Countdown by John Walker (most life changing books TXT) 📕

I need to be military men. Soldiers until the fighting is over. Once it is, we can revisit these talks. We can’t undo the past, but we’ll make the future better.”

I’ll hold you to that. Noah nodded instead. “Thank you for chatting with me. I appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it.” Alexander stood. “I’m off. You’d better get everything ready on your end. Let me know about Jack Shelley, by the way. He’s a good officer. I want to know when he regains consciousness along with his treatment plan.”

“I will.”

“Speaking of which, do you have a replacement in mind?”

“For the upcoming fights, maybe. I’ll fill the role before we head off.”

“Excuse me,” Alden stepped close, “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I just received word from one of our border space stations. The ervas struck. It’s been totally destroyed.”

“How do you know?” Alexander asked. “Did someone survive?”

“A couple of ships escaped during the attack. Civilians. They made it clear that multiple battleships seemed to come from nowhere and hit the place without warning. A few people loyal to us tried to fend them off and failed. But that’s confirmation it’s begun for sure. We need to make haste.”

“I’m afraid you’re right.” Alexander sighed. He turned to Noah. “I think you’ve got a lot to do.”

“I do.” Noah shook his hand. “Thanks again. Catch you soon.” He nodded to Alden. “Commodore. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I appreciate it. We’ll get them back.”

“I’m sure.” Noah turned away, heading to the hangar. He hadn’t put too much thought into who might take over the commander role, even temporarily. It came down to a ground-based soldier or a pilot. He had one of each in mind, but either one had their work cut out for them. Especially now that they were absolutely at war.

Looks like I’ll be grinding out some personnel files when I get back. Then he’d go for a nap. When we get into this fight, I need to be fresh. Way too much depends on all of us to be struggling with exhaustion. That means scheduling time off. And we’re all too dedicated to do it willingly. Which is a good problem to have in the grand scheme of things.

***

Sasha gritted his teeth as the ship came out of hyperspace. The way the metal groaned every time set him on edge. He never got used to it. Despite the Engineering team insisting it was perfectly safe, he found himself doubtful. No other ship he’d served on had ever been so noisy and so full of complaint.

But then none had been quite like the Broken Light. Neither in perseverance nor in length of duty. That didn’t necessarily make him feel better. Indeed, he found it troublesome to consider how many battles it had survived; how often it had been patched up. Some of the techs said that made it stronger.

Practicality suggested otherwise.

They’d spent the last two hours in hyperspace. During that time, his technicians had compiled a damage report that gave him some considerable hope of getting home. The problem came from the fact that they didn’t go as far as he’d hoped. Marston likely set the coordinates correctly, but the drive itself may have had a problem.

“Report,” Sasha ordered. “Where’d we end up?”

Daisy answered, “Two systems away from our previous position, sir. I’m… not sure why that is. We were set to go all the way back to Starbase Six. That should’ve been a thirteen-hour trip minimum.” She turned to him. “We’re literally in the middle of nowhere. No habitable planets… just rocks in space. There’s nothing even worth a mining operation out here.”

“Confirmed,” Marston said. “But Daisy, check scanner three. I don’t understand what I’m seeing there.”

“One moment.” Daisy hummed. “I don’t like this. I’ve never seen a power build up like that before. It’s as if something within the ship itself stopped us here. Correction, not inside… outside. I’m scanning the hull right now, but I advise going full defensive. Shields, weapons, etc.”

“Why can’t we go into hyperspace again?” Sasha asked. “What’s going on?”

“The drive needs time to recharge,” Daisy said. “I’m waiting to find out exactly how long, but the minimum amount of time would be ten minutes. More likely, thirty. That was a jarring departure. Likely why the ship complained more than usual. That creaking sound wasn’t good. We were literally torn from hyperspace.”

“Could this be something the ervas did?” Marston asked. “And if so, why haven’t they done it before?”

“Those were skirmishes,” Sasha replied. “We’re at war now. They’re pulling out all the stops. They don’t know if we sent a message. Therefore, they have to risk stopping us at all costs.” He thought about the destroyers. They had to have slowed the enemy down. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to have done enough. “Anyway, I agree with Daisy. Battle stations.”

Red lights flashed a few times. Marston brought the defenses up. Sasha stood, pacing closer to the viewscreen. He stared out at the dark of space, contemplating what he’d do if a large battle fleet arrived out of the blue. If they started moving, chances were good they might get a head start in fleeing.

Then hyperspace wouldn’t be so hard.

Unless they can rip us out of it again.

“Daisy, find what did this to us. We need to neutralize it before we try to flee again. Marston, get us underway. Course heading… sixty-seven by three-two-two.”

“Aye, sir.” Marston cranked on the engine, turning them about. They began to move, making the floor shake. Sasha returned to his seat.

Daisy added, “Engineering confirms that there must be some kind of device on the ship. They’ll begin scanning for it. We believe it’s somewhere near the port bow. Once they get some equipment down there, I’ll be able to help with more detailed scans from this terminal. Estimated time for that… five