Stand Into Danger: Empire Rising Book 0 Read Online Free PDF Page B

to beam out her sensor recordings of the battle that had occurred around Ouvea. The Russian ships were already coming under full acceleration but if they could have, Jensen was sure they would have tried to come even faster after seeing their ships destroyed and their ground troops bombarded.
     
    Sitting on the bridge of the freighter Jensen was getting more and more nervous as the two Russian ships closed the range. If they got suspicious, all it would take for them to destroy Clara was one missile or heavy plasma bolt. The freighter would crumple and break apart in seconds. Yet, so far, they were holding their fire. If would only take another twenty minutes for them to come into range of Clara’s modifications.
     
    Those twenty minutes were the longest of her life. Every second seemed to take an eternity. Not knowing if each would be her last; she tried and failed to quash thoughts of her family and friends. Finally, the moment of action came.
     
    “Pilot, take us out,” she commanded.
     
    The pilot of the shuttle gently fired its maneuvering thrusters and lifted off from the freighter’s deck. What had originally been one of the freighter’s cargo sections had been cut open to allow the shuttle to be flown into the empty cargo hold. Gently, the pilot took his ship out the same way he had taken it in. Then, once they were in open space, he killed the engines and allowed the shuttle to drift away from the freighter.
     
    “We’re out,” he needlessly announced to Jensen and the crewmembers who had been manning Clara . Forty minutes before they had all left their posts and crammed into the shuttle. Now they all turned to look out the viewer towards the freighter.
     
    Jensen waited as long as she dared before triggering the second modification that Achilles’ Chief Engineer had made to Clara . When the timing was just right she pressed the button in the shuttle’s cockpit that sent the signal to Clara . Immediately, a small explosion erupted from the nose section of the freighter. Too quickly for the Russian ships to react, a part of the freighter’s frontal armor flew off into space revealing three large anti-ship missiles. Without electromagnetic acceleration tubes they would have to get to their target on their own acceleration however, Jensen had waited long enough that the Russians would have next to no chance.
     
    As soon as the frontal armor cleared out of the way, Jensen hit her second button and all three missiles ignited their engines and raced away from the freighter. The Russian ships were headed almost directly for the freighter at 0.2c while the freighter was travelling at 0.17c.  The velocities meant the closing speed of the missiles was the equivalent of 0.37c, even before they fired off their engines. With their engines going immediately to full burn the flight time would be just over fifty seconds.
     
    Silently, Jensen willed the missiles on to their targets. Things weren’t going to go all her own way though. Someone onboard the light cruiser had quick reflexes its point defenses began to open up on the incoming missiles. There just wasn’t enough time however, for, although they managed to take out one missile, the other two came crashing into the light cruiser.
     
    Jensen had targeted all the missiles at it for she knew Achilles could handle the destroyer on her own easily. One of the missiles over shot its target and detonated just behind the light cruiser. Still, as the blast wave hit the cruiser it visibly shook on the screen Jensen was watching. The final missile was right on target. It hit the light cruiser amidships and its momentum ensured it penetrated deep into the cruiser’s side armor before it detonated. The explosion tore a giant hole in the ship, ripping the spine right out of it. As its engine continued to accelerate the rear of the ship, the pressure on what was left of the central superstructure snapped the remaining support struts. In front of Jensen’s eyes the