Read Online The Bounty Hunter: Soldier's Wrath by Joseph Anderson - Free Book Online Page B

the advanced versions of basic armaments appealed to him. He
liked that they didn’t rely on bullets or ammunition. Even if he lost his gun,
he would still be able to fight better than most.
    “I installed the tracking launcher
two nights ago,” Natalie explained. “Cass can control that. The shield is all
yours, though. Do you like it?”
    He raised his left arm and gave the
shield a few swings through the air. Despite being weightless, the shield still
caught the air in its path and he felt its resistance. The assisted strength of
the armor would give the shield enough force to knock someone over but likely
wouldn’t kill them. Tens of other uses quickly came to his mind and he grinned.
    “I do. Thank you, Natalie.”
    “Do you use everything else the
armor has?” she asked.
    “We use the jump often,” he said.
“The blades, too. We don’t use the grapple line much. I use it to tie people up
more than anything else.”
    “Oh really?” Natalie’s eyes widened
for a moment. Then she arched an eyebrow and smirked.
    Burke laughed. He unsealed the
helmet’s face plate. He twisted his arms and retracted the shield and blades.
Then, carefully, he put his arms around Natalie and leaned down to kiss her—the
armor made him significantly taller than he would have been otherwise. She
looked at him strangely after the kiss.
    “You’ve been fretting the past few
days and now, when you’re about to go down and fight, you’re suddenly calm,”
she said. “You don’t always make sense Mister Monrow.”
    “This is the part I’m good at,” he
said. “On the way here I’m helpless. On the planet, I can actually do
something.”
    When they reached Frey, Burke
looked down at the planet at the helm of the ship. From orbit, the surface of
the world was completely blue. It was his first time visiting the planet. It
reminded him of Earth.
    “Is there anything I should know
before we go down there?” he asked.
    Rylan shrugged. Cass hovered above
the podium in the room, prepared to recite anything she could find about the
planet in the encyclopedias she had access to. Natalie spoke first.
    “Frey is an ocean world. There are
only rare, narrow strips of land above sea level where the planet’s tectonic
plates have pressed up against each other for long enough. On another planet
they might have been mountain ranges. Here, they’re the only land significant
enough to colonize.”
    “Geoff mentioned three floating
cities. Are they stations in orbit?”
    “No,” Natalie said. “They’re on the
water. Frey is one of the largest centres of scientific research outside of
ACU. The cities are highly advanced and are capable of moving slowly over the
ocean. There used to be a fourth city but it has since been submerged.”
    “Submerged?” Burke asked.
    “They lowered it to the ocean
floor. I think it anchors one of the other cities now. They’re linked and the
people travel between them. The cities aren’t very big.”
    “Anything else?”
    “Nothing I can think of. Cass?”
Natalie turned to the podium.
    “The planet’s atmosphere is denser
than most others of its size. Less storms than you would think but those that
do form are very violent. Average temperature of thirty degrees Celsius in the
populated areas. There’s more moisture in the air but that’s to be expected.
It’s close to Earth’s gravity. We should be fine, Burke.”
    He nodded.
    “Take us down to Stheno, Rylan.
We’ll circle around the city once and then I’ll contact Kristen to tell her
we’re coming.”
    “Still no movement around her
apartment,” Cass said. “I can’t tell if anyone else is watching it.”
    “They are,” Burke said grimly. “I
guarantee it.”
    Rylan brought the Brisbane slowly
into Frey’s atmosphere. He took more direct control of the vessel when they
were closer to the planet, compensating for the moment when the planet’s
gravity overpowered the ship’s artificial generators. Burke watched with
interest at