The Round Table (Space Lore Book 3) by Chris Dietzel

table.
    Now, Mortimous was gone. Her consciousness had returned to her physical body.
    Traskk was beside her. Good old Traskk. Dependable Traskk. And Morgan. What was there to say about her? Volatile Morgan? Stubborn Morgan?
    Vere had endured what no one thought possible. She had survived the Cauldrons of Dagda.
    Survivor? Was that her own word? How different the options were than when the question had first been posed to her. Ages ago, she would have been described as thief or hooligan or irresponsible.
    Behind her, more shouting erupted. Then, more blaster fire, and a moment later, Morgan’s voice.
    “If we don’t get out of here immediately, we’re all going to be blown sky high.”
    With a groan, Vere pushed herself up to her feet and asked what she could do.

23

    “What should I do?” Cade asked, his voice loud and strained.
    Outside the Pendragon, a squad of troopers were checking the ship’s ramp and emergency hatch to see if either were unlocked. As soon as they discovered both were secured shut, they would begin setting up explosives and force their way in. After that, Cade was a goner. With a blaster, he would be able to keep the initial wave of Vonnegan troops away, but it would be a matter of time until more descended. And of course they could simply radio back to the Thunderbolts and have them launch a series of proton torpedoes, destroying the Pendragon while it still rested in the docking station.
    “I used to work security,” Cade shouted. “Security! I’m supposed to be arresting people, not getting arrested myself.”
    “Calm down,” Quickly said, assessing the situation as the Griffin Fire raced toward the spaceport again.
    Only half of the original squadron of Thunderbolts were still chasing him. The other half were either liquid metal floating in the lava seas or else were junk floating in space. Now that a second Athens Destroyer had arrived, however, it was a matter of time until another contingent of fighters began launching from their landing bays. As soon as that happened, the skies would be swarming with Thunderbolts. Furthermore, there would be two Destroyers ready to confront the Griffin Fire instead of one. No matter how fast Vere’s ship was, it couldn’t last forever under those circumstances.
    “Hang tight,” Quickly said, taking the Griffin Fire up a little, then jamming the yoke forward so the ship began to nosedive straight toward the lava.
    “Hang tight?” Cade said. “They’re going to blow a hole in the side of Morgan’s ship and you want me to hang tight? Do you know what she’ll do to me if I let them damage her ship?”
    Quickly couldn’t help but smile as he plummeted toward the deadly red lava. Even with a squad of troopers trying to get into the ship he was sitting in, Cade was more afraid of Morgan’s reaction to her ship getting wrecked than he was of becoming a prisoner at the Cauldrons.
    Quickly altered his descent slightly so he was now diving toward the edge of the spaceport rather than the lava seas beyond it. As the Griffin Fire dropped through the air, the individual ships parked at the dock came into view. Pulling back on the throttle, he slowed the Griffin Fire to a free fall. The Thunderbolts behind him easily caught up with him and began firing. The Pendragon was clearly visible now. If he maintained his heading, he would crash into it and destroy both vessels.
    “Uh, what are you doing?” Cade asked, but Quickly ignored him.
    As soon as the first Thunderbolt pilot connected with a laser blast to the back of the Griffin Fire, Quickly began jerking the ship’s controls back and forth, causing it to roll to either side while continuing straight at the parked ship below.
    “Morgan would kill you if she knew you’re putting her ship in danger,” Cade said, although he sounded more concerned with his own health.
    The Thunderbolts kept firing, but couldn’t hit the zigzagging Griffin Fire. In the process, they did Quickly’s work for him.