Read Scourge: Book Two of the Starcrown Chronicles Page 40

  Chapter Eighteen

  “What is happening?” Sebastian demanded above the din of the alarm claxon.

  The giant turned to a small control panel on the wall behind him, his fingers still pressed to the phone in his ear, and turned off the alarm. No, not a simple phone I realized. The earpiece he was wearing looked identical to the military comm-links we had aboard the Prometheus. Was this yet another instance of stolen Gilead technology? The giant continued listening to his earpiece for a few more moments, spoke briefly in response, then looked at Sebastian.

  “A large group of ships is closing on our position,” the Giant said. “According to our scans the number and size of the ships is consistent with the make-up of a Gilead battle group. I’ve ordered the base defenses activated.”

  The group of us from the Prometheus exchanged surprised looks. There was no way the Fleet could have responded to our signal so soon. The only possible way for them to be here this quickly was if the battle group had already been nearby when … Morgan! It had to be. He never liked the idea of us being out here on our own. He must have sent someone to shadow us. A sub at maximum sensor range would be able to track us without being picked up on our sensors. At that moment I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to hug him for racing to our aid or throttle him for ignoring my instructions.

  Sebastian’s brows knitted as he digested the information. Then, almost as if a switch had been thrown, his expression cleared. He pushed himself to his feet and strode purposefully over to his desk. Reaching for the small control pad set into the corner of the desk he tapped a control and the window behind his desk became a viewscreen. The image of a man appeared. He was sitting in some kind of control center with his back turned to the screen talking rapidly to someone out of view.

  “Report!” Sebastian barked.

  The man spun around and gawked at the screen.

  “Well? Report,” Sebastian repeated.

  “Commandant!” the man said.

  “We know who We are,” Sebastian said. “What We want to know is what is going on out there.”

  “Ships, Commandant! A whole fleet of ships is coming this way!”

  Sebastian said something under his breath then stepped up to the screen and crossed his arms. “Listen you brainless oaf, We want you to look at the sensor display and tell Us what those ships are doing.”

  “Yes, sir! Of course, sir! At once, sir!” The control room operator looked off camera. “Well, um, they seem to be splitting up.” He frowned and tapped at his console. “It’s hard to get a clear reading with all of the asteroids, but the ships seem to be heading off in different directions now.”

  “What are their relative bearings? How exactly are they… Never mind!” Spinning around Sebastian jabbed at the panel on his desk and switched the screen to the feed from the control bunker’s sensors. The display showed the approaching ships spreading apart as they moved through the nearby asteroids. From time to time one or more of the ship icons would disappear briefly as they passed into the sensor shadow behind an asteroid. Although they were moving slowly, from their positions I immediately recognized the maneuver they were performing. Any doubts I had about whether the approaching ships were from Gilead or not were completely pushed aside.

  Sebastian continued to study the screen for a few moments then turned to make an adjustment on his panel. The image leapt from the screen to form a three dimensional projection above his desk. The 3D image clearly showed the approaching ships moving into the beginnings of a spherical formation around the pirate base. Sebastian took one look at the new image and hammered the desk with his fist. Although he had in no way distinguished himself during his brief time in the Fleet, Sebastian was no fool when it came to battle tactics. He would recognize a nova formation.

  Sebastian stared at the image for several moments before he jabbed at his desk panel once more. The sensor projection was joined by a smaller image window of the control room operator he had been speaking to.

  “They have to be getting an intelligence feed from somewhere,” he said. “There must be a sub positioned nearby. Flash the area.”

  “Sir, I…” the man looked confused as he searched the console.

  “Find that damned sub!” Sebastian raged at him.

  A moment later the man’s expression brightened and he reached for a control.

  Near the center of the 3D image a small dot suddenly popped into existence.

  Sebastian said, “We want a warning shot sent across her bow at once. They must be made to withdraw.”

  The giant stepped up beside Sebastian. “Commandant, that ship needs to be destroyed, not warned off.”

  “Destroyed?” Sebastian said as a confused look came over him. “But, they’re from Gilead. Don’t you think it would be better to—”

  “No. That ship must be destroyed.” The giant looked at the image of the control room operator. “Tell the gun crews to target that ship and destroy it. Now.”

  “Yes, sir!” the operator said.

  “That’s not what the commandant ordered,” I said, coming to my feet. I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. Those were my people out there. The giant looked at me and raised a cautionary finger. “This does not concern you.”

  After struggling with himself for a moment, Sebastian seemed to shake off his confusion and he turned to me. “Yes, Captain, this is Our decision. Those are enemy forces threatening the sovereignty of Our outpost and must be dealt with accordingly.”

  “But, Commandant,” I said as I watched a targeting reticle appear and center itself atop the pulsing icon, “your first order was—”

  “We are very well aware of what Our orders are, Captain!” Sebastian snapped. “Mind that you know your place.”

  Before I could say anything the giant spoke again. “Our gunners have achieved a target lock. Cannon number two is being readied to fire…”

  A moment later the pulsing dot representing the nearby sub disappeared.