Furious Gulf: A Mecha Scifi Epic (The Messenger Book 12) by J.N. Chaney & Terry Maggert

Author:J.N. Chaney & Terry Maggert [Chaney, J.N.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Variant Publications
Published: 2021-04-03T16:00:00+00:00

13

Dash and Leira fired their dark-lances almost simultaneously, pinning the Deeper cruiser in its converging beams. The enhancements to the weapon, to make it more effective against the Deepers’ regenerative hulls, ensured they ripped open a section of the ship and left it a gaping wound. The Deeper ship returned fire, twin x-ray laser shots both aimed at the Swift. Leira’s shield flared as it saturated, and switched into radiant mode, letting the rest of the energy slam into the mech.

Clouds of incinerated armor puffed away, but the Swift flew on unperturbed.

“Have I mentioned how much I love this new armor?” she said.

“Well, I considered chocolates, or maybe flowers, but upgraded armor for your mech just seemed more romantic,” Dash said.

“It fits perfectly. Love it.”

Dash grinned, jinking sideways as he did and lining up another shot. The second Deeper cruiser opened up with a burst-cannon, the name they’d given to the aliens’ new generation of rapid-fire plasma weapon. The Slipwing wove back and forth, rolled, and pitched up and down, seeming to dodge each pulse of incandescent plasma by only meters. Viktor closed the Slipwing to within a few hundred klicks of the Deeper ship, then opened up with pulse cannons and a newly installed dark-lance, gouging chunks out of the Deeper ship. Jexin followed the Slipwing in, adding the weight of her own weapons to what was quickly becoming carnage.

Wei-Ping spoke up from the Herald, which was holding back and acting as their reserve. “These Deepers suck. They must be noobs, or some sort of militia or something. They’re not even trying to maneuver or do anything fancy.”

The last dregs of Dash’s grin vanished. Wei-Ping was right. These Deepers were amateurs. The two ships in synchronous orbit had just immediately accelerated directly toward them, firing as soon as they were in range. And they’d just kept coming, apparently uncaring of how badly outgunned they were, making it a sort of death ride.

“Sentinel, give me a focus on the third ship,” he said.

The imagery switched as the Meld reoriented Dash’s attention. The third ship was burning hard the opposite direction, trying to close on the planet.

“Ah. Not good. Sentinel, how long until they’re within weapons range of that gate?”

“You think they intend to destroy their own construct?”

“Maybe, but let’s assume that, yeah, they are, so we don’t get it.”

“Deeper x-ray lasers and burst-cannons will be severely degraded in effect by the planet’s atmosphere and magnetic field. Missiles likewise must survive atmospheric reentry to be effective on impact.”

“Okay, and?”

“And, the ship’s maneuvers are consistent with closing to an optimal attack position on the gate. If they are reconfiguring missiles to survive passage through the atmosphere, then I’d estimate they’ll be in a position to fire in a minimum of fifteen, and a likely maximum of thirty minutes.”

As soon as she rattled off the times, Dash thought about the feasibility of intercepting the Deeper ship before it could open fire. The Meld provided different scenarios, but only one seemed likely to succeed. It boiled down to traveling as fast as he possibly could.

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