Babylon 5: Red Fury Read Free

minutes before she blows.”
    Ivanova understood the urgency in her voice. No one wanted to be near a White Star when its gravimetric engine went nova.
    “Any potential threats on the scanners?” she asked Tsai.
    “No, sir,” Tsai said. “Attackers could be shielding themselves
    behind the asteroid but I’m bouncing signals off a dozen smaller rocks in the immediate vicinity and not picking up anything. Situation reads ‘all clear’, sir.”
    “We’ve got nine minutes. Let’s get in there and get the survivors out before she blows.”
    She tapped the panel on her console and patched a channel
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    through to Lieutenant Commander Amelia Graydon, the leader of
    Wolf Squadron, her elite Star Fury unit.
    “Graydon, you’ve got five minutes to get on board that ship and
    clear out all ten survivors. Be ready for anything.”
    “Just another day at the office, sir,” Graydon said.
    Wolf Squadron was the best of the best, personally trained by
    her—still, Ivanova couldn’t shake the feeling something was going to go wrong. She wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of there but she had a duty to her allies aboard the White Star.
    “Split the scanners between the asteroid and a 500 click radius
    around Titans, ” she ordered. “Watch for any localized power surges.
    If a ship with enough power to generate its own jump point blips into sight, I want a hundred missiles up its butt before it knows what’s hit it. I don’t want any surprises.”
    And then all hell broke loose.
    The space before them rippled, a quivering black wave that drove fear into Susan Ivanova’s heart. A cloaked Shadow vessel. Impossible. There were no more Shadow vessels. They had left the galaxy for good. The ripple cleared revealing a massive EarthForce destroyer—black skin like a Shadow vessel, spines protruding from the forward and aft hull. Advanced Omega-class—an Earth-made ship integrated with Shadow technology.
    This was the first one she’d ever seen with cloaking technology. She thought they’d wiped them all out during the war. She cursed beneath her breath. You could only prepare for potential threats based on best information. How could you prepare for something like this?
    “Two more at 6 o’clock, sir!” Tsai called out.
    “We’re trapped front and rear by the enemy and aft by the asteroid,”
    Berensen said. “Only portside is clear.”
    “Damn it!” Ivanova exclaimed. “If we take the only visible line of retreat they’ll target our flank and break through our shields in seconds.”
    She turned to Breck. “We need a half-dozen White Stars. Right now!”
    Ivanova had fought Advanced Omega-class once before. Then she’d
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    had a fleet of White Stars at her disposal; she knew she couldn’t take all three on her own.
    “Communications are being jammed, Captain,” Breck replied.
    No surprise there , she thought. At least she’d sent for backup.
    Another two White Stars would help balance the odds. All she had to do now was survive long enough for them reach her.
    Suddenly, the first Omega-class fired its primary beam weapon, not at her ship but right into the heart of the stranded White Star.
    “Full power to shields!” Ivanova called as the White Star went
    nova. A rapidly expanding ball of intense, bright radiation surged towards them. It only took a split second for the ten survivors and Wolf Squadron to be annihilated. Titans was thrown sideways, towards the asteroid. The impact hammered their shields, collapsing a third of Titans’ deck under the sudden wave of pressure. Half the systems on the bridge flickered and died, Breck’s console suddenly exploded throwing him back out of his chair.
    “Shields at ten percent,” Berensen called. “Rear ships have targeted our jump engines. We can’t open a jumpgate.”
    The Shadow tech destroyers were closing in, attempting to trap
    them against the asteroid.
    “Open fire on the ship in front!” Ivanova commanded.