Battleship Furiosa

by Michael G. Thomas

  "Great work, pilots. Time to rotate. Vampire Squadron will be here in two to three..."

  The fighters rushed away but this time on standard thrust only. Each still carried nearly a quarter of their original fuel, as well as a small reserve, but there was no sense in wasting fuel as they withdrew from battle. Nate used the moment to check for signs of Rex. For the shortest of moments he thought he might have been captured of killed, but then he found the IFF tag as the capsule moved through space.

  You lucky fool, Rex. A drone must have snagged him.

  There were scores of different drones out in space, most there to provide long-range intelligence. There were also a handful with the sole job of rescue and recovery of downed pilots. It was a thankless job, but one ideally suited to semi-autonomous and expendable machines.

  Nate took a sip of water from the inlet pipe in his helmet and then ran his eyes over the multiple status indicators. The Lightning IIA was a complex spacecraft, and even with its modern, simplified indicators it was still easy to get lost in the wealth of information. The fighter was covered in sensors, but luckily for him, the majority of the data was then collated and examined by the onboard computer before presenting only what was important to the pilot. They were already a good way back towards the Alliance fleet when another warning beeped on his navigation display.

  "New contacts."

  He changed the view on the display to show directly behind just as another bright white flash enveloped the Rift. Four civilian spacecraft ploughed through the minefield and exploded on arrival. They were unarmoured and might easily have been liners or transports. Even as they continued to explode, another two ships arrived and burst through their shattered hulks. As before, they used the wreckage of the broken ships to shield themselves from the worst of the damage. They were not as big as the first ship, but still a match for something as substantial as an Alliance cruiser. As before, the sound of the enemy commander drowned out their internal audio systems.

  "The eradication of the impure has begun. This system will be purged."

  Commander Higgins’ voice filled Nate's ears, and he smiled at hearing the voice of the man responsible for putting them in the cockpit of these fighters. It seemed like an age ago when they'd taken command of the drones, yet now they were pilots.

  "Two flights are en route to relieve you. Assist the Vampires until they arrive, then get back here, fast!"

  With Captain Cornwallis currently on board ANS Warlord, the responsibility of CAG had moved to Commander Higgins. He now commanded the fighters and gunships of the assault ship, and did so with the usual calm confidence he always exuded. Lieutenant Commander Holder sighed over the comms.

  "Understood, Relentless. Moving back to assist."

  She then turned her focus to her two remaining wingmen.

  "Move to point three-three. It's time to join the Vampires."

  The formation moved in a wide arc as they changed course and then boosted their engines to maximum combat power. Though not quite the same as using the burners, it did provide a slower, but continuous level of thrust to get them back into the action. As they moved around, Nate was granted the perfect view of the battlefield, and it looked like a still image from a movie or even a great painting. Direct energy weapons glinted off the thin dust, while guns and missiles whooshed past in all directions.

  "Shouldn't we draw in more ships and increase our combat power?" Nate asked.

  The Lieutenant Commander took longer than normal before answering.

  "In theory, yes, but the Admiral has given us our orders. The fleet remains at the Rift and protecting our way home. It is important to maintain our ability to manoeuvre, even at the expense of damage to the fleet."

  Nate's eyes blinked three times as flashes announced the arrival of yet more ships.

  Yeah, great plan. And what happens when they have an entire fleet here, and we're still throwing in ships one at a time?

  He shook his head and made changes to his course to stay close to the others. He looked back for a moment and almost asked for a warm drink. It was a bizarre thing to do, but even now, after so many real missions in this fighter, occasionally he'd forget that and would return to the simpler time, when he'd been sitting at the simulator and surrounded by people.

  Not here, Nate, this is for real.

  A quick check on his display confirmed the arrival of more enemy vessels. It was clear that the Star Empire had not given up on this territory and continued to force more of their number to enter the system.

  "Contact! Ships coming through," said Commander Higgins, "We're launching more gunships."

  Nate glanced at display and the grey outline of the now empty weapon systems. His fighter had the capability of mounting a great variety of different weapons, but most of his were now gone, limiting his combat options. More than anything, he'd like to have had access to long-range missiles. It was always safer to conduct warfare at maximum range and let the weapons do the talking.

  Ordnance gone, seventeen hundred rounds left on the guns.

  It wasn't much; especially compared to what he'd left with. Gone were the anti-ship missiles, as well as the medium range air-to-air missiles. Ordnance was still limited in the fleet while they waited for replenishment ships to arrive from Helios Prime. That meant half-loads for most missions. Off in the distance were the tiny dots of the enemy fighters, and as the computer added up their numbers, Nate sighed.

  Thirty-four fighters. And quite a few ships.

  "Okay, move above the Vampires and stay frosty," said Lieutenant Commander Holder.

  As Nate moved into position alongside Vampire Squadron, he felt a pang of excitement ripple through his body. Yes, flying these fighters was terrifying and dangerous, yet for all of that he still felt as though he'd won the jackpot. His eighteenth birthday was a month away, and already he'd made a name for himself as a pilot, something he could never have dreamed of. He smiled as he recalled that one event that had changed everything.

