Edge of Solace (A Star Too Far) (33 page)

“Incoming missiles,” Hudson said quickly.

“Mass drivers functional?” William asked. He knew the answer but hoped Hudson would have better news.

Hudson turned and shook his head quickly.

Mass drivers fired from the cruisers but the angle was odd. They were firing behind at the droneships that had passed the
Malta.

“Blink?” Lebeau asked.

“Not yet,” William said. “Wait ‘til we see how those slugs do. We’re not running out of this fight. Not while we’ve got a chance to make a difference.”

Missiles, nickel slugs
, and railguns punctured the vacuum in a silent dance. Starships spread and moved, slaves to acceleration and momentum. Shields flared, armor reacted, and nanites sealed what they could.

The
Malta
rolled gently and showed her better side to the incoming Sa’Ami missiles. William watched the screen and pegged his eyes to the shield strength. Every few seconds it would ping up and down as mass driver slugs impacted it.

Too many missiles would get through. He’d do no one any good as a dead ship on the field.

“Abe. Blink,” William ordered.

The reactor panel surged into the red and dropped back down to normal.

William watched the starscape, waiting for it to change.

Nothing.

“Blink failed!” Hudson yelled.

“Abe?” William said in an urgent voice.

“It, uh. Huh. It doesn’t work.”

“Shit
.”

The missiles exploded in a staccato burst. The hull shuddered as the combined force easily pierced through the weakened grav shields. Plasma and alloy shrapnel pierced the hull.

“Breaches. Uh, all over.” Hudson scrambled fingers over the keys. “Grav shields gone, armor compromised on that flank. Sealant is flowing.”

William sniffed and could smell that subtle cinnamon tang. Vacuum sealant.

“Hudson, can you help Abe?” William asked.

Hudson shook his head. “Negative
, Captain. Not my area of expertise.”

William looked back up to the displays. His railguns fired as quickly as the charging systems allowed. The projectiles continued to sling towards the Sa’Ami battleship. The big bastard glowed intensely. The
Terror
drifted behind the other heavies, but she too continued to pour weaponry onto it.

“More missiles,” Lebeau said in barely a whisper.

“Abe, listen, check the console. Look for any alerts or errors. Try to reset it,” William said as quickly as he could. Sweat formed on his brow. The missiles were coming.

The line of missiles was pecked at by the mass drivers but the force wasn’t enough. They continued closer.

The bulk of the Sa’Ami fleet was focusing on the line of UC cruisers. All hostile railguns, mass drivers, and missiles, smashed against the UC heavies. The nimble light frigates passed through the last of the Sa’Ami ships and turned.

Tones sounded.

William snapped his eyes up to the damage indicator. Nothing. The missiles were still thirty seconds out.

“Contacts!” Lebeau cheered and slapped at her console.

The screen expanded out. A line of six
Caribbean
class battlecruisers appeared a handful of kilometers away. On the opposite of them a trio of
Bastogne
class battleships blinked.

“One more!” Lebea
u yelled gleefully.

The bulk of the
carrier
Everest
dropped onto the field. The majority of the UC Third fleet was engaged.

“Ping tacnet, priority on the missiles!” William yelled.

Before Lebeau could reply, the UC ships around them spoke for her. A wall of mass driver slugs destroyed the Sa’Ami missiles in droves. The expanding wall of plasma surged against the
Malta,
just enough to scorch her armor.

William’s heart surged and raced. Around him a battle raged
like nothing anyone had ever planned for. Complete fleet engagements were unheard of. The
Bastogne
battleships opened up and focused on their Sa’Ami counterpart. The Sa’Ami fired the devastating cannon once more and took a glowing chunk out of the nose of the battleship,
Italy.

“They’re blinking,” Lebeau called out.

The lead of the Sa’Ami fleet blinked away. Droneships, a pair of battered cruisers, and a single heavy cruiser. Those further back, including the Sa’Ami battleship, received a savage rain of projectiles.

This could be it. The end of the war, right here,
William thought. The Sa’Ami went all in, and lost.

Triumph spread through him. His railguns added a small stream of fire. The most urgent threat was gone. They would survive.

“Got it!” Abraham yelled over the comms. “Here we go!”

William looked up in horror as the starscape shifted.

The
Malta
blinked.

The starscape changed. The remnants of the Sa’Ami fleet was scattered around them. A pair of the droneships were a few hundred meters off.

“Burn away from ‘em, down!” William yelled. The only imperative was velocity, enough velocity to trigger another blink back to the fleet.

Lebeau broke out into laughter.

William snapped his head to the side and looked at Lebeau with unbelieving eyes.

“Look!” She cried out
, pointing to her screen.

The Sa’Ami ships were trapped in the midst of the rest of the
Third fleet. Arrayed in a semi-circle was a pair of Bastogne class battleships supported by a pack of Serengeti class frigates. Just like the
Malta.

