Dark Planet Warriors: The Serial (Books 1-3) Read Online Free

now, the last thing we need is a dominant alien race coming and recruiting us under the guise of benevolent rule.
    I shudder a little, before pulling myself together. I catch the errant thoughts before they spiral downward into full-on scary territory.
    No point in worrying about things I can’t do anything about.
    On the other hand, the oxygen filters won’t change themselves. And I have chocolate stashed in my locker. It always does wonders for curing feelings of imminent doom.
    Ah yes, chocolate. Just the thought of it is making me feel better already.

CHAPTER TWO

    Tarak
    The boss of the mining station occupies a floor high above the Human workers’ factories and offices. There’s a reception type area at the entrance, and for a utilitarian industrial station such as this, it’s surprisingly opulent.
    The floors are made of rare, black Jentian stone, polished to a high sheen, and there is green vegetation trailing up the glass walls, attached to metal trellises.
    Again, the lights are irritatingly bright, serving to perpetuate my headache.
    Humans must have poor dark-vision. It has to be the only reason they insist on illuminating the entire place like a flaring star.
    The space is seemingly empty, but from a distance, I hear something.
    Footsteps. Arkan and Kalan sense the same. We’re at a kind of junction, the passageway stretching out in both directions in front of the cavernous space.  
    “They’re trying to cut us off.” Kalan hefts his giant plasma cannon over his shoulder, and gets down on one knee, pointing it down the still empty corridor.
    I sense it now, the tiny vibrations that come from dozens of Human footsteps.
    Arkan takes the other direction, drawing his twin rapid-fire plasma rifles.
    It seems as if the Humans are stupid enough to try and ambush us, after all.
    Their loss.
    “Full armor,” I snap, and the nanites of my exo-suit whirr and click, forming a helmet that protects my face. I get some relief from the harsh lights as the combat visor covers my eyes, its datafeed throwing up numbers and graphics in my vision. It tells me Human enemies approach, from both directions.
    Just as we’d sensed.
    I grab Jacobs’ arm and he whirls to face me, in a panic. “If you don’t want your comrades to die, get your ass up to wherever your leader is hiding and tell him to call off this death wish. Otherwise the fifty or so Human soldiers who think they’re about to get the jump on us will end up painting the walls. Don’t you know that your weapons can’t penetrate our armor? There’s nothing your soldiers can do.”
    “I have nothing to do with this,” he stutters. “I swear.”
    “I don’t care. Get your Station Boss down here now. I’m out of patience.”   I turn to my subordinate, who is now similarly decked out in full battle armor. “Kalan, fire a warning shot. You know the drill.”
    “About time you decided to go hostile, general,” Kalan replies. “These Humans are just fucking around.” He steadies himself, and pulls the trigger. A loud boom follows, and screams echo down the corridor.
    Jacobs looks back and forth in alarm.
    “Run, Human,” I tell him. He wastes no time, scurrying off to enter an elevator.
    Although the visor has dimmed the effects of the harsh lights, it hasn’t helped my pounding head at all. A small part of me wishes I could retreat to the cruiser and pop a few of the pills I normally take to help me sleep. I squash that weak, pathetic voice in disgust.
    We’re running out of time, and I need results, fast.
    Cold logic tells me I should kill all the approaching Humans. But death is a punishment best saved for last, when there are no other options left. I need the Humans co-operative, because I need their machinery, their resources, and their expertise.
    We’re soldiers, not mechanics.
    Basic military strategy dictates I should gain co-operation of the leadership first. Only once that option fails do we go on the offensive.
    So I need these Humans