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Chapters (42)
  1. Cover Blurb
  2. Contents
  3. Chapter One
  4. Chapter Two
  5. Chapter Three
  6. Chapter Four
  7. Chapter Five
  8. Chapter Six
  9. Chapter Seven
  10. Chapter Eight
  11. Chapter Nine
  12. Chapter Ten
  13. Chapter Eleven
  14. Chapter Twelve
  15. Chapter Thirteen
  16. Chapter Fourteen
  17. Chapter Fifteen
  18. Chapter Sixteen
  19. Chapter Seventeen
  20. Chapter Eighteen
  21. Chapter Nineteen
  22. Chapter Twenty
  23. Chapter Twenty-One
  24. Chapter Twenty-Two
  25. Chapter Twenty-Three
  26. Chapter Twenty-Four
  27. Chapter Twenty-Five
  28. Chapter Twenty-Six
  29. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  30. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  31. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  32. Chapter Thirty
  33. Chapter Thirty-One
  34. Chapter Thirty-Two
  35. Chapter Thirty-Three
  36. Chapter Thirty-Four
  37. Chapter Thirty-Five
  38. Chapter Thirty-Six
  39. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  40. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  41. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  42. Chapter Forty

“Open fire as soon as they enter effective weapons range,” Ted ordered.  The alien starfighters were ducking and weaving past the frigates, refusing to engage them.  It made sense, Ted knew; if they could cripple Ark Royal, the frigates were unlikely to make any difference to the balance of power.  Still, he would have preferred the aliens to show tactical inflexibility rather than a limited degree of imagination.  “Fire at will.”

He braced himself as the starfighters roared down on the carrier, scorching her hull with plasma bolts.  It looked like random fire – it was random fire, he knew – but it had a very definite purpose.  The aliens didn't have to target precisely to do damage ... and, for them, spraying and praying was actually a viable tactic.  Piece by piece, the damage mounted ...

The carrier shuddered, slightly.

“Report,” Ted snapped.

“One of the aliens crashed into our hull,” Anderson said.  “No major damage, sir.”

But the minor damage was steadily mounting up, Ted knew.  One of the mass drivers was already crippled and would need a week of repair before it was ready to use again.  Other weapons and sensor blisters had already been destroyed, crippling the carrier’s ability to defend herself.

“Captain,” Farley snapped.  Ted heard a hint of panic in his voice.  “New contacts!”

Ted swung around and stared at the display.  A new series of red icons had appeared, right in front of them ... and blocking their escape route from the system.

They were trapped.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

For a moment, Ted’s tired mind refused to believe his eyes.  How the hell had the aliens managed to get a force in position to come through the tramline and block their escape?  If the aliens had a way to communicate at FTL speeds, without sending ships through the tramlines, humanity was thoroughly screwed.  There was no way to move inside the alien decision-making loop when the alien leadership could follow events at the front from hundreds of light years away.

Or was it just sheer luck?  The aliens had known that the flotilla was poking around; they might have stationed a fleet in the system, then ordered it to move after Ark Royal once the alien fleet at New Russia came under attack.  It would work ... and it would have the advantage of confusing their enemies.  Ted pushed the thought aside for later contemplation as the aliens started to deploy.  He could attack the newcomers – he would have to attack the newcomers, if he wanted to use that tramline – and yet the force in to pursuit would catch up and overwhelm the flotilla.  If he turned back to fight them, he would still be overwhelmed.