by Aer-ki Jyr
From their intelligence on the Nestafar’s various shields, a cleansing beam still should have been able to punch through, but the atmosphere-capable warships weren’t large enough to carry the weapon and firing through the atmosphere via orbital bombardment was problematic, given that the beam would scatter and, even if it did manage to hit the target, would only deliver a fraction of its original power. Had the frigate had one, it would have been useful at the closer range in atmosphere, but since that wasn’t an option the bases were going to have to be taken down primarily via plasma…which the frigate wasn’t planning on getting close enough to use.
It was going to do some damage with its lachars, though, and continued to do so as a swarm of fighters came out of three nearby prefab bases the Nestafar had set up. They swirled about at range until they were all assembled into a large fighting unit, then they attacked the frigate in several waves, zipping in and releasing smaller versions of the Nestafar naval missiles along with pinpricks of plasma.
Anti-air lachars across the ship, designed specifically for shooting down incoming missiles and starfighters, tore through the stupid pilots as they ran up on the giant block of a ship, shredding a full third of their craft and most of the missiles they launched on the first strafing run.
The survivors spun around and appeared to set up for a second run, then they abruptly broke off and fanned out around the perimeter of the frigate in packs, as if waiting for a vulnerability to appear for them to exploit.
As the frigate pounded the walkers with blue plasma orbs that melted through their armor on the first hit, the dozens of targets also fired back, bathing the ‘forward’ shields of the ship in an ongoing cascade of red but failing to penetrate the much larger shield generator’s matrix. Once the frigate smoked the walkers over the next 10 minutes it headed up north, away from the Nestafar bases, and began hunting down more walkers that were currently engaging the Calavari army near a semi-large city isolated on a grassy plain.
The large block, growing ever larger in the distance, literally roused a war cry from the Calavari all across the battlefield as it started to poach the enemy troops from range with its lachars, punching exploding holes in the backsides of many spiders while the Calavari’s flying tanks fought a gradual retreat back towards permanent, shielded defenses set up around the city. The turrets had already come under assault, with half their number slagged from spider strikes while the faster giraffes had moved up to deal with the tanks.
Suddenly that trend reversed itself with the Nestafar troops split between continuing their advance and retreating…which occurred in multiple directions as they fired back up at the frigate. In the confusion the Calavari’s weaker army jumped the walkers, ganging up on the stragglers while the Human warship hammered the largest concentration of spiders with plasma as it floated intimidatingly forward up to and over the battlefield.
Halfway through the fight, with its shields already partially weakened from the first group of walkers, the frigate’s ventral shields came down, exposing the hull to Nestafar plasma. When that happened the panicked confusion of the survivors seemed to evaporate as every unit within firing range turned back to target the exposed underside.
A sheet of missile launches came up, streaking in and getting mowed down by the still active anti-air lachars while the plasma started melting small divots in the adamantium armor. The damage it did was insignificant, for the walkers weren’t targeting individual weapons batteries, shield generators, or engine vents…they were just throwing as much firepower at the exposed side of the ship as possible, and some from significant range where they didn’t have the option of pinpoint targeting.
Eventually attrition wore the enemy down, with the death knell coming when the frigate’s ventral shields reformed, catching the last few globs of plasma being thrown at it and continuing to recharge at the same time. It hung in the air above the wildfires spreading across the dry grassy plain and the smoking hulks of the dead walkers as it finished off the few surviving ones that the Calavari didn’t get to first, after which it swung back around to the south and approached the closest of the Nestafar bases, staying out of plasma range while getting within decent lachar range.
From there it systematically picked off the anti-air cupolas, having to gain some altitude to target the backside ones. It took down one base, then another, and then another…taking away their overlapping anti-air cover from range, then it moved in and started taking apart the first base in a plasma fight, now that its shields were fully recharged.
The base heavy defense turrets were more powerful than those on the spiders, but they still didn’t have the punch necessary to get through the frigate’s shields fast enough. With decent pacing and diligence the warship had the bases owned, even with the rocket launcher infantry they were deploying, along with whatever walkers they had left inside, to augment the base’s firepower.
It was at that point that Morgan stopped watching, flipping over to another feed to watch a second assault beginning elsewhere on the planet. That one she monitored for a few minutes before forcing herself to trust her people with carrying out the attacks on their own while she headed back to her quarters and the nearest cafeteria, grabbing a bite to eat, taking a nap and shower, and then meeting up with the handful of other Archons onboard the ship in the armory where they began suiting up for the upcoming assault on the jumpships.
5
The Archons took an Eagle-class dropship off the Red Ranger and went around to the other three Star Force warships and collected the Archons there, bringing Morgan’s addition to the Calavari boarding parties that were even now knocking down the jumpship’s front door to 14. The trailblazer was the only ranger among them, with 6 acolytes and 7 adepts making up the balance. They were all naval specialists, but given that Archons were qualified for all 5 areas of combat she knew they’d be better equipped to deal with the Nestafar hand to hand than the Calavari, despite their size and strength advantage.
