Read Online The Fate Of Nations: F.I.R.E. Team Alpha: Book One by Ray Chilensky - Free Book Online

being waged. Nature never really cared what mankind did, Carter thought; it just went on and on while it waited for mankind to die out or kill itself off. If nature had any sentience it had to be amused by what he and his team was about to do. Evolution, it seemed, wasn’t fast enough of the United States Department of Defense; it need to be prodded into more immediate action.
                  Carter saluted Hicks as they neared each other. “Good morning General,” he said.
                  Hicks returned his salute, and seemed to be having difficulty speaking. “Good morning Red Team.”
                  “The team is ready, General.” Carter said.
                  “Damn it,” Hicks hissed, “I should have something say. I just can’t find the words.”
                  Carter touched the general’s shoulder; allowing himself a rare breach of military protocol. “Sir, everything that needs to be said, has been said.”
                  Breath caught in Hick’s throat; his eyes were alight with unexpressed emotion. He embraced Cater suddenly. “You’d better live through this, Doug, I can’t lose another son,” he said, his voice choked and strained. He stepped back after a moment; regaining his composure. Unable to find words himself, Carter just smiled slightly at the general.
                  “Let’s get this over with,” Hicks said turning to face the team. “I’m damn proud of all of you.”
                  The medical staff was silent as the team entered; words again being inadequate to the occasion. After years of war they were used to death and dying. But the certainty that two of the ten people they had been caring for over the last month would be dead in a few days that made the moment incredibly profound. The team members knew the odds. They knew that two of them would certainly die, and they were undergoing the process anyway. Worse, for the medical staff at least, all of whom were dedicated to saving lives; they would be partly responsible for those deaths. Atkinson seemed impassive as the team entered the lab; having long ago suppressed any sympathy he had for the subjects.
                  “If you each would follow the orderlies,” Atkinson said. “They will take you to your rooms and where the nurses will prepare you for the procedure.
                  “No,” Carter said; “Put us all in the same room.”
                  Atkinson bristled. “That is not our plan, Major,” Atkinson protested.
                  Carter squared his shoulders and fixed his eyes on Atkinson’s. “Change your plans,” he said flatly.
                  “That would take hours,” Atkinson protested.
                  “Let it take hours,” Carter insisted. “We’ve been training as a team, we’ll be fighting as a team, and we will go through this procedure as a team.” Williams and the rest of Red Team gathered more closely behind Carter.
                  “You’re not going to win this one, Doctor,” Hicks said, smiling at Carter.
                  “Very well,” Atkinson relented. “You may wait in the lounge while we make arrangements.”
                  “Well Doctor, we wanted a team. It looks like we’ve got one,” Hicks observed.
                  Atkinson left without a word.
     
                        [][][]
     
                  Hours later, the team was summoned to a large ward that had been hastily prepared for them. They had exchanged their sweat suits for hospital gowns and were each restrained in a bed. Each bed was covered a tube-like canopy which housed an array of sensors and each team member had several intravenous needles inserted into their arms. Computer monitors by the beds displayed vital signs of all of the team members as well as thermal