.

"No matter the planet, people are all the same." Rhidi said quietly, shaking her head back and forth at the happily trilling moth creature, all while the little manti poked and prodded at her suit. Rhidi looked up and around as the voice of Morris came up from around the armor, and she turned to see the Human leaning against a parked suit, grinning widely.

"Meeting the locals, Rhidi?" Morris asked, winking at her as the moth woman lightly sniffed at Rhidi's fur.

"Hi, Morris!" Rhidi called out, not sure how to extract herself from the moth woman's many fingers. "I have no idea! I got out of my suit and she was just… standing there!"

Glad that he didn't have to do his usual four-hi-greeting, Morris walked over, squatting down next to Rhidi and trying to ignore her quickly perking ears. "They are an odd bunch, aren't they? Have you ever seen an insect folk with… well, those?"

Morris gestured towards the moth woman's chest as she continued gently observing Rhidi's hair.

"Actually, no, I have not." Rhidi replied, a little relieved that she was not the only one who found it odd. "It doesn't make any sense at all, actually. Insectoid races have always been found to be egg layers, they don't need breasts… or hips for that matter."

Morris reached out a hand, palm up, to one of the smaller manti, tilting his head as the shorter creature tapped at his palm with its bladed hand. "I thought so. The Lilgarans make a little bit of sense, as they give birth via eggs but nurse the young, but they ain't insects. I always thought they would look… well, more buggy, like these little fellas."

"That's what I don't get." Rhidi said with a squint as the moth woman's hands squished her cheeks with a gleeful trill. "Why are they different? The little guys make absolute sense, one hundred percent within evolutionary guide-lines, but there is no reason why she would look so… be so…"

"Human?" Morris piped up, looking over at Rhidi as the manti being sniffed at his hand.

Rhidi nodded, tilting her head along with the moth woman's. "It is… uncanny. Are you sure your people didn't send out probes? Or seed any planets in secret?"

"Not possible, really." Morris replied, standing up and watching as the manti being skittered backwards a few steps. "We didn't have that kind of technology until you guys showed up. We sure as hell didn't have it before we fought off the Pactless. I think we launched a few probes in the 1970's, but they were more space-wanderers than anything."

Anfilid came around the side of the tent, stopping mid breath when she saw the locals in front of Rhidi and Morris.

"Oh… here they are then." Anfilid said with a tilt of her head, having hooked her helmet onto the belt of her IB suit. "How did that even get in here? Why is it so…"

Rhidi nodded, gently leading the moth woman's hands away with her own index fingers. "So Human?"

"Yeah! Kinda weird isn't it?" Anfilid piped up, squatting down onto her heels. "This goes against the standardized evolution guidelines. These folk should have massive wings and more legs!"

Morris chuckled. "Yeah, we were just discussing that."

"The Regs need to tighten up their security details, the locals aren't allowed inside the designated FOB area." Anfilid said, her brown tail wagging slowly behind her. "I guess that big town behind us is full of these people, then? Shame we can't speak to them yet, I have a ton of questions already."

Rhidi stood up, bowing forward to the moth woman again as she spoke. "Maybe we'll luck out here soon, the Humans have the Drafritti with them so they'll crack the linguistic code pretty quick."

"Have you already eaten?" Morris asked to Rhidi, his smile warm as the moth woman bowed back, then summoned her little manti bodyguards with a few slaps of her thighs.

Rhidi flushed happily. "Nope!"

"Rhidi you just ate like, three field rations." Anfilid said in a puzzled voice, then pinned down her ears with wide eyes as Rhidi snapped her head around and glared at her.

Morris whistled. "Three rations? Sounds to me like you could use a walk around the FOB with all that food in you."

"She always eats three-" Anfilid went to say again, but was silenced by another wild eyed glare from Rhidi. Anfilid quickly cut over her words in a panic."I uh!… I mean, she usually only eats one, she must have been hungry after-"

"Anfilid." Rhidi said, her hackles raising.

