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

and every freighter we have. We’re going to show them our solidarity.”
    Diana didn’t feign her surprise this time—it was real. “Are you crazy? You want to put the last humans in harm’s way?”
    “No,” I said evenly. “I want to keep the Starkiens from destroying us.”
    Her brow furrowed. “You think they’re here as slavers?” Diana asked.
    “Possibly…”
    “Commander,” Ella said, interrupting our conversation. “I think you’re wrong about that. There’s only one reason why the Starkiens could have come to the solar system.”
    “Just a minute,” I told Diana. Clicking a switch on my armrest, I muted the Amazon Queen. Then I turned to Ella, raising an eyebrow.
    “They’re here for the Forerunner object,” she said. “From what we know, the other artifacts are heavily guarded. Surely, the Starkiens think we’re too weak to hold onto ours. We’ve always known this day would come, just not that it would be Starkiens.”
    “Why have they chosen this time to make their attempt?” I asked.
    “Remember what we learned about the Saurian fleets?” Ella asked.
    “A few Saurian fleets pulled back, you said.”
    Ella Timoshenko glanced at her board. I saw her lips moving. Soon, she said, “I count two hundred and ten Starkien vessels. The last two are off the scale for Starkien ships. I suspect those are base ships, Commander. They must hold the young and serve as storage craft and repair yards for the other vessels.”
    That made sense. The Starkiens fleets were nomadic. As usual, Ella had cut to the heart of the matter.
    “They’re beginning acceleration,” Ella said, as she stared at her board. “Since this information is over several hours old, they’ve been moving for some time already. By their heading, they appear to be aimed at our artifact.”
    I muttered under my breath. This was just what we needed. First Shi-Feng, now Starkiens.
    With a click , I reopened channels with Diana. “The Starkiens have over two hundred vessels and are headed for the Forerunner object. I need your warships here pronto.”
    “We can’t defeat that many enemy ships,” Diana protested.
    “I’m not asking you to do that,” I told her.
    “What then?” she asked.
    “If it comes to battle, you’re going to cover my ship as I attack the artifact.”
    Diana shared at me in horror. “You plan to destroy it?”
    “If I have to,” I said.
    “How does that help us, Creed?” the Amazon Queen asked. “If the Starkiens have come for the artifact, once you’ve destroyed it, they’ll kill all of us in retaliation.”
    “Is that how you play poker?” I asked.
    Diana stared into my eyes. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Creed.”
    I grinned to mask the fact that I didn’t. The one thing I’d learned in life was to show a brave front. I needed Diana. So, she had to believe I had a workable plan.
    Yeah, a workable plan . Over two hundred Starkien vessels against our paltry ten starships and accompanying star fighters—I was going to have to pull the biggest bluff of my life. If I failed, the human race would likely perish within the next few days.
     

-6-
    Thirty-six hours later, my three starships drifted between the Forerunner artifact and the asteroid of Ceres.
    The cruisers and missile-ships of the Earth Fleet had already begun deceleration from their race here from Earth orbit. Diana had hedged her bet. The freighters holding the last one percent of humanity hid behind Terra. The three hundred fighter-bombers had also remained there.
    That gave me exactly ten starships to face down two hundred and fifteen alien vessels along with one thousand seventeen Starkien fighter craft.
    “We can’t win this battle,” Diana told me via screen.
    “I know Starkiens,” I said.
    I’d had personal dealings with them on more than one occasion. They thought of humans as beasts. They were also excitable and sought easy advantages, a good piratical combination. In a sense, they were the scavengers of