Never Surrender (The Empire's Corps Book 10) by Christopher Nuttall Page A
Authors: Christopher Nuttall
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the city too.”
The settlement looked deserted when Jasmine emerged, blinking rapidly, into the sunlight and looked around. There had been young children, all scouts, playing in the village; now, they were all gone, along with most of the adults. A pair of men wearing jungle camouflage watched them closely, Clarence and Austin were standing with the doctor, but no one else was in sight. It was clear the resistance had largely decided to abandon the settlement, just in case. Jasmine felt a pang of guilt, which she ruthlessly suppressed. Meridian’s only hope for freedom lay in help from the Commonwealth.
“I should have an intelligence packet waiting for you when you arrive,” Clarence said. “We have been gathering intelligence on the enemy, but ... most of it is arguably useless.”
“We’ll see,” Jasmine said. She’d been taught there was no such thing as useless intelligence, but she had her doubts. Information on enemy terrain or political geography was always useful, yet other intelligence briefings had been definitely useless. Who gave a damn about the environmental impact of an engagement two years ago? “It might be quite helpful.”
“Check the packs,” Clarence ordered, as he indicated where they were lying on the ground. “If there’s anything else you need, let us know now.”
Jasmine nodded, then picked up and opened her pack. It felt surprisingly light to her, after a lifetime of carrying full combat loads from place to place, but it held everything she could imagine needing. There was a small selection of ammunition, plenty of ration bars, flasks of water and purification tablets, just in case they needed to drink from streams or ponds. At the bottom, there was a small medical kit. It was surprisingly comprehensive - and packed in waterproof packaging. She had a feeling they were going to need it.
“We arranged for a number of rifles to ... go missing from a nearby farm,” Austin said. “The owners have gone into hiding, so if anyone checks it should look as though you raided the farm, killed everyone and took whatever you needed. I would advise you not to talk about that with anyone else, though, if it can be avoided. Shooting bandits on sight is considered perfectly legal.”
Jasmine made a face as she took the hunting rifle and checked it, carefully. Living off the land was one thing, but stealing from civilians quite another. They’d been told, more than once, that there would be times when they would have no choice, but she’d never liked the idea. They might wind up stealing seed corn or vital - and irreplaceable - supplies from helpless men and women. And, once they got into the habit of stealing, they might never be able to break it.
“Thank you,” she said, instead. She pulled her pack over her back, then tested it carefully. It definitely felt lighter than a standard combat load. “Shall we go?”
“One moment,” Darrin said. “Kailee’s just getting ready.”
“Make sure she takes her pills, every time,” the doctor warned. “She’s on the verge of simply giving up completely, something made worse by her lack of proper food. I think she will get better once she has a few dozen meals inside her, but right now she has little to live for.”
“Gary will be glad to see her,” Darrin said. “I know he hasn't strayed in the years since she was taken.”
Jasmine smiled as Kailee appeared, looking thin and pale in her jungle outfit. Her eyes were firmly fixed on the ground, as if she didn't dare look anyone in the face. Jasmine sighed inwardly, noting how she shied away from the men. It might well be a long time before Kailee recovered from her imprisonment.
“Walk with me,” Jasmine said. She had to seem appallingly unfeminine to the younger girl, but at least she was a woman. “The others can lead the way.”
“Of course,” Austin
The settlement looked deserted when Jasmine emerged, blinking rapidly, into the sunlight and looked around. There had been young children, all scouts, playing in the village; now, they were all gone, along with most of the adults. A pair of men wearing jungle camouflage watched them closely, Clarence and Austin were standing with the doctor, but no one else was in sight. It was clear the resistance had largely decided to abandon the settlement, just in case. Jasmine felt a pang of guilt, which she ruthlessly suppressed. Meridian’s only hope for freedom lay in help from the Commonwealth.
“I should have an intelligence packet waiting for you when you arrive,” Clarence said. “We have been gathering intelligence on the enemy, but ... most of it is arguably useless.”
“We’ll see,” Jasmine said. She’d been taught there was no such thing as useless intelligence, but she had her doubts. Information on enemy terrain or political geography was always useful, yet other intelligence briefings had been definitely useless. Who gave a damn about the environmental impact of an engagement two years ago? “It might be quite helpful.”
“Check the packs,” Clarence ordered, as he indicated where they were lying on the ground. “If there’s anything else you need, let us know now.”
Jasmine nodded, then picked up and opened her pack. It felt surprisingly light to her, after a lifetime of carrying full combat loads from place to place, but it held everything she could imagine needing. There was a small selection of ammunition, plenty of ration bars, flasks of water and purification tablets, just in case they needed to drink from streams or ponds. At the bottom, there was a small medical kit. It was surprisingly comprehensive - and packed in waterproof packaging. She had a feeling they were going to need it.
“We arranged for a number of rifles to ... go missing from a nearby farm,” Austin said. “The owners have gone into hiding, so if anyone checks it should look as though you raided the farm, killed everyone and took whatever you needed. I would advise you not to talk about that with anyone else, though, if it can be avoided. Shooting bandits on sight is considered perfectly legal.”
Jasmine made a face as she took the hunting rifle and checked it, carefully. Living off the land was one thing, but stealing from civilians quite another. They’d been told, more than once, that there would be times when they would have no choice, but she’d never liked the idea. They might wind up stealing seed corn or vital - and irreplaceable - supplies from helpless men and women. And, once they got into the habit of stealing, they might never be able to break it.
“Thank you,” she said, instead. She pulled her pack over her back, then tested it carefully. It definitely felt lighter than a standard combat load. “Shall we go?”
“One moment,” Darrin said. “Kailee’s just getting ready.”
“Make sure she takes her pills, every time,” the doctor warned. “She’s on the verge of simply giving up completely, something made worse by her lack of proper food. I think she will get better once she has a few dozen meals inside her, but right now she has little to live for.”
“Gary will be glad to see her,” Darrin said. “I know he hasn't strayed in the years since she was taken.”
Jasmine smiled as Kailee appeared, looking thin and pale in her jungle outfit. Her eyes were firmly fixed on the ground, as if she didn't dare look anyone in the face. Jasmine sighed inwardly, noting how she shied away from the men. It might well be a long time before Kailee recovered from her imprisonment.
“Walk with me,” Jasmine said. She had to seem appallingly unfeminine to the younger girl, but at least she was a woman. “The others can lead the way.”
“Of course,” Austin
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