Free Anstractor (The New Phase Book 1) by Greg Dragon Page A

they were summoned to be briefed on the mission. The man in charge was a short, scarred brute of a colonel who went by the nickname Rend and the official name of Colonel Cilas MEC. Cilas had a raspy voice that sounded like ball bearings inside a rotor that badly needed oil. The man was hard to understand, but Rafian was in awe at being in his presence.
    The fact that Rend was in charge of a mission meant that it was not only important but that it was classified, high-level, and more than likely going to be something legendary that he would never be able to discuss. The muscular man spoke, and the entire room dared not breathe lest they miss an important detail about the mission at hand. Rend was a man of few words and wasn’t the type to repeat himself.
    “Marines and elites, let me just congratulate you on being chosen for this mission. This duty that you are being asked to perform is one of great importance and one that will strike a critical blow against the disgusting Geralos and gain us much ground in retaking Vestalia and granting our people freedom.”
    He continued to tell them of how honored they should feel for being selected and reminded them of their sworn secrecy in matters of military service, especially when it came to missions that involved him. Rend was not a man to be trifled with, so the soldiers swore on their names to keep the details classified.
    He then brought up an older woman to give the pertinent mission details to the group. Her name was Hylga ATE, which she combined to make her call sign, Hellgate, a name she earned from singlehandedly destroying sixty Geralese spacecraft in dogfights during the Sixth Expanse. Hellgate, unlike Rend, was soft-spoken, but nobody dared mistake this for weakness or calm, as she was known for her ferocity and merciless flybys on multiple enemy cities, leaving nothing in her wake but fire and death. Hellgate had leveled her share of civilizations, and Rafian imagined her kill count being in the tens of thousands. He smiled slightly at the war heroine because she was one of the soldiers who had inspired him to seek flight as a career.
    Hellgate explained the mission details, and Rafian blinked away his admiration in order to truly listen to what she was saying.
    “It has been 183 days now since we have clashed with the Geralos over the moon of Meruda, whose rich resource of Io-89 they have coveted since they started aggressions with the United Worlds. Colonel Cilas and his troops have gained much ground in the last few months, after the Geralos commander Baiken fell from tripping a silent mine outside Unik5 some six or so months ago. The Gerals are in disarray, and it is due to their lack of leadership. So far, we have been able to take advantage of this panic state and destroy a number of their forward operations. We cannot afford to lose momentum now. In order to maintain this momentum, we have called upon you, the best of the best, to stage a hard push into the capital of Arisani, jewel of Unik5.”
    The hard woman paused to look across the room, her eyes focused a bit to the area where Rafian was standing, and he felt as if she was speaking to him.
    “We aim to take that capital by any means necessary, marines, so this mission is a ride-or-die operation. Once we have the capital, it will be very difficult for the Geralos to come and go, so their reinforcements, supplies, and ultimately their morale will deteriorate. With our success, we will turn the tides of this war, and the United Worlds will recognize Vestalian marines with the proper respect that we deserve.”
    Hellgate spoke more on the specifics of the mission and the divisions that would carry it out. Rafian thought he would be there to run flybys on the enemy in Hellgate’s Nighthawk bombing squad, but he was chosen for recon instead and was hustled aboard the Shadow Raven en route to the moon of Meruda to be dropped on foot with Val and the other marines. They were to march under deadly fire upon the