“People, it appears our scavenger problem isn’t over,” the colonel said as their attention turned to him. “The bastards who deserted us took some of the weapons and a lot of food, all of which are now destroyed. We still have a formidable arsenal at our disposal and food stores. That’s what the scavengers will be after. I’ve ordered the livestock and farm animals to the middle of the colony for their protection. Maybe something we brought back from the Xini Harvester can give us an edge.”
“How many of the enemy are we talking about, sir?” a man in the group asked.
“Unknown,” Welch replied. “The details from the survivors aren’t very reliable but we could be looking at several dozen.”
“Several dozen took out a few hundred of our people?”
“They’re brutal and desperate bastards, soldier,” the colonel barked. “And they weren’t attacking a well-trained military force, either. They set upon ordinary civilians, most of whom had never handled a weapon before.”