Merkiaari Wars: 02 - What Price Honour Read Online Free PDF Page B

whispered through his open visor. “Did you see how easy he made that kill? He a spook?”
    Gina shrugged. “He’s a concerned citizen who knows the target.”
    “Yeah right, he’s a damn spook,” he said this time with assurance.
    Gina didn’t disabuse him of the notion and a moment later Eric was again leading the way. Gina slapped her visor down and followed Westfield who was now in the number two slot. As before, they moved in single file. Silent and careful. If her data was accurate, they should reach the target in another hour.
    The darkness was utterly complete, but the low light amplification of their optics brightened the night sufficiently for their needs. Although it would take a miracle for the rebels to locate their frequencies, conversation was kept to a minimum. Scrambled as they were, overhearing wouldn’t get the rebels very far, but it would give away the fact someone was coming.
    Gina found herself envying Eric. He exuded confidence and strength. Whether or not he felt that way within himself, she didn’t know, but he certainly gave that impression. She had worked and trained for fifteen years as a Marine. She knew she was good at her job, but she also knew that she was a child compared to a viper. They were stronger, faster, and deadlier than any Human could ever hope to be. They healed faster. They could take horrendous damage and keep on going. They lived much longer—or rather, they would if they weren’t killed in action. Viper losses during the Merki War had never been replaced.
    Vipers frightened people. Unenlightened people said they were dangerous to the Alliance. She knew it was crap, but many believed it. Those from Bethany’s World were the most vocal in opposing new construction, but none of the core worlds had fought the decision very hard. The Merkiaari were defeated they said, what need for vipers now? Short-sighted politicians made her want to puke. The Merkiaari might have been defeated, but that didn’t mean they were gone forever. Who knew what they were up to?
    Eric slowed his advance then went to his belly and crawled the last few metres.
    Gina didn’t need to give the order to her people. One moment they were moving in a crouch, the next they went to ground and hid themselves in the foliage. She crawled up beside Eric and followed his pointing finger to the target.
    She nodded and opened a channel. “All units, target in sight, move up and spread out either side of my position.”
    As her people moved up, Gina surveyed what she could see of the rebel base. The trees gave way to a small open area about a hundred and fifty metres ahead. She could see a dimly lit compound with two tracked vehicles parked within it. Guards were pacing the perimeter at intervals, but they were of little concern. They weren’t equipped with night vision optics and were essentially blind. The laser towers Eric mentioned were just visible in the gloom, but the turrets themselves were lost to the night. There was no way to be sure if they were operational. She couldn’t see the missile batteries he had mentioned, but the snub barrels of Raytheon Auto-7 sentry guns were unmistakable. The Auto-7 was serious hardware by anyone’s standard. They were computer controlled auto loading gatling guns, firing 7mm armour piercing rounds at a rate of 6000 per minute. When they fired, it was like the breath of God unleashed. Those guns would have to be dealt with before they did anything else.
    “Automated,” she said noting the sensor arrays. “Thermal?”
    “And motion activated,” Eric agreed. “But they had all kinds of trouble with the local wildlife tripping the alerts. They had to dial back their sensitivity to stop the things fragging everyone. I won’t have a problem getting close to them.”
    “And the rest of us?”
    Eric looked at her for a long moment in consideration. “You wouldn’t get within a hundred metres.”
    She was hardly surprised. “That’s what I figured. Is there any