The Atlantis Ship by A. C. Hadfield

Author:A. C. Hadfield
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2015-02-26T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Mach engaged the ignition protocol and the advanced Gamma Drive engines on the Jaguar bellowed into life like the roar of Zeus himself. A thunderclap boomed around the shipyard, its massive roar shaking the craft as Mach increased the power slowly into the experimental motors.

A ship tech spoke over the comm channel. “How’s she doing up there?” the grizzled voice, thick with pride, asked.

“Purring like a lion,” Mach said, thrilled by the power pulsing through the ship. The rest of the crew were strapped into their seats and just looked on at the curved holographic screen with a mixture of fear and excitement.

“How’re the crystals holding up?” Mach asked as he let the engines idle.

“So far so good,” the tech said. “Temperatures and frequencies all within tolerances. Captain, Mach, I do believe you have yourself a new ship. Go fly her like the wind and put her through her paces. And be sure to send us reports.”

“Roger that,” Mach said, and then to his crew: “Wanna go fly a new bird?”

“Punch it,” Sanchez said with a boyish grin on his face.

“Take it steady at first,” Danick said, “just in case.”

Mach’s laugh was almost as raucous as the Jaguar’s engines. He didn’t come this far to take it easy. If this ship was as good as everyone had promised, he was going to damn well see what it could do.

The Gamma Drive was said to allow the ship to fly at an incredible two-point-five APD: astronomical units per day. Coming from the heap of crap that was the Phalanx-E it was like suddenly being fired out of a rail gun where before you were flung from a boy’s slingshot.

Mach placed his hands into the holocontrols and disengaged the landing locks. The ship rock to one side as the weight of it settled naturally on its landing feet. He adjusted the angle of the auxiliary thrusters and, when he received the all clear from the tech, slowly took the ship up and out of the vertical hangar.

Once clear, he banked to starboard, pointed the nose to the sky and, when he was a few hundred meters away from the shipyard, engaged the Gamma Drive and punched it to thirty percent power.

The ship shot forward, accelerating to thirty percent in less time than it took to take a breath. Mach was forced back into his seat, the ship pulling hard Gs in the instant it climbed out of Feronia’s gravity well.

Lassea screamed with the shock of it. Sanchez’ smile hadn’t moved at all.

Adira looked at him, her face passive as though this was just an everyday occurrence.

“There goes the atmosphere,” Danick said after a few seconds. They blasted out of the planet’s atmosphere and charged on forward, reaching well over thirty-four thousand KPH.

Mach slowly increased the power of the ship to fifty percent capacity and the thrust continued to drive them faster and faster. He banked the ship half a degree, flying starboard of an asteroid cluster.

The rocky formation blurred away, the Jaguar burning up the klicks.

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