Machine Gods (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

do you have it?”
    Sergeant Belgard
looked confused, if only for a second. She was clearly angered at
being spoken to by a civilian, but she was also well aware of Teresa’s reputation as both a
warrior and a businesswoman.
    “ The paperwork has
been signed by my Captain, and he is the senior Marine Corps member
on board.”
    Teresa turned away a
fraction and smiled inwardly. It was a minor victory but a face
saving one at that. She’d already seen the news and had sent her
data off-site and away from the station. Even so, she’d expected to
be contacted privately by the Admiral, not by the rough hand of
some jarhead. Teresa noticed the look the Sergeant had when looking
at Gun who was standing nearby. The figure of the Jötnar commander
was certainly impressive to one unfamiliar with his people,
especially as he had become something of a legend in the Alliance.
The synthetic giant was famous for creating a sanctuary on the
hostile jungle world of Hyperion, much to the consternation of
Alliance citizens. Any Biomechs that were captured alive were sent
there to be integrated with the Jötnar. With the creation of the
Spacebridge to New Charon, the Jötnar had spread to moons and
worlds. Even so, even Sergeant Belgard knew that Gun, their most
famous leader and warrior, was sacred to them.
    “ I see. In that
case, I would be happy to come with you to see the
Admiral.”
    The young
S ergeant seemed to relax and moved to the
door before realizing that Ms. Morato still hadn’t moved. She
looked at the older woman’s body and couldn’t fail to be impressed
at her fitness and muscular build. Teresa spotted her looking at
her and was forced to hide a grin.
    “ When I’m changed,
of course. I’m getting enough attention dressed like this as it
is.”
    She then turned and
walked back to her room. The Sergeant watched her go with a
deflated look on her face. Gun grinned at her discomfort before his
face tightened up. For a second, Sergeant Belgard feared he might
attack her. Instead, he spoke in a low, gravelly voice.
    “ Teresa Morato is a
hero of the Marine Corps. We’ve spent the last three days getting
back from an operation against T’Kari Raiders. You should show
respect.”
    He then also turned
to disappear off into one of the three rooms, presumably to get
changed into something more suitable. The Sergeant wished, for the
first time since she was transferred from Terra Nova, that she were
somewhere else.
     
    * * *
     
    The crippled Alliance light cruiser ANS Imperator
drifted slowly through the debris field. Her engines had been out
of commission for more than a full day while fires continued to
burn in her forward sections. Coolant sprayed from the ruptures
along her port flank and into space, along with quantities of
escaping fluid and gas from the other impacts. This damage had
combined over the hours to produce enough lateral thrust to start
moving the ship in a lazy circle towards the rest of the debris in
the asteroid field. A hint of noise caught Spartan’s attention, and
he turned his head to see his old friend, Khan grinning at
him.
    “ What?” he asked,
always suspicious of that expression.
    Khan chuckled to
himself at the view from the assault shuttle. Unlike the other
humans on board, Khan was one of the Jötnar; a people prized for
their great strength, power, and ability to inflict damage. His
people had been artificially created and indoctrinated by the enemy
back in the Great Uprising over two decades ago and had almost
turned the tide of the War. He was twice the size of any man in the
shuttle with his massive three-meter tall frame, thick muscles, and
armored suit that gave him the look of some ogre or monster of
old.
    “Well?” continued Spartan, “What’s so damned
funny?”
    Khan nodded to the
crippled ship that drifted slowly and silently through space.
Contrary to what most people expected, there was no sound in space
and even the blasts that had occurred when they’d