They drive off the attack.

Druuna spilled out the back of the armoured vehicle and into the middle of a small firefight. The women soldiers were firing with their **** rifles at a nearby ridgeline from behind the cover of the armoured hull. Return fire was more sporadic, but enough to keep the women pinned down behind the APC.

With the soldiers focussed on the ridge, Druuna was the only one who noticed the hatch open at the forward end of the vehicle's hull and blistered hands begin to scrabble at the hatch's rim. The driver, Ramirez pulled herself free, her uniform smouldering and fell onto the ground. With horror Druuna saw Ramirez's badly burned face and saw the driver crawling, apparently blinded out from behind shelter and into clear view of the ambushers up on the slope.

Without thought of her own safety Druuna dashed out and seized the injured trooper under the armpits and started to drag her back to safety, bullets kicking up the dust around. The dark skinned sergeant at last saw the danger and acted quickly.

"Suppressive fire." She bellowed. "York, grenades. Drive them off that slope."

The trooper's emptied their magazines at the hillside, forcing the attackers back behind the rocks. A couple of seconds later York began to lob grenades from the stubby launcher slung under her rifles barrel up at the ridge. Shrapnel and stone splinters flew as an explosion blossomed near their assailent's position. This proved to be too much for the unknown enemy and the withdrew back behind the slope out of sight of the soldiers. Seconds later engines could be heard starting up.

"Patton, with me." The sergeant ordered. "York, douse that fire. Smith, do what you can for Ramirez."

The sergeant and Patton doubled forward towards the slope whilst York grabbed an extinguisher mounted by the hatch and sprayed foam into the engine compartment. Smith knelt beside her injured comrade and pulled out a medkit.

"Oh god, I'm unclean." The injured driver wailed. "Shoot me. Don't let me live like this."

"Get a grip Ramirez." Smith told her fellow trooper sternly. "It's burns, they'll heal. You're not unclean."

The blonde soldier pressed a hypodermic into the casualty's neck and administered medication. The panicked driver's wails subsided and she fell ****.

The sergeant returned and pulled a radio set from inside the APC. After summoning assistance and giving their position she turned to Druuna.

"That was a brave thing you did." She said quietly. "I'll see that it goes in my report. If you were one of my troopers I'd be recommending a citation."

The sergeant conferred with Smith as to Ramirez's injuries and the group dug in to await the relief ****.