Captain Delatorre checked them, but they were nowhere near where he expected.
“Sir, this jump will only…”
“Do it, Captain.”
“Sir.”
Shot after shot hammered into the ship, and now he could feel the punishment they were taking. Against the other ships they had a chance, but the two Byotai attack cruisers were hitting them hard. And then there were the unending volleys from the battleship. The distance dropped second by second, and it was possible to make out the enemy ships with the naked eye. They would be locked together in close-range combat soon, and still the ship had not fired.
“Fire!”
All three Confederate Class warships unleashed their full arsenal of pulse cannons and heavy mass driver bombardment cannons. It was a brutal volley, and almost every shot landed on or around the enemy flagship. The attack was so great the remaining enemy ships moved in towards the bow of the battleship, desperate to protect their most prized asset.
“That’s it. You cluster around your master,” said Gun. “Keep firing and be ready on the drives. Push secondary engines to full.”
“What course, Colonel?” Captain Delatorre asked.
Gun laughed.
“Where else? Ramming speed, at the battleship!”
The Captain’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Ramming?”
Gun grinned, and his long, sharp teeth poked out like knives.
“Yes, ramming. Put us into that ship, and open the launch tubes for our boarding parties.”
The officers exchanged looks, but none would dare challenge him, all but General Honorious. As the officers went about their new tasks, he moved in front of the Colonel.
“Is this truly the course of action you want? This will result in the destruction of your ship. This leaves everything to chance.”
Gun continued grinning.
“If you knew me, Spartan, or Khan, you’d know we leave nothing to chance.”
He then clenched both of his fists.
“We resolve problems the only way we know how.”
* * *
Inside Beithir Primus Orbital Station
Nate pulled on the controls as they accelerated towards the outer blast doors. They remained shut, even as the four black-coloured fighters and the two Jackals moved towards them. Nate kept both hands on the controls, doing his best to keep the strangely agile craft stable. Lieutenant Commander Holder leaned in from the narrow passage to the centre of the craft. Her helmet was off, and she nursed a deep cut to her forehead.
“The doors? We need them open.”
Valdis struggled with a barrage of numbers on her system, and Nate could tell she was flustered. She kept at it, though, ignoring them.
“Keep flying. I have this.”
Gunfire reached up towards them, but at this speed, it was almost impossible to hit them. On they went until the blast doors were just five hundred metres away. The floor plates and cranes whizzed by, and they hugged the ground.
“Right now would be great,” said Nate.
“There!”
Nate’s eyes narrowed as the dull metal armour slid open in multiple sections like an iris. There were at least three sections, one after the other, each separated by a small area of space before the next started.
“It’s energy sealed,” said Valdis, “Just keep moving ahead. I’ve nearly got the last one.”
“What?” Nate yelled.
They blasted through the first two at speed and hurtled towards the third and final barrier. The Jackals swung in close, eager to avoid hitting the sides of the passage. On and on came the door, and then without warning it slid open to reveal the inky blackness of space.
“Hit it!” Valdis said.
Nate reached forward, and she grabbed his hand and thrust it down onto the engine controls. The engines flared bright, and they burst out into space, leaving the station and the hordes of the enemy behind them.
“Phew!” said Nate, “I thought we were goners back there.”
The six spacecraft moved to the right and towards the point where they’d first entered. Large numbers of Jackals were already flying out, while gun turrets lashed them with small calibre mass drivers.
“Ironclads?”
The voice was familiar, and Nate grinned at recognising the sound.
“Commander?”
“Deal with the fighters. They’re forty-six kilometres away, point three-three, and heading to the Jackals.”
“Sir.”
Nate glanced at Valdis.
“Get the weapons ready.”
She smiled.
“Already done.”
“Good.”
He then wagged his wings as he’d learnt so many times in the simulator when comms were down and adjusted his position to make for the five fighters. Before they’d been almost impossible to see. Now the Star Empire IFF system flagged them as friendly and showed their outlines on the HUD, making locating them all too easy.
“Okay then…time for some payback.”
The other two Jackals made for the rest of the formation that was already racing away from the station. Five other X1 drones remained close to them as their controllers kept them nearby for close-protection. Coming right at the group, almost ahead were the black Phantoms, and they moved in fast, their turrets all pointing forward ready to engage. The first opened fire several seconds before Nate and his comrades were in position. Two Jackals tore apart in fiery blasts, and then they were there.
“Fire!” said Nate.
Valdis pulled the trigger, and the forward-mounted heavy cannons opened up. So powerful were the guns that each time they fired, the fighter actually shuddered a little. Chunks ripped off the first fighter, and then it exploded in a fiery mess. Cassandra and Billy joined in, shredding another before they knew what was going on. The surviving three fighters pulled away in a rotation that Nate couldn’t even see.
“Find them!”
The mixed formation of seven fighters circled around each other, with each pilot desperately trying to outmanoeuvre the other. There were clear differences in training and skill, and though the enemy pilots were more experienced, Nate could tell they’d not practiced together as much as he and his friends had.
