Ruins of Empire (Blood on the Stars Book 3) by Jay Allan

Author:Jay Allan [Allan, Jay]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: System 7 Publishing
Published: 2017-04-01T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

“Arm all defensive batteries. Prepare to receive enemy attack.” Eaton was leaning forward in her seat, her eyes fixed on the display. Her CSP had engaged the attacking enemy fighters and cut into them with a ferocity beyond anything she could have imagined. They’d taken out dozens, suffering hardly a casualty in return. The enemy ships didn’t seem to care about losses. Beyond a rudimentary, and highly predictable, series of evasive maneuvers, they simply pressed on, firing at any of her ships that wandered within their arcs, but making no effort to pursue targets.

The Union fighters were all interceptors, at least the scanners had so labeled them. But they handled as badly as a group of bombers, and perhaps worse. Eaton didn’t like it. She didn’t like it one bit.

“All defensive turrets report armed and ready, Captain.”

“Very well.” Intrepid’s engines were blasting hard, accelerating away from the enemy attack. It was the right idea, but it had come too late. She could see there was no way her ship was going to escape the enemy assault…no way any of the battleships on the line were going to. There was a cloud of dots in the display, chasing the Union fighters—her own forward squadrons, still following her order to withdraw. There were squadrons all along the line on the way back, but most of them were behind Intrepid’s fighters. Eaton had ordered her people back on her own initiative, possibly even in violation of Admiral Striker’s existing directives, though the fleet order came a few minutes later. Still, those minutes were looking like a big difference. Her returning fighters might—just might—get some shots off before the enemy strike force attacked. Not too many of the other returning wings were going to make it in time.

There weren’t many enemy fighters left heading for Intrepid. Six, she counted, her eyes locked on the small screen next to her chair. The CSP had done what it could, and its ships were busy decelerating. But they’d never get back in time for another run.

She watched as Commander Douglas’s birds came into extreme range, firing as they did. Hits from such a distance would be the dumbest luck, but she’d take what she could get now. And the Confederation birds out-thrusted their Union counterparts, especially these inexplicably clumsy and slow ones.

Intrepid’s laser turrets opened fire, and they scored a hit almost immediately.

Five ships left.

There was a flash in the display, and her head shot around, her eyes trying to focus on the source. It was Nobility. The battleship had taken some kind of hit. Eaton looked back at her own screen, as the scanner reports were coming in.

No, that’s not possible…

The energy released was more than five times that of a plasma torpedo. She stared, unable to move her eyes from it, thinking that it had to be wrong.

But it wasn’t. Suddenly, she understood. The clunky, robotic maneuvers, the slow, clumsy flight. Those fighters weren’t manned by pilots…they were flown by AIs. And they weren’t bombing the battleships of the line…they were ramming them.

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