Battleship Furiosa

by Michael G. Thomas

  "Very well," said the alien commander, "Whoever shields the traitor, will suffer the same fate."

  Nate swallowed, his dry mouth seeming to close up. Videogame simulations never carried the stress of knowing the conflict might continue afterwards.

  "Soon the entire might of the Princeps’ fleets will be here, and he will not stop until you yield. Not even your entire Alliance can stand against him. In two days we will bring the united forces of the Star Empire to purge your worlds of the stain of the impure."

  Nate looked stunned. All of them had already heard the wild ravings and ranting of the Techno militias and their desperate need to eradicate the taint of the Biomechs. This was the first time he'd heard the same ravings from a figure in authority, and part of the Star Empire command structure. It gave him a strange tingle in his spine as he listened, and as he looked ahead, he suddenly missed his friends. He looked across to his comrades and sighed at seeing them there. For a moment he'd felt lost and alone. Just knowing they were on his flanks and armed for battle gave him the boost of confidence that he needed.

  You can do this, Nate. Just be cool. Concentrate on the mission.

  He recalled the maps he'd been made to study for what seemed like hours. The Fiorr Veej System was perhaps the most critical area of space in the entire sector, and that was why two thirds of Orion Command was now there. It was the backdoor into Alliance space, and the critical Helios System. Even now, Admiral Anderson, the military commander of Orion Command was mobilising everything he had around the central planets of the Helios System. Right now they were too spread out to be able to deal with a major incursion by this new threat.

  They've timed this well. With a lot of our resources assisting the rebels at the Tenth Quadrant, we are weak.

  He gulped uncomfortably as he realised what could happen if they were attacked in force. If they withdrew from the Fiorr Veej System, they would give up the last of the old Byotai territories and any likelihood of rebuilding the old Empire. There was a lot more to it than that, though, and Nate knew it.

  The priority is always ourselves. What do we have to lose out here?

  It was a cynical question to ask, but the Admiral had already explained that with the Spacebridge from Karnak blockaded, there was no direct route for General Makos and his loyalists to take to join them in the Alliance, or even for the Alliance to help him. By retaining control of the Fiorr Veej System, the Alliance controlled the four gateways in a system that was now effectively the crossroads to shipping lanes used by all three factions. Whoever controlled it, controlled the movement of fleets for weeks, perhaps months in all directions. Most significantly, by controlling Fiorr Veej, the fleets of Admiral Churchill and General Makos could assist each other in a matter of hours by travelling through the multiple Rifts that littered the Deadlands.

  What is that?

  A dozen yellow lights flickered ahead, and then more across the entire flank of the alien ship. Nate should have known what was happening, but it was so quick that he thought it was little more than light glinting off the hull. The explosions around the Warbarge immediately snapped him to attention. A light flashed on his comms system announcing a line of sight message from the Lieutenant Commander. All fighters in the Alliance could communicate with the laser communication system, one that was impossible to jam without physically blocking the space between the fighters.

  "We have to hold until relieved. Prepare yourselves; the Vanguard needs a few more minutes. Target the ship's gunnery systems...and fire!"

  The targeting data transferred from fighter to fighter, ensuring that each of them hit the right target and with the correct number and type of munitions. Even as Nate's finger moved to the trigger, he was too late. The myriad of gun ports on the alien ship flickered as they unleashed its arsenal against the Warbarge. A small number of the ship’s smaller turrets opened fire on the four fighters, but they easily jinked from the gunfire and then lined up along the flank of the ship. One by one the four fighters launched their missiles.

  "Fox Three!"

  The term was an old one, a brevity code used by pilots to indicate the launch of air-to-air munitions. The Fox was the first part, the designation for the firing. The number referred to the type of tracking system being used. Then came an alert Nate wasn't expecting.

  Fighters?

