Read Online Black Dawn by Morgan Brautigan - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Morgan Brautigan
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had been the choice. Battle armor or space armor. Coy
had made the guess that the lives of the hostages were important
enough that blowing that hole would not be their first reaction.
Choices. Guesses. All these lives depending on Coy making
the right ones. And what if....No. This was not the time to indulge
in more
self pity. Gritting its teeth and firmly ignoring the voices from the
past, it moved on.
“Skipper,” came
Vennefron’s voice from the present. “They
know omething’s up. Their coms just went silent.”
“Understood.” Alright, so having Venn stay with Pedula on
the Blackbird and monitor the internal communication lines had been a
good choice. “Randy, how close..?”
Sweggert stared at his hand scanner. “We’re right above
them.”
“Team one, cut through right here. Team two, we go down a
deck and go in the front door. Team three should be nearly to the
command center.”
The only acknowledgment of the orders was the silent movement of team members as they got into their positions. Ken Butler was
in charge of the actual rescue through the ceiling. Coy led the frontal
attack, but was connected to all three teams via its command helmet.
Lamont’s team came to the tubes. Stepping in they let the flow
take them gently downward. At the next level they swung out of the
portal and landed on the deck. Even with their silent boots, it made a
thud when three bodies wearing armor, hit the floor.
They heard a voice from around the corner, “What the...”
Pierce and Sweggert immediately took up positions on either
side of the “T” in the corridor. Before long, one of the terrorists came
cautiously around the bend.
“Hey big fella,” Pierce crooned in a sultry tone.
He turned in her direction. “Huh..?” and received an expert
kick to the groin.
Randy got him point blank with a stunner. As the man crumpled to the floor, he held up the weapon and showed it to Pierce. “As I
recall the plan....”
Pierce shrugged. “Sorry.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Move,” Coy growled at them both.
Another voice floated down the corridor to them. “Nes! What
the hell you doin’ down there?”
Coy froze. The readout on the inside of its command helmet
faceplate showed a steady countdown until Butler would need the diversion. The seconds ticked by as Coy and its team waited. 3..2..1..
“GO!”
Lamont, Sweggert and Pierce blasted around the corner, weapons firing. One door guard fell, dead before he hit the floor. Another
crouched and returned fire, but without armor he didn’t last long.
Sweggert straightened from his firing stance and stepped up
next to Coy. “Some fun now, eh Skip.....”
The shot hit him square in the chest. He flew backwards and
slammed into the wall behind them. One minute he was my only
friend.... Furious, Coy raised its weapon and shot blindly in the direction of the attack.
Through its rage, it heard Butler’s account of rescue in progress. “We’ve cut through… Watch it! Don’t let it fall in… Drop
down. I’ll cover you…We’re in, Skip...Damn! They’ve cut the air!
Terrell, get those masks...Have we got enough?.....”
Another voice was heard, muffled since it was coming over the
channel from outside Ken’s helmet, “Please, my aide...No, no, he was
alive just a moment...”
“ It’s okay. We’ll take care of him...” There were sounds of
voices, some moaning, “Captain, we’ve got them,” Butler spoke to
Coy. “One for stasis, one float pallet, everyone else is walking. We’re
on our way back to the ship.”
“Understood.” Coy spoke through gritted teeth, firing all the
while. That left only Schiff and Knepp’s mission up in the control center of the educational station. It concentrated on the information coming on the other channel. A short bit of static which it took as someone
hotwiring the access panel. A surprised yelp and then a lot of stunner
fire. Schiff’s team couldn’t afford to use hot weapons in the control
room and risk damaging essential
had made the guess that the lives of the hostages were important
enough that blowing that hole would not be their first reaction.
Choices. Guesses. All these lives depending on Coy making
the right ones. And what if....No. This was not the time to indulge
in more
self pity. Gritting its teeth and firmly ignoring the voices from the
past, it moved on.
“Skipper,” came
Vennefron’s voice from the present. “They
know omething’s up. Their coms just went silent.”
“Understood.” Alright, so having Venn stay with Pedula on
the Blackbird and monitor the internal communication lines had been a
good choice. “Randy, how close..?”
Sweggert stared at his hand scanner. “We’re right above
them.”
“Team one, cut through right here. Team two, we go down a
deck and go in the front door. Team three should be nearly to the
command center.”
The only acknowledgment of the orders was the silent movement of team members as they got into their positions. Ken Butler was
in charge of the actual rescue through the ceiling. Coy led the frontal
attack, but was connected to all three teams via its command helmet.
Lamont’s team came to the tubes. Stepping in they let the flow
take them gently downward. At the next level they swung out of the
portal and landed on the deck. Even with their silent boots, it made a
thud when three bodies wearing armor, hit the floor.
They heard a voice from around the corner, “What the...”
Pierce and Sweggert immediately took up positions on either
side of the “T” in the corridor. Before long, one of the terrorists came
cautiously around the bend.
“Hey big fella,” Pierce crooned in a sultry tone.
He turned in her direction. “Huh..?” and received an expert
kick to the groin.
Randy got him point blank with a stunner. As the man crumpled to the floor, he held up the weapon and showed it to Pierce. “As I
recall the plan....”
Pierce shrugged. “Sorry.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Move,” Coy growled at them both.
Another voice floated down the corridor to them. “Nes! What
the hell you doin’ down there?”
Coy froze. The readout on the inside of its command helmet
faceplate showed a steady countdown until Butler would need the diversion. The seconds ticked by as Coy and its team waited. 3..2..1..
“GO!”
Lamont, Sweggert and Pierce blasted around the corner, weapons firing. One door guard fell, dead before he hit the floor. Another
crouched and returned fire, but without armor he didn’t last long.
Sweggert straightened from his firing stance and stepped up
next to Coy. “Some fun now, eh Skip.....”
The shot hit him square in the chest. He flew backwards and
slammed into the wall behind them. One minute he was my only
friend.... Furious, Coy raised its weapon and shot blindly in the direction of the attack.
Through its rage, it heard Butler’s account of rescue in progress. “We’ve cut through… Watch it! Don’t let it fall in… Drop
down. I’ll cover you…We’re in, Skip...Damn! They’ve cut the air!
Terrell, get those masks...Have we got enough?.....”
Another voice was heard, muffled since it was coming over the
channel from outside Ken’s helmet, “Please, my aide...No, no, he was
alive just a moment...”
“ It’s okay. We’ll take care of him...” There were sounds of
voices, some moaning, “Captain, we’ve got them,” Butler spoke to
Coy. “One for stasis, one float pallet, everyone else is walking. We’re
on our way back to the ship.”
“Understood.” Coy spoke through gritted teeth, firing all the
while. That left only Schiff and Knepp’s mission up in the control center of the educational station. It concentrated on the information coming on the other channel. A short bit of static which it took as someone
hotwiring the access panel. A surprised yelp and then a lot of stunner
fire. Schiff’s team couldn’t afford to use hot weapons in the control
room and risk damaging essential
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