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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

“I’m sure you did,” Kurt said.  He recalled, now, Molly throwing a fit at the filth Penny had been watching.  Penny had been thirteen at the time, too young to watch anything even remotely sexual – and there had been nothing remote about Nasty Mildew.  “But I don't think that was what the aliens had in mind.”

“They'd have to work hard to find the wretched actor,” the male pilot said.  “I always knew she was a fake.”

“You’d think a VR composite character could actually act,” Rose said.

“I don’t think anyone cared about her acting,” Kurt said.  “Coming to think of it, Underline couldn't act his way out of a paper bag either.  Maybe he was a composite too.”

Gladys cleared her throat, noisily.  “Maybe the aliens just don’t wear clothes and don't understand why we wear them,” she suggested.  “There are colonies where people walk around in the buff.”

“Best shore leave destination ever,” the male pilot exulted.

“Most people who go to nudist camps really shouldn't,” Rose commented.  She smiled at Kurt, a secret smile that was just a fraction too bright.  “But didn't the alien bodies we recovered after the first battle have clothes?”

“Probably protective gear,” Gladys suggested.  She didn't seem to have noticed Rose’s smile, but Kurt knew she rarely missed anything.  “The aliens might well need protection, even if they don't wear clothes normally.  Can you imagine trying to fly a starfighter in the nude?”

Kurt had to smile.  “No,” he said, finally.  The very thought was absurd, outside appallingly bad pornographic movies.  He'd be lucky if he didn't accidentally castrate himself with the flight stick.  “And nor should you.”

The alert sounded before he could say anything else.  “To your fighters,” he snapped, thankful to be away from the embarrassing discussion.  The enemy had to have finally returned to the system, loaded for bear.  “Hurry!”

Rose grinned at him as she ran out of the room.  Kurt flushed, then followed her until they reached the fork in the corridor that led to the launch tubes.  Nodding at her retreating back, he ran down his own corridor and scrambled into his starfighter.  Moments later, he was ready to launch.

***

“Twelve enemy capital ships just jumped into the system through Tramline Four,” Farley reported.  “Janus sent us a full download before she was overwhelmed.  Two carriers, one battlecruiser and nine frigates.  Approaching on intercept vector.”

Ted hesitated, then made up his mind.  “Set course for Tramline Two,” he ordered, coldly.  “Maximum acceleration.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Two

“I think we waited too long, sir,” Fitzwilliam said.

Ted nodded, wordlessly.  Both of the detached frigates had been destroyed, one of them at the other end of Tramline Four.  But the drones were still intact and reporting back to Ark Royal.  The alien ships were driving right towards them, not even bothering to leave a picket on the tramline.  They were definitely out for blood.