When a physical bullet passes close overhead, a strange wizzing and whirring sound can be heard.

The high grain large caliber round that Sekh fired sounded like a meteor crashing over Basts’ head. Her helmet began setting off alarms and she immediately rolled to cover behind the large stump the now headless man had been using as a bench.

Basts thoughts were everywhere. Had Sekh decided to betray her? Was this an elaborate trap from a past job? She cursed herself for not having set up a channel to communicate with her. Her wondering ceased when she heard the painful gurgling of a different man lying prone behind her.

Bast understood now, looking down over the prostrate bandit. Sekh had sent a shot that very likely saved her life. The most interesting part, however, was the man’s gear. It had remained hidden from her combat helmets’ sensors, and now with the pieces that remained intact she understood why. Her helmet, which had been her fathers helmet, was a generation-old battle tech.

Before impact, the wars had all been pretty civilized affairs. Technology in that area had been fairly stagnant and environmentally productive super structures had taken up most of the research and development budget.

However, that didn’t mean that some nations didn’t invest money on the side, or the larger capitalist organizations did not come up with something to give them an edge over their rivals.

This seemed to be just that. Some sort of advanced carbon material that looked to absorb many forms of light and keep the wearer fairly hidden. The helmet looked to have done the same but all that was left was a terrifying looking mask around the man’s mouth, the rest of his head was missing. If it weren’t for his blood, Bast would’ve not been able to see him at all.

Sekh walked up behind Bast as she was still inspecting the rest of the man’s kit. He had a razor thin short sword. It was black and matched his armor.

“This gear was for some serious wet work,” Bast said, without looking at the sniper.

“What is it doing all the way out here? Let’s look and see what else doesn’t belong here.”

Sekh, like Bast, did not need to speak more than was needed, and the two began to look through the bandits camp.

“Very strange,” Bast said, as they looked at the array of military gear laid out before them.

Amongst the random garbage and survival gear the men had collected, there were several matte green crates that had been covered by tarps. These all contained high end military equipment.

That explained the high dollar blaster the three men that entered the bar earlier had carried. It gave Bast the feeling that the rest of their party would be equally well armed, and capable of longer engagement distances.

There was also some assorted body armor and explosives. None of the armor was of the quality the hidden sentry possessed and both women agreed the special kit should go to Sekh. The next part of their plan was yet to be decided.

“We are really going to have to even out the odds,” Bast said

The women got to work.