Nowhere to Run Read Free Page A

“G, follow that ship.”
    “I’m on it.”
    Gary looked at Abbey, “What are you going to do?”
    “If we don’t attack that planet as soon as those ships leave, then they’ll release all their ships to search for the Union. We must attack the moment those ships leave to buy the Union time.”
    “We need more ships.”
    “We won’t have enough time to go back and get them. We don’t know what planet that ship is jumping to and we’re forced to follow it. We will have to do this alone. G, I want you to scan the planet when we arrive and locate every nuclear reactor on the planet’s surface. We will take out the orbital satellites and hit them.”
    G said, “Are you sure about this?”
    “What do you think they’ll do if they find a Union Planet?”
    Gary said, “A ship is backing out of the Hub.”
    “Don’t lose it, G.”
    • • •
    The Slaver Ship arrived at a planet that was just like all the other main planets. All of its land masses were covered by a giant city. There were thousands of commercial freighters delivering food and other products for the planet’s consumption and there were twenty thousand warships in orbit. G said, “The Fleet Commander is not happy with his orders.”
    Gary said, “He’s not?”
    “No but he’s going to follow them. He knows he’s dead if he doesn’t.”
    “How long will it take them to leave?”
    “About ten hours to form up. They’re being sent to the other side of the black hole to start their search.”
    Gary shook his head and Abbey said, “G, start scanning the planet. Get a fix on the nuclear facilities.”
    Gary looked at Abbey and she saw his expression, “Gary, you know how this war is going to have to be fought. They will not negotiate.”
    Gary sighed, “You don’t have to hit them all, G. Just hit those on the continent below us and the radioactivity will kill everything else on the planet.”
    Abbey shook her head, “We need to hit both sides of the planet.”
    “Why?”
    “So they won’t know how many ships were used to do it. We need to make them think we have more ships than we currently have in our inventory. We must scare them into calling off the search.”
    Gary stared at her and then reluctantly nodded.
    Abbey slowly shook her head, “They are going to wonder if we intercepted that communication at the Hub or if we’re watching all of their planets. I want them to think we’re watching all of their planets. That’s why we have to do this in multiple locations.”
    “I didn’t think it through, Abbey. I’m glad you’re here. I would have missed it.”
    “G, hit this continent and immediately jump to the other side of the planet. You need to scan the other side while they’re forming up.”
    “Jumping now; I have this continent locked in.”
    • • •
    The Third Councilor arrived at his home world and saw all of the warships defending it had just jumped away. As his ship landed at the main spaceport he sent a communication to the First, “Where have all my warships been sent?”
    “Admiral Hreg has volunteered to start the search for the White Ships. The ships here will be joining him momentarily. We can’t just sit and wait for them to attack us.”
    The Third knew that to challenge the First when he was sending his own ships was a losing battle. He exited his ship and immediately sent a message to the Sixth Councilor to see if he would send some of the ships guarding his planet to defend his world. He never received an answer.
    “G, are you ready?”
    “I’ve got eight hundred reactors targeted on each side of the planet; however, I’m only going to hit a hundred on each side.”
    “Why?”
    “The shock waves produced by those hundred will expand and blow the containment facilities from more than ten thousand others. The radiation blasts from those broken containment vessels will exceed what the first blasts create. I can also hit those hundred in about twenty seconds and go to the other side to make it