The Pike Chronicles: Books 5-8 (Pike Chronicles Space Opera Book 2) by G.P. Hudson

Author:G.P. Hudson [Hudson, G.P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-05-06T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 51

The Intrepid raced through the void, maintaining FTL speeds, while several Kemmar warships nipped at its heels. The Kemmar matched the Intrepid’s speed, flanking it on three sides. Captain Konos monitored the nail biting situation on his tactical screen. They had been running at FTL speeds for several hours, and would need to continue for much longer before they reached Calledonius and his armada.

His engines couldn’t go much faster than twenty times the speed of light, and it would take months before he reached the armada. His only hope was to repair the jump system, or the Kemmar tired of the chase.

He hadn’t seen any sign of the missing Kemmar jump ships. He was pretty sure they had jumped ahead somewhere, waiting in ambush.

“Sir, our velocity is dropping,” said Commander Mani. “We are now at 19.8C and falling.”

Konos opened a comm with Chief Mendyk, his engineer. “Mendyk, what the hell is happening down there?”

“It’s the reactor, Sir. It’s losing integrity. We need to drop out of FTL speeds or we’ll lose containment,” said Mendyk.

“Chief, do you know what is happening out there? If we drop out of FTL we are dead.”

“If we stay at FTL, we will be dead.”

“That is unacceptable, Chief.”

“I’m sorry, Sir. There’s nothing more I can do.”

“Damn it,” said Konos. “Commander Mani, we are about to drop out of FTL. I want all fighters and bombers in the sky the second we do.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Tactical, ready weapons. Bring point defense system online the moment we’re out of FTL. You are free to fire at will.” Konos looked back to his tactical display. Four ships were chasing him. The others had stayed back, or had jumped ahead. For now, he only had these four to deal with. He hoped for all their sakes that the Intrepid could hold its own, at least until help arrived.

“Dropping out of FTL,” said Mani. “Launching fighters and bombers. Kemmar ships are also coming out of FTL.”

“Weapons hot,” said the tactical officer, hunching over his console, ready to blast away at the enemy.

The Intrepid lit up like the fourth of July, as the point defense system came online, and its explosive rounds established a protective perimeter around the ship. Its numerous gun batteries fired powerful blue energy bolts at the four Kemmar warships, while missiles launched from their tubes, racing toward their targets.

The fighters and bombers still had usable jump systems, and they took full advantage, jumping in close with their enemy targets, conducting strafing attacks, and launching their armor piercing torpedoes.

Taking the initiative, the Intrepid hit first, and it hit hard, catching the Kemmar flat footed. It seemed they were so focused on chasing down the Intrepid, they didn’t expect the lightning attack underway against them.

The bombers proved to be the decisive weapons, as their torpedoes pushed through the Kemmar defenses, burrowing into the enemy hulls. At detonation, they left large, jagged gashes in the sides of the enemy ships.

“Tactical, target those breaches,” ordered Konos. “Commander, have our birds do the same. I want to see what’s inside those tin cans.

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