The Impossible Future: Complete set Frank Kennedy (freenovel24 .TXT) 📖

peacekeepers into the simulations. Go ahead, James. Pick a colony, any tactical scenario, and a weapon.”

James encountered a rush as he swiped his fingers through the first display, choosing Moroccan Prime. Under tactical, he realized the most recent conflicts were in tightly clustered urban centers. He selected the Anheela Uprising of SY 5335. Behind his mental curtain, the details of the battle surfaced: Six thousand dead, ten of them peacekeepers. House-to-house fighting, sometimes hand-to-hand. Insurgents taken prisoner were publicly executed. The UG designated the battle a logistical failure because of high peacekeeper casualties.

Before he reviewed the arsenal, Valentin leaned in.

“A hint: The blast rifle is the peacekeeper’s weapon of choice. Always the most fun and efficient.”

James grabbed the schematic for the weapon, which he recognized. Valentin and his squad used blast rifles when they dropped from the Scramjet outside the IDF. They also used the weapons to execute Chief Patricia Wylehan’s team. Valentin was among the executioners.

In another life, he would have been repulsed. Instead, James used his hands to twist the schematic about, studying the sleek device. It slipped over the forearm like a custom-designed prosthetic, its bonding agent linking into the soldier’s nervous system, searching for Chancellor DNA. It featured four rotating barrels, each capable of dispensing up to one hundred explosive flash pegs, even one of which could tear apart a victim’s innards.

“Damn, that’s sweet.”

When those words fell from his lips, James didn’t flinch. Rather, he tasted the hunger last savored when he hurled a blade into his brother’s throat. He relived the moment when he charged into the battle at the IDF, unafraid to die. And when he unleashed fiery rage that turned a mercenary to ash. He heard his own words, clear and pure. To Valentin: We’re monsters. We’re killers. To Perrone, when asked how many he expected to kill: Thousands.

He selected the blast rifle, and the simulation started. He faced a new reality. The chamber seemed in flight as they descended into the atmosphere of a dusty brown planet with giant oceans, landing in the centuries-old city of Anheela, in a neighborhood of buildings hollowed by weapons fire, grenades, and bombs. Hooded figures and men in robes stood silent, some hiding in the shadows, women and children running in place, billowing smoke frozen like in a macabre painting.

“The simulation is waiting,” Valentin said. “Now for the fun.”

He pointed to the rear bank, where shelves of blast rifles opened, and tall ReCon tubes slid out from hidden cabinets.

“Combat uniform and simulated ammo, James. Trust me, it‘s like the real thing. The sounds of war, the smell of death. A peacekeeper’s dream. Are you ready to be a soldier?”

James smiled. “You have no idea.”

30

H E WAS THERE. THE CRACKED, HARDSCRABBLE streets of Anheela carried him away into a guerrilla battle. The exchange of blast-rifle fire. Insurgents tossing grenades from hidden positions. The concussion of the blasts. The fleeting sensation of shrapnel bouncing off his combat bodysuit. The smell of urine. Malnourished dogs scavenging. A child throwing rocks at peacekeepers, scooped up by his terrified mother. And his company commander signaling in silence to advance.

Inside the combat helmet, 3D schematics of the insurgents’ lair revealed life signs clustered on the second level. Options available: Frontal assault, gas dispersal, or precision Scramjet strike. The battalion commander called off the strike – teams operated under Sanctum orders to preserve property. He considered gas inefficient, likely to ensnare civilians. He signaled, and the team took point on the three access locations for the next level. James and Valentin moved in silence toward the back stairwell along with two others.

As they ascended, schematics showed second-level movement. James was exhilarated not just by the hunt but also by the simulation itself—he was climbing stairs that only existed two hundred forty light-years away.

Valentin took lead and dispersed his team into a UG diamond pattern in close-quarters combat. James took right flank.

At the far end of the corridor, another team arrayed itself the same way. Just shy of the open doorways leading to flats, all eight soldiers stopped. Their schematics showed two insurgents just inside the central doorway, while others clustered well back, as if huddled. The soldiers communicated. Are we sure those are all hostiles? Possibility of hostages? The company commander insisted his intelligence was certain: Nothing but hostiles. Take them out.

In a flash, two insurgents bolted across the corridor without firing a shot. However, each dropped a tiny orb which spun and bobbed wildly. Electromagnetic pulse disrupters: Banned across the Collectorate, expensive, seen only among the most well-financed terrorists on a handful of colonies. Each team’s lead soldier reacted a nanosecond before their blast rifles and helmets could be deactivated. They initiated a blowback shield, capable of repelling the disruption. However, the shield was a defensive maneuver, keeping the teams in a holding pattern until they destroyed the orbs.

They communicated with the company commander, who gave each team leader new orders. Valentin communicated to his team, telling them to prepare for engagement on the flanks. Timed with the other team leader, Valentin reconfigured the shield to release him while maintaining blowback on James and the others. Valentin had less than a second to act, his aim requiring perfection.

When the shield fell, he unleashed a barrage on one orb while his counterpart attacked the other. Each blast rifle died after ejecting less than three flash pegs. Simultaneously, a cannon shot erupted from the right flank and blew apart the front wall of the flat. The concussion threw James and the team into a wall that itself was crumbling.

Bullets and tracers emerged from the smoke and rubble, a shrill symphony exploding from weapons not impacted by an EMP. James gathered himself, threw rubble aside and took his position. Bullets bounced off his bodysuit. He deduced their strategy: They couldn’t penetrate the suits with these weapons, but they didn’t need