[h3]Expect the Unexpected[/h3]
[hr]

Retrograde movement under fire was not ideal, but getting out so they could saturate the place with lots of fire made sense if they were not going to reinforce and land more troops and start a wider battle. As usual, it felt like Park's squad was one of the last to shift out, but it always felt like you were getting the short end of the stick even when you were not and all things were relative. Collins put on as much support as he could bring into the fight, while the platoon sergeant and squad leaders focused on supervising the movements in order to give the boss the time and space to react to the situation as it evolved. 

On Danny's level, it meant watching the flank and making sure everyone was reloaded, rehydrated and ready to move. His piece was the patch of territory they were supposed to keep locked down in a fight, should an enemy pop up in that zone, while relying on the other fireteams and squads to do their work. It was light infantry work, rather than the special operations that was his experience, but special operators tended to have a strong grounding in infantry work anyway. When things went to hell in a plan and recon became combat, you were infantry. Very vulnerable infantry in some cases. He checked his magazine, which had a clear piece of plastic that let him assess how much ammunition he had. He checked over the rest of the fireteam to make sure everyone was alright. He kept a tense, coiled watch over their sector as the people at their back started to pull back, feeling a spectral breeze of some sort at their back.

When it was their turn to move, they started to shift back, under the eyes of the element providing overwatch for them. 

The whole point of it was to detect an enemy, so it was a surprise when he was suddenly face to face with one Salvesh, closer than any of them ever would like, in the path of their movement, with some sort of bladed weapon. There wasn't time to wonder how it got there, crest and all, looming and huge, with people who were -watching- for just this sort of thing, much less at what they all considered 'nightmare' range, with a Salvesh engaging him in hand to hand with some sort of huge blade on a huge haft.

He got his rifle up to block the strike, but felt another take him at the back, a blossom of pain right under his neck, and then nothing. 

It was the nothing that scared him, as well as the way he crumpled, listening to the firefight all around him as it erupted.