Make or Break the Hero (The Hunter Legacy Book 4) Read Free Page A

together. The shields failed. Alison screamed as we lost
gravity and lights for a moment. But our suits hadn't changed, so the hull
hadn't been breached.
    The last Cruiser exploded.
    Point Defense was still picking off
missiles, but enough were hitting to stop the shields from regenerating.
    All main guns were charged again, so I took
aim into the cloud and fired.
    Talons vaporized, leaving a hole in the
middle of them.
    I shifted aim to the left, and fired
torpedoes again, doing the same for the right.
    CRACK. Our suits shifted to full space suit
mode, and connected us to the air points in our chairs. I'd heard the first
part of Alison's scream, before it was silenced by the suit. I was reminded of
the flat screen which had first said, 'In space, no-one can hear you scream'.
We still had air, for now.
    "Repair droids on the way," said
Janet calmly, through my PC. "The breach is small. It'll take a long time
for the station as a whole to lose air, and it should be patched long before
that."
    The shields started to make headway now, as
missile hits, and gun hits, tapered off.
    IR missiles were firing now that Jane had
time to target them.
    The red dots representing enemy fighters
dwindled now, faster and faster, until at last, there were no more.
    A channel opened.
    "That was bollocks, Hunter. Do it
again, and get it right this time!"
     

Three
     
    I could see Alison was laughing as hard as
I was, inside her space suit. I could also see what laughing was costing her,
pain wise.
    Admiral Susan Bentley had a way with words
it seemed. Since she taught Captain's to drive capital ships, I guess it was one
of her stock expressions.
    "What's your status Admiral?" she
continued.
    We were both full Rear Admirals, in
separate Space Forces, she being British, and I being attached to Sci-Fi
sector's Space Force. I'd been given the command, even though she was senior.
    "We've a hull breach somewhere,"
I replied, "but otherwise, we're fine."
    "That was INSANE. You know that, don’t
you?"
    "Sorry Admiral, you're breaking up.
Repeat your last?"
    She laughed. She'd just told her superior
he needed mental help. I had to pretend not to hear it, even if it might have
been true. Alison was still laughing, but her pain had tears streaming down her
face as well.
    "Your status?" I asked.
    "No damage. There were some missiles
that missed you and targeted us, but our Point Defense handled them easily."
    "Stay on alert. I suspect there's one
more fleet inbound. How long before it gets here, is anyone's guess, although
three and a half hours is mine."
    "How do you know that?"
    "Educated guess. Cobol had two exit
jump points, and received two fleets. Avon has four. Four fleets? We've already
seen three. And this fleet jumped in four hours after the last."
    "Logical. Let's assume the worst, and
stay on alert."
    "Indeed."
    I closed the channel.
    And opened one to the ships which had
departed so abruptly.
    "Hunter to all ships, return to the
station please. We've a minor hull breach, so remain on board your ships until
given the all clear to come back on board."
    I closed the channel before anyone could
comment.
    "Janet, any survivors out there?"
    "No my Lord."
    "Send out the salvage droids, and
let's get this mess cleaned up. Salvageable hulls on the station please, the
rest to the jump point to add to the Debris field there." We'd had one
there already, but it hadn't been completed, and there obviously hadn't been
enough mass to inconvenience the Cruisers jumping in.
    "Yes my Lord."
    We sat waiting, not being able to move out
of our chairs, in case we did fully lose air.
    "Initial patching complete," said
Janet.
    Our suits changed. Alison's to 'slinky
red', and mine to Sci-Fi sector Space Force fatigues. She jumped out of her
chair, groaned at what it did to her wound, and limped over to me. I stood,
stepped down to meet her, and she hugged me.
    After she released me, I turned to Jane.
    "See Alison back to her hospital bed
please Jane. If she tries to go