Quickly our first target came into view. It was as I suspected, a bubble-like colony scraping an existence in the wasteland around it. My flight took positions off my wingtips. “Armor piercing rounds, all six guns.” I commanded, “Line up for a strafing run. Single pass, central mass.” They acknowledged and I brought us in at a steep 20 degree drop. With only a few hundred meters to go, we opened fire.
I squeezed on the trigger for only a fraction of a second, the cannons flared up, ripping several deep scars into the planet below. As the colony came into the kill box, the base was torn to shreds. It only took the first volley to disrupt the pressure in the structure. After the seals were blown, the thin atmosphere outside ripped the shell completely off the building, leaving a swirl of dust and debris in its wake.
I watched the explosion in the rear on my ship’s monitor as we passed over. “Target destroyed.” I reported to the others. “We’re moving on to the next one.” I led the flight back up into the sky and the hazy air gave way to darkness as we neared outer space again. All over the planet, the other flights reported similar successes. Even Delta Squadron, up in high planetary orbit, was wreaking havoc on the defending vessels. As we raced to our next target, I could see explosions off in the distance disrupting the darkness of space all around.
We dove in for our second base. Then our third. Within a few hours we had ravaged most of our targets, leveling dozens of the outposts and leaving no signs of life behind. Delta kept their watch in orbit and cleaned up the remaining defending ships.
“Moving to our final target.” I reported to the others. “Standby to regroup in orbit.”
“Grant.” It was Delta’s commander. “We’ve got incoming alien ships on approach. They’re still a ways out but I’m not going to be able to hold them back if I’m here alone.”
“You won’t be.” I answered. “I’ve got one site to hit and I’ll be there to back you up.” I thought for a moment as we lined up for our next dive to the surface. “Can you estimate their range? I’ve got a planet in the way of my sensors.”
“Maybe an hour or so until they’re right on top of us. If I move out now I could engage in less than twenty. They’re coming straight at us from Planet Sekhmet.”
“Don’t do that yet.” I ordered. I switched the radio to broadcast to the entire wing. “All squadrons finish with the surface targets, regroup on Delta’s position. Do not move to engage any alien ships. We’re going to rendezvous with the gunboat, rearm and orbit the star. By the time we get back around, they’ll be in striking distance and we may not get the chance again.”
I quickened the pace and blew through our final settlement and didn’t even take the time to meet Delta before giving the order to return to our host gunboat. We retreated back closer to the star’s surface, leaving nothing behind but our wake of destruction. We hadn’t lost a single pilot or ship.
“Flight commanders, come back into standard formation. I’m commencing a sweep for the gunboat.”
Against the overwhelming huge mass of the star, our ship could have been a speck floating above the ocean. As we got closer, the burning surface filled my entire view. Scans continued to come back negative, garbled with excessive noise, with no sign of our destination. Again and again I pinged the field, hoping to see something resembling our ship’s signature. I radioed to the squadron, “Anyone got a position yet? I’ve got nothing up here.”
“Checking.” Alpha flight’s commander responded. “I’ve got a possible hit, check in 50, 80.”
I looked over the grid layout of our HUD. There was a speck of black against the star. “That might be it. Moving to intercept.” I sped up as my targeting radar picked up the gunboat. “We’ve got it.” I pulled back, coming in behind our ship. The bay doors were already opened, waiting for our return. “Squadron, prepare to land.”
The landing sequence went as quickly as the launch. We came back along the same tracks that we had launched on earlier. As I passed through the doors, I felt the controls disengage, leaving me at the will of the autopilot. It was probably better that way. It landed me only a few meters from my waiting ground crew, who immediately set to work checking over my ship as I touched down.
When I climbed out of the pilot’s seat, I could see charred burn marks all over the skin of my ship from the vast amounts of enemy fire we had endured. The engines were still smoking behind me, ionizing the oxygen around it, as I knelt to inspect a black patch on top of the body behind the main cannons. I brushed the material with my gloved hand and to my surprise, the debris flaked off effortlessly. Beneath the mark the skin had survived without a blemish. The paint was still a brilliant crimson as before, having not even taken a swirl mark. Below me my crew had begun cleaning some of the other spots away and also reloaded my fuel and weapons.
As the rest of the ships docked and the pilots emerged, I shouted across the room that I was going to the bridge to plan our next move, and that I left the flight commanders in charge.
38
“Welcome back, Commander.” The pilot greeted me as he looked up from his screen. As I entered I could see he was obviously relieved that I had made it back intact.
“Thank you. What is our course?” I asked him.
“Right now I have us in a tight slingshot orbit around the star. We’ll be passing only a few hundred kilometers from the surface before being shot back into space. It’s the quickest route to Sekhmet the computer could calculate. Sir, should I plot a change?”
“That won’t be necessary.” I responded as again the star’s bulk grew larger in the main screen. To our rear the edge of Horus faded into the darkness before being lost behind the horizon of the nuclear inferno. We continued to pull further away from the action and into deeper space.
“Hold steady to this course, monitor for any radio traffic but don’t let anything give our position away. This could end real quick if the aliens decide to move in all at once.”
