Zebulon was realizing just why Guardsmen were not permitted to speak as he spat the mud out of his mouth. Blood mingled with the watered dirt he now crouched in, cursing his luck that it had rained just before they'd left. Katiya slid down the hillock in a far more graceful fashion, as her subordinate guardsman had pitched forward right in front of her, the brush hiding the sudden drop off that fed into a gulley. Zeb had managed to make the fall into a controlled roll, but that didn't help him when he hit the small mud pond at the very bottom. 

The Governess's forces were spread thin, on constant alert picking off any mutant or rioter that made it past the 'picket' line of ruined buildings and piled corpses that bisected the capital city. Zeb hadn't expected a lot of help, but he had been hoping for a chimera escort or a few muscled arbites in carapace armor. Instead, Katiya had volunteered herself and Zeb without hesitation. He wouldn't miss it, because deep down he was proud to be one of the emperor's finest. But fuck, he hadn't planned on a suicide mission! 

Fortunately the Governess had let them restock from her guards personal armory. The Corporal had found an Accatran Pattern, Mark XI Combat Shotgun stowed away in a box, having been saved for the old twice replaced arbites commander who never claimed it. It could fire a variety of slugs, and Zeb had been greedy in gathering ammunition for the weapon. He had also recharged his laspack, grabbed four grenades, an incendiary demolition charge, and did well to don some Judge Pattern Carapace armor. Little good that all did him at the moment, as they still had another two miles to trek before they got in sight of the communications facility. 

Strangely, he found he was embarrassed that he had tripped and tumbled down the hill, even if Katiya was the only one around. He had shaken off the suspicion she was going to execute him for sneezing too loudly like some commissars. He guessed he respected the woman, and he hoped she shared the sentiment with him. With his luck with women, he doubted it. The thought made him smile, reminding him of how his friend Frakon would joke with him over a glass of beer back home. He missed him.   

The two climbed up the other slope quietly, finding a small path made by some native beast to reduce the sound of their boots and pick up the pace. The mountains of Pavonis were gorgeous to look at, but they were a bitch to climb. The 'small hill' the facility was perched upon was small, but only compared to the peaks that rose above it. The moon had dipped behind them less than an hour ago, but the system's sun wasn't yet peeking across the horizon. They had time to make it up without it showing itself if they hurried. 

Soon they found an access road for maintenance and military use. Needless to say, the two of them scrambled across as quickly as possible and took the more difficult path. Their attack, if it was even needed at all since the base [i]could[/i] still be abandoned, would rely on audacity and surprise. They couldn't just waltz in through the front door. Even a Governess or a Commissar wasn't that bullheaded, much to Zeb's relief.