The Catherine Kimbridge Chronicles #4, Retribution by Andrew Beery Page A

capable of carrying forty troops and associated gear into a hot zone. In addition, the bay held four ground effect M10 Abram Hyper-tanks. The marines were all dressed in Mark Six Tactical Support System battle suits, or TSSs, that were essentially self-contained tanks. Given the acronym and general appearance of the armor, the men and women called the Mark Six e s“ Tony Stark Specials , ” or just simpl y“ Starks . ”
    Cat spotted the man she was looking for. Lieutenant Commander Peter LeAnder was just buttoning up his Mark Six. Standing next to him was Sergeant Thomas. The nanite infused helmet was hinged open, revealing their faces, but little else. The sergeant was yelling orders, while at the same time confirming his sui t’ s various combat systems were ready to go.
    “ I want everybody to have two spare power packs. The suits are only designed for one, so get your combat buddy to use that marvel of modern technology called duct tape to strap another one on your right shoulder. Everyone put ’em in the same place, so when the enemy fraks your sorry ass your buddy does n’ t have to waste time looking for spares to steal. Everybody clear ? ”
    “ Sergeant—yes, Sergeant ! ” came the thunderous united roar.
    As Cat walked up to the two men, they spotted her and executed a sharp salute.
    “ Admiral ! ” Commander LeAnder said, by way of greeting.
    “ Carry on, Commander. I’ m just stopping by to make sure you have everything you need . ”
    “ My men are good to go. Give us the word and we will be jumping within thirty seconds . ”
    “ Good to hear, Commander . ”
    Cat looked around the large launch bay and could not help but be impressed. Even in the few minutes she had been in the bay, the planned chaos was winding down and the men and women under LeAnde r’ s command were shutting the helmets on their Mark Sixes.
    Cat turned back to the Marine officer in front of her .“ Pet e— you understand your orders ? ”
    “ Yes, Admiral , ” he answered, while closing his own armor .“ We have two objectives. First, we are to defend the civilian and rebel forces; second, we are to secure and hold Harromog . ” His voice now had a slight metallic timbre.
    “ Correct. As soon as you have secured the Syndicate headquarters building, I want you to get a message back to me. We need the intel in that building. Remember, our entire strategy hinges on the support of insurrection forces on the various Modos slave worlds. If we fail here, we likely fail everywhere . ”
    “ Understood, m a’ am. My marines will not let you down . ”
    “ Never a doubt, Pete. Never a doubt . ” Before she could say more, her commlink beeped for her attention. She silently instructed her AI to acknowledge it. It was from Commander Ken Kirkland, who was currently manning the Bridge.
    “ Admira l … we have arrived two light minutes out on the far side of their sun,just like you requested. The WhimP y’ s math was spot on . ”
    “ Are we cloaked ? ”
    “ Affirmative, Admira l … although that would not matter if anyone was within line of sight of our entrance vortex . ”
    “ Hopefully, the proximity to the sun and our position relative to Naanac worked in our favor . ”
    “ What do our sensors tell us? How many ships are currently in system ? ”
    There was a pause as Ken checked his readouts .“ It appears that there are two Modos frigates in the Lagrange point between the planet and its largest moon . ”
    “ Excellent. Proceed best possible speed to a low planetary orbit just outside of the exosphere. W e’ ll use the bulk of the planet to hide our troop deployment . ”
    “ Very good, Admiral. We should be in low orbit in ten minutes. Kirkland, out . ”
    Lieutenant Commander LeAnder stood, patiently. The Admira l’ s raised finger signaled the pause in their conversation while she responded silently to a separate commlink conversation. Finally, Admiral Kimbridge focused her attention on him once