Devastator (Max Mars Book 8) by Tripp Ellis

Author:Tripp Ellis [Ellis, Tripp]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tripp Ellis
Published: 2018-08-24T22:00:00+00:00

22

“It’s rather ingenious really,” Winston said.

“What is it?” Max asked, her voice thick with tension. She strained against the controls, trying to evade the attacking fighter.

“There is a large amount of plastic explosive around the fuel cell. More than enough to vaporize this ship. A wireless power supply hidden somewhere in the ship will spark the detonators. Pressure sensitive tips prohibit removal of the detonators from the explosive material. At the slightest sense of pressure change, they will explode. Long story short, I cannot diffuse this bomb.”

Max clenched her jaw. In a deflated voice she said, “How long have we got?”

“It is impossible to tell.”

Plasma blasts slammed into the rear of the ship. The bulkheads rattled and quaked. It was only a matter of time before the shields failed, or the alien scored a direct hit on the Hedgehog’s thruster.

Max let the attacker get close, then she released a plasma net. It was a series of small black orbs the size of tennis balls. They fanned out to form a grid. When the enemy fighter tripped their motion sensors, the orbs ignited, sending brilliant arcs of plasma between them, forming a virtual plasma net—it was more like a plasma knife. The beams carved through the attack fighter, slicing it to shreds. It was like putting cheese through a grater. The craft exploded and bits of metal and debris spiraled in all directions.

Max breathed a little either easier, but there was still the IED problem.

She angled the craft down toward the planet surface, following the Vantage. She left the chaos of the star field battle behind and trailed the Vantage into the upper atmosphere. The Hedgehog rattled as they descended through the turbulent air.

The Vantage blasted through the clouds and descended toward Nopa Draal. Its thrusters rippled the air and filled the sky with a thunderous roar. It swooped down and raced across the treetops.

Max followed.

Nopa Draal was a lush green oasis with undulating hills and tall evergreens. The terrain was picturesque and would have been an ideal location for a secluded getaway if not for the war.

Racing over the canopy of trees, the terrain seemed almost peaceful. Until a stream of plasma bolts launched from the forest.

They arced beautifully toward both vehicles. Two anti-aircraft cannons had been positioned deep in the foliage. Max watched in slow motion as the plasma bolts flew through the air, impacting the Vantage.

A ball of flames erupted from the starboard thruster. Sparks showered the trees below. Black smoke billowed, and the Vantage began to spiral down.

It was milliseconds later when the Hedgehog was hit.

Alarms sounded and lights on the dash flickered. Max pulled hard on the controls, trying to stabilize the ship, but it was non-responsive. “You better buckle up, Winston!"

Winston's eyes widened. He dashed to the nearest seat and strapped the safety harness around his hips and torso.

The Hedgehog was going down—no two ways about it.

The bottom of the Hedgehog raked across the tree tops, snapping branches, fluttering leaves. The light grazing turned into chaos as the craft lost altitude.

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.