Sneak Peek: To the Victor, Chapter 11 (Patreon)

I've been working really hard this week to get the first of October's (planned) two main updates done, so I can have more time to focus on the next chapter of Ascension (which won in the $10+ poll by a margin of 2:1). I've gotten the rough draft finished and I just need to do the standard edits before it's post-worthy, which will be early/mid next week. In the meantime, here is an excerpt from the chapter, where it appears that things are not going well for a Hegemony soldier...

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Pernell was cursing under his breath as he thundered towards Squad Two’s location, crashing through the debris and detritus of the empty industrial sector. Things weren’t turning out like he’d expected. The HUD was still showing no contacts. He followed a path to an unfinished factory complex; only one of the buildings had gone up. The other had been left as nothing more than an unfinished basement, a concrete pit just out of the shadow of its larger counterpart. Half-finished walls and heavy support beams jutted up from the floor towards the sky, blocking line of sight through the basement.

The CIO soldier dropped down onto the concrete floor, raising his weapon. This was the last position that anyone from Squad Two had checked in from. He moved through the unfinished structure. “Squad Two, this is Corporal Sabot. Respond. If you can hear me, report in.”

Nothing but silence. 

Damn it.

Sabot turned a corner and froze. Laying in what would have been a parking annex was one of Squad Two, the trooper’s armoured form left where they’d fallen. He couldn’t see any markings to tell who it was. Looking around, he approached the other trooper to see what had happened to them. There were no shell casings. They’d been taken out without getting off a shot.

His HUD suddenly pinged, registering movement only a few meters away. Faster than any mere sapiens could have done, Pernell pivoted, bringing his rifle up and around. 

He wasn’t fast enough.

He caught only a glimpse of the target just before their gun – a large-bore combat shotgun – spoke. Sabot’s suit registered the impact of a rocket-propelled slug and the ECT soldier fell bonelessly to the ground.