Read Online RIFT (The Rift Saga Book 1) by Andreas Christensen - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Andreas Christensen
Ads: Link
a hard time understanding why the Covenant needed such an institution as the Corpus, but every time he mentioned it, the scientists would tell him it was necessary to preserve the integrity of the Covenant. And though he didn’t fully agree, he understood their reasoning. Also, he knew there were things he wasn’t told, and that only as a full citizen would he be privy to some of the secrets that the Moon people held back from the English, and that everything would make sense to him one day. Once he learned the truth.
There were some aspects of the lax discipline he didn’t like as much, though. He had noticed already on his first day in camp that Wardens openly smoked kissweed. Few initiates did, but as far as he could tell, almost every seasoned Warden did from time to time. He shook his head. He couldn’t imagine how otherwise bright young people, citizen prospects, with an eternity of discovery ahead of them, would consume something that would dull the senses, and over time make you as dim as the neighborhood drunk.
He turned his eyes away, trying to concentrate on the subject at hand. He enjoyed the lectures, and he had a knack for learning, something the scientists were already noticing, he knew. But as he sat there, focus seemed to elude him. He kept thinking about what was soon to happen. The Wardens were tasked with protecting the Covenant from what lay beyond the Rift. As much as it was the reason for their existence, it was something no one discussed in detail. Whenever a discussion touched upon this, the final words were something along the lines of “You’ll see” or “Give it time, you will learn soon enough.” Dave had a hard time settling for that, but he knew he’d get no answers.
He had a few ideas, though. He’d heard talk of the infected. And the skirmishes and the patrols. And some of the older Wardens had a particular stare. As if they had seen things that were impossible to put into words. He knew there were some things you couldn’t “un-see.” And even if he got his choice of specialization, which would be far from physically demanding, front-line duty, he knew that every scientist, every steward had been out there at least once, and had seen whatever it was no one would talk about. That was the way of the Wardens. No one was to remain innocent. Everyone shared whatever burden they had to carry. Though he thought it sounded like a nice idea, he often wondered what it all meant. And there was something unsettling about it, as well. As if, once he crossed some particular line, there would be no going back.
SUE
Sue shook her head and wiped dirt from the outside of her visor. A scream pierced her ears from the helmet comms system, before it was muted. Brad. She glimpsed the enemy in front of her withdrawing, and turned half way around. Brad was lying on the ground, cut almost in half by the explosion. Dead or dying, it didn’t matter. Even the fabled Janissary suit couldn’t save him from such a blast. Quinn was also down and lay motionless. She saw Tac Hordvik crawling toward him, firing short bursts every few seconds. She couldn’t see what he was aiming for, but she threw her weapon around and fired a long burst in the general direction he was firing, before getting up. She ran over to him, followed by Julian, while Keisha stayed back, covering their backs. There was a low dip in the terrain, where they would be safe from direct fire. At least for a little while.
“I’ve already called for backup,” the tacticus said. “But unless we take out that rocket launcher, the airship will not come. They’re not risking an airship for a bunch of green initiates.” Sue could see he was gritting his teeth, and for a moment, she thought it was anger at their superiors who would sacrifice them so easily. But then, she saw where his suit had been penetrated. The nano bots were already covering the hole in the suit, just above the knee, but there was no hiding the blood soaking
There were some aspects of the lax discipline he didn’t like as much, though. He had noticed already on his first day in camp that Wardens openly smoked kissweed. Few initiates did, but as far as he could tell, almost every seasoned Warden did from time to time. He shook his head. He couldn’t imagine how otherwise bright young people, citizen prospects, with an eternity of discovery ahead of them, would consume something that would dull the senses, and over time make you as dim as the neighborhood drunk.
He turned his eyes away, trying to concentrate on the subject at hand. He enjoyed the lectures, and he had a knack for learning, something the scientists were already noticing, he knew. But as he sat there, focus seemed to elude him. He kept thinking about what was soon to happen. The Wardens were tasked with protecting the Covenant from what lay beyond the Rift. As much as it was the reason for their existence, it was something no one discussed in detail. Whenever a discussion touched upon this, the final words were something along the lines of “You’ll see” or “Give it time, you will learn soon enough.” Dave had a hard time settling for that, but he knew he’d get no answers.
He had a few ideas, though. He’d heard talk of the infected. And the skirmishes and the patrols. And some of the older Wardens had a particular stare. As if they had seen things that were impossible to put into words. He knew there were some things you couldn’t “un-see.” And even if he got his choice of specialization, which would be far from physically demanding, front-line duty, he knew that every scientist, every steward had been out there at least once, and had seen whatever it was no one would talk about. That was the way of the Wardens. No one was to remain innocent. Everyone shared whatever burden they had to carry. Though he thought it sounded like a nice idea, he often wondered what it all meant. And there was something unsettling about it, as well. As if, once he crossed some particular line, there would be no going back.
SUE
Sue shook her head and wiped dirt from the outside of her visor. A scream pierced her ears from the helmet comms system, before it was muted. Brad. She glimpsed the enemy in front of her withdrawing, and turned half way around. Brad was lying on the ground, cut almost in half by the explosion. Dead or dying, it didn’t matter. Even the fabled Janissary suit couldn’t save him from such a blast. Quinn was also down and lay motionless. She saw Tac Hordvik crawling toward him, firing short bursts every few seconds. She couldn’t see what he was aiming for, but she threw her weapon around and fired a long burst in the general direction he was firing, before getting up. She ran over to him, followed by Julian, while Keisha stayed back, covering their backs. There was a low dip in the terrain, where they would be safe from direct fire. At least for a little while.
“I’ve already called for backup,” the tacticus said. “But unless we take out that rocket launcher, the airship will not come. They’re not risking an airship for a bunch of green initiates.” Sue could see he was gritting his teeth, and for a moment, she thought it was anger at their superiors who would sacrifice them so easily. But then, she saw where his suit had been penetrated. The nano bots were already covering the hole in the suit, just above the knee, but there was no hiding the blood soaking
Similar Books
