Gravitational Attraction by Angel Martinez

Author:Angel Martinez [Martinez, Angel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781614955146
Amazon: 161495514X
Publisher: Silver Publishing
Published: 2012-04-27T12:00:00+00:00

"Three carriers are on intercept. They have them on scan now."

Isaac's gloved hand tightened on Turk's shoulder in a painful grip. "They will slow them, atenis," he murmured, patting those clenched fingers. "Don't worry so."

"Magnetic tractors?" Isaac whispered.

"Something similar, yes."

To his surprise, Isaac slid out from under him and eased closer to the bowl when Captain Drummond's message looped again to the beginning. He stared intently at the flickering image, head cocked to one side.

Loric raised a brow at this odd behavior, but didn't shoo him off, as he would have one of the youngsters. "Isaac? What do you see?"

"Sir, I know the comm system on the Hermes like I know my own hands. Their braking systems might be damaged, but the comm isn't."

"What does this signify, sulden?"

Isaac didn't appear to take notice of all the eyes on him. With calm confidence, he pointed to a flicker. "You see that, sir? That's their signal being jammed. Whatever hostile force is chasing them, it's close enough behind them to foul their transmission but not close enough to kill it completely."

"So… so…" Loric folded his arms over his chest, fingers tapping on his forearm. "System's edge?"

"Seems most likely, sir. At least at the time of this transmission." Isaac glanced up, brows drawn together. "Could they disable your outer perimeter defense?"

"With enough firepower, yes. Eventually."

Turk sat up, his weariness dropping away with the promise of battle. "Father, if we've had no perimeter alarm come in…"

"Yes." Loric nodded. "It means we have prior warning and the advantage. One we dare not lose." He rose and every tach in the room rose with him as if drawn by invisible wires. "Hai'kash! Move! Karil, full alert, every katrak, every dalk' on comm now!"

Isaac had scrambled to his feet at well and now hurried to him. "Turk? What's going on?"

"Hai'kash," Turk said as he strode to the wall and hit the alarm that would send everyone scrambling for the practice yard. "Full mobilization. Every Corzin planetside."

"Full…? Won't that take days?"

"Oh, no." He took Isaac's face between his hands and granted him a quick kiss. "An hour, no more." He strode for the yard where the men already assembled, Isaac trotting at his heels. "It has been a long while since we were called to defend our home from invaders. But we are always ready."

"And the ones not planetside?"

"There will be a recall sent to those on ket'sa. The station and outpost have already gone on alert."

Pride filled him to see his men assembling, each one steady and capable, at the peak of their fighting skills. They gathered around in a loose semi-circle, the scene repeating with every tach, from the youngest group barely out of adolescence with his second youngest brother, Ard, newly chosen to lead them, to the oldest, the white-haired, wily warriors who had survived eight and nine decades.

"We go out," he told his men. "Not to fight the huchtik wars for them, but to fulfill the covenant. Long ago, T'tson called us home, forged us into what we are.

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