Signifer Heavy Bull grunted and really wished his suit of powered armor allowed him to scratch the back of his head.  “How bad is it?” he asked, letting his head turn slightly to keep looking around.  He was surrounded by a full squad of the Eleventh Legion-eighteen legionaries, an Optio who was his second in command, and about twenty drones to provide fire support.  But, anybody that was a veteran of PX-3391, which was to say anybody that survived more than a day, you took nothing for granted.

Optio Long Haul waved his grav gun vaguely eastward.  “Fourth squad got hit hard by swarmers, took out their drones, then the beetles came up and hit them with heavy weapons.  Command thinks there’s a nymph close to here, providing coordination.”

“Get out the seismic sensors, and push them hard,” Heavy Bull ordered.  “I want some better warning if we have tunnelers nearby.”

“Yes, sir,” Long Haul nodded and stumped off towards the legionnaire that was running the sensor deck.

Heavy Bull pulled up a holographic map in his suit visor and tapped out commands in the air.  His squad was holding this particular portion of the line, waiting as support came up to push further towards the nearest Changeling hive.  Over six thousand Senate and Minotaur Republic citizens were being held as food for the larders of this local Changeling queen and just dropping a huge rock on the hive wasn’t an option.  The Republic was going to get it’s citizens back-either alive or as cortical stacks-and the Queen was going to have a very momentary regret for why you didn’t do this kind of thing.

The suit comm beeped and Heavy Bull brought up the connection.  “Sensors in place, sir” Long Haul noted.  “We’re clear as far as we can tell.”

Heavy Bull came up to firing line and found his position.  The rest of the squad and the drones came into place, and he queued up firing lane assignments on his implants.

Just another day on PX-3391.