The Defiance by Bill Baldwin

Author:Bill Baldwin
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780446603348
Publisher: Aspect
Published: 1996-11-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

First Convoy

16-17 Octad, 52014

Under Way aboard Yellow Bird,

Interdominion Space, En Route to Atalanta

Yellow Bird's flight bridge was smaller than I'd remembered from my first visit. Probably that was because there was a full flight crew inside now; that and one of my eyes was still swollen nearly shut, too. I was in a jump seat they'd rigged between the two helms, Barbousse standing beside me, urging still another glass of fruit juice on my full stomach—giving no quarter, as he did from time to time when it became necessary to keep me alive in spite of my half-witted resistance. Winking thanks, I found room for the nourishing liquid. Hadn't been that long ago I'd despaired of drinking anything again.

Delacroix lounged in the left seat, idly watching the flight instruments; the right seat was occupied by a tiny, dark-skinned woman, who was presently flying the huge starship with the light touch of a lifelong veteran—in spite of the gravity storm outside that was causing rough passages for everything in this sector of the galaxy.

Through the Hyperscreens, I watched our four-Starfury escort making heavy weather in what I judged (from the apparent motion of the spaceman's tunnel) would be power settings of at least "fast cruise." Yellow Bird was one speedy transport!

And quiet! I've spent most of my life in military starships or, in my earliest years, worn-out space barges. None of them was designed for quiet operation inside. At least, not this quiet. I could hardly hear the rumble of the ship's eight big Hyperlight Drives, buried deep in her narrow hull.

"You certain you won't let the Medical Mate bring you something for those bruises, Admiral?" Delacroix interrupted, staring at me as if I were a little crazy.

Shook my head—painfully. But then, I couldn't find anywhere on my body that didn't hurt. "Thanks, Skipper," I said appreciatively. "But with all the excitement about LaSalle's raid on the Toronder supply fleet, I'll need to use what's left of my alleged brain soon as we make landfall. Can't take a chance on being sleepy," From early reports, LaSalle had been wildly successful, with more than half the enemy convoy destroyed and the remainder in full flight home.

Delacroix nodded. "I understand, Admiral," he said in a quiet voice. Stared thoughtfully while I sipped my juice. "Much responsibility, I suppose?"

"Much," I acknowledged, moving painfully to a new position in the jump seat; Barbousse was at my side in an instant, adjusting cushions, "and an awful lot of things to do."

"You have delegated some of your duties, one assumes?"

"As many as possible," I said. "But like you and Yellow Bird, if anything goes wrong with the base, I have full responsibility."

"Lives and all?"

Closed my eyes. "Yeah," I replied, thinking about how many Imperial lives I'd forfeited in my own little raid, alone. According to Barbousse, the toll was eight of our twenty-four ships, and only thirty-one of the 320 missing crew members had been recovered—including myself and two ratings from NL 19. The three of

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.