Inferno Snippet 1

 So, I am a bit a head in writing so I've slowed down to let the Betas catch up. I am almost done the first act of Embers, the last of the Ragnarok trilogy.

I had originally planned to publish Sparks in August, and Inferno in September, Wildfire in October, and so on. Obviously that got a little off schedule. But I'm pressing forward with Inferno. I just sent it to Rea yesterday, so the ticking clock has started.

On to the snippet!

Chapter 1

 

Caroline, Alpha Sector

 

Vice Admiral Sharif Nergal felt his claws flex in and out ever so slightly in an unconscious effort to do something. He forced himself to relax; he needed to project an air of professionalism.

Even if he was eager as a cub for a chance to really prove himself, to prove himself in the only venue that truly mattered to a naval officer, in combat.

He had 3 combat engagements in his jacket but none above the rank of captain JG. All 3 of the combat tickets had been against the pirates. He'd spent a great deal of time in the core fleets serving on ships there. You didn't get much of a chance at combat sitting pretty and pretending to protect the shipping in the area.

The same could be said of being a flag officer assigned to staff or to a core fleet assignment. You got your kicks from simulations if you were lucky. Most tacticians grew stale and eventually transitioned to full time staff positions or out of the navy to civilian gigs. As an officer with combat experience, he was highly sought after by some of the corporations that wanted that sort of 'street cred' in a vice president's resume. He also kept a folder of contacts in the military and abroad up to date. Some of those people owed him favors too. They might not be big favors, and he owed a couple of others favors of his own, but that was fine. It was nice on a resume.

But, he was finally getting his chance at true glory. Him, not the Naga pissant nearby, or one of the famous families, him. It was Lady Luck's blessing that the enemy would come out in his assigned area.

He frowned, ears flattening slightly. The enemy, also known as the Xenos were enigmatic. Nanite based according to all reports, though he doubted that. They definitely liked to use fear tactics, which told him that they had some weakness to hide. They couldn't be that dangerous! A properly prepared opponent would make mincemeat of them, especially in an ambush situation like the one he was set up for.

Better still, he had accurate and near up to date intelligence downloads at his fingertips. He couldn't believe the numbers the scouts trailing the force in hyperspace had reported. They couldn't be right! That many ships? No, no way.

Well, one way or another he was about to find out. It was a pity that Fleet Admiral Vapiro wasn't on hand with his battle planet and fleet yet. Oh well, the glory of the first decisive win would be his for the history books...

He wondered if he should start writing his monograph or take better notes. It would be one way to pass the time...

<(((@)))>

When it was clear where the enemy was going, and that they were intending to exit at the normal jump out point, Captain Dom Shady ordered Fallstaff to drop out of the bridge and then race ahead with the news.

The good thing about the enemy was that they were staying in the bridge and were at a steady pace. So steady that his ship could rotate ships to the trailing edge to maintain an eye on them while rotating other ships in and out of the bridge and to the nearest location with an ansible to report in.

In this case the light cruiser would drop out of the bridge and then jump back into hyperspace at a different location and transition up the octaves to her max speed. They'd then have to haul ass to get to Caroline with the news update.

He really hoped that Admiral Nergal took his contact reports seriously. The admiral had twice asked him to confirm his numbers. Each time he had the hard count and estimates had gone up. From the tone of the admiral's messages he didn't seem like he truly believed them because they weren't holding steady. That might be a problem. He hoped not at any rate.

<(((@)))>

The Epsilon queen was aware of the prey ships trailing her clan. They were insignificant; they were so small they were hardly noticeable. But they were irritating in that she couldn't nail them down. She had tried to chase them off but they were maddeningly persistent.

She had to wonder why.

<(((@)))>

Captain Dart flicked her tail as she ran her ship through her paces. Falstaff was a mostly 'wet ship' despite her more terrestrial name. Fully half of the ship's compliment of officers and enlisted were water dwellers of one species or another. She was a Maui dolphin, the smallest of the dolphin species. She had gray, white, and black markings and was just a bit over 1.7 meters long. Her small size made many underestimate her.

She usually set them straight with a crack of her jaw and a show of her toothy smile. She might have a short snout but her conical teeth were still sharp.

She had risen through the ranks as a navigational and helm officer. Contrary to expectations, she'd transitioned to command positions. She might need a walker to get around the dry areas of her ship but she could do it when pushed.

She much preferred the water habitats of course.

Falstaff was the fastest of the cruisers so she wasn't surprised Dom had chosen her to carry the final ball to the fleet. No, that wasn't quite accurate; Dom and crew would probably jump out just ahead of the enemy when they arrived.

Or would they? Would they want to get caught between the enemy and the fleet? She very much doubted it. Whatever they did her mission was clear. She hoped once they dumped the logs to Shenzou that she and her crew would get a nice place to watch the fireworks.

<(((@)))>