Assassination Game by Alan Gratz Read Free Book Online Page A

gamma four!”
    “Heading one-one-three, mark eight, evasive maneuvers, pattern gamma four, aye!” Sulu confirmed, putting the coordinates into the helm.
    “Four more Varkolak ships approaching from starboard, bearing zero-nine-three, mark ten!” Pavel Chekov announced from his position at ops, just to the right of Sulu. Chekov pronounced his V s like W s—“Warkolak” instead of “Varkolak”—something Sulu had long since gotten used to after dozens of missions at the Russian’s side.
    “They’re surrounding us!” Tikhonov cried.
    Of course they’re surrounding us, you idiot , Sulu thought. That’s what the Varkolak do . The Constitution-class Yorktown was bigger and stronger than any single Varkolak ship, but the way the Varkolak brought down bigger prey was to circle it and harry it until it went down under the fire of a dozen smaller ships.
    “Shields at seventy percent,” Chekov said.
    “Return fire! Target the lead ship!” Tikhonov ordered.
    “But which one is the lead ship?” Chekov asked.
    That’s it, isn’t it? Sulu thought as he twisted the Yorktown out of the path of a photon torpedo. The Varkolak most certainly had an alpha. Everything they’d been taught about them said they were a pack-dominated society. One of those ships was the alpha, and the others were just betas, following the leader. That’s what made the Varkolak such difficult enemies—they were always perfectly in sync with one another and never broke ranks. But what if the betas were betas for a reason?
    Sulu broke off his heading and swung the Yorktown around at the nearest Varkolak ship. The Yorktown rocked as the pursuing Varkolak ships bore down on them, firing phasers in close quarters.
    “No, no!” Tikhonov yelled. “Evasive maneuvers! Pattern … pattern …”
    Sulu didn’t bother to wait for Tikhonov to make up his mind. He plowed into the cluster of Varkolak ships, breaking their line. Two of them peeled away. Emboldened, Sulu turned the prow of the Yorktown into the rest of the pack, scattering more ships. Soon the Varkolak would regroup and come at the Yorktown again, but hopefully, in the meantime—
    “Got him!” Chekov said. Only one dog hadn’t been sent scurrying away by the charge of the great moose thatwas the Yorktown . A single ship that was identical to all the others in every respect save one—its captain was the alpha leader. He alone kept his ship in the fight against overwhelming odds, because that’s what made him an alpha leader.
    It was so obvious even Tikhonov could see it. “There! Target that ship!” he ordered, but he needn’t have bothered. Chekov had already sent two photon torpedoes screaming toward the Varkolak cruiser. They hit the little Varkolak ship dead-on, knocking out its shields and destroying one of its warp nacelles. It listed in space, critically wounded and venting plasma.
    “The other Varkolak ships are breaking off their attack and going to warp,” Chekov announced. “We have won!”
    Sulu’s helm console went blank, the red-alert klaxons died, and the bridge crew breathed a collective sigh of relief as the lights came up and the simulation came to an end. One or two even clapped.
    The door to the observation room opened, and their Academy instructors came into the room, led by Commander Spock.
    “Congratulations,” Spock said. “The Varkolak are a difficult and implacable enemy. Your approach to the battle was both novel and effective.”
    Chekov shot Sulu a congratulatory smile.
    “Thank you,” Tikhonov told Commander Spock. “Iknew if we could just isolate the lead ship from the others, we could rout them.”
    Chekov frowned. “But you would never have known which ship was the leader if Sulu hadn’t—” he began, but Sulu shook his head to silence him.
    “Your bridge crew is to be commended,” Spock said. “Dismissed.”
    Chekov hung back with Sulu and watched Tikhonov leave, regaling one of the female cadets from their simulation crew with