Galaxy Unknown (Forgotten Galaxy Book 1), page 28
Simultaneously, Ishek reached out through the Collective, grabbing hold of the other Nightmare’s pilot and forcing the khoron to change course. The Nightmare’s vector changed suddenly, needing only a few seconds before falling into the barrage…and then into the other Nightmare. The violent collision destroyed both ships, the half dozen rockets that found their debris a split second later vaporizing all traces of them.
“Yes!” Caleb shouted, pumping his fist.
Don’t get cocky. We still need to get Glory past those warships.
Caleb toned down his jubilation, but he couldn’t help smirking at Ishek’s response. His symbiote had totally bought into the idea of putting Glory ahead of themselves.
Not really. I just don’t want to listen to you preach.
“Whatever it takes,” Caleb answered, grinning.
The prior maneuver had left them at a reduced velocity and way behind Glory. Ishek righted the Nightmare and resumed the chase, throttle maxed out as they climbed higher into orbit. The two large warships had nearly closed any gap the barge could slip through, and the HUD flashed a sudden warning that friendly fire was imminent.
“Ham, watch out.” Caleb grimaced.
Heavy flashes of energy lanced out from the warship’s guns, nearly a dozen in all heading for Glory. One hit the ship near the bow. It went clean through the shields and armor, ripping away a piece of the craft and sending debris exploding away from it. Afraid it had taken catastrophic damage, Caleb’s jaw clenched, hands tight on the armrests of his seat, eyes furious.
Glory didn’t lose power or change course, other than to take evasive action, rolling slightly and speeding up before vectoring thrusters sent the vessel hard to port. The rest of the bolts flashed past Glory without contact. Their Nightmare’s HUD fed them the incoming vectors of the energy blasts, and Ishek adjusted their course to avoid them.
“That’s it,” Caleb said. “Ish, we need to get ahead of them.”
I’m trying.
“Try harder.”
The throttle is open one hundred percent. There is no harder.
“How much push can we get if we fire the cannons behind us?”
Negligible.
“More than zero?”
Yes, but—
“Do it, or we can’t say we tried everything.”
Ishek swung both turrets aft and started firing. The ions from the guns wouldn’t provide much extra thrust, but it might get them ahead of Glory a second or two quicker, and right now every second counted. The HUD lit up ahead of the next attack. Caleb watched helplessly while Glory shifted from port to starboard and then dropped its nose to lose altitude before jinking hard to starboard and again gaining altitude. Seeing the maneuvers, he could picture Ham on the stick, his brow likely coated with a sheen of sweat, his face tense and focused.
“Ish, does this thing have running lights, and can you control them?”
Yes. And yes.
“We need to flash them at Glory. Morse code.”
And say what?
“Follow.”
The Nightmare reached space beneath Glory, their velocity finally outpacing the barge. The warships were closing fast from behind, the next barrage of energy bolts already on their way toward Glory. Ham did his best, but Caleb knew he wouldn’t be able to avoid all of them. The first beam ripped through the portside, cutting off a chunk of the barge toward its nose. It left a trail of debris and people pouring out of the wound before emergency hatches could close and seal off the damaged compartments. Caleb gritted his teeth at the sight of the disaster, angry they hadn’t made it in time.
“Are you signaling them?” Caleb growled.
Of course.
The next grouping of shots appeared on their HUD. Ishek guided the Nightmare away, making sure to leave room for Glory if Ham followed. He was a little slow, perhaps unsure he could trust them, and a beam skimmed the top of Glory, shaving off some of their sensors and armor but failing to fully penetrate. Meanwhile, the warships were so close that Ham would never be able to react quickly enough if he didn’t follow Ishek’s lead.
Again the HUD lit up. And again Ishek evaded the projected paths of the beams. This time, Ham maneuvered without hesitation, following the Nightmare’s course and just barely avoiding the assault. They did the same a second time, then a third, breaking away from the two warships and shooting toward empty space. Ishek continued to guide them, using the enemy’s networked systems against them, helping Glory escape.
The warships’ firepower thinned as they moved to give chase, but they were slow and poorly positioned to trail the two ships, though that didn’t stop them from trying. Unable any longer to hit Glory with their cannons, they stopped firing, settling for a race they could only lose.
Ishek kept the Nightmare close to Glory’s hull as they continued out into deep space, putting increasing distance between them and the pursuing warships.
“Send Ham a new message,” Caleb said. “Ask him if there’s any way we can link the two ships…” He paused mid-sentence as the stars around Glory suddenly began to bend. “What the hell?”
Ishek instinctively pulled away from the barge as the bend accelerated, within seconds creating an illusion as though there was a dilation of space surrounding the ship.
“Is that a warp bubble?” he questioned, staring at the dilation.
More like a hyperspace dilation field.
“What’s the difference?” Caleb stared at the growing field. Glory was abandoning them. “Haas, that son of a bitch! His fist came down hard on his armrest. “He probably ripped Ham out of the pilot’s seat the moment they were safe, and he’s dragging him to the brig right now.”
What should we do?
“Get inside the field,” Caleb replied. “I’m not letting them strand us here that easily.”
Are you serious?
