Page 4 of Subchief Flander

“Hey.” She sat down by him.

Ronner, Jaird, Tanen, and Flander all sat nearby. The squads had six people in them. Hel had been lucky that someone had transferred out, leaving a spot for her at the right time. Even when it happened, she wondered if Ranni had a hand in it.

“Did you get rid of someone to make room for me?” Hel had asked.

"No, I talked someone into staying until you were ready. Otherwise, he'd have left a year too soon," Ranni grinned.

Hel had to admit her sister's mate was gorgeous, but Flander drew her in. Too bad one of the other guys didn't. She tried to concentrate on her food because she was hungry, but her eyes kept moving to Flander. Why couldn't she just forget about him? A good question with no answer.

Chapter 2

Head of the Squad

Flander was head of the squad, and that was usually something he lived to be. Now that his mate was old enough to be on the squad, he wasn't sure where he stood. He knew that she was talented and capable, but he had lost many warriors who were both. She'd been hurt today. Not seriously, but that was still possible. If he didn't control his feelings, he wouldn't be worth a darn in the job he loved. His mate had been perfect doing the job that they had hoped for. She'd remembered everything needed and reacted to every situation appropriately.

On this mission, he'd been the weak one. He'd been so afraid for his mate that he'd been slow in making his decisions, some of which had been wrong. Flander went to the gym because he needed to let off some steam now that supper was over. Hel had ignored him. She'd not even sat beside him, choosing another squad member instead. His stress level was high, and even though the mission had been successful without any losses, he didn't feel the sense of accomplishment he usually did.

To make matters worse, his squad was on a roster to start patrols of Purgatory. It was the home planet of his mate Hel. She would be a big help on the planet, but it would also put her in even more danger. The only bright side was that since B3PO plans had also been found and brought back to the ship, the robot would go with them and start in the morning. Even though they had taken out most of the gang that had attacked them, reports said that there were multiple gangs just like that in all the major cities and he had no doubt that they would be sending more people to join that gang. It was an equal opportunity employer since it took men, women, and old and young.

Children as young as eight had been found in the gangs, and one gang was said to be run by a woman who was sixty-three. They had that information because they had sent someone undercover. They said they had sent several undercover, but only one had made it out with information. Desperate people would do whatever they had to do to survive. Once a fleet of robots was turned loose on the planet, most criminals would not survive. After they ensured that the robots were safe for the regular residence, the robots would be the ones patrolling the planet, and his squad would only be going on missions, targeting areas where Mercury had stockpiles of plans and technical equipment.

That might sound easy, but that company and stockpiles of equipment, plans, and sometimes both in forty-eight different places. The most important ones were the ones that Kasey had worked at. Those would be the ones they would be hitting first. Many missions would be overnight because they would get the equipment or plans in an area where the ship could flash them up. It would take time to get all that done.

No one seemed to be in the workout room, so he went to the weights first. They were the most popular because most warriors like to keep their muscles built up. Thirty minutes later, he was sweaty but still had energy to burn. The treadmill and the bike helped a little, but now he was ready for a fight. He had to be careful. The robots could not take the powerful hits he could dish out. If he destroyed another one, he would have to pay the full cost, and they were high. It was a better place to take out his anger than in the ring, where he might cause significant damage to some other warrior.

They had counselors you could talk to, but he didn't feel like that. Sometimes, when certain things occur, they make you talk to those people, and he doesn't like that either. This robotwas not as strong as he was, but it was fast. Since he couldn't manage the speed to win, he had to anticipate what it would do. The problem was that he couldn't count on the robot doing the same things as last time. It had been made to adjust and improve. He'd used it before, and it knew him as well as he knew it.

The robot came to life, lights blinking, and it ran at him, veering away just as he sent a punch at it, barely missing. Then Flander turned quickly and got a small piece of the robot. This was a small robot that floated in the air and had no legs. It only helped train a warrior for head and chest shots. That made it harder to catch it, and only high kicks would work, and those were very hard because if you missed, you ended up on your ass. All he did today was get little hits here and there that didn't disrupt the robot at all. After half an hour, he decided to settle in and get some rest. Tomorrow would not be an easy day on the planet with his mate in the highest-risk position on the squad.

