Inquisitor's Wrath (Star Scrapper Book 5) by J.N. Chaney & Matthew A. Goodwin

Author:J.N. Chaney & Matthew A. Goodwin [Chaney, J.N. & Goodwin, Matthew A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Variant Publications
Published: 2024-06-16T00:00:00+00:00

19

Once again, Ned was able to get us out of the way just in time. The next round of shots streaked just wide, and he readjusted. Soon, the Drive was charged, and I waited to see what Ned was planning.

Then it occurred to me.

“Are you trying a wash burn?” I asked, looking back between the Drive indicator and the little ship coming up on us.

“I believe that is one of the colloquialisms for it, yes,” Ned said, and my heart began to pound.

“I didn’t think that was a real thing,” I said, remembering back to hearing old scrappers talk about trying it. Occasionally, the old-timers would get randy and brag about pulling it off, but I never believed them. Lutch always said that it was nothing more than hot air, but part of me had always wanted to believe it. Now, though, I didn’t.

“Calculating trajectories now,” Ned said. I watched as the light ship swung around to take another pass.

I didn’t understand the science of gyre tubes or energy bolts well enough to know how any of this would work, and I held my breath when I saw the flash of light zip through space.

“Now!” Clynt said, but Ned was already doing his thing.

The blue and white swirled around us for just a moment, and the ship rattled and lurched. I had just enough time to see the beams in the tube with us. They looked as if they were suspended in time on their way to destroy our shields.

But that moment lasted only the blink of an eye before we washed back out, the Buzzard again shaking and rumbling, reacting to being torn out of and back into space so rapidly. Then we barrel rolled instantly, and I hardly had time to see that the light ship was right in front of us.

What happened next felt impossible.

The craft’s own beams sliced through space, crashing into its side and devastating the wing and one thruster.

“Yippee Ki-Yay!” Clynt called out as the two of us opened fire simultaneously. Our bursts of missiles converged on the target, and it was blasted apart.

“Nice work, Ned!” I shouted. “And that was a hell of an idea, Clynt.”

“Won’t last long in my line ’o work iffin you ain’t smart,” he said, and I couldn’t help but be amused by the way he spoke. Depending on how long we spent together, I would have to ask him more about where he was raised to have that kind of speech pattern.

“I wish William had seen that,” Ned said, an unmistakable twinge of sadness in his voice.

Panting and tired in the hot, cramped space, I smiled. “I think he would have been proud.”

If a computer could get choked up, Ned was in that moment. “Thank you,” he said, voice genuine and heavy with emotion.

“I’ll tell you what,” Clynt said, appearing beside me. “That was one hell of a thing.”

“It was,” I said, standing. “You led us right into a trap.”

“Weren’t my intention, I swear,” he said in all innocence, his hands in the air.

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