The Heart of Matter: Odyssey One (21 page)

It was through no fault of the weapons themselves, though, from all accounts. The Priminae lasers were lethal beyond anything Earth technology had been able to develop in handheld equipment, and the reports from Lieutenant Savoy had indicated that they would have charbroiled a power suit in seconds at most.

The weapon that Commander Jehan was now retrieving from the case was a bit chunkier than the laser rifles he’d seen, though, and looked quite a bit solider. It was still smaller and lighter looking than the M-112 assault rifles, but that wasn’t a surprise. Reed had never liked the M-112 himself; he considered the weapon to be too clunky and heavy for a proper rifleman to use, and the contrails left behind by the scramjet-propelled rounds drew such a nice path through the air directly back to the shooter.

It was moderately acceptable for a man in a power suit, Reed supposed. They could move fast and survive almost any return fire from small arms, so counter sniper fire wasn’t a big concern for them. When Reed pulled the trigger on a rifle, though, he preferred that he have more than a few seconds to decide whether or not it was time to abandon his position.

“We don’t have a name for this yet,” Nero said, coming to his feet and presenting the weapon to Reed, “but it is most likely to be what we issue to our soldiers.”

Reed nodded and accepted the weapon, checking it over carefully while taking equal care not to actually push anything that even looked like a button or control. He hefted the rifle-sized weapon, carefully gauging it in his hands.

“It’s light” was his pronouncement a few moments later.

“That is because it is activated” was Nero’s response.

Reed’s eyes flicked down to the weapon, noting the glowing lights for the second time, and then back to Nero. “I don’t follow you.”

Nero took the weapon back from him and thumbed a catch, causing the lights to die out, then handed it back. Reed accepted the weapon and blinked as he immediately noticed the increase in its heft. It weighed perhaps twenty pounds when its power systems were off, instead of the four to five pounds he’d estimated when it was powered up.

Reed placed his thumb over the power catch, then glanced up at Nero again. Nero nodded, so he flipped it on. The rifle instantly felt lighter in his hands, and he lifted it up to his shoulder to look down the sights.

Priminae weapons were designed more than a little differently than anything Earth made, but their proportions were nonetheless in the same degrees as would work for any human. The grip of the weapon was a little out of place for his comfort, but Reed recognized that as an ingrained response and not a physical one. The weapon would undoubtedly feel right for any of the locals.

“How does it work?” he asked after a long moment of reexamining the weapon.

“The firing control is here.” Nero pointed. “It is designed as simply as possible. Point and…What is it you say? Shoot?”

Reed nodded with a half-smile. “That’s right, Commander.”

He turned around, looking intently until he found a clear line that led far out and away from the work area and a large boulder to aim at. Then he hefted the weapon again and glanced to Nero. “May I?”

“Please,” Nero Jehan said, stepping back and out of the way.

Reed leveled the rifle at the boulder, judging the distance to be about eight hundred yards. With a good rifle, it was an easy shot, and one that he could make without the aid of advanced optics, though he’d like a good pair of binoculars to help him judge the wind closer to the target.

For now, though, he didn’t need to be perfect. As long as the shot landed within sight, he’d be happy. The onboard optics were clear and easy to read, so he centered the boulder in them and automatically adjusted for the drop a bullet would encounter over that range, before shaking his head and lifting the muzzle again.

There was no telling what, if any, drop this rifle would have, so he’d start with a dead-reckoning shot.

Reed held his breath for a moment, steadying his aim, then let it half out, paused, and touched the firing stud gently.

The weapon didn’t do more than vibrate slightly in his hands, but the air around him made up for it with a sharp sonic boom that rattled every tooth in Reed’s jaw. He blinked as an eruption of flame burned into his retina, causing his eyes to water involuntarily as he lowered the muzzle of the weapon and cleared his fingers from the trigger automatically.

Holy…
Reed cursed mentally, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

When they were cleared again, he looked for the boulder, only he couldn’t find it in the cloud of settling dust that was raining down around his target.

“Jesus…” he whispered, shaking his head. “What the…?”

“This will surprise the Drasin, I think?” Nero asked with a half-smile.

Reed was still staring downrange, trying to find the boulder that wasn’t there anymore. “Jesus, Commander…What the hell is this thing?”

“A…gravetic impeller?” Nero said. “We took the idea from your assault weapons.”

Yeah, except we use rail guns, and they don’t fire nukes!
Reed shook his head. “Commander…These might be a little overpowered for use in, or even near, your populated areas. Can they be toned down for urban operations?”

