The Alpha Protocol: Alpha Protocol Book 1 by Duncan Hamilton (free ebook reader for iphone .TXT) 📗

in many cases upgraded, so the handling and speed would be improved. The food banks had been replenished, the fabricators replaced, and the crew compartments were now as clean, fresh, and comfortable as anything that could be found in naval service. They’d even managed to refinish most of the internal surfaces in naval white. There was enough space in an old storage compartment to have a dedicated commander’s cabin off the bridge—somewhere Samson could find a private moment to himself without being too far away from the centre of things.

The Bounty was as ready as she would ever be, although Samson did not allow himself to be fooled into thinking she was in shape to do anything but run if they were attacked. A ship that could destroy the Sidewinder would make atoms of the Bounty. The sense of common purpose over the previous two days had helped lift the crews’ spirits, and they seemed more optimistic about what lay ahead. The mutineers’ efforts were a clear reflection of their hope of winning more lenient sentences at court martial, but Samson could not fault their work. History was waiting to be written, and if they did their duty diligently, it was likely that all of their names would feature in it. As daunting as his first command seemed, the attraction of that was impossible to deny.

Samson followed the procedures for a shakedown cruise on the return journey to the Oculus system. He had no intention of finding himself in a tight spot with no response from whatever button he was pressing on to get himself out of it. They tested each of the Bounty’s newly upgraded systems, one by one, until only the final test remained. He had always liked to save the best for last.

‘Fire the main batteries,’ Samson said. It was an overly grand way to describe the two Gauss guns, but it was technically correct and he didn’t know if he’d ever have the chance to give that order again.

The ship juddered as Price followed his orders; the Gauss guns accelerated their projectiles toward an imagined target at the centre of Oculus’s sun. They had been able to do a lot with the Bounty in the short time they’d had available, but installing an inertial dampening system capable of absorbing the kick from Gauss guns was too great an ask. Even so, there was something very satisfying about feeling the entire ship buck under the force of its new weaponry.

Samson watched the small shots race away at near the speed of light with a feeling of enormous pride. He only wished there was something for them to shoot at. He’d jettisoned some debris to test the computer’s tracking sensors, but it was too inconsequential for a weapons fire test—the Gauss slugs would have passed straight through the rubbish without slowing.

With one salvo fired, and the ship intact, he was satisfied the guns were ready for a more strenuous test.

‘Rapid fire. Commence.’

Price set about his task with relish. Samson reckoned he was keen to revert to his Marine status as soon as possible, but he clearly enjoyed firing guns whatever their size. The ship juddered with a regular rhythm as the guns fired projectile after projectile at the system’s sun. He watched the levels in the upgraded power banks as the reactor surged energy in to offset the depletion caused by each shot. The status bar on his data panel pulsed up and down, supply matching demand. He knew that wouldn’t be the case if the engines were being run hard or any of the other systems were being pressed, but he was firing them at their maximum safe rate, not something he was likely to do in a combat situation. That meant they’d be able to fire at a potent rate whilst the ship was still making way. All in all, he was coming to like the newly updated Bounty more with each passing minute.

They had been firing the guns for a full five minutes before he called a halt, happy that he had done enough to be confident the turrets weren’t going to rip themselves from the hull, nor explode and blast the ship apart. It was a good result, and Samson was pleased.

He wasn’t sure how much of a difference it would make against a ship capable of destroying the Sidewinder, but with luck the rejuvenated Bounty would be able to get away from danger, and not before landing a few body blows of her own.

The jump into the Nexus was seamless, with the new naval grade navigation computer making the necessary calculations almost instantaneously. He picked a drop-out point a day away from Dobson. Samson had had the chance to look over Arlen’s logs; Dobson was the last planet he had visited, and seemed a likely candidate for the source of Arlen’s mysterious cargo. Samson wanted to go and take a look for himself.

The actual arrival point he chose was much farther out than the new computer was capable of attaining, but he wanted to allow them a little more time to keep testing the systems. Sometimes the Nexus Current could interfere with systems that hadn’t been properly shielded, and he wanted to make sure everything came through intact. Besides, the more time they spent testing, the more familiar the crew became with the ship and its new interfaces. If they encountered the Sidewinder’s destroyer, he didn’t want anyone, himself included, trying to remember which button they had to press.

‘Approaching Dobson, sir,’ Harper said.

She had been the consummately professional naval officer since leaving the depot. After her work on the bridge systems, he’d decided to give her the chance to resume her duties. While Price was otherwise occupied presiding over his ship’s battery, Samson made sure to keep one of the other Marines on the bridge at all times, fully armed. It might have been petty of him, but it was a regulation requirement—even a paroled subject of naval justice