Read Beyond Mars Crimson Fleet for Free Online Page B

decree.
    "MISSILES HAVE REACHED DECOYS! MISSILES HAVE
DETONATED!" he pronounced, staring at his monitors. After a small
pause, the crewman smiled and turned to Wakinyan, "All three
fighters have been destroyed, Sir!"
    "I'm going to get stinking drunk after all this is
over with," Randall said relieved.
    Wakinyan leaned back in his command seat, "Save a
bottle and a seat for me. Thank the stars we nailed them without
starting an eruption."
    Suddenly,
the bridge of the Crazy Horse vibrated to a deep rumbling that engulfed the
entire ship. For a long minute it continued—and then quickly
ceased. A second tremor followed closely behind the first, but was
much more powerful. Finally, it too ended leaving no doubt as to
what was happening.
    "Then
again, I could be wrong," Wakinyan admitted his folly. "SMITTY,
INCREASE SPEED TO ONE HUNDRED KNOTS AND GET US THE HELL OUT OF
HERE! MR. EDWARDS, PLOT ALL COURSE CHANGES TO THAT SPEED! SMITTY,
USE ALL DOCKING THRUSTERS TO Support MANEUVERING!"
    Randall grabbed Richard by his arm. "At that speed,
there's no way we can make it through the tunnel!" the lieutenant
protested quietly.
    "We're going to damn well try! Or would you prefer
to be caught in a volcanic blast and lava flow?" Wakinyan softly,
but seriously asked.
    Suddenly, the sensor's crewman alerted Wakinyan to a
new danger, "CAPTAIN, THAT EARTH DESTROYER IS BEHIND US AGAIN!"
    From out
of the heated mist, the Gladstone appeared and began firing its pulse weapons in
short bursts. Even though the stern of the Crazy Horse took several hits, the
damage was minimal. The Crazy Horse was quick to return the fire with its secondary
laser weapons.
    Different warning alarms
sounded through the Martian ship's bridge as it rocked from more
hits. Emergency lighting flickered on and off with each accurately
placed energy bolt.
    Randall was beside himself with anger, "What the
hell is wrong with those morons? Don't they know that this volcano
is about to erupt?"
    Wakinyan spun and looked at his friend with a
glowing mischievous smile. "Maybe they don't know! Maybe we should
tell them!" his voice chuckled along with a spiteful twinkle in his
eyes.
    Randall's jaw dropped as he lightly shook his head,
"Oh my God, no!" The lieutenant knew the situation was about to go
ballistic.
    "Mr. Edwards, how many more turns do we have and
their time?" Wakinyan quizzed his navigator.
    "Just two, Sir! The first one in one minute and
fifteen seconds! The second one in three minutes and forty-three
seconds!"
    Unexpectedly, another giant tremor resounded in a
lengthy drum roll that quivered the entire ship. Many eyes within
the Martian crew winced in worrisome alarm as many loose objects
fell or flew to the deck in defeat of the inertia canceling system,
which could not adjust as quickly to the frequency of the huge
drumbeats.
    "Proceed with due haste, Mr. Edwards!" Wakinyan
acknowledged the threat of the volcano. "Mr. Randall, set two space
mines to detonate in three minutes! Your target is the bottom of
the lake!"
    The entire bridge crew was astonished at Wakinyan's
command. They all turned to gaze at him with disbelief. However,
Richard's face, however, had become a carving of stone with an
unimaginable hardness.
    "Mr. Randall, you heard the order?"
    "Aye, Sir! Targeting the bottom of the lake!"
Randall's face grew slightly pale as he set the controls to the
mines.
    The battle between the two ships had transformed
into a duel. Their secondary laser and pulse weapons not only
blanketed each other with hits, but blasted chunks of rocks out of
walls and ceilings. This apparently weakened the earthen structure,
for tremors increased in both frequency and degree. By now, both
ships were pelted with everything from pebbles to boulders,
bouncing off and sometimes denting their hulls, then splashing into
the water beneath them. Their resulting geysers soaked and sprayed
both ships with the blood-red water.
    "Mines are ready, Sir!" Randall informed his
captain.
    "Deploy