Exodus: Empires at War: Book 7: Counter Strike Read Online Free PDF Page A

one end of the large container by a handle.  “This
stuff gives me the shakes.”
    Cornelius looked
at the man, who was larger that he was.  Being an augmented Naval Commando,
using the same process the Ranger had undergone, that meant he was stronger,
and just a bit slower due to his mass.
    “I don’t really
like it either,” said the Cadet Lieutenant, eying the tube that was a magnetic
containment device filled with one of the deadliest known substances, negative
matter.  Only antimatter was more feared.  Negative matter canceled out itself
and normal matter on contact.  Once out of its containment there was nothing
that was proof against it.  The only positive thing about the negative matter
was that it could only cancel out the same mass.  “But I like the idea of a
hundred gigaton or larger bomb going off near me even less, and this stuff may
be the only thing that will cancel it out before it kills us.”
    They were moving
quietly along the wall that separated the corridor from the kilometer thick
supercable that was one of the supports the aliens had to sever to destroy the
station.  Five Rangers and the other Naval Commando were in the lead, crouched
low, weapons ready.  Cornelius walked just ahead of the two men carrying the
container, while the last Ranger took up the rear, thirty meters behind and his
watch covering that direction.
    All of the men
were veterans, and Cornelius trusted them to do their jobs competently. 
Cornelius had been in special ops for a far shorter time than most of the men,
and was not yet a commissioned officer.  The double award of the Imperial Medal
of Heroism made him a trusted leader, however, someone these tough warriors were
in awe of.
    The Commando in
the front, Petty Officer First Khrushchev, the leader of that element due to
his experience operating aboard spaceships, held his hand up and knelt down,
waving the officer trainee forward.  Cornelius ran to him, making no sound, and
came to a kneel beside him.  He didn’t even have to ask the man what was going
on.  His hypersensitive ears picked up the sound of fighting, both directly
ahead and to the left down another corridor.  The Marines must be to the
front, and Chung and his people to the left , he thought.  The Marines, in
heavy combat armor, would be trying to blast their way through the Cacas
arrayed to protect the bomb.  The IIA Agents were a decoy force, hitting the
Cacas down another angle of approach, trying to draw the enemy away from this
one.
    “We’re getting
close,” he whispered to the Commando, who nodded back.  They were avoiding com
link for the moment, thinking that the enemy might pick it up so close to their
lines.  Rangers and Commandos were trained to operate without electronics.  At
this time they were carrying more powerful weapons than they usually did, and
two of the men had the backpacks of laser cutters on their backs, just in case.
    “I hope they
don’t set the damned thing off before we get to it,” said Sergeant Pasco, one
of the Rangers.
    “I wonder why
they haven’t already?” asked Specialist Owusu, his eyes scanning the corridor
ahead.
    “They want to
set them all off at the same time,” said Cornelius.  “Not give us a chance to
make repairs before they sever another cable.”
    He listened for
a second more, then waved his hand to get everyone moving.  They hadn’t gone
more than fifty meters before Khrushchev was again raising his hand and
stopping the formation.
    “They’re right
ahead,” said the Petty Officer, gesturing with his rifle down the corridor.
    Cornelius
listened carefully, the movement of the armored Cacas sounding from ahead.  We
need to get through them quickly.  Then hit the Cacas that are facing the
Marines from behind.  He was starting to wave the other men forward when a
particle beam came ripping down the corridor and struck Khrushchev in the
chest.
    *      *      *
    The General was in communication with both of
his