Read Online The Catherine Kimbridge Chronicles #4, Retribution by Andrew Beery - Free Book Online Page A

”
    Lieutenant Zimmerman, the Yorktown 's communication officer, tapped his ear and glanced up.
    Cat noticed his sudden start, and asked, "What have you got, Ziggy?"
    “ A message coming in from WhimPy-101, m a’ am . ”
    “ Put me through, Lieutenant . ”
    The communications officer tapped his keyboard and nodded an acknowledgment when the channel was open.
    Cat smiled as she sa i d ,“ Wha t’ s up, my friend ? ”
    A slightly metallic and yet warm and strangely compassionate voice filled the bridge.
    “ Admiral, so good to hear your voice. I have missed our little talks , ” the sentient weapons platform said over the loudspeaker.
    “ I do, too, 101. Perhaps when this business with the Modos is done we can find time to continue them. Can I assume your call is not purely social ? ”
    “ Indeed, it is not. I have been monitoring ENO traffic, as requested by Admiral Faragon. The commander of the ground forces on Naanac is a General Moss. He has sent a request for additional ships. I’ m afraid you are about to have a lot more company . ”
    “ Any chance you can intercept and or block the message ? ”
    “ I’ m afraid not, Admiral. The General used a hyperfold communications conduit to route his message directly to ships awaiting their turn at the trans-universal jump point. There are four more frigates and a destroyer en route to you now . ”
    “ ETA ? ”
    “ Thirty minutes to jump into system, then another hour until planetary orbit . ”
    “ Thanks, 101. Advise the Admiralty board and request reinforcements. We ma y …”
    “Admiral! ” Ken Kirkland yelled, as he stood up and pointed toward the main view screen. Even from hundreds of kilometers above the surface, Cat could see the formation of mushroom clouds in many of the larger cities.
    “ My Go d …” Commander Ben said, from his engineering station.
    “ God had very little to do with this , ” Cat responded, through gritted teeth.
    ***
    Lieutenant McKinney was a large man. Marines often were. By virtue of his size, he wore a specially modified Mark Six. It was fitted with what the engineers liked to call a portable plasma cannon. It was accompanied by a micro-reactor capable of generating three quarters of a terawatt of electrical energy. Although the generator was little larger than a loaf of brea d, it, along with the plasma cannon it supported, weighed in excess of a thousand pounds. In this contex t“ portabl e ” was a nebulous concept. If his suit ever lost power, he would be unable to move. As it was, he was a walking tank, with both impressive personal shields and enough fire-power to wage a one-man war.
    Right now the lieutenant was following the equally well-shielded and armed Lt. Commander LeAnder. The lieutenant checked his Navicomp. They were getting close.
    “ Sir, the target should be just ahead about thirty meters . ”
    “ Looks to be the case, Andy. Ther e’ s a blast door that looks pretty substantial between us and the computer core . ”
    The capital cit y’ s computer core and the information it contained about Syndicate-wide force deployment and strength was their target. It contained a plethora of invaluable data that would most certainly help the GCP in its fight against the Modos Syndicate. Unfortunately, the core was likely set to self-purge should unauthorized access to it be detected. This was where the multitude of ENOs the GCP had deployed had become useful. The commander had all of the right access codes. Because of a special set of nanites in his right hand, he could mimic the biometric signatures required. The only problem would be getting to the security console on the other side of those blast doors. Fortunately for them, they had access to two highly powerful plasma cannons.
    The two men approached the door and ran scanners built into their armored gloves over the surface.
    “ Appears to be a titanium alloy. Tough, but not invulnerable , ” McKinney commented.
    Commander LeAnder scanned the