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were practically invisible on the visual spectrum and their armor cloaked them from thermal imaging, sniffers, and displacement sensors. Not that a bunch of two-bit bandits were likely to have such cutting edge tech, but they had proven fairly ingenious with what they did have.
    “HQ Actual, Tiger Three. IED. Standard trip wire and grenade configuration. Disarming now.” A calm voice came over the com. Seconds later, her voice said, “Disarmed. Proceeding.”
    “Roger that, Tiger Three. All Tiger teams watch for IEDs.” Phillips was warning the troops to be on the lookout for any improvised explosive device. “Tiger Two, you have one sentry eight zero meters at your eleven. Take him,” Phillips said.
    “Roger.” A pause. “Tango down. Incapacitated. Proceeding.”
    “Tango down, roger that.”
    The Brit, Corporal Singh, had nailed the first bad guy. Score one for the home team.
    The teams made their way closer to the hut emitting the jamming signal. A few more calls about booby traps being disabled came in, and a couple more bad guys were put to sleep. It was pretty slow going and, frankly, quite dull to watch. I was basically watching eight dots inching toward a building on a map.
    Waiting for a lull in the coms, I whispered to Phillips, “I’m going to grab some fresh air. Do you want a coffee?” She nodded, and I stood up and stretched out. I made my way down the ramp of the hypersonic and out onto the scrubby desert floor. I walked over to Otanga’s logistics vehicle and nodded at the private who stood watch. He was young and more than a little star-struck by the smooth operators from Down Under.
    “Are you okay?” I asked.
    He nodded and smiled at me. I had the distinct impression he hadn’t understood me. “Two coffees, please?” I pointed at the coffee cantina before holding up two fingers. The young man poured two cups for us as I pocketed a few sugar packets.
    I stood in the desert, enjoying the cool air. The stars were out in full splendor, and I could see the drifting lights of the space cities and ships in orbit, so far removed from the horrors of what was happening in this lawless hellhole.
    I activated CNN on my link and took a sip of my coffee as I watched the reports coming in from the Jupiter system. They told of some kind of accident out there, but the authorities of the Jupiter Alliance were more interested in coordinating relief efforts than providing coherent reports.
    Still, I envied them. There was none of the generations-long rivalries of Earth, none of the pettiness and squabbles that led to misery and despair, just striving to create a better world and life.
    The dull thump of an explosion sounded in the direction of the bandit camp, the noise diminished by the distance.
    I raced back to the hypersonic. “What the hell was that?”
    “All Tigers, HQ Actual. Confirm status,” Phillips said, shaking her head, forestalling any more questions.
    “HQ Actual, Tiger Four. We have a tripped IED.”
    “Understood. Casualties?”
    “No, ma’am, just a hell of a dent in my armor.”
    I looked at the satellite overview. Bandits were swarming like ants over their camp, disturbed by the sound of the explosion. “HQ Actual, Tiger Four. We are in contact with four-plus Tangos.”
    I could hear the distant rattle of automatic weapons fire and the thump of explosions; noise carried for miles across the desert. The shooting had started.
    “Roger, Tiger Four, go loud. Draw them in.”
    “Tiger Four going loud. We have incoming small-arms fire and RPGs.” Considering someone had just tried to blow him up with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and was now firing hundreds of rounds of ammunition at them, the soldier’s composure impressed me. It didn’t sound like he was even breaking a sweat.
    I watched the sat images of the bandit group swarming Tiger Four’s position. Phillips directed the other Tiger units to surround them, improvising an arc now that they had been made. Before long,