  Red icons appeared on his visor overlay along the flank of the ship just as the volley of missiles crashed through the defensive cordon of gunfire. All but one penetrated the defences and struck the upper gundecks. The explosions were much larger than those form the older missiles and triggered multiple smaller explosions that rippled down one side of the ship.

  "I have contact, four fighters, bearing three-one."

  "Got them," said Lieutenant Commander Holder, "Break and attack."

  The fighters split apart into two pairs and circled in a wide, confusing pattern towards the rear of the ship. Their burners wasted fuel, but got them in and out of danger far more quickly. As they changed course, the two monstrous ships exchanged fire like wooden ships of old. They were only fifteen kilometres apart, and with no gravity or atmosphere to interfere with their targeting, it was easy to hit each other. Streaks of dust and metal marked the path of hundreds of shells as they did their best to annihilate each other. Nate's wingman wagged his wings as he tagged the two nearest fighters.

  "There they are," said Rex.

  "Got 'em."

  The pair of fighters circled around so that they were now moving towards the flanks of these spacecraft. As they moved closer, the shapes of the craft became clearer.

  Mahingans.

  Unlike Alliance fighters, the new craft used by the Star Empire were asymmetrical and quite different in design and construction. Although not as sturdy as the Lightning, the Mahingan was much more heavily armed and almost as big as a gunship. They carried eight automatic cannons along the wings, and a deadly 75mm medium velocity mass driver in a central pod, slightly offset from the pilot.

  "Follow me in," said Nate.

  The two accelerated as they gave chase. The enemy must have detected their presence because they immediately split apart. One lifted up and away from its pursuers, while the second rolled over and then accelerated directly at the Warbarge.

  "Split up," suggested Rex, "I'll take the first."

  He began to move away, but Nate answered back in a stern voice.

  "Negative. We have to work together. That's what they want us to do. Promethium can handle that one. Let's take the climber. Just hit the second tagged fighter on your system. Remember, concentration of combat power."

  Rex acknowledged and both fighters then pulled up in a high-g climb. When they'd first started, Rex had always been the leader. He was an incredible pilot, perhaps the best of them, yet he was cocky, arrogant, and hard to control. Nate shook his head as they gave chase.

  "Ready your weapons. This is gonna get close."

  As they moved away from their previous position, another barrage of gunfire struck the Warbarge. This time it was a mixture of particle beam weapons and mass drivers, the kind of heavy ordnance designed to cripple a warship. The Warbarge might be ancient, but it was taking a beating like nothing Nate had ever seen. Missiles, guns, and torpedoes smashed into its armour, yet each impact did little more than bash holes in the exterior or tear off armour plating. The Warbarge's exterior was over engineered to a degree never repeated afterwards. By removing the powerful engines, or anything else normally used by a conventional ship, she was fully optimised as an orbital gun platform and nothing more.

  "I have a lock," said Rex, "Meteors ready to engage."

  "Fire!" Nate said.

  Tiny sparks marked the launch of a single Meteor missile as it screamed away from its launch rail and chased after the fighter. This weapon was standard issue in the fleet and capable of engaging small to medium sized targets up to half the range of its larger cousin, the infamous Dragon V missile. As it neared the enemy, the two Alliance fighters pulled
apart until nearly a hundred metres away. It was close enough to assist each other in the fight, but not so close that they couldn't manoeuvre in an emergency. Both craft continued to slide left and right, continually presenting a more difficult target for any weapons that might be tracking them.

  "Lining up...guns ready..."

  Nate moved his targeting reticule ahead of the fighter, and exactly where the computer estimated he needed to aim. At that moment, the Meteor came into view and then ran into a star pattern of countermeasures. The Mahingan spun about so that it was flying backwards and opened fired. The light autocannons crackled around Nate, and he was forced to pull away to avoid sustaining major fire.

  "Watch out!"

