Read Online Sword of Axia (The Arcadian Jihad) by Eric Schneider - Free Book Online Page B

subterranean workings of Dafne. Like Nabucco I, the planet had a strong gravitational pull, every step was twenty percent more difficult than humans were accustomed to, it was like walking in iron-shod boots. The outer atmosphere was also hostile, too poisonous to be breathable by humans, it contained a low ammonia content that would make it deadly after more than half an hour’s exposure. As a result, the factories that supplied munitions to the Nine Systems were underground. It was no accident that they’d chosen Dafne for their munitions plants. The deep mines of the planet yielded massive quantities of the precious minerals and ores needed to construct weapons, everything from iron and copper to platinum and plutonium. There was even Azomyth, one of the rarest commodities in the universe, the material that made faster than light speed travel possible.
    Rafe reached a crossroads and looked carefully in all directions, it looked clear. Pre-programmed robotic vehicles did most of the work in the tunnel system, the likelihood of their being detected was low. He turned to check that his men were keeping pace.
    “We make a right turn now, we need to be more careful from here on in, there’s a good chance of our meeting a security patrol. If you see anything that moves, blast it. But quietly.”
    He stepped out into the next tunnel and almost ran straight into a uniformed guard. They both stared at each other, but the guard had only three men with him, he saw Rafe’s body of troops and grabbed for his comm unit. A blast from a pistol threw him to the ground, the other men put up their hands. One of the Rescom troopers ran forward and covered them with his blaster.
    “How many guards do you have stationed in this sector?” Rafe asked the three surviving guards.
    The men hesitated and looked wildly around.
    “I want an answer in the next three seconds, otherwise I’ll choose one of you at random and blast him into little pieces. You,” he took hold of the uniform tunic of one guard who seemed a little more nervous than the others. “Quick, tell me how many, where are they?”
    His face was pale as he stuttered out the answer. “We’ve been reinforced with a heavy division that’s here to train on the new beam weapons, there are five thousand troops spread amongst the four barracks along the main tunnel.”
    There was an audible gasp from the men gathered behind him.
    “Five thousand, what the hell are so many men doing here?”
    “They came without any warning, some last minute foul-up, I expect. They’re refitting with new weapons, they all have to be programmed and modified to each division’s requirements, you know. It takes time to...”
    One of the men interrupted. “What are we going to do, Rafe? We can’t fight that many.”
    It was Ari Merx, one of his sergeants. Rafe whirled around.
    “Do you want us to surrender, Ari? Damn them all, we can beat them. When the rest of the men arrive on the surface we’ll show these Axian bastards how Rescom soldiers can really fight.”
    Not a single man answered. The problem was that Rafe’s advance party was heavily outnumbered. Even when the rest of the men were on the surface they’d still be outnumbered five to one. Assuming they managed to get to the surface.
    “Do those troops have plasma rifles, heavy armor?”
    “Well, yes, of course, it’s part of their standard equipment.”
    He was interrupted by the shattering sound of the alarm klaxon, one of the guards had managed to hit the emergency button on the wall. A shot from one of Rafe’s troopers smashed into him but it was too late, the security doors were already starting to lower in the tunnel. They were trapped. When the nearest door was halfway down they heard the sound of booted feet running towards them, shouted commands rang out. The Axian heavy division had arrived.

    System Standard 2728.1258 Above Dafne
    Blas looked at the screens, trying to work out his next move. The battle was going badly,