Anflid turned on the spot, first left, then right, before pointing at their bunk tent with a panicked hand. "I'm gonna go check my data-slate!"

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

As Anfilid beat a hasty retreat inside the tent, Rhidi turned back to Morris, her face quickly resettled into a far more pleasant outlook.

"A walk sounds lovely!" Rhidi said happily, her ears still perked and rigid.

Morris, having watched the entire exchange with a bemused smile, offered Rhidi his elbow. "Our Pod Section got first go at being off duty, we don't have to really do anything for another hour."

"A whole hour huh?" Rhidi said with a sly twinge of guilty pleasure, looping her hand into the crook of his elbow. "We have time for a walk and then some…"

Morris set off with a measured pace, allowing Rhidi to quickly adjust to his step. "I figured we'd go stare at the little town, everyone else is. A little reminder of why we're on this planet to begin with."

"Have you heard something?" Rhidi asked him, walking perhaps a little too close to Morris and letting her tail have an indulgent drag across the back of his suited calves.

"Something like that." Morris said, though his tone changed from pleased, to grim. "Our social specialists have been engaging with the locals via drawings ever since the gunfire died down, trying to figure out what the hell is going on."

Rhidi hummed in her throat, breathing in the smell of Morris's sweat and his favored toothpaste as he spoke. "It was rather odd that we acted, and are acting, so quickly. The IDC usually just observes, we came in hot and heavy as soon as we saw the locals getting herded into ships."

"You still have much to learn about Humans." Morris said, casting his eyes over at Rhidi. "We act first, lest we waste time asking questions."

Much to learn indeed… Rhidi thought to herself, idly running a finger along his suited forearm before she caught herself, clearing her throat before speaking. "Appears the Human method has done good on this planet. So what all have they gleaned?"

"Kidnapping." Morris said dourly. "Whoever we are fighting, they've been scooping entire cities and towns for days, or something akin to it. This is all based off of drawings and assumptions, mind you. Whatever they are, they 'came from the sky, pushing us into cages, taking us to the heavens to not be seen again'. I think the locals thought they were some kind of avenging gods, as they eradicated a lot of the little scyther looking people that tried to fight them off. They have the heart of lions, but that does little to keep you from getting shot in the chest with advanced weaponry."

Rhidi's perked ears twitched, and she looked up at Morris as the odd word revolved in her ears. "Scyther?"

"Nothin', not important." Morris said with a chuckle, a sound that made Rhidi's heart flutter like the leaves of a tree caught in a breeze. "We're digging in, regardless. From what I overheard, communications between us and Earth have been frenzied, with the IDC being rather annoyed… but that ain't anything new."

Rhidi giggled. "No, no it is not. The IDC has a firm 'hands off' policy when it comes to things outside of their purview. The IDC serves the members of the IDC, and those not within the council are not the council's problem."

"Wretched way to go about things." Morris grumbled, and Rhidi could smell that the words held actual anger. "Leaving those lesser to fend for themselves, while you have the power to render aid of some kind? Wretched."

Rhidi's ears, despite the blood rushing through them, wilted; The Kafya had left many planets to fend for themselves during the early years of the war, along with many members of the IDC. Some of those planets had been friends of the Kafya, trading partners and the like, but the Kafya did not move to aid them when the IDC issued commands to not meddle.

That had turned out poorly, for them all.

It was doubly frustrating that the IDC had not learned at all, and were still sticking to their well-worn holster.

"You do know why they do as they do, I'm sure." Rhidi began, as she still felt an odd compulsion to defend her old ways. "If you help one planet, the other planets will expect the same. The IDC would be stretched thin, constantly running around and putting out the fires of those who do not pay their fees, their tithes. The IDC views them as 'bums', if the word fits, planets that mooch off of generosity. Safeguarding an entire arm of the galaxy would bankrupt a race, or coalition. There would never be peace, never a moment to gather one's breath, constant war, constant bloodshed… it would be exhausting."

