Of Fire and Night - Kevin J. Anderson [201]
"General, what if this is just a feint?" said his exec. "What if even more warglobes are coming from outside the system?"
Lanyan looked over at him. "If that's the case, Mr. Kosevic, then we're all dead."
EDF station ships pushed their in-system engines to their limits, swooping down toward the Sun with all possible speed. But as widely separated as they were, it would take hours for them to arrive.
Lanyan paced the bridge, knocking his fists together. "Inform Adar Zan'nh--just in case he hasn't been paying attention. We need every possible defense close to Earth--now."
On the tactical screens, the tally of warglobes already exceeded seven hundred, and more continued to stream out of the transgate deep within Jupiter.
Reinforced EDF hull armor was designed to resist known hydrogue weapons. Each gunship, Manta, and Thunderhead had a full arsenal of shaped charges, fracture-pulse bombs, carbon-carbon slammers, and intensified jazers. Even so, Lanyan doubted they had enough to do more than annoy an enemy fleet of such magnitude.
He gave orders to his helmsman: "Bring our defensive ring out to stand guard." Admiral Sheila Willis acknowledged from her rescued Manta and flew to the forefront of the fight.
Ildiran warliners joined the EDF battleships as the human vessels pulled forward. Behind them came the second cohort of Solar Navy vessels; all told, they presented an extremely intimidating front. But the hydrogues did not slow as they rushed in, aiming at Earth as if it were a bull's-eye.
The tension among his crew was palpable. Lanyan used the intership direct line, saying whatever words came out of his mouth, not bothering to think of how he would be quoted in the history books.
"Buckle in and get ready to meet the drogues head-on. If those ships get past us, they'll destroy Earth and then go on to exterminate every one of our colonies. You know damn well that I might be asking you to fight to the death today, but we are the last line of defense. If we don't stop the enemy here, there isn't going to be a tomorrow."
The warglobes tumbled relentlessly closer, looking like the spiked balls on the end of an ogre's medieval weapon. Lanyan knew that his EDF was as ready as it could be. Every Remora had been launched. Mantas, Thunderheads, and various gunships swirled around like wasps trying to block a herd of stampeding elephants.
"Prepare to open fire." Lanyan broadened the transmission. "Adar Zan'nh, are you ready?"
"I am here to do my duty."
Seconds before the warglobes came within firing range, the Ildiran commander sent a silent signal to his ornate battleships. Nearly seven hundred warliners spun about in a precision maneuver as if they were all connected to the same puppet strings. Every one of the Ildiran vessels turned their weapons ports away from the hydrogues and aimed at Lanyan's last-stand fleet.
In an instant, the Solar Navy warliners completely surrounded Lanyan's ships. All of them.
"What the hell?" The General lurched to his feet.
Ahead, the warglobes slowed, dispersing to take up positions--exactly as if they had expected this to happen.
Lanyan ran to the communications console, opened a channel to the Ildiran flagship. "Adar Zan'nh, what the hell are you doing?"
It was a rhetorical question, though. General Lanyan knew a betrayal when he saw one.
118
KING PETER
Four hours before dawn, Peter awoke to the sounds of urgent activity outside the royal suite. After Cain's warning the night before, OX had stationed himself inside their locked-down chambers to keep watch in case Basil made his move before they could implement their own plans.
Estarra hurried to the balcony and stared out. The Palace District illumination banks switched off one by one. The brighter buildings dimmed like snuffed embers. Muffled sirens echoed through the streets. "Peter, all the city lights are going out."
He and Estarra had known something was going to happen, and they had to be ready to move the moment they saw an opportunity. From out in the corridor, he