Anarchate Vigilante (Vigilante Series 4) by T. Jackson King Read Free Book Online

stood in its own Interlock Pit, the fiber optic cable that allowed optical neurolinking with one’s starship and with its AI mind gleamed silvery in the light of Toktaleen’s Bridge.
    Matt nodded mentally to his ally, taking his time since their thought images and discussion were happening at millisecond or faster speeds, thanks to the ocean-time immersion of each living pilot in the fleet’s eight ships. He focused on the seven other pilots of the fleet.
    “George, please Translate out to just beyond those three slaver ships that are fleeing this star system. Eliana, Suzanne and Sarah, use your antimatter cannons on the nearest slaver ships,” Matt said as the mind images of Mata Hari and BattleMind shared his mental horizon. “Rafael, Ben and Toktaleen, take on the five slaver ships preparing to attack us, and destroy any Offense sleds, shuttles and Remotes that might be launched against us.”
    Eliana broke his combat focus with her green-eyed ‘little girl look’ that had first touched his heart when he’d destroyed the strip mining robot that threatened her home planet. Her albino white face, obsidian black hair and spare, sculptured profile fixed on him with a mental focus he could never escape. “Matthew, we will all do as you say. But what will you do, beyond the disabling of the slaver ship Dodemeron ? And will we rendezvous with our ships after this battle so we can each . . . be in command of our own ship?”
    Matt understood the need of his cyborg allies to be back in direct neurolink with their ships and their AIs. But this battle in the Ring Nebula would not be as dangerous as facing an Anarchate fleet. Still, he must share his plans with his allies. With people who openly shared their minds with him. They had put their trust in him. He could do no less.
    “I will take out the asteroid base, the ships hiding behind it, then . . . then I will move this ship to face the slaver ship Dodemeron . Face on. I would have direct communication with its captain. Before I destroy him.” He paused. “And yes, we will rendezvous with your ships once every slaver artifact in this system is destroyed. The plan we agreed to in Battle Council is still in effect. Satisfied?”
    “Thank you, Matthew,” Eliana said as she turned her mental focus to her ship Altuna and to maintaining telepathic contact with her precog mind-sister Suzanne.
    “Satisfactory guidance,” clicked Toktaleen in Belizel as he rotated his T’Chak Dreadnought in a twisting spiral so its AM cannons could more easily attack three slaver ships.
    “ Good hunting!” called George with a grin.
    In space, eight ships became two kilometer long dragons that closely resembled the living shape of the T’Chak aliens. Spitting purple globes of plasma, each dragon ship moved like a raptor of space after one or more slaver targets.
    Eleven seconds, 432 milliseconds and 976 picoseconds , his cyberclock whispered.
    Around his ship and every Hexagon Prime ship there arose the flat Alcubierre space-time shields that would protect each ship from any laser or thermonuke attack by the slaver ships. The shields also made each ship stealthy and nearly invisible since the shields absorbed all light emitted by any star or light emitter. Matt turned his mind to the reduction of the three kilometer tall slaver asteroid.
    To his right there appeared the twelve foot tall holo of BattleMind, the alien-minded AI whose mental voice was so powerful that Matt could barely withstand exposure to it. Which i s why Mata Hari always slid her mind as a buffer over Matt’s mind whenever BattleMind spoke to Matt.
    “I detect from your sneaky Human mind that you wish to employ my Sun Glow wea pon,” BattleMind said in a mindvoice that felt like the impact of a tornado.
    In ocean-time mindlink, Matt could not hide from the touch of BattleMind, the help of Mata Hari dressed as Lady of the Sword or the awareness of what the other fleet pilots were doing and saying with their own AIs.