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    Conrad
    Conrad
    Conrad
    Ebook58 pages45 minutes

    Conrad

    By Oscar A McCarthy

    ()

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    About this ebook

    LIEUTENANT COMMANDER OF TASK FORCE 7 REPORTING FOR DUTY 

    Laser burns scarred the metal frames of half-melted, barely recognizable structures. The ground was torn apart from battle, and not a blade of fresh grass could be seen. All had been stomped underfoot or burned in the many beds of flames that had sprung up around the town. Bodies strewn across the landscape still bled into the earth, and various half-blackened body parts littered the insides of nearly every building. Conrad studied the scene. He’d seen it before, numerous times. The carnage was typical in his line of work. But he’d never enjoyed it. The type of people who enjoyed terrifying destruction like this didn’t belong in the military.

    His communicator beeped, and a holo-image appeared in front of him, projected by the plastic device hooked around his ear. “Lieutenant Commander. The area has been cleared, and we are in the process of counting the wounded and dead.” The Lieutenant, whose shape vaguely wavered in the air, spoke precisely. “What should be done with those we captured?”

    Conrad nodded. “Good. Continue with clean-up. Treat the prisoners’ wounds and make sure they are kept under close guard. We’re not hurting them, but the unit needs their cooperation.”

    “Understood.” The image flickered away.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOscar A McCarthy
    Release dateApr 13, 2018
    ISBN9781386609582
    Conrad

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      Book preview

      Conrad - Oscar A McCarthy

      CHAPTER ONE

      Laser burns scarred the metal frames of half-melted, barely recognizable structures. The ground was torn apart from battle, and not a blade of fresh grass could be seen. All had been stomped underfoot or burned in the many beds of flames that had sprung up around the town. Bodies strewn across the landscape still bled into the earth, and various half-blackened body parts littered the insides of nearly every building. Conrad studied the scene. He’d seen it before, numerous times. The carnage was typical in his line of work. But he’d never enjoyed it. The type of people who enjoyed terrifying destruction like this didn’t belong in the military.

      His communicator beeped, and a holo-image appeared in front of him, projected by the plastic device hooked around his ear. Lieutenant Commander. The area has been cleared, and we are in the process of counting the wounded and dead. The Lieutenant, whose shape vaguely wavered in the air, spoke precisely. What should be done with those we captured?

      Conrad nodded. Good. Continue with clean-up. Treat the prisoners’ wounds and make sure they are kept under close guard. We’re not hurting them, but the unit needs their cooperation.

      Understood. The image flickered away.

      Prisoners? They were just civilians. Conrad’s orders had been clear: eliminate the threat in the village. Panther, an eco-terrorist organization bent on preventing core generation sites from being established, had been reported as having a base in this little town. Thus, Conrad and his group had bombed out the town before launching a manual invasion. But they’d been wrong. No one here was even remotely associated with Panther, he was sure of that. Mercart Core Generation Site, as the town had been dubbed, clearly harbored no enemies.

      He’d slaughtered them all. Only those few prisoners were still alive, but the rest of their families definitely were not. He could smell the burned flesh on the air. This wasn’t new, but it was still wrong. He’d always killed those associated with an enemy. Never someone innocent, much less a town of innocents.

      His introspection was suddenly interrupted as a little girl, no more than seven years old, stumbled from one of the broken buildings. She was crying, and a tattered teddy bear hung limply from her fingers. His helmet activated automatically, registering the heat signature as a threat. It closed over his face and began scanning. The girl was not injured, and there were no munitions on her. He clicked a button on the ear of his helmet, and it retracted back into his collar.

      He came close to her and knelt to one knee. Hello?

      She jerked her head up to meet his eyes. Who are you? she asked. Her voice was high and sounded scared. Her eyes were a striking blue.

      My name is Conrad. I won’t hurt you. Are you all right?

      She shook her head. I’m okay, but Mommy and Daddy...they’re... Her eyes welled up again, and tears spilled out. She sobbed and buried her head in his shoulder. Please...please...help them.

      He glanced inside the door and looked away quickly with a grimace. A little girl should never have to see something like that. He swallowed, biting back the guilt. It was his fault this little girl would never get to hug her Daddy again. I’m very sorry...

      She cried harder, and he continued holding her. Eventually, she quieted and backed away a little, clutching her teddy bear to her chest.

      He tried to smile at her a little, to ease her fear. It’s okay. It’ll be alright. What’s your name, little girl?

      She wiped her hand over her eyes. I’m Sarah. She pointed at his laser pistol sidearm. Are you a soldier? Why are you here?

      He swallowed. I’m... He couldn’t tell her the truth. She’d had too much sorrow. "I came to

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