Black Fleet Trilogy 1: Warship by Joshua Dalzelle

Author:Joshua Dalzelle [Dalzelle, Joshua]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction, Alien Invasion, Colonization, First Contact, High Tech, Military, Space Fleet, Space Marine, Space Opera, Hard Science Fiction
Amazon: B00RS8FT2G
Published: 2015-01-03T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

-Beep beep-

Jackson wasn't aware how long the computer had been trying to get his attention. He sat up groggily and felt more exhausted now than when he’d gone to sleep. Looking at his clock he saw it had only been three hours ago.

-Beep beep-

"Go!" he called out, rubbing his eyes.

"Captain, this is Lieutenant Peters," the disembodied voice of one of his operations officers floated from the speakers in the ceiling. "I'm sorry to disturb you, sir, but we've had something odd happen."

"Define odd, Lieutenant," Jackson said.

"The tracking signal from an automated mining rig in the outer asteroid belt just dropped off," Peters said. "I've contacted the surface and they told me it's prone to this sort of intermittent failure. They won't send anyone to check on it unless it stays out for more than six hours."

Jackson's blood ran cold. "We both know that's bullshit, Peters," he said, grasping for his boots. "Go to general quarters. 1-SS. I'm on my way. Get your ass to the CIC once Davis gets there."

"General quarters, general quarters!" the call blared over the shipwide. "All crew to battle stations! Set condition 1-SS and prepare the Blue Jacket for imminent combat operations!"

Jackson rolled his eyes at Peter's embellished call to action as he yanked on his utility top and felt his boots automatically snug around his feet. He could feel the full day’s worth of growth on his face and knew his breath must smell like a trash can. Irrationally he felt some resentment towards the aliens for attacking before he could shower and get something to eat as he rushed out of his quarters and raced for the bridge.

"Report!" he barked as he stormed onto the bridge.

"No contact with the alien ship yet," Ensign Davis said, still trying to fasten the buttons on her own utility top. "The signal from the mining platform hasn't come back up either."

"Is the com drone platform still singing?" Jackson asked.

"Yes, sir," Lieutenant Keller reported. "Clock and status signals are still strong and steady."

"I'll bet they're going for those first," Jackson said, thinking hard as he looked at a two-dimensional representation of the system imposed over the view of the main display. "They would have had to learn at least that much about us to hit the long-range coms before moving on the planet." He thought about it for a moment longer before he was sure he was right.

"Helm! Heat up the mains and prepare to break orbit," he said. "Coms, tell whoever the hell is answering calls on Podere that we have a potential hostile ship in the system and we're moving to intercept. Nav, give me the most efficient course that swings us out to the com platform."

"We're going to attack?" Ensign Davis asked. "In our condition?"

"Our condition, Ensign, is that we're the only human ship in this system with any teeth," Jackson said with a confidence he didn't feel. "I'm not inclined to abandon these people to certain death because we got scraped up in our last fight with this thing.

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