The Syn-En Solution Read Online Free PDF Page B

wafting from her head. “All hands brace for full stop. Kill the visuals.”
    A ripple traveled through Shang’hai into him. “Visuals off.”
    Black panels yawned in the silver walls of the command deck.
    Bei glanced at the soldiers beside him. If his connector hadn’t been overloaded when the Perseus exploded, he would be up here alone bearing the risks.
    Five seconds to the Oppenheims’ self-destruction.
    “Take all non-essential systems offline.” His heart kept time with the countdown. Three. Two. Detonation. Death.
    Commander Keyes shifted closer to him. “All non-essentials offline. Grounding wires deployed. First, EMP wave rendered harmless.”
    Shang’hai inhaled sharply. “Sensors register three explosions. Zero point six-one percent apart.”
    Three explosions. Not one. All because of a hundredth of a nanosecond delay. Would it be enough to stop them from reaching the dead end?
    Captain Penig’s fist slammed into the telemetry hub. “First blast wave in six seconds.”
    High pitched alarms blasted the bridge as blood red lights bathed the deck and the ship’s computer calmly announced, “Collision alert. Collision alert. Impact with wormhole in twenty-five seconds.”
    “Shut it down, Captain.” Bei clenched his jaw. His men didn’t need the reminder of their journey’s end.
    “Alarm off. Aye.” The captain spoke into the deafening silence. “Second wave in six point eight seconds. The third in six point twelve. Fourth wave in ten seconds.”
    Fourth wave? The deck bucked underneath Bei’s boots. In unison, the soldiers beside him adjusted to the motion. All around him, metal groaned. His gut clenched. And he only heard the damage; the others would feel it like a blow to their body. Yet to break the connection would drastically increase response time. They couldn’t afford to lose even a nanosecond. One down. Could his ship survive three more?
    Commander Keyes licked the perspiration forming above her top lip. “Two ships reporting damage to steering. Power surges on piggybacked ships.”
    Shang-hai squeezed her eyes closed for a moment. “Recalculating full stop range on new data.”
    “Magnetic shields down to sixty percent. Bow damage reported.” Light crackled around Penig’s fingernail. The command deck filled with the acrid scent of burning armor. “Venting atmosphere on outer rings.”
    The second and third blasts slammed into them. Even with the metal in his uniform, boots and bones attracted to the magnetic floor, the jolt knocked Bei across the room and the women from his grasp. Landing on his backside, he skidded over the metal deck before crashing into the elevator doors and denting them. His right shoulder dislocated with a loud pop. Pain suppressors flooded in, clearing his thoughts but the room spun, keeping him pinned to the wall.
    High pitched shrieks pummeled his auditory enhancements as the hull was peeled away from its bulkheads. Could his ship take another hit? And what of the others attached to her?
    “Report.” Bei pushed his body along the curved wall until he reached the recently repaired tactical bay. Baring his finger ports, he jacked into the system. Red lights blinded his visual centers. Every system had been damaged. Gritting his teeth, he fought against the Starfarer’s uncontrolled spin. Starboard thrusters were offline. He glanced at the rest of his crew.
    Shang’hai lay at an odd angle across the command chair. Red blood made furrows into her pink hair. Her optic cable had been ripped from her skull and now snaked across the metal grating.
    Still attached to the telemetry hub a foot away from Bei, the captain twitched. Sparks shot out of Penig’s mouth and his severed finger remained inserted in the port in the hub.
    Bei would have them attached at disposal. Syn-Ens deserved to ride the chariot whole.
    Clinging to the side of the com hub, the commander moaned. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and let the tangled lengths slide over her shoulder.