And like it or not... you've got some of that inside you. I have to get to the bridge. We'll be jumping soon. I want you to be there. This thing's eating suns for breakfast. Let's go. What the hell are we doing here? You know what we're not doing. Turning around. This is the captain. Prepare for a level-five jump-point interphase. Secure all stations. Attention. Attention. Course error. Adjust course immediately. Steady as she goes. Captain, the ship is headed... into the PNR zone of a class-two pulsar. One minute until gravitational pull is 100%. What about it, Mr. Taggart? The readings are wrong. The sensors are not calibrated to the pulsar. They've already been warped by the gravitational fields. Captain, I must insist we change course immediately. No! Manual override! Forget you, artificial intelligence... or we're all dead. Captain, I think you should reconsider. Steady as she goes, helm. Aye, aye, sir. Warning. Warning. Jump coordinates incorrect. This is the captain. Fifteen seconds to jump point. Watch. Oh, this is great. Aft shields overloading. Just you and me. Hold on. Ohh! Uhh! -Ohh! -Uhh! Ha ha ha ha! Yeah! You OK? You all right? Where are we? Ladies and gentlemen... welcome to the Ulysses corridor. We're through the jump point. We made it. Mr. Obutu. Stealth mode, if you please. Going to stealth. Seven percent electronic emission... zero communication. Radar status. Scanners picking up a strong electromagnetic signature... at one-eleven mark forty-three. An asteroid field. -Lieutenant Commander. -Yes, sir. Prepare a reconnoiter. I want to know what's out there. And, Deveraux... I don't want them to know that we're here. Not yet. Very good, sir. Scanning quadrant. Lieutenant, I'm picking up metal fragments ahead. Alloy structure indicates from a Confederation vessel. Angel, you catch that? That's from Pegasus. Ten thousand men and women... gone... just like that. The concussion must've blown pieces of the station... all over the sector. Warning. ENM emissions. -Pipe down. -Two-one-six. -Getting something. -Analyzing. Possible I.D. Kilrathi... Radio silence now. Get into the asteroids. Low power. They know we're here? Possibly. From the sophistication of the equipment onboard... I'd say the vessel is a command and communications module. What's it commanding? At least six other ships down near the Brown Dwarf... are communicating with it. It seems to be transmitting jump coordinates. Angel, they've spotted your heat corona! I've got two more bogeys comin' in hot, six o'clock! Can't spot them, Blair. Call it. Jack in the box on three. One... two...three! Missile away! The big one's shielded! I got two more bogeys comin' up from the Brown Dwarf! Engaging! Negative. I count fourteen unfriendlies inbound. Looks like two destroyers. We're out of here. You knew what the orders were-- no contact with the enemy. Now you've compromised the mission... and the very existence of this ship. I had no choice, sir. They'd spotted... Lieutenant Commander Deveraux's heat signature. Really? Angel, how sure are you... that the Kilrathi had you targeted? Given the Lieutenant's background... are you really that certain? Excuse me? It's well documented that Pilgrim saboteurs... have been responsible... for much of the Confed's problems in this war. Did they have me targeted, Lieutenant? Now, come on. This is sterile conjecture. The Kilrathi are well aware... that rapiers don't just fly around... in deep space without a carrier close by. Thank you, Lieutenant. That is all. -Sir-- -Dismissed, Lieutenant. Your assessment, Mr. Gerald? That concom is running point... for the battle group. Their fleet won't be far behind. So I say we send them a message. I can have my fighters up in thirty minutes. No, no. That's a mistake. Without her fighters... the Tiger Claw's ------------------------------ Читайте также: - текст Приключения Шерлока Холмса и доктора Ватсона: Собака Баскервилей на английском - текст Фламандская доска на английском - текст Снегурочка на английском - текст Счастье на английском - текст Мятеж на Баунти на английском |