Naero's War: The Citation Series 2: The High Crusade Read Online Free PDF Page A

and energy signatures all around us and even to our rear. I’m guessing its some kind of concealed minefield.”
    “Minefield? Show it to me Allen.”
    Naero pweaked it a bit to make the findings slightly more obvious.
    Wilde stopped firing and even pulled back in mid-air, drawing off the platoon with her. “Holy shit, Allen! That’s no goddam minefield. 2 nd Platoon, halt and stay with me, inverted Victor double defensive lines. All shield pods up and online in sphere defense.”
    They fell back slightly and took cover behind the next large building over that way, where the fighting had already passed them by.
    The leftenant scrambled to call in the vital significance of that data directly to HQ and on to Intel and Command. “HQ, HQ, get me Major Luna and shunt this all the way up the chain. Patch us directly in to General Walker himself. This is an Alpha-Charlie-Negative One Alert. Situation Red. I repeat. Situation Red.
    “The threat is preparing to set off a tek-crippling EM blast net. That way, we couldn’t detect it, the way we could if they had used a large EM bomb. They will most likely cripple all of the tek of our forward units in this area. They also have large numbers of combat reinforcements buried, shut down, and concealed underground that will not be affected by the blast net. They are waiting only for us to move further and deeper into their trap–just as we are doing now by pressing our attack. Then their fully functioning troops will emerge and wipe us out.”
    Wilde suddenly sounded frustrated. “What do you mean, where’s my proof? Damn it! It’s all right in these scan reads, if you’ve got brains enough to know what you’re looking at, and you can see the tactical patterns and analyze the energy signatures. Who the hell is this? Goddam it. Get me Major Luna or one of her officers. I don’t care which one. Here’s the data push once again. Show it to someone who’s got a clue! Analyze the situation and advise. Over. Yes, I will hold the link, goddam it!”
    Some degree of static blipped over the link and a well-known voice cut in. “Ana, this is Major Luna. Hold your position, Leftenant. Hold and stand by while we confirm your findings. Alerting all Company 36 units. Assemble on new priority orders and prepare for a heavy enemy counterattack, possibly from all sides and directions.”
    Shortly after that, Bravo broke off their initial assault, withdrew to a defensive line, and pumped up their shields.
    Om almost screamed at Naero, No, no! Make them power down all shields, N. Tell them to do so, before it’s too late. Maxing all shields is exactly what the enemy wants us to do!
    “Leftenant!” Miranda-Naero called out. “We’re playing right into their hands. They’re going to negate all tek with a massive pulse surge. Even maxed out, our shields can’t stop it! Insist that Major Luna have Bravo power down and button up–just like we would against atomics. That will protect us, and we can still power back up and fight! That’s what the enemy is planning.”
    Wilde got on the horn, and the relay went from her to Luna, and then straight to General Walker. But orders were already filtering down from Intel and Command. Other heads had figured out the danger as well.
    Most of Bravo had barely shut down and covered up, when the wide-reaching EM pulse flashed through nearly everything in the gigacity’s western half.
    All exposed tek was burned out: friend, foe, or civilian. Everything cooked and went down.
    The game was up, and the hidden enemy forces then powered up and emerged from their hiding places underground.
    They fully expected to crush and obliterate everything living around them.
    Bravo command powered up and met them head on, picking up the new assault on the evolving combat grid.
    Intense firefights erupted close in, in a ring of fire and death all around Elaris. The Marines slugged it out face to face as only they could, nailing targets at will, taking fire from all sides