“A little higher!”

Waffle stood on Rick’s shoulder, straining to reach for any kind of foothold on the steep wall to grab onto.

“I’m already on my toes,” grunted Rick.

Steve briefly glanced over at them before turning his attention back to Williams and the Colonel. Williams held up his watch and tapped on a green star on its screen. It flashed green before displaying the words “syncing”. A few seconds later, one of Colonel's gauntlets beeped, signifying that it had connected with Williams’ watch. Soon, a series of numbers and data appeared on the watch’s screen.

“How is he?” asked Steve.

“Vitals look normal,” said Williams, barely looking up from the watch. “But we won’t know the full extent of the damage until we get him to a medical facility. For all we know, he could have a concussion.”

Steve picked at his gloves anxiously. “I didn’t mean to hurt the Colonel. I was trying to warn him--”

“By setting off a mine?” asked Williams.

Steve hung his head in guilt.

“I wasn’t thinking,” he said.

“You need to work on your impulsiveness,” said Williams. “If memory serves, it’s what got you into this troop.”

“I thought it was my budding potential as a soldier.”

Williams tilted his head in Steve’s direction, clearly not amused by the sarcasm. Steve cleared his throat.

“I can’t help it! I get so anxious and I’ll have all these thoughts running through my head all at once, and I’ll start to panic and…”

“Hey. Easy now, don’t get yourself worked up again,” said Williams. “Next time, take a moment to breathe and think. And then act, okay?”

“Okay…”

Steve turned back to watch Rick and Waffle struggle to climb out of the canyon.

“… Do you think they’ll send me home for this?” he asked.

“Are you serious?”

Before Williams could give Steve a lengthy lecture, they were suddenly interrupted by the sound of Waffle falling off the wall and tumbling onto the ground. Luckily, he was more demoralized than hurt.

“It’s official, we’re stuck,” said Rick, helping Waffle to his feet. “So pick how you want to go. Being gun down by bots or blowing up in a blaze of glory.”

Williams flipped the watch cover back on, feeling quite frustrated with himself.

“I wish I knew what to do,” he said.

“What would the Colonel have done?” asked Steve.

The captain glanced back at the Colonel. He didn’t have to think hard about what the answer would be.

“He would’ve stood his ground,” he said firmly.

“Then that’s what we’ll do too,” said Rick.

Waffle leaned against the hover scooter. True to its name, it scooted away causing, Waffle to fall flat on his back once again. With a sigh he rolled over on his stomach to get up, only to pause. Waffle lied back down and looked under the floating scooter. Curious, he jumped back to his feet and pushed the scooter to the edge of the field.

“At least we still have the explosives,” said Steve.

Rick leaned over, looking past him.

“Uh Waffle? What you doing there bud?” he asked.

Waffle gave the scooter a good shove, sending it straight into the field. Immediately the rest of the conscious troop scrambled behind Williams’ shield for cover, bracing for an explosion.

The scooter hovered forward until it reached the end of its tether, floating harmlessly over the treacherous ground. Waffle grinned, pulling back on the rope to reel it back in.

“Guys, I think I know how we can cross,” he said.

“Forget it! I’m not getting on that thing--” said Steve.

He was cut off by the sound of mechanical footsteps echoing throughout the canyon walls.

“You were saying?” asked Rick.

“All aboard the Star Chaser!” said Steve.

Williams ran over to the Colonel.

“Guys, give me a hand,” he said as he tried to lift him.

Steve and Rick went over to help Williams carry the Colonel while Waffle unloaded all of the weapons and explosives from the scooter.

Once the seat had been cleared, the troop squeezed onto the vehicle the best they could. Steve and Rick sat in the middle, with the former holding the Colonel on his lap, Waffle got in front to drive and Williams seated himself on the rear rack, praying that it’d be able to hold his weight.

Waffle revved up the scooter.

“Okay, everyone hold on!” he said.

Steve squeezed his eyes shut, practically hugging the Colonel.

Letting out a low hum, the scooter glided over the minefield. Steve opened an eye, and then the other. Much to his relief, the hover scooter drove ahead without issue. Or explosions for that matter.

“It’s actually working,” he said.

“How long do you think we should drive for?” asked Waffle.

“A mile at least. Or until we find help,” said Williams.

Something exploded right behind them. The troop looked back at the canyon. A team of bots stood at the very edge of the field. In front of them was a brand new crater, surrounded by all sorts of broken robot parts.

“Ha! Can’t get us now!” Rick boasted.

A bot fired at the scooter. Rick, Steve (while holding onto the Colonel), and Williams all leaned out of the way. It narrowly missed them, only managing to graze Waffle’s arm. He sucked air through his teeth, trying to keep his steering steady.

The bots all began firing at the scooter.

“You just had to taunt them,” said Steve.

“Evasive maneuvers Waffle!” shouted Rick.

Ignoring the pain and blood dripping down his arm, Waffle zigged and zagged across the field, trying his best to avoid the incoming red laser blasts. Rick took out his pistol and fired back at the bots. Williams held up his shield for cover.

