Read Online Desperate Times (Lost Planet Warriors Book 1) by K. McLaughlin - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: K. McLaughlin
Ads: Link
risk no one thought was possible. Like I was doing right now.
Sometimes that sort of thing blew up in your face. But sometimes it was the key to victory.
Chapter Fourteen
Bran
T he tactical situation was desperate . I’d managed to maneuver the Nova Song away from envelopment three times now, but the Skree were excellent at the tactic, and our screens were fluorescing in a rainbow of color, a sign that they had absorbed far too much energy from incoming plasma weapons.
“Screens beginning to fail in the aft section of the ship,” Carrick warned.
“Rotate the ship thirty degrees to starboard.”
The smaller ships’ weapons were one thing. Our screens would resist those for quite a while. But the mothership was another matter entirely. The Skree had mounted truly massive weapons on the thing, and even at this range the screens were taking a beating. If I could rotate the back end of the ship, moving in a bit of a zig zag forward motion, I could perhaps shift the point of impact and allow other screen generators to take the load for a while.
“They’re closing the distance between us more quickly now,” Carrick said.
Which was the natural side effect of our no longer traveling in a straight line. The enemy ship was cutting directly across the zig-zag path w were taking. They would overtake us if we continued. Of course, we didn’t need to keep this up much longer, but they didn’t know that.
The Skree mothership was like a massive predator sensing blood. When we turned and ran, they gave chase with everything they had. All they were seeing was their target running for it. As much as that ruse galled me, I had to admit that it was working. They were chasing us with everything they had. Now all I had to do was find a way to stop them at precisely the right moment.
“Sir, are you very sure that the Terrans will come through?” Carrick asked. He had come to stand very close beside me, his voice almost a whisper.
“I trust Kim with my life,” I replied.
His eyes grew wide. “Oh,” he said. “And…with the survival of our race?”
I laughed without mirth. “Our race is dead, Carrick. All of us know that. What remains to us is to attempt to make the Universe remember us in some small way.”
“If we can take them with us, then that alone would be something,” I said, pointing at the Skree mothership on screen, “But if Kim has another plan in mind, we will buy her the time she needs. These Terrans have courage and ingenuity. They give me hope.”
“Hope for what, sir?” Carrick asked.
I could tell from the look in his eyes that he wanted hoped. That he hungered for even the smallest shred of a chance at a brighter, better future. I couldn’t give him that. Not yet, anyway. Would an alliance with the Terrans provide us with what we needed to take the battle back to the Skree? I had no way of knowing.
“For a future,” I said. Best to keep my answer simple for now.
According to the graphics on screen we were almost in position. The point where the enemy ship must stop was marked by a brilliant yellow sphere on the main screen. It was time to take the battle to the enemy. At last.
“How many phase torpedoes remain?” I asked.
“Five, sir.”
“Prepare all five to fire. Full spread. Target their screen generators.”
Phase torpedoes were a relatively new invention. They used a small bit of jump technology within their drives, allowing them to effectively bypass screens. We’d had a small number allocated to our ship as a test shortly before the Skree attacked. It had taken fifty of the things to destroy one mothership, during the great battle for our home system.
We had only five left, and for all I knew they were the last five in the galaxy. It might have been enough to smash the Skree jump drives, if we were lucky. Then we could have jumped away, run again to some other system and begun repairs. But I refused to abandon these people to an angry, damaged Skree mothership. Even never
Sometimes that sort of thing blew up in your face. But sometimes it was the key to victory.
Chapter Fourteen
Bran
T he tactical situation was desperate . I’d managed to maneuver the Nova Song away from envelopment three times now, but the Skree were excellent at the tactic, and our screens were fluorescing in a rainbow of color, a sign that they had absorbed far too much energy from incoming plasma weapons.
“Screens beginning to fail in the aft section of the ship,” Carrick warned.
“Rotate the ship thirty degrees to starboard.”
The smaller ships’ weapons were one thing. Our screens would resist those for quite a while. But the mothership was another matter entirely. The Skree had mounted truly massive weapons on the thing, and even at this range the screens were taking a beating. If I could rotate the back end of the ship, moving in a bit of a zig zag forward motion, I could perhaps shift the point of impact and allow other screen generators to take the load for a while.
“They’re closing the distance between us more quickly now,” Carrick said.
Which was the natural side effect of our no longer traveling in a straight line. The enemy ship was cutting directly across the zig-zag path w were taking. They would overtake us if we continued. Of course, we didn’t need to keep this up much longer, but they didn’t know that.
The Skree mothership was like a massive predator sensing blood. When we turned and ran, they gave chase with everything they had. All they were seeing was their target running for it. As much as that ruse galled me, I had to admit that it was working. They were chasing us with everything they had. Now all I had to do was find a way to stop them at precisely the right moment.
“Sir, are you very sure that the Terrans will come through?” Carrick asked. He had come to stand very close beside me, his voice almost a whisper.
“I trust Kim with my life,” I replied.
His eyes grew wide. “Oh,” he said. “And…with the survival of our race?”
I laughed without mirth. “Our race is dead, Carrick. All of us know that. What remains to us is to attempt to make the Universe remember us in some small way.”
“If we can take them with us, then that alone would be something,” I said, pointing at the Skree mothership on screen, “But if Kim has another plan in mind, we will buy her the time she needs. These Terrans have courage and ingenuity. They give me hope.”
“Hope for what, sir?” Carrick asked.
I could tell from the look in his eyes that he wanted hoped. That he hungered for even the smallest shred of a chance at a brighter, better future. I couldn’t give him that. Not yet, anyway. Would an alliance with the Terrans provide us with what we needed to take the battle back to the Skree? I had no way of knowing.
“For a future,” I said. Best to keep my answer simple for now.
According to the graphics on screen we were almost in position. The point where the enemy ship must stop was marked by a brilliant yellow sphere on the main screen. It was time to take the battle to the enemy. At last.
“How many phase torpedoes remain?” I asked.
“Five, sir.”
“Prepare all five to fire. Full spread. Target their screen generators.”
Phase torpedoes were a relatively new invention. They used a small bit of jump technology within their drives, allowing them to effectively bypass screens. We’d had a small number allocated to our ship as a test shortly before the Skree attacked. It had taken fifty of the things to destroy one mothership, during the great battle for our home system.
We had only five left, and for all I knew they were the last five in the galaxy. It might have been enough to smash the Skree jump drives, if we were lucky. Then we could have jumped away, run again to some other system and begun repairs. But I refused to abandon these people to an angry, damaged Skree mothership. Even never
Similar Books