Nero frowned. “I’m not certain. I suppose so.”

Reed chuckled dryly. “Let’s hope so. So, what does this thing fire, anyway?”

Nero shrugged. “Aligned carbon crystals.”

“Aligned carbon?” Reed frowned. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard of it.”

Nero reached down into the case again and tossed a small piece to Reed. He caught it easily, then looked at it and almost dropped it like it was searing hot.

“Sweet Jesus, Commander! This is a fucking diamond!”

“Diamond?” Nero shrugged. “Easiest thing to make that wouldn’t burn up in air when fired.”

Reed suppressed the groan as he looked down at what had to be the most expensive piece of ammunition he’d ever seen in his career.

PRIMINAE COLONY, THEORA DEICE
Orbital Station

▸COMDR. LORA BREEM had been looking forward to another uneventful shift aboard the orbital station. Usually, in addition to being a sentinel, they had scientists up conducting experiments, and sometimes a politician would make the trip. But nothing more stressful than that.

That was before Ithan Kav Brenna said something to her that, at first, she didn’t register.

“What did you just say, Kav?”

Kav was staring down at his console, seemingly lost in thought despite the fact that he had just asked for the commander’s attention. He looked up, and Lora noted immediately that he was white as a comet surface, and not much healthier looking.

“Kav? What is it?” she said again, demanding his attention this time.

“Incoming bow wakes, Commander,” he got out a moment later.

“Ours?”

The question was pro forma, required protocol, but Lora was already moving toward her command station and
slapping the combat stations alert. She knew that her signals officer wouldn’t look so sick if the incoming ships were anything but—

“Drasin,” he said in a strangled voice.

“How many?” she asked, falling into her seat as the alarms began blaring around them.

“Too many” was the only answer.

Lora cursed, punching up the information he was seeing.

Too many, indeed
, she thought, swallowing the wave of despair that washed over her. “Get me the captain of the
Heralc
.”

“Y…Yes, Commander.”

There was nothing for her to do as Kav called up the communications options, and she sat there in turmoil, heart beating fast, as she was finally put through to the captain of the single Priminae vessel stationed in the system. A moment later, a projection appeared on her ship, and the captain of the warship
Heralc
nodded politely in her direction.

“Commander, I’ll be with you in one moment,” he said, before turning to one side and issuing a series of orders to someone beyond the reach of the projector. Finally, he turned back to her and nodded again. “Sorry, Commander. I presume that this is concerning the Drasin.”

It wasn’t a question, so Lora didn’t answer it. She nodded her head and rose from her command chair, extending her hand to the projection. “Yes, Captain. I’m sorry for disturbing your readiness preparations.”

“Not at all,” he said, taking her hand lightly and inclining his head. The ghostly touch of the projected form felt chilled against her hand, but she nodded in return and they parted. “We have time, after all, before they arrive. Are the evacuation procedures ready?”

“Yes. The colony is being shuffled aboard what few transports we have. They won’t be enough,” she said.

“A million of them would not be enough, Commander,” Capt. Kierna Senthe said with a shake of his head. “Never enough.”

She nodded, turning back to her screens as he stood like a wraith by her side. “We have enough lift capacity to remove almost half of the colonists. Approximately five million people. Captain, these ships are freighters. They—”

“I know, Commander,” he said, a note of fatalism in his voice. “The
Heralc
stands ready to do our duty.”

NACS ODYSSEY
Ranquil Planetary Orbit

▸“GEAR CHECK!” SERGEANT Greene growled as he strode through one of the aisles that had been created when the troop restraints had been locked into place in the large shuttle. “You and the men on each side of you! We’re heading for a hot insertion in twenty minutes. I want everything tied down and every man ready to hit the ground shooting! I see anyone slacking off just’ cause it’s an exercise and you’ll be regretting it all the way back to Earth!”

On either side of him were men in power suits, locked into place by heavy hydraulics that prevented them from flying around on a drop that was bound to get a lot rougher than any normal shuttle landing ever would. Their rifles were mounted at the immediate left of each soldier, locked into place by the same restraints that held each man, with ammunition and other equipment locked into a bin above their heads.

While most of them hadn’t worked together for long, the sergeant’s order was one that they were intimately familiar with, so they carried it out quickly and efficiently, checking their own suits with a quick diagnostic, then a visual
examination, and then finally moving on to the suits of their neighbors as well.