Fairies, Trolls, and Staff Sergeant Maltin

     Mili rolled out of bed and felt around for her rifle. When

she found it she ran to join Maltin, looking up at the

approaching ship.

     "Trolls?" she asked as she ran.

     "In the flesh. There's going to be 18 of them, most likely.

We need cover."

     "There's a cave hole thingey behind you," she pointed with

wide eyes.

     Maltin spun around and nodded.

     "I went to the bathroom in it," she added in embarrassment.

     "You get that side of the cave," he grinned as he grabbed

what bags and packs he could carry. Mili hurried to grab the rest

of their gear and stumbled along behind him in the darkness. The

increasing flames of the decelerating ship lit their way for the

last few feet.

     "Oh lord, I'm so scared," Mili said, clutching bags to

herself.

     "You're not the only one, lady."

     "Really?"

     "Mili, I'm scared spitless. Anybody who's fought a troll

would be. Now listen up, every damned thing I'm going to say is

important. First off, we have an advantage. Everything that

moves out there will be the enemy, so shoot it. Secondly, they

can hide in the shadows, where you don't think there are any

shadows. If an area looks especially dark, shoot it. And

lastly, they can jump ten or fifteen feet straight up in the air

and land behind you. So if you hear anything passing overhead,

shoot it. Have you got all that?"

     "Sure, shoot everything."

     "Except me," he added with a nervous grin.

     "Are we going to die?" Mili asked in desperation.

     "Yeah we are, Mili. So fight like hell and die proud. You

hear me soldier?"

     "Yeah, sarge."

     "Good. If we do make it, by some miracle, be thankful and go

to church on Sunday."

     Mili crossed herself and settled down behind the boulder with

the rifle laying across it. She sighted in on the area down the

hill, then turned and looked at Maltin. He was using the

bathroom too.

     "Ooops," she said in embarrassment.

     "Emergency battle procedures," he said with a grin. "Eat,

sleep, and relieve yourself when you can. A full bladder is no

reason to stand up and get shot. That reminds me, do you have

the food packs?"

     "Yeah here," she slid it across the sand.

     "Bury them and the compressed water canisters. If one of us

survives, we'll need them. Troll eat everything."

     "So I've heard," she began digging out a hole with her hands.

     "I have a little equalizer here that might make a

difference," he dug through the pack and held up a grenade.

"I've never tried it, but it should work great."

     "I thought a troll could take a grenade blast and still

survive."

     "Not this one, it's WP, white prosperous. Burn's anything it

touches."

     "Never heard of them."

     "It's an antique. I bought it in a surplus store."

     "It's not much of an equalizer, considering the enemy," Mili

said as she glanced down the hill again.

     "Enough to help. It also burns brighter than the sun. No

shadows with this around, and the eyes of the trolls see great in

the dark, but hate bright lights. We could stun them all long

enough to shot the entire squad."

     "Then toss that sucker out there, cause the shadows are

starting to move," Mili said in fear.

     Maltin popped up for a moment and estimate the position of

the enemy. He pulled the ring on the little canister, drew back

his arm, and threw it as far as he could.

     "Get ready, Mili. Cover your eyes until it explodes, it will

be brighter than hell. Then pop up and shoot everything, you'll

catch them off guard."

     "I'll try," she said as she silently counted. The grenade

exploded, turning the night into day. The trolls exceptional

hearing had drawn their eyes to the falling grenade, so most of

them were looking directly at it when it exploded. Sounds of

mortal pain and terror ripped through the night, and their

nerves. Mili raised up, gasping for the breath her terror had

taken away. She sighted in on the staggering trolls and

fired a desperate burst into each black leather-covered figure

screaming as she fired. Maltin was searching out the trolls who

were not so badly affected. He found two far back and neatly

terminated each with a head shot, then caught a third in the

center of his back as he dove behind a large rock.

     While Mili continued to shoot several trolls which she

thought were already dead, Maltin pulled two screamer grenades

and tossed one into each group of trolls. Grenades had little

effect unless they were directly under a troll, but his grenades

dispatched one, and wounded several more. Mili found herself

shooting the same trolls again and again. They would

stagger, fall, then climb back to their feet. She was getting

desperate.

     "Concentrate your fire on just one until that sucker's

smoking!" Maltin shouted and followed his own advice. He shot

one as he brought up his own rifle. The troll staggered back.

Maltin continued to fire a relentless particle beam into the

troll's stomach until it finally gave off a horrible animal

scream and fell, convulsing on the ground. Mili felt sick, but

she followed Maltin's example.

     Suddenly, the trolls seemed to realize that they were being

beaten. Two spun around with their arms over their eyes and

staggered into a thick stand of trees. Maltin's white particle

beam stripped bark and branches from trees, but he doubted if he

hit either troll.

     The yellow beams of the troll weapons began searching out

targets. Maltin targeted the closest of the enemy and shot three

in quick succession. Two fell and the closest leaped into the

air. He was obviously still partially blind, because he landed

against the face of the rock above their cave and slid down to

land inches from Maltin. Maltin raised his rifle and held down

the trigger. The horrible flashing beam staggered the troll

until it fell backwards, cooked and smoking.

     Maltin raised up above the horrible stinking corpse and found

the last four trolls running away. He had never seen a troll run

away. He raised his rifle and began firing into their backs.

