A Show of Force Read Online Free Page A

“Nash?”
    “Undoubtedly,” the Commander agreed. “Such a bold statement would be out of character for Captain Scott.” Telles returned his attention to the views of the battle. “Two Leader, Command… Dragon five.”
    “Scott isn’t gonna like it,” the master sergeant mumbled.
    Commander Telles ignored his master sergeant’s warnings. He knew that there was a high probability for loss of Coporan life under the alternate plan. Most military bases utilized civilian workers to perform mundane housekeeping tasks, and they had no intelligence as to whether or not the same was true on Copora. It was for that reason that they had decided to at least attempt to insert a number of Ghatazhak precision strike teams within the Jung base, in the hope that the element of surprise would provide the edge they needed. What they had not known, however, was the actual number of Jung soldiers stationed within the base. One thing he was quite certain of; the current strategy would result in even greater Ghatazhak losses, all without any guarantee of success. In his mind, such losses were unacceptable, not because the loss of his men bothered him, but because future reinforcement levels were unknown.
    “ Command, Two Leader. Copy Dragon five.”
    Commander Telles looked at his comm officer. “Get me the Aurora.”
     
     
    “Jump complete,” Commander Eckert reported as Scout Three’s jump flash faded away. “At intercept position tango seven.”
    “Weapons?” Captain Nash inquired.
    “Laser turrets charged and ready,” Lieutenant Scalotti replied. “Plasma cannons are also on line.”
    “Rolling over,” the captain said as he put the ship into a roll to starboard. The image of the moon Copora below began to move along the outer edges of their window-like forward view screens, from left to right. “Let’s hope nothing bigger than a shuttle tries to make a run for it,” he added as Copora came to rest across the top of the screens at the end of their roll maneuver.
    “Captain, the Aurora is moving. She’s changing position,” Ensign Agari reported.
    “Message from Aurora, Captain,” Wellsy announced from the comm station. “Dragon five… minus two twenty.”
    “This ought to be interesting,” Captain Nash commented.
    “Contacts!” Ensign Agari reported. “Three ships, coming up fast from the surface. Shuttles… two personnel, one cargo.”
    “FTLs?” Captain Nash asked.
    “Unknown. They’ve got the power plants for it, though.”
    “ETA to FTL threshold?”
    “Lead ship will reach threshold in a minute twenty,” Ensign Agari answered.
    “Any armaments detected?”
    “No, sir.”
    “Comms, broadcast on all frequencies… Tell them to return to the surface or they will be destroyed,” Captain Nash ordered.
    Ensign Wells activated their comms and immediately began his broadcast. “Attention departing shuttles! Return to the surface immediately or you will be fired upon!”
    “I said, destroyed, Wellsy,” Captain Nash insisted, slight irritation in his tone.
    “Sorry, sir,” the ensign replied. “Return to the surface or you will be destroyed.”
    “One minute until the lead ship reaches FTL threshold.”
    “Target the lead ship’s engines,” Captain Nash ordered.
    “Aye, sir,” Lieutenant Scalotti acknowledged.
    “Any chance they didn’t hear the warning?” the captain wondered.
    “If they have their comms on, they heard it, sir,” Wellsy insisted.
    “Fifty seconds to threshold,” Ensign Agari reported.
    “Lasers locked on the lead ship’s drive section,” Lieutenant Scalotti reported.
    “Lead ship’s power levels are increasing rapidly,” Ensign Agari warned. “Suspect they’re going to FTL, sir.”
    “Take their engines out, Donny,” Captain Nash ordered.
    “Firing lasers,” Lieutenant Scalotti replied.
    A split second later, a small burst of yellow-orange light was seen in the distance, along Copora’s horizon. A moment later, a bigger flash of light.
    “Target