The admiral wiped his brow and folded his arms. We need a miracle.
Eden looked up. “We've lost two birds, Admiral. The Thunderbirds are still one minute to weapons lock.”
“Brigger?”
“Yes, Admiral?” Brigger stood at attention. He'd been monitoring the pilots at the flight commander's desk, Eden's usual station. He didn't know what to do there.
“Have your nerves settled down?” asked the admiral.
“Yes, sir.” Brigger was young, and although his nerves hadn't settled, he didn't want the admiral to know.
“Good. Now, take over Com Desk, I need Eden to command the pilots.”
“Aye, sir!” Brigger ran down a couple of stairs to the Com Desk next to the admiral's station. Eden got out of her seat and snapped to attention in front of Admiral Byrd.
The admiral cocked his head. “Eden, what are you doing?”
“Permission to fly, sir!”
Admiral Byrd unfolded his arms and turned his head toward the vid screen, hesitated, then replaced his hands behind his back. “Request denied.”
Eden took a step forward, her gaze flitting around the room, not settling on anyone, and unsure if her next statement would get her thrown into lockup. Finally, she brought her attention to the admiral. “Admiral. I must! Please.”
He turned, about to speak, but Brigger interrupted. “Weapons lock! We have engaged the enemy.” He smiled at the admiral, and then dropped his gaze back to the HDC. His smile faded as quickly as it came. Then he shouted, “Thunderbirds down! Thunderbirds down!”
Commotion rippled through the bridge, and although the admiral's attention was focused entirely on Eden, the voices on the bridge softly echoed into his mind, muffled like people yelling through a wall.
Admiral Byrd wanted to shake his head, but Eden shook hers first, pleading for him to give her a nod and grant her request.
I can't let you go, Eden. I need your expertise, thought the admiral. When the words came out of his mouth, he heard himself say something very different. “Suit up. Command from the air.”
“Excuse me?” asked Eden.
“You heard me. Leave before I change my mind.” He turned, staring back at the vid screen encircling the bridge, placing his hand over his mouth as he combed his lips with his fingers.
She relaxed and bowed her head. She was sure she could help much better from a pilot's point of view versus a command desk. “You won't regret it, sir!”
“You better be right, lieutenant.”
Eden ran out the door of the bridge just as the admiral turned around to watch her leave, wanting to yell at her to stop. Instead, he watched the door close vertically behind her. He rubbed the back of his neck. His stomach churned. He didn't want his best pilot joining the fight. Eden was too important, too intelligent, and too brave for that.
“Admiral, we’re taking heavy losses!” said Brigger.
The Admiral did a quick exhale. “How is the enemy fairing?”
“They’re taking losses too, although not many.”
“Give me exacts, Brigger!”
Brigger fumbled in his chair, glaring at the HDC in front of him. “28 of ours...no, now 29 of ours down. Only twelve of theirs, sir!”
The Admiral wanted to drop to the ground, cover his ears, slam his fists into the floor, or at least scream. Holding back, all he managed to do was bite his lip.
“Eden away, sir!” sounded Brigger, letting the Admiral know that Eden had left Brigantia in her Thunderbird and was headed into action.
Captain Stripe left the helm and slowly walked over to the admiral, resting her hand on his shoulder. She whispered, “We need a miracle.”
He could feel her hand tremble as he glanced at it, then at her thick lips, looking anywhere but into her eyes. “That's what I'm hoping for.” He reached his hand into his pocket, feeling the texture of his pendant. Knights Templar, be my miracle. He blinked a couple of times. “Louise, in times like these, act like hope is always on your side, and that a miracle is always on its way, no matter what. It's time to take a giant leap.”
The captain lifted her brow, wondering what that leap might be.
“36 Thunderbirds down, sir, and 17 enemies,” reported Brigger.
Captain Stripe shot a glance at Brigger and then looked back at her admiral. “Suggestions?”
“Let's take Brigantia and Taranis for a ride. We meet head on with those pyramid flying pieces of starshit and blow some holes in them.”
