The Catherine Kimbridge Chronicles #4, Retribution by Andrew Beery Page B
Authors: Andrew Beery
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again.
Grabbing his arm and moving the Commander away from the others, she said, quiet l y ,“ Pete, I have another mission for you . ”
He raised an eyebrow, but he knew she could not see his face through his Mark Six faceplate .“ Admiral ? ”
“ This one is strictly off books . ”
“ Tha t’ s always the best type, m a’ am , ” he said, with a grin that split his face.
***
“ Back ! ” Sigul yelled, while hopping over a ruined hover sled. Smoke and flames shielded his view of the others. The sound of kinetic rounds impacting on the stone wall behind him caused him to duck lower.
“ This position is being overrun. Regroup at the beta site. Drop your weapons and try to blend in with the general population . ”
His team of twenty East-Tree irregulars had been the last to flee the headquarters building. His was one of three teams that had jointly taken over the facility less than twenty-four hours ago with very little effort. He should have known it was too easy. The irregulars had taken over similar facilities all around the planet. For the first time in more than a generation, it had seemed the planet was once again free. Freedom, such as it was, lasted less than a day.
Somehow, the Modos had gotten wind of their plans. That was the only way they could have responded so fast. Several ships carrying shock troops, aircraft, and armored vehicles arrived in orbit several hours earlier. The better armed and trained Modos soldiers made quick work of the Naanac irregulars. The rebels had been routed. In some cases entire city blocks had been turned to rubble. Fires swarmed the city unabated, as fire suppression crews were unable to respond because of the fighting.
Sigul heard a moan from behind some debris to his left. He went to investigate. It was Moto e … a friend of his from the distillery where he had been assigned to work. Copper green blood oozed from a cut on his forehead. He went to help his friend up. They had to clear this area before the Modos took the square on foot.
The task was not easy. Smoke stung his eyes. The ground was littered with bits of broken stone and sharp metal. They made it about half a measure when kinetic rounds again began to pepper the walls behind them. Sigul tried to duck but he felt the tug of Moto e’ s body as a round slammed into the wounded man. At the same time a burning sensation exploded in Sigu l’ s right leg. He collapsed in pain as he realized he too had been shot. The last thing he remembered before falling unconscious was a great wind blowing through the square.
***
Private Stone was sweating inside his Stark. He knew the systems; AI kept the internal temperature at a constant 23 degrees Celsiu s— but for the life of him it felt hotter. His teeth rattled as the transport he was in worked its way violently through the thick Naanac atmosphere. He looked at the others nearest him. All were holding on to cargo straps as the ship bucked wildly in the turbulence.
His platoon sergeant kept up a lively banter to keep everyon e’ s mind on something other than the fact that they were essentially free falling tens of kilometers toward a hard rocky surface in a metal bucket built by the lowest bidder who was most certainly not on board the transport at this particular moment.
“ ’ Join the Marines ! ’ my recruiter said ! ” the Sergeant quipped . “ ’ See the universe ! ’” he continued . “ ’ Meet exotic races. Take the opportunity to shoot at them ! ’ ‘ Hu-rah ! ’ I said ! ”
“ Hu-rah ! ” the platoon echoed.
“ I said hurrah!”
“Hurrah!”
“ I said hurrah!”
”Hurrah! ” Private Stone yelled, along with thirty-eight other marines
“ Now, tha t’ s more like it, girls and boy s … Remember, you signed up for this ! ”
The buffeting suddenly stopped, as the transport leveled out and hovered a few meters above a square in the middle of a combat zone in the capital city of Harromog.
“ This is it, boys and girl s
Grabbing his arm and moving the Commander away from the others, she said, quiet l y ,“ Pete, I have another mission for you . ”
He raised an eyebrow, but he knew she could not see his face through his Mark Six faceplate .“ Admiral ? ”
“ This one is strictly off books . ”
“ Tha t’ s always the best type, m a’ am , ” he said, with a grin that split his face.
***
“ Back ! ” Sigul yelled, while hopping over a ruined hover sled. Smoke and flames shielded his view of the others. The sound of kinetic rounds impacting on the stone wall behind him caused him to duck lower.
“ This position is being overrun. Regroup at the beta site. Drop your weapons and try to blend in with the general population . ”
His team of twenty East-Tree irregulars had been the last to flee the headquarters building. His was one of three teams that had jointly taken over the facility less than twenty-four hours ago with very little effort. He should have known it was too easy. The irregulars had taken over similar facilities all around the planet. For the first time in more than a generation, it had seemed the planet was once again free. Freedom, such as it was, lasted less than a day.
Somehow, the Modos had gotten wind of their plans. That was the only way they could have responded so fast. Several ships carrying shock troops, aircraft, and armored vehicles arrived in orbit several hours earlier. The better armed and trained Modos soldiers made quick work of the Naanac irregulars. The rebels had been routed. In some cases entire city blocks had been turned to rubble. Fires swarmed the city unabated, as fire suppression crews were unable to respond because of the fighting.
Sigul heard a moan from behind some debris to his left. He went to investigate. It was Moto e … a friend of his from the distillery where he had been assigned to work. Copper green blood oozed from a cut on his forehead. He went to help his friend up. They had to clear this area before the Modos took the square on foot.
The task was not easy. Smoke stung his eyes. The ground was littered with bits of broken stone and sharp metal. They made it about half a measure when kinetic rounds again began to pepper the walls behind them. Sigul tried to duck but he felt the tug of Moto e’ s body as a round slammed into the wounded man. At the same time a burning sensation exploded in Sigu l’ s right leg. He collapsed in pain as he realized he too had been shot. The last thing he remembered before falling unconscious was a great wind blowing through the square.
***
Private Stone was sweating inside his Stark. He knew the systems; AI kept the internal temperature at a constant 23 degrees Celsiu s— but for the life of him it felt hotter. His teeth rattled as the transport he was in worked its way violently through the thick Naanac atmosphere. He looked at the others nearest him. All were holding on to cargo straps as the ship bucked wildly in the turbulence.
His platoon sergeant kept up a lively banter to keep everyon e’ s mind on something other than the fact that they were essentially free falling tens of kilometers toward a hard rocky surface in a metal bucket built by the lowest bidder who was most certainly not on board the transport at this particular moment.
“ ’ Join the Marines ! ’ my recruiter said ! ” the Sergeant quipped . “ ’ See the universe ! ’” he continued . “ ’ Meet exotic races. Take the opportunity to shoot at them ! ’ ‘ Hu-rah ! ’ I said ! ”
“ Hu-rah ! ” the platoon echoed.
“ I said hurrah!”
“Hurrah!”
“ I said hurrah!”
”Hurrah! ” Private Stone yelled, along with thirty-eight other marines
“ Now, tha t’ s more like it, girls and boy s … Remember, you signed up for this ! ”
The buffeting suddenly stopped, as the transport leveled out and hovered a few meters above a square in the middle of a combat zone in the capital city of Harromog.
“ This is it, boys and girl s
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