Read Annihilation (Star Force Series) for Free Online

ship, fighters and pilots aren’t ready yet. We’re leaving in two days.”
    “But we don’t have the production capacity...” Miklos began, then trailed off. “Most of the factories and materials are back on Eden-8, sir. We can’t even fly them out here that soon.”
    I could tell that my pronouncement had shocked him. He was a hard man to rattle, but I think I’d managed it this time.
    “We have many of these components in storage,” I said. “You’ll use the stores aboard the battle station first, then build new elements second. If you have to strip a few pieces out of this station, I’ll approve it. The only thing you have to build fresh is the bones of the ship, and then do the assembly. I’ll talk to Sloan about that, don’t worry about him giving you the run-around. You’ll have his entire crew to help out. A thousand of them, suited up and ready to do the assembly by hand.”
    Miklos raised his eyebrows at this offer of support and nodded. “May I ask a question, Colonel?”
    “Certainly.”
    “Why two days?”
    “Number one, because I’ve calculated it can be done in that amount of time, if you work around the clock. Number two, because I already ordered a complement of ships to meet us here from the Helios ring garrison. We’ll form up a fleet and fly when they get here.”
    “And the need for speed is…?”
    “Because I don’t like what I’m seeing in the Thor system. I don’t like watching something strange happening just beyond our borders. I’m going to go out there and find out what it’s all about. And I’m flying two days from now.”
    “Two days,” said Miklos, his eyes looking unfocussed. He nodded a moment later, then turned around and ran out of the command center.
    Everyone on duty swiveled their heads in surprise. When a nanotized member of Star Force decides to really kick it into gear, it’s a startling thing to watch. One second he was standing and calmly deliberating over plans with me, and the next second he bounded over tables, pushed off from the ceiling twelve feet over our heads, then slammed down on his feet and sprinted to the doors. He surprised the doors themselves, even though they were made of fresh smart metal. He slipped through them the moment they flashed open widely enough to allow him to pass, folding his body and causing a spray of droplets like mercury to shower the beltway corridor beyond.
    After that, he vanished from sight. The staff looked at me, but I turned back to the designs and ignored them. On the floor, droplets of silvery metal chased one another. They would eventually form veins of shimmering liquid then coalesce into a door again.
    I smiled contentedly. I didn’t know where Miklos was going, or what he planned to do first. But I always like to see my people hustle.

-4-

    Two days later, the fleet arrived. It amounted to half my complement of ships from the Helios ring garrison. No one really liked the idea of stripping ships from that border, as Earth had attacked us with a serious armada not long ago through that very ring. But that was the only ready supply of ships I had, so I had no choice.
    The fleet was a small one. All told, there were less than a hundred vessels. Two thirds of them were smaller ships: ugly, stubby gunboats. Each of these were armed with a single heavy railgun that was the equivalent of a Macro cruiser’s belly turret. They had little armament other than that one heavy gun. The rest of the ships were Nano-type cruisers and destroyers.
    Absent from the roster was one carrier. Miklos had not quite managed to pull it off yet.
    “Sir, give me one more day,” he said.
    I shook my head.
    “No.”
    I thought I’d said gently, but I could see he wasn’t happy. He was red-eyed and squinting from lack of sleep. He fought visibly not to have a public outburst, which would no doubt turn into a gush of curse-words thrown in my direction.
    I watched him with interest. Miklos had never quite been in such a state of