Star Crusades Nexus: Book 06 - Call to Arms by Michael G. Thomas

Author:Michael G. Thomas [Thomas, Michael G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Swordworks
Published: 2013-08-29T05:00:00+00:00

* * *

Lieutenant Jenkins watched with fascination as the four arachnid shaped machines emerged from their hiding places. Even though they were mechanical beasts, they moved with a speed and grace that could easily have been a living creature. The first of them leapt out from inside the shattered wreckage that lay strew about the shuttle landing area. Although he had watched the footage of the initial attack on the refinery, this felt different. Probably because everything he was watching was taking place on the surface of the planet he was currently orbiting, and it was all happening right now.

"Yeah, am I surprised?" complained Khan.

"No...We have to warn them!" muttered Lieutenant Jenkins.

Spartan shook his head.

"They know."

It was true. Even as the machines emerged from cover, the first of the Earthsec operatives opened fire. The initial volley was impressive and showered the attackers with small-caliber bullets. That was the extent of their effectiveness though.

"Now it starts," Khan said in a hushed tone.

Spartan said no more but watched in silence as the four machines split up and did exactly as he would have expected. There were cries of anguish and fear from the small number of crew that had seen some of the footage on the other displays. Only a handful of combat operatives remained, and Spartan spotted one of them running for a plastic bin. The poor man was too late and vomited over the wall and onto another of his comrade's boots.

"This is how it always goes," said Spartan.

He then looked down and checked the details on his own antiquated datapad, a unit he had borrowed from one of the officers’ quarters just after the shuttles had left. He lifted his eyes as the four charged into the nearest platoon of Earthsec operatives, with terrifying results. As Spartan had prophesized, their armor proved less than useless. Each machine tore apart two or three men before turning their attention on Cobb's unit.

"We've got to do something!" said Lieutenant Jenkins.

The man lifted himself to his feet, but Khan stopped him and placed his hands on the man's shoulder.

"No, we can't help them right now, but we can learn. It will take hours to get our people down there. Spartan's already on it."

Lieutenant Jenkins' face tightened, and his jaw stiffened, but Spartan also turned to him and nodded at the footage.

"Whether they live or die is down to Cobb, their gear, and their training. I promise you though, we will be there in three hours, and when we get there, we'll fix this. Okay?"

He waited until receiving the nod from Jenkins before continuing.

"I have another shuttle already loaded in the drop bay. We leave in eleven minutes."

It took another few seconds before Jenkins looked back to Spartan and grabbed his shoulder.

"You planned for this?"

The look of disgust was clear, but Spartan was less than amused. He ripped the arm away from his body and sent another batch of commands via the battered looking datapad.

"Are you kidding? We told your boys what they were up against, and they screwed up.

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.