Free The Catherine Kimbridge Chronicles #4, Retribution by Andrew Beery Page A

out of commission until they could receive proper treatment in the shi p’ s sickbay.
    Within moments, the automated repair systems had sealed the breach and begun reintroducing atmosphere into the compromised section s … but the damage had been done. The Yorktown was forced to briefly withdraw, which allowed the Tidepool to enter the fray.
    That had been several hours ago. Both sides had received reinforcements during the interim. The GCP Mador, under the command of Commodore Ruck, as well as the GCP TaPol , a D’ lralu heavy cruiser under the command of Captain Tosh, had joined the fray from the Coalition. The Modos Syndicate had been joined by four ships; two dreadnought-class ships, the MS Stonefish and MS Broken Claw, as well as two frigates, the MS Bluewater and the MS Early Tide .
    The Modos forces had more ships, but the GC P’ s vessels were vastly superior in terms of shielding and weaponry. The long and the short of it was that the combatants were evenly matched. Cat knew that in such a draw the Modos won the day, because absent GCP help the insurrection taking place on the plane t’ s surface was doomed to fail. She needed to change the balance of power, and she needed to do it soon.
    It was a shame that the WhimPy platform, cloaked in high orbit, was prevented from joining the battle by virtue of its ethical subroutines. The Heshe weapons platform was by far the most powerful force in this sector of space. Already on Ca t’ s orders it had destroyed several additional nuclear payloads launched at civilian targets on the planet below.
    Cat opened a voice channel to the weapo n’ s platform.
    “ 101 ? ”
    “ Admiral ? ”
    “ I’ m looking for ways to break the deadlock in this battle. I understand the Heshe have adapted your programming to limit your activities to defensive postures only. But within that context; what are the options you can offer to assist in our fight against the Modos Syndicate ? ”
    “ Regrettably, none, Admiral. Unless they directly threaten a GCP protected population center, I am prohibited from intervening . ”
    “ So you cannot attack the Modos ships directly. Do your ethical subroutines allow you to intimidate ? ”
    There was a pause before the powerful AI answered. Cat knew the WhimP y’ s intellect operated many orders of magnitude faster than hers, so the delay was probably a subroutine designed to ease interactions with organic intelligences. When 101 did answer... it was a single word and not one she expected.
    " Yes. "
    ***
    The sight was a startling one. One second the Modos fleet was facing three large but manageable GCP, ships and the next the unimaginable happened. A massive ship, that looked more like a flying brick studded with weapons and shield emitters, suddenly shimmered into existence between the combatants and the planet of Naanac. It was easily ten times the combined mass of all ships in system. Its shields rippled with untold energy. Sensors were totally useless.
    A powerful message, in some cases coming close to overloading the communication circuits on the Modos ships, was transmitted on all Syndicate frequencies. The Heshe weapons platform called 101 declared this system under its jurisdiction and that all Syndicate vessels were commanded to power down their weapons and prepare to be boarded by Coalition personnel. 
    Captain Moss, the younger brother of General Moss, spun the Broken Claw around one hundred and eighty degrees and ordered a full strike launched at the weapons platform. This included six high yield nuclear missiles, a barrage from both forward rail guns, and a continuous-fire 16 peta-joule plasma beam.
    Energy roiled across the massive ship's shields, but they showed no sign of weakening.
    Frustrated, Captain Moss signaled his comm officer to open a channel to the other vessels in his battle group.
    "All ships follow my lead. Redirect fire against targets I designate. Let's take out that beast!"
    On cue all three Modos ships