Merkiaari Wars: 03 - Operation Oracle Read Online Free PDF Page B

non-combat setting. He had caught other Shan doing it in various places and situations. It was a wise thing they were doing, and was something he needed to emulate if he was going to successfully predict how the Shan would impact the Alliance. He had to wonder if these two males were even warriors. They looked and acted the part, but the way they observed everything reminded him of the way Marion Hymas worked. She was a shrink. Shan didn’t have recognisable psychologists, but they did have mind healers as part of the greater healer caste. They specialised in what the Shan called the harmonies of the mind. Burgton had no proof, but his instincts were telling him that one or both was healer caste not warrior. He liked sneaky thinking like that, and he was glad the Shan were already taking necessary steps. They needed to learn that not every Human they met had their best interests at heart or altruistic motivations for what they did.
    “I and my men are ready to do our part as always,” Burgton began and Jung scowled. “But a respite would be much appreciated. To be blunt, I have less than two hundred effectives left at my command. If I can preserve that force without compromising the mission, I am prepared to retire from the field early.”
    Kuzov nodded thoughtfully. “I would prefer it if your men remained on planet, General, but by all means pull back and consolidate as our reserve.”
    Burgton indicated agreement with a crisp nod. Kuzov was no fool, he knew what Jung wanted and was willing to oblige, but he obviously wasn’t willing to risk the mission. Cold blooded it might be, but Kuzov knew that if Jung screwed up, two hundred vipers in reserve should rectify the situation in short order. Burgton didn’t expect Jung would need his men though. She wanted that star very badly, and would most likely flood the battlefield with men to make sure there were no screw-ups. There was no such thing as overkill when fighting Merkiaari. Vipers were based upon the idea of victory through superior firepower after all. Jung would simply apply that truism with her own manpower.
    Colonel Jung looked pleased. She nodded to Burgton in thanks and started detailing her plan of attack.
    Burgton caught Admiral Meyers’ eye, and she cocked her head in question. He flicked a look at the Shan and signalled with a gesture that he would like a word after the meeting. Meyers had been watching the Shan just as he had through the presentation, and he wanted her take. He was wondering if she had gotten the same vibe from the aliens as he had.
    “...useful to capture the ship.” Colonel Jung was saying and Burgton brought his attention back to business. “The Merki have managed to surprise us a number of times on this campaign. The jamming and their ability to track our transmissions needs investigation. Of course, they’ve always been adept at the second, and that spawned a raft of new tech from our side to offset the disadvantage last time around. I have a feeling our R&D people will need to pull the proverbial rabbit out of their hats again. We need to strip that ship of every molecule of intelligence it contains.”
    Burgton nodded along with the others. A new war always caused advances in tech. The trick was staying ahead of the opposition. It was an arms race with survival as the prize. At least this time they knew the Merkiaari had advanced in three key areas before being attacked by them. The jamming was more pervasive and far reaching than the Alliance could do, and no one had yet figured out how they were tracking and decrypting transmissions, but it was the Merki troopers themselves that worried Burgton the most. Professor Wilder had first brought it to his attention that the Merki had evolved the ability to regenerate serious wounds. They were tougher to kill than ever before, and they had always been tough bastards. Worse to his way of thinking was the way they had modified their war fighting techniques and doctrine to emulate