Free The Black Guard: Book II: Evolution (Black Guard Series 2) by C. R. Daems Page A

scheduled to leave,
would you run a test flight thirty-five kilometers along our scheduled course?
At three hundred kilometers-per-hour, the round trip should take less than
fifteen minutes."
    "Why?"
    "For the safety of your Holy One and her
escort," I said, trying my best to anticipate the Gurk's possible methods
of revenge. Sabotaging the skimmers was certainly a possibility. It was
becoming clear that the evolution of the Guard would require a change in our
training and knowledge. Today, we trained to fight in buildings; future Guards
would have to understand the potential risk associated with traveling. It was
beginning to seem like the risks were increasing exponentially.
    Heydar nodded reluctantly and strode off in the
direction of the skimmers.
    Sometime later, three skimmers and an army combat
shuttle took off in an easterly direction.
    "Those shuttles have been guarded all night. I'm
not a fool," Heydar said when he had joined Douglas and me.
    "No you're not, General, but then neither is
Colonel Prakash. He proved that the other day with his multiple diversions. And
since we cannot attack him directly, he has the advantage." I had no
sooner said that than Heydar's Comm devise buzzed.
    Heydar shouted, "Two of the skimmers are down and
under attack—"
    I cut him off, shouting orders. "Douglas, get that
shuttle in the air. Elijah, you are in charge. Guard! All off duty personnel to
me."
    As I entered the shuttle, five Guards piled in behind
me. Sergeant Haber had barely cleared the ramp when it began to close and the
shuttle lifted off the ground.
    "Lieutenant, head east toward the coast. The
skimmers shouldn't be hard to find," I said, standing behind him.
"Who do you have with you?"
    "My co-pilot and navigator, an electronics counter
measures operator, and two weapons operators. The Colonel sent you the latest
Jax combat shuttle. She's a mini Deathstalker," he said, producing an evil
grin.
    Five minutes later, we saw a black cloud of smoke.
"Franks, what do you see?"
    "No heat signatures that would indicate people, not
even dead ones. Of course, it's too hot inside those skimmers to distinguish.
It looks safe to land," Franks said, staring intently at one of his
monitors as he adjusted views and magnification.
    "Alright. Douglas, put it down and let's have a look,"
I said, walking back toward the rear ramp.
    Douglas's landing was feather light, and a moment later
the ramp dropped open.
    "Sergeant Haber, organize a search of the area for
fifty meters around the skimmers."
    Even a cursory look indicated the skimmer had been
attacked with HEIAP, High Explosive Incendiary/Armor Piercing Ammunition.
Ironically, there was no evidence of a missile from a portable launcher.
    General Heydar arrived ten minutes later in an army
shuttle. "Shot down?" he asked, his face pale even in the glow of the
still raging fire.
    "No. I think the skimmer had to land either due to
a malfunction or subterfuge of some kind."
    "Those two skimmers were the ones that were
designated for your troops. If you hadn't insisted on a test ..." Heydar stood
looking at the burning mangled hulls, shaking his head.
    Unless I was mistaken, Colonel Prakash was trying to
pressure Nastya to renegotiate with the Gurk, and at the same time, he was
backing someone else for the position of Holy One, someone who had a connection
with Outpost. The attack was meant to provoke violence against the Gurk clan,
which would tarnish both the Guard and Nastya.
    "We can't ignore this ... the Holy One must let us
kill Prakash and his guards," Heydar said.
    "What proof do you have that he or his guards did this?"
I asked. Thanks to Hada introducing me to meditation long ago, my mind was at
peace, bent not on revenge but on a solution to stop the madness. I saw clearly
that the same way the real target wasn't me at Outpost, here at Blackwood the
real target wasn't the Black Guard. It was Nastya.
    "It's obvious ... we can't just let them get away
with this. Eventually, they will