"I saw the intelligence. Are we taking the battlegroup into the Haven System?" he asked.
"No. We're changing course so we can hide just outside of it. I need you to get us there as fast as you can."
"They're forcing us to use guns before diplomacy again." He nodded once.
"That's the expectation. How fast can we get there if we push our wormhole systems?"
"Past what they're doing now? We can reach the Haven System in a day, but our projectors will need servicing. We won't have hyperspace or wormhole generation capabilities for at least four days, most likely seven. We'll have to leave the older destroyers and one carrier behind. They'll catch up about a week later."
"We need to be there."
"I'll make it happen, Admiral."
"Thank you, that'll be all for now." The channel closed, the large living room was silent. Olivia closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, then let herself start thinking about the Haven Fleet problem again.
Twelve
Birds
* * *
With the rattling and flashing of his fighter's main guns, Ronin dispatched his third enemy Uriel fighter of the engagement. The turret pod that sent popping bursts of energy back at him disintegrated first, then his rounds got through the hull and tore the inside of the ship to pieces. It would tumble through the air, down, down until it fell into the ocean.
The new heads up display layout allowed him to see normally while the tactical map was updating in his mind, and it had bad news for him. There was a group of five Ramiel fighters on their way to the vertical column of ships they were defending. Dame was on her way there. It was her first out of simulation combat mission, her first Uriel fighter, but she was already an ace. It didn't surprise him, she was a defected Lorander Security Forces pilot who transferred from the War Forge to the Triton at the last minute. She'd logged hundreds of simulation hours on the Uriel and completed every qualifier. He was happy she was on his side, but knew she was out of her depth against that many single seat fighting ships.
Ronin loaded and launched a barrage of seeker missiles at the incoming Ramiels, targeted them with the turret under his craft and ordered Maid to assist Dame immediately, she was the only pilot free of engagement at the moment. That included him; there was a Uriel fighter trying to get behind him, and as he turned his thrust up to maximum, listening to his inertial dampeners struggle to keep him from feeling more than a few g-forces, that enemy pilot was being given a gift. He shifted more power to his rear shielding, bringing it back to one hundred percent. "Dame, you need to back down, right now. Wait for backup, we're still too far away to back you up," he told her.
With a flip that pointed her fighter's nose to the ground, she obeyed his order as she acknowledged it; "Coming to you, Ronin. The Sound Victory was right behind me a second ago, I got too focused on my target to realize they were gone."
The Sound Victory had to move on. It was picking pods from the upper levels of the Everin Building up and shuttling them to the Pelican, where it was cloaked in orbit. It was incredible, how in an emergency evacuation, that all the exterior apartment pods in that building were space worthy and could be carried off like escape pods in an emergency. Watching it come apart one at a time was sad and amazing at the same time. They saved over a thousand lives already. So many people got confused by the evacuation alarms and followed the standard direction, which was to rush into the Everin Building and go to an assigned pod until rescuers could come. It would have been faster if they stayed in the square, or where they were stuck working during the gathering, but it could have been much worse, too.
On Ronin's tactical map, all five enemy Ramiel fighters adjusted course to get behind Dame's fighter. It took them a while to notice her, but there would be no mercy for her now. He saw the flashes of light from their misses first, then she came into view, moving at speed towards the ground over two kilometres below, the white wings extended from the sides of her craft making her ship look like a pale butterfly in the darkness. "Retreat and fire, Dame," he said as he opened up with his main cannons. They had a different characteristic in atmosphere and had started to sound almost hoarse as they spat hundreds of high velocity charged rounds at the enemy.
The shield systems of those fighters must have been working together as they flew in tight formation; his hits had little effect. As he launched another volley of seeker missiles, Dame's fighter - its cockpit turned upwards, firing all guns, thrusting pods pushing her ship down where she'd find more assistance - passed by close enough to cause a momentary turbulence warning for Ronin's fighter.