One of the laser shots struck the white star in the center of the shield. It and the shield’s edges turned red, absorbing the blast. With a press of a button, Williams fired the laser right back at the bots, taking one out.

“Quick! Press the button on the Colonel’s gauntlet!” he shouted.

Steve grabbed the Colonel’s arm and did as told. The large hard light shield activated at once. Positioning the arm around, Steve covered the scooter as much as he could. The enemy lasers struck the shield, bouncing off it in static-like flashes of light.

“Can you go any faster?” asked Steve.

“I’m going as fast as I can!” said Waffle.

Seeing that their attacks were having no effect on the shield, one of the bots shot the ground next to the scooter, setting off a mine.

Steve held up the shield with all his might while keeping an arm firmly around the Colonel. Waffle gripped the scooter’s handlebars, fighting to keep the scooter from spinning out of control from the force of the blast.

More mines were set off, churning up large clouds of dust and debris that blanketed the field. The bots stopped firing, waiting for the dust to clear. However once it did, the scooter and the troop were nowhere to be found.

The troop huddled on the scooter as they hid behind one of the rock columns.

“What now?” whispered Steve.

Rick fiddled around with his own watch. Although he wasn’t having much better luck than the Captain, only being able to hear static and not much else. “Not sure. Communications are still being jammed.”

He looked up at the tall column before them. “I wonder if we could get a better signal up there?”

“On it!” said Waffle.

Using the handlebars as a step, he scrambled up towards the top of the column without hesitation.

“Be careful!” warned Williams.

“Shhh!” Steve shushed him. He pointed at something several feet away from them.

A few Crawlers had stepped out onto the field in search of the troop. Unlike their taller counterparts, the tiny bots appeared to be light enough to traverse over the mines without setting them off.

Williams, Rick, and Steve all held their breaths. Maybe, just maybe, if they stayed still and quiet enough, the Crawlers would pass by without noticing them and give up on the search. Or at least, that is what they had hoped for until a bright blue ball of plasma fire was shot into the sky from the top of the column.

“He didn’t!” gasped Steve.

“I think he did!” said Rick.

The Crawlers paused in their tracks and slowly turned to face the troop. Rick took hold of the handlebars and sped off as the bots began to shoot. Steve quickly reactivated the hard light shield, deflecting laser fire as he held onto the Colonel.

“What about Private Wallace?” asked Williams.

‘We’ll have to come back for him,” said Rick before muttering, “Even if he did give away our position.”

The Crawlers ran after them, continuing to fire. With a hand on the throttle, Rick took out his pistol.

“Wait! They’re too close! If you miss you’ll blow us to Kingdom come!” said Williams.

“Got a better idea?” asked Rick.

Williams withdrew his cyber blade, powering it up.

“That works.”

Rick circled back around and drove right next to the Crawlers. Williams swung at the nearest bot they passed by, the hot blade slicing it in half. Rick made a sharp turn and circled the tiny bots. One after another, Williams hacked away at them until only a pile of metal bits remained.

“I think that’s all of them. Let’s get back to Private Wallace...” said Williams.

They passed another column and ran straight into a separate group of Crawlers. Panic struck Steve at the sight of them. Heart pounding in his chest, time seemed to slow down. Steve dropped the shield and took out his pistol.

“STEVE NO!” shouted Rick and Williams.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

In quick succession, Steve fired the pistol, blasting one bot after another without fail. In the time it took Rick and Williams to comprehend what was happening, Steve had annihilated the entire team.

“How’d you do that?” asked Rick.

“I just… panicked...” said Steve, a bit amazed himself.

“Great potential indeed,” said Williams.

Meanwhile  back on the original column, Waffle crouched low on the very top of the structure, warily eyeing the tall bots standing at the canyon’s edge. With his troop driving off with the scooter, he had been left completely stranded.

“Come on, come on, come on…” he said, staring up at the sky.

The bots on the ground suddenly parted ways, making room for a robot that carried a very familiar looking rocket launcher.

Waffle swallowed hard. Maybe he’d be going home soon after all.

The machine approached the very edge of the field and took aim. Waffle hugged the rock tightly, rambling out a prayer or two.

Just as all seemed lost, a large shadow passed over the canyon, blanketing the bots in complete darkness. All of the bots looked up in time to see a black starship flying above.

It swooped down, firing its guns at the bots and reducing the team entirely into rubble.

“Praise the spirits, they saw my signal,” said Waffle, sighing in relief.

Steve pointed at the sky.

“Look! It’s a ship!” he said.

“Glory Hallelujah, we’re saved!” said Williams.

The starship flew over to the minefield. Activating its thrusters, the ship hovered above the scooter. A hatch on its underside opened, dropping down a rope ladder. From inside the ship, a female soldier with green eyes peered out the hatch.

“Dear Lord, Althea,” said Williams. For a second he briefly contemplated staying out in the minefield.

“’The hell kind of trouble did you guys get yourselves into now?” Althea asked.

Rick shrugged with an innocent smile. “Went out for a ride, that’s all.”