The Lost Fleet: Genesis: A Slaver Wars Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

the enemy were showing their superiority. A Shari ship would be destroyed or at the minimum severely damaged if it tried to enter
hyperspace so near the Dyson Sphere.
    -
    In space,
weapons fire suddenly erupted from the Shari warships. Missile hatches slid open
on the Shari battlecruisers and escort cruisers. Blue energy beams flashed out
toward the Federation ships, striking their energy screens. Then twenty-megaton
sublight nuclear missiles were launched. Across the Federation fleet, bright
flashes of light swept across the formation as nuclear fire was released.
    The battlecruiser Kasen was bracketed by a large number of nuclear missiles as well as
hundreds of energy beams. Her energy shield radiated higher and higher until
small holes began to appear. Several energy beams penetrated and the aft
section of the ship exploded, sending debris flying away from the vessel. The Kasen was firing every weapon at its disposal but couldn’t leave its position lest
the supply ships be targeted. Damage control teams rushed to the damaged area
only to find the hull had been compromised so badly that everyone inside the
aft section were already dead. Numerous compartments were open to the hard
vacuum of space. The ship was shuddering violently and the lights were
flickering. Alarms and klaxons were sounding warning of violent decompression
in multiple areas of the vessel.
    Then a twenty-megaton
nuclear missile slammed into the damaged section, penetrating to the engine
compartment. In a massive blast, the Kasen vanished as nuclear fire
consumed the metal and crew of the ship.
    -
    “Battlecruiser Kasen is down,” reported Lieutenant Brier.
    “Other ships
are reporting damage,” added the communications officer.
    Admiral
Stoddard took a deep breath. On one of the viewscreens, he could see a number
of the ships of his fleet under heavy attack. Powerful nuclear explosions were
striking the energy screens as well as hundreds of Shari energy beams. In a one
on one matchup, he could destroy any ship of the attacking Shari fleet, but his
ships were outnumbered nearly ten to one.
    “Battlecarriers
are launching their fighters and bombers.” On Brier’s sensor screens, hundreds
of small icons began to appear.
    A brilliant
flash of light suddenly caused one of the viewscreens to dim. When it returned
to normal, a small glowing debris field was visible.
    “Strikecruiser Jaden is down,” reported Lieutenant Brier in a strained voice.
    “Battlecruiser Ajax is reporting a loss of power,” added the communications officer.
“Their engine compartment suffered a direct hit from a pair of Shari energy beams. Commander Siler is reporting the damage is too severe to repair.”
    “Have them
move to the center of our formation,” ordered Stoddard, seeing his fleet die
around him. He felt powerless to prevent the carnage the Shari were inflicting.
    On one of the viewscreens,
a battlecruiser was visible. A bright explosion suddenly struck the ship’s bow,
and when the light died away, a good three hundred meters of the ship was
missing. Shari energy beams began striking the ship, carving deep glowing holes
in the hull of the vessel. Admiral Stoddard didn’t have to ask to know this was
the Ajax . Two massive explosions suddenly shook the battlecruiser as
nuclear fire swept through the vessel. In moments, a glowing fireball was all
that remained of the battlecruiser.
    “The Ajax is down,” reported Brier.
    Admiral
Stoddard shook his head. He had known Commander Siler since their days together
at the Fleet Academy. He had a wife and teenaged daughter back at New Tellus.
    -
    High Lord
Aktill felt gratified as the Human ships died. Even as he watched one of the
viewscreens in his Command Center, he saw two of the Human supply ships vanish
from the tactical screen as they were blown apart. The ships had been struck by
several sublight nuclear missiles and a multitude of Shari energy beams. As the
screening warships were slowly being eliminated, it