Fall of the Core: Netcast 01 (The Frontiers Saga) Read Online Free PDF Page B

fly low enough, can we?”
    “We don’t need to,” Graham insisted as he opened up his pack. “Just get us within a hundred meters or so. I’ll pop the door and toss out a dozen orbs. We’ll get the whole damn thing in full immersion!”
    “The military will neutralize those orbs, and you’ll lose them!” the pilot warned.
    “Maybe,” Graham admitted. “Or maybe they’ll be too busy to notice. Either way, we’ll at least get a few seconds of FI. It’ll scare the shit out of the viewers!”
    “Let’s do it!” Arielle agreed excitedly.
    “As if the viewers aren’t already scared enough,” the pilot commented as he brought the shuttle even lower and turned the corner around the next building.
    Graham pulled his orb case out from below his seat and opened the lid. One by one, he tapped each of the twelve orbs to power them up. “Just hover near the incident, and I’ll do the rest,” he called out as he flipped open his controller and powered it up, placing it on the bench seat next to him.
    “We’ll be over the site in thirty seconds,” the pilot reported. The shuttle continued to descend as its forward motion decreased.
    “Grab the porta-cam and get an establishing shot of Hanna!” Graham ordered.
    Arielle picked up the portable camera from the floor of the shuttle and raised it to eye level. “What do I do?”
    “You never used a porta-cam?”
    “No!”
    Graham shook his head and reached over to turn it on for her.
    “Fifteen seconds,” the pilot shouted.
    “It’s set for full auto,” Graham explained. “Just point and shoot. Press the red button to start or stop recording.”
    “Five seconds.”
    “Hell, just keep it on Hanna and let it run, after the first few seconds, all I need is audio.”
    “Dispatch, shuttle two-five alpha is on scene, hovering at one five zero meters.”
    “Popping the door!” Graham announced. He pressed the door control pad, causing the side door to slide back into the wall. He picked up his orb case and immediately dumped the contents out the door, tossing the empty case back onto the floor. “Ready?” he asked Hanna and Arielle.
    Arielle pressed the button and activated the porta cam.
    Graham pulled his control pad onto his lap and watched the screen as the image feed from the porta-cam filled his main screen. He pointed at Hanna, signaling her to start talking.
    “This is Hanna Bohl, reporting from the commercial district in downtown Brooklyn, where federal soldiers are attempting to control a riot that has broken out at one of Mercer Industries’ implant service clinics. NCN World has received unconfirmed reports that troops have resorted to using stunners to control… Wait, I’m told we’re getting live footage from full immersion gear on site just above the incident.”
    Graham reached out with his left hand and flipped down a twenty-centimeter wide view screen from the underside of the porta-cam that Arielle was operating. The screen showed a standard image from one of Graham’s dozen camera orbs as it floated only a few meters above the heads of the crowds. There was a sudden flash of light on the screen.
    “…Oh my God,” Hanna mumbled without thinking, as dozens of rioters fell to the ground at once.
    Arielle flashed a menacing look at Hanna from behind the camera. Had Hanna’s implant been active, she was quite sure that Arielle would be sending her a text telling her to pull herself together.
    Hanna watched in amazement as another flash filled the screen. The point of view switched to yet another orb as more people fell to the ground. It shifted again as Hanna continued to speak. “Yes, we have seen two, now three stunner flashes,” she reported. “At least fifty people have fallen.” She watched the small view screen as those who were not stunned rushed to aid the fallen. The orb zoomed in on a woman picking up an unconscious man, blood streaming from his head. “It appears that some people have received injuries, possibly due to