CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
AURORA SETTLED into the captain’s chair with a happy sigh. No doubt about it. There was nowhere else she’d rather be.
Her ship, however, was short one crewmember and four guests. Mya had decided to stay on the Nightingale, as had Jonarel’s kin. The Suulh had overcome their shyness and had expressed an interest in using the journey to learn more about the Kraed, since they would be encountering many more of them when they arrived at the homeworld. The Clarek clan members had been delighted to comply.
Kire looked up from the communications console. “Byrnes just reported in. They’ve left the canyon and are on their way to rendezvous with us.”
“Good.” She turned to Kelly at navigation. “Are we all set for the interstellar jump?”
Kelly pushed her auburn hair behind her shoulders. “Aye.”
“Captain?”
She glanced at Celia, who was frowning at the security console. Something in her expression pulled Aurora to her feet. “What is it?”
“I’m not sure. I’m getting odd energy readings that seem to be emanating from the nearby moon, or reflecting off the moon’s surface.” Celia indicated several data points. “At first I thought they might be an echo of our ship, but I checked the scan logs and the signals began appearing before we brought our engines on full.”
“That moon has an atmosphere. Could it be a naturally occurring phenomenon, maybe a reaction to a solar flare?”
Celia shrugged. “Possibly. We haven’t been tracking solar activity, so there’s no way to know for sure unless it fades out.”
Aurora wasn’t about to take any chances. “Raise the shields. And keep an eye out for any changes to the readings.” She moved up the incline to Kire’s station. “Do a sweep of the area and see if you can pick up comm signals of any kind.”
“On it.”
She dropped back into the captain’s chair and opened a direct channel to Cade. “We may have a problem.”
“What kind of problem?”
“We’re picking up energy readings from the moon that don’t have a clear cause. Where are you?”
“We’ve exited the atmosphere and are en route to your location. Do you want us to wait while you check it out?”
She didn’t relish the idea of leaving the Nightingale unprotected. It didn’t have the defensive capabilities of the Starhawke. “No. But I’d feel better if we changed our exit trajectory. The original path was going to take us close to that moon. Can you locate a jump window in the opposite direction that would take us to a rendezvous point closer to this system?” In case we need to make a quick getaway.
His tone indicated he understood the unspoken part of her message. “Give me a couple minutes to make the calculations and I’ll send the data to Kelly.”
“We’ll move to intercept you.”
“Understood.”
Aurora closed the channel. “Kelly, get us into position as quickly as you can.”
“Aye, Captain.”
Kire pivoted to face Aurora. “The moon’s atmosphere is causing problems with all the readings. I can’t detect any obvious communication patterns, but a ship could certainly hide on the far side of the moon. There’s no way to know for sure.”
Not what she’d been hoping for. “Star, you’ve been monitoring the system while we’ve been in orbit. Have you seen anything unusual?”
The Nirunoc’s ghostly image appeared at the console to Aurora’s left. “I have not. But the debris field that surrounds the inner planets of this system scatters sensor readings. If a ship approached with a specific trajectory from the outer edges of the system and proceeded slowly, it would be possible to use the debris as a sensor shield.”
“Then they’d have just as much trouble getting readings on us, right?”
“That is correct.”
If a ship had snuck into the area, odds were good their intentions were hostile. That meant Setarips…or worse. Time for a second opinion. She opened a visual channel to Cade’s ship. The image showed Cade in the captain’s chair on the small bridge, with Drew at the helm, Gonzo at tactical, and Byrnes at the comm.
Cade’s brows lifted. “You must not like what you’re seeing out there.”
Aurora shook her head. “I don’t. The debris field and the moon are messing with our readings. It might be nothing. But it could also be a ship.”
“Are you thinking Setarips?”
“Maybe, but I doubt it. Burrow was a target while the research team was here, but now it would be of little use to Setarips except as a watering hole. I’m more concerned that it’s someone else.”
Cade’s expression darkened. “You mean power-hungry lunatics?” he asked, echoing their conversation by the campfire.
“Yep.”
Cade held her gaze. “How do you want to handle this?”
Aurora tapped her fingers against the arms of her chair. “I’d love to find out who was behind the attack on Gaia, but not at the expense of endangering the Suulh.” If only she knew for a fact that someone was out there. And whether they posed a threat. “Let’s begin our departure, and see if the readings indicate we’re dealing with an atmospheric phenomenon.”
“And if it turns out to be a ship?”
Aurora pressed her lips together. “We’ll run like hell to the jump window.”
Cade glanced at his team, who all nodded in agreement. “All right. Do you want to lead or follow?”
“Follow. I want the Starhawke between you and anything that might put in an appearance.” Aurora turned to Celia. “Arm all weapons and notify me immediately of any changes to the sensor readings. Kelly, position us between the freighter and that moon and keep us there.”
“Aye, Captain.”
Aurora opened a channel to engineering. “Hawke to Clarek.”
“Clarek here.”
“Jonarel, we may need to make a rapid exit.”
His voice changed to a low growl. “What is wrong?”
“We’re getting readings from the Burrow moon that indicate a ship might be hiding behind it.”
