Avalon Trilogy: Castle Federation Books 1-3: Includes Space Carrier Avalon, Stellar Fox, and Battle Group Avalon by Glynn Stewart

Author:Glynn Stewart [Stewart, Glynn]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781988035741
Publisher: Faolan’s Pen Publishing
Published: 2019-10-13T16:00:00+00:00

KG-779 System

07:15 January 7, 2736 ESMDT

DSC-078 Avalon, Bridge

“We have full shutdown,” Pendez reported. “Class Ones are on cooldown, all stabilizers are powered down and safed. We have entered the KG-779 system.”

“Thank you,” Kyle told her, studying his implant and the screens around him. They were currently showing the computer’s estimate of where the system’s trio of lonely planets were and not much else.

KG-779 was an old, dying, star. It had one rocky planet too close in to be of use, and two massive gas giants who had, according to the astronomers’ best guess, eaten each other’s moons over the eons.

“Commander Anderson?”

“Passives are pulling in data now,” his Tactical Officer replied. “We’ll have updated details… now.”

The data being fed to his optic nerve by his implant updated, a ripple spreading through the image of the solar system as the computer processed the light it was receiving. As ships appeared, the system tagged each one with the age of the light they were seeing – without Q-probes they were limited to old-fashioned speed of light.

“What are they doing?” he heard Solace ask aloud.

He was wondering the same thing. There were four ships on the screens – Triumphant and the three assault transports she’d been escorting at Kematian. The three transports were together and moving fast. They were already a full light hour into the system and dropping into the gravity well at almost three hundred gravities.

Triumphant was well behind them, still in a region where they could enter Alcubierre Drive if they wanted, but also on a vector that would stop any attempt by the transports to leave.

“If I didn’t know better, and I’m not sure I do right now,” Kyle responded brightly, “I’d say the transports are running from Triumphant, and that Richardson is trying to keep them trapped in the system while keeping his options open.”

“Well, he’s a lot closer to us than the transports are,” Solace pointed out. “They won’t see us for an hour – he’ll see us in ten minutes.”

“Anderson. If we fire now how close will our missiles be when he sees us?”

“Still basically ten light minutes away, sir,” the redheaded officer replied. “To hit him at this range, we’d need an extended ballistic leg – we’re talking multiple hour flight time.” Anderson shook his head. “I’m sorry, sir, but unless they want a fight, there’s no way we can engage them before they jump out.”

“I figured,” Kyle noted. “Commander Pendez, take us after him anyway. Let’s not push the engines though – let’s save our sprint for when we have a chance of catching the bastard.”

The big carrier smoothly set into motion, a soft trembling running through her hull as the mass manipulators offset her acceleration.

“Vector our probes in as close as possible, Commander,” he told Anderson softly. “I want the best sensor data we can get when he goes FTL.”

“On it. We’ve got six Q-probes heading his way at five hundred gravities, and two more dropping in on the transports.”

“Should we be doing something about those, sir?” Solace asked quietly.

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