Laser Cannons & First Contact (a Sci-Fi Anthology) by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Christopher Schmitz
Published: 2024-07-03T00:00:00+00:00

***

Warchief Brenna Standing Bear studied the cloud-enshrouded green and blue marble that was her home world, Absaroka. From the viewscreen in her ready room she enjoyed the never-ending swirl of cloud formations across the planet’s face as weather patterns built, shifted and broke apart. The Confederated Nations had done well when they chose this planet. Absaroka was not Earth, would never be Earth, but it had mountains and forests, clear blue lakes and rivers, and large continental masses sprinkled among its oceans. And the face it showed to its children orbiting in space was unendingly beautiful.

The seven years since her grandfather’s death and her successes with the Planetary Council and the USL Academy had changed Brenna. She was no longer a simple citizen of Absaroka. The principal chief had decided that since she had fought for and hand-picked most of the fleet, she should be prepared to lead it.

Since the purchase of USL Sequoia, which the people of Absaroka had re-christened CNS Thunderbird, the Planetary Council had rounded out Absaroka’s fleet with five destroyers (named for the original Five Civilized Tribes – CNS Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Seminole, and Cherokee), twelve cruisers (each named for another of the tribes of the Confederated Nations), and fifteen warbirds — fighters in the USL parlance. Each warbird had been named by its pilot for an old Earth bird of prey.

Brenna smiled. Her warriors might be untested in battle, but Absaroka’s fleet was well-trained and ready to defend its home world. She prayed that she and her grandfather had been wrong, that the Bug-Eyes would never return and her fleet would never need to do more than keep Absaroka free of criminal factions.

A single bell-like tone broke her reverie. Brenna turned from the splendor of Absaroka to a flashing light on her comm unit. Acknowledging the signal, she asked, “Yes, Mister Sparrow Hawk?”

“Warchief, the fleet awaits your command to begin the readiness exercise.”

“Very well. Chief Whitehorse is authorized to assume command. The action will commence at his pleasure; obey him well. Warchief Standing Bear out.”

“Understood, Warchief. It shall be done.”

The comm unit deactivated and Brenna turned back to her viewscreen. Settling deeper into her command chair, she focused the screen on her fleet. Alex Whitehorse would command the exercise from the fleet command bridge here on their flagship, CNS Thunderbird. Alex was a good officer and commanded his destroyer, CNS Cherokee, efficiently and effectively, but he lacked experience leading more than a single ship. This exercise would test his ability to see beyond his own ship’s maneuverability. Determine if he had what it took to direct a fleet.

Brenna would watch the action from the comfort of her ready room behind Thunderbird’s main bridge. She would not interfere with her subordinate’s decisions, but she would weigh them against her own instincts as well as analyze their outcome. She needed a second in command, and the chiefs of her five destroyers were all being scrutinized to determine their fitness. Each was a fine ship’s commander, but it

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.