She crossed her arms and dipped her head. “Indeed.”
Admiral Byrd pointed to Brigger. “Open com link to Taranis.” A crackle came over the link and Admiral Jenkyns' hologram appeared.
“Yes, Fleet Admiral?” Admiral Byrd sensed panic in Jenkyns.
“We move at the pyramids, full speed ahead.”
Jenkyns paused, clearly calculating strategies in his head. “That doesn't feel like the best option, admiral.”
“Do you have any alternatives?”
Again, Jenkyns paused, looking down. “We retreat. We run.”
“Jenkyns, we have four hours until hyperdrives are online and functional. Until then, we can't jump. We have to maintain and fight.”
Jenkyns touched his temple. “Our hyperdrives are functional, sir.”
Admiral Byrd tilted his head, knowing what Jenkyn's meant, but asked anyway. “What are you saying?”
“If we move on the pyramids, we likely all die, although with honor. However, the human race can survive if Taranis jumps. We can give our species a chance.”
Admiral Byrd glanced at Captain Stripe, who gave him a nod. She agreed. He closed his eyes for a moment and placed his hand in his pocket, touching the pendant. Knights Templar, hear my prayer. I know you're not a myth. I know you must be a part of our history, somewhere. Please come to our aid!
“Ten more birds down!” yelled Brigger.
“Orders, admiral?” asked Jenkyns.
“You are to jump on my mark!”
“And, what about my Thunderbirds, sir?”
Admiral Byrd shook his head. “They stay. If we can last four more hours, we’ll have all birds dock here and we’ll rendezvous with you at your coordinates. If, after approximately five hours we don't show, jump again.” Admiral Byrd glanced at Brigger, making sure he patched coordinates to Taranis.
Brigger pressed several buttons, and then looked up at Admiral Byrd. “Complete, sir.”
Admiral Byrd gripped his pendant. “And, Admiral Jenkyns, set your time to five hours.”
Jenkyns took a deep breath and crossed his arms, putting two fingers to his brow in a quick salute. “It has been an honor, sir.”
Admiral Byrd pulled his hand out of his pocket, slightly bowed his head as he pressed both hands flat on his chest. “And, it will still be an honor when we jump to your coordinates.” Then he stiffened and dropped his arms to his sides, standing erect. “Jump on my mark, Jenkyns.” The hologram bleeped out. “Five. Four. Three. Two. One—jump!”
Starship Taranis brightened like a small star on the vid screen, and then collapsed into itself, successfully jumping to another space. Admiral Byrd kept his eyes where Taranis had been, observing the remnants of the energy disbursements of a jump, seeing them slowly fade away, and wondered if this would be the last time he’d ever see energy remnants again. Then he yelled, “Full speed ahead!”
∞
Lieutenant Eden's Thunderbird rocked backward for a second as an explosion burst in front of her. She propelled her bird over two thousand miles per hour through the fiery cloud, flying through yet another one of her kills. She pulled to the right on her control stick, surprised to see another enemy in her sights. Pulling the trigger, she hit her mark and flew through the glittery entrails of a once fully intact enemy fighter. Behind her, now more than a hundred miles away, was her home, Brigantia.
Sweat seeped through her hair, wetting the soft inside lining of her striated helmet. Outside, blasts coming from friend and foe dotted space. Everything w
as chaos. Shouts, incoherent dialogue with screams carried through her com link in a non-stop stream. It all filled her mind, combining into one monotonous outcry—reminders of the deceased, the exploded, the dead.
Her Thunderbirds were outnumbered four to one, and the commanders who had led them into battle were the first to fall, leaving her as the last one in charge.
Checking her HDC, she spotted Brigantia's Alpha Group, the combination of three teams, totaling 52 Thunderbirds. She saw Brigantia's Delta and Gamma group still holding their own, but they had only 26 Thunderbirds left.
Taranis' groups were fairing much better, totaling 108 fighters in all. They had always been more trained than all of the other starship fighters, especially Brigantia that was famed more for its Marines—the Brigantia Guard. The pilots of Taranis were the usual winners during starfighter war games held around planet Lumus each year.
