He lifted his right arm so that all could see the bandage still wrapped around his wounds.
"And I am far from able to fly anything, right now."
That sent a hush throughout the hangar. None of them had been spared the sight of the dead, but there was something much more disconcerting when aboard a carrier, with no pilots remaining. The ship was sturdy, and that much was obvious, but it was just as clear that for a carrier to punch its weight, it would need fighters.
"We've got just one Mauler still functioning, six Avenger combat drones, and four Lightning manned fighters."
He then shook his head and sighed.
"And no pilots. Apart from me, we lack any formal combat pilots on this ship."
As he waited in silence, Captain Galanos continued. As she started to speak, Nate noticed the marks on her face. At first he thought it had been little more than a trick of the light, but the more he looked, it was obvious she'd been badly hurt. There were deep lines running down her face and disappearing inside her uniform. A Naval officer stepped in front of him and held up one of the older model, hand operated Secpads.
"Any formal engineering or medical experience?"
Nate almost stepped back at the question. His engineering knowledge was limited to what had been covered in school, nothing more. While his medical knowledge was even less impressive. Off to his right two civilians were being escorted away by one of the marines.
"Do we have anybody with experience of combat flying here?"
The man sounded subdued as he asked the question. There were no immediate responses, and rather than wait longer, he gave a signal to those off at the sides of the ship.
"My officers will come to you shortly, to assess your capabilities and match you with a role on my ship. I need everything from gunners and engineers, to cooks and cleaners."
From one side of the hangar came a small group of Naval personnel. They fanned out in front of the small crowd. No sooner had they arrived than the first protests began. Nate looked to Billy and leaned in close.
"We have experience. We could help."
Billy lifted his eyebrows in stunned surprise.
"Pilots? Are you kidding?"
Nate grinned.
"Or would you rather be a cook or cleaner?"
Nate then lifted his hand up high and called out.
"We're pilots."
The noise in the hangar quickly faded, and a small group of the civilians moved away, creating a rough channel to the temporary podium. Lieutenant Higgins looked out to Nate and scowled.
"You're a cadet, son. I need combat pilots. Men and women with experience piloting fighters."
He looked away from Nate, who took the opportunity to move closer to the gantry.
"The six of us came to Mognathu to compete against the Byotai pilots. We're all high-tier pilots in the Star Crusader simulation."
A couple of the civilians laughed, and one of the marines called out to silence them. Nate looked back to his friends, but only Rex had stepped forward.
"Yeah, he's right. We're..."
Another marine stepped in front of Nate and looked him up from head to toe. It was Sergeant Popwell, the gunner of the ship's last remaining Mauler.
"You're the cadets we rescued from the station, aren't you?"
He might have been trying to sound friendly, but along the way his voice twisted slightly, and turned the question into something more closely resembling an order. Nate felt his throat tightening up, but Rex appeared unaffected.
"Yeah, we’re the six cadets from the exchange programme."
The Sergeant looked back at the podium while more marines spread out to speak with others in the hangar. The noise has become louder again, and as more people talked, the more difficult it became to speak. The Sergeant said a few words via his helmet communication system, nodded, and then looked back at Rex and Nate.
"We'll see. Get your friends and come with me."
The Sergeant moved off towards the podium. Nate and Rex followed close behind. By the time they reached the base of the frame, the Captain was gone. In her place were a handful of more junior officers.
"Where are the others?" Nate asked.
He looked around and finally spotted Cassandra and Matilda heading in their direction. Neither looked very happy, and behind them came a young Naval ensign.
"Where’s the other two?" Sergeant Popwell asked.
Nate shrugged.
"I don't..."
Rex pointed off to the left.
"There, to the side of the fighter."
While they were looking about, none of them noticed Lieutenant Higgins had moved next to them. He hunched over a cleaning rod he was currently using as a walking aid. Nate was stunned at the marks on his body. The field dressing and medical kits on the ship had done a good job, and there were no open wounds. Yet his flesh was puffy, and there were deep lacerations and cuts on his hands and face. As he moved, he winced, but that didn't stop him from taking a commanding position in front of the four cadets.
"So! You think you have combat flight experience, do you?"
Cassandra arrived and immediately answered, drowning out the others with her matter-of-fact tone."
"We are experienced with the simulation, but not actual combat, obviously. The six of us were chosen from by lot from all high scoring cadets in the Academy."
The officer seemed less than impressed as she continued, explaining their many successes until finally he lifted his hand to stop her.
"That's enough. You might have simply said no."
Matilda was now there, and she opened her mouth to argue. Lieutenant Higgins put his finger to his mouth and shook his head. The cadet continued to speak, so the Lieutenant cleared his throat, drowning out her voice.
"This is a military ship, and you are now under military discipline. So silence!"
Matilda closed her mouth, and the sound from the others in the background quietened for a moment. It was rare for anybody to be able to keep her quiet, and Nate was quickly drawn to the memories of so many times where she'd gone on and on for hours at a time.
