Read Online The Girls From Alcyone by Cary Caffrey - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Cary Caffrey
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Leta teased, and even Sigrid laughed at this.
"All right, girls. Listen up!" Rosa shouted. The girls became instantly silent. "Ms. Dubnov and I have something a little special prepared for you today—a little game we want you to play." He slapped the side of the 3'x3' cargo container he was sitting on. "This is a Mark Four military transport container. We've dropped four of these out there, about 150 kilometers from here. Your objective is to find and locate just one of these. There are two ways to win this scenario: one—locate the container, defend the target and await extraction; two—eliminate the other teams, preventing them from securing the target. I look forward to seeing which course of action wins out. Just so you're all properly motivated, winning teams will ride back in the transports; losing teams will enjoy a nice long walk back through the forest. It's lovely this time of year, though, so I'm sure you'll all enjoy yourselves, win or lose. Questions?"
A girl raised her hand, hesitantly. "Uh, how do we find the containers, sir?"
"I'm glad you asked that. Each target carries a tracking device. We've granted all of you network access to the Nav-Sats in orbit. Data will be displayed to you via the optical implant that Dr. Garrett has seen fit to equip you with. Next question?" Rosa scanned the girls, but no one else raised their hand.
"You may be wondering about the ordnance options," Chesna said. "For the duration of this exercise, you'll all be using shock-rounds."
The shock-rounds were non-lethal paper projectiles capable of delivering a jolt of electricity in the 300 kV range. Every girl there had endured being blasted with the little stunners ; Sigrid rubbed reflexively at the spot on her rear thinking about it.
"Now, unless all you ladies want to be walking back," Rosa said, "I suggest you get underway before the other teams find their cargo first. Transport assignments are uploaded to your PCMs."
The girls didn't need any more prompting. They rose to their feet instantly, grabbing up their gear.
" Rattle your dags , ladies. Let's move it!" Suko shouted, and, as one, the girls leapt forward, charging for their transport.
* * *
The compact T-48 had just enough room on the four jump-seats for Sigrid, Suko, Khepri and Leta. There were no doors on the craft and the girls all sat sideways, facing out for a better view. Sigrid rested her foot on the mounting-step, her hand clutching the handrail on the roof. The rush of air was invigorating as they crested the treetops and climbedquickly, high up and over the row of jagged mountains before them.
Their Starling pitched down sharply once it passed the last of the peaks, skimming dangerously close to the rocky cliffs. The night was black as pitch. Sigrid had only a vague sense of the rocky outcroppings dashing by, little more than a few feet away from her—a testament to the pilot's skill and daring. Sigrid flipped her optics to the new night-setting and her surroundings swam quickly into focus. She took a moment to adjust the sharpness until everything felt natural.
The pilot accelerated, shedding altitude quickly, sweeping down low over a grassy plain. Sigrid waited for her ears to pop after the distinct change in pressure, but her new systems made the transition smooth. The ground gave way abruptly as they came to an escarpment. Down below, stretching out for hundreds of hectares, lay a dense green jungle. The nose of the Starling dipped again as the pilot took them lower still. What Sigrid thought to be the ground turned out to be the heavy canopy of the jungle forest—it looked thick enough to build a house on, and topped out at nearly a hundred meters above the jungle floor.
The pilot signaled they were landing as they sliced through the trees towards a small clearing. Sigrid linked her PCM to the Nav-Sats, their location was displayed clearly in her HUD. The flight had taken them 147.24 kilometers from the school, but they were still
"All right, girls. Listen up!" Rosa shouted. The girls became instantly silent. "Ms. Dubnov and I have something a little special prepared for you today—a little game we want you to play." He slapped the side of the 3'x3' cargo container he was sitting on. "This is a Mark Four military transport container. We've dropped four of these out there, about 150 kilometers from here. Your objective is to find and locate just one of these. There are two ways to win this scenario: one—locate the container, defend the target and await extraction; two—eliminate the other teams, preventing them from securing the target. I look forward to seeing which course of action wins out. Just so you're all properly motivated, winning teams will ride back in the transports; losing teams will enjoy a nice long walk back through the forest. It's lovely this time of year, though, so I'm sure you'll all enjoy yourselves, win or lose. Questions?"
A girl raised her hand, hesitantly. "Uh, how do we find the containers, sir?"
"I'm glad you asked that. Each target carries a tracking device. We've granted all of you network access to the Nav-Sats in orbit. Data will be displayed to you via the optical implant that Dr. Garrett has seen fit to equip you with. Next question?" Rosa scanned the girls, but no one else raised their hand.
"You may be wondering about the ordnance options," Chesna said. "For the duration of this exercise, you'll all be using shock-rounds."
The shock-rounds were non-lethal paper projectiles capable of delivering a jolt of electricity in the 300 kV range. Every girl there had endured being blasted with the little stunners ; Sigrid rubbed reflexively at the spot on her rear thinking about it.
"Now, unless all you ladies want to be walking back," Rosa said, "I suggest you get underway before the other teams find their cargo first. Transport assignments are uploaded to your PCMs."
The girls didn't need any more prompting. They rose to their feet instantly, grabbing up their gear.
" Rattle your dags , ladies. Let's move it!" Suko shouted, and, as one, the girls leapt forward, charging for their transport.
* * *
The compact T-48 had just enough room on the four jump-seats for Sigrid, Suko, Khepri and Leta. There were no doors on the craft and the girls all sat sideways, facing out for a better view. Sigrid rested her foot on the mounting-step, her hand clutching the handrail on the roof. The rush of air was invigorating as they crested the treetops and climbedquickly, high up and over the row of jagged mountains before them.
Their Starling pitched down sharply once it passed the last of the peaks, skimming dangerously close to the rocky cliffs. The night was black as pitch. Sigrid had only a vague sense of the rocky outcroppings dashing by, little more than a few feet away from her—a testament to the pilot's skill and daring. Sigrid flipped her optics to the new night-setting and her surroundings swam quickly into focus. She took a moment to adjust the sharpness until everything felt natural.
The pilot accelerated, shedding altitude quickly, sweeping down low over a grassy plain. Sigrid waited for her ears to pop after the distinct change in pressure, but her new systems made the transition smooth. The ground gave way abruptly as they came to an escarpment. Down below, stretching out for hundreds of hectares, lay a dense green jungle. The nose of the Starling dipped again as the pilot took them lower still. What Sigrid thought to be the ground turned out to be the heavy canopy of the jungle forest—it looked thick enough to build a house on, and topped out at nearly a hundred meters above the jungle floor.
The pilot signaled they were landing as they sliced through the trees towards a small clearing. Sigrid linked her PCM to the Nav-Sats, their location was displayed clearly in her HUD. The flight had taken them 147.24 kilometers from the school, but they were still
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