The Temporal Knights by Richard D. Parker Read Free Book Online Page B

weapon, but then the plane was never and was not now, meant to be an offensive weapon. He slipped on his helmet, which would keep him in contact with both the home base and Sergeant Moore on the ground.
    “All systems go,” Gardner reported and thumbed the ignition. The engine fired immediately and John started going through the pre-flight routine.
    “Keep in close contact and tell us everything you see,” General Peebles demanded, speaking into his own radio as the Captain taxied the plane out into the cleared field.
    “Yes Sir. All ready Sergeant,” he said as he gunned the engine and quickly accelerated to take off speed, “I’m going to gain a little altitude directly overhead and then we’ll head off to the south as planned.”
    “Roger,” Moore responded and the hummers began to roll off slowly in that direction. The entire camp grew excited and tense, but Moore, a natural fighter, was finally at ease. Each Humvee carried five men, two up front, two in the rear and one soldier manning the large M60, 7.62mm machine gun, which was still in operation, though much changed with the coming of the computer age. The M60 was now a sophisticated weapon, integrated directly into the computerized battle gear which was centered largely in the oversized helmet that all the soldiers wore. Through the helmet, every soldier viewed the world virtually, which showed up on the interior of their opaque face plates. This allowed the soldiers to see the world from any number of angles, either from miniature cameras mounted on their helmet, weapon, from an overhead “bug,” or even from a camera of one of their fellow soldiers. It also allowed them to view the battlefield in visible light, infra-red, night vision, and microwaves, among other options. Smoke, dense fog, or the dark of night hid nothing from the soldier’s eyes. The sightings of the M60 now showed up electronically on the face plate and this allowed the soldier to put down extremely accurate fire on the enemy even while hunkering down behind cover. When operating the M18 assault rifle, cameras allowed the soldiers to hold the weapon out in order to see above obstacles or around corners while keeping the majority of their body out of harm’s way. It was truly a revolutionary development and allowed the common foot soldier to have access to more information on the battlefield than ever before, while having the ability to put down highly concentrated, highly accurate fire on the enemy, in any weather conditions, day or night.
    Sergeant Moore was not worried about what they would have to face out in the countryside as long as there were no more monstrous Skawps. He had his fill of fighting and killing those bastards long ago. Moore, at thirty-eight, was a career soldier even before the alien attack forced everyone to become career soldiers. And like all the rest, he’d lost family and friends and happily declined promotions just to stay in the field and kill the enemy. It was something he was very good at, but after five long years even his resolve was beginning to weaken. He was happy the end came when it did. He was nearing the breaking point; they all were. It was a sobering realization for a hardened lifetime soldier. These last few days of non-combat were like a tonic for him and his men, helping to give them new life, and a new commitment. They were ready now, to fight, to kill, and to do anything necessary to keep the living hell of the past five years from happening all over again. They were prepared and he had the utmost confidence in his men. Those, who survived to this point, were absolutely the best, but more importantly, they were the luckiest. Luck was a very important trait both in oneself and in the men around you. Being good only got you so far.
    Sergeant Paul Sadao, his driver was quite possibly the finest soldier Moore had ever worked with and the best hand to hand combat man in the entire outfit, except for possibly Corporal Jefferies, who rode in