“Lock turrets forward and give me control.”
Nate didn’t even bother to see if Valdis was listening. Luckily, she was, and with a deft few taps on the onboard computer control, she brought the multiple secondary turrets on-line and locked into forward firing mode. Those on the hull and winglet all pointed in the same direction as the mass drivers. That left him with no defensive turret protection, but it did give him all available forward firepower.
“Okay, then, let’s see how you like this!” He looked back into the craft. Those in the centre section were holding on for grim life.
“Hold tight, this is gonna get rough!”
Completely forgetting this was reality and not a simulator, Nate threw his large fighter into a tight roll that quickly built up speed and momentum. The faster they rolled, the more power he applied until every one inside groaned with the struggle to move and breathe. The enemy fighters tried to pursue while maintaining their tight formations.
“Nate…what are you….”
“It’s okay…I’ve…got…this…”
He cut the engine, spun around so he was flying backwards, and shouted, “Fire!”
Every turret, including the chin-mounted mass drivers opened fired, while the pursuing fighters continued to roll. Turret fire slammed into his own craft, but that didn’t stop Nate. Caught by surprise, they took hit after hit before finally colliding, breaking apart, and vanishing from view. He spotted large sections tear away from them, leaving just one intact that immediately hit its boosters. It blasted away while Nate steadied off his own craft, panting from the exertion.
“Nice flying,” said Lieutenant Commander Holder.
* * *
The three Confederate Class warships steamed to within fifty
kilometres of the massive enemy battleship. The other vessels in the fleet had now pulled apart and engaged the Alliance ships in a deadly game of broadsides and powerful guns. ANS Victorious continued heading directly for her, and Gun watched his prey with unnerving intensity.
ANS Indomitable moved to the left, with the Spartan Class assault transport right beside her. AND Independence headed off in the opposite direction with her own transport following right behind. Every ship fired continually, the area of space filled with criss-crossing mass drivers, railguns, missiles, and particle beams. Inside the bridge of Victorious the mood had shifted as they continued on their suicidal course towards the vastly bigger enemy ship.
“She is a monster,” said General Honorius.
“Yes,” agreed Gun, “Biggest warship I’ve seen next to the World Ship.”
He winked, and that surprised the General.
“Forward batteries…fire!”
The ship shuddered. Round after round ripped into the battleship’s superstructure, but no matter how many shells it absorbed, it kept on coming. The sphere glowed brighter and brighter, and then the massive battery of barrels and extensions at the front of the ship began to glow bright.
“Colonel,” said Captain Delatorre, “Energy surge from the centre of the battleship, looks like a Rift generator system.”
“How long till it fires?”
“Ten seconds, perhaps less.”
Gun nodded and kept his attention on the ship.
“Standby on the engines. This will be an interesting first test. Spartan thinks it will work.”
The glow along the front spread to each tube and then crackled, lashing back and forth along the bow of the vessel.
“Now!”
The view transformed, and when the engines started their cooldown, Captain Delatorre pointed to the mainscreen. There in front of them was the battleship, but it was now ten kilometres away, and they were facing its stern.
“What?” General Honorius said, “How?”
Gun grinned for what must have been the tenth time.
“Interstellar drives, my friend. We travel without moving.”
“They’re firing!” said Captain Delatorre.
All eyes focussed on the screen as they saw the energy vanish from the front of the ship and then reappear like a small star exactly where their own ship had been seconds before. The blast was gigantic, and then dissipated as quickly as it had started.
“Impressive,” said the General.
Gun nodded in agreement.
“Very.”
He then extended his right arm ahead.
“Hit their engines and fire!”
The guns blasted away into the ship as the powerful guns did their terrible work. The particle cannons exploded great chunks off the rear, but it was the bombardment mass drivers that were truly terrifying. Each 255mm shell tore into the vessel and penetrated deep inside, causing untold damage and casualties. Explosions ripped through the stern just as the battleship’s forward weapon fired. This attack continued for more than two minutes until the entire rear of the ship was ablaze with a hundred separate fires.
“Sir. The battleship is launching fighters. A lot of fighters,” said Commander Higgins.
“Contact!” yelled the tactical officer.
“On screen,” grumbled Gun.
The imagery of the burning battleship shifted to show yet another group of ships. This time another dozen Lancer Light cruisers, as well as what appeared to be two traitor Byotai warships.
“Very well. Prepare to jump to the Theta waypoint. On my mark…”
* * *
Nate rolled to the right and started to relax. Dozens and dozens of the Jackals were now clear, and though the station’s turrets continued to fire, they had a hard time hitting the small craft. Two more X1s exploded, but they did their part providing a rearguard. He started to speak when he spotted the single remaining fighter arch around and come in from the side, away from his main guns. He hit the thruster controls, but one immediately failed.
“What? Release the turrets.”
Valdis had already done it without being prompted. Four opened fire and strafed the approaching fighter. It took several hits, and then veered away as the other three captured fighters moved in to pursue.
“Good work, guys.”
