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    The Liberators
    The Liberators
    The Liberators
    Ebook56 pages55 minutes

    The Liberators

    By Scott William Carter

    ()

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    About this ebook

    "There's one rule in the interstellar liberation force: you never take off your helmet. Even if the atmosphere of whatever planet you are liberating from the vicious aliens does happen to breathable, there could be any number of lethal viruses or microbes. The body armor and comm equipment is first rate, and the aliens seem to be on the run. Then, one day, a soldier is forced to take off his helmet to survive. The consequences are disastrous for the liberation force, but it is no toxin, virus, or microbe that infects the military: it's the truth . . . Carter's warning about how military might be used in the future stands undiminished." --The Internet Review of Science Fiction

    Praise for Other Works by Scott William Carter:

    "Carter's writing is on target." --Publishers Weekly

    "Compelling" --School Library Journal

    "Scott William Carter makes it look easy." --Chizine.com

    BONUS STORY included at the end of this ebook: "The Tiger in the Garden."

    "The Tiger in the Garden" presents a classic duty versus honor conflict. Jose, a constable on a poor, out-of-the-way planet, is expecting a government Agent, an alien with unpleasant appearance and even worse personality. He is there to apprehend a terrorist—someone Jose knows well. The situation is complicated by the fact that the alleged terrorist is not the man he used to be, and his past crimes are irrelevant for anyone but the Agent, relentless in hunting down the members of the Resistance. Jose can either help the Agent and betray his friend, or help his friend and kiss his career good-bye." --Tangent Online

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherFlying Raven Press
    Release dateMay 20, 2010
    ISBN9781452343396
    The Liberators
    Author

    Scott William Carter

    Scott William Carter is the author of Wooden Bones and The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys, which was hailed by Publishers Weekly as a “touching and impressive debut.” His short stories have appeared in dozens of popular magazines and anthologies, including Analog, Ellery Queen, Realms of Fantasy, and Weird Tales. He lives in Oregon with his wife and two children. Visit him at ScottWilliamCarter.com.

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      Book preview

      The Liberators - Scott William Carter

      The Liberators

      Scott William Carter

      Bonus Story:

      The Tiger in the Garden

      [Start Reading The Liberators]

      [Jump to The Tiger in the Garden]

      [About the Author]

      [Others Works by Author]

      The Liberators by Scott William Carter. Copyright © 2012.

      Smashwords Edition. Electronic edition published by Flying Raven Press, February 2012. Originally published in Analog, April 2004.

      All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction, in whole or in part in any form. This short story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

      For more about Flying Raven Press, please visit our web site at http://www.flyingravenpress.com.

      The Liberators

      Scott William Carter

      I HEARD THE REPORT OF A CANNON a half second before the boulder on the ridge above us exploded. 

      Pebbles pinged off my helmet.  The ventilator fans whirred behind my ears, and a bead of sweat trickled down my cheek.  The suits did a good job of filtering the air, but the inside of my helmet still smelled slightly metallic. 

      It was the dead of night, but my Visosuit enhanced the image, giving the rocky gully an amber tint.  The Dulnari had lousy night vision, so we always fought after sunset.  I quickly counted ten black, sleek-domed helmets in the gully.  Each helmet was marked with a different number, and Rina's number 22 was on the far end.  We broke up two weeks earlier, but I still liked having her close during combat.

      Major Steed, my brother's voice crackled over the all-suit frequency, report.

      Damon sounded calm as a man could be.  I watched Rina for a reaction, but she didn't move.  I knew she had been spending her time lately with that egghead, Lieutenant Dyle, but I still wondered if she and Damon would hook up now that I was out of the picture. 

      Got a group of two hundred Dulnari pinned in a mountain bunker, Colonel, I said to him.  The rest of the target planet has been contained.

      I stopped thinking of the planets as having names long ago.  After a while, they all blurred together.

      Good . . . We need to finish this planet up and move on to the next one.  Get it done quickly.

      Yes, sir.

      He cut the transmission. 

      I suddenly felt tired.  There was always another target.  Such was the way of life in the elite LS-37, a Liberation Squad who had liberated more planets from the tyrannical rule of the Dulnari than anyone else.  We were legendary in the Unity Defense, our slogan whispered among lesser soldiers like a hallowed prayer.  LS-37, Angels Protected by the Glory of Heaven. 

      I peered over the edge of the gully.  The mountain sloped up gently until it reached the rectangular peak.  An opening big enough for their cannons circled the peak; there were two or three cannons on each side.  We could fly up there in under three seconds. 

      The problem was that we'd be easy targets.  What we needed was a distraction. 

      Our suits were controlled by the electrical impulses in our brains.  I thought the all-suit frequency on, and it was.  Lieutenant Dyle, I said, take Delta Group and do a flyby over the mountain, dropping flash grenades.  The rest of us will storm the bunker.  Hold for my command.

      There was a brief pause, and then his reply came back.

      Yes, sir, he said. 

      All other teams, await my command, I said.

      Before I even finished the sentence, Rina was scooting in my direction.  She was a small woman, but inside the bulky black Visosuit you would never know it. 

      Our suits were mini spacecraft in their own right.  The slim packs on our

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