Warlord's Invasion (Starfight Book 1) by Lee Guo Read Free Book Online

someone speak far away from the captain’s mic. The captain responded with unkind words, then spoke directly to Vier through the net, “Admiral, you better get the hell out. One of the alien warships is heading straight for us.”
    “Confirmed,” the shuttle chief said from next to her. “One of the alien warships is altering course to intercept both of us.”
    Vier blinked for a second, then understood. The aliens, whatever they were called, must have analyzed the situation and responded appropriately. They must have seen an entire human warship diverting its course to intercept a missile heading for an anonymous shuttle. Therefore, the aliens must have believed this particular shuttle held something important. Therefore, the aliens were now diverting even more resources to take down this shuttle. “Understood.”
    “The alien warship is firing more missiles at us,” the shuttle pilot announced.
    Vier eyed the minimap. Indeed, dozens more missiles were heading her way.
    “Admiral,” the captain said on the tachyon net. “We’ll take down as many of those missiles as we can, but you should get the hell out. We’ll stay behind you.”
    No, you won’t, thought Vier. That’s what she should have said. Instead, she was silent. All she could think about was getting herself and Shenks out.
    The captain must have picked up on her silence because he said, “It’s not a matter for you to decide, Admiral. I’m the one making the decisions and I’m doing it. Just make sure everyone remembers me. Compton out!”
    The net with the Dartmouth closed.
    Vier bit her lip. All four hundred crewmembers were on the Dartmouth. The captain is sacrificing them all in a split decision to save my life.
    Her next thoughts weren’t even about gratitude, they were about making sure he succeeded. Otherwise, Captain Compton’s decision to stick behind her to ward off the missiles would be in vain. She thought about it. Even if the Dartmouth tried with all its best ability, it probably wouldn’t take out all of the missiles heading for her. It might take out some. But as human and alien technological interaction has demonstrated so far, those missiles had some type of drive that was mostly impervious to gravitron countermeasures. She calculated the trajectories and accelerations then concluded that the Dartmouth would not succeed before some of those missiles hit her shuttle. “Chief, can you accelerate faster?”
    “We’re already beyond maximum tolerance, admiral. 1200 G’s is more than the shuttle’s structural integrity and inertial compensators can hold.”
    “Push it further.”
    “Admiral, that is not recommended. The shuttle will break apart at those accelerations.”
    “That’s fine, chief. We’ll die otherwise, anyway.”
    The shuttle chief paused. Underneath that brown helmet, he seemed to pause. “Alright, jerking to 1300 G’s. Hold on.”
    Suddenly, Vier was pushed back into her seat even more. A metal groan sounded throughout the shuttle. People shouted in the passenger compartment.
    “Structural limits far exceeded, admiral. I don’t know how long we’ll be able to hold this acceleration!”
    Vier nodded. She kept her eyes on the minimap. The missiles came closer.
    The human cruiser Dartmouth continued its acceleration behind her shuttle, staying behind her at a certain distance. Vier knew the Dartmouth had an acceleration tolerance that was significantly greater than her shuttle. It could, by itself, accelerate past her shuttle and translate into hyperspace before her, but Compton chose not to. It stayed behind to protect her.
    The man himself—she hardly knew him. He was just another captain within the food chain who’d been assigned to her system because of some higher up in the military bureaucracy.
    “Ma’am,” the shuttle chief said. “Even with this acceleration, we will not be able to escape the accelerations of the incoming alien missiles.”
    Vier nodded. “I know.”
    The minutes ticked