“Unless you prefer to stay here with the two enemy warships.”
They are khoron.
“Ish!”
Ishek guided the Nightmare back toward the barge. The ship shook violently when they hit the still expanding shape of spacetime. As Caleb was shaken in his restraints, he momentarily wondered if the ship would stay in one piece.
It did. Space smoothed out as soon as they were inside the field, the much smaller ship tucked within a few hundred meters of Glory’s hull.
Looking out through the forward transparency, Caleb watched the front side of the field compress space ahead of it, the separated stars drawn together until it became a wall of nearly pure white. A glance at the rear camera feed showed Crux’s warships breaking off the chase, obviously unable to catch them once they had reached faster-than-light speed.
The field completed its formation. The planet, the enemy warships, and the star hiding the wormhole had all blinked out of sight.
Well, I think we’re safe.
Caleb’s eyes shifted to Glory’s rusted and scuffed hull, looming overhead. “We might be.” Anger roiled in the pit of his stomach. “I can’t say the same for General Haas.”
Caleb felt Ishek’s uncertainty.
I’m not sure I agree with this plan.
“Knuckle up, Ish,” Caleb replied. “I hunnnggggeerrrr.”
Thank you so much for reading Galaxy Unknown! For more information on Book Two, please visit mrforbes.com/forgottengalaxy2. Also, please continue to the next page for more information on Caleb and other books by M.R. Forbes. Thank you again!
THANK YOU!
Thank you for reading Galaxy Unknown!
Did you know there are more books that take place in the Forgotten Universe, including Caleb’s origin story?
A lot more.
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OTHER BOOKS BY M.R FORBES
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Forgotten (The Forgotten)
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Some things are better off FORGOTTEN.
Sheriff Hayden Duke was born on the Pilgrim, and he expects to die on the Pilgrim, like his father, and his father before him.
That's the way things are on a generation starship centuries from home. He's never questioned it. Never thought about it. And why bother? Access points to the ship's controls are sealed, the systems that guide her automated and out of reach. It isn't perfect, but he has all he needs to be content.
Until a malfunction forces his wife to the edge of the habitable zone to inspect the damage.
Until she contacts him, breathless and terrified, to tell him she found a body, and it doesn't belong to anyone on board.
Until he arrives at the scene and discovers both his wife and the body are gone.
The only clue? A bloody handprint beneath a hatch that hasn't opened in hundreds of years.
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Deliverance (Forgotten Colony)
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The war is over. Earth is lost. Running is the only option.
It may already be too late.
Caleb is a former Marine Raider and commander of the Vultures, a search and rescue team that's spent the last two years pulling high-value targets out of alien-ravaged cities and shipping them off-world.
When his new orders call for him to join forty-thousand survivors aboard the last starship out, he thinks his days of fighting are over. The Deliverance represents a fresh start and a chance to leave the war behind for good.
Except the war won't be as easy to escape as he thought.
And the colony will need a man like Caleb more than he ever imagined...
Starship For Sale (Starship For Sale)
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When Ben Murdock receives a text message offering a fully operational starship for sale, he’s certain it has to be a joke.
Already trapped in the worst day of his life and desperate for a way out, he decides to play along. Except there is no joke. The starship is real. And Ben’s life is going to change in ways he never dreamed possible.
All he has to do is sign the contract.
Joined by his streetwise best friend and a bizarre tenant with an unseverable lease, he’ll soon discover that the universe is more volatile, treacherous, and awesome than he ever imagined.
And the only thing harder than owning a starship is staying alive.
Man of War (Rebellion)
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In the year 2280, an alien fleet attacked the Earth.
Their weapons were unstoppable, their defenses unbreakable.
Our technology was inferior, our militaries overwhelmed.
Only one starship escaped before civilization fell.
Earth was lost.
It was never forgotten.
Fifty-two years have passed.
A message from home has been received.
The time to fight for what is ours has come.
Welcome to the rebellion.
Hell’s Rejects (Chaos of the Covenant)
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The most powerful starships ever constructed are gone. Thousands are dead. A fleet is in ruins. The attackers are unknown. The orders are clear: Recover the ships. Bury the bastards who stole them.
Lieutenant Abigail Cage never expected to find herself in Hell. As a Highly Specialized Operational Combatant, she was one of the most respected Marines in the military. Now she's doing hard labor on the most miserable planet in the universe.
Not for long.
The Earth Republic is looking for the most dangerous individuals it can control. The best of the worst, and Abbey happens to be one of them. The deal is simple: Bring back the starships, earn your freedom. Try to run, you die. It's a suicide mission, but she has nothing to lose.
The only problem? There's a new threat in the galaxy. One with a power unlike anything anyone has ever seen. One that's been waiting for this moment for a very, very, long time. And they want Abbey, too.
Be careful what you wish for.
They say Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. They have no idea.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
M.R. Forbes is the mind behind a growing number of Amazon best-selling science fiction series. He currently resides with his family and friends on the west cost of the United States, including a cat who thinks she’s a dog and a dog who thinks she’s a cat.
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M.R. Forbes, Galaxy Unknown (Forgotten Galaxy Book 1)
