The Clone Redemption by Steven L. Kent Read Free Book Online Page A

out of the trap.
    We ran down the corridor, hugging the walls in case the blinded Marine tried to shoot us. A short way down the corridor, we found stairs leading to the lower decks. I figured we would search together, watching each other’s back. I figured wrong. Starting down the stairs, Freeman said, “Stall him.”
    â€œStall him?” I asked.
    â€œKeep him busy while I look for the computer.”
    As far as I knew, I was the highest-ranking officer in the Enlisted Man’s military. I didn’t take orders from anyone ... anyone but Freeman. He knew more about the computer than I did.
    â€œGot any suggestions about how to keep him busy without getting myself killed?” I asked as I watched him disappear down the stairs.
    Questions like that could lead to all kinds of smart-ass answers, but Ray Freeman did not have a mind for humor. He said, “Call out if you get trapped,” and vanished down the stairs.
    Trapped, I thought to myself. I might have said it out loud as well. The thought resonated. I was on a relatively small ship, a hundred thousand miles from the nearest planet, fighting a Marine in armor my weapons could not penetrate. I was trapped.
    The glare died out at the other end of the corridor. The Marine must have found Freeman’s lamps and smashed them, leaving the long hall dark except for the flash of the emergency lights and the glow of his armor.
    Hoping to catch the bastard’s attention, I aimed my S9 and fired a few shots in his direction. The fléchettes were meant as a message. Even if they hit him, they would do no harm. But the stupid bastard didn’t even notice the darts when they hit him.
    Needing to grab his attention, I stepped into the open, catching the silly bastard by surprise. I fired three shots that hit him square in the face, then jumped down the first flight of stairs and waited for him to chase me.
    Mission accomplished.
    The Marine came after me; but when he reached the top of the stairs, he stopped. So he had sufficient brain cells to sense a trap, big specking deal. Even monkeys hide when they sense danger. I waited for the bastard to start down the stairs. When he didn’t, I cautiously climbed back up to see what had happened.
    Hoping to ambush me, the stupid son of a bitch had waited in an open hatch at the top of the stairs. I spotted him easily enough. The light from his shielded armor glowed like a moon.
    â€œSo much for the element of surprise, asshole,” I muttered. Not only did the light from his shields ruin the ambush; it showed his position. He was kneeling. The glow only filled the bottom half of the hatch.
    So I waited for him as he waited for me. I had my pistol out and aimed. When he peered out of the doorway to look for me, I shot him in the face. It was a moral victory. My fléchette hit him between the eyes, but it only hurt his pride.
    Caught off guard, the Marine tried to spring up, lost his footing, and fell on his ass. He climbed off the floor and returned fire; but by that time, of course, I had jumped back down the stairs.
    I needed him to follow me to the bottom deck, so I waited on the landing. If he lost my trail and strayed onto the second deck, he might find Freeman.
    Up at the top of the stairs, the glow of his shields diluted the darkness. The squirrelly Marine was in no rush to chase me. He moved cautiously, as if he thought I could actually hurt him. He aimed down the stairs and fired a dozen shots to flush me out of hiding.
    Had I still been on that landing, his darts would have passed through my armor as if it weren’t there. The needles themselves would only do minimal damage unless they hit a vital organ, but the poison would leave me numb as it paralyzed my limbs and stopped my heart.
    Under his shields, he had the same armor as I and the same smart visor. He could track body heat with his heat-vision lenses if he knew how to use them, but he wasn’t paying attention. I waited