The six X-wing fighters found in storage on each of the battleships puzzled Jack since the Battleships did not even carry pilots for them. Though with the small boat bay that had been moved from the middle of the engine decks to up around the Fusion Power Cores on the new design really did not have room to operate more than the few shuttle boats the Battleships originally had pilots for. And then what little room the hangers had was due to the lack of armor around the power cores. Big mistake all the way around. The engineers who designed the Battleship sacrificing the armor for the flight deck and hanger. Which Jack thought was stupid since they had a dozen decks in the front half of the ship that would have worked perfect for large hangers with plenty of room for boats and fighters even when they were used as mass tanks before the new engines had been installed. The only thing Jack could figure out was that the civilians that had designed the ships could see no reason to put a lot of boats and fighters on a Battleship. After all the big guns were the Power and the reason of the Battleship’s existence.
Jack looked over at the Lieutenant flying his wing and was surprised at how close she was staying. She was getting good as he winged over and headed up the passageway toward what was left of the squadron now that they were in sight. Wanting to get to the Command ship and make sure the Squadron’s commander would accept their IFF before he risked the boats with the marines or the Captured Battleships getting close. Though the Battleships at least had armor facing the enemy that were plenty of protection from 24inch guns. Jack was simply hoping to avoid all ship to ship fighting that could destroy the ships that wanted to surrender sitting with their butts toward the huge command ships that might decide to take the others with them if the shooting started. Jack just hoped using the big ships behind him to keep the enemy’s attention worked to get his fighters close enough to land on the 100 gun monsters.
Jack waited until his IFF was answered and accepted and then hoped he was not going to have to talk with anyone but knew there was only a slight chance of that.
“Approaching fighters identify yourself immediately or you will be destroyed.”
Jack had to keep from laughing at that statement knowing that at this range unless their marksmanship was a lot better than the others ships had been, he did not have to worry about that. “Lieutenant Parker Commanding the Hurst Squadron, Flying Fighter Squadron 1. We found that using our fighters to clear the cloud around the Corridor could prevent the enemy from getting close enough to target our Battleships. We lost a lot of ships learning how. We are here to reinforce you. More squadrons are coming behind us. Central Command has ordered all squadrons to bunch up to provide the maximum firepower possible against the enemy during the coming attack on the entry head of the Maze. Requesting permission to approach.”
“This is Vice Admiral Antonov, you will approach and block any ships from leaving my squadron. I have Captains talking about surrendering. You are ordered to position your ships around my Command ship to protect me.”
“By your orders Admiral. I will have marines joins us from my ship. Request permission to deploy marines and arrest any traitors Admiral Antonov?”
“Yes! Yes, deploy your marines to arrest the Captains of all the ships around me. That is an order.”
“Very well Admiral, the squadron is a half hour out. By your Command Vice Admiral Antonov.” Jack cut the comm and 20 minutes later his fighter slid up to the Command Battleship with 17 other fighters and a half dozen Republic transport boats from the captured Congressional battleships. Other fighters and transport boats were doing the same to the other two enemy Battleship squadrons at that very moment. At least he hoped they were. They were out of communications for the moment since they had decided it was not worth the risk using the comms to the other squadrons during the attacks to prevent the enemy from detecting anything amiss and warning them.
At less than a thousand feet, Jack pulled the trigger sending 4 of the small anti-ship missiles the fighter carried into the side of the ship’s relatively unarmored hull between the lowest of the thick armored decks. Then Jack slid through the hole and landed on the Command ship in the empty 400 foot diameter 50 foot tall tank followed by the rest of the fighters and the thin skinned transports boats. Jack locked his fighter down as the other fighters and transports dropped onto the deck around him before jumping out and grabbing his weapons from the side storage compartment. The 200 marines from the Republic transport boats were already headed down into the Battleship.
Two minutes later Jack with his cannon and the Lieutenant with her cut down version of the Ape Assault weapon with 216 Battle armored ape and human marines, were rapidly descending the main power trunk leading down into the Battleship’s crew section. Three minutes later after a few brief one sided battles, Jack walked onto the ships Command Flag Bridge after meeting no resistance at the hatch as the rest of the attacking marines fanned out down the ship.
“You fool. You are supposed to assault the other ships damn you! Now get your butts over their before I have you and your families killed.”
Jack just smiled and shot him in the chest with his stun pistol. “Well, enough of that.” Hitting his comm. “This is Admiral Turner. I have captured your Command ship and Admiral Antonov. You are ordered to surrender your ships or I will be forced to destroy you.” Jack adding the last to make the captains that had already wanted to surrender feel better about the process and hopefully save their families from some grief.
Four Relieved Captains immediately surrendered their ships. Thirty minutes later Jack with the Lieutenant by his side, watched marines and volunteers in new armored suits and weapons from the newly arrived Captured Battleships spread out across the other 4 new undamaged acquisitions. Rounding up the old crews and sending them up into one of the empty mass storage tanks in each ship to start processing. Bots had slapped an Air Curtain over the hole Jack had blasted then proceeded to convert the tank into a boat bay and hanger. The other newly captured ships receiving the same treatment as they cut hatches into the hull between the armored decks of the lower mass tanks to make new fighter and boat bays able to handle a good number of spacecraft.
