Katherine- The Monster Within by Will Crudge

Author:Will Crudge [Crudge, Will]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-09-19T23:00:00+00:00

SUPER FIGHTER

We didn’t die from the impact. Neither did the inertial dampeners fail. I soon realize that Throat had re-routed every bit of energy to the forward energy shields. I don’t know if I’m more thankful to be alive, or if I’m just confused that a ship this small has over-powered energy shields.

The Throat-Slasher punched its way through the blast door as if it were made of paper. I check both of the HUD’s for any reports of damage, but there’s nothing. Not even a scratch.

I don’t know how long it took for the fighter to thrust itself into open space, but it must have been lightning fast. By the time I am done checking for damage readouts, all I see are bright stars, and blackness. I don’t even remember how long it took for the A-grav to re-engage. The inertial dampening system is a sub-system of the antigravity drive. Even though we’re achieving insane speeds, I don’t feel the slightest hint of inertia.

“Is everyone alright?” Throat asks.

“Yes.” I say.

“Yes.” Onslaught says.

“I’m not dead.” Kyle says.

“Good!” Throat says. “Not that I care about you, Kyle. I’m just happy that you’re guts aren’t splattered across my berthing area!”

“Dick!” Kyle scoffs.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“Out-system, preferably.” Throat replies.

“Do you have enough fuel for that?” I ask, as I try to find a fuel gage.

“I do, but I’m not going to be doing all the heavy lifting.”

“So, what then?” Kyle shouts.

“Well, this hull was built before FTL could be scaled down to a ship this size, so it would make the most sense to hitch a ride.” Throat says with no small measure of arrogance. Not that he didn’t have anything to boast about. He saved our lives by punching through a blast door. A blast door that was rated to withstand a missile strike, at that.

“What other vessels are nearby?” Onslaught asks.

“Mostly bad ones, I’m afraid. There are probably friendlies inbound, but with time dilation, my scanners may not pick them up for a while.” Throat replies, but this time with a more respectful tone. I make a mental note of that.

“Are we within weapons range of any enemy contacts?” Onslaught asks. I just wish I had enough mental clarity to ask such a critical question. Even seriously wounded, the ancient Zodiac remains battle-focused.

“From a line-of-sight perspective, yes.” Throat replies. “But we’re far enough out for me to out-run missiles, or rails slugs. My shields can also deflect energy beams with confidence.”

“How in the hell can you outrun a relativistic missile?” Kyle beats me to asking the same thing. But I was going to use a far more diplomatic choice of words.

“Kid, you’re aboard an LRF-90!” Throat scolds him.

“And what’s that supposed to mean? This bucket is probably two centuries old!” Kyle blasts back.

“More like two millennia.” Onslaught corrects him. “And this ship is part of the fastest non-FTL class of buckets ever built.”

Kyle shuts up. But I haven’t found the ability to. The looming energy inside me has made me snippy, to put it mildly.

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