Strikes that looked like little jets of fire sparked off her shields as the Ramiels hammered her with their guns. Her turret was rotating frantically, trying to keep up with the missiles they sent down towards her. As Minh-Chu passed through a cloud, he spotted them with his naked eye. Raging down after her, the five were in a simple V formation, wearing her shields down from seventy-nine percent to thirteen in seconds.
He was in almost as much trouble as Dame. The Uriel behind him launched three heavy missiles as he lit his rear shields up with a barrage of micro-shells.
"Bird down! Mayday!" Ronin announced over their emergency channels as he turned his fighter towards the lead Ramiel. A fighter would be lost in the next few seconds, whether it was his or Dame's, but he might be able to save both pilots. It was a split-second decision, a massive risk. If he pulled it off, he'd collide at an incredible speed. "This is going to be…"
In the split second before the world went completely insane, his fighter spinning out of control through the air, his secondary port thruster pod registered a high-speed collision, he saw it light up, then his shields, the pod, and most of the armour on that side of his craft were gone. A dampener blew out, setting the seating in the emergency pickup module installed beneath his cockpit on fire. He struggled to force his ship to recalibrate so it could keep flying using two thruster pods - a small one at the front and the main starboard thruster - but caught himself thinking; I thought those seats were made of flame retardant materials?
The fire went out a few seconds later, but his ship was billowing smoke as the last two working thruster pods calibrated to the new shape of his ship. Dame was back with the flock, joined by Maid and several other fighter pilots. She'd taken heavy damage, her fighter may not stay up much longer, but she'd gotten away. The five Ramiels were in the dogfight below as well, but they weren't in formation anymore, and one was on its way down, on fire.
"Ronin! Do you still need rescue? I see you're still flying, but you are trailing smoke and your fighter is reporting critical damage," asked Merciless Flight Control.
A terrifying rat-tat-tat ping-ping filled his ears. Not through the audio system in his helmet, but in the air around him, and he flinched as rounds impacted on the hull of his fighter, some busting through his damaged cockpit, one pounding on the back of his seat, which had an armoured plate to protect against that exact shot built in. "Cover me! I am the turkey in the middle of this turkey shoot," Ronin said. The turret beneath his ship returned fire for half a dozen rounds then stopped, reporting that its energy was depleted because its connection to a power source had been severed. An attempt to turn his ship towards the Uriel coming in his direction only resulted in a slow flying arc. There was no way he was going to best that pilot in what was left of his ship. "Oh, I hope mercy and luck are on my side today," he said, arming the destruct system on the miniature quad drive.
"What was that, Sir?" Flight asked.
The sound of a missile striking the good half of his fighter drowned part of it out, but Ronin knew his prayer wasn't exactly a declaration of his intentions. "I'm bailing, switching to flight suit," he said, activating the ejection system.
INOPERABLE
The word appeared in red across his HUD. That wasn't going to work. The enemy Uriel roared past him, slowing. He's going to tear me up while he follows me down to the ground. Ronin thought.
With speed and dexterity tha
t he didn't know he still had, he undid his harness, activated the heavy armour built into his flight jacket and boots, then shifted in his seat so he could kick at the canopy with both feet. It only rattled the first time, but the second time the port side clasp holding it down failed, giving him just enough room to get out of his ship as energy bolts raked across its battered hull. He was in free-fall, Maid's Uriel was closest, firing at the enemy ship as it came around for another pass. She was putting herself between his fighter and the one that got the best of him, but that wouldn't help him much anymore. "Maid, cover the pilot, not his busted rig."
"I know, just give me a sec to adjust," she replied.
Ronin switched his HUD to flight mode. "I always wanted to try this," he said as his heavy armour lit up, the lower half of his shield generation systems switching to barrier thruster mode. His suit slowed his fall and propelled him through the air. It felt like he was flying, as free as a bird. He wasn't the only one. Dame was in the same situation but further along, touching down on the ground without her fighter. She had her rifle in hands, reporting to Strike Team One, Jake's group.
