"Lee Edgar - Return to Andromeda" - читать интересную книгу автора (Edgar Lee)

The ship’s First Officer nodded gravely. ‘It certainly looks like it.’
‘Critical Mass in three minutes.’
‘Down five,’ said Steve quietly.
‘Confirmed down five,’ said Cassi as she tapped keys.
The radio spoke again. ‘This is your last chance, Wayfarer. We have strict instructions from General
Phillips if your do not surrender your ship.’
‘Critical Mass in two minutes,’ said Lyn.
The Commander surveyed all the information available to him and then spoke to his wife. ‘Prepare to
activate Proton Drive.’
Lyn nodded. ‘Activating on your command.’
Cassi looked up from her screen. ‘Iris has identified a secondary object leaving the shuttle.’
‘Identify,’ said Mike as he watched the vision monitor.
‘DIABLOS >’ stated Iris.
Mike swallowed. ‘Steve, they’ve fired an photon emission-seeking missile.’
‘Critical mass in one minute,’ said Lyn.
Steve Carter made up his mind. ‘Full left retro.’
Cassi obeyed, tapping keys on the computer. ‘Confirmed.’
‘Estimated time to impact?’
Cassi consulted the readout. ‘Ninety seconds.’
‘We’ll have the Proton Drive active before the missile hits us,’ said Mike Hardy with a smile. ‘So we should
pull clear by a reasonable margin. No missile can follow us at light speed, not even Diablos.’
‘Critical mass in thirty seconds,’ said Lyn.
‘Time to impact sixty seconds,’ added Cassi.
‘Right ten.’
‘Confirmed right ten.’
‘Critical mass achieved,’ said Lyn with relief. ‘Proton Drive ready.’
‘Hold Proton Drive,’ said the Commander.
Startled, Lyn spun round in her seat. ‘What?’
‘I said hold Proton Drive.’
Cassi watched the figures. ‘Time to impact twenty seconds.’
‘Steve, are you crazy?,’ called Mike. ‘That’s a two-megaton nuclear warhead almost up our blast tubes.’
He smiled a little. ‘Trust me, Mike.’
‘Time to impact ten seconds,’ said Cassi calmly.
‘Proton Drive half ahead,’ instructed Steve eventually and Lyn stabbed at a key. The ship immediately
surged forward.
‘Time to impact five seconds. It’s still gaining on us.’
‘Increase to cruise speed.’
‘Confirmed,’ said Lyn.
‘Time to impact still five seconds,’ said Cassi. ‘Data confirms missile locked into homing status. Electron
emission release indicates warhead active.’
‘Maintain present speed and trajectory, girls. Take us right around Terra.’
At ninety kilometres per second, Wayfarer One encircled the globe at a height of five thousand kilometres
with a nuclear missile right behind it. The sun rose from behind Luna as the ship ran ahead of its deadly
pursuer. Tension built inside Wayfarer One. One tiny mistake now would be fatal and there would be no
pieces to be recovered. Gone would be not only the ship and crew but also the hopes of a doomed race. Ten
minutes later, they were turning over the Democratic Republic of China.
‘Shuttle Magnum on forward vision monitor,’ said Mike.
Cassi ran her fingers nimbly over the keys. ‘We will be traversing its line of trajectory in three minutes and
eighteen seconds.’
‘Cassi,’ said the Commander thoughtfully. ‘Adjust our course to take us tight in behind the shuttle.’