War Machine (The Combat-K Series)
Page 49
“What’s happening?” screamed Pippa, frantically searching scanners, and dodging a rainfall of crushing rocks as the No Rest levelled near the vast cavern’s roof, and curled, diving again as she searched for a way out of the planet’s interior. Sunburst scans rebounded from the cavern’s roof and floors, giving her poor feedback.
“Teller’s World is a machine,” said Cam, “an impossibility, but one which exists nonetheless. It is powered—and held in check—by a Black Hole at its core. You have heard of a Dyson Sphere?”
Pippa threw him a look. “Encompassing a star with a shell to capture its entire energy output? They tried it. It’s impossible. The structure breaks down due to Internal X Pressure Syndrome.”
“This is sort of the same, only Teller’s World was designed to harness the power of a Black Hole’s awesome gravitational pull, while trapping Leviathan at the core. It was a balance, in equilibrium. Now it’s breaking down.”
“So...” Pippa’s eyes were wide.
“This is a race,” said Cam. “When the machine stops operating, we need to be beyond the Event Horizon. Otherwise, we will be pulled into the unchained Black Hole with every other atom on this ersatz planet!”
“There,” said Keenan. He pointed to the scanners.
“I see it.”
The No Rest screamed and groaned as Pippa accelerated against an incrementally increasing gravitational pull. The walls of the ship started to vibrate with frightening violence. Pippa slammed controls to the full.
“You’re going to have to pull a K Jump.”
“Can’t do that,” said Pippa, teeth gritted. “Way too dangerous, especially from surface-side. It’ll spread us all over the fucking galaxy!”
“We’ll never out-race the pull,” said Cam, “because—and this is the bugger—we’re already in it.”
“Shit. We’ve got a one in ten thousand chance of surviving a K.”
“If you don’t, Pippa, we’ll die here. I guarantee it.”
Pippa stared at Cam, and gave a single nod.
“What’s this all about?” said Franco, face pale and bleak. He pulled out a small bottle, shook free a tiny, rainbow-coloured pill, and swallowed it. His eyes went wide. He coughed. His skin started to vibrate.
“We’ve got to do a K Jump, but first I need to get out of this shit. Any impurities in our field will throw us off course, and we’ll end up inside a fucking star. Everybody! Strap in. This is going to be the bumpiest damn ride of your lives.”
The No Rest was howling, glowing.
As the cavern collapsed, so Pippa navigated up and out, on a treacherous raining path to the swirling chaos atmosphere of Teller’s World. Rocks pounded the ship with raging violence. Below them, as they burst free and soared into the sky, huge chasms opened across the landscape and the world collapsed. In the distance, a range of mountains disappeared in the blink of an eye. Below, the black desert was pouring like sand through an hourglass on a planetary scale.
“Everybody... hold on!”
Pippa’s hands clattered across keyboards. Her face was a mask of concentration. Tears soaked her cheeks. Silence swamped the ship. Franco’s grumbling, muttering voice was the only sound to be heard under the red glow of emergency lighting.
Pippa hit the boost.
The No Rest For The Wicked screamed... and flashed from existence.
It took the K Jump...
And followed a different path.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andy Remic is a young British writer. He has an unhealthy love of martial arts, kickass bikes, mountain climbing and computer hacking. Once a member of an elite Combat K squad, he has since retired from military service and works as a biomod and weapon engineer at the NANOTEK Corporation.
War Machine is his fourth novel.
You can discover more about Andy Remic at www.andyremic.com.
Indicia
Titles
Prologue
The Helix War
PART ONE
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
PART TWO
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
PART THREE
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
PART FOUR
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
About the Author
Table of Contents
Titles
Prologue
The Helix War
PART ONE
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
PART TWO
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
PART THREE
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
PART FOUR
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
About the Author