  A bright flash marked the activation of the deadly 75mm mass driver. This weapon used a magnetised sled much like an electromagnetic railgun. Rather than using the complex weaponry often used n the Alliance; this weapon simply fire anything it wanted at a target. On this occasion is was a dense ball of hardened metal that was easily capable of cutting a fighter in two, even of penetrating multiple layers of armour. The large-calibre projectile blasted past and narrowly missing hitting the left side of his fighter as he kept on rolling. The Mahingan then swung around and boosted its engines in a desperate attempt to escape.

  My turn.

  Nate pulled the trigger and was rewarded by the familiar kick as the pair of Gatling guns opened up. Only a handful of the shells were equipped with burning material to create a tracer, but he was a good enough shot to not need them. The first burst went wide, but as the Mahingan corrected, he managed to penetrate it through the upper armour. A series of small flashes danced about the left wing, yet it still kept on dodging. Nate moved his aim a little to the right and his finger to the trigger.

  Try and fight without your engines!

  "Nice, very nice!" Rex yelled, "I'll finish him."

  Nate's finger instantly released from the trigger as his companion hit his burners and pushed ahead of him, partially blocking his line of sight.

  "Idiot, out of my way. Get back!"

  Rex ignored him and concentrated his own weapons on the enemy, leaving Nate directly behind and partially obscured from the target. Both wing-mounted guns spat round after round at the damage fighter until finally a burst shattered the cockpit, sending the broken fighter into a death roll. Rex then began to lift up to move against the second of the fighters. Nate kept his frontal weaponry pointing at the fighters and dropped back to give him more reaction time.

  "No, stay with me. Do not break formation. We have to stay paired up! Do not do that again."

  "Don't worry. I had your back. That puts me on seven kills as well now. Same as you, right?"

  Rex laughed in an exaggerated fashion as he fell back into formation. Nate's face reddened with anger, and it took all of his self-control to not burst into a rage right there and then. This was not the first time this had happened, and it was the recurring theme that stopped the Knighthawks from being taken seriously in the fleet. Their origin as a mixed unit of teenage gamers and a handful of placement cadets was proving hard to shake. Nate was not bothered that Rex had claimed the kill, or even that he might surpass him. It was the lack of discipline that continued with him. Nate rolled twice and then aimed at the spinning fighter. To his annoyance, Rex would not stay silent on the issue.

  "Why not? We have to get the other one before it escapes. You can't..."

  Once more the fighter spun around, and this time it fired its mass driver first. Nate kept on rolling, using the distance to avoid the attack. He was ready for it, but it didn't matter, the target was him this time. The powerful round slammed into Rex's fighter and punched straight through, taking a large part of the fuselage with it. The remnants of the fighter then vanished in a terrible fireball.

  "No!" Nate screamed.

  He banked to the left, narrowly avoiding chunks of debris blasting away from the wreck. Nate then lined up on the Mahingan that had now moved even closer to ANS Promethium and fired two more bursts. It was almost impossible to see what was happening, as the approaching missiles and shells from the Star Empire ship reached their target. Most never even made it close to the armour as the Warbarge's twelve upgraded defence turrets made short work of them. Some of the shells impacted on the armour, but apart from the impact marks, there was little discernible damage. He boosted his engines and chased down after the fighter, even though it was leading into the maelstrom of battle. Then common sense prevailed, and he shook his head.

  "No, you fool. Pull up!"

  He yanked on his controls and veered away as the Warbarge unleashed a barrage from its primary weapons. The Mahingan flew right through the gunfire and disappeared amidst the flashing and streaks of high-power guns. The return fire from the ship’s primitive guns was very different to anything he'd seen before. He almost choked upon seeing the emergency beacon from Rex's cockpit transponder. It meant the cockpit pod had been jettisoned, and that he was alive and in need of a pickup.

  "Stay put. Help is on the way."