A brief pause let her know he was digesting that information, and realizing all the implications. “I will work on boosting power to the engines and shields.”
“Thank you.”
Cade’s voice drew her attention back to the bridgescreen.
“We’re ready when you are. I’ve sent the new data to Kelly.”
“We’ll follow you out. If you see any indication something’s approaching from around that moon, don’t wait for us. Just go.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
AS DREW ADJUSTED THEIR TRAJECTORY, Cade moved next to Gonzo’s chair, his back to the bridgescreen. “If this turns ugly, what are our best options?”
Gonzo stroked his fingers over his goatee. “The ship’s fast, since its primary function was transporting emergency medical personnel and supplies. That’s probably why the Admiral chose it for this mission—we can get away in a hurry. We have decent offensive weapons, at least for a ship this size, and the hull and shields are solid as a rock. We can take a hit.”
Not so bad. Cade wasn’t in the habit of running from a confrontation, but that’s exactly what he’d do if it kept his team and the Suulh out of harm’s way.
“Cade?”
He glanced over his shoulder.
“So far nothing seems to be changing,” Aurora said. “If we see any—”
She cut off abruptly as a shout from Cardiff came over the line.
The cry was echoed by Gonzo.
Cade looked down at the tactical console. Three warships the size of the Starhawke had appeared from behind the Burrow moon. And judging by the weapons readings on the display, they definitely weren’t friendly.
He met Aurora’s gaze. Her fierce expression reminding him of a mother bear preparing to defend her cubs.
“Run.”
CHAPTER FORTY
AURORA’S HANDS gripped the arms of her chair.
The ships fanned out in
attack mode as they barreled toward the Starhawke. Though not as elegant and free-flowing as her ship, they had clearly been crafted by skilled technicians, not Setarips. And sensors indicated they were armed to the teeth.
The enemy ships fired, proving the weapons were not just for show. The blasts impacted the Starhawke’s shields, though not as violently as Aurora had anticipated.
“Celia, activate the hull camouflage.” The advanced Kraed hull design would make the Starhawke virtually invisible to the attacking ships. It would also block the view of the Nightingale as long as the Starhawke stayed between them. “Kelly, keep us as close to Cade’s ship as you can. Don’t move no matter what comes at us. We need to help them disappear.”
The Nightingale accelerated, and Kelly stuck with them.
The warships sent a volley of blasts, searching for their prey in what would now look like empty space.
The majority of the shots fell short, but a few of the long-range weapons found their mark. The Kraed hull couldn’t hide the resulting explosions, and their pursuers altered course.
“They’re following us, but they’re not precisely on target,” Celia said. “They’re still trying to figure out exactly where we are.”
“Can we outrun them?”
“We can. But the Nightingale is hauling three hundred passengers worth of extra mass. I doubt it can reach anywhere close to its top speed. The enemy ships are closing.” Another series of blasts punctuated that statement.
“Then we’ll need to outmaneuver them.” She glanced at the bridgescreen. “Cade? Go vertical and see if we can shake them loose.”
“Understood.”
The medical freighter changed course, its path curving until it was running perpendicular to its previous trajectory. Kelly kept the Starhawke on its tail, adjusting position so the ship’s bulk stayed in the line of sight between the approaching ships and the Nightingale.
“Did they follow us?”
Celia didn’t take her gaze off her monitor. “Not yet, but they’ve altered their flight path. They’re firing in a spray pattern to locate us.” A flash lit up the bridgescreen. “Which they just did.”
Dammit. Frustration welled in her chest as the enemy ships began closing again. Time to change the game. If they wanted a target, she’d give them one.
“Cade, we’re going to hold them off. Continue to the jump window. We’ll meet you at the rendezvous point.”
He had the good grace not to argue, though the look in his eyes spoke volumes. “Be careful.”
She nodded. “You too.”
The bridgescreen changed to the exterior view as Cade closed the channel. She watched as his ship accelerated toward the debris field and the jump window that waited on the other side. Charging through the field at full throttle would add another layer of danger to the situation, but it was the lesser of two evils at this point.
A grim smile touched her lips. “Kelly, bring us around. Celia, deactivate the camouflage. Let’s show these uninvited guests why no one messes with a Kraed ship.”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CADE’S GAZE remained locked on the aft image projected on the bridgescreen as the Starhawke shimmered into view and swung around to engage the fighters. The warships fired first, lighting up the Starhawke’s shields, but this time the Starhawke sent a barrage of answering blasts that made contact with the enemy ships. Several small explosions flared on the hull of the closest ship.
He changed the image to the debris field ahead. A vibration coming up from the deck told him Drew was pushing the ship to its limits, sprinting to reach the coordinates for the jump window and the safety it offered. “Gonzo, how’s the Starhawke doing?”
“Holding their own. One of the fighters tried to follow us but they cut them off with a couple torpedoes.”
“Drew, how long until we reach the debris field?”
“Two minutes, fifty-four seconds.”
And didn’t that feel like an eternity. He said a silent prayer for Aurora. She had the most incredible ship he’d ever seen and a talented crew. If anyone could handle the three fighters and get away safely, it would be her.
