Daring by Mike Shepherd Page A

asked her that she’d like to know if they could transform their present course into an orbit around the moon. “Even decelerating at 3.5 gee, that option is already gone. We’ll need at least one orbit to match that moon. Maybe two if I miss a window.”
    They were halfway to the moon when the chief announced, “Something is lifting off from our target moon. Whoever they are, they’re coming straight at us.”

9
    â€œRaise defenses,” Kris ordered.
    â€œShields up,” said Sulwan as an umbrella of Smart Metal TM spread out in front of the Wasp . Battleships and cruisers were encased in ice, some of it meters thick, to ablate away the blazing sting of lasers and even kinetic weapons. Small ships like the Wasp , especially when it was wrapped in shipping containers full of scientists, Marines, and other gear could hardly use the ice defense.
    The rotating umbrella of Smart Metal TM , especially if it was angled to the threat axis, not only provided protection but also gave the Wasp a chance to hide behind it.
    Where, exactly, was the Wasp with respect to the spinning parasol?
    Guess.
    Meanwhile, Kris’s ship had four 24-inch pulse lasers ready to strike out with a sting of her own.
    Slipping out farther to the left of the Wasp , the Intrepid deployed her own protection.
    Ahead of them, the unknown continued to close.
    â€œHow fast is that sucker accelerating?” Captain Drago asked.
    â€œThree-point-five, no three-point-eight gees, sir,” the chief reported.
    â€œCan you get us a picture of it?” the captain asked.
    â€œI got one as it launched, but the thing is spraying something into the space all around it now.” The chief tapped his board, and a small window opened on the main screen. It showed a series of spheres balanced on rocket fire.
    â€œFusion rockets?” Kris asked.
    â€œI would guess so, from their temperature,” the chief said. “But I’m getting next to nothing from my electronic readouts.
    â€œNelly, hail it. Try every language we know,” Kris said. “Say ‘We come in peace,’ for starts.”
    â€œDoing it, Kris.”
    While Nelly tried to open a conversation, the ship continued to close the distance, eating up the kilometers.
    â€œIs it going to try to ram us?” Sulwan asked.
    â€œGet ready to take evasive action,” Captain Drago ordered. “Don’t do anything yet. It’s on a steady course. Let’s not juggle its elbow.”
    The three ships closed. Nelly tried sending numbers to see if they would talk math back to her.
    Then the thing hit them with a laser.
    The spinning parasol did its job, rotating more Smart Metal TM into the vacancy as fast as the laser could make the hole. When the power hit ended, the parasol was still there. Nelly quickly patched it up, but the shield out there spinning was several meters smaller across.
    â€œOuch,” the chief said.
    â€œThat was not nice,” the captain agreed.
    â€œLocked and loaded,” Kris said. “I think Nelly and I can graze it through all the gunk it’s pumping into the space around it.”
    â€œDo it,” the captain said.
    â€œNelly, let’s open the largest sphere to space. Just a quick cut,” Kris said, moving the crosshairs on her board to show exactly where she wanted to hit the stranger.
    Nelly put a red dot on Kris’s target. With sincere regrets for starting the next alien war, Kris closed the firing switch for Laser 1.
    On the screen, a laser reached out for the alien.
    On Kris’s board, an outside camera followed the shot. There, at least, the crud around the ship gave them something for the laser to relate to. A red beam cut right where Kris wanted.
    One sphere took the hit along the top of its curve.
    The alien didn’t slow. It just kept coming.
    â€œHit it again,” Captain Drago said. “Aim for the engines.”
    â€œAlready setting up for it,” Kris