Blood War 1: Last Stand of the Legion: Rift Read Online Free Page A
Author: Rod Carstens
be a balancing act to carry out their mission. He needed to cut the time on target down to something he felt comfortable with or end up losing someone.
They flew in a loose formation of three packages, of four ships each, flanker's out and scouts ahead. They were all experienced troops, and normally constant direction by Dasan and Aijuba was not necessary. But they were feeling the effects of their abrupt wake up from status and the platoon needed constant prodding. Dasan too, felt the stress of the flight in spite of the drugs. They all were on the edge of their endurance.
"Sergeant," Dasan said.
"Yes, Lieutenant," Aijuba replied.
"Launch drones. They could tell us something and maybe cut this patrol short."
"Lieutenant. If the aliens left anyone behind, it would tip our hand, we should wait."
Sergeant Aijuba had been on the frontiers more than twice as long as Dasan. She had actually been at Ixco. She had a half a dozen red tears in her service cascade.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Dasan said.
It was going to be a long flight but he could cut their patrol time by a third if they went to near light. It would put them on the scene fatigued but it would shorten the patrol. Get this last patrol over with.
"Let's get this thing done. We are going over the top. Platoon; on my mark; we go to near light. Three, two, one mark."
He knew the designers saved thousands of pounds of sensors and other equipment by running the ships controls through their bodies , allowing them to carry more armament and increase their speed. In test after test the fighters had been shown to perform significantly better in trials when connected to the human pilot rather than have a pilot "fly" with normal controls but it came at a human price. Dasan felt the increase in speed, the same as a long distance runner felt a change in pace in a long race. The effects on the body were much the same. He would feel this added speed at the end of the patrol. So would the rest of the platoon, but the added speed would end the patrol sooner.
He watched as the time to target began to get shorter and shorter. He checked his crystal temperature - it was rising along with the speed but he knew it would. The crystals were designed to stand up to demands exactly like this. That is why the Legion had spent the trillions of dollars to upgrade them. Dasan was going to see if the money had been well spent.
PATROL AREA BRAVO
PLANET GAXOLA II
SOL STANDARD 11/09
2000 HOURS
Dasan was exhausted by the time the platoon reached the Gaxola system. He was not the only one. Most of the platoon was in the same shape. He needed to check this out fast and head back for the Lyre.
He left a section in a high cover orbit, while he took the rest of the patrol down for a fly-by of the colony. Von Fleet had not named the planet , instead they simply called it what it was - the second planet in the Gaxola system, Gaxola II. Located at the edge of the habitable zone of Gaxola, it was a bleak place covered with ice and little to make it worth colonizing except for the possibility of containing the precious Von Fleet Crystal deep in its core. They broke through the haze of an atmosphere and got their first view of the surface. The surface was a maze of mountains and huge canyons covered with ice and snow. The canyons were so deep that they allowed the mining operation to start much deeper than on the surface. Cyrovolcanos dotted its surface. It was, in other words, one of the most difficult and depressing places a human could work. Yet money drove it all, billions had been spent to create the exploration-mining project. If Von Fleet crystals were found, the Corporation would file its claim and Von Fleet would add another world to its inventory.
Dasan began to see signs of habitation. Generators were out in the field running robotic drilling sites. There were several of what
They flew in a loose formation of three packages, of four ships each, flanker's out and scouts ahead. They were all experienced troops, and normally constant direction by Dasan and Aijuba was not necessary. But they were feeling the effects of their abrupt wake up from status and the platoon needed constant prodding. Dasan too, felt the stress of the flight in spite of the drugs. They all were on the edge of their endurance.
"Sergeant," Dasan said.
"Yes, Lieutenant," Aijuba replied.
"Launch drones. They could tell us something and maybe cut this patrol short."
"Lieutenant. If the aliens left anyone behind, it would tip our hand, we should wait."
Sergeant Aijuba had been on the frontiers more than twice as long as Dasan. She had actually been at Ixco. She had a half a dozen red tears in her service cascade.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Dasan said.
It was going to be a long flight but he could cut their patrol time by a third if they went to near light. It would put them on the scene fatigued but it would shorten the patrol. Get this last patrol over with.
"Let's get this thing done. We are going over the top. Platoon; on my mark; we go to near light. Three, two, one mark."
He knew the designers saved thousands of pounds of sensors and other equipment by running the ships controls through their bodies , allowing them to carry more armament and increase their speed. In test after test the fighters had been shown to perform significantly better in trials when connected to the human pilot rather than have a pilot "fly" with normal controls but it came at a human price. Dasan felt the increase in speed, the same as a long distance runner felt a change in pace in a long race. The effects on the body were much the same. He would feel this added speed at the end of the patrol. So would the rest of the platoon, but the added speed would end the patrol sooner.
He watched as the time to target began to get shorter and shorter. He checked his crystal temperature - it was rising along with the speed but he knew it would. The crystals were designed to stand up to demands exactly like this. That is why the Legion had spent the trillions of dollars to upgrade them. Dasan was going to see if the money had been well spent.
PATROL AREA BRAVO
PLANET GAXOLA II
SOL STANDARD 11/09
2000 HOURS
Dasan was exhausted by the time the platoon reached the Gaxola system. He was not the only one. Most of the platoon was in the same shape. He needed to check this out fast and head back for the Lyre.
He left a section in a high cover orbit, while he took the rest of the patrol down for a fly-by of the colony. Von Fleet had not named the planet , instead they simply called it what it was - the second planet in the Gaxola system, Gaxola II. Located at the edge of the habitable zone of Gaxola, it was a bleak place covered with ice and little to make it worth colonizing except for the possibility of containing the precious Von Fleet Crystal deep in its core. They broke through the haze of an atmosphere and got their first view of the surface. The surface was a maze of mountains and huge canyons covered with ice and snow. The canyons were so deep that they allowed the mining operation to start much deeper than on the surface. Cyrovolcanos dotted its surface. It was, in other words, one of the most difficult and depressing places a human could work. Yet money drove it all, billions had been spent to create the exploration-mining project. If Von Fleet crystals were found, the Corporation would file its claim and Von Fleet would add another world to its inventory.
Dasan began to see signs of habitation. Generators were out in the field running robotic drilling sites. There were several of what
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