  Three years ago, Nate had played a mission in the Star Crusader public simulation. It had been at a party event among friends, pitting a dozen of them on their computer systems against a computer-controlled battleship. The scenario was randomly created, hardly something unusual, yet it had special significance to him. One by one, they had been destroyed until just five of them remained. They had moved in close to deliver their cargo of atomic warheads in a mission that would ultimately fail. That was the day where Nate had taken over command of the squadron and had tasted command for the first time. Ten minutes later, the mission was over, and although they failed, it had shown him what he wanted to do with his life.

  I'm a pilot...finally.

  He blinked twice and then shook his head. This battle was escalating fast, and he had expected nothing more than another boring patrol. Instead, the enemy had sent in multiple Star Empire warships and was showing no signs of withdrawing, even after they had suffered at the guns of ANS Promethium. They were arriving piecemeal, though it was already clear that the Alliance would have to deal with them, and fast.

  "Stay in formation and do not enter the danger zone," said Captain Brockway, "The heavies will deal with the new arrivals. Our job is the primary warship."

  As the most senior pilot in the area, he immediately took command of the three remaining fighters to protect his oversized squadron of the eight Bullnose gunships.

  "Understood," replied Lieutenant Commander Holder, "We're ready to assist."

  Nate watched as gunships spread out into a wide formation, forming an open box so that they could protect each other with their turrets. The Lightning fighters deployed above the gunships and nearly half a kilometre ahead.

  "Stay in formation. We've got multiple hostiles on approach."

  Nate had never heard the Captain's voice before. Unlike his senior officers, this one sounded softer and a little friendlier.

  "Okay, thirty seconds to launch. We will wait until the last second before launching. Be ready and watch
for fighters. Do not let them through."

  On went the Squadron and directly towards the massive Star Empire ship. Already the Alliance ships had turned their attention to the pair of new ships. Though undamaged, they were far less able to deal with the big guns of the Alliance warship, and already Nate could see they were taking heavy damage. Only the smaller guns fitted to ANS Retaliation still fired at Thondar. His eyes moved to the left flank of the Alliance Battlecruiser as the banks of turrets swung to the side. He licked his lips in anticipation.

  Here it comes.

  He had never been this close to a Conqueror Class Battlecruiser when it unleashed a full broadside, and though he was in a battle, he just had to watch what happened. Although based on a redesigned and enlarged Crusader Class, this latest iteration of the design had been thoroughly reworked to make it an even more effective weapon platform. Due to advancements by the CTC Corporation it was now possible to mount pulsed particle weapon systems directly into medium-sized turrets. The older models were going through a refurbishment programme to bring them all up to the tranche two specifications.

  "Keep away from her guns," said the Captain.

  Nate made subtle adjustments to his course and then looked back at the weapons. ANS Retaliation featured much more than just the forward facing particle cannons now standard fitment of Alliance heavy ships. The bulbous bow carried three forward facing turrets along with two sets of six turrets along the upper deck. And further back another eight turret emplacements all around the primary superstructure. On both of the ship’s haunches were an extended series of bulkheads carrying four more turrets. Topping off the massed weaponry were another pair of turrets aft of the main superstructure.

  "Wow!"

  He had not meant to speak so loudly, and his voice spread through the fighter group, much to the amusement of the older pilots. Nate could have kicked himself, but the damage was already done.

  "Cut the chatter," said the Captain, his voice less happy than before, "Fighters moving into range. Prepare for incoming missiles."

  Nate nodded as the formation of three fighters moved ahead another hundred metres in front of the entire strength of Vampire Squadron. This formation of heavy gunships was similar to the equipment he'd already used on Relentless. The gunships were anti-ship variants of the Bullnose and carried multiple anti-ship missiles on extended hard points along the flanks and underside.

  Here it comes.

  "Fire!" said Lieutenant Commander Holder.

  The three fighters opened up with their guns as more than a hundred short-range missiles rushed towards them. A second later the gun turrets of the gunships opened fire, creating corridors of gunfire that looked like pouring rain. Dozens of flashes marked the deaths of missiles, and then they were in range. Some missed, but many struck their targets or the countermeasure units each dumped into space. Nate coughed in surprise at seeing the lead gunship take five direct hits simultaneously, and then it was gone.

  "Two gunships down! Follow me," said Lieutenant Commander Holder.

  Nate held his breath as the two formations of fighters and gunships clashed. There were no collisions as they crashed together, like two ancient armies charging across an open plain. Guns blasted away, short-range missiles chasing both sides without mercy. More explosions raked the blackness of space as both sides took losses, and then they were through.

  There it is.

  Nate breathed in deeply as the large Alliance formation lined up on the powerful warship. One by one, they called out and released their weapons. Scores of hypersonic Star Fire missiles hurtled towards the ship, and then separated like an exploding firework. For a second Nate thought the mission had failed, but then each missile took on a new terminal flight path to confuse the ship’s defences. Some were shot down, but as the formation pulled away, at least thirty impacted along the flank of the ship. Explosions shattered a section more than fifty metres long.

