AMP Siege by Stephen Arseneault Read Free Book Online Page B

Captain turned to the lieutenant. "Can you bring us back? Give me your best reason to not try."
    Goddard spoke. "Bringing the comm back online puts the rest of the ship at risk, Sir. That smart virus could spread to the other systems."
    The Captain turned towards me. "Mr. Grange, what call would you make? Do we chance it?"
    I stood. "I never was one for sitting still, Captain. Bring the comm up and let's see what plays out."
    York stepped up and placed her hand on my shoulder. "That's the Grange I know. Frost. Let's go suit up! If this comes to blows, we might want to try getting a boarding party onto that Gonta ship."
    Frost turned towards the door. "Now we're talking! I am liking the prospect of a little action, Sir. All this sitting around is going to my hips. Hahaha!"
    Frost and York hurried off the bridge towards their cabin. I shook my head as I thought of the two of them ramming down the hallway of a Gonta ship with blaster fire exploding in front of them. I had a sudden yearning for my AK. If the Gonta decided to board the Granger , we would be fighting for our lives.

Chapter 5

    The lieutenant spoke. "Comm coming online, Sir. Attempting to hail the Gonta ship."
    The Captain turned towards the view-screen as an image of a Gonta officer flashed into view.
    The lieutenant continued. "We have a link, Sir. Audio is up."
    The Gonta officer spoke. "Unauthorized vessel. This is the Gonta ship Jaarke . You are in violation of Gonta space. Power down weapons immediately and prepare to be boarded."
    The Captain replied, " Jaarke , this is the Human exploration ship Granger . We are only here for peaceful research purposes. Any crossing of your borders was completely unintentional. If allowed to proceed, we will peacefully withdraw from your territories."
    The Gonta officer replied with a stern voice, "That is a negative, Granger . Prepare for boarding. If it is determined that your mission is as you say, a hearing will be conducted to determine if you are allowed to leave. At this time, consider yourselves trespassers against our space. Again, power down all weapons and prepare to be boarded."
    A second, undoubtedly higher-ranking officer stepped in behind the Gonta spokesman.
    The lieutenant spoke. "Sir, we have two firewalls down on the core. We will have program breach within two minutes unless we shut down again."
    I turned to Rodriguez. "Are we ready to move?"
    Rodriguez replied, "Just say when, Sir."
    Hobbs spoke. "Sir, their weapons are powering down!"
    The Gonta officer typed furiously at a keyboard on the console in front of him. "I am sorry, Sir! Weapons are not responding! Engineering is not responding. We have lost all comm with... everyone, Sir."
    The senior Gonta leaned in towards the bridge camera. "Humans! If this is of your doing, consider it an act of war against the Gonta Federation. A thousand ships will have you begging to live within the hour!"
    I replied, "You have my sympathies, ah, Sir. If what I am guessing has happened is true, you are now infected with the same smart virus that has been plaguing us. I would advise that you isolate all systems that have not yet been..."
    The lieutenant spoke. "Sir, we have lost comm connection. It is being blocked on our end. The core will be corrupted in about fifteen seconds, Sir. Should I shut the comm down?"
    I huffed as I sat back in my chair. "Shut it down! We can't risk any further contamination. If the core goes, we lose manual control too."
    The view-screen flickered as the image of the Gonta officers faded and the asteroid impact came full screen.
    The Captain spoke. "Lieutenant. How long before we can make use of that comm again?"
    The lieutenant replied, "Last time it took us four or five minutes to recover, Sir. I believe we can do it in two this time around. But, if you are planning to do this again, Sir, do a short burst of comm and then shut down again. You should know that the hacks that program has been using are getting smarter."
    I turned and