Legions of Orion (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

being created. Energy circles surrounded the
platforms and ran in a stream back to the station in a continuous
loop. One by one, each of the platforms changed colour and flashed
green on the model. The indication was clear and obvious to each of
those watching that the system was working and settling
down.
    “Get me Commodore Lewis.”
    The image of the
Commodore appeared in seconds and filled the large screen on the
wall. The man was a seasoned officer and had been present at the
last major action at Hyperion seventeen years earlier. He was now
in charge of the defensive portion of the operation and commanded
an impressive force of seven major warships, including the recently
commissioned ANS Dragon. She was one of the newest of the Crusader
class warships and the peak of Alliance technology. Her powerplants
were heavily shielded and provided power to a battery of
super-heavy railguns that were fitted in targetable mounts on the
bow and stern. Dozens of smaller mounts were fitted out with
multi-barrelled coilguns, all of them run by the advanced power
system. She had the rough shape of a shark with a fattened forward
section and an enlarged tail section. Many struts and antennae
extended out, but it was the total lack of a rotating crew section
that was the most revolutionary part of the vessel. No other
military ship, until now, had been able to create such a force
without the use of primitive rotating sections.
    “Admiral Anderson, my forces are ready
and awaiting your go order.”
    Anderson nodded and
looked over to his team for confirmation on the stability of the
Spacebridge. All lights appeared to be green, but there was a
nagging doubt in his mind about the viability of the one-way rift.
He looked back to the display and the patient face of the
Commodore. He watched for a moment, and his attention was drawn to
the odd movement of the officers in the CIC (Combat Information
Centre) of the ship. They moved with slow bounces that reminded him
of the ancient but famous footage of mankind’s first steps onto the
lunar surface of the moon back in the twentieth century. The
Crusader class were all making use of the experimental
gravito-magnetic drive developed on Terra Nova. It could only
provide about one-fifth of normal Earth gravity, but it did allow
the crew to go about their duties, without drifting around the
spacecraft. The final indicator on the main display flashed several
times and then settled down to a steady green.
    This is
it, he thought.
    “ Commodore, the
S pacebridge is ready and stable. You are
cleared to commence the operation.”
    There was a short
pause, and for the briefest of moments, he wondered if his message
had failed to reach the Commodore. He was about to speak again when
he received a response.
    “ Excellent.
Congratulations to your team, Admiral. This is an auspicious day
for the Alliance and for humanity itself.”
    From their position
in orbit around Prometheus and directly alongside the rift
platforms, they had a perfect view of the assembled ships. ANS
Dragon was the closest vessel to the Rift and the largest warship
present. As the eleventh ship in her class, she represented the new
Navy, one that was smaller but substantially more flexible. The
ship was one of the new multipurpose warships being built for the
fleet to replace the few functioning cruisers, battleships,
transports and war barges still in service. She was more powerful
than the old cruisers used. She was faster and had the capacity to
carry up to five hundred marines or a similar sized flight group;
almost half of the capacity of a dedicated transport like the
venerable ANS Santa Maria and ANS Santa Cruz. The remaining six
ships included a motley collection of destroyers, each due for
imminent replacement by the growing fleet of Crusader class
warships.
    “Look, there it is!” called out one of
the media people. It was a young man, barely out of his twenties
but dripping with enthusiasm and excitement. Anderson was