Temple of S.A.R.A.H. 5: Debug Mode by Ben Winston Read Free Book Online Page B

“The Marines will be dropping further into the interior, but we don’t know exactly where these aliens are going to come down yet. Intel says they’ll hit the ground first though.”
    “What are our rules of engagement?” the First Sergeant asked. “Do I need to make sure I have space for prisoners?”
    The Officer nodded. “Yes, in fact we have been ordered to take as many prisoners as we can, as well as capture as much of their equipment as we can. However, you won’t have to hold any for long; the Sergeant Major will be setting up a more permanent facility in the village to handle anyone we capture.”
    The First Sergeant nodded. “Like I didn’t see that one coming! When can we expect the spooks to arrive?”
    John laughed. “You’re too young to be so cynical, Bill!”
    The older man just snorted. “Yeah, so when do they get here?”
    “They’ll arrive once we have the town secured, like normal.”
    The men had to stop talking then as soldiers arrived to tear down the tent and get all the gear loaded.
    ––––––––
    W ilderness Area
    Northwest Territories
    Canada
    Planet Earth
    Sol System
    ––––––––
    “O kay kids, we’re going in. This area is swampy and about half water. Be sure to use your jump packs to keep from getting bogged down. IFF modules are to be used at all times. We don’t want anyone wandering off and killing all the Aracs by themselves!” He’rsree said.
    Shortly after her people responded to her order, the hatches opened and dropped the Marines into the open air high above the surface. She felt her pulse quicken as it always did during a combat drop.
    “All units be advised, there are slow moving aircraft heading our direction. We have them listed as cargo craft most likely carrying troops and equipment. Several atmospheric fighter craft have also been dispatched, but will not arrive in our areas until well after we are on the ground. Terran troops will arrive during our landing. We do not know what their orders are so it might get messy for a little while. Sort it out as quickly as you can and remember, we are not to hurt any of the Terran soldiers,” the Colonel passed along on the battalion channel.
    As they fell through the thick atmosphere of the planet, He’rsree watched her speed and altimeter. Her speed stabilized at just over two hundred klicks but shortly after that the gravity engine in the suit kicked on to begin slowing her down for impact. Normally, she would hit at just over fifty klicks, but since the ground below her was soft, the suit would slow her considerably further in an attempt to keep from getting bogged down in mud.
    At one klick from the surface, AI Honor told her she was launching one of the scout drones He’rsree was carrying. She watched the little ball shoot away from her and arc down toward the surface under its own power.
    Impact.
    The grav engines had to have slowed them down a lot more than normal since she hardly felt the touchdown at all. From the chatter on her unit command channel, she knew that a good share of her troopers had landed in water, and two had become mired in the more shallow areas.
    “Use your damn grav engine to blast out of there! What? Are you a newbie or something?” He’rsree called. “Quit yer bitchin’ and get moving!” She switched channels to Command. “Vulpas on the ground, moving.”
    Not expecting a reply she was about to switch back to her own command channel when the Colonel spoke to her. “Vulpas, be advised. You’re going to have Terran company. The shuttles are circling around and will be down once they finish their scan of the area. Until then, try to ignore them.”
    “Understood, we had a lot of wet landings, Colonel. If the Terrans have the same issue, they could lose some people. Do you want us to assist?”
    “Only if you can do so safely Vulpas. If it looks like they have it under control, leave them to it, but don’t pass up someone in real need,” the Simonian