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

antimatter destruction of two slaver ships that had fired on her shields. Despite the exhaustion he already felt from spending long seconds in ocean-time , and the mental strain from directly mind-linking to BattleMind, he agreed.
    “Good advice. BattleMind, please begin slicing away the body of Dodemeron , moving from the dead engine section up toward the habitat globe.”
    “Commencing.”
    Matt watched the ship’s vidimage feed on both the front holosphere and within his mind as lightspeed optical neurolinking fed him the multi-spectral images of the Alien slaver ship. While positron emission tomography and SQUID implants under his scalp gave him true thought-to-thought communication with his two AIs and with his cyborg allies, his left ear tachlink node gave him FTL links to every pilot, ship and AI in Hexagon Prime fleet. Which required him to exert tight focus on immediate issues. Like his plan for ending the existence of the slaver captain. Eventually.
    Out in space the silvery metal slices of the slaver starship drifted away from the ship body like bread sliced from a loaf of fresh hot bread. His mother Kristen always baked fresh bread for them, he thought, recalling an image from just before the genome slaver raid. The aroma of fresh bread was a sensation he had not recalled for a long time. But the haggard images of his Mom and Charlotte in the records of this slaver ship reminded him of many things. Too many things. All too soon the laser slicing of the slaver ship came to an end, leaving only the habitat globe intact.
    “BattleMind and Mata Hari, have your limpet complink and biosensors located the spot where the Spelidon rat captain is located? In the habitat globe?”
    “Yes Matthew,” said the new Spy persona of Mata Hari. “Captain Markel of Nest Perilous from the world Rocky Talus is presently standing in a Command Booth inside his ship’s Bridge. The Bridge is located in that silvery bubble which protrudes from the front end of the habitat globe. The bubble can become transparent upon command by the ship’s NavCore. Like the optical matter walls of our ship. My complink is in control of the Dodemeron’s NavCore.”
    “Good,” Matt thought to his two AIs. “BattleMind, continue slicing through the habitat globe until only the Bridge component is left intact. Seal off any air supply tubes so Captain Markel can breathe ship air. For the moment.”
    BattleMind’s dragon holo swung a black wing at the habitat globe of Dodemeron , slicing away silver metal pieces as if the dragon was cutting apart a globe of cheese. Like his Mom often did on their soyfarm on Thuringia. The sliced cheese, combined with fresh bread slices, were a treat Matt and his four sisters had loved.
    Matt’s mouth felt dry even in swift ocean-time . “Suit, walk over to me and be ready to tractor lift me into your interior.”
    Mata Hari’s Spy image showed surprise. “Matt? You are re-entering Suit? Why?”
    “For a direct, in person encounter with this Captain Markel.” He grinned mentally, sending his AI ally a sense of wolf-like hunger. “You forget that this ship captain stole 47 people from Thuringia, fifteen years ago. My vidrecord of his ship’s destruction, and of my soon to be in person encounter with him will be of . . . great interest to Thuringia’s governor.”
    “Understood,” Mata Hari said softly as she took holo form to his left, behind the shape of Suit.
    Matt liked the Spy look of Mata Hari. With her black hair in a bun atop her head, her body dressed in a frilly white late Victorian sheath dress and a pearl broach at her neck, she looked very refined. “Please shut off the forward Alcubierre shield. So I face the Bridge bubble. But maintain our Alcubierre shields elsewhere, and fire on any Offense sled, plasma torps or other device aimed at us by the slaver ships. I will leave ocean-time in order to speak directly with this ship captain.”
    Fourteen seconds, 934 milliseconds and 17 picoseconds ,