LANCEJACK (The Union Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

because it was one
of the few planets ever discovered that was capable of supporting life, and
over the course of two centuries it had been cultivated into a paradise. But
looks can be deceiving. It was said to be a nightmarish hellhole, where several
factions fought an endless and vicious war, with the Union square in the
middle. Westy had been there long ago, as had Ev, but neither of them ever
spoke about it. I wasn’t afraid to go there, though, I just simply couldn’t
stand to stay on Earth any longer.
    I
sighed, ‘Do you ever feel like there is a purpose in you being here. Something
more?’
    Westy
shrugged, ‘Not really.’
    ‘Oh,’
I paused, ‘I have dreams sometimes. Bad ones.’
    The
Welshman looked at me, then nodded, ‘Me too.’
    ‘This
morning I had a dream with Ev in it.’
    He
raised an eyebrow, ‘Yeah?’
    ‘Yeah.
And he said to me ‘It’s not over’ , like he always did. It was pretty
freaky, though.’
    Westy
frowned, ‘Why? People have dreams all the time, mate.’
    ‘I
know. It was just a bit weird, that’s all.’
    He
appeared irritated by my mention of our old platoon sergeant, ‘Well I wouldn’t
get too worried about a deserter haunting your dreams, that bloke is long gone.
Long gone.’
    ‘I
doubt it,’ I said, ‘He couldn’t get far on this planet, not with Union troops
everywhere.’
    ‘He’ll
have run to the Russians,’ Westy replied abruptly, ‘They wouldn’t care, even if
they are our allies.’
    ‘They
might do,’ I argued, ‘They would expect the same from us.’
    ‘Maybe.’
    I
thought it a little strange that we were suddenly arguing about where Ev had
escaped to, and noticed that it was a touchy subject for Westy. I knew that he
had looked up to Ev. He had been the platoon senior screw - up until our
platoon sergeant’s untimely death had forced him to promote - but I hadn’t
realised how much his desertion from the company had upset Westy.
    ‘I
was just saying that it was a weird dream, and that maybe it was telling me
something. Like there’s something I need to do here, a point in it all.’
    Westy
suddenly cheered up, and slapped me on the back, ‘Trust me, mate. You and I are
both equally pointless!’
    ‘Speak
for yourself, mate.’
    ‘And
what makes you think you’re so special, eh?’
    I
laughed, ‘Well for starters, I’m not Welsh.’
    Westy
placed his hands on his hips comically, ‘Ohhh, really? Well, at least I can
stay upright during a contact! Maybe that’s an English thing?’
    After
a standard light-hearted exchange of insults we both retired to our quarters,
and as we parted ways I thought back to how Westy had become irritated at the
very mention of Ev’s name. I made a mental note not to mention him again. It
was, after all, just a dream. Like Westy had said, Ev was long gone.

 
    3
    Man Down
     
    The
warren alarm system was going crazy, echoing up and down the corridors with ear
splitting intensity as I ran out of the accommodation to see what was going on.
I had been in the shower when it went off, preparing myself to meet Westy again
for evening meal.
    Several
troopers were running toward me from the cookhouse having abandoned their food.
    ‘What’s
happening?’ I demanded.
    ‘Man
down, two platoon,’ one of the troopers shouted back at me as he passed, and a
shiver shot down my spine. Somebody from my new platoon had been injured on
patrol, or worse, killed. Gruesome images of dead comrades haunted my mind.
    ‘Corporal?’
A voice called from behind.
    ‘Not
now, Patterson,’ I told the crow trooper gruffly as I left the accommodation
corridor, ‘Stay there.’
    Troopers
in full combat equipment were filing into the elevators, presumably deploying
to the surface to assist two platoon in some way. I knew there would be no room
for me as well, so I ran up hundreds of metres of sloping corridors toward the
lock rooms close to the surface of the warren. I didn’t know if I was going to
be of any help at all, but I’d be