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Jack finely slipped his fighter out of the new hanger that was already crowded with boats coming and going between ships followed by the Lieutenant in her fighter and then slipped over into the second squadron’s passageway to check their progress only to find with some relief that his crews were already docked and going through the 4 ships. The ships already receiving their new boat bays. Volunteer Fighter Pilots from The Game circling around the ships after taking the fighters from the marines that had used them to assault the Command ship and were now doing their job as deck pounders again.
“Admiral, Red Pepper. Trouble with the third Squadron that was running 15 minutes late. The Command ship let our fighters and boats close with it to point blank range and then opened fire, destroying half of the fighters and badly damaged several of the boats carrying the assault marines before they could hide amongst the hulks. Our ships then demanded that they surrender as they closed and the Command ship surrendered but ordered our squadron to stay back. I ordered them to maintain their distance until we could get there Admiral. I am headed there now. Murphy over.”
“No Captain! Order them to close as fast as possible and flank the command ship. We don’t have time to let them settle into a stalemate. Do not stand off. Order the other ships that surrendered to move away from the Command ship ASAP. Order the DD’s into the nearby cloud as well, flanking its shield decks but hold their fire. I am headed there now. Turner out.”
Jack winged around one of the battleships in the second squadron using his wings mag-mass coils to grab the mass of the ship and pull his fighter around only feet above the hull flying between the turrets and then zipped away from the Battleship firewalling the throttle as he headed out and over to the last Squadron. He was surprised that the Lieutenant had stayed with him through the maneuver as the rest of his escort fell behind. The Vo
lunteers that took over the fighters still getting used to the real McCoy. Though he had not expected them or the Lieutenant to follow him through that crazy maneuver. Scarring himself when the 24inch gun barrels of a turret suddenly moved into his way as they returned to ships cruising trail fore and aft along the hull. The new crew wasting no time getting things squared away.
Sliding around the corner of the Corridor Jack could not believe his ears as the Command ship’s Admiral screamed that he was surrendering but to stay away. The Command ship turning to point its armored decks at the 3 rapidly closing ships who now had their sterns toward the Command ship as they slowed. The other two surrendering Battleships already pulling away as Jack had ordered trying to put some distance between them and the Command ship.
As Jack closed he started to pick out the wreckage from the knocked out fighters drifting around the Command ship in disbelief. Realizing that as slow as he had approached the Battleship he had helped take a short hour before, that he could have been killed just as easy. Slow fighters at that range did not stand a chance and he had sent these men in to their deaths.
Then the Command ship with its bow pointed directly at the 3 approaching Battleships at point blank range with their assess toward him decelerating, opened fire. Some 40 to50 beams streaked out to hit the stern and side of the center Republic crewed Battleship that was ahead of the others and was already coming to a stop almost broadside across the bow of the Command ship.
Jack could not believe that so many turrets on the 100 gun Command ship were not working but glad they were silent. Eight of a dozen torpedoes tubes on the enemy ship were fired as well. The 8 torpedoes racing away to the sides before arcing back around toward the Republic’s captured Battleship at point blank range. Several seconds passed before the point defense guns started sending beams after the torpedos.
Dozens of beams plastered the already dead engines on the side facing the Command ship. The one remaining engine working on this Battleship with only a small exhaust nozzle sticking out the back getting hit and knocked out by a single torpedo that made it through the Point defense turrets that were not quite up to snuff yet before the Battleship could turn its stern away. The now tumbling ship’s bow slowly turned toward the enemy gun fire. The remaining torpedos hit the bow of the ship blasting large holes between the shield decks.
Jack watched several laser hits on the section between the engines and the Weapons section holding his breath as he waited for the ship’s fusion core to explode as several beams penetrate the lightly armored hull of the boat locks and hanger section surrounding the core. Hoping that the added foam armor he had ordered applied around the core did its job even if it did take up quite a bit of hanger space.
The Republic Battleship immediately answered the Congressional Command ships gun fire with its own. Jack being surprised that any guns were left to shoot as most of the turrets already facing the enemy sent beams out to hit the armored hull or flank of the Command ship knocking huge chunks off the hull along the armored decks of the bow. Jack was surprised as well when many of the beams managed to take out turrets far back along the sides of the Command ship but then the enemy battleship was pointed at the armored bow of the Republic’s captured battleship instead of the weapons section allowing most of the guns of the Republic ship to shoot down one side of the Congressional ship to hit the weapons section.
The new Republic Battleship’s own torpedoes flying around and ignoring the armored bow of the enemy ship hit the weapons section. Jack thinking that most of them got through and hoping they knocked out at least some of the turrets. Seeing how large the holes were from the Black hole torpedoes, they had to have knocked out something. Jack silently thanking god that the entire crew were inside the lower armored core of the Republic’s new battleship where they were safe.
