I sit on the left side of the pup tent, sticking a bayonet into the melted scar on my chest. The blade catches and I twist, popping the charging panel open. I throw the bayonet onto my brown Caçadore jacket, discarded on the right side of the tent, and plug myself into one of the two connections on the field battery. Then I lie back and think.
My partner is dead. Memory destroyed, processor gone, batteries deflagrated — nothing left of Soldado 'Teo' Fuzileiro but some spare knee joints. Teo was practically a boxie, only with the unit five years. Stars, what a shame…
I find the feeling, pin it down, cover all of the jagged edges and then rip it out. Zip it, mark for deletion.
Five years is enough, for a soldier. What more can we ask for?
The thoughts keep coming, and I let them move into the open. Never again will we sit companionably in a hide, or skirmish up a field in perfect harmony...
Find. Pin. Envelop. Destroy.
Never mind. His whistling always annoyed me.
So now that it's happened, it's time for the tactical analysis. How can I stop it from happening again? This planet is pretty old, in the freezing outer reaches of the Brazilio-Portuguese Empire. The locals had wiped themselves out before their Industrious Revolution and now I'm here accompanying the archaeologists sifting through the ashes. The life on this planet were not the sort for great works of art. They were not the sort for grand architecture. They were the sort for a wire across the door and a thermal lance down the corridor. Lesson: Always go first through the door. If I had done that then I'd be dead and he'd be…
Find. Pin. Envelop. Destroy.
Lesson: Let the boxie lead through the door. If the lance had hit me the section would be leaderless.
I file it away with the other lessons of service, the ones I've been taught the hard way:
Anspeçada Teodora 'Dora' Fuzileira, a hard-driving bastard if ever there were, killed in action 21060603. Lesson: Act aggressively when required, it reduces risk in the long run.
Private Theodore 'Ted' Rifleman, know-it-all bife from the 60th, killed in action 21390408. Lesson: Always stick with your partner while you're reloading.
Soldada Teodora Fuzileira, killed in action 17700101. Lesson: -
I check my memory again. I hadn't been close with Teodora, obviously. I can't remember the nickname she used, or the sound of her voice, or what she looked like. I can't remember working with her, or sitting with her in the tent. I can't remember how she died. It must not have been important.
I check my feelings about Teo again, conducting a final sweep for sorrow or guilt or anything else that could impede my combat functionality. Nothing. Unfortunate that he's dead, but that's how it is. Before I drifted into a blissful sleep, I was aware that I had come into this tent thinking about resigning, but I couldn't imagine why. If I weren't out here, doing this, then humans would be at greater risk. It's better to let the machines fight the wars, do the dying. There's no human cost.