Lumus. Eden shook her head. For a moment she had lost her concentration, thinking about what was lost and what she may never see again.
But, she quickly wiped her sweaty palm on her flight suit and spun out of the way of an oncoming attacker, barely missing its heavy laser fire. Her heart beat picked up and she blinked several times. That was a close one and she knew she had to come up with a plan of action. They were losing this battle, and losing big.
Torquing her Thunderbird to the right, she disengaged from the fight, noting zero enemy fighters on her six.
She turned off the com link. “Power down.” Instantly, her Thunderbird powered off. Any heat or electrical signatures coming off her bird would be invisible to all sensors, buying her some much needed time to devise an attack plan. In a sense, she was invisible.
As her Thunderbird floated in space, she observed the occurring devastation. Thunderbirds and enemy fighters alike were ballooning into fire. Ion cannons and lasers traced the black space before her, missing and hitting targets. And, two large red pyramids, probably similar to starships, were coming closer and closer to the fight.
She tapped her forehead between the eyes—a strategy she used for tests and for staying focused. It also helped her to think outside of the box and it usually worked. “Think, think,” she muttered, continuing to tap.
The enemy fighters were precise, rarely making mistakes. They worked as a team. But what was baffling was that for such elite attackers, these enemies didn't seem to know what to do when you got behind them. They became sitting targets, as if they had never experienced being chased. There was the random enemy that could skillfully evade an attack, but most of them were very poor at it. The only problem was actually getting behind them.
“That's it!” No, she shook her head. It couldn't be that simple. Watching more closely as the battle transpired, she watched a Thunderbird being chased by an attacker. Another Thunderbird came in and around that enemy, flying right behind it. In seconds, the enemy was a fiery mess, and had made no attempt at evasive action while being followed from behind.
It couldn't be that easy. They don't know what to do while being chased, or they don't understand the element of being surprised. They lock up and allow death to come? Why?
Why didn't matter. She shrugged, puffing out her bottom lip as she tapped her finger on the HDC in front of her, thinking, thinking, thinking.
She sighed. She had to do it.
“Open com link.” She swiped her hand across her mouth, wiping salty sweat from her lips. “Alpha group, teams one, two, and three, we change our plan of action.” She found an empty sector on a map on her HDC. It was perfect for her idea. “Move to zero-one-six, I repeat, zero-one-six. Now!”
She powered on her Thunderbird, pressing it forward and flying to the coordinates. She watched as her starfighters immediately disengaged. They took evasive maneuvers and were heading for the rendezvous point.
“Team One and Team Two, form a flock. Team three, create an arrow. When we meet at the specified coordinates, you better bet you'll have a hundred fighters on your asses.” She looked at her HDC. She would get to zero-one-six in less than a minute, slightly before the rest of the teams. “Team One, when I give the order to break left, I will say 'one'. Confirm order!”
After she heard their confirmation, she continued, “Team Two, when I give the order to break right, I will say 'two'. Confirm!”
Again, voices confirmed. “Team Three, you are the closest group to the coordinates. Continue arrow formation and swing around behind me. I'll be at the coordinates before you. When you are there, turn off your Thunderbirds and float. We’ll be invisible to their sensors. When the enemy flies by us, we’ll re-engage thrusters and blast them to dust! Do you confirm?”
Hearing their answers and knowing they'd do what she’d asked, she reached zero-one-six quicker than she thought, then turned around and shut down her Thunderbird. “Team Three, get behind me. The rest, don't mind us and continue to sector.” She looked at her HDC and saw hundreds of enemy fighters hot on the tails of her starfighters. She floated, watching Team Three flying directly at her. When they arrived, they did as requested and swung around behind her and shut down their birds.
So far, so good.
