Thrawn Ascendancy Book 3: Lesser Evil
- Автор: Зан Тимоти
- Год: 2021
- Язык: английский
- Год: Random House
- ISBN: 9781473596580
- Жанр: Боевая фантастика
Электронная книга - «Thrawn Ascendancy Book 3: Lesser Evil». Краткое содержание книги:
“We just need a few degrees of rotation,” Thrawn said. He took one final look outside, then turned and headed back to the consoles. “I need an easy way to line up the lasers. Which is the weapons station?”
“That one,” Qilori said, pointing as he dropped into the pilot’s chair. The Kiljis had started bringing the main drive up from standby, but it would be several more minutes before it was fully up to speed. But all he needed for Thrawn’s maneuver were the directional thrusters, and those were ready to go. “Are we going to attack the other ship?”
“No,” Thrawn said. He sat down at the weapons station, looked briefly over the control board, then began punching keys. “Uingali and his team have that part of the plan covered. Prepare a ten-degree yaw to starboard; I’ll tell you when to execute. Commandos, please inform Uingali we’ll be yawing ten degrees to starboard momentarily. Warn him he’ll need to compensate his aim.”
“He acknowledges, and stands ready,” one of the Paccosh said.
“Good,” Thrawn said. “Pathfinder?”
“Yaw turn is ready,” Qilori confirmed.
“Stand ready.”
Thrawn looked around the bridge, his eyes settling on the tactical display. Qilori followed his gaze, wincing at the intense laserfire duel taking place off the Hammer’s starboard side. He’d already figured out that Uingali and the other Paccosh had commandeered the starboard laser-control station and were firing on the Grysk ship, and from the markers starting to flash red on the status display it was clear the larger ship was starting to dig into the Hammer’s own hull and weapons systems. But what Thrawn was planning now was still a mystery.
“There,” Thrawn said, pointing toward the viewport. “Do you see them, Qilori?”
“Yes,” Qilori said. A set of missile trails had appeared, driving away from the Grysk ship, heading straight out into space. There were four … now eight … now ten of them. Fortunately, none of them was coming anywhere near the Hammer.
His winglets flattened across his cheeks. Flying away from the Hammer, but flying toward the incoming Chiss warship.
“Qilori: Yaw turn on my mark,” Thrawn ordered. “Commando?”
“Uingali is ready,” the alien confirmed.
Thrawn settled his hands on the weapons controls. “Qilori: Go.”
Qilori keyed the controls, watching the starscape outside slowly shift as the ship began making its sluggish turn to starboard. The missile trails were starting to fade into the distance, but a new light show had erupted as the Chiss ship began firing its spectrum lasers in an attempt to neutralize the attack.
Only it wasn’t working. The lasers continued to flash, but they didn’t seem to be having any effect. Were the Chiss gunners missing their targets? “Why are the missiles still flying?” he asked.
“They’re being shielded,” Thrawn said. “Clusters of smaller missiles are running ahead of them and deflecting or absorbing the laserfire.”
“Ah,” Qilori said, his winglets slowly undulating. “I’ve never seen that technique before.”
“I have,” Thrawn said, a note of grim satisfaction in his voice. “And it gives final confirmation of our enemy’s identity.” He reached over his panel and tapped a pair of keys.
Qilori jerked back as a blaze of light flashed out from the Hammer’s bow, a full volley of laserfire aimed squarely at the departing missiles. Even as the afterimage of the multiple flashes faded, he saw that all ten of the missile trails were gone.
“They weren’t expecting to be targeted from behind,” Thrawn said, standing up. “Sarsh? Have you finished collecting those files?”
“I—yes,” Sarsh said. “All that I could. Some are encrypted and unreadable—”
“Did you copy those, as well?”
“Yes.”
Thrawn crossed the bridge to him and held out a hand. Shying back a little, Sarsh pulled a Kilji data rectangle from its slot and handed it over. Thrawn glanced at it, then slipped it into a pocket. “Commando, inform Uingali that we’re finished,” he said as he beckoned to Qilori and started toward the hatch. “If he can set the lasers on autofire, he should do so. Whether he can or not, he’s to gather his teams and retreat to the Aelos.”
“He has been so informed,” the commando confirmed.
“Good,” Thrawn said, throwing a wary glance out the hatch and then stepping aside so that the Paccosh could pass him to their usual vanguard positions. “Qilori, you’re in charge of your companion. Keep him quiet, and keep him moving. Paccian commandos: Take us back.”
The Springhawk’s first salvos of plasma spheres and breachers were intercepted and destroyed by Bogey One’s lasers and dibber missiles well short of the warship itself. The second salvo of spheres, the volley targeting Bogey One’s incoming missiles and their dibber shields, was somewhat more successful.
But only somewhat. Two of the missiles faltered as enough of the spheres’ charge got through the dibbers to paralyze the larger weapons’ drive electronics. But the other eight missiles kept coming, though with several of their small protective missiles now fallen away.
Afpriuh was preparing another barrage, and Samakro was double-checking their sphere fluid level, when Bogey Two opened fire.
Its laser shots were harder to see than the much closer flashes from the Springhawk’s own attack. But they were far more effective. With no flying shield array set up behind them, the missiles had no defense against the energy pouring through their drive emissions and straight into their reaction chambers.
Most missiles were designed to handle a specific range of heat and stress levels and generally couldn’t cope with that much excess energy. Bogey One’s missiles, it turned out, weren’t an exception to that rule.
“Bogey One missiles destroyed,” Dalvu said, sounding both awed and puzzled. “How did—? Oh. Right.” She turned a slightly puckered look at Samakro. “Senior Captain Thrawn?”
“You know anyone else who would deliberately let enemy missiles get close enough to his ship to let us gather additional data on them?” Samakro asked her. “And would then destroy them in a sneak attack?”
“Good point, sir.”
“One of the reasons the Springhawk has the reputation it does,” Afpriuh added under his breath.
“True,” Samakro agreed, wondering if the comment was meant to be a compliment or a gibe. “We did get that data, didn’t we?”
“Yes, sir, we did,” Dalvu assured him. “On both the missiles and the dibbers. Definitely look like the same ones the Battle Dreadnought used on the Vigilant the last time they were here.”
Samakro had already concluded that was the case, but it was good to get confirmation. Certainly the Council and Syndicure would appreciate it. “Can’t seem to get rid of these aliens for long, can we?” he commented, taking another look at the tactical. They still didn’t know who these mysterious opponents were, but at least the Ascendancy was starting to build up a library of their ship types, weapons, and tactics. “No follow-up attack. Interesting. I’d have expected a second barrage by now.”
“They may already have thrown everything they could,” Dalvu suggested. “The first missiles came from their starboard tubes, and they may be having trouble reloading. And I’m guessing Bogey Two’s attack has made their portside tubes nonfunctional.”
Samakro nodded. Yet another victory for Thrawn and the Paccosh. “Let’s see if we can help that process along,” he said. “Prepare breachers, both flanks.”