When the Stars Fade by Adam L. Korenman

Author:Adam L. Korenman [Korenman, Adam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Military Science-Fiction
Publisher: Rare Bird Books
Published: 2015-11-17T19:17:30+00:00

Valley Forge unleashed another salvo, obliterating one of the Boxti heavy cruisers. Captain DeHart gripped his armrests, his stomach still churning from the trip through Blue Space. “You heard the commodore. All systems lock on that fucking hive. Burn it down!”

Wave after wave of fighters smashed into the enemy fleet. Within minutes, the tide had turned for the Terrans. With renewed energy, Berlin and the remaining escort rejoined the fight.

The hive carrier took another hit, losing a chunk of its engine. Drifting and venting from every angle, the ship turned its weapons back toward Tallus. It fired indiscriminately, missing the landmass by a large margin. Seconds later, a round from Valley Forge ripped into the center of the Boxti craft, obliterating the engine and the carrier. Explosions racked the hive, splitting it in pieces.

As the Terrans watched, celebrating their victory, they saw a massive blue vortex appear on the far side of the fray. Space bubbled and frothed, the glow casting shadows across the battlefield. A giant dreadnought, easily five times the size of Valley Forge, emerged from the ether. Every inch of hull was double-plated and spiked, with turrets in every direction. Four scythe-shaped arms protruded from the front like thorns dipped in blood. Cannons jutted from every surface, all turning to face the human battle group. But it didn’t bother engaging them. As every human in the system gazed on, a single black missile launched from underneath the starboard plane. The obelisk-shaped projectile dropped down through the atmosphere, arcing into the center of New Freeman.

Blinding white light blossomed in the center of the city and expanded until it swallowed the entire continent. As the light faded, a mushroom cloud the size of a mountain emerged through the thick ceiling of smoke. From the center of impact, a wall of fire streaked outward, a tsunami of hellfire, destroying everything in its path. Buildings crumbled. The seas boiled. The sky fell. In a stroke, the Boxti had turned Tallus into hell.

Captain Shandras watched in horror from his post. Death had been a simple chore to stare down in the face of such darkness. He swooned, catching himself on his chair. Though he didn’t realize it, he was crying. Newman walked over, short of breath. He gripped the commander’s shoulder.

“Jesus, sir.”

Tallus Orbit

Berlin fired its two-meter cannon, perforating a frigate on the far side of the fray. Three missiles came back in answer, tearing a hole in the storage compartments. Frozen food and clothing supplies vented into the upper atmosphere of Tallus, lost forever. The crew raced to seal the exposed section of carrier.

TMF Haifa, a missile frigate, unleashed a stream of high explosives toward the enemy carrier. Thirty bombs, each carrying a half-ton of explosives, raced toward the hive-shaped craft. A passing Boxti bomber caught one in the belly, detonating its entire payload. The explosion sent another fighter pinwheeling into a frigate’s shield, which failed under the impact. Bits of hull and glass floated in dense clouds around the battlefield.

Fireballs bloomed upon the missiles’ impact with the alien carrier.

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.