Morris smiled, patting Rhidi on the hand with his. "I'm afraid that way of thinking will not survive contact with Humans. In our current state, if a voice cries out from the void, we come running while cocking our hammers."

Rhidi looked up at Morris, her tail swinging behind her, and she considered that.

"Why is that? Why is it that every being resonates with Humans? Here on this planet are an unnatural people who have barely figured out how to work tin and copper, yet when you saw them in plight, saw them under attack from a superior people of the stars, we dropped two entire Divisions and are engaging their enemy in space with the same ferocity as the Ur. What drives Humans to such lengths?" Rhidi asked Morris, her eyes narrowed out of a desire for understanding, even as she dragged her tail along his calf again. "What can make you risk life, limb, and security for a people you only just learned of?"

Morris was quiet for a length of paces as he escorted Rhidi, mulling over her words as they came within view of the large town. The little manti folk and their taller moth cohorts were running around in a frenzy, attempting to help the Regs in either filling or stacking bags filled with sand, or soil.

He smiled to himself as he watched four manti beings running along, all hefting bags above their heads as a Human trotted after them, two bags under her arms each while she laughed gamely, trying to catch up to the little beings. More of the moth folk were attempting to gather water for the Regs, hefting large, leather water bags in carts.

They're doing all they can to help us, it seems. Morris thought to himself, then glanced down at Rhidi; She was watching on as well, and was running her finger along his forearm again.

Morris slowly drew in a deep breath, picking out his words as he spoke out to Rhidi. "I know how the IDC thinks, and it is not without cause. I understand why they are rather cagey with whom they share power, who they protect, and why they act as they do. Only a fool would cast themselves into every net thrown out by those who need aid." He leaned down towards Rhidi's ear, speaking into it in a low whisper. "It is a good thing we Humans are the strongest and most temerarious fools in the galaxy, then, isn't it?"

Rhidi had to fight to suppress the shiver that tried to wriggle its way up her spine; Speaking so close into the ear in Kafya society, especially by a romantic interest, was akin to grabbing a handful of ass in Human culture, and Morris may as well have spanked her right there in the open. Her heart rate spiked so quickly that the fur on her neck was pulsing with the jump of her jugular, and Rhidi had to think about boring subjects, like mathematical skip algorithms or the process of protein gel creation.

Morris gave her a few pats on her hand, the first of which caused Rhidi to startle, and he continued on. "Not everyone gets that first helping hand. This planet is no different than our own; The Pactless came down seeking to take our world and likely use us all as cattle. We were advanced enough to barely rip ourselves free of our enemy, to rebuild fast enough to once again aid those under attack by a new enemy, an enemy that sought to control, destroy, strip resources and turn it all into their gains without any thought to who called those planets home. When we did it once, it was for self survival. When we did it twice, it was for the survival of others and revenge for those whom we could not save." Morris raised a hand and gestured to the Regs stacking sandbags with the moth and manti locals, one Reg kneeling down and holding up a canteen, letting a tired manti carefully sip water. "Now, even if we are burning and down to our last blade, we will answer the call of those who seek aid in their own survival. We Humans would rather burn to ash in the attempt, than let another race walk unwillingly into the fires of oblivion."

Rhidi wasn't sure why she did it, perhaps it was the sudden influx of romantic hormones flooding into her brain like black Friday shoppers, but she turned her head and pressed her forehead against Morris's arm. While not an overly romantic action in Human society, she was more or less giving Morris a kiss on the cheek, instead running the fur of her face along his suit-covered bicep.

"You Humans…" Rhidi murmured, straightening her head after completing the affectionate gesture. "Honestly, where did creatures like you even come from?"

Morris chuckled to himself, slowly setting off again so Rhidi could match pace. "From iron, copper, and clay, of course."