  Rex began to answer, but Nate cut his audio feed in a fit of anger and rolled to the left to rejoin the two fighters from Corsair Squadron. With him on his own, it was much too dangerous to hunt alone and would leave him vulnerable. Rex was safe, for now. Few fighter pilots would fly around looking for ejecting enemies to kill, at least while the battle still raged. Nate made subtle power ratio adjustments and then checked the networked threat data. Every drone, ship, and fighter in the area pooled their information to create a detailed assessment of the area.

  It's time to finish this.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Alliance Minefield, Fiorr Veej System, Deadlands

  23 December 2472

  Nate had been in the cockpit for so long his body ached. He tried to shift around, but the harness pulled him down tight. It was all, of course, to keep him safe, but right now, he wanted to twist his torso and relieve the stress in his body. The battle continued to rage, even though most of the Alliance fleet remained unengaged. He understood why that was so, but at this very moment he'd have liked to see a few more Alliance ships helping out.

  Even as he moved to within a kilometre of the pair, his threat indicator activated. A quick glance showed that the damaged fighter was on his tail, while the second was moving to regroup with its two companions heading for Lieutenant Commander Holder from out of the cover of the gunfire.

  "Corsair Leader, two hostiles on a head-on approach."

  The answer from Corsair Leader was instantaneous. Her voice was as calm as it ever was and helped keep Nate focused on the mission.

  "Good eyes, we have them. Lift to point seven and take my right flank. Check your guns. You're going to need them."

  Nate pulled up and then boosted his engines just as the next barrage blasted away from the Warbarge. They fired in a sequence, a long ripple that ran along the flank and upper decks. A single 255mm automatic cannon was far from state-of-the-art, yet what it lacked in technology, it made up for in numbers and sheer brute force. At the same time, a bright glow from the ship’s manoeuvring thrusters covered one entire flank as they attempted to correct for the broadside.

  Stay away from them, you fool.

  Nate had thought he was far enough away, but the first four guns fired perilously close. As he lifted up, he could see the flashes as each fired in turn. They were much more powerful than the weapon fitted to standard ships of the line and from a different age of warfare.

  Incredible.

  It was a machine built for one job, and it was doing it well. Twenty-four of these massive guns could cripple a smaller warship in one salvo, and a concerted bombardment could make even a massive vessel like ANS Warlord soon back away. The guns used an archaic ammunition type where each projectile comprised a hardened penetrator slug, and behind it a shaped, high explosive charge that expanded sideways, as well as sending a super-heated stream of plasma into the breach created by the penetrator. The ship carried over thirteen hundred crew t
o manage the defensive systems, as well as the partially automated loading and firing system for the gun systems.

  "Lock on targets and use your guns only," said Corsair Leader, "Fire at will."

  Nate acknowledged and then targeted his pre-selected fighter to the left of the enemy formation. They were coming in fast, the flashes of the guns backlighting them so that they appeared as silhouettes. The three Alliance fighters poured gunfire into them as they approached, simultaneously sliding both vertically and horizontally. Projectiles sailed past, but not one touched them. One Mahingan exploded in a fireball, and a second dropped down too far and was hit by the medium gun turrets that were strewn across the surface of the Warbarge.

  "One left and one damaged," said the Lieutenant Commander, "Follow me."

  The formation of three Lightnings rolled to the right and just above the barrage of gunfire. The last two enemy spacecraft had activated their engines and were now accelerating below the Warbarge. This was the only significant vulnerability for the ship, but there was nothing the fighters could do from there.

  "They are just avoiding the flank. Light them up."

  It took a little longer this time as the five spacecraft weaved in and out of the lower superstructure. Nate spotted the damaged craft make a subtle pulse with one of its engines.

  "It's gonna spin, evade!"

  All three Alliance fighters pulled apart from their formation just as it spun around. The gunfire streaked between them but caused no damage. The return fire from the three of them knocked out one engine and then ignited its powerplant. The explosion destroyed the fighter and sent so much debris into the last craft that it spun out of controlling before vanishing in a fireball.