Watch yourself on Guard Duty (A Short, Short Tale)

[Blackwater Sniper]

This sentry was chosen on purpose; a human with an empty canteen on the harness slung across his armor and no drones within danger range. They waited for what seemed like an eternity but was really no more than an hour. This squad of rangers was the tip of the spear in the vanguard coming shortly if these professionals did their job properly. And they were chosen because they always got the job done.

The guard, feeling alone in his patrol, checked his chrono for the fifth time in the past half hour as he started pacing more frequently, a clear sign of personal distress. Even with the armored visor down the rangers knew exactly what he was thinking, they had all been there: to **** or not to ****. Finally, nature’s call couldn’t be ignored any longer and the guard began to prepare for relief.
“Get ready, he’s going for it,” said the leader as he checked out their target more intently. The other members pulled up their binos and scanned the area for potential hostiles. Nothing had changed since they took up their post, but professionals took nothing for granted.

The Deaths Head armor was sealed against all known environmental conditions for several hours and could be fitted with additional filters for extended use. Even the biological needs could be contained within an absorbent diaper strapped to the operator, but no one enjoyed urinating in their armor. First there was the smell that sometimes escaped the cheap, carbon-based filters, then the knowledge of what you were walking around in and could do nothing about it, and finally decontaminating your armor before returning it to the armory.

These rangers knew the farther from headquarters the more likely a person is to break regulation and this tired guard was about to do just that. He seemed to debate on what to do with his rifle and finally slung it across his back. With a barely audible hum the metallic gloves retracted within the forearms and he reached down to undo the armor at his crotch. Human hands on flesh was preferable to the cold carbon nanotubes the Coalition used to manufacture armor. As the rocks below him began to get wet, the novice lookout had a second thought; some fresh air wouldn’t be so bad right now either. He pressed the side of his helmet in a preset manner allowing the transparent aluminum visor full range of motion over his helmet. His eyes closed and head tilted back in ecstasy finishing with a little shake.

Spat. A large caliber bullet entered just below his nose and exited the base of his skull to be caught in the helmet, roll partially around its interior, and bounce back into his head. The guard was dead before his body began to fall, his dick still in his hand.

[slade the sniper]

LOL. BT, DT. The Coalition should know that you always have a battle buddy. That platoon sergeant is gonna get crushed...provided the unit survives the night, which is unlikely.

-STS

[Blackwater Sniper]

LOL. BT, DT. The Coalition should know that you always have a battle buddy. That platoon sergeant is gonna get crushed...provided the unit survives the night, which is unlikely.

-STS

This is a "butterfly to hurricane" situation where pushing one little insignificant domino in a place no one thinks matters can bring down an entire Division.

The untold part of the story had a guard recently demoted and placed on an insignificant post guarding nothing as a part of his punishment. The rangers were tasked to find a soldier who was not fitting in, get him in trouble knowing what would happen next, and take him out.

Once the body is found the camp is on high alert questioning people in the camp as well as trying to find evidence of outsiders (good luck).

While in the encampment, the rangers placed several IR beacons on high value equipment for rebels to target. Taking out several transports, generators, and maintenance drones places a strain on forward mobility. People tend to forget how important noncombatants are to the war effort. Without assistance from this maintenance/supply unit, Coalition combat missions to to eliminate a rebel base isn't carried out. The rebels add their numbers to the whole and attack en masse against several additional smaller combat units.

Or something like that.