Free Star Crusades Nexus: Book 06 - Call to Arms by Michael G. Thomas Page B

eyes briefly and took in more air.
    “I know. It was a high price.”
    He stopped for just a few seconds, and the others carried on.
    “You know the position we’re in. The Alliance is spread out, the Helions are fighting themselves, and the Biomechs, well, wait till you see what we’ve found.”

    * * *

    Teresa had expected to find people and machinery at their destination, but the smaller of the landing docks contained just a single transport. She suspected it wasn’t a ship that was being worked on, as it looked older and smaller than anything similar on the base. As she moved closer, she found her eyes were drawn more to what was missing than what was present. The cargo sections were of a normal size, yet she could see where ribs and plates had been fused to close them shut. It was as if the ship itself had been closed up in numerous places to create the equivalent of a space-worthy security safe.
    This is weird.
    Her gut instincts were rarely wrong, and each extra second she spent staring at the thing merely added to her suspicions. Her quick estimation was that it could hold something about the size of the Tamarisk, the deadly Q ship that she had arrived at Prometheus on so long ago. Just that thought alone made her think it might be a ship designed for a similar purpose. Teresa spotted Director Johnson looking at her, and for some reason that made her uncomfortable, but only for a moment.
    “So, this is it? An old space freighter?”
    Johnson said nothing and looked away before turning his attention back to her. His expression looked as if he was questioning her observational skills. He looked at her face and saw right through her and smiled. He then looked back to the ship and pointed at the narrow ramp leading inside.
    “You’ll find answers to your questions inside. Follow me.”
    Teresa and her officers moved in single file to the ramp while watching several dozen engineers fitting additional ribbing on the large blast door that marked the entrance to the dock.
    “Looks like they intend on staying,” suggested Olik.
    Teresa looked at the exterior but didn’t recognize the design. As far as she could tell, it was a generic transport, one of a thousand designs that plied the trading lanes of the Alliance. The only giveaway that it was even an Alliance vessel was revealed as she moved nearer. The outer hull plates were actually a multi-layered mesh that extended out several meters ahead of the outer skin.
    Layered armor to catch and explode mines and low-tech ordnance; she’s a blockade runner, not a transport.
    That was even more interesting to her. Admiral Anderson wasn’t just the commander of the Admiral Jarvis Naval Station. He was also commander of the outer territories and regional governor, yet he had ventured away from his territory to bring back this deadly machine while using a heavily modified civilian transport.
    What is he playing at? Why not use a conventional Alliance ship?
    The hull itself was heavily scored, and she could see dozens of markings that could have been caused by anything from high-velocity dust, to weapons fire, or landing in dust storms.
    “I don’t get this, Colonel. Why is the Admiral not preparing the outer territories for the war?” asked Captain Rivers.
    It was a simple question, but one she was beginning to worry about, too. By traveling back to this part of the Alliance, the Admiral had left a large swath of territory without a commander.
    “Captain, I really do not know.”
    Teresa looked at the ship and thought back to what she knew of the colonies and bases on the border. The bulk of Alliance controlled systems was based around Alpha Centauri and the stars within a four light year radius. Anderson had full control over the Alliance operations at Prometheus that operated as the gateway to the Orion Nebula. It was there the massive Rift control station and apparatus had been assembled in a project that had taken years. He was the senior Alliance officer on the