Cornerstone by Anthony James

Author:Anthony James [James, Anthony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-09-27T16:00:00+00:00

FIFTEEN

Light and heat filled the passage, sweeping around and then past the gravity car. For a moment, Lanson was unable to see where he was going, but he held the control stick in place and managed to avoid a collision with the walls.

When the fires receded, the gravity car was still accelerating, with no sign it had suffered critical damage. The view through the front screen cleared and Lanson saw that the shuttle had been torn into at least two pieces. Only one piece was visible, about fifty metres from the passage entrance, and still ablaze.

“Confirm the number of kills, Commander Matlock,” said Lanson.

As he was speaking, a repeater-pummelled lump of wreckage dropped down from somewhere above, and struck the floor behind the primary target with a crash.

“Three confirmed kills, Captain,” said Matlock.

As he waited for the inevitable retaliatory strike, Lanson kept the gravity car on course. The parking area by the airlifts still seemed like a long way off. If the Ex’Kaminar’s crew were slow to react, maybe he’d be able to steer the car around one of the corners to reduce its exposure to the incoming missile strike.

Hardly had the thought formed in Lanson’s head, than numerous warheads detonated against the Gallivant’s hull. The underground bay was searingly illuminated and even though his helmet visor was fully darkened, and he was looking over his shoulder towards the parking area, Lanson still felt the pain in his eyes. Squinting tightly, he did his best to hold the gravity car in a straight line.

“Shit, here comes the fire,” said Matlock.

Like a ravenous beast, the flames from the detonations rushed into the passage, hungering to burn and destroy. Lanson glanced at them only once, before he held his attention on the fast-approaching parking area. Suddenly, his intended destination was no longer visible, and all he could see was the harsh white of plasma.

Abruptly, the car’s gravity drive failed, and the vehicle thudded to the ground. The impact didn’t bring about an immediate halt and the car slid shudderingly along, still carrying what seemed to Lanson like far too much speed. With a crunch, the vehicle struck one wall and then spun around. The front screen and two of the side windows cracked either from the heat or from the crash. Lanson heard a splintering sound, and he was struck on the shoulder by a section of the polymer screen.

The flames vanished as suddenly as they’d come, and the gravity car scraped to a halt, sideways across the passage.

Lanson didn’t even have time to take a breath. An alert was flashing on his HUD, telling him that his suit had been exposed to a heat spike in excess of five hundred Celsius. The temperature was falling fast but was still in excess of three hundred Celsius.

“Everyone out!” ordered Lanson. He pulled on the release handle for his own door, but the door wouldn’t open. Grunting angrily, he twisted sideways and kicked three times as hard as he could manage from such an awkward position.

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