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

sure nobody does anything stupid!’
    ‘Get
in a line and point your weapons in a safe direction! Switch on!’
    ‘Stop
feeling sorry for yourselves lads, save it for later!’
    Amongst
the shouting NCOs I noticed one of the lance corporals crouched in the centre
of the lock room, his shoulders shaking violently as he cried his heart out. I
then saw one of the screws crouch beside him and gently wrap him in his arms.
The platoon had lost more than a comrade, they had lost a brother. A tear
rolled down my cheek as the memories came flooding back . I was powerless to help those poor troopers.
    ‘What
are you doing here, Moralee?’ The platoon commander frowned at me as he ripped
his respirator away from his face.
    I
stiffened, quickly brushing the tear away from my face, ‘I’ve just come to try
to help, Sir.’ I hoped that he hadn’t seen my emotion at the plight of the
young trooper.
    ‘Well
you aren’t,’ he snapped, ‘So fuck off.’
    I
thought about saying something, but closed my mouth tightly. There was nothing
I could say. I went.
    #
    Two
platoon’s accommodation was empty for hours. They had been taken into the
cookhouse for a cool-off period - time spent alone so that they could come to
terms with what had happened and let off steam. The room was sealed whilst the
platoon talked about their ordeal; crying, shouting, and even fighting under
the watchful eye of company headquarters.
    Westy
came to my room later that evening to tell me that the injured trooper had
died.
    ‘He
was brain-dead when he came in through the airlock,’ he said, ‘We don’t have
the kit to bring him back.’
    I
sighed, ‘Troopers just aren’t worth enough.’
    ‘Very
few people are worth that much.’
    I
knew that Westy was right. While the technology existed to create nearly
everlasting life, it was worth more money than neither he nor I could imagine,
‘What happened?’
    ‘It
sounds like they were patrolling just off to the east of the city, checking out
an old Chinese trench system. Rebels ambushed them, fired a smart missile
straight at them and then disappeared. They hit three section’s section
commander, a screw called Gaz. Really good bloke. It was a miracle not more of
them were hurt, but we think the missile was faulty and detonated early. They
got off lightly.’
    ‘Not
lightly enough.’
    ‘No.’
    I
shook my head disbelievingly, ‘How could this happen? Did they not have any air
assets watching them?’
    ‘Yeah
they did, then just a few seconds before it happened…’ Westy clicked his
fingers, ‘No visual. There was an orbital platform and a saucer nearby, but
they didn’t see anything. By the time everything started working again the
ambush was over and the enemy were long gone.’
    ‘Back
into the tunnels,’ I finished, and Westy nodded.
    ‘There’s
a million kilometres of tunnels under that city, and some we don’t even know
about.’
    ‘So
you think they’re hiding under the city?’
    The
Welshman shrugged, ‘I don’t know. I don’t think so, though. They hide in
amongst the people. They’re slick. They don’t leave behind any evidence, not so
much as a hair molecule. Hide your weapons somewhere and go back onto the
street, and you’re just another civilian going about his business. It’s the
perfect camouflage.’
    ‘Which
means that just about anyone can be a NELA fighter?’
    Westy
nodded slowly, ‘Exactly.’
    #
    It
was late in the evening when the platoon finally returned to their
accommodation. I heard the rumble of their combined footsteps outside my door
and then it slid open to reveal the NCO who had brought Gaz in through the lock
earlier on.
    Roughly
the same build as me, he had a thick mop of blonde hair and a chiselled jaw and
I thought to myself that he wouldn’t have looked out of place in a modelling
agency. He glared at me as though I were the enemy himself.
    ‘Orders,’
he grunted, and left.
    I
made my way out into the corridor to find the platoon lined along