Mildred looked at the small square box on her palm, biting her bottom lip. Not the ingredients were the problem. The advertisement claimed all of them were natural or naturally identical. The necessity itself to use the mixture made her feel awkward. She exhaled through her teeth and placed the box below the elbow crook on her forearm. The stinging sensation came and went before the body could judge whether it was a pain. The woman took another deep breath, placed her palms on the shoulders, then slid them down on the front side of her body until they touched the loins. The sensation was dull because the stuff needed at least half an hour to do its magic. Mildred gave a faint smile and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
As always, the short haircut and broad face matched the masculine effect of her muscular body. Perhaps the only thing that gave her any charm was the pale, almost transparent skin, soft and smooth as silk. This contradiction agreed with the meaning of her name - "gentle strength" -- but resulted from her efforts to be a good member of the temporary volunteer armed forces. Two years of training enhanced her strength and agility but diminished her femininity. One of the side effects was the significantly reduced libido. Mildred had to use aphrodisiacs to have a pleasant time with Kevin, the closest resemblance to a boyfriend she could afford. The mixture was "turning on" her sexuality almost literally -- an effect helpful for the man who knew her body's needs.
Mildred smirked as she opened the wardrobe door. Her usual casual clothes -- seamless gray trousers and shirt -- were almost identical in color and shape to her everyday uniform, but the soft bag on the wardrobe floor was her secret. It hid the clothes that no one had seen except Kevin. Not that she was trying to build a "tomboy" image, but she preferred to keep hidden some sides of her personality.
At the exact moment when she grabbed the bag, the communicator on her wrist activated a voice message from Simon Brown, the commander of the local volunteer forces.
"A second-degree situation has been declared." The strained snarl in his usually calm, firm tone gave her goosebumps. "All squads from 14 to 18 must go to the camp."
Mildred opened her mouth in a soundless scream. A few words were enough to destroy any personal intentions. The next moment, the meaning of what she had just heard came to her mind. It seemed to be something serious. Almost all calls have been fifth or fourth-degree, rarely third. The upper two levels were a task for the regular forces. They always were. Why did they call the volunteers at all? It made no sense.
Before properly considering this thought, the woman opened the entrance door. There were two of her mates as fast as her, leaving their lodging houses on their way to the meeting point at the end of the street. One of them was Kevin. He looked at her, pursed his lips, and shrugged. She sighed and repeated his moves without saying anything. Any words were unnecessary and even dangerous. Any close relationships between people of the same squad were not allowed, although the unwritten rule "Keep your personal life out of other people's eyes and ears" tolerated them to a certain extent.
The gray bus arrived in less than ten minutes. After one more stop to pick up the members of another squad, it headed for the camp. The importance of the situation became evident when she saw the scowling face of their squad leader thirty-five minutes later. She was waiting for them at the entrance to the armory. Her hurried voice echoed in the hall as they wore the armored combat suits and prepared their weapons.
"An essential device of an autonomous combat unit is lost during a mission against a 'Free mountaineers' encampment. One of the newest technological military achievements might go into hostile hands. The auxiliary personnel of the Regular forces shall disguise as members of our squads to search for it. We aim to guard them, pretending to search for hidden, lost, or damaged enemy equipment and combat units. I repeat. Our primary goal in this task is to pretend we are doing something. Nothing less, nothing more. Be persuasive without overdoing it. Don't expect to find anything."
The unusual task set Mildred's heart racing. The uneasiness grew while the armored vehicle carried them toward the woodland territory. Warm waves spread throughout her body, turning her breathing into uneven gasps. She used all the calming techniques she knew but couldn't tame herself. She realized the truth when the heat created a vibrating ball in her loins. The aphrodisiac had begun to work! Its influence was so unwelcome. It was threatening to confuse her senses and thoughts. She was in danger of becoming the weakest link in the squad.
Her squad's searching area was a dense forest along a steep, almost vertical rocky hill. The trees grew less than three meters apart, with many bushes here and there between them. The helmets rubbed against the lowest branches. Fallen, dry leaves crunched under the boots, and the branches of the bushes hissed on the metal legs. The terrain seemed quite inconvenient for battle suits, but Mildred was grateful. The many obstacles and out-of-sight spots helped her to stay focused on the surrounding area instead of listening to the sensations in her body. Despite this advantage, she barely resisted the temptation to shove a palm between her legs. The layers of plastic and steel would not allow any touch, but her fingers threatened to move toward her hips all the time.
A weird twist in her thoughts began when the squad reached the foot of the rocky wall. The uneven surface had numerous holes and tunnels of various sizes and depths. Most were narrow or low, accessible only to people without battle suits, but others were large and deep enough to hide even armored vehicles. So far, there was no sign of enemy presence, but the possibility was always there. Despite the danger, Mildred's brain, buzzing with sexual desire, estimated the hollow places according to their chance of solitude. This bizarre way of thinking gathered strength with a startling speed and stretched her mental restraints almost to breaking point. Mildred struggled with the growing urge to hide inside one of these holes for quick pleasure. The lack of foes out of her head just strengthened the might of her inner enemy.
Her will almost broke when she looked inside one of the tunnels. It could be called a cave. Its mouth was about three meters high and five meters wide, ending in a pile of boulders about thirty meters further. She saw a side tunnel near the end, going to the left, almost the same size as the main corridor. Mildred shuddered as her legs made a few steps toward it as if alone. The dark side tunnel was calling her, promising the relief she craved. The only thing stopping her was her squad mates. They would notice her absence all too soon. The woman looked around. Kevin was the closest person to her, and they were the last two people near the wall. Mildred smiled at the unexpected luck. She approached him and opened the front cover of her helmet. Kevin looked around and did the same, bringing his face close to hers.
"I need help"-- the words came out of her mouth like trembling gasps -- "I need to be alone for a while. There in this cave. Please don't let anyone in there. A few minutes is all I need. Even a minute might be enough."
"You used the 'Red Hot Waves,' right?" He had unmistakably recognized the cause of her flushed face with shivering eyelids and lips.
