History's Edge: A Military Sci-Fi Series (Brutal Edge Book 3) by Pacey Holden

Author:Pacey Holden [Holden, Pacey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aethon Books
Published: 2023-12-18T16:00:00+00:00

14

The air inside the cabin of the ship seemed thin. Colder, somehow.

Peta’s declaration took Stileto and me by surprise. I studied his face, trying to see past the youthful veneer of his teenaged skin and the apprehensive expression on his face. The last vestiges of innocence seemed to shrink from his eyes as he studied the map above the control console. His dance with death had changed him.

It happens that quickly. I know from experience.

“It’s only, what—fifteen, twenty klicks?” He traced his fingers over the holographic topography.

“It can go wrong,” I told him.

“No kidding.” He paused to scoff with derision. “That’s why we have to get it right the first time.”

“I’ve seen things like this go wrong before.”

The VR simulation at the Youth Academy.

The five minutes it was supposed to take that led to the whole team getting shot up by the defenders.

This couldn’t go down like that. It wasn’t a simulation, and if we didn’t succeed…

There would be a higher consequence to pay than simply losing.

Stileto asked, “What’re you so worried about, Edge? The odds finally getting to you? Because if I told you the odds of successfully crash-landing a ship on Mars with the Galactic Order’s First Space Force Fleet chasing us down, you might have felt this way a long time ago.”

I shook my head. “No. It’s not the odds. The odds have always been against us.”

Peta looked at Stileto. She put her hands up.

“So tell us, then. What’s so different about it this time?”

“This time,” I said, gritting my teeth, “we’re going on the offensive. It’s different, trust me. No one picks a fight with the Hegemony and lives to talk about it.”

“The Lux Legio,” Peta pointed out.

“That’s recent. And we still don’t know the result. For all we know, they could have been wiped out by now. Down to the last man.”

Stileto said, “He’s right. A collective of space pirates isn’t enough to make a dent in the Hegemony Fleet. At least not a significant one.”

Peta made a sound like he wasn’t sure he agreed.

“I don’t know, guys. The Hegemony has a stranglehold on things, but they’ve made a ton of enemies. They like to put on the squeaky-clean corporate face, but really, they’re just a more organized Machinist Guild.”

“With better funding,” Stileto said.

“And military-grade weapons,” I added.

Peta put up a hand. “That… really, that doesn’t change anything. I’ve got a feeling about this. It’s going to work because they’re not expecting it, first of all, and second of all, because it’s sneaky.”

Stileto raised a brow. “Sneaky, huh?”

Peta beamed. “Yes. Sneaky. According to the map here, and,”—he worked at the images, pulling up schematics and blueprints in overlay—“from what I remember about the structure the last time I looked at these blueprints, it hasn’t changed much since it was built. The vault is underground, but something as important as proprietary star charts would most likely be kept close to the Executor himself. Probably in his office. They may have added additional layers of security over the years, but fortunately for you, I’ve never had trouble with that.

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