Darkspace Renegade: The Complete Series: Books 1-6: (A Military Sci-Fi Box Set) by G J Ogden

Author:G J Ogden [Ogden, G J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aethon Books
Published: 2021-09-27T22:00:00+00:00

5

Hallam untangled himself from the cargo netting in the hold of Alexis Black’s mercenary fighter and staggered toward the cockpit. The planet’s lush green terrain was flashing past beneath them as Dakota soared the stolen fighter fast and low away from the hideout. Hallam flopped into the auxiliary seat behind the Dr. Rand, who was focused on a row of computer consoles, brow furrowed.

“Rikkard has already launched,” Dakota called back, spotting Hallam in her peripheral vision. “We should stay inside the atmosphere until we’re ready to bridge. If we blast into space now, it will be a lot harder to evade them.”

Hallam glanced at the auxiliary console and saw Cad Rikkard’s fighter on the scanner, gaining on them steadily. The mercenary clearly knew the capabilities of the advanced vessel far better than Dakota did.

“We should have blown up the other damn fighter as soon as we took off,” said Hallam. With the benefit of hindsight, he realized how easily they could have prevented the Blackfire Squadron mercenaries from pursuing them.

“Honestly, Hal, it’s a miracle I even got this thing airborne,” said Dakota, who was cycling through different console screens and flicking switches seemingly at random. “I haven’t even worked out how to arm the weapons systems yet, so there’s no way I could have taken out Rikkard’s ship. It’s like this thing speaks a different language to the renegade fighters.”

Hallam scanned the flight deck and controls and considered that if he was in the pilot’s seat, he probably wouldn’t have even gotten off the ground yet. Dakota was right, the heavily modified and customized fighter seemed to have been uniquely tailored to its owner, like a custom-made suit.

“Thankfully, I have been able to access the Shelby Drive,” Dr. Rand chipped in, still focused on the computer screens. “However, the system fitted to this vessel is what you might call a ‘crude knock off’ of my self-bridging technology,” the scientist continued. She sounded affronted, as if she were an artist that had stumbled across a poorly-painted copy of her work in a gallery. “I will do my best to set a course for the alien homeworld, but we may be forced to adapt our plans.”

Hallam reckoned they probably had less than a minute before Cad Rikkard was in weapons range. That he hadn’t launched a missile at them already was telling, he thought. The mercenary still wanted their deaths to be intimate. A missile was too quick. Too impersonal. However, in their current situation, Cad’s fixation with killing Hallam face-to-face worked to their advantage, giving them precious extra time to escape.

“Right now, anywhere other than here will do, Doc,” said Hallam, conscious that even Dakota’s excellent piloting would be tested to the limit against Cad Rikkard, especially in an unfamiliar ship. “They’re already on our tail, and the longer we frustrate Rikkard, the greater the chance he’ll just blow us out of the sky and call it a day.”

Dr. Rand didn’t answer immediately, and instead continued to furiously tap away at the compact computer keyboard.

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