Space Above and Beyond 2 - Demolition Winter - Peter Telep by Peter Telep

Author:Peter Telep
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2013-11-04T05:00:00+00:00

fifteen

Cooper watched Teddy dart between a pair of crags, circle around one, then sprint to the meter-high barrier of stone behind which Cooper had sought protection. "I forgot to thank you for the pistol," Teddy said, arriving at his side.

"No problem," Cooper said. "Just put it to good use now."

"I don't know why Captain Vansen has such a difficulty with me being armed. There are enough explosives in my rucksack to create a crater the same size as the one I crawled out of."

Cooper hazarded a look above the rock and spotted a Chig edging out from behind a pile of debris from a long-ago landslide. He fired, struck the alien in its chest horn, and the armored thing hissed and flailed its arms as it struck the ground. Once the alien had stopped moving, Cooper gave Teddy a cue to move.

Repressing the urge to let loose with his M-590 in an effort to confuse the aliens, Cooper conserved ammo and simply raced for the stone pile. The rock face all around him erupted with Chig fire, and a particularly large stone struck his helmet with such force that it knocked his head sideways. He ducked behind the pile and hunkered down for a breath. Teddy joined him a second later, and Cooper, looking at his compass, said, "Shane's not far from here. But all the Chigs need is one lucky shot, eh?"

"I'm not sure why the enemy needs luck to strike us, Lieutenant," Teddy said, narrowing his brow.

Cooper flipped the silicate a crooked grin. "Those spoogemeisters need luck and then some." He looked to his next destination: whatever lay behind a small slope. It was a risky course but in the right direction, so he winked at Teddy and took off.

As he ran, he listened intently to the enemy fire and realized that it was becoming more tightly patterned. He had developed a healthy respect for Chig marksmanship and a keen awareness of when he was being hunted by a particularly good shot. While other Marines might panic or become oblivious and wind up in gladbags, Cooper kept himself alive by paying attention with all of his senses.

Up and over the slope, and below was Shane, squatting, her rifle ready, poised at the edge of the ravine. "I'm right above you, Vansen," Cooper said. "Hey, Teddy? You with me?"

No answer.

He turned back to the top of the slope and heard two shots resound from behind it. He raced up to find Teddy moving away from the bodies of two Chigs, gas still venting from their combat suits.

"I'm with you, Lieutenant," the silicate said.

Cooper eyed the corpses. "Damn right you are."

"'Phousse and Wang are here, Hawkes. Let's go," Shane ordered.

"Aye-aye." Cooper withdrew a smart grenade from his sack and held it up to Teddy. "This'll buy us a little more time." He armed the device and let it fly. Tiny fins on the grenade popped out as it streaked away and out of sight.

And before Cooper had even managed another half dozen steps, he heard the grenade detonate.

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.