Johnny said, “Now that’s a beautiful sight.”
Jenny followed. “We have a problem. Those dreadnoughts are shooting at us.”
Mace looked over the console displays. “Can’t be. The projectors are on and we aren’t emitting any signals.”
Jenny replied, “All I know is I’ve turned three times now and they’ve turned with me each time.”
Mace pulled up a camera image from the outer hull. “Jump us out of here!”
Jenny shook her head as she turned the shuttle hard to port. “Can’t do it. We’re in too close to the planet!”
Jasper came over the come. “They’ve sniffed us out! The UF ships are attacking us, including our Collins. They took out thirty-two of the captured dreadnoughts straight away. And I’ve lost a dozen of my own!”
Mace said, “Something’s wrong here. They aren’t attacking the Karthians!”
Malcom Stark opened a comm. “Mr. Hardy, I take it by now you have an understanding of what’s going on?”
Jasper yelled, “We’re being crushed! I’m ordering a full retreat! We’re down half our ships! This was a trap! That snake Stark just played us again!”
Mace connected to Stark’s channel. “You think you strengthen your position by weakening us?”
Stark nodded. “Precisely. You are all too predictable, Mr. Hardy. Now, it is still possible for us to come to an understanding here. You turn over all the gatrellium stolen from the Karthians… and we cease hostilities against you. Give me your word that it will be returned and all this mayhem ends with the press of a button.”
Jasper yelled, “Get out while you can, Mr. Hardy!”
The comm to Jasper closed.
Johnny asked, “Did we just lose him, or was that the wormhole cutting that off?”
Mace shook his head. “We won’t know until we can get out of here ourselves.”
Jenny moved the shuttle to within a few meters of one of the Karthian stations, skimming its surface as she attempted to put distance between the Royal Fortune and her pursuers.
A heavy microwave beam delivered a glancing blow, knocking out several of the inertial dampening field transducers.
Jenny punched in the coordinates for a wormhole. “Let’s hope that didn’t damage our gatrellium hull!”
The micro-wormhole opened with the Royal Fortune beginning to slip inside. At the same moment, a second microwave beam struck the tail of the shuttle.
~~~~~
Once again, this Human is asking for your help! If you enjoyed the book, please leave a review on the site where it was purchased. And by all means, please tell your friends! Any help with spreading the word is highly appreciated! I have a free science fiction eBook short story, titled “THE SQUAD”, waiting for anyone who joins my email list. Also, find out when the next exciting release is available by joining the email list at [email protected]. Visit the author’s website at www.arsenex.com for the rest of the series and other works!
Thank you for reading my work! I hope you have a great day!
Stephen
Books by Stephen Arseneault
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SODIUM-AMP-OMEGA trilogy series
SODIUM - A six-book series that takes Man from his first encounter with aliens all the way to a fight for our all-out survival. Do we have what it takes to rule the galaxy?
AMP - Cast a thousand years into the future beyond SODIUM. This eight-book series chronicles the struggles of Don Grange, a simple package deliveryman, who is thrust into an unimaginable role in the fight against our enemies. Can we win peace and freedom after a thousand years of war?
OMEGA - An eight book series cast a thousand years into the future beyond AMP. The Alliance is crumbling. When corruption and politics threaten to throw the allied galaxies into chaos, Knog Beutcher gets caught in the middle. Follow along as our hero is thrust into roles that he never expected nor sought. Espionage, intrigue, political assassinations, rebellions and full-on revolutions, they are all coming to Knog Beutcher’s world!
HADRON Series
HADRON is an eight book modern day Human survival story. After scientists using the Large Hadron Collider discover dark matter, the world is plunged into chaos. Massive waves of electromagnetic interference take out all grid power and forms of communication the world over. Cities go dark, food and clean-water supplies are quickly used up. Marauders rule the highways. One group of citizens takes a stand. Can they make a difference? And the devastating EM waves, where are they coming from? A benevolent species will arrive in their spaceships to rescue the Human race. Only, are they really so benevolent? Is our little corner of the Milky Way a hostile place? With HADRON we’re about to find out.
ARMS Series
ARMS is an eight book series set in the future. Earth was nearing an apocalyptic event. Two competing colony ships were built, taking five million inhabitants each through a wormhole to a pair of newly discovered planets. The planets were settled and soon after the burgeoning colonies looked to the surrounding star systems for ownership and expansion, an expansion that led to a centuries long war between them. A truce was declared after the aggressor side began to lose ground. The competing worlds are two years into that truce.
Tawnish Freely and Harris Gruberg are genetically engineered Biomarines. They we made and trained for fighting in the Great War. With the war halted and their service commitments ended, they find themselves struggling to live among a population that fears them. Work is found with the delivery of illegal arms to the outer colonies. Things go awry when they discover their illicit and yet lucrative dealings may just be the catalyst that brings back the Great War. They are determined to prevent that outcome from happening.
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HADRON Havoc Page 28