The request for Kvash troops had been a no-go, the Calavari commander had informed her, so it was going to be up to the system’s natives alone to capture the three enemy jumpships and Morgan wanted to assist them as much as possible, even if her strikeforce had only been equipped for naval engagements.
That said, each warship was a jumpship, and as such contained an Archon sanctum and armory, meaning she had more than enough small arms and armor replacements to equip her small boarding party. Not knowing exactly what to expect they’d brought a little bit of everything, with Morgan opting for a shield and heavy pistol combination, along with auxiliary weapons stashed on her back. The others carried plasma rifles, stun sticks, and one had even brought a sniper rifle along, given that the slim amount of intel the Calavari had provided indicated that the Nestafar jumpships contained large open areas inside where they flew about, though that was just from scuttlebutt amongst the troops, with no actual blueprints provided.
That meant they were going in blind and were going to have to fight their way through the fog of war. Every room, chamber, and hallway the Archons would pass through would automatically build up a communal battlemap as they progressed, but Morgan would really have preferred to have tangible mission parameters to work with rather than just going at it free for all…though technically they were here to assist the Calavari, not lead the attack.
And as such they weren’t the first to board. A host of smaller starships came up from Sri’ka’s surface and began pounding away at the bay doors after Morgan’s fleet took down the ship’s limited shields. The Calavari assault gunships pried open a section of one of the hangar bays through controlled explosions and fought their way inside the ship through a temporary atmospheric containment shield that their spaceborn construction crews welded over the doors after the breach.
As the eagle passed through the field, Morgan noted that the Nestafar version was also active a short distance inside, making the Calavari’s improvised containment field appear pointless, but she knew it wasn’t. Without
their own in place, which covered the entire span of the hangar, the Nestafar could purposefully expose the bay to space after the Calavari had begun unloading their troops, killing them all within a few moments. Despite their preferred use of starfighters, it seemed the Calavari army/navy had a significant amount of experience in boarding enemy vessels in vacuum.
Hundreds of Calavari were already on the deck and swarming out various personnel and cargo exits further into the jumpship when the Star Force dropship landed next to a group of slightly smaller troop transports that appeared to have been tightly packed with soldiers, for some were still pouring out a number that seemed to defy conventional mathematics for the size of their ship of origin.
Morgan led her band of 14 out of the eagle and commed the pilot to head back out over to the Red Ranger and wait for them to call for pickup, so as not to keep him sitting in place for hours, if not days, as well as to clear up more deck space for the incoming transports. The hangar the Calavari had chosen to breach wasn’t the largest on the jumpship, so landing space was tight given the number of Nestafar craft already present in the bay.
As he lifted off the Archons were met by a Calavari trio, one of which stood a head taller than the others. He wore a golden uniform, but with deep red stripes down the arms and legs, on top of which was a thin exoskeleton that looked like it was almost glued to his clothes. It was dull chrome and had small, flat boxes at random points, making up the personal shield generator that their line troops wore into combat in lieu of armor.
“I am Maka’var. You are Morgan?” he asked, looking to the solitary green set of armor.
“I am,” she said, transmitting via her external mic given that the Archon armor was completely air tight with a mechanical ventilation system over the lower faceplate that would snap shut at the slightest hint of depressurization or the presence of various known toxins.
“Initial resistance is light, but widespread. The Nestafar are engaging in a fighting retreat to various strongpoints they’ve set up. I’ve been told that your Archons have a talent for breaching such defenses?”
“Just point the way,” she offered.
“How many groups are you comfortable splitting into?”
“As many as necessary.”
“Some of the Nestafar are utilizing fragmentation grenades and other crude explosives that our shields will not protect against. Would you be willing to act as skirmishers for our heavy combat teams?”
“How many do you have?”
“106.”
“Pick out your best 14 and we’ll all take one.”
Maka’var nodded his massive head while one of his companions began issuing orders via a headset. “You will come with me then, Morgan. We will work our way through this hoard together.”
The trailblazer smiled beneath her helmet where the Calavari couldn’t see, happy that their commander was taking to the fighting personally rather than hiding out in a command center and issuing orders to his ‘subordinates.’ As far as she was concerned, a commander’s place was on the front lines…if he was good enough to lead his men in the first place.
“The rest, go with them,” Maka’var said as his two companions moved off towards different exits. Morgan flipped her fingers after them and the rest of the Archons split up six and seven and followed them out as the trailblazer followed the taller Calavari, who must have been nearing 8 foot tall, towards the nearest exit where a large group of other troops were staging.
“Your shields are rated for energy?” Morgan asked.
“Yes, which will stop the Nestafar’s plasma weapons quite effectively. I have heard your armor fares well?”
“Green more than the silver and red.”
“Different grades?”
“Yes. Mine is heavier than the others. They’re not strong enough to wear it.”
Maka’var glanced at her. “May I?” he asked.
