Graham had promised himself he would not lose his composure.
They had made it. He and his tank's group had made it all the way through town to the copper mine. The CSF had scarcely shown its face, but the Mauves had fought like the lunatics they were.
As the last of the Mauves retreated from their latest failed rush, Graham noticed an arrow sticking up from one of the fallen women. That could only mean one thing.
"I think we got fire support," he reported to the others. "If you see a bandit with a bow, don't shoot her." Even as he said this, he saw a thin silhouette step into the lamplight.
"Graham," said Nakasi, "I was hoping I'd be finding you in one piece. And your tank is still alive too. Good work."
"Nakasi." Graham's heart sank. "Your squad didn't make it, did they?"
"We split up. Maya got shot. And Heng..." she stopped herself. "There was no one else with me. I was hearing action over here, so I came here."
"From all the way across town?"
"I move fast."
"I'm sorry we lost Maya. Did everyone else make it?"
"Maya's not dead. The shot didn't hit her anywhere fragile, so she'll be fine."
"Again? That's amazing!"
The tank started moving again, and Nakasi looked past it. "There's the mine just ahead. You think your wife's in there?"
"Probably not. But I'm not giving up on her until I know for sure." He said this with an empty voice. Weeks of fretting had wrung the last drop of panic from him.
A shoulder-high rocky mound surrounded the mine, supporting a formidable black metal fence. Through the slats it was easy enough to see that the mine had grown. What had once been confined to Mari Maldashi's property had now spilled into the neighboring two farms. Bare, cut-up rock covered the landscape, punctuated by jagged holes inelegantly drilled in the ground.
"We're going to blast off that fence," said the voice of the tank commander. "Then I want you to go up there and see what we're up against. Look for anti-armor. Firing now..."
The shell pounded into the base of the fence, throwing up rubble in a magnificent splash of dust and pebbles. Graham ducked behind the tank as the hailstorm clattered against its hull. As the air cleared, Nakasi crawled ahead, flattening herself against a fencepost that was nearly as wide as she was. For a few dangerous seconds, she peeked through the gaps between the slats. Then suddenly, she dropped on all fours and slithered back to the tank. She crouched next to Graham, her face close enough to his that he could smell her putrid breath. "Lots of women with rifles. An autocannon too. But nothing big enough to hurt the tank."
The tank crew did not respond.
Something dawned on Graham. "Nakasi, you need to tune your radio so they hear you."
Nakasi gave him a strange look. "Again?"
"Give it here. I'll show you."
Nakasi handed over her radio, seeming only a little affronted to be given an order by a man. Graham quickly changed the channel and gave it back.
"Did you hear that, tank?" asked Nakasi. "They're using rifles and an autocannon, but nothing else. You should be going in first."
"Agreed." The tank angled itself for the breech and rolled gently for it.
"Something's not right," Nakasi added, as she and Graham crawled behind the tank. "I wasn't seeing any slaves."
"Aren't they underground?" said Graham.
