Rebellion Read Online Free PDF

ahead.
    Draven cursed under his breath as he slogged along in pursuit. He'd reached a point in his UMC career where he expected to jet in to trouble spots and be met by an armored limo and a few bodyguards. A week ago-even a day ago-he'd have laughed at the notion of traipsing through the boonies with a technical staff of one and depending on a smart-ass Marine for protection. Yet here he was, preparing for the negotiations of his life. Far better than the military, it seemed, UMC realized the possibilities in opening up an entire world for development. They wanted the best contact man they had for the job. And that man was Walt Draven. He mopped sweat off his forehead, glancing up to see how far ahead that damned Marine had gotten. Surprisingly, they'd reached the foot of the large dune. O'Neil was working his way diagonally up the crusted sand face. Then Draven noticed movement at the crest. "Colonel!"
    he yelled, the warning coming almost unbidden from his throat. "Above you!" O'Neil had already heard the commotion overhead. He stepped up his pace as he scaled his way to the top, a grin stretching his face.
    Lined up at the crest were Skaara and his ragtag band of shepherds. When they spotted O'Neil, their right arms moved in unison to give him a snappy salute. "What the hell-" Draven muttered as he stared up. The boys' discipline wavered and broke as O'Neil finally reached them. They gathered around their hero, and Skaara forgot himself sufficiently to give the thoroughly embarrassed colonel a welcome hug and kiss. "Seems like a very demonstrative culture," Preston remarked dryly. The young men were jabbering away, eager to demonstrate their soldiering skills, but the handsome young fellow with the curly hair and earrings quickly restored order with a few sharp if incomprehensible commands. "That's one to keep an eye on," Draven said in a low voice. "A leader." The pair of earthlings painfully essayed the climb, to be met by a dozen helping hands to make their way over the crest. O'Neil made introductions. "This is Skaara, and the group of young men who helped us put an end to RaThe boy commandos couldn't understand what he was saying, but they caught the reference to Ra. Almost to a man, they spat at the mention of his name. Again, it was up to Skaara to restore order.
    Draven was not much impressed with the young men. They had no uniforms, all of them clad in dull, ill-fitting homespun. Their equipment was laughable-the handful of rifles not enough to outfit even half their company. The only other sign of martial equipment was the plastic compound helmet on Nabeh's head. But Skaara-there, Draven had to admit, there were possibilities. People followed the young man. He had looks.
    He had leadership potential. He could either be dangerous, or, as Draven automatically classified him, Skaara could be used to destabilize the present regime-whatever that turned out to be.

CHAPTER 4
ALARMS AND INTRUSIONS
    It was just as well that the Horus guards stationed outside the entrance to Sebek's apartments were masked. If Hathor had seen the expressions on their naked faces, she'd probably have felt obliged to kill them all-and that wasn't part of her plan. The guards' reaction was only to be expected under the circumstances. Hathor was clad in a shift composed of about ten percent linen and ninety percent air-for all intents and purposes, a transparent wrapping for her abundant charms. Ra's servants were, of course, chosen almost from infancy on the basis of physical beauty. Some, like Thoth, grew up to be ugly ducklings in reverse.
    Hathor, on the other hand, had matured into a beautiful swan, far outstripping her childhood prettiness. The sinuous perfection of her body offered all the attributes one might expect of a goddess of sex and love. And Hathor was wise enough not to gild the lily. Glass bangles and a pair of thick-soled sandals made up the rest of her seduction ensemble. One of the guards moved to block her path-he'd