Slipspace: Harbinger by P.C. Haring

Author:P.C. Haring [Haring, P.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Off The Deep End Multimedia LLC
Published: 2017-05-01T06:00:00+00:00

October 18, 2832

10:45

Mjöllnir

“What happened next?”

General Rashar’s voice pulled Melor out her recollection, but from his seat at the front of the room, Cody Amado remained silent, his uneasiness growing with every word Melor said.

“We chose to attack the unknown ship. As I mentioned before, we had no idea what it was. We presumed it was a new class of Ralgon cargo hauler. Even if it weren’t, it had been permitted to dock at a Ralgon controlled facility without resistance, and we figured they were allies. Any friend of the Ralgon was an enemy to the Verasai. We tried to board, but found the ship sealed.” She paused to take a sip of her drink. “We couldn’t even get through the airlock.”

“So, you left and abandoned your objective, then?”

“We did not, General. We assumed the Ralgon had implemented a new security protocol on the advanced hauler. If anything, it only strengthened our resolve.”

“Please tell us how you completed your mission.”

“The plan of attack,” Melor resumed her narrative, “was to combine the binary explosive into the fuel lines. The explosion caused by the relatively low volume of our chemicals, would be amplified by the volatile fuel, and take the ship with it. We couldn’t get into the ship. But we knew that any ship docked would be set up to take on fuel from the station. That was our cover in the first place, fuel line technicians. Using that to our advantage, we went down to the service deck and found the fuel pump servicing the ship. We emptied one part of the binary into the fuel pump, waited a few seconds and then emptied the second component. We figured the explosive would mix in the tank.”

“Did it?” Rashar asked.

Melor seemed to shrink in her seat. “It never got the chance. As we were coming back down the orbital tether, the explosions in the other ships went off. Our section was the last to go, but when it did, it ignited the fuel line all the way back to the pump. That set off a chain reaction that took half of the station with it...” Her voice trailed off.

“We were so proud of ourselves,” Melor continued. “When we returned to our camp, we were greeted as heroes. We had intended to simply slow the output of slave labor, but instead we halted it completely. But we had no idea the collateral damage we had caused. Instead of trying to stabilize and rebuild the station, the Ralgon abandoned it and it fall from the sky. That hit with such a force...” Her voice faltered. “That station’s fall killed tens of thousands.”

Amado leaned forward to call for a brief recess so that Melor could re-compose herself. She had held up well in the retelling, but the look in her eyes told him she needed some time. This was wearing on her and he had to wonder if he had done the right thing by asking her to put herself out there like this.

But Rashar had other plans and before he could put things on hold, she dove into her next line of attack.

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