Sneak Peek—Stories from The Expanding Universe Anthology #4: ‘Checkmate’ by Jonathan P. Brazee

There are 20 short stories in the latest volume of Craig Martelle’s The Expanding Universe anthologies. Today, with Craig's permission, we are taking a sneak peek at the start of Jonathan P. Brazee’s story, ‘Checkmate’. Here’s how it begins:----------------------------------------------------------------

Winning is everything, especially in war.
“Come on, Lettie,” Jorge muttered as he popped up out of the fighting hole and snapped off a burst at the advancing Valks.He ducked back as return fire showered dirt and debris over the three in the hole.“What the hell is taking her?  The damned Valks are closing in!”“Lettie’s on top of it,” Military Tech 2 Isaac Stein said, gripping his Compton-3 to his chest.  He raised his rifle over the edge of their fighting hole and blindly emptied his mag, exposing only his hands for a few seconds.  He knew he hadn’t hit anyone firing like that, but hopefully it would give the advancing Valks pause.“What are you worried about, Jorge?” MT3 Anatasha Dela Cruz asked, only half-facetiously as she pushed up the snakeyes.  “PrimeMil takes good care of us.  Only the best medical care for their miltechs.”“Easy for you to say.  You don’t have exes and kids to support.  I can’t afford to get zeroed.”----------------------------------------------------------------
Would you like to read more? 
The Expanding Universe #4 releases a few days from now on September 17, 2018, and is available for pre-order. However, if you’d like something to read, right now, you can find Volume 1, The Expanding Universe: An Exploration of Science Fiction Genre , Volume 2, The Expanding Universe: Exploring the Science Fiction Genre , and Volume 3, The Expanding Universe 3: Space Opera, Military SciFi, Space Adventure, & Alien Contact! on Amazon.