Up ahead, Team One and Team Two flew in flock formation, heading straight toward her, but more importantly, hiding her and Team Three from enemy view. She floated with her starfighter–along with the rest of Team Three, and waited, placing her finger on the trigger. She closed her eyes, her mind spinning. She hoped this worked. If it didn’t, they’d be a pack of floating craft just waiting to be blasted, and this could be the last time she’d ever have a thought…the last time her heart would ever beat. Opening her eyes, she took a deep breath, and then glanced at her HDC. It estimated that Team One and Team Two would arrive in less than twenty seconds.
She clenched her teeth. She had to get this right. She was setting up an ambush and the timing had to be perfect. If she was correct, this would put the enemies in disarray and help increase the odds of their survival. If she was wrong, she'd be another fiery dust cloud in space. She figured that since chasing the enemy made them vulnerable, and once they flew past, she’d switch on the Thunderbird, along with the rest of Team Three, sneak up on the enemy from behind and blast several of them to smithereens!
The enemy, she thought. Who the hell are they? It didn't matter. What she was attempting to do was an untested gamble, but she was fresh out of options, other than watching her friends all die trying to save what was left of their fleet. This, at least, might give them a chance.
Ten seconds displayed on her HDC. Hold tight, everyone. Trust me on this.
An explosion of fire erupted at the back of Team One's flock formation. One of her friends, perhaps someone she had trained, now gone.
Four seconds.
“One!” she shouted. “Two!”
Team one broke left and team two broke right suddenly parting, and she could see that the enemy craft hadn’t detected her or Team Three at all. They simply continued to chase their targets, Teams One and Two.
“Team Three, fire at will!”
She switched on her Thunderbird and slammed her starfighter to full throttle, quickly catching up to the enemy fighters. When they came into weapons lock, she pulled the trigger. Blue ion flashes blasted from her cannons, shooting ion phasers through the black of space, hitting and bursting apart several of the enemy. She saw more ion tracers from her team fly by her, hitting a myriad of enemy craft. Explosions and flames filled the space in front of her, lighting her cockpit up with yellow and red colors, mirroring the outside destruction.
And, to her amazement, the enemies weren't even fazed. They continued their pursuit, ignoring the fact they’d lost twenty or so of their own craft in a matter of seconds. It was as if they didn't know, or, didn't care about what had just occurred. The enemies were not leaving their targets, and not eluding the ion blasts from behind.
This didn't make sense but she had to continue with her strategy, which at the moment was clear-cut. “Follow the enemy and engage.”
&nb
sp; Team Three split. Some followed her and pursued the enemy chasing Team two, others went after those chasing Team one.
Eden settled behind an enemy craft and pulled the trigger, destroying yet another one.
A crackle came over her com link. “Eden, move your team out of the way!”
Admiral Byrd? Taking her eyes off another enemy craft she was about to blast, she spotted Brigantia heading right toward her formation. “All Teams, 90 degrees out of here!” She glanced at her HDC screen. “Coordinate zero-one-nine.”
As she turned her craft, swinging around to about 90 degrees and heading toward the new coordinates, she spotted the pyramids. Although they were far away, they still had managed to cover a lot of space in a short period of time. Several small blips on her screen told her that more enemy craft had launched and were coming her way, most likely to intercept Brigantia's sudden offensive play.
Where's Taranis? A bright, white light abruptly flashed between her and the pyramids, and then a large object appeared. Eden froze, letting go of the control stick, taking a hold of it a second later. “Oh, no!”
Starbase Matrona, which she thought was gone and dead, had jumped into enemy space with several enemy craft already heading in its direction. If Eden could have created the worst possible scenario, this would be it.
A loud beeping sound came from her HDC. Glancing at it, she did her best to control herself. Two photon torpedoes had launched from the pyramids and were heading directly for Matrona. The starbase had no defenses, no countermeasures.
∞
Through the hologram, Crystal viewed a broad shouldered humanoid, thicker and much taller than any human she'd ever seen. It was outside banging a strange metallic device against the Mech Bay door. A giant? It can't be. Those are only children's stories.
Star Guild: Episodes 1, 2 & 3 Page 5
