Phoenix Rising (Book Two of The Icarus Trilogy) Read Online Free Page A

former convict just lacked the ethics of the giant.
    “Hey, Feldman, how are things on your end?”  Feldman thumbed the signal for Comms and looked at his partner.  He breathed in deeply and let it go after a moment.
    “Ran into a couple of groups.  Three and Two.  All five are dead.”  He tapped at the signal and waited for the reply.
    “Well, that’s good.  Pretty sure we’re gonna win this one.  The Vipers don’t know their guns from their dicks.  Jenkins still there?”  Feldman looked at the corpse of his partner.  Underneath the helmet it looked like Jenkins, certainly, but it was a different man.  Jenkins was already dead.
    “Dead.  Took a rifle round to the head.”  He let his thumb slide off the button and looked towards the horizon.  Warner and Roberts were off to the north.  Feldman wondered if he had already decided subconsciously to meet up with the pair of soldiers.  He heard the crackle over Comms again and heard Warner sighing.
    “He might be more fun, now, but the kid used to be a better soldier.  I preferred that,” Warner said before pausing.  Feldman was surprised that the past and present murderer had the wherewithal to notice Jenkins’ change, but he let the thought slide.  It was fairly obvious to anyone who had known the boy. 
    “Well, if you want to stop being a lazy kike then get your ass over here.  Roberts and I are in a good position, but I want to go hunting.”  Feldman’s eye twitched at the slur, but then decided it didn’t matter.  It was Warner’s nature to be rude and prejudiced, but he had never attacked Feldman or any of the other soldiers just because they were different.  For a man as violent as Warner, racial slurs were mostly harmless.  Feldman started to walk to their position before replying.
    “I’m coming.  Don’t worry,” he said before flicking off the Comms.  The only reason he left to join them was because it was the safest option, but he wasn’t going to waste any words explaining that to Warner.
    -
    Abrams hated the whole thing.  She hated having to live on this asteroid.  She hated having to kill people every other day.  And while it was a smaller issue than anything else, she really hated having no hair.  She missed her curls.  Her life on Eris was filled with all kinds of things she hated, but most of all she hated being separated from her sister.  Abrams swore she would see Rebecca again, but for the time being she shot her revolver at the man in front of her.
    It wasn’t the best situation for the Crow.  The revolver in her hand was stronger than the man’s automatic, but she had only six possible bullets; he had thirty.  She strafed and dodged to the right, rolling to cover and popping up whenever she felt it was safe.  He did likewise and they continued along in a circle.  She cursed the Viper and his parents for their responsibility in his creation.  He was one of the better ones on their team and Abrams had the rotten luck to go toe-to-toe with him.
    In a better situation she could rely on her partner, but Abrams was paired with Templeton.  The black man was thin and useless.  He had been recruited a month after Jenkins and while that boy had continued to refine his skills, Templeton seemed to consciously stay terrible.  She cursed his existence, too.  The other soldier was off beyond the ridge trading bullets with the Viper’s partner.  Abrams figured that she would eventually have to take out that soldier, too.
    She landed behind cover and put her back to the rusted transport.  She checked her ammo belt without looking and her hand hit nothing comfortable.  She was out of extra rounds.
    “Fuck,” she yelled, not even bothering to cover the curse.  She hit the release on her weapon and looked at the six chambers in her revolver.  There were only two rounds left.  She bit her lip underneath her helmet and wondered what she was going to do.  If she was lucky she could kill the man with just