The Cost of Freedom (Starship Freedom Book 2) by Daniel Arenson

Author:Daniel Arenson [Arenson, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Moonclipse
Published: 2021-07-12T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

"We need to get out of here," King said. "They know where we are. It's just a matter of time before they send more clawships after us. We won't take another hit."

The ship was chaos. King monitored a score of departments over the MindWeb. Each deck appeared as a video floating around him. Half the stern was burning. People screamed. Machines twisted and bent and melted. An ATLAS probe was hovering ten klicks off their stern, streaming an external view. Clouds of smoke trailed from the Freedom. One of the three exhaust ports was a mangled, burning mess.

The Freedom kept a small reserve of military firefighters aboard. They now ran, spraying foam onto the flames. But it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough.

"Sir, three of our twenty Talaria cylinders are burning," Mimori told him. "The fire is spreading toward the fourth. If the flames reach the reactor, the entire ship will blow."

"Right now, Mimori, our top priority is getting out of here," King said.

"We can't move, Jim!" Jordan said. He had to shout to be heard over the alarms. "Our Talaria drive is dead."

"We have side thrusters. Mimori, engage them. Get us out of here! Propel us toward the asteroid belt. We'll try to lose the enemy there."

"Engaging side thrusters, sir," Mimori said.

The ship gave a jolt. Even as she burned, she began to barrel roll, hurtling into the distance. The bridge rattled. A few crew members had framed photos of family members on their dashboards. They fell and shattered. A photo of a smiling boy landed at King's feet.

"The fifth engine just caught fire, and the flames are spreading fast, sir," Mimori said.

Screams sounded over the MindWeb. King watched a video of the midsection. The marines were hunting a few last rahs. Bastian fired his gun, tearing down a spider. The marines had things under control.

At least one goddamn thing is going right, King thought.

"Fifth engine burning wild!" Mimori said. "At this rate, the fire will reach the reactor in seventy-two seconds, sir."

"Understood." King nodded. "Mimori, on my order, seal off the burning decks, then open the airlocks. Vent the air into space. Kill that fire."

"Jim!" Jordan grabbed his arm. "We have crew members in there. Dozens of them. Maybe a hundred."

King stared at his XO. "We have ten thousand people aboard this ship. If I must sacrifice a hundred lives to save ten thousand, I will." He spoke into the MindWeb. "All crew members in the stern—abort all attempts to put out the fire. Evacuate to the upper decks at once."

He waited.

He watched the videos.

People ran.

The elevators were out. The crew raced down corridors. They climbed up shafts. Another engine caught fire. The flames roared, washing over people, racing toward the nuclear reactor in the heart of the stern.

"How long do we have, Mimori?" King said.

"Twenty-three seconds, sir."

He waited.

He watched the crew run.

He knew they wouldn't all make it.

A few firefighters stood their ground, shouting, waving engineers and scientists to run to safety. They themselves did not flee.

Q-Mari wandered across an engine room, picking up broken pieces of machinery.

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