Once in his room, he felt so tired, but he needed to shower because he was covered in sweat and dirt from the patrol. He stripped out of his uniform and put it in the hamper where it would be clean tomorrow. Stepping into the shower, he lathered up and rinsed off. This shower had an air dry, and he was done. Flander felt too tired to even find some personal release. Setting his alarm, he went to bed and immediately fell asleep. He woke up the same way. In an hour, they would gather to go on the first patrol.

Flander entered the cafeteria and saw his squad at their usual table. Other squads were spread around the cafeteria because fifteen would soon be headed to the planet. The only squad going into a heavy enemy area would be his because they had the robot. He filled his plate full and sat with his squad. As usual, his mate had chosen a spot between two other squadmates. Why couldn't she just take things easier on him? Didn't she think it was hard enough that he would have to watch her put herself in danger?

She shot him a cool look and nodded, acknowledging his presence and nothing more. He dug into his food because the other members of his squad were nearly finished eating. Right now, he had to think about his job. Other things had to be pushed aside. Ten teams would meet on the bay and go down to the surface, while five teams would join them from their sister ship. They each had their own location to go to. The remote locations the other teams would go to would be safer, but their area would be more challenging and dangerous. They would have B3PO to help protect them. They were also considered the best squad.

He finished his meal and noticed the others were already waiting for him. There was no point in them leaving without him since he was the leader, and they could not load until he told them to. Flander rose and headed toward the bay, his team following closely. His mind was on the mission, and he tried to put all other thoughts away. As soon as they arrived at their shuttle, the others loaded first, and as leader, he loaded everyone else, and all other necessities were on the shuttle.

Hel was the pilot today, and she received the order to go, and they lifted off. It didn't take long for them to land. This location was within fifty miles of the last one. The population was slightly lower than their first mission. Flander could only hope that it would make things easier. Not that he'd ever been lucky like that before. From the crowd outside the shuttle, many of them dressed like those who had attacked them on the first mission. He saw his luck wasn't going to be any better now. The robot exited. As soon as the first shot was fired, it returned fire. That was the only way to ensure it hit enemies and not allies.

The damage to the enemy was devastating, and the robot continued until shots were no longer fired. Flander went first to be sure that it was safe, and that was something he had always done ever since he had become a leader. The others followed behind, and they began to move. As soon as the last person, the pilot, left the shuttle, it was locked down. That prevented the enemies from attempting to steal it. It would be difficult but why give them anything that might make it easier.

Hel moved up to the front of the squad to lead the way to the next place they would attempt to enter. Flander looked up at a tower that was about six stories up. It looked like it was made of copper and glass, yet nothing damaged the tower. What did that mean it was built out of that it could resist everything sent at it? That was where they were headed, and the robot cleared the way. When they reached the tower's base, Hel put in the code and opened the door. It was a double door, and everyone hurried in, including the robot who brought up the rear.

“Where are the things that we're going to need?” Flander asked.

“Top floor. The roof opens, and we should be able to gather everything and have it flashed to the main ship," Hel explained.

“That should make things easy," Jaird offered.

“Nothing is ever easy until it's done," Tomsin observed.

"So true," Ronner chimed in.

Only Tanen stayed silent and watched the others. He was a good member of this squad. Flander trusted him with his life many times. That was the most important thing about being in a squad. Everyone had to be trusted to protect each other. He had no doubt the members of his squad would risk their own lives to save a fellow squad member. Flander knew that he would, and even his newest member, Hel, would do the same.

He wasn't sure what his mate was doing because she wasn't going up the stairs. She had disappeared into a room on the side, and suddenly, the power came on. Most of the squad jumped because it was such a surprise. She came out and found the elevator.

“B3PO, you'll have to go up the steps because the elevator can't take your weight. We'll meet you up there," Hel directed.

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