Psion Omega (Psion series Book 5) Read Online Free PDF Page A

finished, the computer screen told him he had
completed a successful entry. Everyone let out a breath of relief and turned
their attentions back to their monitors.
    Next to Brickert, Strawberry stood and peered closely
at one of the video feeds on her monitors. “What is that?”
    “Where?” Brickert asked his sister.
    “Right out—”
    The door to the security center blew open. Gas
containers flew into the room. Brickert held his breath and shot blasts in the
direction of the canisters. Thirteens crowded into the room wearing gas masks
and wielding guns. The sound of the bullets was deafening in close quarters.
The four Psions put up shields, but the telltale signs of coughing told
Brickert the battle might already be lost. The coughs came from Hefani, deep
booming, gagging hacks.
    Hold it
together, Hefani , Brickert thought. He didn’t dare say the words aloud
for fear of breathing in the gas. Already his eyes burned and watered. In their
gas masks, the Thirteens weren’t able to communicate well, their attack less
coordinated. But in the confines of the small security center, a room about
four by five meters, they didn’t need much coordination.
    Sammy mentioned something about white noise coming
through the coms, but Brickert still couldn’t speak without inhaling the
noxious fumes. Under the hailstorm of bullets, the screens and equipment around
him shattered, popped, and sprayed debris everywhere. Strawberry and Natalia
drew close to Brickert, still shielding. Hefani fell to his knees as booming
coughs exploded from his lungs. His eyes were large and watery, but he kept his
arms straight in front of him, still protecting his front.
    We have to get
out of here!
    Brickert had no idea how long he’d been holding his
breath, but it felt like an hour. In reality, it had only been fifty or sixty
seconds. His heart beat faster the longer he denied himself of air.
    I told Sammy I
wasn’t a leader.
    Two Thirteens dashed forward, perhaps unable to
restrain themselves any longer. Brickert dropped down to one knee and fired
several blasts up at their heads. One of them flew back, flipping over in the
air. Bullets from his own comrades tore into his body. The other’s mask shot
back, exposing his face. He immediately gagged and coughed.
    Have to fix this
somehow …
    Brickert counted six more Thirteens in masks. If he
and his team were to have any chance, they had to get out of the room so they
could breathe and call for help.
    Brickert mustered the last of the air in his lungs
and bellowed to his team, “CHARGE THEM!”
    The outburst prompted questions from the other team
leaders over the com—questions Brickert couldn’t answer—as he,
Natalia, Strawberry, and Hefani pushed forward in unison. They pushed back the
Thirteens until Hefani went to his knees again, now coughing so violently that
flecks of blood came up with each breath. The Thirteens identified him as the
weakest link and focused fire. Hefani kept one hand up to shield, the other
down to break his fall.
    Natalia sidestepped closer to him so her shields would
provide him cover. Strawberry moved over to Brickert. Neither Hefani nor
Strawberry had been involved in combat before. Brickert didn’t want to think
about what thoughts were going through their minds. He had to focus on what he
could do to survive.
    I’m not the
right man for this job. I’m not a leader!
    Gas continued to cloud the room in a yellowish haze.
Their efforts to drive the Thirteens back succeeded in part. Brickert blasted
at the enemy but his lungs were close to bursting. How could he concentrate
with the need to breathe so persistent?
    Don’t break.
Don’t do it , he urged himself. Stay
strong.
    He tried to push forward again, but his lungs
betrayed him, sucking down both sweet air and noxious gas. The reaction came at
once. A burning in his chest coupled with the need to retch. Eyes watering so
badly that he couldn’t breathe. Then came the irrepressible cough. It was a
deep,