Read Online Merkiaari Wars: 02 - What Price Honour by Mark E. Cooper - Free Book Online
Authors: Mark E. Cooper
Tags: Science-Fiction, Space Opera, Military, War, alien invasion, cyborg, space marines, merkiaari wars
Ads: Link
Stein. “The money means nothing. That you believe my actions deserve this means a lot to me, sir. More than you can know,” she said in a choked voice.
Stein looked pleased. “Your actions deserve this and more. By rights, you should receive the Alliance Star for bravery as well, but I thought the rank would mean more to you than another ribbon on your chest.”
“I have more than enough ribbons. The rank does mean more to me.”
“I knew it would,” Stein said with a small smile. “Dismissed, Lieutenant.”
Gina braced and saluted before turning to leave. She could hardly wait to tell her squad the news.
* * *
Chapter 4
Planet Tigris, Border Zone
Kate Richmond stepped off the stolen shuttle and scanned the area. She found nothing but steaming jungle in the dark. The screeches and cawing of strange beasties didn’t help, but her electronics told her all she needed to know.
She was undetected.
Tigris was a border world with few things to recommend it. It was hot and humid jungle for the most part, and uninhabited by humans except in carefully selected areas. Tigris was a heavy grav world, though 1.12g was hardly excessive. People could afford to be choosy with so many Earth-type worlds available. That being the case, Tigris was an essentially untouched resource.
Why then was she here?
“That’s a damn good question.”
She mopped sweat from her face and continued her sweep.
The briefing had been very sketchy about the reasoning behind the mission. That made her uneasy. She knew who her target was, she knew what he looked like—Intel had managed to scrape up an old picture of him. It was out of date but she would manage. What she didn’t know was why he must die. In her experience, when they failed to tell you why, someone high up was playing games. That meant the mission was blacker than black, probably off the books altogether. Someone on Bethany, a member of one of the ruling families it had to be, was using his contacts to protect his interests or hurt a rival. She had seen it before on other missions. All they cared about was their stupid power games, and if she died, so what? Tools got broken all the time—just buy a new one. She scowled.
The ten ruling families of Bethany had ultimate power back home. That meant they owned her and all she held dear. Not that there was much. Her brother, Paul, was all the family she had, and she wasn’t even sure he was alive. Paul was the reason she was here. Her own sources had come up empty, and she had been forced to go to her handler for help. He had promised to look into her brother’s disappearance in return for a couple of favours. Kate had agreed knowing he was padding his retirement fund at her expense, but Paul meant more to her than her own safety. She had promised to look after him; it was her fault he was missing. If she had done better by him, taught him better or been there more, he would still be safe. So here she was, AWOL technically, though no one would ever know. She had completed her official mission on Thurston in record time simply to give herself this opportunity. There would be no evidence of her little detour, she had seen to that.
Kate continued her scan of the vicinity noting a huge range of bio-forms. So many in fact, her software was having difficulty identifying them all. That wasn’t surprising. Tigris’ main industry, hell its only industry, was medicines. It was a strange fact that no matter how clever the Alliance became at synthesizing new drugs and treatments, nature was better. Find a cure for a particular disease, and another cropped up to take its place. Medicines were always highly sought after. Unlike Earth, planets like Tigris had abundant sources of green things, which might hold the secret to cure the latest plague.
Still, she wasn’t here for medicine.
Satisfied with her sweep, she closed down her sensor suite and re-boarded the shuttle to fetch her kit. She glanced at her wristcomp, it was midnight
Stein looked pleased. “Your actions deserve this and more. By rights, you should receive the Alliance Star for bravery as well, but I thought the rank would mean more to you than another ribbon on your chest.”
“I have more than enough ribbons. The rank does mean more to me.”
“I knew it would,” Stein said with a small smile. “Dismissed, Lieutenant.”
Gina braced and saluted before turning to leave. She could hardly wait to tell her squad the news.
* * *
Chapter 4
Planet Tigris, Border Zone
Kate Richmond stepped off the stolen shuttle and scanned the area. She found nothing but steaming jungle in the dark. The screeches and cawing of strange beasties didn’t help, but her electronics told her all she needed to know.
She was undetected.
Tigris was a border world with few things to recommend it. It was hot and humid jungle for the most part, and uninhabited by humans except in carefully selected areas. Tigris was a heavy grav world, though 1.12g was hardly excessive. People could afford to be choosy with so many Earth-type worlds available. That being the case, Tigris was an essentially untouched resource.
Why then was she here?
“That’s a damn good question.”
She mopped sweat from her face and continued her sweep.
The briefing had been very sketchy about the reasoning behind the mission. That made her uneasy. She knew who her target was, she knew what he looked like—Intel had managed to scrape up an old picture of him. It was out of date but she would manage. What she didn’t know was why he must die. In her experience, when they failed to tell you why, someone high up was playing games. That meant the mission was blacker than black, probably off the books altogether. Someone on Bethany, a member of one of the ruling families it had to be, was using his contacts to protect his interests or hurt a rival. She had seen it before on other missions. All they cared about was their stupid power games, and if she died, so what? Tools got broken all the time—just buy a new one. She scowled.
The ten ruling families of Bethany had ultimate power back home. That meant they owned her and all she held dear. Not that there was much. Her brother, Paul, was all the family she had, and she wasn’t even sure he was alive. Paul was the reason she was here. Her own sources had come up empty, and she had been forced to go to her handler for help. He had promised to look into her brother’s disappearance in return for a couple of favours. Kate had agreed knowing he was padding his retirement fund at her expense, but Paul meant more to her than her own safety. She had promised to look after him; it was her fault he was missing. If she had done better by him, taught him better or been there more, he would still be safe. So here she was, AWOL technically, though no one would ever know. She had completed her official mission on Thurston in record time simply to give herself this opportunity. There would be no evidence of her little detour, she had seen to that.
Kate continued her scan of the vicinity noting a huge range of bio-forms. So many in fact, her software was having difficulty identifying them all. That wasn’t surprising. Tigris’ main industry, hell its only industry, was medicines. It was a strange fact that no matter how clever the Alliance became at synthesizing new drugs and treatments, nature was better. Find a cure for a particular disease, and another cropped up to take its place. Medicines were always highly sought after. Unlike Earth, planets like Tigris had abundant sources of green things, which might hold the secret to cure the latest plague.
Still, she wasn’t here for medicine.
Satisfied with her sweep, she closed down her sensor suite and re-boarded the shuttle to fetch her kit. She glanced at her wristcomp, it was midnight
Similar Books