—

Rhidi arrived back at their part of the FOB after her walk with Morris, linking up with Alias and Shasta. Alias filled them in on their kill count and their own casualties, and it appeared both sides had taken each other by surprise. To the shock of no one, their own forces had cleaved a mighty number from their enemy, though it had become quite difficult to nail down the number due to the extreme overkill of Human vengeance.

Supply fleets were already inbound, bristling with fuel, power cells, ammunition, vehicles, and food. Riding along with the supply fleet were replacement troopers and engineers, coming in spades in order to fill the stricken Divisions, and repair what damage had happened to the fleet.

On the ground, the picture was just as harried; The locals were not exactly high in population when the Human forces had landed, and were now streaming in massive caravans to the fortified positions of the 16th and 72nd Divisions. Rhidi was able to watch one such caravan arrive, thousands of wagons long with uncountable numbers of the moth and manti peoples. They brought with them their "cattle", large, glistening insects covered in a short layer of amber fur.

They appeared to be some kind of grazing creature, chewing and cutting at tall grass with clicking mandibles and waving antennae. As they ate, their bodies swelled with some kind of amber… juice, which the moth folk harvested in buckets. Pulling the wagons were massive beetle-like creatures that gave low, buzzing drones as they patiently waited for orders, rattling their carapaces with a shake of their harnesses.

Rhidi observed other small creatures on her patrols, stomping along in her OBP armor with a small cluster of Regs around her. There were these odd little chittering creatures that appeared to be pets, six legged and covered in a shaggy fur that caught the light oddly. Their eyes were round and wide, while their attitudes were quite playful. About the size of an Earthen cat, they were prone to playing "tag" with the Regs and drop troopers, running along to quickly tap a foot to their boots, then skittering off with a gleeful chitter.

There were small winged creatures as well that flitted about, roosting in trees and letting out a drumming noise in all a manner of pitches. While Earth had birds, mammals, and other such animals, this planet seemed to be a dynamic cast of purely insects; There were glimmering things that flew on wings, burrowing hard-shelled creatures that tucked away tree nuts underground, or other many legged entities that attempted to catch and eat anything small enough to fall into their grasps.

Most odd were another livestock option for the moth and manti, a rather stubby legged insect that, to Rhidi, appeared to be dumber than a box of rocks. Covered in a wooly, silken coat, the beings appeared to be shorn in order to make cloth, though they tended to bounce off of trees, or attempt to eat the tents of the Human forces with their clacking mandibles.

Imridit and Inthur had been incensed to the point of running after a little herd of the things, having found that they had smuggled themselves into their garrison tent and eaten half of their cotton socks. Barely restrained by Rhidi, Inthur had been trying to load and lock her rifle, requiring the yellow Kafya to literally heft and turn the blue fur around so she couldn't get a proper sight picture.

This had been rather difficult, with Rhidi spluttering on Inthur's massive blue tail, while Enflia and Marides had to wrestle Imridit away from her prey. The enraged, pink furred Kafya had a mouthful of silken, wooly coat, while the wounded insect livestock barely got away with their life.

A male moth folk had been in a near panic trying to get his herd out of the FOB, having been drawn away by Regs fussing with a glowing tactical display. His lapse in judgement allowed the rock-brained livestock to swarm into the FOB, causing a much needed ruckus to distract the Earthen warriors from the waiting tedium of battle.

Of course seeing two Kafya screeching for revenge, and a few Pwah angrily shaking their chewed on clothing, had sent the male moth local into a panic attack, holding his chest with a hand and coming down to a knee; His livestock had just angered the most powerful military entity on the planet, and seeing Inthur whip a rifle his direction had sent his soul to tatters.

Drop Officer Duluth had taken it upon himself to calm the moth man down, offering him compensation for his injured livestock; While Imridit had bitten a chunk out of one's fur, others had been slightly marred or maimed by the rapid extraction of the creatures from tents, wardrobes, or punted out of ammo dumps after attempting to chew on weapon magazines.

