Genesis - the Battle Within (Pillars of Creation Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

interface, the rest of the team covering as he aimed his blade arm over his commander’s right shoulder.
    “FIRE IN THE HOLD!” Stiggs yelled.
    The pulsating nade catapulted from his armoured arm towards the wall of shields. Rotas clenched her teeth and turned her face away slightly. With a loud pop, the explosion sent the blockade and the men behind it flying into a chaotic mess. For a split second the explosion seemed to hang suspended, with chunks of bone, body, metal and shrapnel flying into the depths of the corridor to join their previously dismembered comrade.
    Rotas looked on in disbelief at the magnitude of the blast and its aftermath. It kicked with enough force to knock the remaining few Skinks painfully to the ground, reverberating all the way back to Rotas and her own squad’s position. She held her ground, absorbing the blast as she leant into it, her armour trembling.
    Taking the opportunity to its fullest advantage, Rotas quickly stepped forward, breaking cover. Her boots clanging heavily against the steel as she ran, Rotas utilised her blade, flicking her rifle into its holster.
    The metal on metal scrape of the one-metre sword was unmistakable as it slid cleanly out from its inbuilt sheath above her armoured hand, however still affixed to her wrist. An impressive thirty centimetres in width, and standard issue for all troops of the SED Marine Corps, it was a reputable weapon, well proven for Rotas. The knowledge of its speed and efficiency in penetrating armoured troops was mirrored in the fear-stricken faces of her enemy.
    Rotas recalled her training manual:
    A marine’s blade is an easy-to-use innovation of Terithian Power Armour, always located on the opposite arm to a marine’s preferred shield arm —
    Rotas sliced through the first Skink and blocked the incoming butt of a rifle with her shield. Sliding her blade under the shield, she penetrated the Skink’s abdomen, spilling his guts over the floor, the words of the manual running through her head, becoming a chant for her battle flow—
    When deployed your blade will make for an impressive display; but more than equal to this will be its functionality and impression when used for delivering the heretics to the SED. Indeed a Sacred blade is, and will be, the showcase of our superior weaponry; a fully retractable, Grade-one, self-sharpening nano-steel sword which is made for practicality, virtually unbreakable when striking against a solid object .
    Another Skink struggled up from the blast and Rotas dove on top of him, her sword’s broadness severing the scrambling troop’s spinal cord and lungs—
    This is why it is the number one choice for a marine’s armament, and when penetrating even the strongest suits of power armour it should be used as a primary weapon in hand-to-hand combat. Where even ionised gauze or plasma rounds fail, your blade will almost always prevail. Take good care to never lose it, as they are exorbitantly priced and will be docked from salary if the loss is due to negligence.
    Rotas pulled his blood-coated blade free from the next strike, due to it being a physical attachment to her arm, requiring her to use some effort to pull it back. The chant had given her confidence in her attack, but looked down in disgust – she hated getting such pretty weapons tainted with infidel blood.
    Rotas was now well within the enemy’s position and she saw movement behind her in her HUD’s rear-vision warning. It was unlike her to take risks like this, but she knew she had to if it meant victory for her squad. Her TPA whirred noisily as she spun with all her strength, the hit cleaving in a backhanded upward slice, scoring the top half of the recovering Skink’s head and helm heavily, bringing him to his knees.
    Rotas was running short on time as more enemy Skinks were recovering. With enough momentum from her initial strikes to penetrate through the last few quickly, she landed her blade through the final man’s half raised rifle