Galactic Empire Wars: Insurrection (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 5) by Raymond L. Weil Read Free Book Online Page A

a lingerie shop in downtown Luna City. Lauren had helped her pick out the
appropriate clothing items for tonight. She strongly suspected Ryan would
approve of what Lauren had encouraged her to buy.
    -
    On Freedom
Station, Colonel Winfrey and Admiral Adamson were standing in one of the
station’s numerous flight bays gazing at a new assault cruiser. The assault
cruisers had been designed to be much more powerful than the assault ships that
had been used in the past. They were larger, faster, and better armed to give
the Marines a maximum chance of survival.
    “How many
assault cruisers are going on this mission?” asked Dylan as he watched several
cargo handlers moving supplies into the 350-meter long ship through a large
open hatch. Dylan knew the ship was 70 meters high and had a width of 200
meters. It could hold one hundred twenty Marines and their equipment as well as
its normal crew of one hundred.
    “Ten,”
answered Admiral Adamson. “We’ll also be taking the troop assault ship Defender ,
which will serve as your flagship for the operation. The Defender will
only be called upon if there’s a situation the assault cruisers can’t handle.”
    Dylan nodded.
He had known about the possibility that the Defender was going to be
included in the fleet. As a matter of fact, he had suggested it weeks earlier
during the initial planning stages for this mission. “What about your fleet?
How many warships will be going along?”
    Adamson folded
his arms across his chest as he watched several squads of Marines enter the bay
carrying heavy weapons to place in the assault cruiser. “The Constellation and the Castillo will be the two heavy battlecruisers going. There will
also be six regular battlecruisers and fifteen light cruisers. That should give
us sufficient firepower to handle almost anything we come across unless we run
into a major Kleese fleet.”
    “The Constellation is a new ship, isn’t she?” asked Dylan. He knew the admiral used to command a regular
battlecruiser with the same name.
    “Yes, it only
recently completed its space trials,” Adamson replied with a pleased smile.
“We’ve replaced all of the battlecruisers that once served as fleet flagships
with the more powerful heavy battlecruisers. They really proved their worth in
the attack upon the Kleese home system.”
    Dylan stood
looking at the assault cruiser. It had an almost unlimited range and was capable
of attacking targets on the surface of a planet. The ship was equipped with two
particle beam cannons, eight pulse fusion cannons and twenty dual energy
turrets for defense. In addition, there were six KEW batteries, which could be
used to take out targets upon the surface of a planet. The ship was also equipped
with eight missile tubes that could handle the new multi-warhead sublight
missiles with twenty-megaton warheads. Dylan let out a deep sigh. They were
getting ready to go poke a finger in the multifaceted eyes of the Kleese. He
just wondered what type of reaction they would get.
    -
    Ryan took a cautious
bite of the lasagna in front of him. They were inside a stylish Italian restaurant
sitting at a long table that easily accommodated all of them. Looking around
the dining room, Ryan noticed what appeared to be several other clones eating
meals. Clones were, for the most part, easy to spot. Their skin was unblemished
and had a healthy pink tone. They also acted a little uncertain in the company
of Humans. Of course the clones Ryan was associated with had been exposed to enough
harsh environments they were difficult to distinguish from a Human.
    “Pizza!”
uttered Lauren in disgust, glaring at Alexander. “How can you come to a nice
restaurant like this and order pizza?”
    “I like pizza,”
Alexander said defensively as he picked up a slice and took a bite. “I can’t
even pronounce what you ordered.”
    “ Fettuccine Alfredo,” Lauren said, speaking
the words slowly.
    “Whatever,” Alexander replied dismissively.
“I’ll stay