Word appeared to have gotten around about the "tasty treats" within the FOB, likely by the creatures communicating in some unknown way, and Drop Officer Duluth ended up hiring multiple male and female moth folk to patrol around the base, their large staffs and trilling voices running off any stray livestock that attempted to infiltrate the FOB.

Needless to say, these "contractors" did not go unnoticed by the Earthen military forces, and certain units started picking out ones to "outfit".

Rhidi and the rest of 2nd Platoon had been the first who managed to… well, she wouldn't call it kidnap, more like she and 2nd Platoon tactically acquired a local, having Jackson scoop the moth man and run off with him. This plan had first been hatched by a very bored Sergeant Flores, who was getting twitchy after such a long stint without combat, and wanted to be entertained.

As one would, the moth man was wigging out as he was dragged into a garrison tent to see an entire unit of Humans, Pwah, Lilgara, and Kafya eyeballing him like a toy they could use to ease the boredom. Sitting on a stool and vibrating from nerves, the moth man decided to merely stay still, hoping that his lack of sudden moves would allow him to survive the encounter.

Things got a little more weird for him as he was outfitted in clothing, given a spare, small garrison uniform sized for Pwah. The top was carefully cut so his wings could poke through, then rapidly sewn with a hand-held uniform patcher so it looked professional. His confusion only rose when he was then given a patrol cap marked with a butterfly pin for its flash, a string of soda tabs donated by a constantly laughing Shasta, a pair of combat boots that fit him oddly well, and a far larger, metal shepherd stick crafted from a broken communications array. He was further rigged out with an extra large bowie knife donated by Avlov, a spare one she had used to kill larger vermin at her old job, several stacked american flag patches to adorn his sleeve, a skull pin for his rank from Sergeant Flores, and the entire thing was topped off with a single, extra small set of Reg armor that Private Har had managed to acquire from the surplus bins of patrol armor.

Private Har was a rather cunning little black furred male Kafya, though Oin had nothing but negative things to say about him.

The moth man local was then "knighted" by the rogue prince, Rhodil, and sent back out on his patrol for fussy livestock.

Naturally, the moth man stuck out like a sore thumb, walking about with his metal communications staff decorated with wrappings of wool and cotton, woven into place by Enflia. This slowly grew into a war of attrition, the attrition part of it being the amount of shepherds that were not being kidnapped and rigged out with gear. The Regs got a hold of three shepherds, the armored units snatching up two, while the Heavy Onslaught Infantry fought like rabid dogs over the remaining, unacquired shepherds.

On the fifth day after hiring the locals, Drop Officer Duluth walked out of his command tent, coffee hand in, to see a motley crew of mercenaries roaming around his base and forcing a hasty retreat of both the wooly haired insect livestock, and a "flock" of egg laying ground-bees that had decided to see what the FOB was all about.

Before him were moth folk locals wearing military uniforms, a mishmash of armor and nicknacks from their donation units, and wielding a selection of staffs that ranged from artillery ramrods, armored vehicle clearing pushrods, communication array parts, and a literal stirring paddle stolen from the cooks.

"What in the hell?" Drop Officer Duluth muttered out as First Sergeant Lower stepped out of the command tent, stirring his own field mocha.

"Ah, right." He said, looking over at his CO. "The units have been rather bored since the first landing, and have adopted those shepherds you hired as mascots."

Drop Officer Duluth pointed to a female moth person who whacked one of the ground bees with her staff, the thing made from the gnarled remains of a gunship fuel intake funnel. "Where did they even get that?!"

"Probably from the wreckers, sir." First Sergeant Lower replied dryly, chuckling to himself as the little moth mercenaries formed a line and shooed the livestock through the gate of the FOB. "They seem happy enough though."

