Annihilation (Star Force Series) Read Online Free

space. Despite its strength, I wasn’t excited about the idea of weakening this monster I’d built. As it was, it was an absolute barrier to entry into the Eden system. With it standing here on watch, I felt one of my flanks was secure. On the other hand, if I was going to have to send my ships out into a hostile system, I would want those fighters to cover my fleet.
    Miklos seemed to sense my indecision. He sidled closer to me and continued with his arguments.
    “We could use standard cruiser engines and structure. No redesign necessary. They would probably be slower-moving, but they could serve as strategic platforms. Think of them as flying bases, able to move in and provide an anchor for the fleet wherever you wish. In this situation, they could orbit the Thor gas giant and cover all three inhabited moons.”
    I thought about it. Really, it did make sense.
    “All right,” I said at last. “I’ll go talk to Marvin and discuss a design and how long it would take to assemble such a vessel. I’m not sure we’ll have time to pull it off, however. If we’re going to save these Lobsters from whatever is killing them, we’ll have to move fast.”
    Miklos handed me a computer tablet. I glanced down at it.
    “What’s this?” I asked.
    “I took the liberty of running some numbers. Also, key components are already in preproduction. As we’ve moved some of the duplicators to the battle station, I thought we might as well get a head start.”
    I glared at the tablet. I was angry, but at the same time I didn’t want to quell initiative taken by my staff. I reminded myself that delegation of authority was part of successful leadership. That part had never come easily for me.
    I calmed down with an act of will and looked at what he’d given me. The numbers were not too presumptive. He’d changed standing production orders, but only directed the duplicators to construct components that were useful as spare parts or for any fleet-support ship we might care to build. Even if I’d shot down his ideas, the production wouldn’t be wasted.
    I nodded and handed the tablet back. “I’m surprised you put this into motion so quickly. And without full approval. But, I can see that you’ve done it in a way that does not disrupt standing orders. I approve of the action. Continue.”
    Miklos beamed. It was rare his bearded face smiled, and I was glad to see the expression. I realized he’d been sweating my decision and fearing a possible reprimand. I was glad I didn’t have to chew him out. As a top leader, I had to be careful. A few words from me could crush a spirit. I wasn’t really worried about having that effect on Miklos, but I knew I’d done it to others in the past.
    I left the bridge and went to my private quarters. Sandra was there, already strapped onto an acceleration couch. I grunted and strained as I got into place beside her. In order to maximize our speed we’d applied most of the ship’s power to the engines, rather than niceties such as the gravity stabilizers. I was really feeling the Gs today.
    Sandra worked her tablet controls as I got into place for the final burn. The ship had to go to full thrust to slow us down enough for docking. There were always jarring, last second adjustments.
    Sandra caused the forward screens over our acceleration couches to light up. The battle station loomed. It was a dark hulk in space, sprinkled with gleaming lights. It resembled a bristling sea anemone as much as anything else I could think of. Batteries of railguns, beam turrets and missile silos dotted the uneven surface.
    “Why did you rebuild this thing, Kyle?” Sandra asked me.
    I made a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a grunt. I felt I’d answered this sort of question enough today already.
    “I’m a sucker for big, cheap defenses,” I said. “I looked at it, and I just couldn’t come up with a better way to expend our resources and get more firepower out of each nut and bolt.”
    She nodded,