-
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
that they couldn t be real, that this was some very good special effect.
They would be a priceless Intelligence asset. Worth this entire raid in
themselves.
Get those prisoners to the
Indefatigable at any cost, Major.
Sudden fire erupted from a side corridor and the Major s helmet camera was
bobbing and weaving so rapidly that the images it transmitted were twisting
blurs to the nervous watchers on the
Invincible
s bridge. Things calmed as they returned to the corridor they d just left.
We re almost at the mopping up stage, Captain, the major said, a slight gasp
in his voice as he jogged along. But there are some pockets of stiff
Page 105
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
resistance.
Or there s a suicide bomb somewhere under that base, Knott thought morbidly.
Which one of those fanatics would be only too happy to set off.
Or Major Hadji was being herded into an ambush. Though whether the
Mollies were crazy enough to cut down a delegation of their allies remained to
be seen.
Sensors worn by the Marines allowed the
Invincible to trace their movements, mapping the corridors of the Mollie
facility as the troops moved through it. At the moment, Hadji and his people
were all alone and moving back and forth in a small, unmapped white space.
Can you get back the way you came? Knott asked urgently.
It doesn t look good, sir. A fair number of Mollies have circled around
behind us and any that are free on the station are in front of us.
Lieutenant Slater, Knott barked. By speaking the lieutenant s name he
automatically directed the computer to put him in touch with her.
Sir! she snapped out.
Major Hadji and his group are sixteen degrees north of your position.
He s surrounded. I want you to take your people and relieve him. Major
Hadji, you got that?
Yes, sir.
If you need more help, call for it. Your prisoners have just become a
priority. Understood?
Yes, sir.
Knott turned to his XO as she came to stand beside him. Anything more from
our WACCIs? he asked. The absence of any raiders or blockade runners made him
nervous.
Lieutenant Commander James is reporting neutrino flux, Ju answered him, one
slender finger touching her earpiece.
Hrrrmp, Knott growled. Could be that planet. It s almost a sun, and those
storms
Captain, Ju interrupted, the lieutenant commander is reporting . . .
her face stiffened and so did her posture. Six corvette to destroyer class
escorts . . . and a battlecruiser, she rapped out. Unknown designation, the
computer doesn t have a match for them.
They have to be Fibian, Knott said tensely. Unless the Mollies have found
themselves another alien ally.
The sour acid of the ancient coffee twisted in his stomach. A fast carrier and
two destroyers was plenty to assure space supremacy around a minor base with
light defenses . . . but now he had an enemy battle group moving in on him.
With all of the Speeds and WACCIs out, Raeder and his people had nothing to do
but to prepare for their return, and in Raeder s case, to observe what they
were doing. He d been paying particular attention to the adventures of Sarah
James as she searched the tumbled rocks and ice of the gas giant s ring. He
heard her smooth alto voice reporting the enemy ships.
Peter could feel the blood draining from his face.
My God, he thought, I can t even do anything.
He ought to be in a
Speed, accomplishing something. God damn it, he whispered. He was tied to a
chair in an office.
He was only slightly relieved when Sarah reported that the strangers
ships apparently couldn t see them.
Yet, his traitor mind supplied.
This is bad, he thought, imagining the larger situation.
There are only two choices: cut and run, or fight.
They
had only two destroyers to the enemy s six.
Page 106
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
And they have a battlecruiser.
Which meant they were facing a ship twice the size, more heavily armed, and
almost as fast as the
Invincible Not good, not good at
.
all.
I think they may have found us, Sarah s voice said calmly. Vector .
. . she snapped. After a moment she said, Yep. They ve found us.
Run, Sarah!
Raeder urged her mentally.
Run! Don t let them get you.
He was dimly surprised by the sense of outraged protectiveness that came over
him. He wished, still more urgently, that he could strap on a
Speed and go racing to her rescue. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] - zanotowane.pl
- doc.pisz.pl
- pdf.pisz.pl
- matkadziecka.xlx.pl