Omega Force 5: Return of the Archon by Joshua Dalzelle Read Free Book Online Page B

uninteresting points of light against the black.
    “We’ve got a fast mover coming around the station, Captain,” Kage reported. “I can’t identify a class or type, but they came from the far docking complex.”
    “Do they look like they’re tailing?” Jason asked, advancing the throttle up further.
    “We’re the only ship on this vector and they’re coming around awfully fast on what looks like an intercept—”
    He paused, frowning. “They’re gone.”
    “What do you mean, gone ?”
    “I mean they’ve disappeared from the scope,” Kage said. “I’m running full active scans and they didn’t stop, explode, or turn back … they’re just gone.”
    “Sensor stealthing?” Jason asked Doc in disbelief.
    “It would appear so,” Doc said doubtfully. “But …”
    “But we’ve never seen anything outside of the ConFed Spec Ops Section that has that sort of tech,” Crusher finished for him.
    “I’m getting ghosts of returns along their projected flightpath,” Kage said. “They’re definitely trailing us, but don’t look like they’re making any move to overtake us.”
    “Twingo, do we have full power?” Jason asked.
    “We’re ready for anything,” Twingo affirmed. “What do you have in mind?”
    Jason didn’t hesitate or second guess himself. “Full combat mode!” he barked as he swung the Phoenix around to head back the way they had just come and slammed the throttle down to the stop. “Kage, prep a tachyon burst bomb.” The gunship shot back towards the station, accelerating into the traffic patterns that were drifting lazily to and from the docks arms. The com began squawking warnings and queries the closer they came, but the crew ignored them. “Are they coming about?”
    “Confirmed, Captain,” Kage said. “I’ve detected their drive coming up to full power as they’re attempting to turn and pursue. Looks like their stealth tech is imperfect at best and they’re flying an underpowered drive.”
    “All good things,” Jason said, threading the gunship through the traffic as she continued to accelerate. He wanted to get around to the other side of the station before their pursuers. Even though it was difficult, it was possible to track a ship through slip-space depending on the level of technology and the skill of the crew. He’d rather not find out the hard way they had both. “Program a series of short dummy jumps,” he ordered. “We’ll drop tachyon charges at each.”
    “How many?” Kage asked, his hands flying over his navigation panel.
    “Five.”
    “That’s going to be expensive,” Kage muttered.
    “Sure will be,” Jason agreed as the Phoenix shot over the “crown” of Colton Hub and through the traffic around the docking arms. A few plasma shots were fired their direction, one even splashing against the shields, as they streaked by. Jason chuckled and shook his head. The universal constant about the galaxy’s bottom feeders: if you don’t understand it, shoot at it.
    “We’re clear,” Doc reported, “you can engage the slip-drive any time.”
    “We’ve shaken them, but not for long,” Kage said. “They’ve dropped their stealth while they’re navigating through traffic. When we passed, it spooked everyone and ships are flying out in all directions.”
    “Engaging now,” Jason said, squeezing the trigger to release the first tachyon charge before smacking the control to send them streaking out of the system. As the coronal discharge of dissipating slip energies faded away, the first tachyon charge triggered, flooding the area with tachyon particles and blinding anyone’s sensors who may have been trying to track the gunship’s exit.
    *****
    “So,” Jason said as he carried his mug of chroot back to the galley table, “do we think it was a random coincidence that a sensor-stealthed ship was tailing us away from Colton Hub?”
    “Of course not,” Twingo snorted. “But who were they following? Them, or us?”
    “That’s the million