Babylon 5: Red Fury Read Free Page A

“Everything we’ve got! Don’t give the bastards one single inch.”
    Titans burst into action, a hive of activity as missiles, cannons and railguns let loose.
    “We’re hammering them,” Berensen said, “but we’re taking heavy
    damage to our rear shields. We’ll be dead by the time we break through their defenses.”
    “Dammit, use the asteroid!” Ivanova ordered. “If we fly close it’ll give us some cover. Keep targeting the ship in front. I want it out of the game.”
    Titans moved in even closer to the asteroid, hugging the rough spherical form. The incoming fire to their tail dropped off as the other
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    two ships struggled to reposition themselves for a clear shot.
    “Deploy remaining Star Fury squadrons. Get them in the face of
    the ships behind us. High maneuverability. No direct assault. We need a distraction.”
    “Star Furies deployed,” Berensen confirmed.
    Ivanova checked the sensor readout on her display. The Omega-
    class ships were maneuvering with incredible, intuitive dexterity, much more effectively than any she’d seen during the war. The only ships she’d seen with that kind of ability had been full-size Shadow vessels.
    Telepaths. These prototypes don’t just have Shadow tech, they’ve got telepaths integrated with their systems.
    “Fire the engines, full speed ahead. All remaining power to the
    particle cannon. Target the cargo bays of the destroyer in front of us.
    They’ve got a telepath in deep freeze plugged into each ship. Take out the telepaths and we put the ships out of commission!”
    “Taking heavy hits in the exchange of fire. Our shields at five
    percent, sir,” Berensen said, “but we’ve almost breached its defenses.”
    “Cease fire. All power to engines. Full speed ahead.”
    “Sir?”
    “Now!”
    Ivanova knew every inch of her ship, exactly where she could push to get results, and right now her shields were her greatest weapon.
    “We’re ramming them, sir?” Berensen asked.
    “No, we’re going to cut right through them. Tell the Star Furies to get clear. A hundred click blast radius. Cut engines. All power to shields. Brace for impact,” Ivanova ordered.
    Titans hit the Omega-class full force, breaching the black ship’s shields, cutting into its already weakened skeleton. The impact shook Titans with violent tremors. For the first time in a long time Susan Ivanova prayed. Please God, let us live. Let this work.
    The viewscreen went black, panels on the deck started exploding, a ceiling section caved in. The ship lurched and Ivanova was suddenly
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    thrown from her chair, her head colliding with the railing in front of her. She struggled to her feet, trying to clear her head. And then the viewscreen cleared and they were facing the vastness of space, free of the enemy ship.
    “Full power to engines. Get us clear.”
    The explosion that followed nearly knocked her from her feet again.
    “We’ve cleared the destroyer’s explosion,” Berensen said, “I’ve got no power reserves though. Primary engines are down. We’re at cruising speed with the gravitic engines until we can conduct repairs.”
    “The two destroyers behind us took the brunt of the blast,” Tsai said, “but they’re still functional. They’ll be on us again in under thirty seconds.”
    “Get us moving! Full retreat until backup arrives!” Ivanova ordered.
    She turned to Tsai. “Run diagnostics. I want to know what’s still functioning.”
    Berensen jumped into Lieutenant Breck’s seat and checked the display.
    “I’m receiving conflicting information here Captain,” he said. “Just before the attack a localized power surge disrupted our outgoing signal.
    The message for reinforcements wasn’t sent.”
    “How can that be?” Ivanova replied. “You said ‘localized’? What’s the point of origin?”
    “Deck 7, sir.”
    “Sir, we’ve got no shields,” Tsai said. “Engines will take two days to repair. We’ve got four functioning