Echoes of Valor: A Military Sci-Fi Thriller (Valor Book 2) by Josh Hayes

Author:Josh Hayes [Hayes, Josh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aethon Books
Published: 2019-10-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

Corridor Twenty-two

Nebulous Interstellar Mining Outpost

Verikus System

31 July 2607

Sheridan stacked up behind Neal and Cole, all hugging the bulkhead. Ahead of them, Hanover looked back, ensuring they were ready to move, then pulled the hatch open and stepped through. Sheridan struggled to control his breathing as Cole and Neal followed the sniper through.

Doorways, or “the fatal funnel” as they’d been called for hundreds of years by operators throughout the galaxy, were the bane to any combat assault. Doorways were where things went bad. They were where people froze. They were where people died.

Cole followed Neal through, and Sheridan brought up the rear. He kept his rifle pulled into his shoulder, the barrel pointing to the deck, his eyes scanning ahead. With three people ahead of him, there would be little to no opportunity for him to engage any targets in front. His job was cover and rear security.

Like the first corridor they’d come through, this one was narrow and unfinished. Every few meters they had to duck a low hanging pipe or twist around a control valve. Sheridan wondered how many had knocked their heads on the ductwork when they weren’t paying attention. Several exhaust vents leaked clouds of white vapor that rolled along the deck, seeping through the holes in the metal grating.

Another deep rumble shook the deck. The recessed lights along the ceiling flickered. For some reason, Sheridan thought about all the horror vids he’d seen over the years that had started just like this. Some alien or ghastly creature always crawled out of the ductwork to eat people or devour their souls.

Focus, he told himself, looking over Cole’s shoulder.

They’re breaking through the primary security routines,” Reese said over the taclink. “They’ll probably be through in another seven minutes or so.”

Valkyrie Actual, Two-Bravo, we’re nearing the reactor pod,” Nguyen advised, gunshots echoing in the background. “We’ve engaged several hostile targets and have them pinned down on Level 3.”

“Roger that, Two-Bravo,” Captain Chambers replied. “We’re moving to assist.”

Sheridan gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to backtrack and help his teammates.

You have your own mission, he told himself.

“One down,” Nguyen reported, sounding slightly out of breath.

“We need to hurry,” Rocha said. “Hanover, step it up.”

“Roger,” the sniper confirmed. He paused at an intersection, peering around the corner, then leaned around the corner, his pistol up covering the rest of the team as they crossed.

“Eyes up. Watch for traps,” Hanover said, now bringing up the rear.

Neal, at the head of the stack, pressed on, her rifle up and ready.

Sheridan began sweeping the surrounding bulkheads, mentally cursing himself; he should’ve been doing already. Not that it was likely he’d spot anything out of place here. He didn’t recognize half of the control junctions, and cable outlets as it was anyway, much less an improvised boobytrap or IED.

The map on Sheridan’s HUD showed they were approaching the secondary landing pad. It was significantly smaller than the pad their Albatross had landed on when they’d arrived, but there was still a lot of open space.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.