*

The
Malta
maneuvered with the remainder of the fleet and blinked to the other side. The Bosporus system was littered with starship wreckage. The trio of xeno devices stood like sentinels. The Sa’Ami fleet had fallen, but the barrier stood.

*

“Comms request from the
Everest,
” Mahi stated. She placed the feed onto the center display.

William stood and straightened himself. “Put it on.”

A man, small of stature with thin shoulders, stood before him. His eyes were narrowed and framed by a thin pair of augmented glasses. The pips of an Admiral rested on his shoulders.

“Lieutenant Grace,” he said in a heavy Dutch accent.

“Admiral Mesman,” William said.

“We received your courier.” The Admiral looked down as only a senior officer could.

“How did you know we’d be at the Bosporus system?” William asked.

“The
Erebus
sent a courier, you were on the scan moving away. We knew there were two routes to the rendezvous. Quite simply luck.”

William felt himself at a loss for words. Luck.

“Your presence is requested on the Everest. After this action I’m going to recommend you for your own command.”

“Yes
, sir!” William replied. “May I transfer my wounded?”

“Absolutely Mr. Grace, and Major Theodore as well.”

“The infantry?” William asked.

Admiral Mesman cast his eyes aside to someone off the display. He wrinkled his nose and stiffened himself up. “Yes, we’ll reform them into another unit. The remainder of that unit is, inaccessible.”

“Who will have command of the
Malta,
Admiral?”

“Captain Khan has convinced me that she is well enough to take the
Malta
again,” Admiral Mesman said with a thin smile.

“Yes
, sir,” William said. Khan. It was still her ship, but it hurt. He felt a touch of relief that he wasn’t facing a court martial.

A bright smile broke the Admiral’s hard face. “A damn
ed fine day for a victory, be sure you bring a jacket for this evening’s dinner. We have an exceptional meal planned for this victory.”

The screen blinked to dark.

William felt like he was standing somewhere else. He had everything he’d hoped for. His eyes took in the bridge. The
Malta,
his first real command. It was bitter, so much laid down to achieve one victory. He wondered how much more would be paid to win the war.

He took a few steps and stood next to the door. “Ms. Lebeau, you have command.” The door opened and he marched off the bridge.

End

Hello Reader,

I hope you enjoyed
Edge of Solace
. I’ve had many of you write me and ask what’s next for William Grace. Well, we set him on the path to war in
Edge of Solace
, now the trilogy is
done, Edge of Redemption
comes out on August 22nd. Will we find William living happily ever after? Not quite, not in this universe. You’ll find a sample of the next book in a couple of pages.

When I wrote
Trial by Ice
I got so many letters asking about the book, the characters, the universe. Some had opinions about the Navy, the characters, and the plot. So I made sure to incorporate some details and questions into
Edge of Solace
.

As an author I love honest feedback. You are the reason I’ve explored William as a character. So, tell me what you loved or hated. You can write me at
[email protected]
or find me at
http://caseycalouette.com

Finally I need to ask a favor. If you’re so inclined, I’d love an honest review of
Edge of Solace
. Loved it, hated it, - I’d just enjoy your feedback.

As you may notice on my books reviews are hard to come by. You, the reader, have the power to make or break a book. If you have the time, here’s a link to my author page at Amazon. You can find a list of all of my books here :
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004IWHH8O

Thank you so much for reading
Edge of Solace
and for spending your time with me.

Graciously,

Casey

On the next page is the exciting beginning of the third book in the series,
Edge of Redemption

Get it, August 22
nd
, 2014 -
http://www.amazon.com/CaseyCalouette/e/B004IWHH8O

CHAPTER ONE

The star burned a deep abyssal blue. It had a name
but no one cared. The system was a ponderous place. A place of little value. Without resources, development was nonexistent. It was visited only because it was on the way to places that were worthwhile.

Belts of rock drifted. Rocks of stone, iron, and just
enough nickel to make a miner dream. The remnants of dreams littered the system. Abandoned mining platforms, drone probes, even a refinery. All testaments to failure.

Mao Chen was not interested in failure. But it seemed quite interested in him.

“Dammit,” he whispered.

His mind kept playing the conversation he would have with his family. The family who invested everything in his shipping operation. The family who would be left with nothing. Well, not nothing, just a cargohold filled with goods that no one would want besides the Harmony Worlds or a newly founded colony.

Across the room, his nephew, Wei, squatted next to a battered console. “Shit, junk!”

“I thought you were good at this?” Mao asked.

“I am, this is just—” He stopped and hissed. “Shit!” Wei looked up to his uncle. Rings grew under his eyes like an eighty year-old man.

“Enough!” Mao said.

Wei glared across the room. He straightened himself out and plopped down. The chair was a relic of an age before gravity generators. An age when straps were necessary. He settled himself in and crossed his arms across his chest. “You said—”