Doom Star: Book 06 - Star Fortress Read Free Page B

hadn’t kept him on the ground searching for more cyborgs. Had the generals decided the capsule was a first landing attempt?
    Ricardo’s stomach growled, but then it often did. He was always hungry, even though he ate sumptuously according to Martian standards. Before it could growl again, one of the doors opened.
    To his amazement, Secretary-General Gomez entered. He recognized her from the news blogs, particularly as she wore her customary green uniform. She was a tall woman with darker-than-average skin. She had tight curls, wore sunglasses and moved stiffly, using a cane as she dragged her left foot. Long ago, she had been a gunman in the Resistance. Nine, Political Harmony Corps guards had died on Martian streets due to Gomez’s firing. The tenth PHC guard had worn the latest body-armor and returned fire, sending three explosive slugs into Gomez’s frame. Reconstructive surgery had saved her life, but she lived with constant pain these days.
    “Captain Sandoval,” she said in a strong voice.
    Ricardo lurched to his feet at attention as he saluted crisply.
    “You recognize me, do you?”
    He nodded.
    The faintest of smiles appeared on Gomez’s thin face. “You are Mars’s great Cyborg Slayer, are you not?”
    “I killed one in a sandstorm.”
    “And thereby saved one of your Commandos,” Gomez said. “I read the report. You bayoneted it to death. From what they tell me about cyborgs, that is most impressive.”
    “The cyborg was already damaged and lacked modern weaponry,” Ricardo said.
    “It also slaughtered your men as if they were children,” Gomez said. “Under the circumstances, your feat was amazing.”
    Ricardo nodded brusquely.
    Gomez tapped the floor with her cane. “Tell me, Captain. What is your estimate of the war?”
    “I’m not certain I follow you.”
    “Then you are not the man I need and this entire situation was a costly waste of time.”
    “You mean the wider war, the one against the cyborgs.”
    “At the moment, it is the only war that matters.”
    “I agree,” Ricardo said.
    “How gratifying,” Secretary-General Gomez said dryly.
    Ricardo refused to let that bother him. “We are losing the war,” he said.
    Gomez became alert. “What is the probable outcome?”
    “The maxim is simple,” he said. “To win, one must attack. We do not attack. Therefore, we will lose until we successfully take the offensive.”
    “And we should attack where do you think?”
    “The heart of the cyborgs lies in Neptune. You must attack there. I thought Social Unity and the Highborn planned exactly that.”
    “Not Social Unity, Captain,” Gomez said. “Social Unity is merely one component of our allied front. The Jovians, Martians and Earthmen have formed an alliance of regular men, don’t you remember?”
    “The Highborn, Social Unity and the Jovians have warships. We do not.”
    Gomez leaned on her cane toward him. “Does our lack of a fleet bother you?”
    Ricardo grew puzzled. If seemed as if his answer was important to her. What possible reason…his face grew slack. “We’re building warships,” he whispered. “Is that what this is about?”
    Pain creased her features, and the fist holding the cane knotted. “Where did you gain this information? You will tell me, Captain. We have learned from our enemies and will resort to whatever means necessary to find what we must.”
    “I fail to…” Ricardo saw it then—the reason why they had put SAMs here. Yes, the reason they had chosen Salvador Dome for a secret project.
    “Secretary-General Gomez,” he said, “no one has informed me of anything. I merely added two and two together. Your line of questioning, the defensive perimeter erected here and the operator’s willingness to destroy a Martian jet all points to some highly secret project. Your last question points to the nature of the secret.”
    “Go on,” Gomez said.
    “Both Inner Planets and the Jovians have warships. Mars has none. The war for survival is the