Although we had disabled our long range communications equipment for our own protection, we could hear the increased traffic from our friends on the other side of the battle. We indeed had caused a great deal of commotion and disarray amongst the enemy forces and the final push was now in motion. I was half watching the crews down in the hangars rearming our fighters while simultaneously keeping an eye on the movements of both alien and human fleets.
In order for us to observe the action covertly, our ship used a sophisticated system of optical telescopes and advanced tracking algorithms to pick the tiny dust specks of life out of the void. Even as we made good time on our approach, we were not nearly close enough to see them with our eyes.
Our system quickly started picking out large scale targets that soon numbered in the multiple-fifties to several hundreds. The plot listed a few statistics on each one, mainly an estimated mass and current vector. They were spread in a general defensive grid around their remaining planets, obviously preparing for our main fleet’s assault. The alien ships began to split once they saw the humans breaking through the asteroid fields. “What do you think they’re planning?” our pilot asked me.
“I don’t know for sure. I don’t even know what our fleet’s plan of attack will be.” I responded, studying the movements being plotted. “If we’re lucky, some will go back to engage the fleet and the rest will be left in our way and try to keep us out of range of their planets.”
“Is that likely?”
“Pretty darn. Woe is to whoever gets to meet us in battle. We’re gonna kill them all.”
“What do you want to do next?” he asked me again.
“How fast can we make it to them without risking a collision?”
“The warp engines?” The pilot asked me as if I had lost my mind.
“Exactly. One quick jump to toss us in range of their blockade.”
The pilot’s eyes widened and he ran through the calculations. “At full burn, just under ten minutes.”
“Do it.” I ordered. The pilot complied, accelerating up and away
from the star behind us. I left the bridge and went to rally the pilots for another battle. I gave them five minutes to rest before we would be loading up again. Our ground crews picked up the pace as well, recharging all of the weapons and fuel far faster than I had imagined.
I took the opportunity to brush the remaining scorched matter off the skin of my fighter. With all of the debris we flew through, as well as the fire we took from orbit, nothing had caused real damage to the ship. I didn’t know what they were made of, but I was thankful for Jacobs not cutting any corners.
The lights were dim in the barracks with most of the pilots floating in and out of consciousness. I brought them back in an instant, flipping on the lights and blowing an air horn. “Everybody up!” I shouted, “We’re going back out!” They shot up in a second and were on their feet ready to go in ten.
We formed up again in the middle of the hangar before launch. I explained our next objective, to engage whatever the enemy had sent to keep us at bay. I dismissed the wing and we climbed back into our ships.
Again the calls came in from the bridge that we had made it clean through our jump and were free to deploy. We came back into real space directly in line with our objective, still flying straight from the star to Sekhmet’s orbit, and directly into the sights of three alien battleships.
“Multiple enemy contacts straight ahead!” The pilot radioed back. “Launch at will, I’m moving to evade.”
The force from his twisting path pulled the blood from my head and I struggled to stay conscious. “All fighters launch!” I ordered with my last full breath. Out along the rail I went again, zipping out of the bay into space with my squadron close behind.
The aliens were ready this time. There was no more catching them unaware. Every one of their batteries opened fire at once. I saw a firestorm of blasts incoming on my position. “Under fire! All men take evasive action!” I pulled back ninety degrees in a corkscrew, dodging shots left and right.
My men followed my command and my lead, breaking our formation apart into total disarray. The sky quickly became a fog of confusion with my wing flying in every direction at once.
In deep space like we were, there was no precise battle line. The battleships were grouped in no meaningful way that I could see through the swirling storm of fighters and blasts. “We’re not gonna last long out here like this!” Bravo’s commander announced to the group.
“Noted.” I stated. “Keep your control.” I added, marking the three large alien ships on my map. “Bravo, form up on your commander, take Number One. Alpha, on me. We’re going to cover them from the fighters. Charlie, take Number Three. Delta, cover them.”
Once we got close enough to the battleships, their weapons became less than effective and we hammered away on their hulls. More fighters launched from bays on all of the battleships which kept us busy.
Communications flared up as a massive explosion erupted forth from one of the ships, spewing chunks of the twisted hull all over. Its engines sputtered and it began to tumble slowly in space as more material exploded outward from its side. “First one down! Bravo Squad, move to number two. Alpha follow me!” I ordered.
The remaining enemy ships didn’t stand a chance against our combined forces. The second battleship died much like the first. We focused in on the power plant of number two which took all of its defenses offline in moments. From there we attacked the airlocks by the landing bay and weakened them until they blew.
With the pressure inside this ship rapidly decreasing, I set my wing up for a final run. In one movement we perforated every surface with a hundred holes. The structure could not take the strain any longer. It buckled and exploded outward in a massive fireball. The other two ships were still floating dead nearby. They faced the shock wave of the blast as well and exploded apart along with it.
As we flew off into the darkness the devastation faded into the background and the last target flickered off our scopes. Most of the men cheered but I kept my focus, pushing away the meager victory. “What is the damage?” I inquired to the commanders.
