EDEN (The Union Series) Read Online Free PDF

to flee for safety.
    Breaking
contact was exactly that - you were simply ending the contact by running away,
dropping out of view behind cover, or using any means necessary to get away
from a battle you either couldn’t win, or simply didn’t want to take part in.
    I led my
team in a sprint, ducking and weaving through the trees as I sought to gain
maximum distance from the Loyalists, whilst my delta fire team gave cover. Although
I couldn’t see the second OP, it was marked by a blue crosshair on my display,
and I used the crosshair to guide me as we arced around toward them, avoiding
their line of fire.
    ‘Keep
going!’ I panted over the intercom, constantly checking behind me to see that
my fire team were following. I was far fitter than most of them, and didn’t
want to leave anyone behind.
    We were no
more than fifty metres from Delta fire team, when a series of red crosshairs
flickered on the left hand edge of my visor. My targeting system had identified
enemy amongst the trees, and they were almost directly between us and delta.
    The first
Loyalist soldier to see me cried out in alarm, spinning to bring his weapon to
bear upon the trooper storming out of the undergrowth.
    My eyes widened.
‘Contact front!’
    Some
people might say that moments such as this could cause time to change pace, as
if everything were in slow motion. Perhaps that’s how they might recall it, but
not me. Everything happened so quickly I could barely remember it.
    My rifle
was already raised to fire, and with it pointed toward the man’s chest I pulled
the trigger. The array of magnets along the barrel screamed, accelerating the
steel dart toward him with such power that it snatched him backward, punching
straight through his armour like paper.
    I didn’t
wait to see him land, for I had already thrown myself to the ground, crashing
amongst the ferns and long grass.
    Just as I
landed, the air above me exploded with noise as several enemy weapons opened
fire at once, hacking chips of wood out of a tree that stood beside me.
    I quickly
wriggled my body behind the tree, clutching at the earth as I desperately tried
to make myself as low as possible.
    ‘Hold
fire!’ I yelled back to my men, still hugging the ground. Ferns danced around
me as the enemy fire intensified.
    Christ,
there had to be at least two to three guns out there to create such a devastating
barrage, and to make it worse they were directly between us and Delta, so
neither team could return fire. Like before, I had to move out of the way.
    I looked
behind me, only to see Gritt lying unnaturally on his back; he’d been hit.
    ‘Man
down!’ I shouted, and then I swore. There was no way we could extract from such
an onslaught, not with a casualty as well. How could we possibly escape from
this situation?
    It was
then that I regained my senses, shaking my head angrily. What was I thinking?
It didn’t have to be me who moved! My own adrenalin had prevented me from
thinking straight.
    ‘One-One-Delta,’
I ordered. ‘Push round for a frontal assault onto enemy on my mark! I’m marking
my location as well!’
    Keeping
as low as I could, I quickly used my finger to drop crosshairs onto our virtual
overlay, marking the enemy position in red, and my own in blue.
    Delta
responded seconds later … ‘Moving now!’
    ‘Roger!’
    Uttering
a string of curses, I drew a smoke grenade from one of my ammunition pouches,
careful not to lift my head. Pieces of wood struck my back as the enemy weapons
continued to cut into the tree just above me.
    ‘Grenade!’
I warned, and tossed it toward the enemy. My headset bleeped in warning just
before it exploded in a puff of smoke, scattering burning phosphor around me.
    The
Loyalist fire stopped, but I remained fixed to the ground. They would be
surprised or confused by the smoke grenade, but I knew it would only be for a
second. They weren’t idiots.
    I had
done the best I could by blinding them with smoke. I needed to buy some time
for