Annals of the Keepers: War 267 (Book 1 in the Gashnee Saga) Read Free Page B

bodies fell one on top of the other.
    Kason continued to move through the corridor until coming to a flight of stairs.
    He began to descend the stairs when his targeting cursor in his helmet bleeped out nine more Kryth soldiers approaching. Six died as his targeting scope danced from one Kryth to the next. Most fell in a clatter of armor sliding down the few steps they attempted to climb.
    The last three began firing up at Kason from a platform below.
    Kason jumped over the railing to land in their midst.
    Shattering the faceplate of one Kryth soldier, he then backhanded another who attempted to grab his rifle. Kason dropped into a crouch, hooked his left fist into the side of the second Kryth’s kneecap, the armored gauntlet smashed bone through the weaker joint armor of the soldier.
    Shrieking in agony, the Kryth soldier dropped to the floor clutching his limb. The Kryth watched his two comrade’s fall wounded. The other Kryth leaped forward to engage the invader and avenge his fallen soldiers.
    Kason’s black, armored boot smashed up beneath his jaw, shattering it. The force of the blow snapped the Kryth’s neck, propelling the body backwards to the floor.
    Another soldier struggled to remove his helmet with the cracked faceplate and succeeded just in time to watch Kason shoot him point blank in the chest.
    The helmet bounced off the floor and rolled to a stop against the leg of the one surviving Kryth soldier, slumped against the staircase, hiding.
    Kason walked past the Kryth, who froze at the sight of him.
    Eight shots from Kason’s weapon echoed in the corridor, as he shot each of the Kryth’s comrades in the head.
    Kason’s powerful, black-armored legs stopped in front of the last Kryth soldier cowering.
    “Nokarshel protect me,” Kason’s HUD translated the language.
    He could tell the Kryth was gasping in terror as the soldier backed away from him terror-stricken, helpless, and unable to move.
    “Mercy,” the Kryth groaned around his pain. “Mercy,” he croaked louder, Kason’s HUD still translated the Krythtinian language.
    Kason saw the sweat from the soldier’s forehead slide into his eyes. But before the Kryth could blink his eyes again, the ninth shot rang out.
    Kason kicked the cracked helmet aside, sending it rolling away.
    With a command, Kason’s front visor rose up and a hiss of vapor escaped the surrounding seal.
    “Mercy.” The plea echoed in Kason’s head.
    He looked at the dead Kryth.  The light green-tinged skin accented the sharp facial features that met black pupil-less eyes.
    Kason turned from the stairs speaking to no one but himself.     
    “Towards none save my own, Kryth.”

Data Cell 2
    A cluster of explosive bomblets rippled across the outer hull of Dalyth outpost, sweeping across the communications grid in a bubbling wave of fire. The base of a sensor array, over one hundred meters tall, rocked under a heavy concentration of fire from a warship orbiting low around the outpost.
    A second salvo from the bank of particle cannons aboard the warship sheared through the thick array supports, with grim efficiency. The array, no longer anchored to the station’s massive framework, keeled over and floated away from the hull of the outpost. 
    Lintorth Sol stood with his feet out wide on the causeway, as the whole station shuddered under another barrage of energy weapons released from the unknown ships outside the outpost.
    His hulking frame was larger than the other Kryth soldiers scurrying, more like fleeing, around him on the walkway.
    He watched the faces of the Kryth, full of fear and panic.
    Lintorth Sol continued past the fleeing soldiers with a clear expression of disdain creasing his face.
    Another barrage of rounds came at the station.
    The support girders holding up the causeway strained under the pressure as a dozen or more soldiers ran in panic around him. Some, with arms flailing, were pushed over the side of the rail to their deserving deaths, some 25 meters