Star Crusades Nexus: Book 09 - The Black Rift Read Free Page B

Ancient Earth. Arches and columns were the key features, every section lovingly crafted from great chunks of semi-reflective marble. Not one mark remained from the damage a generation earlier, during the Uprising. The warriors moved silently, only their boots betraying their progress as they reached the middle and passed by a raised plinth. Atop the great stone structure sat a new bronzed sculpture, rich in detail and scale, but hidden behind a thin layer of red silk. Many pointed, but until the cover was removed, the imagery was impossible to make out.
    On marched the eighty men and women, each of them outfitted in the finest PDS Alpha armor available on Terra Nova. The dark gray normally used in the Marine Corps had been replaced by a glossy, almost translucent black plastic material. Lines ran across the muscled sections to give an impression of both wealth and strength to the unit. From the guards' shoulders hung the long flowing cloaks of the Royal Guards unit. The bright red material was lined in a hundred different threads while rich and exotic patterns filled the open space in shades of red, violet, and yellow.
    “Eyes…right!”
    The loud voice coming from the head of the formation was the single officer for the company. Though wearing an equally flamboyant uniform, he also carried a plumed helm that exaggerated his height to nearly a meter over the others. While the guards carried their rare LR52 long rifles, their commander carried a deadly looking glaive in both hands. Its head was shining steel, the edges gleaming with menace. Each of the soldiers turned their heads to the right and directly at the beautiful sculpture. They looked with emotionless eyes at both the sculpture and the flag that surrounded it. They continued to march while the protective covering was pulled down. A light breeze ruffled the material as it slid away from the metal. A pair of dignitaries assisted as the silky material floated down to reveal the figures. The detail was exposed to the bright light, and gasps of surprise and pleasure rippled through the assembled citizens. As one, they turned their attention back to their front and the approach to the grand steps.
    At the top waited a small entourage of military and civilian officials. The newly promoted Chiefs of Staff were prominent, but it was the two older men at the center, both of whom wore smart business suits, that stuck out. The taller of the two was President Harrison, the elected leader of the Alliance. Facing him was a man who until today had never stepped on the alien world.
    "What do you think, Governor Trelleck?"
    The commander of Earthsec forces throughout Sol barely managed to lift a lip.
    "The creatures, they are so..."
    President Harrison looked back at the sculpture. It was almost three meters high and showed a creature that resembled a man's worst nightmare. Limbs, blades, and tentacles seemed to ooze from its very core. Around it were men in heavy armor, quite unlike the tight-fitting PDS armor used today. Two lay dead on the ground, but three more engaged the creature with their hands in a titanic struggle. A tattered flag of the Confederacy lay over one of the bodies.
    "I know. The Biomechs lay waste to our world. But brave warriors like the Terra Nova Guards stood firm and resolved. Even now, there are those among us that would seek the end of these…things."
    Governor Trelleck could quite easily see the symbolism on show, and even he was beginning to find it all a little hard to swallow. There were as many rumors of the Guards unit collaboration with the Biomechs in the Great Uprising. It was only a generation ago, and already the official history was being updated once more. The President nodded at the Guards as they moved past before his observant eyes shifted to the Governor.
    "Why did you bring me to Terra Nova? Earthsec has no influence out here?"
    President Harrison smiled and indicated for the man to look toward the approaching soldiers.
    "The Alliance is