Battle Earth by Nick S. Thomas Read Free Book Online Page A

well as full pressure suits and breathing tanks. Keep a full load out of ammo and be ready for anything. When we face the unexpected, we can never have enough ammo. That’s all I have to say and the only intel we have to go on.”
    “One last thing, Sir, the colony is a sizeable city, we are one company, we’ll be spread a bit thin?” asked Wilson.
    “We’ll focus our efforts on the economic centre of the colony only, which includes the government buildings, police headquarters and all key officials. Shuttles will be kept on hand to allow us fast deployment as and when needed. Now, that’ll be all. We’ve got hours to kill, no mission to plan and no training to be done. Your time is your own.”

    * * *

    It was a long and boring journey to the Moon. After the start of their first trip the excitement of being in space and the views from the ship died down. The Major sat on the bridge as they made their descent to the Moon Spaceport. With none of the problems that the Earth’s gravity and atmosphere presented, vessels came and went at ease. Mitch had in some ways been hiding from his men. They wanted more answers than he could give, and he was sick of repeating the same story.
    It would be a lie for Taylor to say he wasn’t scared. Through his intense training and multiple missions on Earth, nothing worried him more than the unknown. In their age of communication and technology, he’d never had to go into a situation as blind as this. Whatever worries he had he couldn’t express them, it was his duty above all else to maintain his composure for the benefit of his marines.
    “This is it, Major, final descent, you’ll be on the ground in three minutes,” said Reyes.
    “Thank you, Captain, what are your following orders?”
    Reyes turned to look at Taylor as if shocked at the question.
    “We’ve been ordered to stay for your duration, Sir.”
    That bothered Taylor, but said nothing in response. The only reason that the Deveron would be tied up was if the General wanted to be sure they could be evacuated at short notice. It was becoming ever more clear how dangerous the General thought their situation could be. With this in mind, it was more worrying than ever that nobody else appeared to be acting on the information.
    “Thank you, Captain, I’ll be down below.”
    Taylor leapt to his feet. He didn’t want the crew to see his concern and confusion in the situation. His training was now kicking in, they were about to hit the ground and the only thing he needed to concern himself with was being ready for action. A minute later he was pulling his armour over his compression suit beside his command staff and making final preparations.
    “Remember, those are civilians down there, we are there as an emergency measure only, I don’t want to cause any more concern than we’re already doing. Stay sharp, stay calm, and be ready for anything!”
    The Major pulled on his webbing with spare ammunition and the oxygen tank to his back. The magnetic gravity generators first used on the Moon, as well as the oxygen processors, had done wonders in developing the potential for the community. However, as soldiers, they had to be ready for anything. A serious breach in the colony could require them to need both air and their suits.
    “Let’s move!” shouted Taylor.
    He slipped his pistol into its thigh holster, picked up his rifle and strode for the doors of ship. The broad ramp down to the docking bay allowed them to disembark five men wide. The Major was surprised to see that not a single official was present to meet them. For a moment this concerned him, until he had to remind himself that as far as the colony was concerned their presence was only in a benign training capacity. He turned back to his men, who looked just as shocked to find a relatively empty docking bay, the only presence being crews and mechanics.
    “Get the birds out, were heading for the LZ immediately!”
    The Moon colony was an ugly one, an almost