It Takes All Kinds (The Coalition Book 9) by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Theogony Books
Published: 2021-09-11T00:00:00+00:00

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In the shuttle bay, Pete could see mecha-suited marines loaded on the two largest shuttles, while EMT-suited medics and various scouting species loaded into smaller dropships. There was a sense of urgency, and many support personnel were added to the vessels at the last minute.

The Takur Gar shuddered under an impact, and Pete’s ears popped. Emergency alarms sounded a depressurization warning. He felt more impacts, and the loading crews forced people onto the shuttles under the strobing red light of emergency evacuation beacons. Eddie led the team to the Cunningham, where the pilot didn’t even wait for all the occupants to strap in before closing the hatch and moving to the bay exit.

Another impact shook the Takur Gar as Jerry’s voice came over the compartment speakers and suit intercoms. “If you’re seated, stay there. Anyone standing, either sit on the floor or strap yourselves to the cargo rings on the walls. This is going to be rough.”

Pete felt the shuttle rotate relative to the direction that had been “down” on the Gar, then the shuttle’s belly-mounted thrusters throttled up and pushed everyone toward the floor of the compartment. He gave a silent command consisting of subvocalization and muscle twitches to his EMT, and a display opened in his view, courtesy of the nanites now concentrated in front of his lower right eye. He selected a visual feed from the external sensors on Gar and Cunningham.

The view of Gar was shocking; obvious impacts glowed a bright yellow from the heat. As he watched, another bloom appeared right over the shuttle bay, and he could see shuttle jets firing erratically and fragments coming off a ship that had been directly behind them exiting the bay. Pete wanted to scan around to find the source of the projectiles impacting the ship, but Jerry came over the comm to warn the passengers to expect evasive maneuvers. Pete turned the display off, sat back, and tightened his straps. The next 10 minutes were harrowing, as the pilot sent the dropship into spins, abrupt changes in direction, and alternated high acceleration and braking. As the violent movements slacked off, the comm channel chimed with a high priority incoming transmission.

“All Rescue Ops personnel. Please switch to Command Channel Alpha-Seven for a message from Admiral Lurvel.” The EMT comm system automatically switched, but Pete knew that some of the additional people who’d been packed onto the dropship might not have been tuned in to unit-specific comms.

“All personnel—if you are listening to this broadcast, you know that the Takur Gar is currently under emergency and has initiated evacuation protocols. Gar emerged from gate transit into a debris cloud that has been attributed to the rogue comet threatening the planet Akea. The cometary debris is small in size, radar transparent, and low albedo. It was not detected until the Gar was right in the debris cloud. We have loaded as many of the support personnel onto the dropships and shuttles as possible, and all unattached personnel should report to Base Green for assignment.

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