CH Gideon - Superdreadnought 5: A Military AI Space Opera

Craig Martelle Social

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Michael Anderle Social

Website: http://www.lmbpn.com

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Superdreadnought 5 (this book) is a work of fiction.

The end was near.

After months of tracking down leads and talking to the disgruntled cultists left behind on Muultar after their defeat, Reynolds had located his target at last.

He knew where Joranal and the Pillar were.

An imaginary chill ran down Reynolds android spine as he imagined what hed do once he got his hands on that bastard.

He chuckled as he thought about it.

This wasnt the exact mission hed had in mind when Bethany Anne had sent him out into the universe to hunt down Kurtherians, but he knew shed be pleased once he reported his findings and wiped the would-be Kurtherian offshoots out of existence.

They might well only be descendants of the original scourge, but they could easily be as much of a threat, given time to better organize and prepare and spread farther across the universe.

Reynolds wasnt going to give them that opportunity.

He and the crew of the SD Reynolds were taking the fight to Phraim-Eh and his minions.

Were Gating into the Asparian System now, Captain, Ensign Ria Alcott reported from the helm, her voice steady and strong.

Theyd come a long way since shed joined the crew, and given all shed experienced, shed flourished in her role as pilot of the ship.

They had all changed a lot.

Reynolds nodded to the ensign and glanced around the bridge.

The faces staring back at him were eager and ready to finish the fight.

Asya was positioned at Reynolds back, overseeing the bridge operations. Jiya sat in the first officers spot, examining all the incoming data the scanners were pulling in. Maddox was stationed in Tacticals spot, he and the AI personality conversing in low tones so as to not distract from the ships operation.

Were parked at the edge of the system, Ria went on. Gravitic shields are up and all weapons systems are charged and ready, but Im not detecting any obvious threats nearby. Deploying long range scanners now to see if anyones lurking about.

Report, Reynolds called. He wanted to get on with it.

There was a bug to squash. A big one.

Theres only one habitable planet in the system, Jiya explained, which makes things easy. Designated as Aspar, the planet is just as active as we were warned it would be, despite its distance from any other inhabited system.

This is about as far on the edge of the galaxy as you can get, XO stated. Its a good thing we were informed of its location, or wed never have found it.

Thats what bothers me about the whole thing, Reynolds answered with a snarl.

Im picking up several dozen ships in orbital docks around the planet, General Maddox stated. Freighters mostly, cargo ships, but there are a number of smaller warships drifting about, although its clear that even the smallest of the ships are packing weapons. Maddox tapped his console and zoomed in on the large viewscreen so everyone could see what he was looking at. The Pillar is there, too.

Reynolds snarled as the enemy ship came into focus.

Just seeing it pissed him off.

He wanted nothing more than to Gate right up to it and unload, blowing the piece of shit into a million motes of dust and sending Joranal to his master in pieces.

But he knew he couldnt.

Not yet, at least.

Continue scanning the planet and the ships around it, he ordered. I want to know everything about our surroundings before we move forward.

Reynolds wasnt going to let this opportunity slip away.

As wed heard, this is clearly a haven for less than legal pursuits, Asya jumped in.

A pirate sanctuary, Tactical clarified, adding a snarled, Arrrrr.

A well-defended one, too, Jiya stated. The planet has a powerful defense system in place, with a clear equal-opportunity mindset. She zoomed the screen in on the system. There are hundreds of obvious railgun emplacements along the docking struts, and scanners are picking up energized weaponry hidden from sight within the frame. Thats not counting the dozens of weaponized satellites in orbit around the planet. The system is set up to defend both against outside aggression and the ships in dock.

The best defense is a bunch of guns shoved in your face, Tactical muttered. They dont want anyone stirring up shit here.

Means we cant just stroll up behind the Pillar and start putting holes in it without consequences, Maddox stated.

This is the type of place that would protect its own from any sort of outside aggression, Asya agreed. We wouldnt just be fighting the Asparian defense grid, but every damn pirate craft parked there, too. We cant just go in swinging, or well trigger a full-on war with us at the center of it.

Reynolds nodded as he examined the information spilling across the screen, confirming what his crew was reporting.

Thats why they brought us here, the AI noted.

You still think its a trap? Jiya asked, bringing up a conversation theyd had before leaving the Quadrain System.