Book 3: Chapter 111: Chasing and Ambushes

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Book 3: Chapter 111: Chasing and Ambushes

USD: 38 Days after arrival at Fort Glisson

Location: Nu Crateris, A3123Y, In pursuit of Corporate Systems warships

The Corporate frigates had done as expected and split into four different trajectories, all aimed for the Gas Giant in an attempt to slingshot themselves while going dark to escape. SR01 had been directed toward the one they knew was already damaged in the exchange in 92 Pegasi, while A3123Y continued to burn toward another.

Both ships they were chasing were doomed, but the other two had a good chance of escaping once they went out of line-of-sight.

Im receiving a message from H32. It wishes to know if we would like assistance in chasing down the enemy. Abbey said, a frown creasing her face. But something is strange. The time delay is too short.

Wyles frowned. They must have a ship there. Did one slip into your laser comm?

Abbey was silent for a moment.

Amy felt concern. If the Corpos had prepared a trap for them and there were more ships waiting in ambush, they might be damaged in the fight, even with the upgrades.New novel chapters are published on

Abbey puffed up her cheeks. There is a ship there! It slid right into our laser comm with the planet, and since it has the same authentication, I didnt even notice the parallax or the aiming data changing!

Its in stealth no EM emissions. I am pointing telescopes at it now its pretty big! Oh Oh Umm. It looks sort of like the Corpo battlecruiser, but its very different, she said.

Could the Corpos be spoofing your authentication? Amy asked.

No way. For sure, its another NAI and its coding checks out to be H32

Wyles frowned and leaned forward to read the status display on Abbeys console.

How sure are we that this H32 is friendly? He asked.

Abbey tilted her head. Umm, its a valid Starlight Revolution Corporate channel and as an NAI generated from A13X, pretty sure?

Do the SR Corporate bylaws allow hostile takeover? Wyles asked.

Huh? Abbey asked.

Amy shook her head. No, theres a strict hierarchy. I dont know what authority Alex gave it, though, and SR doesnt delineate NAI or human authority into separate groups. If it is Nu Crateris system manager, then technically it outranks us on anything pertaining to the system.

Wyles grunted. I dont know everything about NAIs, but is there risk that it could hijack our Abbey? I know there are certain ranks and the like and if thats possible, we should cut communications and possibly leave.

Abbey shook her head. There is no way he could be higher than me. A13X gave me the highest level she could. I imagine she did the same for H32, so we would be the same level.

Amy made a decision. Transmit to them. Ask them if they can assist with taking out the two that are getting away, Abbey.

Roger! Ill ask Abbey said.

Alex didnt know the who or why they were being targeted, but she didnt need to. The standard ROE for peacetime had been drilled into her head and the men, whether civilian or military, had assaulted an officer with potentially deadly force. She snapped to action.

The man with the stun gun tried to turn it on her, but she caught his wrist and yanked him toward her. She squeezed as hard as she could with her fingers, the crunch of bones in the mans forearm sending him to screaming in pain as she landed the full force of an open palm strike into his cheat to send him flying through the air and cracking into the metal bulkhead of the corridor. He fell to the ground, neutralized.

She could hear the men behind her rushing forward so she rushed the man still standing in front of her as he back pedaled in surprise at her attack. He raised some type of weapon at her, but she slapped his arm to the side before he could point it at her, then grabbed him by the throat and spun.

Her aim was off, but the mans legs swiped into one of the oncoming mens face sending him to the floor while the other man continued to arc through the air down the corridor.

The fourth man had a long pole device and the tip of it suddenly arced with electricity. It wasnt a firearm like she feared, and she realized Harmon was likely still alive. This group was trying to capture them for whatever reason.

Fuck off! She shouted, but the man didnt pause and continued forward. Glancing to her sides, she spotted an emergency fire alarm. She reached out and shattered the glass covering with her fist, smashing the red button to send spinning red lights to life along with a warning klaxon.

Her attacker cursed, but didnt hesitate to continue forward. Alex dodged the shock spear by continuing to dart backwards and around it. She couldnt find an opening as he kept the shock point darting in and out rapidly. As she gave up space, she realized that the men that shed left wounded had recovered and had started toward Harmon, collecting the man up by the feet and torso before hauling him off.

Hey! she shouted, but was forced to deal with the threat on hand. As she stepped back past an open crate full of some type of cloth, she had a sudden idea. Taking a risk by dodging sideways instead of backwards, she darted around the shock spear to grab the crates ajar lid.

It was a heavy chunk of rectangular metal, almost too heavy for her to swing fast enough to block the next stab. Somehow, she managed it anyway, and the impact batted her attackers weapon away. She reversed the momentum and slammed the edge of the lid into his neck, his head flying off in a shower of blood.

A voice erupted from down the hall. Ertans Savior!

She turned toward it and saw three men approaching, each with a rifle raised. She raised her hands as they pointed them at her.

Please! They attacked us, and they grabbed the Lieutenant! I dont know wh

They all three opened fire, some type of energy hitting her right in the chest. Her entire body felt like it was on fire, and she raised a hand to her torso to confirm there werent any bullet holes. They hadnt shot projectile and apparently it was a non-lethal weapon.

Shes not going down.

We dont have much time; Again.

The horrifying realization that these men were with her attackers dawned on Alex. She reached down to grab the crates lid to use as a shield, but the energy pulses slammed into her again.

The electric shock paralyzed her with pain and numbness. Her vision turned red.

|WARNING: RAMPANCY DETECTED 104.3% OVERLOAD|

|TERMINATING RAMPANT UNITS IN PROGRESS|

|SYSTEM SHOCK DETECTED, NERVE DAMAGE PRIORITY REPAIR|

She had the lid in hand somehow and threw it as hard as she could at the man in the center of the formation. She missed, but it clipped his helmet, sending him falling backwards. The other two switched to full auto and lit her up.

Alex lost control and fell to her knees, a numb feeling filling her entire body as tormented nerve fibers shut down. Red flashing alarms blared at her and blood and nanites flowed from her nose. The pain wasnt that bad, but she didnt lose consciousness as they shoved a black hood down over her head.