Relic Tech (Crax War Chronicles)

Relic Tech (Crax War Chronicles) by Terry W. Ervin II Read Free Book Online

Book: Relic Tech (Crax War Chronicles) by Terry W. Ervin II Read Free Book Online
Authors: Terry W. Ervin II
increased.
    Five minutes passed. I examined the small carving more with my fingers than my eye. A woozy warmth crept over my thoughts and body. I was about to close my eye when the yacht surged and change direction.
    Loams yelled down, “Mars tracking is on high alert! Planetary defense grid has been activated. There’s a Crax vessel in the area!”
    I almost sat up, except for the restraints. Pain hammered back the cozy warmth. I fought to remain conscious.
    Caylar ran to the lift and looked up. “Where?”
    “Logical guess,” said Loams. “Opposite of where civilian traffic has been directed. Only slight alteration from our original course is required.” He paused. “Reaching maximum speed. All combat ships in the area have been alerted and are converging.”
    This time I barely detected the buildup in speed. Fine workmanship in this vessel.
    Caylar said, “Must have been hiding in the asteroid belt.”
    I stared at the metallic-paneled ceiling.
    “What military ships are in the vicinity?” asked Caylar.
    “Besides the Armadillo , I think there’s a light cruiser, the Red Bison .” The lights dimmed. “Powering down all non-critical equipment. The Soul Scorcher is still in space dock. Being patched up. She won’t be any assistance.”
    “Any Umbelgarri?” asked Caylar.
    “None that I am aware of,” said Mr. Loams. “There are several police cutters, and three gunboats around Mars. Normally.”
    “Any idea what type of Crax vessel?”
    “Sorry, my frequency isn’t military. Sensors are picking up our ships. Not the enemy.”
    “The Iron Armadillo ?”
    “She’s moving fast. Looks like she is trying to evade.”
    Five minutes passed. I was having trouble keeping awake. “Caylar, undo the sleep meds.” He ignored me. “Caylar.”
    He looked back from the bottom of the lift. “You need to rest.”
    “Not until I know what happens.” My eye closed. I strained to keep awake, keep focused. I faded in and out.
    Loams’s voice echoed. “The Iron Armadillo ’s off the screen. Confirmed. The Iron Armadillo has been destroyed!”
    That horrific statement carried over into troubled dreams.

Chapter 5
    Contemporary theorists claim that if, on their own, humans ever managed to develop the ability to condense space with sufficient energy to maintain it, and the ability to provide energy for the necessary antigravity shell while generating adequate thrust to make the whole effort worthwhile, the current generation’s great grandchildren might have been the ones accomplish it.
     
    I endured troubled dreams about my older cousin, Oliver. He’d helped me get picked up by the Negral Corporation and signed on with the Kalavar . Oliver was organized, meticulous, and a decent guy. My older brother called him Spiffy. He called my brother Uncouth. Both nicknames fit.
    Oliver’s math aptitude and ability to interface with computers at a young age earned him notice. He was raised I-Tech. Scholarships and grants provided what his family couldn’t toward remedial advanced technical education.
    Later, the military recruited and trained Oliver as a gunner where he served aboard the destroyer escort, Midnight Vigil . There, for ten years he manned the dual beam laser housed in the forward turret, before transferring to the Iron Armadillo . After only six months Negral lured him from the prestigious assignment with a substantial contract to serve as chief gunner aboard an armed freighter.
    In my dream, however, Oliver wasn’t happily journeying to exotic outer colony ports. Rather, he was repeatedly dying along with the rest of the Iron Armadillo ’s crew. Sometimes Oliver was trapped, burning alive while his shipmates struggled to reach him. Other times he was lost to the vacuum of space. In the last dream, his turret took a direct hit. The caustic bolt devoured the armored hull, only slowing when it reached my cousin’s flesh.
    I awoke, sweating. The Iron Armadillo was gone. I tried to sort things out. I knew

Similar Books

Close Encounters

Jen Michalski

Christmas Alpha

Carole Mortimer

Catching Kent

Ruth Ann Nordin

The Pursuit of Jesse

Helen Brenna

Where the Dark Streets Go

Dorothy Salisbury Davis

Playing James

Sarah Mason