Nate pushed the engines and remained careful not to push them too hard due to the damage. He was unfamiliar with this craft and had no idea of its structural weaknesses. The last thing he wanted was to be killed in an engine overload or leak. He looked to Valdis who shook her head and pointed at a damaged screen. Nate hadn’t noticed, but the last attack had knocked out a number of systems. She was busy sorting out a workaround, but not before the two damaged fighters lined up from above and dived down towards them. Warnings activated as the onboard computer and detected incoming friendly fire.
This is it.
Then a massive shape blocked his view. For a second he thought it was his helmet, but then he saw it was the battered shape of ANS Victorious. Dozens of small fires burned across its hull, yet for all that it still looked like a metal giant. Scores of turrets opened fire, some coming dangerously close to him before shredding the pursuing fighters. As the craft ripped apart, they were hit by more repeated shells before finally exploding.
“Yes!” Nate yelled.
“Outstanding work,” said Major Spartan, “We’ve got a show for you on the station…about now.”
Nate rolled slightly to the right so that he could see the gigantic station below them. Two Jackals flew past him, but he wanted to see what happened next. At first, there were just a few small white flashes, and then came a series of massive blasts that blew out almost a third of the shipyard section of the station. More flashes spread around the entire dome, and colossal sections tore off into space, followed by a single flash that was the classic sign of a micro-atomic warhead. He looked to Valdis and opened his mouth to speak. She instinctively leaned in close to him and kissed him on the lips, much to his surprise. It instantly silenced him.
“Not bad, Star Crusader.”
“All pilots, get home immediately. It’s time to leave! Three minutes till we jump.” Commander Higgins ordered.
Nate shook his head in amazement as he joined the group of Jackals and four X1s. They headed for the massive doors along the lower angled hull of Victorious.
* * *
As Nate clambered out of the Star Empire fighter, he heard the klaxons wailing. The sound of the Captain’s voice confirmed the fleet was already through the Rift and heading away from the battle. Nate relaxed at knowing there was nothing fast enough to reach them now. He blinked, took a deep breath, and then found himself looking at crowds of people. There were Alliance officers, Thegns, marines, and pilots. Lieutenant Commander Holder was already there, with Commander Higgins at her side and hugging her. Discipline was clearly being ignored as the survivors of the battle exchanged stories and spoke loudly.
Nate moved onto the steps that had been wheeled into place and climbed down. Off to the right a group of marines passed by, along with four carrying a bloodied and wounded comrade.
“Nate, that was intense.”
Billy appeared to the right, along with the others. For a second, he wondered if they’d all made it, but as always they all emerged, with little to show for their adventure but another batch of cuts, bruises, and battered armour.
“Tell me about it.”
Cassandra and Matilda stopped in front of the nearest alien fighter while a pair of marines asked them about it. Two of the Byotai pilots were quickly stopped by an Alliance Jackal pilot, leaving just Valdis to approach him. Once close she began to speak, but at that exact moment, the deck moved to a hush. Both knew something was happening, and they looked off into the deck where a group marched noisily towards them. Nate swallowed and then straightened up. From the mass of people came a small group led by Colonel Gun and an almost identical looking, albeit slightly shorter Jötnar. They stopped,
and then between them appeared three Humans. One was encased in PDS Marine Corps armour up to his waist, and covered in bullet marks and blood. His upper body was hidden behind a ragged tunic moistened with sweat and blood. The second two were both female, attired from head to foot in heavy black armour that hugged their shape. The two women removed their helmets and to Nate’s surprise they were identical.
Twins?
The two Jötnar pointed behind Nate, and he assumed the unusual captured fighters took up their attention.
Spartan.
Nate tried to look at Valdis, but she gave him a knowing look, and when he snapped back, he found Major Spartan right there looking back at him.
“Well, well, well. Looks like the General was right.”
He extended a thickly muscled hand out, and Nate took it. The hand gripped his, and he almost yelped at the sheer strength. Spartan winked and then released before turning his attention to the other pilots, all who had now formed up in a staggered line in front of Nate’s fighter. Finally, he stepped back and his second-in-command spoke, his gravelly voice sending a chill down Nate’s back.
“Son, that was some fine work. Ever thought about joining the Marines?”
Nate had no idea what to say. Colonel Gun said something to Khan, followed by both laughing. Unlike the Colonel, Captain Khan seemed more erratic and far less predictable. No matter how hard Nate tried, he couldn’t take his eyes away from the pair of powerful looking female warriors. Their armour was unusual, and both watched him carefully, perhaps looking for a weakness or fault. The nearest one’s expression softened, and she nodded to Nate.
“Arana, and this is my sister, Syala.”
“Hello. I’m Nathaniel…”
“We know,” said Syala.
Nate tried not to smile. Though the two looked the same, their characters were very different. The first seemed calmer and more thoughtful, while Syala had that fire in her eyes that reminded him of Valdis. He couldn’t tell how old they were and suspected late thirties, perhaps even into their forties, though they moved with the poise and speed of women half their age.
Star Crusader: Battle Fleet Victorious Page 23
