Read Online Guerilla by Mel Odom - Free Book Online Page A

said.
    â€œYes.”
    â€œClear the way.”
    â€œYes sir.”
    The submersible was equipped with lasers, solid projectile weapons on the conn for above surface encounters, and torpedoes. It was also equipped with sonic cannons. The weapons officer fired those and generated a wave blast that ripped the lead jasulild to crimson jelly and flotsam that churned in the river. Another two blasts destroyed the other three creatures that swam toward the submersible and the way was clear again. The boat slid through the bloodstained water.
    â€œMato,” Zhoh said, turning his attention back to the comm.
    â€œYes, Captain.”
    â€œI want to start digging more deeply into General Rangha’s operations here.”
    Mato was silent for a moment and Zhoh knew it was because getting caught committing such betrayal might result in getting served to carrion feeders, and would definitely lead to getting assigned to somewhere even worse than Makaum. However, not obeying orders from a superior officer would be career suicide, even if that superior officer was committing treason. If Mato went to the general or one of the general’s adjutants with Zhoh’s intentions, Mato would forever carry the stigma of being untrustworthy.
    It was a no-­win situation for the lieutenant.
    Although he considered it a weakness, Zhoh acted to soften the situation for the other warrior. “I swear to you on our ancestors that you will be rewarded for your efforts, Mato. I will take over command of the Phrenorian military on Makaum, and you will remain my second-­in-­command. Grow as I grow. Lannig changes everything.”
    â€œ Lannig changes everything,” Mato answered, but he did not sound so certain of that. “I will do as you say.”
    The response was automatic, and Zhoh heard some of Mato’s anxiety, knowing that only touched the surface of the emotions that ran through the younger man.
    â€œTread carefully,” Zhoh admonished. “Until we remove the general from this command, he will have the support of the warriors we want to win over.”
    â€œOf course.”
    â€œGood hunting. I will be there within a few more hours.” Zhoh broke the connection and stared at the navigation chart of the river bottom as the submersible shot over underwater terrain.
    The Phrenorian War was heating up on other worlds, and it was pushing toward the Loki System. If the War Council of the primes was correct, and Zhoh felt that it was, Makaum would soon be part of the campaign. The Phrenorians needed a world that would guarantee resources to the fleets and armies. They would need Makaum to establish a toehold in this solar system.
    He intended to be the warrior who delivered Makaum to the Phrenorian Empire. And if he had to stand on General Rangha’s corpse to do it, so much the better.

 
    SEVEN
    Exfil Rendezvous
    West of Makaum
    0513 Hours Zulu Time
    J ust as the sun thrust pointed fingers through the fog that clung to the treetops, Jahup reached the spot where he and Sage had left the two-­wheeled crawlers that had brought them to the site. A thin nanobot-­operated camo sheet covered the crawlers and perfectly emulated the surrounding jungle with only a minimal tech footprint. Drones had to be within a few meters to detect the signal. Centimeters from the camo sheet, an onlooker wouldn’t have noticed anything out of the ordinary. Even the wind was accounted for as the circuitry made adjustments.
    Ten meters from the site, Jahup went to ground behind a stand of trees atop a small hill. Jahup reached for Sage’s arm to pull him down, but Sage knelt beside his companion.
    Wait, Jahup signed. Make certain not discovered.
    Sage nodded and didn’t bother to explain that he had planned to do the same thing. He counted down ten minutes and the sun eased higher, burning off more of the white fog caused by the humidity. The diurnal insects and lizards took up their routines, hunting