Black Sword (Decker's War, #5) by Eric Thomson

Author:Eric Thomson
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: space marine, space fleet, starfleet, espionage, futuristic spies, treason, conspiracy, deep state
Publisher: Sanddiver Books
Published: 2017-08-10T04:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Seven

A vise of pure starship-grade metal clamped around Zack’s left wrist. It arrested his fall into the abyss and almost tore his arm from its socket. The serac bounced off the crevasse walls as it tumbled, filling the air with a roar of thunder as it split into pieces. The faint whine of low power blasters, designed purely for training, made a feeble counterpoint to the savagery of nature, but Decker heard none of it.

His right hand fought to find something, anything within reach that would allow him to relieve the muscle-tearing strain on his arm. Then, an almighty tug sent a wave of pain through his shoulder, and Decker slid over the chasm’s crumbling edge, out onto the solid ice.

Half-dazed, he looked up and into Hank Harris’ broad face, framed by a scout helmet one size too small. Surly Hank was holding onto his left wrist as if it were a lifeline to heaven. Wide, dark eyes examined him with an intensity that almost verged on panic.

“You okay, Pops?”

Decker, caught between relief and Hank’s uncommonly earnest air of concern, started laughing.

“I’m good. And I owe you big time. One second later and I was taking a long drop without a parachute. It would have been an embarrassing end for a Pathfinder.”

“We lose you, Windom wins,” Harris replied, clipping the safety rope to Decker’s waist. “And the bastard ain’t winning this game, not after the hell he’s put us through.”

“Speaking of which, we still have sims to slaughter...” Decker slithered back into position, wincing with every movement of his left arm. One glance told him no one other than Harris had noticed his near brush with death, or at least serious injury. Or so he thought.

“Bravo team, we’re in position to cover you. Pull back, but mind the crevasse on our left flank.”

“Stop everything,” Windom’s voice rang out over the platoon push, “and stay in place.”

The sims froze, and three figures in fully sealed battle suits materialized moments later, rising from their concealed observation posts.

“Whate,” the sergeant continued, “you want to explain what the fuck just happened here? As in, why you cut loose from the safety rope? There’s a reason you go up a glacier tied together. If it weren't for Harris, we’d be looking for your fool ass at the bottom of that damned crevasse. Heck, I’d probably be spending the next day writing out a casualty report followed by a painfully long question and answer session with the battalion adjutant.”

“I’m sorry if I might have put myself in a position to inconvenience you, Sergeant Windom.” Decker pushed himself off the ground and turned towards his tormentor. “But if that serac had fallen on top of me instead of sideswiping my feet, and I was still tied up with the rest of alpha team, you’d be writing five casualty reports. After which, you be spending the next week with the adjutant trying to explain how you lost half of your trainees in one go.”

Decker’s tone, hardened by anger, skirted the edge of insubordination.

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.