Free Reavers (Book 3) by Benjamin Schramm

normal operational ranges.”
    “At once,” she said with a polite salute.
    “Before you go,” he said over his shoulder.  “Any word on operation Ouroboros?”
    Isabella was instantly grateful he had his back to her as she was unable to suppress a shudder.
    “Prototype testing is complete.  Performance exceeds expectations.”
    “Marvelous.  Have the operation moved ahead to the next phase.”
    “Commander!”
    His shoulders tensed and he turned to face her directly.
    “I mean, Supreme Commander,” she said apologetically.  “The operation still requires months of planning and preparation before we are . . .”
    “We don’t have months to wait.  This attack on Lintilä proves the pirates are an even larger threat than I anticipated.  Move the operation ahead, now .”
    “Yes, sir.”
    With a formal salute she departed the briefing room and headed directly to operations.  Those on duty proudly saluted.
    “We’re moving operation Ouroboros to phase two,” she announced.
    Several got right to work on carrying out the orders with only a few hesitating.  She casually walked over to one of the hesitating men and put a hand down on his shoulder.
    “Seal off Lintilä,” she whispered so only he could hear.  “Have our best analysts reassigned to the data we recovered from that sector.  It was no pirate field test.  Have one of our best surveillance ships moved to observe, maximum range.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” he whispered back.
    “And discreetly get the word out.  Ouroboros is going to kick the hornets nest, have our agents ready for the fallout.”
     
     

Chapter 4: Prey
    Was nothing sacred to Rosalyn?  Tardos studied the sad excuse for combat armor and tried not to frown.  After the announcement, Revel had quickly ushered the new crewmembers to the armory.  After handing each of them a standard rifle, he passed out odd-looking cubes.  Apparently, everything the captain touched had to be customized.  Instead of the normal white spheres, Rosalyn had gone out of her way to find something unique.  Opening the cube as Revel instructed, Tardos was greeted with a stiff angular material that looked nothing like armor.  It seemed closer to a ceremonial uniform than combat armor. Why couldn’t Rosalyn leave something so basic alone?
    Human skin did a good job of keeping the squishy bits inside in place, but when it came to combat, it was severely lacking.  Unlike everything else in the animal kingdom, humans lacked any natural defenses - no claws, fangs, venom sacs, or carapaces to protect themselves.  Humans didn’t even have speed or camouflage to evade predators.  Thankfully, they did have one thing that gave them the advantage - inventiveness.
    What the human body lacked, the brain was able to remedy.  Weapons and armor were quickly developed that shot humanity to the top of the food chain.  With their dominance secure, humanity swept over the galaxy claiming it as their own.  All their prowess hadn’t been enough against the Shard.  When the unstoppable hordes of machines had first shown up, they changed the way humans thought about combat.  The metallic foes shrugged off the most powerful weapons humanity had to offer.
    The strongest armors were ripped to shreds by the massive blades of the countless Shards.  To deal with the strength of the machines, the Commonwealth had to completely rethink their approach to combat.  After ten thousand years of desperate fighting, the Commonwealth had finally managed to claim victory.  That victory had been purchased with the blood and tears of countless generations.  Why anyone would turn their back on the combat armor developed in the Great War, for an aesthetic reason no less, was beyond Tardos.
    A firm hand shook his shoulder.  Glancing at its owner, he found Kevin already fully dressed in the new armor.  He had done it again.  His mind had gone off on its own while there were more pressing matters at hand.  With Kevin’s help, he