as he could to get
up out of the atmosphere. On the holographic monitor they could see several
fighter squadrons pursuing them, as well as nearby warships coming fast on an
intercept…but at the same time three drones were moving down to cover for them.
“Where’s the rest of the enemy fleet?” Morgan asked.
“Busy on the far side. We had to pull them off to get
you out.”
“How many others are getting picked up?”
The pilot shook his head. “You’re the only one to last
more than 3 days.”
Morgan was silent for a moment, then turned and
punched the wall with her armored fist. “What the hell happened?”
“I’m sorry, we couldn’t get
back to the surface.”
“I meant with the Scionate,” she said, both fire and
ice in her voice.
“I don’t know. I don’t think we’ve gotten a courier
back with news yet, and with no relay in this system…”
“How many dead?” she asked angrily.
“I don’t know that either.”
One of the Archons behind her pulled off his helmet
with an apologetic look on his face. “Twenty six thousand, four hundred and
eighty one,” he said painfully slow. “We also lost most of the drone fleet
covering the evac.”
Morgan closed her eyes and clenched her jaw,
suppressing a string of vitriol that she knew would never be sufficient.
“Looks like we’re going to make it,” the pilot said
after several dead seconds. “The drones are forcing the fighters off.”
“Thank you,” Morgan finally said, her voice now calm…yet dangerously so, like she was ready to snap and pounce at
the first enemy to show itself.
“We don’t leave people behind,” the pilot said, fully
aware that Morgan had ordered his dropship and others to skip her the first
time in order to evac more troops.
“No, we don’t,” she said, glancing at the holographic
map and seeing that they were nearly in the clear. Tossing her helmet to the
floor and having it bounce off the wall and skitter around she began unlatching
her armor with angry pulls. “Our allies are
another matter.”
“What are we going to do?” the Archon to her right
said, wrinkling his nose a bit at the smell of her rancid clothes.
“Get some answers,” she said, stepping out of the
armor and into the crisp, cool air of the dropship with the planet’s excessive
humidity blissfully gone, “then break some bones.”
9
January 24, 2553
Hatten System
(Scionate Territory)
Inner Zone
Commander Yen’ten watched
from the pit as his jumpship braked against the star and came back to relative
speeds with the system, allowing for the continuous transmissions from the two
inhabited planets in the system to begin registering properly, giving him the
information he needed to plan the next jump…a small one across the system to
the further of the two planets.
An insertion point in a friendly section of orbit was
being repeatedly transmitted for any incoming fleets to hear, with the urgent
call for reinforcements going out not just across the system but across the
ADZ. Yen’ten’s troops had been on the border fighting
Skarrons at Weema when the courier ship arrived with
the recall orders, and since then they’d been on a breakneck course back to
Scionate territory with him sucking his fuel reserves dry in order to get here
as quickly as possible.
Running his gravity drives further out from both
origin and destination systems allowed for greater speeds but had a diminishing
return as the gravity weakened, costing you more fuel for less thrust. At the
moment speed was more important so his giant troop ship had trimmed the
navigation as closely as they could, now arriving with
barely 4% fuel reserves. That would be enough to get them across the system
with some left for maneuvering, but they weren’t making a stellar jump again
until they got refueled…and the only way that was going to happen was if they
won the ongoing fight occurring on both planets.
The Scionate troop jumpship came out of its
up out of the atmosphere. On the holographic monitor they could see several
fighter squadrons pursuing them, as well as nearby warships coming fast on an
intercept…but at the same time three drones were moving down to cover for them.
“Where’s the rest of the enemy fleet?” Morgan asked.
“Busy on the far side. We had to pull them off to get
you out.”
“How many others are getting picked up?”
The pilot shook his head. “You’re the only one to last
more than 3 days.”
Morgan was silent for a moment, then turned and
punched the wall with her armored fist. “What the hell happened?”
“I’m sorry, we couldn’t get
back to the surface.”
“I meant with the Scionate,” she said, both fire and
ice in her voice.
“I don’t know. I don’t think we’ve gotten a courier
back with news yet, and with no relay in this system…”
“How many dead?” she asked angrily.
“I don’t know that either.”
One of the Archons behind her pulled off his helmet
with an apologetic look on his face. “Twenty six thousand, four hundred and
eighty one,” he said painfully slow. “We also lost most of the drone fleet
covering the evac.”
Morgan closed her eyes and clenched her jaw,
suppressing a string of vitriol that she knew would never be sufficient.
“Looks like we’re going to make it,” the pilot said
after several dead seconds. “The drones are forcing the fighters off.”
“Thank you,” Morgan finally said, her voice now calm…yet dangerously so, like she was ready to snap and pounce at
the first enemy to show itself.
“We don’t leave people behind,” the pilot said, fully
aware that Morgan had ordered his dropship and others to skip her the first
time in order to evac more troops.
“No, we don’t,” she said, glancing at the holographic
map and seeing that they were nearly in the clear. Tossing her helmet to the
floor and having it bounce off the wall and skitter around she began unlatching
her armor with angry pulls. “Our allies are
another matter.”
“What are we going to do?” the Archon to her right
said, wrinkling his nose a bit at the smell of her rancid clothes.
“Get some answers,” she said, stepping out of the
armor and into the crisp, cool air of the dropship with the planet’s excessive
humidity blissfully gone, “then break some bones.”
9
January 24, 2553
Hatten System
(Scionate Territory)
Inner Zone
Commander Yen’ten watched
from the pit as his jumpship braked against the star and came back to relative
speeds with the system, allowing for the continuous transmissions from the two
inhabited planets in the system to begin registering properly, giving him the
information he needed to plan the next jump…a small one across the system to
the further of the two planets.
An insertion point in a friendly section of orbit was
being repeatedly transmitted for any incoming fleets to hear, with the urgent
call for reinforcements going out not just across the system but across the
ADZ. Yen’ten’s troops had been on the border fighting
Skarrons at Weema when the courier ship arrived with
the recall orders, and since then they’d been on a breakneck course back to
Scionate territory with him sucking his fuel reserves dry in order to get here
as quickly as possible.
Running his gravity drives further out from both
origin and destination systems allowed for greater speeds but had a diminishing
return as the gravity weakened, costing you more fuel for less thrust. At the
moment speed was more important so his giant troop ship had trimmed the
navigation as closely as they could, now arriving with
barely 4% fuel reserves. That would be enough to get them across the system
with some left for maneuvering, but they weren’t making a stellar jump again
until they got refueled…and the only way that was going to happen was if they
won the ongoing fight occurring on both planets.
The Scionate troop jumpship came out of its
Similar Books