Drop Officer Duluth snorted. "We're paying them in sugar, of course they're happy. Had no idea what the hell to pay them with, but they love the sweet stuff as well as anyone else. Are you going to brief the men?"

"I will." First Sergeant Lower answered, though the humor dried from his face. "These calm days are going to come to an abrupt and annoying end, but that is the way of it, isn't it?"

Drop Officer Duluth nodded. "Can't let the enemy get too comfortable. They've been deploying more and more reserves since our first clash, and there is still no feasible way they can land thousands of troops like they are."

"Isn't that why we're going to have four fleets in orbit here soon? To pin them in place and destroy them?" First Sergeant Lower said, taking a sip from his field mocha as he looked up towards the sky.

"It is, but we both know ships capable of that kind of technology are attached to a far larger force. Maybe even an entire empire we don't know about." Drop Officer Duluth sighed out. "Command is gearing up for another Ur, and they are frankly too happy about it. The fact they are happy about it is really pissing off the IDC, and our delegates are going to start growing gray hairs at twenty."

First Sergeant Lower chuckled. "We're the saviors of the galaxy, don'cha know? The more victories we get, the better we'll look. Saving a poor, hapless planet of peaceful bug people makes us look good, gets us better terms with the IDC-"

"That may work with the Drafritti, Lilgara, and Kojynn, but the Pwah and Kafya are gnashing their teeth at us." Drop Officer Duluth cut in, his mood darkening. "We need to eradicate whatever the hell is attacking this planet, or the egg is going to slap onto our foreheads so hard, the sound may cause a sonic boom. Command knows it, I know it, and any NCO worth their stripes knows it as well."

First Sergeant Lower rolled his eyes, unseen by his commanding officer, but replied anyway. "As that may be, it's still the majority of the council. They won't make a move without the full support of everyone else."

"All this useless politicking takes the flavor away from war." Drop Officer Duluth growled. "We need to be able to respond to any threat to any planet, and we sure as hell don't need the Kafya or Pwah breathing down our necks. We cannot sustain anymore damage to the honor of Humanity."

"You know as well as I, Drop Officer, that no Human wants to know a planet fell under their watch. I'm sure you've heard of the wayward wolf initiative." First Sergeant Lower said, gesturing with his mug. "If any of those aliens get froggy, we start sending off fleets with letters of marque and legions of mercenaries. No one can stop us, even if they wanted to."

Drop Officer Duluth scowled. "Could you imagine us having to go rogue in order to safeguard the races of the stars? Just the thought gives my heart a plucked string of rage…"

"I don't see it happening anyway." First Sergeant Lower replied with a smile. "The Kafya and Pwah wouldn't dare try and block us in order to assert power. After all…" He gestured with his mug to the small gathering of Kafya looking over their heavy armor. "We took their own people as our own, and all they have done is stomp their paws in the council meeting chamber. I've heard from a special someone that even more are on their way…"

Drop Officer Duluth seemed to cheer up at the mention of that, letting a wry chuckle escape his lips. "Are you really still in communication with that woman? I thought you would have been done with her once you made sure that the off-world Droppers got into our unit."

"She is a wealth of information, plus she appears to be keeping tabs on the yellow hair." First Sergeant Lower said, nodding his head towards the distant form of Rhidi.

Drop Officer Duluth took his moment to roll his eyes this time, then turned to First Sergeant Lower. "Really, that's all eh? I know your browser history, you know."

"I knew you borrowed my data-slate." First Sergeant Lower grumbled, calculated in order to get his CO to laugh again and pull him from his doldrums of command.

"Go brief the men!" Drop Officer Duluth called out, giving the much larger man a playful shove on the back. "I'm going to go link up with the other commanders and try to get a handle on this thing. If this launches another large scale war, we need to be on top of it in case those turkeys in the IDC don't back us up."

First Sergeant Lower nodded, stepping off with another wave of his steaming mug. "I personally don't mind. We needed another war anyway, and being this cold for so long was starting to get boring."