  "Withdraw, the heavies are going to finish the job, and more fighters are now in position."

  Nate acknowledged the Lieutenant Commander but still checked his scanners. There were now two more squadrons of fighters in the area, and they were weaving in and out of the enemy units. Two groups split off to join the remnants of the Vampires.

  We could still help out here.

  Just as he thought the words, his eyes picked out the low fuel warnings already showing on his system.

  "Sir, we can call in drone tankers and stay in the fight."

  "That's a negative. Return to Relentless."

  The remnants of the unit accelerated away as ANS Retaliation finally turned her main guns back to the enemy flagship. They'd already crippled the smaller ships, and with their guns added to the damage already caused, the battle was over almost before it had begun. Even so, the enemy refused to surrender, or to even abandon ship. By the time Nate reached the open bow landing deck of ANS relentless, he was feeling nauseous.

  Why won't they stop firing and just surrender?

  In most simulations, ships would strike their colours after sustaining a certain percentage of damage, or if their casualties had reached unsustainable limits. War was terrible enough without sacrificing those unable to continue to fight further. These rules seemed to not apply here, and try as he might, he could not shake the terrible thoughts of what was happening inside those enemy vessels.

  Something made him look back, and as he glanced at the rear view, the mighty vessel flashed once and then disappeared inside a monstrous atomic explosion. The flash faded, and the broken hull split apart from dozens of internal blasts.

  This isn't war.

  Nate sighed as he passed the forward gun turrets of Relentless. The old warship was nothing as big as the Battlecruisers, and only two-thirds the size of the Crusader Class warships. Yet at two hundred and eighty metres in length, she was still a substantial vessel. He noticed two of the turrets tracking him and felt a tingle of nerves as the powerful weapons followed him in. These guns were easily capable of blasting him to atoms, especially as he was following a direct landing path into the ship.

  Stay cool and land the damn thing.

  There were three other fighters already inside, so he flew past them and headed for a designated landing point nearer the bow of the ship. The yellow interior lights flashed by as he passed over the gunships and fighters, following the landing procedures that he'd practiced hundreds of times. So routine was it that he barely even noticed the moment he made contact with the deck, or when the clamps lowered his craft into the internal elevator system.

  Why did they throw their ships away?

  * * *

  Nate had been back aboard for three hours and spent most of that time being debriefed, and then going over damage and issues with his fighter with the deck crew. The battle had ended as soon as it had started, and now he was back to the routine of the patrol schedule. Pilots would have short segments of time to rest, get some food, and stretch their limbs before being rotated back into the field. He just wanted to sleep, but then the message from Captain Galanos had arrived. Since then, he'd been paralysed, unable to do a thing other than wait. That had been forty minutes ago. Now he was outside the Captain's door, but it seemed as though it had taken a whole day. He could hear the officer's voice as she spoke to one of the Corsair pilots.

  The tone was clear, even if the words were not. Finally, the door opened and out came the surprisingly calm pilot. Only when she'd moved alongside him did he notice it was Lieutenant Commander Holder.

  That can't be good!

  The officer looked at Nate, shook her head, and then marched off.

  "Come in."

  Nate gulped and then stepped inside. He wanted to go and see his friends, but since the end of their mission, he'd been unable to find even thirty seconds to contact them. Now he was being dragged in to see the Captain, and right after the Lieutenant Commander.

  This is it, then.

  He'd never been in this room before, and as the door clunked shut behind him,
he wondered if this might mean the end of his time in the Squadron. They had plenty of kills to their names but had also taken a number of losses.

  "Sir."

  Nate waited at attention and looked directly ahead at the seated officer. Captain Galanos returned the salute with a grumble and then nodded at the chair in front of her desk. He sat down and glanced briefly at the place. It was a large area, easily big enough for two people. The Captain had modified the layout, making it suitable both as her personal space, as well as a small office.

  "Captain Cornwallis is back as CAG, and Commander Higgins is running over your fighters as we speak. He intends on cannibalising the damaged craft to rebuild our squadrons within the next six hours. Now, how are you after that last patrol?"

  "Sir, uh...okay. The last patrol wasn't easy. But we..."

  "Yes, I know," said the Captain, "You made it back, but you lost another fighter due to some questionable discipline. That's something you need to resolve, and fast. I've put Commander Higgins on a review of our fighter operations. Your results are impressive, but your losses are unsustainable. I need pilots, but I also need fighters."

  I knew it. They're disbanding us.

  They shared a look across the room and try as he might, Nate could stay silent no more. His greatest fear wasn't being killed or losing a battle, it was to be taken away from this grand enterprise, one that he should never have been a part of to begin with.

  "Sir, you can't shut us down. We've done as much as any other squadron, and we're still combat effective. Even with..."

  Captain Galanos lifted her hand to silence him.

  "Who said anything about disbanding you?"

  She then shook her head.

  "The review will look at your training, tactics, and of course, our equipment. High Command has plans for this somewhat unique squadron. That's not why I called you in here, though."