Machine Gods (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 2) by Michael G. Thomas Read Free Book Online Page A

his heavy
magnetized boot onto the skull of the nearest dead Biomech, as if
to emphasize his anger. It crunched through the creature, leaving
broken flesh and bone on the bulkhead. Even though he wore a fully
sealed suit, his face was easy to see, and he was angry, very
angry. As he looked down, he seemed to pause, fascinated by the
grisly destruction on the ground.
    “Khan, do these look familiar?” he asked
bitterly.
    Khan was already
picking through the remains before casting them aside. He nodded at
Spartan.
    “ Yeah, they are
similar to the beasts we still hunt on Hyperion, same bone
structure and muscle placement; no way are these synthetics.
They’ve been butchered, just like our creatures.”
    Spartan looked as
if he was waiting for something
different. Khan looked back at the skull and spotted something. He
moved his head slightly to get a better look.
    “ You’re right, they
aren’t exactly the same. These creatures are closer to the T’Kari
than us. Look at them.”
    He held up the
shattered head of the nearest dead creature. Though badly crushed,
it still retained most of the shape. Spartan looked at it
carefully, paying particular attention on the muscular jaws and
forehead. He’d actually met similar ones on board a transport
trying to flee the fighting at the Siege of Titan. Just thinking
about that fight sent trembles through his body. They were fast,
strong, and deadly in close combat. He looked down and examined the
broken arms of the thing.
    “ Yeah, they are far
less developed than the ones we fought back home. I think you’re
right. They’ve been harvesting T’Kari and
using them as raw materials for these creatures. I bet that’s how
they beat them in the end. The two things we know about them is
that they are highly advanced but also completely useless in
physical violence. These creatures will have been the perfect
weapon to use against them.”
    Khan shook his
head .
    “ They aren’t as
strong as our enemies though, and we
still beat them,” replied Khan with unashamed pride; the fact that
his people still hunted the mutated creatures, once more confirming
his feeling of superiority.
    “ Alpha, the Raiders
are about to leave the wrecked ship. You’ve got eight minutes,
tops.” It was a dull voice from the well-hidden transport they’d
all arrived on.
    Spartan nodded to
himself at the n ews. It forced his hand
but made his job much easier. He had no interest in staying aboard
this ship a second longer than was absolutely necessary.
    “Affirmative, prep yourselves for immediate
extraction.”
    He then looked back to his small team.
    “Let’s finish this.”
    He pushed away from the walls and drifted further
inside the ship. Khan was right behind, followed by another two of
the operatives. They moved quickly through the vessel but came
across no signs of the T’Kari or their mutated creatures. It took a
full minute to cover the distance to the main corridor directly in
the center. A number of large doorways ran off in different
directions; the largest surrounded by glyphs. Spartan recognized
them immediately as T’Kari writing.
    “ This is it. Ayndir explained to me at the intelligence
briefing that this is the marker for the command section of the
ship.”
    “ Let’s get in there
then,” s aid Khan.
    He pulled himself
through the doorway and inside what should have been the command
section. The lighting was low, but the sensors on all the
operatives’ suits were flashing with warnings. There was life in
this part of the ship, more so than anywhere else. They moved even
deeper until coming to a bank of machines surrounded with clear
tubes filled with fluid. The pipes ran out into the walls and
bulkheads. Spartan looked at it all with a mixture of surprise and
repulsion.
    “ Above!” cried Khan,
simultaneously lifting his right arm.
    The
brig ht flashes from his arm-mounted
weapon slammed into the creature’s soft flesh, and just as before,
each one was cut to pieces and