There were good reasons why someone in heavy armour didn't join the air defence. Fighters were much faster, they had heavier armour and better weapons. He was relieved that Dame was safe on the ground, that saving her didn't cost him another pilot, and that the five Ramiels that caused the situation had been cut down to two. He still felt like a sitting duck, however.
"You're done in the air, Ronin," Merciless Flight Control said.
"I know, I don't even have a rifle, I'm pretty sure it got shot up when the back of my seat was hit, so I'm going down, linking up with Strike Force One," Ronin said as he propelled down towards Haven Shore.
"Covering him," Maid said. "Could use a hand, though; the bogey that took Ronin down has grabbed what's left of his fighter and is flying it up to its carrier."
Ronin checked the destruct system on the quad drive. That's what they wanted most, but it would be their undoing. "He's making good time, too," he said, watching him move across the sky, trying to put more distance between him and the whirling dogfight over Haven Shore. Ronin turned the yield of the quad drive's explosive self-destruct system down all the way and smiled. The shock would be felt for over ten kilometres, but anything outside of one klick would be fine. If he didn't turn it down, then their own forces would be caught in it. He wished he could wait until that fighter brought the quad drive right into its carrier, but there was no guarantee that they wouldn't block his signal, so, there was no point in waiting. "Pop," he said to himself as he detonated it. A small yellow and white explosion lit up the space between two wispy clouds for a second, his suit registered a little turbulence. "No quad drive for you today."
"Nice, now get down here and help us ground pounders," Admiral Valent growled. "Before you get yourself blasted."
"I'll be down in a few seconds," Ronin said. Maid raked an enemy Uriel that was trying to break away from the main fight with gunfire, adding ferocity to her attack by launching four missiles that whistled past him. It did look like that one was about to come after him. "Thanks, Maid."
"My pleasure, Commander."
For a few seconds Ronin let himself watch the column of ships above Haven Shore. There were shuttles carrying pods from the Everin Building like eggs lit by their engine glow in the middle. Sleek but menacing Clever Class Corvettes covering them as they carried people within their holds and in pods, their turrets sending fiery rounds at enemy fighters as they battled with the defenders from the Merciless, Triton, the Sunspire class ships and every other part of the fleet that could contribute. It was like a flickering, whirling column of lights against an angry black and red sky.
A warning flashed, telling him that he was about to touch down, and he turned his attention to the ground, where, after flying a few hundred metres to the south, he landed on his feet beside Dame behind Jake. She turned towards him, grinning. "Thank you, Commander. My mistake should have been my end. You sacrificed a lot to save me."
"You're welcome, but the fight isn't over yet," he said, relieved as a soldier handed him a rifle. Samurai squadron was winning, even the Citadel fighters, which were formidable, were being knocked down much faster than he expected. It was a lucky thing, because his dangerous solution, the one that saved her, could have removed him from the battle entirely, costing Haven Fleet a leader. It was an irresponsible move, he realized, one that he hoped he could use to teach other pilots.
A group of symbols started moving down from orbit on his tactical screen. "Head's up, Flight! Fifteen Uriels just punted from one of those Zhan Class carriers and they're covering heavy landers. We have Sol System Mechs coming down."
"Are you sure, Commander? We can't scan through the armour on those ships," came the response from Flight.
Jake turned towards him, alarmed. "He's right. I recognize them. We haven't seen a fully modern heavy encounter suit from Citadel yet. Finish whatever fight you're in fast. If our fighter cover can't knock those out of the sky, we're in for a battle."
Thirteen
Keeping the Advantage
* * *
Seeing Minh-Chu on the ground was anything but a pleasant experience for Jake. He'd done it again; zeroed in on a momentary cause, saved a life at great risk to his own and taken himself out of place. He should have been up there, instead of giving his fighters directions from the ground. Everyone with their feet on the dirt was at horrible risk, it was actually safer in the sky or in space. Jake checked his ship's status and saw that five Uriel fighters were loaded into the Merciless' punters, waiting for pilots. "Ronin, Dame, you're going back up in a minute. Get ready," he told them. "Drake, Vox, you too. Get ready for pickup."
