The Spearmen Chronicles Book II

The Longest Winter

De: Bob Shalala

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

From Book II
Battle Position Zinc
Joshua shook his head, but the pain in his neck made him stop. Something was blocking his view. It took a second for him to realize his helmet was twisted on his head. His chinstrap was disconnected which shut down his HUD. He fumbled with the buckle but couldn’t connect it with his mittens on. Frustrated, he lifted his visor and looked around. Nol was gone, but his automatic rifle lay across the parapet of their fighting position. Matto was nowhere to be seen either. Someone ran up, firing as he went. A flood of tracers ripped out of the smoke billowing from the burning vehicles.
Something about key weapons… I need to get the A2. The IWS came alive when he pressed his face to the eyecup. The thermal outlines of a handful of crouching men appeared through the smoke. Everything about their shape, size and demeanor was wrong. In an instant, Joshua, an augmentee from The Phalanx, realized live humans were in the sight of his loaded weapon. Just as quickly, he moved the selector to full-auto, high-rate-of-fire, and pressed the trigger. The first man reacted as though he was swatting at stinging insects, while another dropped like a stone. One turned to run, but the movement caught Joshua’s eye. He let up for a second, but when the sight settled, he pressed the trigger again, catching the man across the back of his legs. He is probably alive, but I should shoot everyone else a few times first. Something, probably a fuel cell detonated, the heat plume rendering the IWS ineffective. The man firing next to him dropped into the trench and changed magazines on his A6. Captain Valenti. An officer firing his weapon? I have never seen this, even in training. Is it that bad? Are we the only two left alive? He glanced at the round counter and pulled the trigger again. “Reloading,” Joshua said, dropping below the parapet and reaching for a drum.
“Covering,” Valenti replied, firing half a magazine into the surrounding brush. Adam arrived and fired a grenade into the area beyond the burning cargo hauler. He couldn’t tell if their fire did any good, but the absence of return fire meant they were probably having some effect. Valenti dropped below the parapet to change magazines. When he stood back up, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Outstanding display of the mastery of skill-level one tasks, now let’s see how you do as a company commander.” Valenti looked up at Okamura, his face almost unrecognizable under a layer of blood and cement dust. His visor was missing as was his CIP and one of his receiver-transmitter units. “Please have Mr. Logan fire defensive concentration Alpha 107, they are maneuvering in the draw to the northwest of us. If you return to the high ground by the tower, you should be able to adjust fire.”
“Understood Sergeant.”
“Joshua, go with the captain and watch his back.”
“Yes Sergeant.”
“And Joshua, one more thing.”
“Yes Sergeant?”
“Buckle your chinstrap.”