Last of the Chosen (Spirit of Empire, Book One) by White Lawrence P

Author:White, Lawrence P. [White, Lawrence P.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2011-02-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-three: Reba’s Battle

Lieutenant Val had his hands full on the bridge of the cruiser. Resolve was aboard, but the fighting on Hangar Deck, nearly secure before Resolve’s arrival, had intensified. It appeared that the Chessori and their Rebel counterparts recognized Resolve as the Queen’s ship, and they had shifted their efforts to her.

Suddenly, the mind weapon of the Chessori started up and Val fell to the deck writhing in agony. He had known this might happen and had taken steps to ensure the bridge would not be retaken by the Rebels. The Great Cat guarding the bridge dragged him behind a console and laid by his side, its weapon aimed at the blast doors securing the bridge. Nothing short of demolitions would breach the doors, and the Great Cat was his final level of protection.

The mind weapon stopped, but it started up again a short time later. When it finally ended, Val was done in. The cat drew him to his feet and steadied him, then led him to his station, indicating that he had to get back into the net. Val closed his eyes and took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders with determination as he reached for the helmet. Yes, he needed to check on his ship, and he needed to check on the other ships of the squadron. And he had a thousand other things to do, as well. Everything was critical, and everything demanded his immediate attention. Most important to him was that the Queen was aboard and it was time to get away. More Rebel ships could show up any moment.

In the net he discovered Hangar Deck secure, finally. Stretchers floated across the deck, but he couldn’t tell who was on them. The Great Cats surrounded Resolve’s ramp to prevent any unwanted visitors from entering.

He queried Captain Jons. “How’s it going, sir?”

“We’re mopping up. There are casualties on Resolve, but I’ve been told the Queen is okay. How are you doing up there?”

“Still secure, sir. Weapons Control and Fleet Plot are not. Think you can get up to Fleet Plot?”

“Don’t we need Weapons Control more?”

“Your call, sir, but let me bring you up-to-date. A call went out quite a while ago over the hypercom. We might have more Rebel squadrons showing up soon. I’d like to gather up the remnants of our squadron and get out of here. The First Knight ordered me to keep the Queen’s safety our top priority.”

“Hmm. He’s right, and I concur. How’s the rest of the squadron?”

“Without Fleet Plot, it’s hard to say. I’m going to have to call each one of them. I hope someone’s home to answer.”

“You can probably assume it’s been just as bad on those ships as it’s been here. Get to it. I’m on my way to Fleet Plot.”

“Try not to damage it too much while you’re at it, sir.”

“That will make it a lot harder. I think I’ll try to break a few cats away from the Queen to take with me. They’re far better than us at this sort of thing.

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.