Voknor’s demeanor turns aggressive as he retorts, “You will be able to fight as well. My clan is adding the usual compliment of seventeen pounders and three polarized beams.” He leans closer to Cindy and says, “In addition, I have instructed that they add a pair of heavy pounders to the front of your ship as well. These will operate the same way your previous kinetic weapons did.”
Joe’s jaw drops in stunned disbelief, “That’s a ton of firepower!”
“Indeed,” Regent Voknor agrees. He then stares upward as he continues, “Once the weapons are installed, and the armor replaced, the hull will be hardened.”
Joe tilts his head, and asks curiously, “Harden the hull?”
“Yes,” Voknor replies, and then explains. “Each ship, once launched into space, undergoes this process. It makes the hull resilient to most impacts, and less susceptible to explosive damage.”
Joe gapes as he mumbles, “No wonder we got beat up so easily. But what about when the Kord repaired our ship?”
Voknor turns to Golward and says, “We are sharing this technology with them, and once testing is complete, plan to equip the outer hull of the new space station with a thick layer of hardened armor.”
Golward is unable to contain himself, and jumps around excitedly as he comments, “We can boost the range of the Victory’s scanner to around five hundred light years, and hope you let us perform the upgrade as soon as possible.”
Cindy nods in astonishment at all they are being given. She replies quietly, “Of course.”
Epilogue
The Terran hovers in orbit, an empty hulk. Teams of Gamin engineers are working around the clock to repair the damage, and to install new components. But even with their best efforts, the Terran will remain where it is for some time.
Sharz has not returned from Earth, thus word of possible survivors is, as of yet, unknown. The odds of his single ship avoiding the Atlan’s fleet, and then somehow rescuing people, are slim. The poisonous and corrosive gasses that swirl around Earth, virtually cover its entire surface. Earth is no longer blue, instead, its swirling clouds are now bright green. As all life is extinguished, the lands and seas slowly turn brown. Eventually, even the clouds will lose their color, and become the same dull grey that was witnessed on the world with the derelict.
The command crew of the Terran does their best to keep busy, but with thoughts of Earth being turned into a desolate wasteland on their minds, they all have difficulty focusing.
The Victory vigorously patrols New Earth’s solar system. Its modified engine scanner actively searching for signs of pursuit. Cindy has crews on rotating shifts, so as to keep the Victory permanently aloft. The Terran’s remaining crew members find roles at the colony, while they too, wait for news.
The three fleets belonging to the Gamin clans remain in orbit, for now. Their crews are building a satellite grid, mining facilities, and working on the construction docks.
Every continent on New Earth soon boasts major transport systems; each of which is designed to feed the vast amounts of raw materials needed in the construction of new spacecraft.
The surviving Kord are establishing a ground base near Hawking. They are few in number, and although they do not have any spacecraft of their own, they too are constructing various advanced facilities. With assistance from the Gamin, construction of the new space station is expected to begin soon.
Humanity’s very survival is now at stake, but with the advent of an alliance with the resilient Gamin, and the technologically advanced Kord, humanity may yet prevail.
Meanwhile, beyond the edge of the Milky Way a tiny star shines brightly. A lifeless hulk, the Scout Ranger Dagris, drifts nearby. The automated mining vessels have dutifully filled the craft’s immense storage capacity; thousands of huge cargo containers hang from behind the craft, like cans on strings behind a newlywed’s car. Hundreds of worlds have been stripped bare, such is the bounty that awaits anyone who should find this vessel, and claim it.
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Glossary
ART .......... Andrew’s New Earth Radio Telescope
GLS .......... Gravity Landing System
GUS .......... Gamin Umbilical Supercomputer
IGD .......... Internal Gravimetric Dampeners
KGB .......... Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (Committee for State Security)
KPU .......... Kord Power Unit
NORAD .......... North American Aerospace Defense Command
RMC .......... Relativistic Mass Compensator
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I do hope you have enjoyed reading Alliance, book four of the Terran Chronicles Universe, as much as I have enjoyed writing it. For more information about the series head over to www.terranchronicles.com. Please remember to leave a review on Amazon, so that others may read your thoughts on this story.
To keep in touch, connect with me via Facebook or Twitter.
James Jackson
TC10-A15-JJ
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Prologue
Chapter 1 - Home Sweet Home
Chapter 2 - Refit and Restock
Chapter 3 - Upward and Onward
Chapter 4 - Oglan World Revisited
Chapter 5 - Boys and Their Toys
Chapter 6 - Are We There Yet?
Chapter 7 - Derelict Demolition Day
Chapter 8 - Into the Fray
Chapter 9 - Pedal to the Metal
Chapter 10 - Night Falls Forever
Chapter 11 – Alliance: A New Beginning
Epilogue
Glossary
Alliance (Terran Chronicles Book 4) Page 33