"Cadets. Experience in the Star Crusader public simulation is one thing, but combat is quite another."
Nate lifted his hand in an attempt to placate the man.
"Sir. We are not saying we're combat pilots. But we also do not use the public simulation. For the last three months, we've been competing on the military closed servers, with all safeties removed."
The officer straightened up a little and listened. Matilda nodded quickly as he continued to explain.
"We are all certified to control trainer drones in Alliance space."
Lieutenant Higgins grinned.
"Trainers, huh?"
He rubbed at his chin with the back of his hand.
"I'll tell you what. Meet me in the training suite. You can show me what you've got. Impress me, and you might get to help defend this ship and all that reside in her."
"And if we fail?" Cassandra asked.
Rex muttered at her question, but all six listened patiently for the officer's answer. The man indicated in the direction of a group of civilians busy moving away from the hangar deck.
"If you fail, you will go back into the pool. We still need cleaners and medical assistants."
For the first time since leaving the starbase, Nate felt a moment of excitement. The escape was far from over, but even the slimmest chance of piloting an actual military drone was more than he could ever have expected. He looked to his friends and found little more than worry and nerves.
"We can do this, don't you think?"
Cassandra and Jack were silent. Matilda lowered her head to consider the problem. That left Billy who appeared completely stunned by the suggestion. Nate grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him.
"Well?"
Billy tried to speak, but his nerves got the better of him. Another hand came down and rested on Nate. He looked back around to look into the eyes of the Lieutenant. His face ap
peared to have softened, at least for a short moment.
"Nerves have taken him. Now imagine defending this carrier against a concerted assault. The lives of everybody depend on your skills and training. Can you do it?"
Rex stepped alongside Nate and nodded slowly at the officer.
"Yes, Lieutenant. We can do it."
"Very well. Wait here. You have a few minutes. Then you will come with me, and we will find out what you're made of."
They were left alone. Nate looked to Rex and found him looking right back at him. His expression was as hard and unfriendly as it always seemed to be.
"Okay, Nate. Don't screw this one up. I'll lead, and you'll follow. Just like always."
He walked off, saying no more, other than to whistle for Jack to follow. Nate shook his head and turned his attention to the other three.
"You know what they are asking us to do, don't you?" Cassandra asked.
Nate couldn't help but beam in happiness at them.
"Of course. We're getting the chance to be fighter pilots."
CHAPTER SIX
Fighter Control Suite
Alliance Armoured Assault Ship 'ANS Relentless'
Day 3
The hangar deck was already in the process of being dispersed as Nate and his friends left. They may not have been in combat, but the sense of urgency was clear and obvious. Cassandra and Billy were at his side, Matilda trailed behind, her chin up and busily looking about. Rex and Jack were at the front, and barely a metre behind the Lieutenant. Billy seemed out of breath as he looked across to his friends. It wasn't through lack of fitness, but something else.
He's worried. He's right to be, Nate thought.
"Looks like Rex wants to run this one," complained Billy.
Cassandra nodded in agreement. The three had only met when brought together at the Academy finals, but already they were proving close friends. Cassandra might have been something of a know-it-all, but both Nate and Billy knew her skills were significant. Nate tried to make light of it with a low laugh.
"When doesn't he want to run things?"
Rex glanced back at them, but he either hadn't heard what they were saying about him, or he'd chosen to keep it to himself. The three said no more, and he turned back to speak with Jack. Nate relaxed, but only a little. Billy spoke quietly so that only he could make out the words.
"We can do this, right? We can do what the Lieutenant asked?"
Nate shrugged.
"Maybe. We've flown enough simulated missions before. This should be little different."
As they passed the empty corridors and ramps, nearing their destination, it became clear how empty Relentless actually was.
"She's like a ghost ship," said Nate.
His voice was quiet, but not enough that the others couldn't hear. Lieutenant Higgins heard him speak and nodded, as they kept moving.
"You're not wrong about that. We have enough crew to travel a modest distance in friendly territories. When it hits the fan, we'll have some problems. The defence for the carrier is always its fighters, and if that fails, you need engineers, medics, repair teams, and marines to defend against borders."
He threw his head back and raised his eyebrows.
"And that is something we have damned little of."
They moved on in silence until Nate spotted the imagery of different fighters that somebody had scrawled on the wall. It was fine work, and he couldn't help but lean in for a closer look.
"They date back to the last war."
There was a sense of reverence as he ran his left hand along the cool metal. The images were quite small, and many showed ships of various alien designs. One even looked similar to the diagrams he'd seen of the dreaded Biomanta capital ships. Cassandra spent only a few seconds looking at them. She was much more interested in the people and the events than the images themselves.
"What happened?"
Lieutenant Higgins didn't stop, but his composure altered just a little. They passed a single marine who, like so many of his comrades, had picked up an injury during the fighting to escape the starbase.
