Dying Planet: A Military Sci-Fi Series (The Undying Legion Book 2) by Joe Kassabian

Author:Joe Kassabian [Kassabian, Joe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aethon Books
Published: 2024-03-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

The celebrations of our victory didn’t last long. A single can of beer was handed out to each soldier and, soon, we were back at work, repairing the damage to the trench system. The shield had protected us from the strikers, shock troopers, and artillery, but it had blown the surrounding area apart.

Countless soldiers began the hard work of repairing trench walls, reinforcing braces, and bailing out the toxic rainout mud to return them to their original state. The rainout continued, though changed from a downpour to a light drizzle. It was just enough to annoy us and keep us sealed inside our uniforms as we worked.

“Come on, you three,” Murphy said, setting his shovel against the wall. Noa, Two, and Me looked at one another, confused. “Yes, you three. We have a meeting with the general.”

Two laughed, “I wasn’t aware I got promoted.”

“Me either, but he requested we all be there. Come on, we can’t keep the old man waiting.”

Once back inside the bunker, Noa and I quickly stripped off our masks, gloves, and head covers. It felt like I had been sealed inside them for days, and the stench from our collective bodies and the gathered officers was appalling. Everyone was trying to ignore it, but more than one man held a cloth to their face to act as a filter.

Everyone in the room was exhausted and filthy. The once various different uniforms had all been stained black by the rainout. The only parts of us that were spared the filth were our faces, all of which were spotless, protected by our masks. I noticed there were significantly more inquisition orderlies in the room this time. I tried to ignore them as if they were another part of the stench.

“It is good to see all of your smiling faces again,” came the voice of General Boyle, emerging from the back room of the bunker. Unlike last time, there was no saluting or snapping to the position of attention for the general. Everyone was too tired for such formalities.

“We’ve turned back their attack, and I applaud the heroic efforts of you and your soldiers. However, we must plan for our next step.”

“A counterattack, surely!” said a Daxian officer.

“That’s right!” agreed a Dunyan man. “We must sally out and show them how badly they underestimated us!”

“Please, gentleman,” Boyle held his hands up, “We cannot launch a counterattack without proper intelligence. And due to the fleet pulling everything back to the slip gate, we cannot rely on them to do it for us.”

“What about our scanning drones?” asked someone else.

“We have already tried that. Unfortunately, the skinwalkers seem to have found an effective way to jam our drone signals and cause them to fall out of the sky. Most of the targeting drones the artillery gunners sent out during their attack never returned. From now on, we have to be careful how we expend our resources. We aren’t getting resupplied. That means every drone we lose cannot be replaced.”

“So,” Bragan spoke, “we’re sending in the Rangers.

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