The Pathfinder Project Read Online Free PDF

the
solar system surrounding the moon.
    “It looks like we’re going to
have to test your new ship sooner than expected,” Murray commented, surveying
the organized crowds of people moving aboard.
    “Quite possible,” replied
Kaufield grimly. “What’s the word, Thomas?”
    “Like I said, we’re getting
creamed,” he replied. “At least half the fleet is gone, including the flagship.
Admiral Henry of the Lexington has taken command of the surviving
fleet.” Thomas paused, listening closely. “He’s ordering all allied ships to
rendezvous at Neptune, where they’re planning to organize a counter-strike.”
He studied a list of received transmissions and shook his head. “So far, there
is nothing from the Russians or the Chinese. If their ships are still intact,
they’re being extremely quiet.”
    “That would be my first
choice,” nodded Kaufield with a sigh. “Someone caused us to blink long enough
to surprise our primary fleet. It’s possible that the Russians and the Chinese
were even less prepared than we were. I know a couple of their Captains and
haven’t heard a word. Several of them would have warned me.”
    The kid appeared genuinely
intrigued. “ How do you know them?”
    Smiling, Kaufield tousled Roh’s
unkempt brown hair with the fingers of his left hand. “While you toil endlessly
down here in the underground lunar caverns, some of us up on the surface have
been acting as diplomats. The top levels of the base are declassified, and we
have at times re-supplied ships from other nations.”
    “When do we lift off?” asked
Colonel Neeland cautiously.
    “Is that really necessary at
this point?” Kaufield studied the hard lines of the Colonel’s face closely.
“Shouldn’t we wait and see if they know about us?”
    “They know about us!”
Mary said sharply from her position next to Thomas Roh. “I have multiple radar
contacts overhead, and one of them is the biggest signal I’ve ever seen. It has
to be one of those unknowns.”
    “Where would they hide a fleet
big enough to engage most of the world’s fleets?” wondered Kaufield, clearly
intrigued. “This Brotherhood must have been planning to engage us for quite
some time. Before today, I’ve never even heard of them.”
    The hangar bay rumbled
ominously around them. As soon as the sound began to die down, another rumble –
this one much louder – rocked the entire underground complex. Sounds of metal
fatigue filled the hangar, and equipment setting on the ground began to
vibrate. Several of the consoles in front of Thomas and Mary abruptly went dark
– either from damage or lack of power. With everything that was happening, it
was difficult to tell at a glance.
    “So I guess they’re nuking the
Operations Center,” decided Thomas wryly. “It’s lucky I’m used to being down
here all the time, because we’re probably going to be here a while.”
    “They’re bombing the surface,
definitely,” Kaufield replied, as more nearby explosions rumbled through the
surrounding cavern. “They’re going easy on us – just taking out the above
ground base. If they were using thermonuclear bombs, we would know .” He
thought carefully for a moment and then came to a decision. “Colonel, get your
troops ready… as soon as an opportunity presents itself we’re evacuating this
base in the Pathfinder . We can’t take a chance that our unknown enemy
won’t get to us down here.”
    “One problem, sir,” pointed out
Thomas. “We can’t go to Neptune. The planet is currently orbiting right through
the center of a massive radiation cloud that will fry our new CAS Drive if
we’re not careful.” He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “I never know when we
might go out there, so I watch the weather reports.”
    “Admiral Henry included a route
through the cloud in his last military transmission,” Mary pointed out.
    “No way,” responded Thomas.
“The CAS Drive’s main software is still being fine-tuned. That’s why I was