Homeworld: A Military Science Fiction Novel Read Online Free Page A

Visual Array with an almost blinding luminosity before the system automatically compensated and dimmed the display.
    Captain Sheff knew however that the true threat would be along mere seconds later and those ceramic projectiles might just rip him and his escorted cruisers to so much floating debris.
    "All craft evasive maneuvers!" Sheff screamed and leaned against the inertial tug as the Driscoll jerked hard to starboard.
    His mind raced, searching for a solution. If they stood their ground and fought, they might take a few of them down before they were overcome, and everyone on board every ship in the fleet would surely die. If they retreated, not only would the Coalition make their next jump into Mars space unchallenged, they would also attain a psychological victory knowing they had sent the Earth Republic fleet running with their proverbial tails between their legs.
    There would be no retreat, not today.
    He held no delusion that the small force at his disposal could stop the massive Coalition armada that continued to grow before his eyes, as the Virtual Array had expanded itself into a tactical display that showed a grand total of 32 hostiles but it was his duty to try to do as much damage to them as possible.
    “Helmsman, provide as much cover as you can for our Cruisers while still allowing them clear fields of fire!” Sheff barked as he collapsed back into his command chair.
    “Weapons Control, find the closest target and give them an initial spread of Ceramics. I want you to fire everything, and I do mean everything at the closest Coalition Heavy Cruiser!"
    Captain Sheff of the Earth Republic Fleet knew that his orders would be carried out without question, fear or hesitation. Sparing a nanosecond of mental thought, he blessed and thanked the men and women around him for their courage.
    Captain Sheff felt the familiar vibration coursing through the Driscoll’s hull as the first barrage of Ceramics was unleashed.
    Looking across the command tier at his Executive Officer, Captain Sheff yelled, "Options XO, I need options and I need them now!"
    His second in command, Bruce “Steel Eyes” Higuera, who had been with him through some bad scrapes before, looked up at him from the screen he had been looking at. He straightened his muscular frame and squared his broad shoulders as if coming to attention.
    Facing his Captain, an old friend, his hazel eyes were narrow as a knife and told the Captain what he already knew about their situation but also somehow managed to convey that there would be hell to pay by the Coalition before he would allow himself to go into the beyond. “Concentrate Ceramics on the smaller craft and then exhaust our supply of Leap Frogs on the Heavy Cruisers and then spit in their freaking eye, Sir!”
    Sheff nodded and couldn’t help but honor his XO with a grim smile. Turning to his Officer of the day, he said, "Send a real time message to EFCOM," (Earth Fleet, Command). "Let them know the Coalition is coming in force, and while we will do our damnedest to hold them here as long as we can, advise them the situation is grim. Append our tactical analysis."
    “Weapons Control, convey to the fleet to concentrate their Ceramic fire on one of the smaller Coalition Cruisers at a time. The Driscoll will be choosing the targets and unloading all of our Ceramics on them as well before moving to the next target,” Sheff said in the more controlled and commanding voice that the crew was used to hearing from their old man
    “Helmsman! Make damn sure they don’t surround us.”
    Sheff mentally counted to three to allow the Weapons Control officer adequate time to send the order to their small fleet before stating his next command "Weapons Control, continue to launch our Leap Frogs to eliminate one hostile Heavy Cruiser before proceeding to the next.”
    His orders given, Captain Sheff awaited the results and looked down at the vid in his control arm to pull up damage reports. He was surprised to see that