Breakout

By Louis Shalako

When the enemy heavy cruiser Scimitar disappears from her berth, Captain Jamie Maszco and the crew of Wolf and her sister ships must search in the blind for an enemy that is very stealthy—and very deadly. Space is getting distinctly warm around here. A short story of science fiction and the very near future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Louis Shalako
• Release date: Feb 9, 2017
• ISBN: 9781988621043

Louis Shalako

Louis Shalako is the founder of Long Cool One Books and the author of twenty-two novels, numerous novellas and other short stories. Louis studied Radio, Television and Journalism Arts at Lambton College of Applied Arts and Technology, later going on to study fine art. He began writing for community newspapers and industrial magazines over thirty years ago. His stories appear in publications including Perihelion Science Fiction, Bewildering Stories, Aurora Wolf, Ennea, Wonderwaan, Algernon, Nova Fantasia, and Danse Macabre. He lives in southern Ontario and writes full time. Louis enjoys cycling, swimming and good books.

Book preview

Breakout

Louis Shalako

Copyright 2017 Louis Shalako and Long Cool One Books

Design: J. Thornton

ISBN 978-1-988621-04-3

The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person living or deceased, or to any places or events, is purely coincidental. Names, places, settings, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination.

Table of Contents

Act One

Act Two

Act Three

About Louis Shalako

Breakout

Louis Shalako

Act One

Vice Commodore Arthur Perry looked up at a knock at the door.

Yes.

The earnest, freshly-scrubbed face of Lieutenant Cassidy was troubled.

Sir. We have a problem.

Yes?

"It’s Scimitar, sir. She appears to be missing." Scimitar was the heaviest enemy vessel in fifty or a hundred light-years.

She outgunned pretty much anything they could throw at her—

Missing? What do you mean, missing?

She’s gone, sir.

***

They were in the Communications and Information Centre, more informally The War Room among the junior service people.

"Right. Scimitar has been holed up for the last nineteen standard months. She put in for major repairs following the skirmish at Gliese. And she’s not there now, sir."

Damn. How in the hell— They’d been watching her like a hawk.

That’s a good question, sir. We simply don’t know. But there have been persistent rumours of enhanced stealth capabilities. Some of the incidental information would tend to confirm this—there is a significant industrial base on Kepler 442b, and it’s certainly possible she’s been fitted with something new.

The Commodore studied the data. He’d been briefed on it some time ago. Radar-absorbent materials. Plastics, fibres, carbon nano-tube laminates in resin matrix. Then there was the whole range of electronics fit. With a ship of that size, they might have just had time to do it. Intel, some of it was based on fact, and a lot of it was pure spec.

I see. The question is now, what to do about it.

In this sector, there were very few vessels available. Some of their units were on convoy duty. They probably couldn’t be spared. Then there was the base itself. It wouldn’t do to leave Prosper completely undefended.

We need to locate that ship, first and foremost.

Sir. Senior intelligence officer, Commander Maude Padorcek, touched her display and a new page