The Battle for the Ringed Planet by Johnson Richard Edmond

Author:Johnson, Richard Edmond [Johnson, Richard Edmond]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-10-21T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18: Warlords

The squad consisted of ten marines including two women. Each wore armor and webbing but since it was a day patrol, no backpacks or bed rolls. They had gone through the webbing of the three newcomers and returned them so that they could use the prox shields. The squad was made up of a squad leader, the sergeant, whose name tag was removed but Torian had learned was his name was Keith, two light machine gunners, one a large boned black woman. The LMG’s were a bit longer than a normal assault rifle, fed from a backpack and a tube firing large balls producing plasma bolts capable of penetrating heavier shields and light skinned armored vehicles. There was also a grenadier, who carried an assault rifle with a tube under the barrel to launch all types of grenades.

In each squad, there was an option for an anti air or anti armor personal light canon, or a large proximity shield capable of stopping light plasma bolts and heavy shrapnel from artillery, except for a direct hit. In this squad, one marine carried a generator on his back with a telescopic tube and a bulbous apparatus attached to the end. Finally, the last specialized member was the Multi-Con operator, who also carried a generator on her back with a rectangular scanner and a variety of different Cons on her webbing, designed for penetrating counter measure shields and long ranges into space beyond orbit.

Helmets contained similar but limited functionality compared to Cons, for communications and specialized imaging through the visors in a Heads Up Display (HUD). Cons provided Command and Control features with holo displays of tactical situations free of the confines in a HUD.

The marines studied images inside their visors, manipulating screens by blinking, fed directly from the Cons on their rifles. When they were off the parkway Sergeant Keith called a halt along an animal trail in the woods and the marines took defensive positions while the three escorted detainees sat together with Siiri close to Torian eying the soldiers nervously.

“10 minutes…” the squad leader growled “Evans and Collins on air watch, and no music or games!” Most broke out their cups to make juice or coffee, “Who has extra for our guests?”

The female radio operator removed her helmet letting her short soft red hair spill out and handed out some spare coffee cubes to Torian and May. Another marine, totally bald with unnaturally green eyes, and a rank symbol of two inverted chevrons over crossed rifles on his chest armor kneeled next to Siiri and gave her a juice.

“I’m Jack Wilder.” he flashed a shiny steel toothy smile.

“Um… thanks …” Siiri could not look away from his eyes, or his teeth. When he turned away, he looked back and gave her a wink.

The blonde haired girl quickly whispered to Torian, “What …”

Pouring coffee from a food processor Torian leaned close to her ear, “Night vision eye implants, steel teeth, and I’ll wager titanium tibia, cranium, and other bones. He’s a lifer.

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.