Legions of Orion (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 1) by Michael G. Thomas Page A

the
energy capsule at the entrance point. It took just seconds for the
generators to reach their peak efficiency and start building up the
rift capacitors.
    “Ten seconds till activation!”
    A low hum
reverberated through the structure of the vessel as the capacitors
quickly reached their full capacity. It was a short time, but for
Captain Raikes it seemed like an eternity. Only when the counter
reached zero did he exhale. A great pulse of energy burst from the
vessel, and no more than a flash outside indicated the generator
had done its job. Captain Raikes watched the indicators on his
computer display as the sensors confirmed the Rift’s stability and
the status of the Spacebridge itself. His Chief Engineer looked
over to him, but it was clear from the expression on the man’s face
that all had worked correctly.
    “ Sir, the Proxima
Centauri-Orion Nebula Spacebridge is fully operational.”
    Captain Raikes settled back into his
chair, a feeling of relief and euphoria kicking in to his body like
a drug. He barely noticed the clapping and cheering from the others
in the CIC as his body calmed down with the relief.
    So here
it is then, we have our bridge to Orion. What next? He wondered.
    As he considered
that question, he was reminded of two things. First there was the
issue of casualties from the attack on the ship and second, there
was the unusual transmission they had come across when they first
arrived. With the bridge in action, they finally had a secure
route, and these new potential problems seemed by comparison to be
mere procedure.
    “ Sir, there’s a
message from the rescue team. We have a total of seven dead and
twelve wounded,” called out the communications officer.
    Captain Raikes lowered his chin into
his hands as he thought of the losses.
    The
W ar is over, so what the hell
is going on?
    “ There ’s something else, Sir.
They’ve found a few body parts from the saboteurs, but one of them
is missing.”
    “What?” he demanded as he grabbed the
intercom himself and connected directly to the Lieutenant in charge
of the rescue party.
    “Lieutenant, what’s going on down
there?”
    There was a short pause before the
slightly dulled sound of the marine’s voice replied.
    “ Captain,
t he lifeboat was blown out, but the
computer system is fragged. No way to tell if it was the force of
the blast or somebody released it. We have some part of the bomber,
a male. Not a lot left, but I’ve sent the remains for analysis.
Sir, one of the marine survivors says there was a woman. There’s no
sign of here in the danger zone. Either she escaped in the
lifeboat, or she’s still on board.”
    “ Understood,
Lieutenant, I’m sending two more teams to assist you. If she’s on
board, I want her, and fast!”
     
    * * *
     
    Commodore Lewis relaxed a little in his
cabin as he recalled the sight of ANS Beagle finally securing
access to the Spacebridge. In less than a minute, the anomaly had
settled down and a stable route had been established back home. It
was a major feat for the Alliance in terms of both logistics and
engineering, but at a surprising cost in lives. As he lay back and
rested, he worried about the troubling news of the saboteurs. With
the defeat of the religious fanatics and their allies back during
the Uprising, there had been nothing of this level of violence on
board Navy vessels for years. In the vicious fighting with the
Zealots, it had been common knowledge that they had infiltrated
both military and civilian high command. New vetting procedures
were in place to ensure the stability, reliability and honesty of
all recruits in the military.
    All
that effort and still
somebody slipped through.
    Even more troubling
was the rumour that it was a loyal
faction trying to spare them from taking foolhardy steps into the
unknown. He reached over for his secpad and brought up the latest
scans from the moons around the nearest gas giant. He’d turned his
attention away from the Spacebridge, now that