Shaitan Wars 2: Wrath of the Shaitans by Sudipto Majumdar

Author:Sudipto Majumdar [Majumdar, Sudipto]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781499265934
Google: leL1nwEACAAJ
Amazon: 149926593X
Barnesnoble: 149926593X
Goodreads: 22013498
Publisher: CreateSpace Publishing
Published: 2014-04-24T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Clipping the enemy’s wings

Mars

September 2083

Mars’ atmosphere is very thin, just 1% of the Earth’s atmosphere. That is the reason parachutes are not enough to slow down a human enough to land safely. The parachutes were used by the Marines to slow themselves down from the crazy speed at which they had descended from space, but the thin atmosphere does not create enough drag to slow them down enough.

That is the reason that the Marines had to use a small directed rocket jet attached to the outer layer of their suit to slow down in the last few seconds before they crashed onto the surface. The rocket’s nozzle ran down from the backpack to the boots of the marines, so that they could direct it downward without inadvertently pointing it towards any part of their own body.

It burnt for just over 40 seconds and slowed down the descending marine from a dangerous 150 Km per hour to about 30 Km per hour, a speed that the Marine could survive on impact. It made the Marines look like an old comic book character from the last century – the Iron Man. It also made the marines extremely vulnerable to detection by the enemy.

The rocket flare stood out on IR scan of an enemy as far as they could see. That is the reason that the marines had to land at a far enough distance. They would have preferred to land a lot closer to the objective, but they would have been easy targets to pick off in the air, especially with automated perimeter guns that the enemy was expected to have.

Now they will have to climb down a six kilometer high plateau down to the plains and hike another 22 Km. to their descent point. Kormas base had sent them the detailed layout of the entire area. It had been surveyed meter my meter by automated drone spiders as preparation for the siege. The 3D terrain map displayed on Ed’s faceplate was as detailed as possible. The colonel had been nothing if not thorough in her preparation.

The automated routing program displayed a host of possible routes for the marines to take, and Ed chose one that not just seemed the safest, but also took them on the detour that he wanted to take. There was a germ of an idea forming in his mind, and he needed the detour. He was aware that the marines were going to grumble amongst themselves about the extra 10 Km detour, and hiking with the extra baggage, but they would thank him in the end.

As they reached their descent point, the Martian night set in. Due to the extremely thin atmosphere, the onset of the night was fairly abrupt. He would have loved to halt and camp, but their suit had limited battery time. His marines may be tired after a crazy jump from space and all the hike lugging extra baggage, but they would have to rest later. Right now they would make the treacherous descent in the night.

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