Gears Of War 1 - Aspho Fields by Traviss Karen

Author:Traviss, Karen
Language: eng
Format: epub

CHAPTER 12

I’ve never met a soldier who knew he was a hero. It’s not false modesty. They simply decide to do something that they know they must do, usually for their comrades, because if they don’t, those people will suffer in some way. For them, that compulsion is far stronger than any fear. The fact that we find that exceptional is a sad indictment of the human race. I’d like to live in a world of heroes. If we did, there would be no wars.

(GENERAL JOLYON IVER, COMMANDER, COG LAND FORCES.)

CNV POMEROY, SOMEWHERE OFF THE OSTRI COAST; FOUR HOURS BEFORE OPERATION LEVELER—SIXTEEN YEARS AGO.

The cabin looked like a shrine, one of those impromptu street memorials made of pictures and candles that people created when an earthquake or a flood had struck.

Hoffman’s cabin bulkhead was adorned with photographs not of the dead, but of the living whose time was about to run out. They were UIR weapons scientists. He tried to memorize every face. When he opened that dormitory door, he had to know he was taking down the right people. It was much easier than he thought to look these strangers in the eye.

I’m going to shoot civilians. Again.

The words made it all wrong. The threat, though, made it unavoidable.

Maybe not. He wouldn’t know until he stood there for real.

Someone rapped on the frame of the open doorway. It was Bai Tak, clutching a cup.

“You want coffee, Hoffman-sah? We brew up.”

“Thanks, Sergeant.”

Bai Tak handed him the cup and stared at the pictures. “This bother you, sah?”

“Maybe.” Some of the scientists were women. Women could kill you just as stone-dead as men could, and one of them was about to lead a company of Gears in Op Leveler. Hoffman was courteous to ladies, but he had no illusions about their lack of sweetness and light. “I was raised on rules. Rules of engagement. Assassination—well, it never used to be part of the job.”

“Ah, we do it for you, then.” Bai Tak’s people were historically recent recruits to the COG empire, and they still did things the old-fashioned way. “Your rules are dumb.”

“Rules are all that stand between us and chaos. Mostly.”

“Someone with a small gun aimed at you, you shoot, it’s okay. Someone with a gun so big you can’t hold it, but it kill you all anyway—you can’t shoot. That is dumb, sah.”

Bai Tak had remarkable clarity, and a way of making Hoffman reexamine everything he thought he knew. The sergeant saw only threats and ways to neutralize them; Hoffman’s world was dominated by regulations and chains of command, the political necessity of justifying his actions. It was probably why Pesangas were natural commandos. Their doctrine was that you did what you had to, any way you could, preferably before the other guy had time to do it to you first. There was an honest morality to it.

And I’m the one who told Adam Fenix not to be so squeamish.

“You’re right, Sergeant,” Hoffman said. “My job is to protect the COG and its citizens, not to worry about my soul.

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.