Read Online My Other Car is a Spaceship by Mark Terence Chapman - Free Book Online
Authors: Mark Terence Chapman
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trio of quark-enhanced missiles : one to port, one to starboard, and one just behind—in case the pilot braked. Right on the tail of the missiles, he fired two slugs from the mass driver dead center. Maybe it’s overkill, but if it all works as planned, the pirate shouldn’t even see them coming.
His lips curled upward in a wolfish grin. He finished with another burst from the APCs, in case the slugs missed.
Even as he fired, he continued to evade the massive weaponry of the raider, jinking first right and then “down.” No matter what he did, however, the other pilot seemed to find him.
Come on, Hal, you can do better than this. Relax! You’re too stiff. Just let it flow.
Most of Adventurer’s defensive measures were designed for missiles, but the raider didn’t seem to have any kinetic weapons like missiles or mass drivers. On the other hand, it carried quite a collection of gamma-ray lasers, APCs, and other energy weapons, and they were having the desired effect on Adventurer’s shields. It was impossible to outrun energy weapons short of jumping to hyperspace. All Hal could do was try to stay out of their way as much as possible. And that meant keeping a close eye on the energy spikes that presaged a shot and jinking a split second before the other ship fired.
That was a task far easier said than done. The pirate knew the same tricks and tried to camouflaged its genuine energy spikes among a blizzard of decoy spikes. Hal couldn’t dodge every time the sensors “detected” a spike. He had to try to figure out which were real and which were fake. Dodge too soon and the enemy had time to adjust his aim. Too late, and you got hit.
A sweat bead dripped off the end of Hal’s nose as he absorbed Adventurer’s status data. “Shields down to seventy-four percent. Damn! One of our quems missed and the others detonated too far from the pirate to weaken its shields enough for the cannon fire to get through. Somehow their pilot managed to slip between the slugs. He’s very, very good.”
Better than me?
As a fighter pilot, Hal had always entered battle certain he was the better pilot. But not today.
The pirate ship rocked under a solid blow. It wasn’t enough to damage the Fer’Yar, but it sent a message.
“Simmons!” the general growled. “I thought you said the other pilot was not very good. We have been at this for almost an hour. The fight was supposed to be over by now.”
Simmons licked a drop of blood off her lower lip where she’d bitten it. “She wasn’t very good, but she’s learning. She’s learning fast . It looks like it’ll take a bit longer than I thought. But don’t worry, I can take her.”
“You had better be right—or else. There is a fortune in slaves on the planet below, but it will do me no good if you let her shoot my ship full of holes.”
“Don’t worry, sir. I’ll take care of her.” The alternative was not worth contemplating. Simmons knew what became of crewmembers who displeased the general.
Time to pull out the big guns.
Come on, Hal, you can do it.
Kalen clutched the arms of his chair as the ship bucked. He made a conscious effort to release his death grip. After all, he didn’t want to give the impression he didn’t have complete confidence in Hal’s abilities.
I know you have the raw talent, but not the experience. You have to put it all together somehow, and soon.
Hal fired another salvo at the pirate and continued to stick-and-move like a prize fighter. I think I’m starting to get the hang of this.
Take that, you bastard!
A missile/cannon combo rocked the pirate ship, but did no visible damage. Then a portside blast jarred Adventurer .
Whoa there, Hal. Don’t get cocky. That pilot can shoot as well as fly.
Let’s see you dodge this! He fired off a spread of five slugs in an X pattern and immediately flooded the pirate’s shields with jolts from the antiproton cannons. You can’t dodge what you can’t see.
A
His lips curled upward in a wolfish grin. He finished with another burst from the APCs, in case the slugs missed.
Even as he fired, he continued to evade the massive weaponry of the raider, jinking first right and then “down.” No matter what he did, however, the other pilot seemed to find him.
Come on, Hal, you can do better than this. Relax! You’re too stiff. Just let it flow.
Most of Adventurer’s defensive measures were designed for missiles, but the raider didn’t seem to have any kinetic weapons like missiles or mass drivers. On the other hand, it carried quite a collection of gamma-ray lasers, APCs, and other energy weapons, and they were having the desired effect on Adventurer’s shields. It was impossible to outrun energy weapons short of jumping to hyperspace. All Hal could do was try to stay out of their way as much as possible. And that meant keeping a close eye on the energy spikes that presaged a shot and jinking a split second before the other ship fired.
That was a task far easier said than done. The pirate knew the same tricks and tried to camouflaged its genuine energy spikes among a blizzard of decoy spikes. Hal couldn’t dodge every time the sensors “detected” a spike. He had to try to figure out which were real and which were fake. Dodge too soon and the enemy had time to adjust his aim. Too late, and you got hit.
A sweat bead dripped off the end of Hal’s nose as he absorbed Adventurer’s status data. “Shields down to seventy-four percent. Damn! One of our quems missed and the others detonated too far from the pirate to weaken its shields enough for the cannon fire to get through. Somehow their pilot managed to slip between the slugs. He’s very, very good.”
Better than me?
As a fighter pilot, Hal had always entered battle certain he was the better pilot. But not today.
The pirate ship rocked under a solid blow. It wasn’t enough to damage the Fer’Yar, but it sent a message.
“Simmons!” the general growled. “I thought you said the other pilot was not very good. We have been at this for almost an hour. The fight was supposed to be over by now.”
Simmons licked a drop of blood off her lower lip where she’d bitten it. “She wasn’t very good, but she’s learning. She’s learning fast . It looks like it’ll take a bit longer than I thought. But don’t worry, I can take her.”
“You had better be right—or else. There is a fortune in slaves on the planet below, but it will do me no good if you let her shoot my ship full of holes.”
“Don’t worry, sir. I’ll take care of her.” The alternative was not worth contemplating. Simmons knew what became of crewmembers who displeased the general.
Time to pull out the big guns.
Come on, Hal, you can do it.
Kalen clutched the arms of his chair as the ship bucked. He made a conscious effort to release his death grip. After all, he didn’t want to give the impression he didn’t have complete confidence in Hal’s abilities.
I know you have the raw talent, but not the experience. You have to put it all together somehow, and soon.
Hal fired another salvo at the pirate and continued to stick-and-move like a prize fighter. I think I’m starting to get the hang of this.
Take that, you bastard!
A missile/cannon combo rocked the pirate ship, but did no visible damage. Then a portside blast jarred Adventurer .
Whoa there, Hal. Don’t get cocky. That pilot can shoot as well as fly.
Let’s see you dodge this! He fired off a spread of five slugs in an X pattern and immediately flooded the pirate’s shields with jolts from the antiproton cannons. You can’t dodge what you can’t see.
A
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