USS Franklin: When Worlds Collide by Mark Wayne McGinnis

Author:Mark Wayne McGinnis [McGinnis, Mark Wayne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Avenstar Productions
Published: 2024-01-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Responding to Pristy’s TAC-Band request, I quansported directly onto the bridge. “SitRep!” I said, hurrying to the Captain’s Mount.

“The Grish are on us like fleas on a dog,” Pristy said from the Tactical 2 station.

Lieutenant James, at Tactical 1, said, “We’re taking heavy fire, Cap. Shields are falling fast, and it seems our cloaking capabilities have outgrown their usefulness.”

The ship shook. The familiar sounds of distant rumbles signified a possible hull breach.

“Helm! Jump us out of here!” I commanded.

Fingers moving across his board, Grimes, a look of determination on his face, glanced over to me. “Tried that first thing, Sir. No can do.”

I spun around to Jorkins at the Engineering Station, “Lieutenant, status on our drives!”

“Stellar Rift Engine for wormhole manufacturing, fully operational, Nova Fusion Propulsor Drives for FTL, operational, and our four Quantum Transposer Orbs, for quick jumps, all good. This isn’t a propulsion issue, Sir.”

“We’re being held in a kind of tractor beam, Captain,” Ensign Lira said from the Sensors and Reconnaissance Station.

“She’s right, Captain,” Pristy said. It’s a capability we didn’t think the Grish had mastered yet.”

“Evidently, they did—they do,” I remarked, my gaze fixed on the newly displayed asset logistics projection that Pristy had just unveiled on the primary halo display. Glancing at the information key, I swiftly deciphered the meaning behind the various icons. There were eight red, which denoted Grish ships—Varapin ships were symbolized with blue icons, though there were none in sight—and green denoted Alliance ships, with USS Franklin being the sole representative. The icons shifted in real time, providing a dynamic snapshot of the players and their positions on this intricate battlefield chessboard.

Hardy, accompanied by Derrota, took up their standard positions on either side of me.

SARAH announced:

Hull breach, Deck 5, Deck 9, Deck 33.

Vac-Gates being deployed now…

Vac-Gates served as quickly-sliding-into-place, reinforced emergency bulkheads. Strategically placed throughout the ship, they partitioned breached sections to minimize the loss of precious atmosphere into the vacuum of space. An unfortunate result, though, were those poor souls trapped within those isolated areas. There were emergency EVA stations, but reaching one in time was a race against the clock, and not everyone would make it in time.

A Grish warship exploded off Franklin’s starboard side. Then another off the portside. Pristy and Akari stood, high-fived each other, then quickly got back to work.

“Someone tell me where’s that tractor beam emanating from,” I said.

“It’s not the Grish!” Ensign Lira proclaimed with excitement, a prospector striking a vein of precious gold for the first time.

“It’s coming from the sixth exoplanet. Originating from an underground Varapin outpost. One that’s extremely well hidden,” Pristy said.

“Can we destroy it? I know we have penetrating munitions… bunker buster missiles.”

“We do,” Pristy said, “but they’d be useless for this application. That bunker is miles below the surface.”

The ship suddenly shuddered, as if caught in a violent maelstrom, a cacophony of groans and creaks echoing through the corridors. The very bones of Franklin were being pushed to their limits, as if the ship itself were engaged in a relentless battle for survival.

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.