Weaving through the debris field at their current velocity wouldn’t be a piece of cake, but they’d make it. He’d take over for Drew at the helm as soon as they got closer. Thankfully this section of the field had been swept clean of smaller objects by the gravitational pull of the much larger asteroids.
A flash of red on Gonzo’s monitor caught his attention.
Gonzo snapped forward, his hands gripping the edge of the console. “Energy readings in the debris field!” His normally implacable countenance showed a touch of fear, a fear that slipped under Cade’s skin when one of the objects that he’d mistaken for a massive asteroid tumbling through space resolved into the largest ship he’d ever seen. And it was directly in their path.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
“THERE’S another ship out there!” Kire’s voice indicated his disbelief.
Aurora swung around to face him. “Where?”
“In the debris field. They’ve cut off the freighter’s retreat.”
A magnified image appeared on the screen, showing a behemoth of a vessel that made the Nightingale look like a matchstick. Nothing in Aurora’s experience came close. Even the Argo, the largest Fleet ship, would be dwarfed.
As she watched, a series of warships detached from the main ship, heading toward the freighter.
Aurora swore. “Kelly, get us over there. Now!” She smacked the comm panel. “Jonarel, I need all the speed you can give us.”
“Working on it.”
The image on the bridgescreen shifted as they streaked toward the Nightingale. The barrage from the three warships intensified. Clearly they didn’t want the Starhawke racing to the rescue. Too damn bad.
“Celia, if you can make a couple of those warships disappear, I’d be grateful.” A heavy barrage of weapons and a brief flare of light from an exploding ship was her answer.
They were closing the distance to the debris field, but not fast enough to intercept the warships. She opened an audio channel to Cade. “What’s your plan?” Guaranteed he’d have one by now.
But he didn’t answer her. She frowned at the console. “Cade? Come in.”
Static was the only response.
His ship, however, had changed course and was racing along the leading edge of the debris field, staying close to the asteroids to make the ship a harder target to hit.
“Kire, why isn’t he answering?”
Kire hunched over his station. “The message is being sent, but they’re not receiving it. Their communications are jammed.”
“Jammed?” Aurora shook her head in disbelief. “I thought that was impossible on a Fleet vessel.”
Kire’s hazel eyes were grim. “Apparently someone found a way.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
“THEY’RE JAMMING US?” Cade stared at Justin. He must have misunderstood. “That isn’t possible.”
Justin looked helpless, which wasn’t an expression Cade usually saw on his friend’s face.
“Apparently, it is.”
They’d had a head start in the beginning, but there was no way they could make it through the debris field and to the jump window before the warships caught up. Their only hope was to use the asteroids as cover while they waited for the Starhawke to reach them. Although even Aurora’s ship was no match for a dozen warships and a carrier that was doing an excellent impersonation of a miniature moon.
“So we can’t talk to the Starhawke,” he muttered. Without communications, it would be impossible to make a coordinated defense. Too bad Aurora couldn’t actually read minds. Then he’d have a way to talk to her.
Two warships closed on them and fired. “Hard to port!” he cried. One blast hit a nearby asteroid but the second struck the ship, sending a shockwave through the hull. “Fire torpedoes!”
“Firing.” The ship rumbled as the torpedoes launched, and a few moments later a couple fl
ares appeared briefly on the bridgescreen. “Minimal damage to targets.” Gonzo said. “The Starhawke is heading in our direction. Four warships breaking off pursuit to engage her.”
Which left five still tracking his ship. He didn’t like those odds one bit. “Head back toward the Starhawke and stay as close to those asteroids as you can.” Fleeing wasn’t an option, but at least they could bring the fight back to the Starhawke.
The warships followed them and continued to fire, but the freighter’s shields held, giving off brief flashes of light whenever they impacted with debris from the field.
They swept past the nearest asteroid, giving Cade his first glimpse of the Starhawke in the distance, taking heavy fire but giving as good as she got. Two of the warships were now in pieces and a third was spinning end over end toward the debris field.
“Warship, coming right at us,” Gonzo said a moment before blasts peppered the front of the ship.
“Drop us under it and return fire.”
The Nightingale vibrated under the strain. The poor old girl had been designed to maneuver in air, not space, and she was struggling.
As they made a slow dive under the oncoming ship, two more warships appeared on their flanks.
“Power surge coming from both ships!” Gonzo cried.
“Divert all energy to shields!”
Cade braced for impact. Instead, he caught sight of a streak of movement in his peripheral vision, first from the right, then the left, right before the ship gave a horrible lurch that flung him out of his chair.
“Status report,” he croaked as he pushed onto his hands and knees. His lungs protested the abrupt evacuation of air that had followed the hard landing on the floor.
Drew clung to the navigation console like a lifeline, while Gonzo hung onto his chair with one hand and shoved himself upright with the other.
Cade hauled his body into his chair and snapped his harness in place. But when his gaze returned to the bridgescreen, the image looked like he was viewing it through some kind of filter. The engines sounded wrong, too.
The ship gave another jolt, but Cade stayed put this time. “Status report!” He glared at Gonzo, unaccustomed to having to ask twice.
The Chains of Freedom (Starhawke Rising Book 2) Page 18