To Hell's Heart (Crimson Worlds) by Allan Jay

Author:Allan, Jay [Allan, Jay]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: System 7 Publishing
Published: 2013-09-07T05:00:00+00:00

Captain Jake Carlson crawled behind the embankment, making sure to keep down. The fire was thick, and he knew if he showed any of himself, the First Imperium bots would be sure to blast it off. He still felt a little weak, but the servo-mechanicals in his armor had adapted, feeding in more power to replace the strength his body still hadn’t recovered.

“Colonel Brown, Captain Carlson here.” Carlson had been one of the first heroes of the war, a retired Marine sergeant who’d been serving as a part-time three-striper in the Adelaide militia when the First Imperium struck. Caught behind enemy lines, he was the first one to discover they were dealing with a robotic foe…or at least one that employed machine warriors. Carlson had been given up for dead, but he’d managed to find his way back to friendly lines, only to spend the next few years trapped in the planet’s abandoned mines with the rest of the survivors. The hastily converted shelters were ill-prepared and poorly-supplied, conditions which grew steadily worse as time went by.

By normal military standards, Carlson had no place being present in this assault force. Three years trapped on Adelaide, with inadequate rations and supplies, had weakened him enormously, and he faced a considerable rehab period before he’d be truly recovered and ready for duty. But after 3 years of hiding underground while the rest of the Corps – and the other human forces – fought a grueling battle against a nearly invincible enemy, Carlson knew he had to get back in the line as soon as possible.

It turned out Cooper Brown felt the same way, and the two of them spoke to their doctors, liaison personnel, superior officers…at least half a dozen. They all said the same thing…no chance. Then Cooper Brown went right to the top; he asked General Cain. The commander of the ground forces promoted Brown and Carlson immediately, and he assigned them both to his front line strike force. The grim Marine general knew all about personal demons, and he wouldn’t stand in the way of two veterans who knew what they needed, whether medical had cleared them or not.

That business settled, he sat with Brown, and they talked about Adelaide. Cooper told Cain things he hadn’t spoken of to anyone, not even Jacobs. Not even Carlson. Cain just sat and listened mostly, and when Brown was through he whispered a few words and told him understood completely. Afterward, Brown shared Cain’s comments with Carlson. “The pain doesn’t go away.” Cain had said. “They lie to you when they say that it does…but you do learn how to deal with it. Eventually you even start to make friends with the ghosts.”

Brown’s voice rattled loudly in his helmet, shaking him out of his daydreams. “Jake, what’s up? What’s your status?” Cooper Brown had been Adelaide’s other hero, the commander of the militia, who’d used a variety of harsh techniques to keep the planet’s refugees hidden and alive for almost three years before relief finally arrived.

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