Free Atlantia Series 2: Retaliator by Dean Crawford

the end it still always boiled down to the same thing:infantry and close combat. There was, never had been, and never would be any substitute.
    ‘Roger that,’ he intoned, unable to keep a tone of mild weariness from his voice. ‘We’ll start our sweep of the ‘tween decks.’
    It was the captain’s voice that cut across the intercom in response.
    ‘Hold position, we’re sending Evelyn and Commander Ry’ere aboard to join you.’
     
    Bra’hiv hesitated. ‘Why?’
    ‘Evelyn knows more about the Word than most,’ the captain replied, ‘especially after what happened aboard the Avenger. She’ll take point, understood?’
    Bra’hiv was mildly baulked by having to follow the lead of a junior pilot and he suddenly had an idea of why Djimon was so annoyed, but he knew what Evelyn was capable of. Everybody did.
    ‘Understood, send them in.’
    *
    Evelyn climbed out of her Raython’s cockpit as soon as the Sylph’s landing bay doors closed and air was reintroduced into the bay. The vents belched clouds of vapour as the temperature was still close to freezing, and she kept her visor on as she climbed down onto the deck.
    ‘No heating,’ Bra’hiv reported as he strode to her side, still wearing his own visor to preserve precious warmth and his voice reaching her through her earpiece.
    ‘Suits us,’ Evelyn replied as Andaim joined them. ‘The cold slows the Word down. The Word’s bots don’t generate much of their own heat unless they’re packed in tight swarms.’
    ‘The distress signal is still broadcasting,’ Bra’hiv reported. ‘But it’s likely on some kind of loop. We’re guessing that whoever left it is dead.’
    ‘What the hell was a Veng’en doing aboard a colonial vessel anyway?’ Andaim asked. ‘It doesn’t make any sense.’
    ‘Not much does right now,’ Bra’hiv replied. ‘There are shuttles here that my men have checked over and reported as fully fuelled. No sign of conflict, no sign of the Word or its Legion. You remember what the Avenger looked like when it found us?’
    ‘Smothered,’ Evelyn replied, recalling the incredible and chilling sight of a large battle cruiser half–engulfed by a black sea of seething nanobots. ‘Maybe the crew weren’t infected and something else happened?’
    ‘Or maybe they Word did catch up with them and they abandoned ship before things got too hot?’ Andaim suggested.
    ‘No escape capsules have been fired,’ Bra’hiv reported. ‘But this bay could have held a lot more ships so it’s possible.’ He looked at Evelyn. ‘You sure you want to take point? My men are well trained and the area is secure so we…’
    ‘Nowhere is secure,’ Evelyn interrupted the general, ‘and I mean nowhere. You haven’t seen what the Word can do.’
    ‘Scanners are saying there’s nothing here, Evelyn,’ Bra’hiv reassured her. ‘Even if the Word is aboard it can’t be in many numbers or we’d have detected it.’
    Evelyn shook her head.
    ‘They don’t need numbers to occupy a vessel, just time and sufficient resources,’ she replied. ‘The Word evolves and it can replicate faster than you would ever believe. This ship could go from having a handful of bots aboard to ten billion in a matter of hours. It’s not secure.’
    Bra’hiv glanced at Andaim.
    ‘Let’s just take it steady and see what we find,’ the commander advised. ‘Are your men ready?’
    ‘They are,’ Bra’hiv replied, his expression stoic but his eyes twinkling with pride. ‘They’ll follow us anywhere.’
    ‘Let’s go then,’ Evelyn said as she drew her service pistol and activated it.
    Alongside her, the Marines crowded to follow.
    ‘Alpha Company remain here,’ Bra’hiv ordered. ‘Bravo, on me!’
    Sergeant Djimon scowled as Bravo Company moved off. Evelyn saw Qayin gravitate toward her, and she could see his bioluminescent tattoos glowing behind his visor. The Mark of Qayin . She wondered briefly if the tattoos were tactically a disadvantage in the gloomy