“You think we should try something else?” Mueller asked.

“No, but we’re not going to make it there before morning.” The sergeant major looked at the children and shook his head. “We’ll try like hell, but we won’t make it.”

“We’ll make it,” Elgars said, getting to her feet. “But not if we debate about it all day. Sergeant Major, I’m apparently the ranking officer, but I don’t know what in the hell I’m doing. How are we going to handle that?”

“Well, ma’am,” the recon specialist said with a faint grin. “I’ll make suggestions and you give the orders. And if you don’t give the orders I suggest, you’d better have a damned good reason or I’ll shoot you.”

“Works for me,” she said with a laugh. “And your suggestion is… ?”

“Let’s move out,” he replied. “It’s not going to get any easier as it gets darker.”

“Can I say just one thing?” Shari asked.

“Sure.”

“I really hate the Posleen.” As they started off, a gentle, cold, mist began to fall.

* * *

Tulo’stenaloor cursed and shook his crest. The senior commander of the Posleen forces assaulting Rabun Gap had been fighting the humans for nigh on ten years. And over the time he had developed a healthy respect for their abilities. Outnumbered though they were, outgunned though they were, the humans were clever about using well-honed skills and an almost devilish ingenuity to defeat the assaults of the Posleen.

But the current group was really starting to annoy him.

“I hate humans,” he grumped. “What do we know of this cursed metal threshkreen ‘unit.’ ”

The Posleen had first met the humans at the planet Aradan 5, what the humans called Diess. Up until that encounter the advance of the host had been continuous and without major check. There were three races that they had encountered in near space and none of them, not the little green Indowy nor the taller, slim Darhel, nor the insectile Tchpth, would give fight. Sometimes the Darhel would fight, but not well and not long. Mostly it was a matter of simply rounding them up and butchering them for dinner.