Perseus Spur by Julian May

Author:Julian May [May, Julian]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-01-06T17:06:09.828000+00:00

Chapter 13

Seated in the command seat, Mimo turned off the alarm and calmly said, "Navigator, program random evasive action." Then: "Computer, explain tentative identification of approaching vessel. Is it Haluk or isn't it?"

Ultraluminal drive trace is modified Haluk, said the computer. Conformation does not equate with any known Haluk starship.

"Show me!" Mimo demanded.

The bandit was still too far away to pick up on full visual scan, so the main viewer produced a silhouette with dimensional indications, pseudovelocity, and subspace vector. Gripping the back of Mimo's seat in frozen astonishment, I whispered, "Hell's bells. No wonder it was able to sneak up onus!"

The icon indicated that the damned thing was moving at an impossible sixty-three ross. It was another dagger-pierced doojigger with knobs on, very similar to the colossal alien starship that had come to the rescue of Bronson Elgar, but only about two hundred meters long.

Our computer made the laconic observation: Approaching vessel matching evasive maneuvers and continuing to close. Estimated time of interception within photon weapon range, four minutes fifteen seconds.

Mimo told it, "Power up weapon system."

"This can't be," I blithered. "The only ships that fast are Bodascon experimental jobs—not even in production yet!"

From behind me, Matt Gregoire said, "Tell it to the bandit.

And may I strongly suggest that you sit down and get out of the captain's way."

Mimo said urgently. "You, too, Matt... Ivor. Everyone be seated. Hurry!"

I relinquished my hold on Mimo's seat back and flopped into the copilot chair. There is never any sensation of movement in an inertialess vehicle; but to my shocked surprise, I heard Mimo give the order: "Full crash-harness deployment on bridge."

My seat glommed onto me with various liquicell appendages, rendering me incapable of movement except for my eyeballs and my mouth. I swore luridly.

Estimated time of interception, three minutes.

Mimo gave calm commands. "Enter defensive program: on my mark, erect maximum defensive shields. Enter navigation program: on same mark, exit hyperspace. Simultaneous with emergence into normal space-time continuum, override sublight drive inertial dampening sequence. Do not—repeat do not—start SLD engines or program default vector upon exit from hyperspace. Do—repeat do—initiate default program five hundred milliseconds after exit."

At that, even the computer lost its cool. Danger! Danger! This maneuver is not recommended! Conservation of galactic angular momentum will—

"Cancel warning," Mimo broke in. "Enter weapon system program: target pursuing starship. Maintain target lock through hyperspatial transition. At earliest enabling point, fire six homing AM torpedoes at target exit coordinates. Computer, now state residual time to interception and begin countdown."

Time to interception one minute fourteen seconds... thirteen ... twelve...

I knew what Mimo intended to do. It might save us—but it was equally likely to kill us.

Scan instrumentation on the Haluk bandit would give adequate notice of our intent to drop to sublight velocity. They'd "-How. The aliens might even be expecting the maneuver, a classic tactic for a starship eluding a swifter ULD pursuer. They'd also be confident that our vessel would reenter the normal space-time continuum following the same virtual course it had maintained

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