The Depths of Time Read Online Free PDF Page A

the suit lockers, but Sayad was far from the only one who glanced at the closest locker and did a quick mental rehearsal of the steps needed to get her suit on.
    Condition one rules said the captain could suit up or not at his own discretion. And it would be easy to argue that a suited-up captain would be better able to maintain effective command during a hull breach. But of course, morale might be a problem on a bridge where the only one going for his suit was the captain.
    Koffield made no move toward the suit lockers. As best Sayad could see, he did not so much as glance in their direction. She watched her screens for what she knew was going to happen—and felt her heart start slamming against her chest when it did. “ Sir! ” she called out. “ Remaining intruder commencing acceleration run! No course change or attempt at evasive action. Intruder on collision course with scattershot. ”
    “ Time to impact? ”
    Sayad shook her head. “ Velocity ramping up too fast for solid numbers. Estimate impact on scattershot in thirty to forty seconds. ”
    “ Damn it! ” Koffield slammed his fist against the con sole. “ We ’ re nowhere near clear. ”
    One glance at her screens had told Sayad that much. The Upholder would be well under a thousand kilometers distance away from the point of impact.
    Koffield checked her displays. “ No time to figure the rates and ranges, ” he said, half to himself and half to her. “ We ’ re going to have to do this one by feel. ” He flipped the switch on the intercom again. “ This is the captain. Conn, you will perform an all-engines emergency throttle-down to zero power and safing when I call Mark One. Understood? ”
    “ Orders received and understood, sir, ” a voice from conn replied.
    “ Defense systems. Activate maximum shields, aft-enhanced deflection, five seconds after I call Mark One, or five seconds after you see all engines stop or safe, or when you hear me call Mark Two. Whichever of those happens, activate shields. Repeat and confirm. ”
    “ Um, ah, yes, sir. ” Definitely Sheelton. Sayad could hear him forcing himself to get calm, get professional. “ Go to, ah, full-surround shields, max aft-enhanced, at first of any three events: call of Mark One plus five, or engine stop plus five, or call of Mark Two. Received and understood. ”
    Sayad understood the point of the complicated order. The impact was going to be almost unimaginably violent. With that much energy blasting out so close by, lots of things could easily go wrong. This way, if the intercom blew, or the repeater displays went out, or Koffield was killed before he could give the order, the shields would still come up. She was glad Koffield had ordered repeat and confirm. They all needed Sheelton to get this one right.
    “ Very good, defense systems. All hands, stand by. Any impact estimate update, Sayad? ”
    “ Estimate still holds. Now ten to fifteen. ”
    “ Conn, defense systems, ” Koffield called out. “ Stand by for my commands. Let ’ s get this one right, ladies and gentlemen. ”
    Koffield leaned in close, his face next to hers, and stared hard at the displays, watching the numbers change, the projections adjust, the variables shift. If he called his commands too soon, they would lose priceless seconds of escape acceleration time, and the electromagnetic shields might fail before the blast wave had expanded out past the ship. Call them too late, and the radiation and blast debris could catch them with the shields not yet activated and up to power.
    “ Verbal time in seconds to and past first estimate, ” he ordered, not taking his eyes off the patch of screen that showed the visible estimate.
    “ Impact first possible in eleven seconds, ” Sayad said “ Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Fiver—It’ll take more than five seconds for the engines to stop and the shields to come on, she thought. He’s gambling on a late impact. She kept up the count, keeping her voice steady,