Redliners by David Drake

Author:David Drake [Drake, David ]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 0-671-87733-X
Publisher: Baen Publishing Enterprises
Published: 1996-08-07T04:00:00+00:00

The rain had brought out fresh foliage on the young trees growing in place of the giants killed when the asteroid hit. The leaf flushes were of brilliant hues: reds, maroons, and poisonous, metallic greens which seemed to have nothing to do with life or growing things.

A civilian started to cry. He was a middle-aged man whose tight, youthful face had profited from cosmetic shaping and whose pudgy body had not. "They're going to kill us," he whimpered. "They hate us and they're going to kill us all."

Abbado cleared his throat. He'd been about to give the civilians a pep talk before the lead tractor moved past and took a bite out of the jungle, but he thought he ought to do something about the crying man first.

Glasebrook walked over to the fellow and hugged him one-armed against a torso lumpy with crossed bandoliers and a waist belt whose every slot held munitions. Four-pound rockets waggled like tassels, rattling against other gear.

"Don't you worry, Mr. Bledsoe," the Flea said. "We're not going to let them kill you. We're going to kill them first."

"Bedsoe," said the civilian. "My name is Bedsoe." He straightened. "I'm so very sorry," he said with a dip of his head to Abbado.

Abbado cleared his throat again. "The dozer's going to cut us a twenty-foot trail through the woods there," he said in a deliberately cheerful voice to the watching civilians. "That sounds like a lot and it is, but I don't want anybody getting careless. God and his pretty blonde—"

He grinned and thumbed toward the mass of people with Manager al-Ibrahimi at the heart of it.

"—assistant say six feet is as close as you're to get to the sides of the cut. Does everybody hear me?"

There were nods and murmurs, mostly nods. The civilians looked scared, clutching their baggage or family members to them. They watched Abbado with wide eyes.

"Right," said Abbado. "Now, it's important that you stay closed up. Help your neighbors if they aren't keeping up. People are more important than any of the other shit we're carrying. If the column straggles, it'll take us twice as long to get out of these fucking trees and I tell you, people, I don't even a little bit like their company. Understood?"

This time at least a dozen civilians spoke in agreement. Ace Matushek said, "Too fucking right!" from the back of the assembly. He faced outward, bouncing a grenade on his palm, just in case the Spooks or the forest wanted to start something early.

"Now folks, listen," Abbado said. "There's over a hundred of you. I'll have two or three people in front, backing up the dozer, and there'll be two or three on each side of the column. Because we're at the front, that's better protection than most of the other folks are going to get; but it's pretty damn little even so."

He took off his helmet and looked at the outer surface of his visor because it was an excuse to avoid all those frightened, trusting eyes for a moment.

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