Read Online Scrapyard Ship 7: Call to Battle by Mark Wayne McGinnis - Free Book Online
Authors: Mark Wayne McGinnis
Tags: Science-Fiction, Space Opera, Military, Science Fiction & Fantasy, alien invasion, Exploration, Space Exploration, first contact, Galactic Empire, Space Fleet, Space Marine
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There simply wasn’t a safe haven for anyone … especially the children of Captain Jason Reynolds.
Off in the distance, down the corridor to the left, Jason’s eyes locked on the entrance to Medical. How many times had he taken these same steps only to see Dira emerge, coincidentally, fifty feet in front of him? Their eyes would meet and neither would be able to keep themselves from smiling. But today the corridor remained quiet—Dira didn’t emerge from Medical … she probably never would again.
He made his way to the DeckPort, stepped in, and emerged from the DeckPort closest to the flight deck. He still had forty minutes before he was due at the command meeting taking place on board the Minian . He could simply phase-shift over, but he needed to think and he knew the best way to do that would be getting behind the stick of the Pacesetter .
The flight deck was relatively quiet, with only a few droids moving about, conducting general maintenance on the varied selection of shuttles and on the six Caldurian fighters. The dark red Pacesetter sat on the open deck; she’d been prepped and seemed to be waiting for him—beckoning him to hurry up and climb on board. Jason felt his pulse quicken. With her gentle curves and slightly backswept wings, the fighter could best be described in one word: sleek . Everything about this fighter said fast—fast and dangerous. Jason climbed up the inset ladder and climbed into the forward cockpit. The canopy slid silently into place as Jason went through his pre-flight checklist.
Within a minute’s time, he’d brought the Pacesetter off the flight deck and was heading into open space. He banked right, giving himself ample clearance of The Lilly ’s two powerful drives, and accelerated. Jason moved away from the fleet of U.S. warships and headed into open space. With his HUD synced to the fighter, he placed the Pacesetter into training mode and started with some simple Basic Fighter Maneuvers, BFMs. Some of what he was seeing now was simulation and Jason marveled at the complexity of it all … how reality, such as the contours of the adjacent ship, was integrated into this new battle scenario. He scanned his surroundings—the brightness of distant stars—a giant nearby planet with its amber continents and blood red oceans. Four silvery moons … all of it transported Jason to another place in reality. This was the ultimate video game and he couldn’t help but smile. He heard the soft voice of the AI in his ear, “Three bogies are approaching at sub-light speeds. All three have detected your presence and have locked on to your coordinates.”
“Who are they?”
“Caldurian RAM fighters, Captain.”
Jason saw the three fighters, approaching in a V formation, on the center 3D virtual display. Another smaller display to his right showed a wire-frame depiction of a RAM fighter, along with the vessel’s impressive stats. More compact than the Pacesetter , these little beasts were fast and highly maneuverable. They also possessed a generation newer tech.
“Let the games begin …” Jason said, adjusting the position of the stick. Masses of information streamed into his mind—information he’d acquired through the hours of HyperLearning spent within a MediPod. Within this realm, the BFM program would push the pilot to the limit … his understanding of the mathematics of pursuit within a three-dimensional arena, where different angles of approach equated to different rates of closure. He needed to use this geometry now—to not only get within firing range, where the Pacesetter ’s weapons could be used, but also to avoid common mistakes, such as overshooting, which consisted of flying in front of the opponent, called a “wingline overshoot,” or crossing the enemy’s flightpath, called a “flightpath overshoot.”
The three bogies separated and the Pacesetter was almost upon them. In space, at the incredible speeds vessels could achieve there, virtually all flying
Off in the distance, down the corridor to the left, Jason’s eyes locked on the entrance to Medical. How many times had he taken these same steps only to see Dira emerge, coincidentally, fifty feet in front of him? Their eyes would meet and neither would be able to keep themselves from smiling. But today the corridor remained quiet—Dira didn’t emerge from Medical … she probably never would again.
He made his way to the DeckPort, stepped in, and emerged from the DeckPort closest to the flight deck. He still had forty minutes before he was due at the command meeting taking place on board the Minian . He could simply phase-shift over, but he needed to think and he knew the best way to do that would be getting behind the stick of the Pacesetter .
The flight deck was relatively quiet, with only a few droids moving about, conducting general maintenance on the varied selection of shuttles and on the six Caldurian fighters. The dark red Pacesetter sat on the open deck; she’d been prepped and seemed to be waiting for him—beckoning him to hurry up and climb on board. Jason felt his pulse quicken. With her gentle curves and slightly backswept wings, the fighter could best be described in one word: sleek . Everything about this fighter said fast—fast and dangerous. Jason climbed up the inset ladder and climbed into the forward cockpit. The canopy slid silently into place as Jason went through his pre-flight checklist.
Within a minute’s time, he’d brought the Pacesetter off the flight deck and was heading into open space. He banked right, giving himself ample clearance of The Lilly ’s two powerful drives, and accelerated. Jason moved away from the fleet of U.S. warships and headed into open space. With his HUD synced to the fighter, he placed the Pacesetter into training mode and started with some simple Basic Fighter Maneuvers, BFMs. Some of what he was seeing now was simulation and Jason marveled at the complexity of it all … how reality, such as the contours of the adjacent ship, was integrated into this new battle scenario. He scanned his surroundings—the brightness of distant stars—a giant nearby planet with its amber continents and blood red oceans. Four silvery moons … all of it transported Jason to another place in reality. This was the ultimate video game and he couldn’t help but smile. He heard the soft voice of the AI in his ear, “Three bogies are approaching at sub-light speeds. All three have detected your presence and have locked on to your coordinates.”
“Who are they?”
“Caldurian RAM fighters, Captain.”
Jason saw the three fighters, approaching in a V formation, on the center 3D virtual display. Another smaller display to his right showed a wire-frame depiction of a RAM fighter, along with the vessel’s impressive stats. More compact than the Pacesetter , these little beasts were fast and highly maneuverable. They also possessed a generation newer tech.
“Let the games begin …” Jason said, adjusting the position of the stick. Masses of information streamed into his mind—information he’d acquired through the hours of HyperLearning spent within a MediPod. Within this realm, the BFM program would push the pilot to the limit … his understanding of the mathematics of pursuit within a three-dimensional arena, where different angles of approach equated to different rates of closure. He needed to use this geometry now—to not only get within firing range, where the Pacesetter ’s weapons could be used, but also to avoid common mistakes, such as overshooting, which consisted of flying in front of the opponent, called a “wingline overshoot,” or crossing the enemy’s flightpath, called a “flightpath overshoot.”
The three bogies separated and the Pacesetter was almost upon them. In space, at the incredible speeds vessels could achieve there, virtually all flying
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