Read Online Test of Mettle (A Captain's Crucible Book 2) by Isaac Hooke - Free Book Online Page A

destination point.” Robert rubbed his ear lobe. “How is this even possible? We received a comm drone from Prius 3 right after the aliens retreated from the 1-Vega Slipstream. Which would imply that the incoming endpoint still leads to Vega 951, while the outgoing terminates somewhere else entirely. There’s no wormhole like that in the entire galaxy. When you go back through a Slipstream, you always return to where you started from. Always.”
    “Apparently Slipstreams don’t necessarily have to work that way,” Jonathan said. “You yourself theorized that these aliens were the descendants of the Elder, Commander. Human beings have long postulated that the Elders created the network of Slipstreams that crisscross our quadrant of the galaxy. We’re starting to see evidence that both theories are true, given that these aliens seem to have the means to edit wormholes.”
    Robert shook his head. “Designer wormholes, made to spec. And tailorable after the fact.” He rubbed his ear. “So even if we were to survive long enough to build a return Gate...”
    Jonathan nodded. “There’s no guarantee it would even bring us back to Vega 951. Maxwell, have you run your analysis on the Slipstream yet? Do we know if it will return us?”
    “Data inconclusive,” Maxwell intoned. “It’s impossible for me to determine if the wormhole will lead to Vega 951. I’m sorry, Captain.”
    Jonathan glanced at Robert and raised his arms in defeat.
    “So we’re stranded here,” Robert said.
    “At least until the welcome party arrives to blow us to smithereens.” On his aReal, Jonathan activated the aft external camera and zoomed in on the Slipstream endpoint. It appeared indistinguishable from the outlying space. So innocuous, yet it would prove to be their doom.
    “You think the aliens herded us here on purpose?” Robert said. “To trap us so they could finish us off? And prevent us from calling for reinforcements?”
    Jonathan nodded. “That’s my working theory. I want you to put our best astrophysicists and engineers on the problem. Have them compare the gravimetric readings taken from 1-Vega six months ago, prior to the alien presence, to the readings recorded moments before we made the return trip. If there is a difference, see if someone can come up with a way to restore the wormhole to its previous state. It might be something as simple as modifying the diameter and weight of Contessa Gate to account for the gravitational differences.”
    “I doubt it will be so simple, but I’ll let them know,” Robert said. “And like we’ve already agreed, there’s no guarantee that if we build a return Gate here, we’ll even end up back in Vega 951 to try whatever solutions the scientists come up with.”
    “No, there is not,” Jonathan said.
    “Sir, Captain Rail is requesting a tap in,” Lazur announced.
    “Tap her in,” Jonathan said.
    She appeared in the center of the Round Table. Jonathan updated the permissions to involve only Robert in the conversation, and he extended his noise canceler around the two of them.
    “Why are we moving away from the endpoint?” Rail asked.
    “I’ve decided it would be prudent to put some distance between ourselves and that Slipstream,” Jonathan said. “The enemy reinforcements are scheduled to follow us through five days from now.”
    “We should maintain our current tactical location,” Captain Rail transmitted. “Ambush them. We’ll take up positions behind the endpoint, and cut the enemy down as they emerge.”
    “You’re forgetting that they like to send little probes through first to assess the situation,” Jonathan said. “When those probes identify our locations and return, the enemy will come through with all their turrets pointed at us.”
    “Assuming that their probes have the same ability to traverse Slipstreams without Gates—” Rail began.
    “Which would be a safe assumption,” Jonathan interrupted.
    “Then we shoot down the probes before the