Free Galactic Empire Wars: Rebellion (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 3) by Raymond L. Weil Page A

mountain looked as if it had never been
touched.
    “How do they
do that?” asked Casey, guessing what Ryan was thinking.
    She had come
to know Ryan very well over the years they had been together and trusted his
judgment. She knew there were several Kiveans around that kept the different
training facilities on Centerpoint functional. She'd been around Kiveans at the
Academy as well as immediately after coming out of the cloning facility and had
a lot of respect for their science.
    “I don’t know,
but we have to assume all the popups have been replaced and are probably in new
locations.”
    Casey nodded;
Ryan had always had a knack for solving problems as long as she had known him. As
a clone, she had technically only experienced seven actual years of life.
    “Let’s go,”
Ryan ordered over the general com frequency as he glanced at the waiting
battlesuits. “Two scouts ahead and we’ll form six lines of three. Let’s see if we
can make it to the top this time.”
    “Here we go
again,” mumbled Alexander as he checked the energy cannon he was carrying. It
had a full charge, but it was much bulkier than an RG rifle. Alexander had a
propensity for the smaller weapon, but today that was not to be.
    “Let’s not get
shot this time,” Lauren suggested as the two took up their positions in front
of the rest of the platoon. Lauren didn’t know what they'd done wrong to keep
drawing the position of scouts. Scouts tended to get shot first. She wondered
if Corporal Hunter was still upset with her and Alexander. She'd hoped that after
the scene at the Chinese restaurant the little incident in the mess hall would
be forgiven.
    Ryan watched Privates
Parker and Adams move out. Since the two had served as scouts the first time
around, he felt they'd be better prepared to spot popups. He needed any edge he
could get, and he hoped the two privates would be able to give him one. He
wondered what his parents would think if they could see him standing here at the
base of Charring Mountain in a Type Three battlesuit. Ryan knew that his
parents had hoped he would apply for the fleet and away from the marines. However,
Ryan decided to follow in his brother’s footsteps, and conquering Charring Mountain would put him well on the way to doing just that.
    -
    In the dome’s Command Center, Major Winfrey smiled to himself as he saw Ryan begin sending his soldiers
up Charring. He was curious as to why the second lieutenant had elected to take
mostly energy weapons with him this time. The energy weapons would give out
long before the lieutenant and his platoon made it to the top.
    Dylan leaned
back in his chair gazing at the multiple viewscreens on the wall, which
afforded him an unobstructed view of all of Charring Mountain. Major Stevens
would be joining him shortly, and Dylan was interested in hearing the majors
take on the weapon mix that Ryan had chosen.  
    -
    General
Mitchell was meeting with newly promoted Fleet Admiral Thomas Kelly in his
office to discuss potential action against the Kleese. He shuffled several
papers around on his desk before finding the report he was searching for.
    “The Kleese-Strell
war is probably over,” he announced, looking at the report in his hand and leaning
back in his chair behind his desk.
    “What will the
Kleese do now?” Kelly asked with narrowed eyes. He knew if he were in charge of
the Kleese fleet, he would repair the damage suffered in the war with the Strell
and then go immediately back on the offensive.
    “We’re not
sure, but we think they’ll attempt to take out the nonaligned worlds.”
    “How many nonaligned
worlds are there?” Kelly asked. He knew they were scattered throughout the
Kleese Empire.
    “Several
hundred,” Mitchell answered as he leaned forward and laid the report back down
on his desk. “They’ll probably start with the ones closest to their home world and
gradually work their way outward toward us.”
    “Is there
anything we can do to turn some of those