Without thinking, Jake looked to the Merciless. It was only visible when its guns fired, and they were easing up. The Shard, its shadow looming at the far end of the island, was burning, the top two thirds of it had been blasted down to a twisted frame. He set the fighters' destinations and activated the punters, sending the fighters across the sky, their sound barrier breaking launches booming overhead. They were on autopilot, descending rapidly. "Clear!" he shouted. "New landing sites marked! Get clear!"
"Jake, I can help down here and track what's going on with the wings," Minh-Chu said.
"Get in your fighter and lead from the middle," Jake told him firmly. "We have every kind of problem on the horizon. I need you where I tell you I need you."
As if everyone needed to be reminded that their enemies were closing in - which he didn't - Remmy ordered everyone not fending Order of Eden soldiers off to look upward and fire at the descending Citadel drop ships. The fight wasn't desperate yet. They'd gotten most of the people in the square out, starting with Shamus' nephew and the people on the platform with him. Order of Eden forces found cover, though, and they fired from behind any heavy structure they could fit behind around the square. "Minh, you're going to have to split your forces between the ground so you can help us with the Sol Encounter Suits and space where…" he and his friend were interrupted by a message from Merciless Flight at the same time.
Dame was the one who repeated it out loud. "A new wave of Order Fighters are launching from Tamber orbit opposite Haven."
Jake's tactical system showed that there were over a hundred of them and they'd be within striking distance of the Sunspire vessels in minutes. Dust and debris whirled around them as four empty Uriel fighters slowed their descent, setting down. "There's your ride. Good hunting," Jake told him, hoping that Minh-Chu would take his advice and let his squadrons do most of the fighting.
"Thank you, Admiral," Dame told him, wasting no time in getting to her fighter, handing her rifle and ammunition off to a soldier near her ship. "Here, you'll need it more than I will." She told him.
"What if you get shot down again?" the soldier asked her in return.
"Not going to happen, Ensign," she replied, dropping into the pilot seat.
"Thank you for putting me back on the pat
h, Jake," Minh-Chu said over a private channel as he climbed into the new fighter. "Good hunting."
Jake turned away from the four fighters as they started lifting off. It was time for the ground forces to make their push. "Merciless Tactical; I need a single strike on the front door of the storage bunker," he marked the target on his map. "Remmy, clear the Order hold outs on our six o'clock," he told him, directing his fire team towards the group of Order Soldiers that were taking pot shots from behind a small but dense power distribution building. "You have a minute."
"Yes, Sir," Remmy replied. In the next instant he and Dot, his second in command, pulled twenty-five heavily armoured troops together in a formation. They led them in a thruster assisted leap that took them over the building their enemies were hiding behind. A thousand flashes of light followed as they fired on the fifty or so Order soldiers that had gathered there, and all signs of life were wiped out. "Done."
"Sreeda," Jake addressed, getting the attention of the Nafalli squad leader. "You take the group at three o'clock. Then secure their cover for yourself."
"Aye, Admiral," the Nafalli leader growled, she seemed pleased with the order.
Eighteen Nafalli warriors, their sleek metal armour reflecting the light of cannon and beam fire, surged to Jake's left, leaping over their comrades, running on all fours as they closed the distance between them and a broad stone. Their enemies screamed in panic and pain as they were dispatched without the use of guns. It was over in seconds. "I think they beat your time, Remmy," Jake said, cringing a little.
"I can live with that," he replied.
"This is Merciless Tactical, we are charged, ready to fire."
Jake made sure they were aiming at the main bunker door. It provided planet side storage for the Fleet and Haven citizens. Intelligence suspected that the Order of Eden was hiding several captives there and destroying it before they departed was a priority. "Fire," he ordered.
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 14 Page 10
