Galactic Alliance 3: Honor Thy Enemy Read Online Free PDF Page A

ours.”
    “Won’t the Chroniech notice when the barrier goes down and send their ships over as well?” Ken asked.
    “It is a risk,” Doug replied. “That’s why we are staging a large combat force near the fold. The Tholtaran’s are moving two juggernauts and several dreadnoughts into the area. If any Chroniech ships make it into our space they will find it to be quite inhospitable.”
    Ken unlaced his fingers and sat back in his seat. “Unless their ships are equipped with that new FTL weapon and shields to match.”
    “The experts agree that the weapon was planet-based and we are unlikely to find it deployed in any warships.”
    Ken looked over at Doug with obvious contempt on his face. “Experts have been known to be wrong. I, for one, don't trust them.” He leaned forward and looked out the window into the blackness of space. The looming bulk of an Alliance cruiser was dead ahead. They would be arriving soon.
    Seeing that Doug had no retort to his comment, Ken asked, “How are we to find the Kyrra?”
    Doug leaned forward to stretch his back. He had always found the seats on military shuttles to be uncomfortable. Settling back into the seat he replied, “That’s what’s going to make this mission interesting and that’s why only the Komodo Dragon is crossing the barrier. Because of her Hess stardrive she’s still the fastest ship in the Alliance by far. Part of the message we got from the Kyrra was a complete stellar cartography of Chroniech space. We have the location of every major astronomical body encompassed by the fold along with their relative motions and spectrographic data. It won’t take us long to figure out where we are and to plot a course to the rendezvous point.”
    “Why go to all that trouble?” Ken asked, puzzled. “Why not just plot us a route from our point of entry to where the Kyrra have parked their worldship?”
    “The Chroniech are unaware of the worldship’s location. To prevent us from inadvertently giving it away we will be meeting the Kyrra some distance from where it’s hidden. The Kyrra have given us the coordinates of what they say is a safe area of space where they will meet us.”
    “Well, then why can’t they plot us a course from our point of entry to where they are going to meet us?”
    “It’s not that simple,” Doug replied. “The Kyrra have no way to determine where we will emerge into Chroniech space. I’m sure they can guess the approximate location but the hyperdimensional warping of space makes an exact determination of our entry point impossible. On the other hand, any ships coming from Chroniech space will be within a fairly easily determined area as soon as the fold is reestablished.”
    Their conversation was interrupted by the pilot. Over his shoulder he announced, “We have reached the Meerkat’s hanger bay.”
    Both passengers looked out the window just in time to watch as the shuttle passed through the weak force field that kept the air inside the hanger from escaping into space. The armored hatch had been retracted just enough to allow the shuttle to pass through the entrance. Inside the well lit hanger several small ships of various types could be seen in their berths. The shuttle slid sideways and settled into its designated spot.
    While the pilot secured the shuttle’s systems, Doug took care of opening the hatch. Outside the shuttle, Ken glanced at the still closing hanger bay door hoping to catch a final glimpse of Earth. Instead of the beautiful blue marble, he saw the moon sliding past as the cruiser accelerated away from Earth.
    “I will leave you in Petty Officer Robinson's capable hands,” Doug said once they had gathered outside the shuttle. Don't hesitate to ask him or any of the other crew members for anything. If you need me, I’ll be on the bridge. Feel free to drop by.”
    Ken looked at Doug's departing back for a moment then turned to Robinson who had been patiently waiting, Ken's duffel bag in hand. Gesturing in