Ghost Soldiers Read Online Free PDF Page B

right now that meant little. He looked to the direction pointed by the marine, and then saw the dark hole in the ground.
    “There?”
    The man nodded just as Spartan spotted seven Helion fighters making for it. He began moving as he called out to Khan.
    “Khan, get them back. The prisoners are the priority.”
    Khan did exactly as ordered and escorted the hostages to two spaces already cleared by some of the Grunts. Green streaks blasted out from the other Maverick suits in all directions as they continued rampaging throughout the enemy position. Spartan blasted the enemy soldiers with his arm-mounted coilguns, but as he reached the halfway point, he found the four Vanguards. They moved out from the dust and headed towards the pit, roughly the same distance away as him.
    “1st and 2nd Squads with me!”
    Spartan increased his speed into a run just as the two squads of Grunts joined him. The armoured shapes moved quickly, but Spartan with his motor assisted armour made it first. He leapt over the pit and into the path of four Vanguards. Four Grunts dropped into the pit to get the prisoner; the others formed up on Spartan’s flanks. With his right arm he pointed at the Vanguards.
    “Those do not belong to you.”
    They were definitely Vanguards, but there was something about the modifications made that didn’t sit right with him. The extra armour would do little, but many of the weapons were gone, probably due to lack of spares and ammunition. In their place were Helion thermal weapons and objects that looked like harpoons.
    “Drop ‘em!”
    One harpoon embedded itself in a Grunt, and two more were vaporised by thermal gunfire. At the same time, Spartan went on the rampage. At this distance his HEC-1 cannon blasted chunks off the Vanguards. Though powerful, the weapon was limited against armour conditioned for similar threats, and Vanguard suits contained carbon plates in key areas.
    “They’re clear,” said Khan.
    While listening to his friend on the audio channel, he activated the close quarter mode on his arms and proceeded to batter and smash two of the Vanguards into a mass of broken metal. The other two staggered back and blasted apart another two Grunts. One took aim at the prisoner being taken away to the landing zone. A large machine blocked the path.
    “I don’t think so,” said Khan.
    The thermal weapons opened up, discharging shell after shell into the plating of the massive warrior. Each round ripped off chunks, but it was too little, too late. He then took aim and blasted the head cleanly off one of the machines. Even as the machine collapsed, he kept firing a stream of rounds directly into the next target. As the projectiles struck, he roared with delight.
    “Nice timing!”
    Spartan jumped amongst them and blasted the small number of Helion fighters now running for cover. One of the Vanguards came close, and he grabbed it with both arms and hurled it towards Khan. Normally, this would have been an impossible, almost herculean task, but not for him inside the Maverick armour. The enemy warrior landed at the feet of Khan, who promptly demolished it with the efficiency of an industrial machine in a junkyard. Just one more tried to put up a fight, but Spartan reserved a shot from his HEC-1 cannon for that very purpose. At a range of three metres it punched a hole through the armour and exploded inside.
    “Prisoners are secure,” said Lieutenant Armstrong.
    Spartan couldn’t see him, but the IFF tag showing on one of the dropships as it landed confirmed he was inside and helpers were getting the prisoners to safety. Robotic Grunts manned the flanks of the craft as they clambered inside, while above a lone Hammerhead rushed past with its guns blazing.
    Good work, people, damned good work.
    Two bullets bounced off Spartan’s collar, and it snapped him back to the fight. Without thinking, he spotted a vehicle packed with enemy combatants and tagged it. The HEC-1 cannon turned to the right and fired