Behemoth: Rise Of Mankind Book 1 by John Walker

Behemoth: Rise Of Mankind Book 1 by John Walker

Author:John Walker [Walker, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2016-08-23T06:00:00+00:00


Chapter 11

“The trap is set,” Paul announced. “The fighters have positioned the debris, and the bomb, in the path of the enemy. I’ve got a good reading on the device and can detonate at any time.”

“Perfect.” Gray patted his knees. “Keep us moving, Redding. Make it look like we’re trying to run away.”

“Sir?” Redding glanced over her shoulder.

“You know…make it look…” Gray shrugged. “Frantic.”

“Fly…frantically, sir?”

“Just put some feeling into it.”

Redding nodded slowly and turned back to her console. “Aye, sir. Adding feeling now.”

Clea cracked a smile at Gray. “I suspect that works better on smaller vessels, sir.”

“Maybe. But every little bit of thought helps,” Gray replied. “Have you ever heard the expression ‘the power of positive thinking’?”

“Yes, I believe it is used by charlatans trying to sell things which do not work.”

“She’s got you there, sir,” Everly said. “I’m getting a report from the fighters. They are preparing to disengage.”

“Why are we not letting them continue the fight?” Clea asked. “Won’t it seem suspicious that they’re suddenly breaking away?”

“Based on what little we know of the enemy’s tactics, there are two things they might be thinking about us,” Gray explained. “Either we’re total cowards and we’ll throw our people away to save our own skins or we’re struck dumb with compassion, which means we’ll toss aside the distraction to save our people. Whatever direction they take, they feel they have the upper hand with us.”

“That makes a certain kind of sense.”

“Of course it does.” Gray grinned. “Now, sit back and watch the fireworks. Our next tactic may not be so well received…or well played for that matter.”

Unlike fighter combat, large ship board battles required patience. Everything moved slower and the stakes were dramatically higher. A good blast from something like the Behemoth could cripple an enemy vessel and possibly destroy it. The trick came down to weakening the shields enough to do catastrophic damage.

Combat defenses made environmental shields look like tissue paper. Clea made it clear when she briefed them long ago. Properly calibrated protection could allow two ships to batter each other for hours if not days. One popular theory suggested this was why the enemy always sent two ships. Even the best shields could not stand up to a barrage from multiple vessels.

“Five minutes until the enemy is in range,” Paul said. “They are still gaining speed and our fighters have disengaged.”

“ETA for their arrival here?” Everly asked.

“Three minutes. They’re taking the long way around our little mine field.”

“Why didn’t we drop more?” Tim turned to the captain. “We could’ve put in enough to wipe out both ships.”

“Too many bombs would’ve picked up on their scanners,” Clea said. “Pulse munitions emit a distinct signature. Two amongst so much debris will simply appear like radiation on scanners, the exact kind you would see anywhere in space where objects clung together.”

“Oh…that makes sense.” Tim turned back to his console. “So they can’t pick them out of the junk.”

“Correct.” Clea confirmed.

“Two minutes.” Paul announced. “Our ships are docking in the hangars.”

Gray nodded.



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