Star Viking (Extinction Wars Book 3) by Vaughn Heppner Page A

had sent it. Then, we’d send ours after a similar delay. That made distance arguments difficult. Still, as a matter of courtesy, the Starkien in charge over there could have informed us of his presence. That he didn’t hail us implied hostile intentions.
    “I’m counting sixty Starkien warships,” Ella said.
    This was starting to look bad. “Is there any sign of Jelk or Saurians among them?” I asked.
    “Negative, Commander,” Ella said.
    I drained the rest of my coffee, tossing the cup to an ensign. After a time, I drummed my fingers on the armrest of my chair.
    “Eighty vessels,” Ella said. “They’re all Starkien so far, sir.”
    “Yeah,” I said. “It’s time to talk to Diana.”
    Ella frowned. “Earth Council warships aren’t going to make any difference against these many Starkiens, sir.”
    “More is better,” I said. “Put me through to Diana.”
    “Yes, Commander,” Ella said, tapping her board.
    The Lokhars had some nifty tech. One of their coolest was T-missiles. The “T” stood for teleport . The concept was simple enough. The missile popped out of existence and reappeared hundreds of millions of kilometers closer to the target. It did this in the proverbial blink of an eye. We’d used a T-missile in the Sigma Draconis system to attack Shah Claath’s battlejumper. Six and a half years ago, Lokhars had tried to use a similar trick against us in the solar system. I’d been ready for it, though, and had exploded nuclear warheads in the reappearing zone, killing the elite Lokhar legionaries that had ejected from the T-missiles against us.
    The Lokhars had also perfected a communications system that implemented the teleporting principle. It allowed fast two-way communication without the hours of time lag that speed-of-light talk would have taken between the Starkiens and me.
    “Diana is ready to speak with you, Commander,” Ella said.
    “Put her on the main screen.”
    A moment later, Diana appeared.
    In the past, I’d referred to her as the Amazon Queen. She was a tall woman with wide hips, large breasts and handsome features. She had thick dark hair and usually oozed cunning and sexual power. She ran the Earth Council together with Murad Bey.
    For six and a half years, Diana had remained in control. During that time, she had solidified her position among the freighter-living humans. More than once, she’d tried to persuade me to put the Forerunner Guardians under her jurisdiction using a variety of power plays. The lady simply didn’t know how to quit trying to amass more authority.
    This would be a good moment to remind you that the last one percent of humanity was the troublemaking kind: the hard-cases, the gamblers, the lucky and tough-as-nails survivors. That made the Earth Council members the cream de la crème of dangerous.
    “Commander Creed,” Diana said on the screen. “This is a pleasant surprise. It’s been too long.” She unbound her luxurious hair, running a brush through the strands. It looked as if she took the call from her bedroom aboard her cruiser, a small room with silks and lace hanging everywhere.
    “You’re in Earth orbit?” I asked.
    “Of course,” she said.
    “A Starkien armada is coming through the Neptune jump gate,” I told her.
    Diana set down her brush, giving me a thoughtful study. “How many warships have you detected so far?”
    I glanced at Ella.
    “One hundred and thirty,” Ella told me.
    I repeated the number to Diana. The Earth Council leader whistled.
    “It’s time for a show of strength,” I told her.
    “Meaning you want the Earth Fleet to join you at Ceres?” Diana asked.
    “I do,” I said.
    Diana glanced elsewhere as if thinking. Idly, she resumed brushing her hair with long strokes. “No,” she said finally, setting down the brush for the second time. “One hundred and thirty is too many alien ships for us to defeat.”
    “They’re going to have more than that,” I said. “So I want you to bring your warships