The Beginning of the End (Universe in Flames Book 4) by Christian Kallias

Author:Christian Kallias [Kallias, Christian]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 2016-04-03T06:00:00+00:00

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Chase had brought the Hope about and commenced firing upon the nearest Zarlack destroyer with a full salvo of torpedoes, but the ship micro-jumped at the last second before the torpedoes could impact its shield.

“Dammit! They’ve learned since last time. This will make everything more difficult.”

“Chase,” said Sarah, “any way I can help you?”

“You can assist Ryonna with targeting the laser batteries,” said Chase, at the same time charging the Hope’s main weapon to max power.

“Roger that. I’ll give her a hand.”

“Be ready to open fire with every battery shortly.”

It was time to test a theory. If it failed this would make this fight infinitely more difficult than Chase initially thought.

He jumped the Hope right next to the destroyer that had jumped away a few seconds earlier. The second the Hope exited hyperspace Chase unleashed the Hope’s main guns towards the Zarlack destroyer’s starboard side. As Chase suspected, the Zarlacks either didn’t have time to jump again or were simply unable to, needing time to recharge their hyperdrive engines. The powerful plasma canon drained most of the destroyer’s shields, but they were still up. Ryonna and Sarah unleashed a barrier of laser fire from the Hope’s batteries, which drained what was left of its shields little by little. Chase redirected every ounce of power from life support to their shields and engines and pushed them to the maximum, attaining a very fast ramming velocity as he adjusted his course.

“Chase! What in god’s name are you doing?” shouted Sarah.

“Hang on and trust me!”

The Hope impacted the Zarlack destroyer and broke it in half. The Hope’s shields were heavily taxed and dropped to less than ten percent in the process. The ship rocked heavily as fire and bright light engulfed the bridge’s viewport. Sparks shot from bulkheads and the ceiling all around them, and a nearby console exploded and started a fire. Ryonna, who was nearest, jumped to get an extinguisher and dealt with it quickly.

“You’re insane, you know that!” spat Sarah.

“We need insane today.” There was determination in his eyes.

“I think it’s not just today, but that’s a conversation for another day.”

He shot her a quick look and smiled.

But then the two remaining Zarlack destroyers jumped to either side of the Hope and pounded the ship’s shields, as well as vectoring towards it.

“Now what, Chase? Please tell me you can jump again?”

“Not for another minute, I’m afraid.”

“We don’t have a minute!”

“I know.”

The Zarlack ships were closing in.

“Are these ships gonna ram us?”

“Looks that way. It’s their new way of fighting anyway.”

“How long do we have?”

“About forty seconds I’d say, if our shields hold for that long, that is.”

Chase felt the pressure rise inside him. Adrenaline shot throughout his body and his mind raced to find a solution.

He opened a channel to engineering.

“Chase! What the hell are you doing to my ship!” exclaimed Yanis, unable to contain his anger.

“Sorry, no time to talk. Please tell me you have a nuke on board.”

“We do have one, yes, as per your request. You know how I feel about this, though.

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