“Two down in Bravo. They took fire on our initial break from the surface guns.”
“Charlie all accounted for. We’re still combat ready.”
“Delta lost three. Two were in ship to ship, the third was struck by a fighter as it launched from its bay.”
“Dammit.” I pushed away the memory. “Commanders, relay last known positions to the gunboat. They can recover the remains. I’m not stopping for them.” I paused for a moment. “Well done gentlemen. We’re a step closer.” I changed my course to point us at the next planet.
“All men form back up on me.” I commanded.
“We’re not going back to our ship?” Delta’s commander responded.
“That’s correct. The rest of the battleships and their navy are still on their way to the fight against the Fleet. We are going to come at them from behind and not give them the chance.” The commanders concurred with my assessment and we blasted off at top speed, running down the remaining ships and carriers.
With my order given, we kicked on our sub-light engines and blasted out at nearly 99.9 percent the speed of light. Everything outside became a blur. Even the clouds of dust off in the distance shifted in color from orange to a dull red. It took only minutes for us to catch up to the aliens.
At such a high rate of speed, they never even saw us coming, much less were able to mount a defense. Their only warning was a brief fireball from each ship as we decelerated and switched engines. When the sub-light engines were turned off, they released all their stored energy in a weak but very bright flash of light.
“All squadrons, we’re focusing on the larger carrier square in the middle. Make sure they can’t launch their fighters.” My order wasn’t necessary. Everyone knew what needed to be done. Bravo and Charlie went straight towards the landing bay, disabling the doors and launch mechanisms. Delta again patrolled for enemy fighters. I took Alpha in to strike the bridge.
Diving in at high speed we made our first run. We pounded the entire area with the heaviest shells in our inventory. The entire run lasted less than five seconds before we had passed the target and pulled back into space. I could see the explosions shine off my windscreen as we looped back for another shot. My ship’s sensor suite scanned the surface, surveying the damage. It found several breaches that they were already trying to repair. “Squad, switch to high explosives and concussion rounds. Fire into the weakened areas highlighted. I’ll follow you in.” I wryly smiled as I switched from the heavy ballistic rounds to one of my onboard tactical nukes.
Every fighter in my squadron lined up and blasted away at the tiny area that was already spewing fire and shrapnel. They pulled back as they neared the surface. I fired my warhead right behind them. “All ships fall back! Everyone back away from the carrier!” I shouted. They were already on their way out.
The missile smashed into the surface at high speed, tearing through the damaged upper layers and drilled down into the supporting structures beneath. I tracked its progress on my monitor as it passed through multiple successive floors barely even slowing down. It was nearly in the center of the carrier before I triggered its detonation.
Straight through the mass of the craft I could see a brilliant flash of light building from the warhead’s last location. It grew over a half second to a blinding light which my windscreen struggled to block out. The ensuing explosion split the carrier nearly in two, atomizing a quarter of its mass and expelling its contents and occupants into the vacuum. More fires sprung up all over the surface as the frame buckled under the stress. The rest of the ship lasted only a moment longer before it was engulfed by the spreading fire. With the carrier gone, the battleships had no hope of stopping us. We split up, sending two squadrons to each and they quickly joined their friends in hell.
I followed the last alien starfighter out from the battleship’s remains and delivered a single shot to its engine. The shot entered through the exhaust outlet, tore th
rough most of its body and exited beside the left wing. The change in the vehicle’s dynamics caused it to spin wildly as it decelerated before finally imploding in a shower of sparks.
39
Spinning my own ship around, I found my squadron already lined up in formation for our next assignment. I took my place at the front and addressed the group.
“Again we are victorious. I expect nothing less. Remember, we still have far to go. Take my coordinates,” I uploaded my trajectory, “We are moving onward to Sekhmet.”
“Commander, is that wise? Shouldn’t we rearm first?” The voice of Alpha Commander was unmistakable.
“We shall do no such thing, not when our fleet is engaged. We must do all we can to split their defenses, even if we must fire every last shot. Move out.”
With the victory over the space forces complete, I led the wing farther forward and we brought our fire to Sekhmet. We maintained a quick pace and arrived after a twenty minute flight from where we left the remains of the carrier group. I dove in without fear, taking on the planet’s entire defensive network in one shot. The dozens of orbiting stations were ill prepared for our fury and soon we descended on the surface. Even at this long distance from the star, it was still relatively thin, hot and toxic. Regardless we found far more targets here than on One.
Alpha’s Commander had been absolutely correct. We were now running low on ammunition. Even as my counter scrolled from yellow to red and finally to black, I pushed on and didn’t dare slow down. Soon we had rained destruction over the entire surface of the planet. My final target was nothing less than an entire city, where I found myself without a single large munition left.
As my squadron passed over I laid out a strip of fire from my cannon. My wingmen fired the last of their shells behind me and switched to guns as well. As we neared the edge of the city and lifted up higher into the air, I saw streams of bullets coming in from my squadron mates on both sides. They punched lines of deep holes into the various settlements which exploded outwards with the changes in air pressure.
MissionSRX: Confessions of the First War Page 30
