Liberty of Death: The Complete Series: A Military Sci-Fi Box Set by Joe Kassabian

Author:Joe Kassabian [Kassabian, Joe]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Aethon Books
Published: 2022-09-27T00:00:00+00:00

27

The next morning, Erik’s army went on the march. Vincent watched from on high, secure onboard the Shanna II. What looked like a giant red snake uncoiled from its encampment as hundreds of thousands of soldiers set out. Hundreds of war wagons rumbled across the broken pavement alongside the Brigade’s column. Their engines vomited black exhaust into the air as they went. Piles of soldiers were crammed onto and into the wagons anywhere they could fit in a vain attempt to save themselves from the rigors of marching.

Far behind the column were Erik’s vaunted Artillery batteries. Unfortunately for its gun crews, there weren’t enough vehicles to go around. They instead had their guns strapped to pack animals. Horses and donkeys that looked one meal away from dropping dead kicked up clouds of dust as they struggled to pull their loads.

“I do not miss that,” Fiona snickered, tapping a cigarette out of the door, the ash raining down on the columns below. Vincent smiled. He was happy to see Fiona slowly returning back to her normal self. Though he still couldn’t get the vision of her breaking down out of his mind.

“Me either,” Vincent agreed.

“I don’t know,” Tirpitz said, her legs dangling off the side of the ship. “I feel like I’m missing out.”

“Shit.” Fiona laughed. “I keep forgetting you’ve never been on a real march before.” Tirpitz frowned.

“We marched clear across Ryklar,” Vincent said. “Until my boots nearly fell off my feet and people started dropping dead.”

“And that was before we got our asses kicked by the Alliance.” Fiona blew out a cloud of smoke. “All that marching and the only thing it got them was dying tired.”

“And I’m sure every single guy down there wishes he was us right about now,” Vincent said. Tirpitz didn’t respond. She returned to staring down at a map overlay on her data display. Vincent noticed it was a digital version of the same tourist map.

The horizon was aglow with explosions. Since the orbital bombardment began the night before, it had been a steady drumbeat ever since. Orange and red streaks broke through the red dust-clouded sky above and slammed into the Spaceport.

“How long can the fleet do this?” Fiona asked. “Eventually, they will run out of ammunition or something, right?”

“Back in the day of the Capitol Ships, they could shell a planet until it was uninhabitable for human life,” Tirpitz said. “Like the Victory you two were on. It had enough orbital rounds for years.”

“How is that possible?” Vincent gasped. The ship had been the size of a small city, so it shouldn’t have surprised him it carried enough ammunition for a prolonged campaign.

“Well, the orbital guns aren’t like a piece of artillery firing powder charges. They’re more like your rifle and fire a giant rail slug. It doesn’t even explode.” Tirpitz smiled, her expression turning from a scowl to slightly smug. “It’s a tungsten rod the size of a tank that strikes the planet’s surface with enough force to cause everything below it to atomize.

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