     "They're retreating," Mili protested.

     "Shoot them, damit. One troll can kill an entire squad, four

can kill an army. As long as they're out there, we'll die."

     Mili reluctantly raise her rifle, hesitated, then with a firm

look on her face she helped Maltin dispatch the last four trolls.

She let the rifle hang by the barrel as she stood and looked at

the corpse littered battlefield. The white phosphorous grenade

had about burned itself out, it glowed weakly in the grass.

     "I didn't like that?" she said resentfully.

     "You've never seen them work," Maltin said, equally

resentful. "Mili, trolls like fresh meat," he said as he put his

foot against the smoking corpse and gave it a savage shove. It

rolled down the hill, carrying the sweet, stinking smoke with it.

     "When I say fresh meat, I mean that they take a soldier and

four of them hold his or her arms and legs, while they hang there

screaming. Then they start eating until they reach the body. Do

you want to wake up like that tomorrow?"

     "Maltin, you're sick," she screamed, turning away. Maltin

rushed over and grabbed her by the shoulder, spinning her around.

     "No, Mili, they're sick. The worst thing I ever had to do is

shoot one of my men while he was being eaten alive. Do you

understand? Can you imagine the horror I see when I close my

eyes at night!" he screamed with his face inches from her's.

She stared at him in wide-eyed horror, then slowly nodded.

"I'm sorry."

     "So am I, I didn't mean to yell. But don't ever feel

sympathy for the enemy, they don't deserve it. If I had my way I

would hunt down every last one of them, wherever I could find

them in the universe, and put them through just half the pain

they have caused us. I just wish I could get my hands on a

disrupter," he said in a evil undertone.

     "They are SO illegal," she said tentatively.

     "Yeah, I know. But it's the only thing I can think of that

causes them some of the pain they dish out. It would be worth

the death penalty if I could take a few of them out with one of

those babies. I would enjoy watching the flesh melting off their

bones, their eyes explode..."

     "Maltin," Mili screamed.

     "What?"

     "You're getting crazy on me."

     "Sorry. I was just remembering... Let's get out of here,

that smoke is making me sick and bringing back too many bad

memories."

     Mili walked over to one of the trolls and looked down at it's

face.

     "It reminds me of a human-like gorilla I saw in the old

movies," she said.

     "Yeah, except for the pointed ears and the jet-black leather

for skin," Maltin said with disinterest as he gathered up the

packs. "Dig up that food and water, would you?"

     "Sure. So you've fought these things before?"

     "Yeah, a new record. I've fought them three times now and

I've survived. As far as I know, I'm the only one who ever has."

     "They're THAT dangerous."

     "Don't use this little target practice session as an example,

Mili. I have seen a troll take direct hits from an entire squad,

wade in and rip the squad to pieces."

     The climb up the cliff was a nightmare. The first part

wasn't bad, until they grew tired. Then they found that there

was nowhere to rest, they either kept climbing or they fell to

their deaths. Maltin climbed on ahead, not waiting for Mili. He

reached the peak of the cliff just after noon. With tired arms,

he pulled a thin rope out of a pack and tossed it over the side

of the cliff.

     Mili watched it fall past her, unable to grab it without

falling. She ignored it as it swayed two feet from her body.

Picking out handholds, she climbed up one more step. She was

startled to hear an electrical device coming down the cliff

towards her. She looked up to see Maltin grinning down at her as

he came down the rope on an electrified seat.

     "If you had that thing, why did I have to climb?" she yelled

angrily as he neared.

     "You needed the exercise," he said happily. "Besides, the

rope wasn't long enough," he nodded beneath her feet. The end of

the rope dangled just a few feet below her. When Maltin reached

Mili he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her over on his

lap. She felt her heart leap into her throat when her hands and

feet were ripped away from the cliff, then she clung to Maltin as

the electrified elevator raised them to the top of the cliff in

minutes.

     Maltin helped her up and over the edge of the cliff. She

turned and helped pull him up. They stood and looked around

themselves. The top of the cliff was a vast table top. It

seemed to go on forever and ended in a blue haze, miles away.

     "Where are we?" Mili finally asked.

     "Don't know. All I can tell you is that this is the mountain

I always had to go around on my trips. Going over the top will

save us days." He began folding the lightweight bars of the

elevator, then untied the rope and wound it around the bars.

     "And then we have to get back down again," Mili wailed.

     "Yeah, there is that," he grinned. "Don't worry, this thing

will get us down, it takes a different style of rigging."

     "If you say so. Hey, Maltin, if this place is unexplored,

how do we know the troll base isn't up here?"

     "We don't, so keep your eyes open."

     "Oh, you are so aggravating," she said as she hefted her

rifle and squatted down to keep watch. In a few minutes he came

alongside her and dropped her share of the packs. Mili knelt on

one knee while she slipped the assorted straps over her

shoulders. She moaned as the straps touched the tender areas

where the straps had previously rubbed her raw.

     "Get ready for an easy 30 mile hike and a long bath in the

cutest little pool you've ever seen," he said as he led off.

     "Ah, a pool," she said dreamily. She hurried to catch up.

"I'll have a tall cool drink and the biggest cheeseburger you've

ever seen," she called excitedly.

     He started to object, then simply shrugged and kept walking.

Maybe he should have said pond, not pool.