Space Corps - Explorer (Book 1) by K. W. Matthews

immediately.”
    “Yes, Admiral.” A moment later, she continued, “It’s up, sir.”
    A booming voice filled the command bridge over the intercom. “This is Charles Robinson of Central Command. What can I do for you today, Admiral?”
    Ashley looked around her. Her crew, obviously exhausted, still had so much to do before the Explorer could be on its way. She ran her hands down the front of her uniform to brush out the wrinkles that formed during the attack.
    When she regained her composure, Ashley responded. “Command, I trust you’ve already been informed that we were set to intercept the alien vessel?”
    “Yes. Has the interception already happened?”
    “Regrettably.”
    “And what were the results?”
    Ashley cleared a lump in her throat. “Not good, sir. The Explorer and the Guardian were knocked out by an Electromagnetic Pulse bomb. We’ve since recovered, but will have to repair the engine. If we can get that done, we’ll be able to continue pursuit.”
    “And the status of the Protector?”
    “The Protector was away at the time and came out of it without a problem. Commander Gibbs and the crew of the Protector managed to get the power on the Explorer and Guardian back up.”
    “Is it safe to assume the alien vessel is still on its way to Earth?”
    “Yes, sir. It looks that way.”
    “Do we know the estimated time of arrival?”
    Ashley looked toward her sensor team. One of the crewmen looked up after running through some data.
    “We’re looking at two weeks if they maintain the speed and direction they used before.”
    Robinson said, “If we’re looking at an ETA of two weeks, what are the odds that you’ll be able to beat them here?”
    “I don’t know,” Ashley said. She tried to brush her hair out of her face, but it had no effect with it tied in a bun.
    “Admiral, I’m going to lay everything on the line for you. We’ve spoken with the Chinese, Indian, and Russian space agencies. The fact is, even if we utilize all our resources and theirs, we don’t have the assets we would need to counter the alien threat.
    “The Chinese lunar base does have some basic weapons. Their weapons are great for maintaining security, but it’s certainly not enough to hold off an alien attack.
    “Admiral, I know you don’t want to hear this, but you and the Explorer are the only chance we have of pushing the aliens back. I don’t know how you’ll do it, but I need you to get the Explorer operational again and get it over here.”
    Lost in thought, Ashley said, “I understand, sir, but even if we get the Explorer over there, we couldn’t win our first encounter, so how can we win our second?”
    “I don’t know, Admiral, but we have faith in you. Failure is simply not an option. Do I make myself clear?”
    “Crystal. Admiral Sorrells out.”
    With that, Ashley walked off the bridge. She said nothing to anyone as she left, but a flock of people followed her. As she walked, she removed the coat of her uniform and passed it to one of the crewmen behind her.
    Always wearing the uniform, she often forgot about the coldness of the ship. Ashley never minded it before, but with the chill making the hairs on her arms stand on end, she felt too exposed.
    Leaving the bow of the ship, Ashley and her staff made their way to engineering. Using every square inch of the engineering section to its maximum potential left little room to walk around. The taller men behind Ashley ducked in the narrow halls.
    When she reached the main engineering room, Ashley hardly noticed the stares of her crew. Most of the ship’s engineers very seldom saw the admiral. Knowing she personally designed the engine they worked on throughout the day, they couldn’t help but look at her with a bit of awe.
    “Tools,” Ashley said to the nearest engineer. A one-word request may have sounded harsh, but her tone was much softer.
    Taken back by the sudden request, the young man quickly took off his tool belt and handed it to the