Citadel by Marko Kloos

Author:Marko Kloos [Kloos, Marko]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781542027250
Google: AZi_zQEACAAJ
Amazon: B08953Y67W
Publisher: ‎47North
Published: 2021-08-08T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

IDINA

The QRF’s big combat gyrofoil descended above the bridge and roared to its southern end, gun turrets turning and scanning for targets. The access ramp on the south side was clear of traffic now. Every civilian with a bit of sense had taken manual control of their pod when the shooting had started and cleared the area at a high rate of speed. The northern end of the bridge was pandemonium, a smoking mess of destroyed transport pods and mangled bodies. Some people were trying to free others from wrecked pods. Others were in headlong flight, abandoning their own pods and running away from the scene as quickly as they could.

“How are they doing?” Idina asked Private Arjun, who was still tending to Private Raya and the injured Gretian civilian.

“They’ll live, but we need to get this man off the bridge. There’s only so much I can do with these medpacks.”

On the south side of the bridge, the gyrofoil lowered itself to the ground. The big tail hatch opened, and several heavily armored QRF troopers rushed down the ramp and started to run up the bridge toward her position. She walked out to meet them.

“I have two injured over there for medical evac,” she said. “And the DHC is in the Badger and waiting for exfil. You want to get him out of here and back to the Green Zone before they spring another fucking surprise on us.”

“Medical is on the way with several birds,” the lead QRF trooper said. “The combat flight has to stay on station for fire support.”

“Then at least get the VIP out of the damn armor and into your bird,” she said. “He’s safer there than on the middle of the bridge.”

The QRF team lead nodded and signaled his men, and they ran up to the Badger and lowered the tail ramp. A few moments later, they had the deputy high commissioner and his security detail between them, covering him from possible incoming fire with their armored bodies from all directions. They made their way down the bridge to the southern end and ushered the VIP into the back of the combat gyrofoil.

“Cover me with the remote mount,” Idina said to the Badger commander. “I’m going to see what I can do on the other side. Arjun, stay with the wounded. Khanna, Condry, with me.”

Her two remaining section members left their guard positions and joined her as she walked down the bridge toward the northern end. She could see the anxious expression on Khanna’s face as he looked at the carnage in front of them. Pallas Brigade soldiers were the toughest young men and women in all the worlds of the system, but he had just received his kukri not too long ago, and she knew that he had never seen the carnage of battle, never witnessed what a large-caliber automatic gun could do to unprotected human bodies.

“Khanna,” she said, and he looked at her.

“Don’t dwell on the dead,” she told him. “Help the living.

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.