Chapter Fifty-Nine
Atroxxin Sector
Cockpit, X-71 Fighter
Tegan flew through another expanding debris field as her computers locked onto the next target in her queue. Enemy bogeys had been going down rapidly as their attention had turned to destroying the weapons embankments firing on the anomaly now visible on the Providence. Those that weren't were running interference on the NEC fighters while a few even sacrificed themselves to keep the weapons from doing their jobs.
Tegan wasn't about to complain. She'd nearly been killed one time today and wasn't in the mood to try it again. If most of the fighters were going to act like they weren't there, she was going to take full advantage of it.
Laser fire streaked past her cockpit and collided with an enemy fighter focusing on destroying a laser turret. Looking to her right, she glimpsed Fireball's fighter streaking by as he moved onto another target.
"Like shooting fish in a barrel. Wish all dogfights could be like this," he said, jubilant.
"Enough chatter and focus. There are plenty of them shooting back to make things difficult."
"Not to mention the vicious crossfire," Switch added. "Nearly took one on the chin a moment ago."
Switch was telling the truth. The area with the fiercest firing wasa killing field. Firefights were dangerous things to begin with, but with the firepower flying between the two ships, it was pure madness. Normally she'd direct her squads away from the capitol ship battles, but there was no chance of that this time around. As to punctuate his point, a beam from one of the Providence's laser batteries flashed by, nearly engulfing Switch's craft.
Even with the attention of the enemy's fighters diverted, they were still facing long odds. The only thing they were grateful for was that the three enemy ships hadn't yet plugged the gap to get into their assumed optimal weapons range. It was only a guess because they had yet to do anything other than unleash their fighters, but she assumed that was about to change as by her estimation the ships were nearly in range.
"There's just too many of them," Lancer said through the comm. "There's no way the Endeavor could cut through all of them before they destroy the beams."
"That's why we need to focus on the fighters," Switch said as he blasted another one to hell. "If we can clear the weeds, they can go in for the kill."
"Doubt it, partner. There's far too many of them for the Endeavor to stand a chance. Outside a lucky shot they'll have no issue disrupting the beams for some time."
"What if we take matters into our own hands?" Tegan asked.
"You thinking what I'm thinking, boss?" Fireball replied.
"Only one way to find out," Tegan said. "Form up on me. Let's take a pass at that anomaly ourselves."
"Nothing like trying to make up for your previous failure, eh?" Switch joked.
"As long as I don't take one up the tailpipe, I'll call this run a success." Tegan brought her ship into a controlled spin that took her well away from the combat happening between the Providence and Endeavor. While she'd have to lead the squad through the heart of the fighting to reach the anomaly, she wanted a safer location to form up. Before long, the crew was back in the diamond formation they'd trained in from the start.
"What's the plan this time, Bobcat? I seem to remember our weapons doing jack shit to that thing before."
"Call it a hunch, but I think whatever caused it to appear may have also turned off whatever was protecting it. Why else would Captain Wellard be firing on the area now?"
"Maybe the away teams failed? Probably trying to keep the aliens from capturing another ship."
"Maybe, maybe not. Only way to find out is by taking another shot at the damned thing. Worst case scenario is we fail and go back to attacking the fighters."
"No. The worst case scenario has those hornets focusing their attention on us," Switch said, matter-of-factly.
"That's why we aren't going to fire on the damned thing until we are close," Tegan said back. "And to play it safe, don't attempt to lock onto it either. I don't want them to know what we're doing until we've done it. Am I clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Now move in at full thrust. I don't want any of you to slow down until after we've done everything we can to the damned thing."
The squadron barked their acknowledgment, and they moved into position matching Tegan's speed and heading. Within seconds they were back into the thick of the action. Laser beams and the occasional torpedo streaked by, threatening to hit them as they passed. Occasionally a bogey would pull off from the pack and move in towards the squad, but Tegan would order them to adjust course to deal with the threat before moving on. After all, it wouldn't do any good to ignore them as threats while the continued full bore at the anomaly. Eventually they'd get smart and send the damn fighter fleet their way, so if nothing else, they had to play the part.
"Target nearly in torpedo range," Switch said. "Think it's safe to lock on to it from here?"
"Negative," Bobcat replied. "I want to get closer. Don't want any of the fighters to be able to throw themselves into the firing path of our torpedoes."
"Roger that. Awaiting your command."
"Ten seconds, then lock. If that isn't close enough..." If that wasn't close enough it was going to take nothing short of one of them flying into the damned thing herself. She wasn't about to voice that option to the squad however, since she was sure one of them, likely Fireball, was stupid enough to try.
She counted the seconds in her head while keeping her targeting reticle lined up on the anomaly to help speed up the time it took for her computer systems to get a positive lock.
She was to six when her comm opened up.
"Bobcat, you have twenty enemy fighters hightailing it to your position. I don't know what you have in mind, but you better do it quick."
