Loren plopped down on a high branch, and a pair of tech squirrels scurried
around to set up the comm equipment. They didn't dare use normal transmissions
or posts, but the groups had to stay coordinated. Well, maybe 'had to' was
a bit strong, but he didn't want to be out of communication. Even if this
was hundreds of miles from the front, it was enemy territory.

Group A was spread out over a small stretch of forest, keeping to the trees.
They should be invisible from the ground, but short of having a bunny patrol
hop by there was no way to check. The scouts they sent out (without weapons
or bounce packs, just a harmless little squirrel thank you very much };) had
no trouble seeing them at all, but then they'd been wild squirrels only a
few weeks before and were practiced at that sort of thing. Hopefully, the
bunnies wouldn't be as observant. Actually, hopefully the bunnies wouldn't
even look.

"Equipment's ready," one of the techs said. Loren painfully got to his feet
and scrambled down the trunk to the branch the unit was set up on.

<A:A to all units, report in.> he typed. Slowly, words appeared on the screen.

<B:B reporting, all clear.>
<D:D reporting, all clear.>
<E:Dien here, all clear Loren.>
<A:For Gaia's sake, Dien, don't transmit names!>
<E:Why? It's encrypted.>
<A:Using devilbunny algorithms. We cannot be sure of its security.>
<E:Fine. Hmmph. E reporing in, all clear.>
<D:Where's C?>
<B:Damned reds.>
<A:C report in immediately!>

No response. Loren fumed, picked up the keyboard, stopped, and carefully set
it back down. The tech squirrels gave a sigh of relief.

Loren keyed in something on his portable comp. "C group, report in NOW!"

"Wha?" came the reply. He could here thumping and rustling sounds in the
background.

"Why don't you have the communication gear set up? You should have set up 
 camp at dawn!"

"We're almost to our first target, so we figured what the hell, we might as
 well take it out now. You really shouldn't be broadcasting like this... oh,
 it's a tightbeam. Well, you still had to broadcast to get our location.
 We'll set up comm after we take out the target. C group out!"

Loren fumed. He should have known better than to put a red squirrel in charge
of one of the groups. But he was too tired to get really mad, so he scrambled
back up to the other branch and took a nap.

---

C group stealthily stalked through the cornstalks near the target warren.
According to the map, this was one of the largest warrens in the area, and
the more likely candidate for signal 5.

The strategy they'd used against the warren they'd attacked earlier, using
explosives to blow away the top levels to bypass the defenses, had worked
wonderfully, but was a bit excessive considering the nature of the target.
Besides, they didn't have a van to cart around all the explosives they'd
need for that kind of job -- especially with three targets. They'd brought
elong enough for demolition work once the warren was captured, but the
cost in weight was too great to waste it blowing new entrances when the
existing ones would work nicely enough.

This particualr warren had two entrances on the map, and scouts had found
a third of sorts, although it was smaller, perhaps a disguised escape tunnel.
If so, wouldn't the rabbits be surprised to run for their top secret exit,
only to find it already occupied! C's leader chuckled at the thought.

He ordered the attack. The small contingent of silver squirrels led the
attack, being larger (and better trained) than the rest of the troops, with
the tiny scouts following close behind, bouncing literally off the walls.
Two hundred squirrels rushed in, to C leader's surprise not being slowed at
all by any resistance. He wondered if he should have taken the lead... nah,
too risky. Only fools lead from the front. Besides, he was a rotten shot.

Quicker than he would have guessed, they arrived at the central chamber of
the warren. Not a single bunny had made it there alive. He counted the troops,
and had to wait a few minutes for the teams dispatched to the far corners
of the warren to return. Finally, everyone was there.

"So," he said, "How many rabbits did we get here?"

"We didn't get any," one team leader said, "Didn't see a soul." There was a
general mumble of similar sentiment.

"Damn it, were there ANY bunnies here at all?" Silence.
"Did anyone see a bunny?" Silence.

"Damn," he said, "I guess this was one of the duds. Well, set up the comm,
 we might as well stay here for the day. If the rabbits haven't been here
 in twenty years, I doubt they're going to drop by now. Post guards just
 in case, though."

---

The techs woke Loren up, and he scrambled down to the comm, squinting at the
midday sun. Gah! It was so bright! At least in the trees there was shade...
he looked at the open fields gleaming off into the distance and shuddered.

<C:C reporting in>
<A:At last. Did you find the target?>
<C:Affirmative. No bunnies here, though. Disappointing, let me tell you.
   Well, at least running through the hallways was fun.>
<A:Don't disobey orders again. We're travelling at night for a reason.>
<C:What, so we don't scare the humans?>

Loren cut the connection. Worse than Teral. Well, he wasn't tired anymore,
so he might as well plot the next night's travel. He eyeballed the jump and
lept, but missed the branch and floated helplessly, but gently, thanks to 
his bounce pack, to the ground. He dashed for the nearest tree and scrambled 
back up into the canopy.

Definately out of practice.