"Relentless was not a glamorous ship."
He pointed to the walls of the passageway.
"You see; back in the war there was a major lack of carriers for use in the convoys. They were needed for the war fleets, and anything capable of carrying large numbers of fighters was transferred to the front-line squadrons. Carriers like Relentless were at the bottom of that list."
"Why?"
Matilda had scrutinised the images and answered Cassandra's question while the Lieutenant considered his next words.
"Relentless is not like the other carriers."
"That is true," Lieutenant Higgins agreed, "Do you know why?"
Matilda nodded.
"She's an armoured carrier. Where fleet carrier have bigger hangars, she has armour plating."
"Indeed," They moved on a little further while the officer continued with his explanation, "Back in the day, the extra armour was critical, but with the advanced weaponry of the Biomechs, we needed warships to go toe-to-toe with them. As an old carrier with limited hangar space, she was relegated to convoy duty where her extra protection would be more useful when fighting raiders."
He looked back at Matilda.
"She had an unremarkable war until running the blockade of Spascia."
Again he touched the metal walls with his fingers.
"She stood alone while sixteen transports broke the line and delivered infantry and supplies to the defenders of Spascia. The last stand of Relentless went on for nearly two hours, and by the end of it she was adrift, with no fighters, and all but nineteen crew still alive."
He chuckled.
"The Biomechs thought she was a dead hulk and abandoned her to engage the rest of the newly arrived fleet. Since then, she's been repaired, refitted, and put back into service. She's a tough old girl."
They said no more as they made the final journey inside the ship. The trip to the Control Suite had not been long, but for Nate it seemed like an age. For the first few passageways he'd felt rather self-important. Other civilians were being shown to their new posts or handed jobs to carry out, but not Nate. While this continued, he was being taken to the heart of the ship's defences, the Drone Control Suite. He hadn't seen it yet, but from what he understood, it was designed to operate as both a training hall and command suite for drone fighters. A female voice caught Nate's attention, and he looked to the right as they passed by a pair of female crew.
"Sir," said the first.
Lieutenant Higgins nodded, and then they were past. The two were older than Nate, perhaps in their late twenties. Both wore grubby looking overalls and had sidearms on their flanks, like so many of the crew on the ship. Between them they carried a large metal container marked with faded letters.
Just minutes before, they had been in the hangar, along with all the other military crew and civilians. Now they were marching behind the last remaining Navy pilot; all on the promise that the six of them could manage the controls of drone fighters, something none of them had ever actually done before. Each had played their part in the simulations, but the realities of combat were far from anything they might have experienced. Even the violent escape from the starbase was nothing compared to what they were being expected to do.
The marines had done all of the fighting, and so far Nate and his friends little more but run and hide. They were not soldiers or marines, and certainly not fighter pilots in the traditional sense. As they walked through the ship, Nate did his best to convince himself their promises could be acted upon. Memories of the contests with the Byotai pilots over the last few days were still fresh in his mind, but so were the number of times he had been destroyed in battle. They had done well, but rarely without losses. The stakes had just been raised.
We can do this.
He kept telling himself the same thing over and over, but none of that would hide the nerves rumbling inside his belly. The waiting was always the w
orst part, and now he felt he might vomit at any moment.
"In here."
Lieutenant Higgins stepped to one side and signalled for them to enter the sealed area. Rex was first inside, with Nate right behind. The Fighter Control Suite was a long, narrow room with a row of eight booths on each side. An open passage ran between the two sides so that a supervisor could keep a careful eye on things. In the centre of the corridor the space opened up to give way to a large hexagonal pit that rose out from the ground. Above it hovered a detailed three-dimensional model of the scenario.
"Wow!" Nate exclaimed.
The six cadets waited patiently while a single crewman activated the first six booths. As the man made his way from one to the other, the Lieutenant moved to the pit and indicated for them to follow.
"Relentless was converted to a training ship and drone carrier during her last refit. It's not a pretty system, but it integrates with the tech we have to hand."
The six spread out and looked at the model on display while Lieutenant Higgins activated the program. A model of a single carrier appeared that closely matched Relentless. He then turned away from the unit to look at each of them.
"I can operate the drones, sending them on prearranged waypoints and attack patterns. It is enough to scout an area, but any pilot worth his salt will blast them apart in seconds."
His eyes narrowed as though a bright light had just shone into his face.
"All I need you to do is show me you can handle my birds. Follow my commands, and deal with any situations that arise. Succeed, and you'll get a field promotion to acting lieutenants in the Navy. Anybody not interested?"
All six waited in silence.
"Good. To your pods and get ready."
Each of them turned away and moved to their allocated units. Billy was the only one that paused for a second.
"Lieutenant Higgins, what rating are we playing against?"
Nate settled down into the comfortable seat and pulled on the straps before glancing back to his friend Billy.
The Lieutenant won't like that.
Star Crusader: Hero of the Alliance Page 11