"Thanks for the heads up, Commander." Tegan toggled the comm channel back to the squad. "The gig's up. Full lock on the anomaly and prepare to fire on my mark." As expected her computer calibrated itself to the anomaly in less than a second as her targeting systems had already determined that spot to be a threat. Her console pinged four times in rapid succession as the others got a lock as well.
She moved her thumb over to the buttons on each stick that control the firing of her ship's torpedoes. She took a deep breath. "Mark."
Two of her four torpedoes sped off towards the anomaly as she pressed her controls. Their internal guidance systems tweaking their course to bring them in a full-on collision course. Shortly after, six additional torpedoes streaked by, each doing the same.
Tegan threw her ship into a course that would take her away from combat while she watched the screen. She hated not watching the scene play out with her own eyes, but knew what it would mean for her squadron if they continued their course. As it was, nearly half of the thirty contacts had adjusted their heading to intercept them, but the rest had changed their vectors to target the torpedoes.
As her ship sped away, she watched as eight white dots moved rapidly towards the Providence and the red blip on her console that signified the lock on the anomaly. Two of the white blips disappeared as ten red icons moved in, surely firing everything they had at them. She considered swinging back around to take out the fighters, but it was too late for that to do any good. They'd only have to get through the ten tailing them to have a chance at the rest, and by then the torpedoes would either be destroyed or have used.
Another second later, two more blips disappeared along with two of the red icons. God damned suicide runners, she thought. This was the exact reason she'd wanted to hold off before firing them to begin with. But it was too late to second guess her decision to fire early. Besides, if they'd held their course it was just as likely they would've shared the same fate. At least this way they'd have a chance at another run, albeit more heavily guarded the next time around.
Two more blips disappeared before reaching the red icon and all hope seemed lost. They'd risked everything they had to destroy the anomaly
twice now and had come up empty handed both times.
Her comm suddenly erupted. Dozens of voices screamed out at once as the last of their white blips disappeared. It was hard to make out what they were saying as each voice was drowning out the others. Instead of adding her voice to the chaos she pulled back on her controls to look for herself.
She was rewarded with the sight of a massive fireball erupting from the anomaly. The vacuum of space quelled the flame in moments, revealing a smoking crater where she initially thought the anomaly should've been. Once the muted fireball was extinguished by the vacuum of space, a pit formed in her stomach at the realization their shots had missed.
"Well, boss. Best we had. Reckon we better focus on those fighters before we're toast."
It took everything she had to keep from slamming her hand into her console. How the hell had the shots missed? Torpedoes don't just change course on a whim like that.
Then she remembered the simulation from days before. How she'd watched a dozen torpedoes veer off course, not only missing the target, but slamming into the ship instead. She'd since learned the simulation had been modified as a way to keep Commander Bremerton on his toes, but she also knew the technology existed. Maybe it wasn't realistic for someone to modify the trajectory of twelve torpedoes, but two...
The squad peeled off from the ship, moving into formation as they swung to intercept the fighters. Instead of joining her squad, she took in a deep breath and turned the other way.
"What the hell are you doing, Bobcat? They're going to pick you apart all on your lonesome." Fireball sounded concerned as he said the words.
"Making another pass at that damned anomaly. I'll be damned if I'm going to let some fancy computer work get in my way this time."
"But that's suicide, boss," Switch objected. "And a waste of time."
"Suicide I'll give ya. Waste of time I won't. Unless we get that anomaly off the ship the commander doesn't have a chance in hell. And if he doesn't stand a chance in hell..."
"Short of flying your fighter into the damned thing there isn't anything you can do."
"Which is why I'm flying this piece of junk into the damned thing." Tegan switched off her comm before she could hear their replies. She knew they would only try to talk her out of it, and at this point it wouldn't take much for them to talk her out of her plan.
She twisted her fighter around to blast two bogeys out of the sky before aiming the nose of her craft at the anomaly. Pulling back on her throttle she willed every ounce of speed out of her craft as she sped towards the anomaly. She needed to get to it without drawing extra attention. That would be an amazing feat any day, but considering there were thirty fighters converging on her, it would take a miracle for her to reach it unscathed. Thankfully, I don't need to reach it unscathed, I just need to have enough thrust to penetrate its armor and still be a large enough chunk to destroy it.
Laser fire streaked past as she drew close. Tegan threw her fighter into a tight spin avoiding most of the fire but a few stray blasts made it through her maneuver. She was a few kilometers away and for the first time felt she was going to die. Knowing she was so close to her objective made it worse.
A blast slammed into her port wing, forcing her to level her craft. Alarms blared on her console, signaling multiple hull breeches. Most were small, but combined were doing a number to her stability. It took everything she had to keep her ship flying straight.
Then suddenly the fire stopped as if the enemy craft had given up on her. A quick glance at her HUD told her everything she needed to know. The boys had turned around and cleared her path.
Nearing the anomaly she flipped on her comm one last time. "Thanks boys. I owe you."
"Good luck, Bobcat. I'll find you once this is over," Fireball said, echoing her words in the simulation.
