Skies Over Tomorrow: Constellation Read Free Page A

irrelevant to the mission.”
    â€œThank you, Attila. I know that.”
    Attila, the name Simone had given her Hard Shell’s biocomputer, received a surcharge of bioelectricity from her limbic system, its main power source with which it had a direct connection. A hollow fiberoptic cord, filled with synaptic fluid, plugged into the back of Simone’s head and ran from the jungle of her black hair. It penetrated the plush, liquid-filled, web woven lining of the Shell, and continued through the titanium plating of the suit into the CPU compartment that was situated near the seventh vertebrae of her neck.
    â€œRemain focused on the mission.”
    â€œAttila.”
    â€œLieutenant Carlston’s predicament is a distraction. The slightest doubt or hesitation may lead you to a similar circumstance.”
    â€œIt’s been eight days,” said Simone.
    â€œIrrelevant.”
    How could she argue with a computer? No matter how intelligent they become, they will never understand. She lowered her head as Attila terminated the distress call and said, “A record of Lieutenant Carlston’s situation shall be logged in twenty-minute intervals, for your review after this mission.”
    â€œWhat for? His situation is irrelevant, remember?”
    Attila did not respond.
    â€œWhat time is it?”
    â€œIt is now 16:51.”
    â€œAnd the waiting continues.”
    The late afternoon of the clear blue sky and the mild breeze flowing through the treetops were soothing. Boredom was quick to resettle and dig into Simone’s mind, looking to unearth the memories of her brother. She directed her thoughts to the summer of 2006 and her days in boot camp, remembering Master Drill Sergeant Knuckles. His shouting. She remembered him well. His humiliating her and yelling so much and so loud broke her down into tears the second week of camp, after which he built her up to be strong and unyielding. Then there was the sense of camaraderie felt with Dugmyer, Geoffrey, and Washington, knowing that their lives were in her hands as hers was in theirs. She had made a promise not to let them down if they were ever in firefight—a vow of honor and loyalty that meant nothing since she left them and became an Army Predator.
    For all the reasons she had for joining the Army, most of all she wanted to be a part of a unit—a team. It never occurred to her that she would be part of a squad in which the individuals operated alone. She believed she would participate in a mission that would, with teamwork, tip a war’s outcome in America’s favor. Just the opposite had happen. In joining the Army’s new Special Forces, she operated in solitude like a Siberian tiger, and with a Hard Shell, she was just as stealthy, powerful, and effective as the big cat had once been—before its extinction.
    It was 1997 when the United States Army initiated its radical and latest Special Forces Program. It was said that a four-star general set out to revolutionize the Army after being so inspired by the movies from which he entitled the imagined curriculum. He literally wanted a company of invisible soldiers.
    Simone came to like the idea of a highly trained soldier just sitting unseen in a hot zone and neutralizing the enemy—one at a time if need be. Snipers did this and very well, but the Pentagon wanted a soldier to remain in operation for days on end to annoy, frustrate, petrify, or in the quaint and eloquent words of Master Drill Sergeant Knuckles, to “fuck with the enemy.”
    The achievement of this goal came about with the development of the Pill. With its approval from the Food and Drug Administration, the Army tested the drug and its new program during peacetime training, and even during a number of covert joint-operations with the CIA, Navy and Marines. They were pleased with the results. Nonetheless, there was a flaw. A number of classified missions failed with the loss of soldiers. The problem was