The Lost Command by Vaughn Heppner

Author:Vaughn Heppner [Heppner, Vaughn]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Sci-Fi
ISBN: 9781507755297
Amazon: 1507755295
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2015-01-27T11:00:00+00:00

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The jumpfighter built up velocity for the next half hour.

Maddox endured the G forces in relative comfort. His acceleration seat was made for it. Dana kept moving around. When he saw her face, the captain could tell she was suffering.

“Climb into the cubicle,” Maddox told her.

“No!” she shouted. “It helps being able to see the screen. I’d start screaming if I shoved myself into the cubicle. And once I start doing that, I don’t know how quickly I’d be able to stop.”

“I thought we were going to use the folds,” Maddox shouted at Keith.

“What’s that, sir?” Keith asked.

Maddox turned on his microphone, repeating the thought through the ace’s headphones.

“Well, sir,” Keith said, “I’m waiting for data on the enemy. We’re still far out, as you know. It’s going to be hours before we see how the enemy reacts to his knowledge about Victory being out here. Frankly, sir, I don’t think they spotted us. We’re too small in the tin can.”

Keith referred to the time lag of sensor data. If the enemy saw them many AUs distant, it took time—the speed light could travel—for the information to get from point A to point B.

“Don’t forget that the New Men have fantastic sensors,” Maddox said. “They showed us that out in the Beyond over a year ago.”

“That’s one theory, sir. But I’ve never subscribed to it. Time lag means their using sensors before in the Beyond—light years distant, mind you—just wouldn’t have been scientifically possible. I think they used deductive reasoning to follow us. Well, that and their greater ship speed.”

“We’re going to have to land on Wolf Prime,” Maddox said. “All this velocity—”

“I’ll need speed to play with, sir, on the other end,” Keith shot back. “That’s about the only thing we’re going to have against them.”

“You can’t outfly a star cruiser.”

“I know that, sir. But I will need speed to maneuver. That and the folds will allow me to run circles around one of their starships.”

Could that be true? Maddox was beginning to think the ace was too overconfident by several factors. The captain settled in just the same, enduring.

It was hours before any of them spoke again.

“Look at that,” Keith said, pointing up at the screen.

The jumpfighter’s screen showed Wolf Prime as a white ball. Orbiting it were small red triangles—the star cruisers. One by one, the red triangles left the snow world, heading into space.

“Let’s see their trajectory,” Keith said, tapping his controls.

Dotted red lines moved away from the triangles, heading in the direction the star cruisers aimed. The lines speared across the system, finally reaching the known region of the Laumer-Point by a Jovian world.

“They’re chasing Victory,” Keith said, “trying to reach the Laumer-Point before Galyan does.”

“Show us our starship,” Maddox said.

“Aye, aye, sir.” Keith manipulated his board.

The ancient alien vessel appeared as a blue triangle. A dotted blue line moved from it toward the outer system Laumer-Point. According to the scale of Keith’s projection, the New Men had four times as far to go to reach the Laumer-Point as Galyan did.

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