FORESIGHT and SCOPE: BOOK TWO

C H A P T E R S I X T Y-O N E

Mayday scoffed. "I can see you and I are going to get along just fine. Let me guess, getting assigned this mission was a penalty?"

"You can say that," Athena bobbed her head to the side, avoiding eye contact with her partner. She patted her blaster on her hip. "but it gives me an excuse to tune up my weapons."

"So it's safe to assume you know your way in a fight, Ensign?"

"That I do." she winked.

Mayday nodded, then turned his attention to Crosshair. "How about you? How did you end up here?"

The soldier glanced down at his partner; it was discreet with the masking of his helmet. "Just lucky, I guess."

"Well," the commander nodded. "welcome to the Outpost." He then turned and retrieved his helmet and blaster. "Come on, I'll give you a lay of the land." Athena rebuttoned her parka, donned her hood, and slipped on her eyewear before following him. Crosshair nipped at her heels as all three of them exited through the blast door.

Night was falling quickly as the scenery was veiled with a grey-blue hue. The snow-blown wind had aggressively increased, roaring in Athena's face and numbing her cheeks and lips. As the three clones trekked across the platform, the bounty hunter strained her eyes behind her protective goggles as she observed the blinking red dots emitting from the bordering sensor beams. They had clearly deteriorated over time from the harsh conditions.

"How long have you been here, Commander?" she inquired.

"I've been stationed on this rock for over a year watching that cargo." Mayday said, propping his blaster on his shoulder. "Now that it's finally getting transported, me and my squad can hopefully get out of here."

"I don't blame you." Athena scoffed, hugging her torso.

"Who's been attacking the depot?" Crosshair questioned.

Mayday sighed. "Locals. Raiders. Last few attacks caught us off guard."

"How did they bypass the sensors?"

"I wouldn't consider these," Athena kicked at one of the nearby poles, causing it to wobble in place. "fully functional...I'm shocked they are hanging on this long with this nasty weather. Is it always this harsh?"

"We get some clear skies every once in awhile." Mayday shrugged. "But storms like this can last for days, maybe weeks. Meteorology isn't my speciality, but it doesn't take a genius to predict the endurance of these storms. This one in particular, well, let's just we've had worse." The quip paired with the grimness in his tone was unsettling to Athena. "As for these degraded sensors, I have requested new equipment to replace them, but got none."

"Shocker..." she commented.

Mayday nodded in agreement. "And yet we're told to protect the cargo at all costs."

"Why? What's inside those crates?" Crosshair asked.

He hummed grimly. "Yeah, I've wondered that myself every day."

"You don't know?" The bounty hunter and sharpshooter questioned in unison.

"Apparently, it's above a clone trooper's pay grade." The commander shrugged, then started walking back towards the facility. "If you're thinking to scout ahead, don't go alone, and don't go far. You'll freeze to death in that armor, unless what's in the ice kills you first. Either way, it will make them happy."

As if on cue, high-pitch screeching echoed above their heads. Ice vultures' shadowy figures glided freely in the wintery air, waiting patiently for one of the clones to keel over and become their next meal. "Vicious creatures, but you have to admire them." Mayday sighed. "They find a way to survive."