A tear welled in her eye. She resisted the urge to wipe it as she closed in, not that she could've done anything about it while wearing her suit. Instead she pushed her craft as hard as it could go. The speed caused her fighter to shutter, but she held the stick tight to keep it from wobbling off course. She had one shot to get this right. One shot at a hit and her life. The cost of saving her friends.
The anomaly grew large as she approached and grew even larger with every second that passed. Alarms on her console blared warning her of an imminent collision. She flipped a switch to turn it off. I don't need you to tell me what I already know.
Tegan held her craft straight until she was sure there was no way it could veer free, thanks to the damage to her wing it was much closer than she would've liked, but far enough she should survive. Closing her eyes she slammed her fist into the ejection button on her console and her world immediately turned black.
Chapter Sixty
Atroxxin Sector
Bridge, NECS Endeavor
"Captain, massive fireball erupting from the Providence at the location of the anomaly."
"I thought the fighters weren't allowing us to hit the damned thing. What happened?"
"Looks like one of our fighters broke off and flew into it. Bobcat from the looks."
"Sir, incoming transmissions from the Providence. Two dozen of them at the same time."
"Seems their communications is no longer an issue. Try to isolate any signals from our away teams. I want to know if they are still in play."
"Yes, sir. It may take some time, but I should be able to pull it off."
"Good." It was about time the communication issue got sorted out. It had been a few hours since he'd so much as heard a peep from the ship. Learning there was at least some chatter over their comm was the best news he'd had all day. At least, now there was a better chance of things getting under control since he doubted whatever was going on over there could've taken out all his marines.
The bigger issue was the state of the Achilles as the Providence was still pounding on her with everything it had. Captain Nelson's crew were doing one hell of a job keeping the ship together, but unless they could stop the Providence from firing, they weren't going to fare too well once the new ships got into range.
"Estimated time until we're in optimal firing range of the new contacts?"
"Two minutes," Wilson said. "Give or take a few seconds either way."
"Good enough. Since that damned anomaly is out of the way, focus everything we have on the lead ship. We need to even these odds as soon as possible."
"Weapon crews switched and firing on the lead target," Wilson said.
"Magnify," Wellard said, staring at the display. "I want to watch these bastards burn."
"Captain, the ships are spreading out. Sensors reporting multiple locks."
"About time they decided to play. Send our fighters over to harass the bastards. Focus on their weapons between harrying the fighters."
Dozens of explosions lit up the darkness as the first rounds of gauss rounds slammed into the lead ship. Laser beams hit shortly after, but due to the long range did little more than scorch the paint.
The ship shuttered and lurched as the enemy weaponry slammed into the Endeavor, knocking anything that wasn't secured slamming onto the floor. The crew, however, was strapped in and prepared for the attack this time around.
"Reporting multiple hull breaches. Decks sixteen, twelve, and eleven are venting atmosphere."
"Have damage crews focus on sealing breaches starting with those on twelve. Hate to lose engine containment now."
"Crews are moving now."
"And while you are at it, evacuate everyone from our port side. I have the nagging suspicion it'll look a lot worse when this is all done." It was just as likely the ship wouldn't survive the encounter, but he wanted to be ready in case they did.
Onscreen the Endeavor was doing a number on the alien ship. The forward portion of the ship was a flaming wreck as the combination of transfer weaponry penetrated the ship's shields. With the range being closed lasers were also showing their destructive power, cooking everything it touched on the inside.
Then the bow exploded, exposing the innards of the ship as it ripped apart from the inside. The blast ripped the ship into a half-dozen pieces, each splitting away from the core. Each of those pieces pelted the other ships, causing secondary explosions of their own as they tore into the other ships.
The crew broke into cheers as the carnage played out on screen. Wellard allowed them their momentary celebration before reigning back in.
"One down people. Still have two, and possibly the Providence to go. Focus our weapons on the next ship. Try to target areas exposed by the collision."
He watched as the weaponry changed its target, focusing on the next closest ship. Dozens of small explosions lighting up where the gauss cannons did their damage. With a large hole to focus on, the lasers were attempting to cook the exposed areas of the ship, but Wellard could tell they had a bad angle. Still, they were doing a number to the hull, exposing more of the ship to the dangerous vacuum of space.
The ship lurched, jerking everyone in their restraints. Plaster and drywall rained over the crew as the power flickered.
"What the hell hit us?"
"We took massive damage to our lower decks. That blast destroyed one of our primary thrusters."
"Have damage control teams cut power lines to the damaged thruster," Wellard said, watching the action play out on the large viewscreen. They were doing some serious damage, but they were taking a beating in return. If they weren't able to turn the ship soon, the battle wasn't going to last much longer. "Tell me the others are still operational."
"To one degree or another," Wilson confirmed. "Though I suggest you do what you are going to do soon. I'm not sure how much more they can take."
"I think it's time to give them a moving target. Wilson, move the ship at the two remaining ships at two-thirds power."
Endeavor (The Mythrar War Book 1) