Read Jump Pay for Free Online Page B

stuff to bear," Joe said, speaking on his link to Captain Hilo Keye, Echo Company commander.
    "We're still too far out for them to do much damage," Keye replied. Even over the radio it was obvious that the captain was gasping. Hilo Keye was past the middle of his fifth decade. While that would be young for a civilian who was maintaining his age with medical nanobots, it was old for a soldier. Anti-aging technology was considered superfluous for a soldier, especially in wartime. Outside of the headquarters staff, Keye was the oldest man in the 13th. He had received his captaincy only after the Jordan campaign.
    "We get a little closer, Yellow Flight is ready to make a few passes," Keye said after a considerable pause. He had switched channels so that he was speaking to all of the platoon leaders and platoon sergeants. "The more Heggies that get lined up nicely, the better hunting the flyguys will have."
    "Rate we're going, it'll be dark before we close," Joe said. His transmitter was still on the private channel, so only Keye would hear him.
    "Maybe it'll cool down by then. Look to your men, Joe." The captain's tone was soft enough that the words weren't quite a rebuke.
    "Aye, sir. We're keeping our heads down." And roasting them in the process, he thought as he surveyed the platoon.
    At a range of nearly two kilometers, even the Schlinal machine guns were making little impression on the 13th. There were a few minor wounds, more from flying chips of rock than from bullets. The rocky ground offered plenty of cover from enemy guns that were themselves at or near ground level. Bullets hit and ricocheted off.
    The 13th mounted only sporadic return fire. The Heggies were too far away for Armanoc wire carbines to be of the slightest use, and even the heavier wire splat guns could do no damage at that distance. The only infantry weapons that could reach the enemy were Vrerchs and the Dupuy cough guns. Among the line companies, the RA sniper rifles were distributed two to a platoon. At that distance, the Dupuy riflemen rarely had clear targets. From time to time, the 13th used a few Vrerchs to help suppress enemy fire, but the company commanders became sparing of the rockets. If enemy aircraft managed to get past the Wasp screen, the Vrerchs would be essential to survival. They were the only ground-based weapon the Accord had that could be used successfully against enemy aircraft.
    Fifteen hundred meters from the Schlinal lines, the three Accord companies stopped for a much needed rest. They had covered seven kilometers in the three hours since the landing—most of it on hands and knees.
    Just a couple of minutes after the order to stop went out, First Sergeant Iz Walker worked his way down the line to Joe's position.
    "We've been on the ground three hours and we're already two hours behind schedule," Walker said.
    "Not much we can do about it, is there?" Joe asked. Both men lifted their helmet visors so they could talk directly to each other without using their radios. It also gave them the illusion of having more air to breathe, and even the illusion was helpful.
    "No, there isn't, and that's the hell of it," Walker said. "Captain just had a talk with the colonel. I gather that the colonel's been on to CIC and General Dacik about the mess. Nobody had any inkling about this moss. There's probably never been a single one of our people on this world before today."
    "They didn't send in SI first?" Each of the SATs had a Special Intelligence detachment, and SI—a separate arm of the Accord Defense Force—had other assets that weren't assigned to specific units.
    "I guess not. Not much place for even spooks to hide on these rocks. I suppose they thought that dropping SIs would give away more than it got."
    Joe nodded. "Probably. But does anybody have a way for us to move on this moss without breaking bones and butts?"
    "Maybe." Walker left it at just the one word for so long that Joe had to ask.
    "What's that supposed to