Read Online Battle of the Ring by Thorarinn Gunnarsson - Free Book Online

new toy to rip our carriers apart until
I stop him. I have no choice.”
    Consherra nodded slowly. “I know, and I will help you all that I can.
What can I do?”
    “Love me,” he replied simply. “Help me to forget that I am
frightened and alone. That is all you can do for now.”
    That was a bold request for him, and one which worried him. Always before he
had needed love, even longed for it, but he had never asked for what, in his
own belief, could only be given freely. But his time was short, and the future
he saw frightened him. The Methryn would live, but at the price of a life. And
he knew the price. Within the next two weeks he might finally be free of the
burden of responsibility, for he would quite likely be dead.
     

-4-
    Maeken Kea had accepted the command of the Challenger knowing that she did
not particularly like the idea, but she did not have time to regret it. By the
end of her first shift on the bridge, however, she knew that she both disliked
and regretted it. This beast was all ship, a relatively small and superfluous
crew, and two captains. No, it was not even a ship, just a mobile planetary
defense system. Maeken was smart enough not to be impressed by technology for
its own sake; therefore, she was not impressed. If it could fight and defeat a
Starwolf carrier, then she would be impressed.
    The theory behind this ship was sound, she did have to admit that. The
possibility remained that it might just be able to defeat a Starwolf carrier in
equal combat. But Commander Trace was after big game: he wanted Velmeran and
the Methryn. And Velmeran was too smart for him, smarter even than herself,
Trace, and this ship altogether. She knew that Trace meant to force a confrontation
with the Methryn, and she had strong doubts about their ability to win that
battle.
    Marching the halls at a furious pace, Maeken turned onto a main corridor and
ran straight into a monster. Since her diminutive human form was no match for
this towering hulk of quasi-reptilian flesh, she promptly bounced off and fell
on her rump in the middle of the floor. Startled, her first reaction was to
reach for her gun. Then she recognized this massive obstruction as a Kelfethki
warrior and paused. The massive saurian head cocked inquisitively, the enormous
green eyes regarding her.
    “Pleesh ekshuz me,” the Kalfethki hissed. He reached out with a
hand that could have encircled her waist and lifted her as easily as if she
were a small pet to be picked up and held.
    “And you are?” Maeken demanded as he assisted her to stand. She
weighed thirty-eight kilos, while the Kalfethki weighed perhaps three hundred.
But authority carried its own weight, and she assumed this talking dinosaur to
be part of the crew.
    “Ahee am Kramthk, af dee Kalfethki foorze.” His reply was prompt
enough, if unenlightening. “Eeyu air dee Kapton?”
    “Of course,” she said less sharply. She did not at all like this
talk of a Kalfethki force, but she thought it best to remain on good terms with
a potential army of the beasts. “Are you an officer?”
    “Hay schmall hwun,” Kramthk replied sociably. “Ahee vash
up to dee bridgsh to schpeek weth dee Schector Kommandor.”
    “Very good,” Maeken responded promptly, not at all sure what the
Kalfethki had said. He stepped carefully aside, opening a passage for her
to continue. But she hesitated a moment and looked up at him. “If you
would, what is your duty?”
    “Ahee am en interpretor,” Kramthk replied proudly, flashing a
toothy grin.
    Maeken only shrugged and continued on. At this point, nothing surprised her.
    What was Trace thinking of, bringing a Kalfethki ‘force’ on
board this ship? The Kalfethki were a saurian race, higher than true reptiles
even though they laid eggs and had no fur, but lower than true mammals despite
the fact that they were warm-blooded. They were immense beings, three meters
tall and five from their nose to the tip of their powerful thrashing tail. But
they remained