Tai’s eyebrows raised at the readings. “We’re moving.”
“Hold on, Kevin, we’re coming,” Jason said over the commlink.
“I just hope we’re still here when you arrive.”
Cargo Ship Argo
“They’re on our tail again.” Alyssa glanced over to her father at the helm. “They’ll be in targeting range in two minutes.”
“Then it’s time to pull a rabbit out of the hat.” Kevin considered the viewport while the Argo rounded the sunlit side of the planet. “Perhaps we can confuse them.”
He turned to Alyssa. “Can we take another pounding in that atmosphere?”
“What are you suggesting?”
“An old trick I learned years ago. We used to skim planetary atmospheres at high speeds erratically to create shadows. To a pursuing ship, it appears as if we’re multiple bogeys at once.”
Petit eyed him incredulously. “And that worked?”
“I’m still here, aren’t I?”
Alyssa bit her lip. “If you think that’s our only option—”
“I do.”
Alyssa nodded. “All right.”
Kevin turned and locked in a course. He breathed in and punched the thrusters, sending the Argo toward the atmosphere.
Seeker Weapon Ship
The weapon ship moved from the dark side of the moon, and Kione and Althaus maneuvered the goliath toward Psi-Aion. Even with its size and composition, Jason was surprised how agile the vessel was. The Seekers were light-years ahead in interstellar ship design.
The Marines attached the explosives they’d come aboard with to the outside of the sphere and along the power conduits. If the ancient relic was as powerful as believed, it would create one hell of an explosion.
Since his excursion inside, Jason wondered about everything he’d seen. Like anyone, he had dreams, nightmares, even hallucinations, but when the light had encompassed him, he’d believed he was actually aboard the Argo again, as a child. It was more vivid than anything else he’d ever experienced.
With Psi-Aion approaching, he walked over to Nash. “This ship. I know its main purpose is to use this.” He pointed to the sphere. “But I assume it has conventional weapons, too.”
Nash said nothing.
Jason turned to Kione. “Does it?”
Kione studied the workstation in front of him. “It appears so.”
“Arm them and prepare to fire.”
With Althaus’s help, he keyed in the commands. “The weapons are armed.”
“ETA?”
“We’ll reach the Argo in three minutes,” Althaus said.
Jason wasn’t a religious man, but if there was ever a time to pray, it was now. “Hold on…”
Cargo Ship Argo
Aly ensured she was buckled into her seat while her bones jangled at her father’s crazy excursion on the atmosphere of Psi-Aion. It reminded her of the zero-gravity trampoline at the amusement park on Delta Station. But this wasn’t nearly as fun.
Her dad’s hands raced furiously across the helm, trying to keep everything together, while on the other side of the bridge, Professor Petit stared through the viewport, the burning of the heat shield producing an ethereal orange glow.
On the scanners, the Seeker ship continued to gain on them. They fired potshots at every location the Argo had skimmed.
“It’s working!” she said with glee. But it would only be a matter of time before the Seekers figured out a way to detect them.
“The heat shield is buckling under the stress. We won’t be able to do this much longer,” Petit advised.
“Is there any way to keep this up?” Kevin asked.
“Not unless we stop at a repair facility and install a new shield.”
“That’s not exactly on our itinerary, Professor.”
Aly smirked, but it disappeared when the ship shuddered. “The weapon fire is getting closer. We can’t last more than a few seconds. If they get a lucky hit, we’re—”
The Argo barrel rolled to port. Aly’s harness jabbed into her ribs and her father’s ripped and threw him from his seat. He struggled from the deck but couldn’t reach his station.
Aly, without thinking, unbuckled and launched herself to the helm. Instead of finding refuge in the chair, she slid back toward her father at the center of the bridge. She clawed toward the Argo’s flight controls, and with her dad’s help, he flung her upward into the seat. With her head spinning, she ran her hands over the console and brought the Argo back to equilibrium.
Everyone regained their senses and stared through the viewport. The Seeker ship hovered over them like a condor about to feast on its prey.
Forty-Five
The two ships were so close Kevin imagined the Seekers could see the whites of his eyes. He put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder and she gazed up at him, with a tear running down her cheek.
“I’m sorry.” He hugged her tightly as if it would protect her from the inevitable.
“Look!” Petit pointed at another vessel rounding the planet’s orbit. The monstrosity that was the cigar-shaped beast loomed over the Seeker ship.
The weapon ship fired on its running mate, unloading its arsenal upon it.
Kevin squeezed Alyssa’s shoulder, more than he’d meant. “My god, they did it!”
“I’m receiving a commlink,” Petit said from the systems station. He piped it through the speakers.
“Argo, are you all right?” Jason asked.
“You couldn’t have come at a better time.” A grin beamed across Alyssa’s face.
“Stand by, we’ll do what we can to take care of them for you.”
The Seeker ship veered away from the Argo and turned toward the weapon ship. The two goliaths went toe to toe, firing their mighty batteries of weaponry upon each other.
Kevin replaced Alyssa at the helm and he toggled in a course to maneuver the Argo out of the area, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.
Seeker Weapon Ship
Jason, along with everyone else, watched on from the monitors at the workstations before them, holding on to anything within reach while the ship rocked and rolled.
“We’re severely out-gunned.” Althaus’s hands jumped up and down the console.
“Continue firing!” Marquez ordered.
Jason looked around the chamber at the explosives all rigged and ready to detonate. “If they keep this up, we won’t need to use these.”
“Idiots!” Everyone turned to Nash, who was brimming with fury. “They’ll destroy this ship!”
Another blast hit them hard and