Morgan looked at him blankly for a moment until she took his meaning. “Mind the gear.”
The Calavari walked around the side of her shield and reached his four arms in around her waist and shoulders, then lifted her off the ground with a heave, setting her back down after a moment of evaluation.
“I’m surprised you can tolerate such weight. How many hits can you take from a Nestafar rifle? I assume your armor is not shielded?”
“This model isn’t. I can take 8-10 pointblank range hits to the same location without penetration, give or take. The shield, double that.”
Maka’var smiled. “That is good, very good. No wonder your Archons were so effective on Daka. You will be our little tank,” he said as the other soldiers, all taller than Morgan, parted so their leader and tagalong could pass through their ranks. “Draw them out of hiding and we will slaughter them.”
“Any prisoners yet?” she asked as a light reminder.
“No, they are continuing to fall back. I have men continually attempting to make contact with their commanders, offering a surrender, but they are refusing any conversation.”
“Then let’s motivate them,” she said as they reached the doors to the interior of the jumpship and walked through a short tunnel…immediately seeing a cliff-like drop off into an open air ravine ahead. “Knew I should have brought a jump pack.”
“We were surprised as well,” he said as bits of plasma fire were visible far down to the left, at the bottom center, and half the distance to the right as other breach teams pushed themselves further into the core of the massive winged ship. “This opening appears to extend the length of the ship, and I would image there is an equally large one on the opposite side.”
“Climbing gear?” Morgan asked, seeing a few ropes positioned over the side, attached to what she didn’t know.
“All Nestafar structures have no lifts or stairs. Even their cargo is flown upwards by portable units. Knowing this we came prepared.”
“Why aren’t they swarming us from the air?” she asked, zooming in on one of the distant engagements. The Nestafar there were taking potshots at the Calavari from nooks in the artificial canyon walls that led into the ‘interior’ areas of the ship, she guessed.
“We are too good of shots,” he said, gesturing for his weapon. Another Calavari tossed him a rifle, which he grasped in both left arms around the Y-frame design. The two prongs of the ‘Y’ shifted into a small shield covering both arms and hands while the barrel stuck out in front with a small orange light that came on, presumably when Maka’var powered it up.
“How do you aim at range?”
The Calavari all around her shifted their arms inside the rifles and small holograms appeared over the barrels, computer synched to be able to fire on distant targets.
“Sweet,” she said approvingly.
“They are also variable yield. I believe yours are not?”
“Nope. I assume the Nestafar aren’t wearing armor or shields?”
“They never do,” Maka’var all but spat. “They rely on evasion and numbers. In confined spaces where their flight fails them they are vulnerable.”
Morgan glanced out over the ravine for emphasis. “Which is why I’d expect them to make a stronger stand here.”
“We suspect there may be an even larger chamber along the spine of the ship,” another Calavari suggested.
“Are you ready?” Maka’var asked.
“Where we heading?”
He pointed down and slightly to the right. “There. We will reinforce an assault team caught in a bottleneck. That’s where they are employing explosives.”
“No way around?”
“They’ve closed off numerous passageways,” the other said. “It appears they’ve been preparing for our arrival.”
“Don’t like the sound of that,” she admitted. “And you are?”
The medium height Calavari looked down at her. “Chesk’va.”
“Well, Chesk’va, if we’re ground pounders then that’s where they will have placed all their little surprises. You got any climbing gear to get us up there?” s
he asked, pointing ahead and up across the ravine to the pockets of little platforms that indented into the chaotic arranged walls.
“Not unless we scale the far wall. We didn’t anticipate this range.”
She turned to Maka’var. “If we delay, I can get my people equipment that will allow us to jump across?”
“How long a delay?”
“Half an hour, tops.”
The huge Calavari nodded. “Do it. They are prepared for a fight with the Calavari, not Star Force. It is possible they do not know enough about your tactics that you may be able to surprise them.”
Chesk’va took a step to the side, glancing down into the ravine then back at Morgan as she was making a silent comm call back to the Red Ranger. “What is your race called?”
“We’re Human,” she answered when finished.
“What is Star Force then?”
“The best Humans,” she answered pithily. “The rest don’t get to come out and play.”
Chesk’va huffed approvingly. “Do you want the rest of us to wait here or position at the entrance?” he asked his superior.
Maka’var looked down at Morgan. “Can you get one of our lines across to the other side and fasten it at an even or downwards slant?”
“Fasten with what?”
The Calavari pointed behind her and the other soldiers moved aside to reveal a heavy box that one of the cables dangling over the edge of the platform was attached to. “It will seal against the floor strong enough to support three of us in normal gravity, and this ship is slightly less than that.”
“Depends how heavy that thing is.”
“Less than you,” Maka’var said.
“It may take a few jumps, but I’ll get it over there,” Morgan promised. “You going to climb across the line? Easy target practice for the Nestafar.”
“We’ll provide covering fire,” Chesk’va said, hefting his rifle across his chest and tapping on the barrel with his lower right hand.
