Read Online Exodus: Tales of The Empire: Book 2: Beasts of the Frontier. by Doug Dandridge - Free Book Online Page A

kilometers to the north of
the homestead.  His father, mother and aunt were at a friend’s homestead, as
safe as could be.  Especially when the friend was an unknown to the mob. 
People in the Swamp were close, even if they weren’t friends of record.
    “You ready for
this, Matthew?” asked Timothy.
    Matthew looked
over at the other men, and a woman, who were gathered on the porch of the
cabin.  Three cousins, all grown men of two his uncles on his mother’s side,
along with Sebastian, one of those uncles.  All four were experienced Swampers,
if not Timothy’s equal in combat, at least as knowledgeable of the area.  So
was his cousin Sophie, who prided herself on being the equal to any man in the
Swamp.  With them were two old friends of Timothy’s both Imperial Army veterans
who had been hunting the Swamp for decades.
    His mother still
thought he should just hide until the hunters left.  But he knew that they
would just keep coming back, until they finally found him.  The only way they
would leave him in peace was if their entire party disappeared into the Swamp,
a mystery to their bosses, and a sign the some parts of the planet were off
limits to even them.
    “I’m ready,” he
said, nodding.  “Any news about the Constable?”
    “Any news on the
Constable?” asked Timothy over the com.
    “They dropped
Farrell into a group of giant tropes,” said another voice over the com. 
“Nothing we could do about it.  But we did get it all on vid.”
    So even if
they get out of the Swamp, they’re going down , thought Matthew, shaking his
head as he thought about the Constable he had known most of his life being
thrown to his death.
    “We don’t want
this bunch just going down,” growled Timothy, a killing look in his eyes.  “I
don’t want them coming out of the swamp.”
    There were nods
and grunts and in a few cases smiles as those words sank in.  The Swampers were
a proud bunch, and outsiders messed with them at their own peril.  As these
would soon learn.
    *     *     *
    “This is the
place,” called out the Pilot, monitoring his sensors.
    “I don’t see
anything here, except that dock over there under the trees,” said Deveroix,
peering intently from the side window.
    “They’ve got it
well hidden,” agreed the Pilot.  “But I’m seeing underground structures on the
deep radar scan.”
    “Any idea of
where the entrance might be?” asked the Chief Enforcer, pulling up the scan on
a side screen.
    “Probably
there,” said the Pilot, highlighting an area close to the surface.  “I doubt
it’s going to be easy to open though, not if they went to this much trouble to
hide it.”
    “So open it,”
ordered the Chief Enforcer, pointing at the area in question.
    The Pilot
grinned as he activated one of his weapons systems, slaving it to the
joystick.  With a squeeze of the trigger, he sent a dark red beam of
hypervelocity protons into the area he thought was the entrance.  Dirt and
vegetation flew into the air, a tree exploded as its sap overheated, and
moments later the first puff of metal vapor jetted into the air.
    “That door is
one tough bitch,” said the Pilot as he stopped firing for a moment to let the
particle beam projector cool down.
    “You have
permission to launch a missile,” said Deveroix.
    “You sure, sir? 
A hyper-v could end up taking out the entire upper floor.  I thought you wanted
this kid alive.”
    “I would prefer
him alive,” answer the Chief Enforcer.  “But I’ll have him dead before he gets
away.  So fire when ready.”
    The Pilot went
through the motions of slaving the missile firing system to his stick, locked
on, then fired.  The hyper-v looked like a streak of light linking the gunship
to target.  It looked to the naked eye almost like an illusion, a ghost.  The
area around the entrance blasting into the air showed that it was real.
    “Team two,”
shouted Deveroix over the com.  “Dismount and check out that