The Great Betrayal Read Online Free PDF Page B

fleet. One Khreenk heavy cruiser took a volley of gunfire that tore the top off its superstructure from the rest of the ship. He counted a dozen ships that were already burning before a single vessel returned fire. Unsurprisingly, it looked like the Alliance frigates were the first to respond. His secpad lit up, and he grabbed it and brought it close to his face.
    “Captain, we have to get out of here. I’m sending you and the fleet coordinates. Persuade the Admiral to follow us.”
    The secpad faded to black, but the face of the commander of the ship and the sparks and flashes behind him stayed firmly in Campbell’s thoughts. The secpad flashed for a second, and then a number of schematics and navmaps appeared. He gave it a cursory look and called out to the Admiral. The commander of the fleet twisted his head to look at the young Alliance officer.
    “The coordinates, they are an acceleration vector. You need to move the fleet.”
    It was obvious to Captain Campbell that the Narau commanding officers had no idea how to act in a battle situation. The Alliance had been involved in battle since its early inception back in the Great War, roughly seventy years earlier. Even when not at war, they faced insurrections and pirate raids throughout the scattered colonies. Thankfully, the Admiral seemed to appreciate this and quickly deferred to the man as he checked the incoming signals.
    “Yes, this is good,” he said without even looking at him.
    He gave a series of coarse commands to his crew. Most were surprised at what he said, but not one of them dared to question his orders. In seconds, the ship shuddered once more, and vibrations spread through every part of the mighty vessel’s hull.
    The engines, he’s changing direction!
    The Admiral threw him a quick glance.
    “If we survive this, I will owe your commander a life debt. Now, hold on, we have a small chance of getting through this.”
    The ship shook violently as dozens of kinetic rounds slammed into its hull. The Khreenk warships were well built and very strong though. After a minute of nearly continuous bombardment, they were away from the ruins of the fleet and accelerating on a vector that would move them slightly from their original destination. More importantly, by accelerating, they were making use of their already substantial momentum, and each second took them further from harm.

    * * *

    It was a large room, easily capable of holding fifty officers, perhaps more. Models of dozens of ships from the Alliance and the Confederacy’s past adorned the walls, and in the center stood an oval table; on it a model of the station that was still under construction. Everything seemed smart and clean, perhaps too clean. It was a measure of the brand new station that every part of it looked as though it had just arrived from an Alliance factory. At one end of the table was a floating video projection showing multiple feeds of violent events on the world of Helios. There were a large number of explosions before all but one of the feeds turned black.
    “This is the most important section,” said the officer on the right-hand side. His face impossible to make out while the unit ran and the lights were dimmed.
    A crowd of people ran down a shattered street, and small ducted fan bikes and vehicles flashed by overhead. A large tower structure crashed to the ground as the camera team ran for cover before being washed with dust and debris. The aircraft slowed down and opened fire at those running, finally striking an area near the camera crew. The last shot was of the camera on its side, facing down the street toward four dead Zathee, the largest ethnic group of Helions that were now in open revolt.
    Captain Hart, a rough looking officer nodded as though the footage had just answered any question they might have. A dozen people sat around the table, including Rear Admiral Lewis, the commander of the 4 th Heavy Strike Group. General Daniels, the commander of the 2 nd Marine