A new chapter of The Hungry Stars is here; Grace and the other survivors have survived their Hail Mary jump across Nibiru, but they’re not out of the woods yet. Their ship isn’t in very good condition and they’ve accidentally dropped into the lap of the League’s most secret installation. Normally, the fact that no one knows it exists is all the protection it’s needed, but Wolfssegen has just happened to arrive when it happens to have a garrison on duty…
For a sneak peek at the events, check out the snippet below but for the full story, there’s the links above. Hope you enjoy!
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Despite the situation, Grace had to smile at Echo’s response. It was easy to forget how dangerous an intra-system warp jump could be. Naiads could do it with the ease of stepping across a puddle, and Red One had devised a homologous system. It wasn’t quite as streamlined or as easy as what the predator ships could do, but it worked. The Principality had used their observations of her to develop their own methods, and the Compact had done the same in turn with the Argosy’s new technology. Each great power’s advancements had been painstaking and costly, but ultimately of immense tactical value. The Triquetran League may have developed their own unique applications of warp theory, but shiftspace was neither kind nor forgiving. A vessel that was never intended to operate this way could not be made to do so with flick of a switch or a few adjusted calculations. Not without exacting a steep price for such temerity.
Almost always, that price was both absolute and fatal for those involved, but as she’d said, Echo’s evaluation had been correct; it was statistically probable that a damaged, recently-captured Wolfssegen could survive a rushed intra-system warp jump. Slipping through those odds, and shiftspace’s decision not to rip them into constituent atoms for making such an attempt, was a welcome mercy.
It was also the only one that they were going to get.
“Contact,” Allyria reported as Wolfssegen bled off the residue from its nearly-suicidal jump enough for its remaining sensors to clear. The Verrish’s voice rose in pitch. “Reading a ship, cruiser-sized. Three million klicks and closing. Shields are up.”
“Did they track us?” Lydia asked before Grace could speak, her voice rising with sudden fear. “They couldn’t have tracked us, they can’t be here this fast-”
“Unlikely,” Allyria agreed. She blinked rapidly, trying to will the static pain in her skull away, but keeping her voice as steady as she could. “They’re moving to intercept, but I don’t think it’s to engage.” The cruiser wasn’t coming in hot; its course was shallower and more cautious, as if it hadn’t expected Wolfssegen to drop on top of them. “For starters, they’re not firing on us.”If it was one of their friends from Samhain, they’d have already launched on Wolfssegen.
Lydia calmed a little at that. “Maybe they want their ship back.”
“If they do,” Grace promised. “They won’t get it.”
“Whatever they want, we’re about to find out,” Allyria replied. “We’re being hailed.” She paused, an unhappy rumble emanating from her chest as the other vessel’s IFF pinged on the console before her. “It’s Vegvisir.”
~
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