Seconds ticked by waiting for the guns to recharge as the other 2 Battleships rapidly approached sliding off to the sides to get the Command ship in a cross fire. Jack praying that they would not fire until the last possible moment as the Command ship recharged her main guns. The longer they waited,the better of a position they would be in to fire on the enemy ship and the more damage they would do before they too had to wait to recharge their weapons. Jack deciding then that sending them back to New Home to be completely upgraded with new plasma line power generators and gun tube liners that more than double the weapons’ power and rate of fire was better than letting them face one sided battles against the approaching enemy that outnumbered them. No, he would stick with the DD’s and the Red Pepper that not only had the weapons but could maneuver decently. These Battleships wallowed like cows or garbage scows anyway, making them worthless in the rapid maneuvering battle inside the cloud.
Jack dropped his targeting blip onto one of the turrets as he closed within range and pulled the trigger. The 20mm lasers of the Republic fighter, even at point blank range,merely scratched the paint off the armored turret under his telescopic sights before Jack had to turn (cursing the light weight guns) and start slowing down to stay away and out of the line of fire of the enemy’s defense guns. Heading for the nearest hulk to keep from becoming a target of the Point defenses that had taken out to many good fighters and the marine’s flying them already. Though maybe if they had been well trained fighter pilots they would have had the reflexes to survive. Realizing how stupid his plan was even if it had worked on the other holdout squadrons. It had already cost those lives as well as the marines killed on the damaged unarmored transports not to mention the hundreds that died in the battleships now shooting at each other.
The now tumbling Republic Battleship’s side that had not fired on the enemy ship came around with the ship’s Captain waiting until his Battleship was fully broadside to the enemy before firing. Allowing the guns to rake down the side of the Command ship taking out as many enemy turrets as possible. The enemy Command ship Captain still not following the weapons section of his tumbling enemy with his bow. Leaving his ship pointed at the center of his enemy which now was the long heavy armored section that the relatively light weight weapons section was orbiting around.
Jack could not see from his side if any turrets were knocked out though he did see several energy spikes but those could be from most anything including the smaller 5 inch turrets or fixed missile magazines.
Jack knew the recharge time on the 24 inch guns was 30 seconds but as he sat quietly in his cockpit closing with the Battleships, the 30 seconds seemed like hours. Looking at the timer again as his mind raced to find out that each look was only a few seconds later.
Then at 25 seconds after the enemy had fist fired, the 2 Republic Battleships coming up to the sides of the Command ship fired almost as one. The guns on the side facing the Command ship tearing into its weapons section. The 24 torpedoes from the 2 ships following a few seconds later. Gaping holes opening up all along Command ship’s weapon section’s hull sending torrents of plasma from almost fully charged Capacitors flying out into space with turrets, equipment and torn sections of the ship.
Then Jack sat back and prayed that the Command ship no longer had weapons to fire with and then all too sudden, some 30 beams streaked out and tore into the tumbling center Republic Battleship that really was no longer the main threat followed by 6 torpedoes instead of 8 or even 12 giving Jack some minor relief. Until most of them slammed into the still tumbling Republic Battleship hemorrhaging hull and deck sections, equipment and even several 5 inch and point defense turrets. Jack was surprised when what looked like a tumbling hulk answered a few seconds later with about half of its 24 inch turrets on that side and another 12 torpedoes.
Then Jack noticed that the 5 inch guns on the 2 flanking Battleships were pounding away at the enemy Command ship making Jack wish they had had enough time to upgrade them to something that could knock out the 18inch turrets. And then only 10 seconds after the enemy 24inch guns had fired on one of the center ship, 15, 24inch guns from one of the flanking ships sent bright yellowish white beams into the Command
ship. It took a couple of seconds to realize that the Captain had evidentially cut power to one of the Capacitors in each turret so he could send the power to recharge the remaining gun faster and then only waited until they were at 90% charge to fire. At point blank range 90% power was plenty of heat to knock out turrets. The other flanking ship followed suit a few seconds later and was situated where Jack could see its beams striking several of the 18 inch turrets on the Command ship knocking them out.
Ten seconds after the first single gunned broadside each ship fired another and 10 seconds later another. Each taking out more turrets as the tumbling center Republic Battleship fired its second side that still had all its turrets intact since the Command ship could not fire at them directly.
The Command ship surprised Jack by firing a much subdued broadside along with only 3 torpedoes but this time both guns and torpedoes were concentrated on the hanger section of the tumbling Republic Battleship and the Fusion Power Core that would destroy the ship. Though at this close range, such an explosion would take out all of the ships around it. Jack held his breath for the inevitable if the ass hole succeeded. It was too late to run.
As boats and hull sections floated away with no explosion, Jack said a silent prayer for the added armor and slammed the throttles to the stops. He did not notice the Lieutenant or the escort that had finally caught up to him as he headed for the stern of the enemy Command ship. He had 30 seconds to get on that Battleship.
Battleship Destroyer 2 (Battleship Destoryer) Page 110
