Galactic Empire Wars: Rebellion (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

rounds.
    “Privates
Parker, Adams, Matheson can you take the weapons out?” demanded Casey as
several RG rounds struck the ground near her. The three scouts were close enough
they should be able to fire upon the weapon emplacements. The rest of the
platoon was pretty well pinned downed.
    “Yeah,”
Alexander answered as he looked cautiously around the tree he was hiding
behind. “We can take them out, but I don’t know if we’ll survive.”
     “How bad can
it hurt?” Lauren asked. Due to Alexander’s comment earlier, she was really
hoping that at some point in the drill he would get hit by a stun beam. “It
can’t be any worse than some of the other stuff we’ve been through.”
    “I just don’t
like the idea of lying immobile in this damn suit for several hours,” muttered
Alexander. Then looking over at Lauren and Matheson he nodded. “Now!”
    All three
remaining scouts stepped out from their hiding places and began firing RG
explosive rounds at the targets. As soon as they stepped into the open, the
weapon emplacements’ sensors quickly targeted the three battlesuits. Alexander
was instantly hit by several RG rounds in the shoulder and then two stun beams nailed
him squarely in the chest. With a loud moan, he slid to the ground as his suit
shut down except for life support.
    Lauren didn’t
waste a moment worrying about Alexander as she fired RG explosive rounds in
rapid succession at the emplacements. She managed to take three of them out
before a stun beam struck her battlesuit, immobilizing it. She was amazed at
the intense pain the beam generated. She felt as if a dozen wasps were all
biting her at once. She regretted wanting Alexander to feel this type of pain
even after what he'd said. Lauren fell to the ground and lay still, listening
to the battle still going on around her. The stinging and burning sensation was
gradually beginning to fade.
    The remaining
scout managed to take out two more emplacements before he too was struck by the
remaining stunner. Moments later, the stunner was blown apart as Corporal
Hunter hit it with an RG explosive round. She'd managed to move closer until
the aggravating weapon was within her sights. Casey shook her head, looking at
the scouts lying prone on the slope.
    “Weapons
eliminated,” she reported over the general com frequency. “All scouts are
down.” She looked at Alexander and Lauren’s still forms almost regretting
choosing them as scouts. She hoped they'd learned their lesson.
    Ryan nodded
and ordered the rest of the surviving members of the platoon to move up to the
area where the weapons had been destroyed. It was time to come up with a different
strategy. He glanced at his HUD, seeing nine glaring red icons with another six
showing as wounded. That was well over half his platoon. Charring Mountain was
beginning to take control of the scenario.
    -
    “Guess that
will slow them down,” commented Dylan, glancing over at Wade with a chuckle.
    “We’ll see,”
Wade replied as he studied the viewscreens, wondering what Ryan would do now.
It was a shame that Beth wasn’t here to watch this. She was currently back home
at Vesta working with General Bailey on some new upgrades to the asteroid’s
defenses. He knew she would've really enjoyed watching Ryan’s first attempt at
the mountain.
    -
    Ryan stood
next to one of the destroyed weapon emplacements, realizing that the parameters
had indeed been changed. The embedded emplacements were no longer using motion
sensors to find their targets. They seemed to be homing in on the battlesuits.
    “What now?” Corporal
Hunter asked as she stepped over closer to the lieutenant. “I don’t think the
popups are responding to motion any longer.”
    “They’ve
changed the programming on the weapon emplacements,” Ryan said as he looked up
at the steep slope ahead of them. “I think it’s time we used more of our RG
explosives. Gather the RG rifles from those that are down. We’ll lay down an
explosives’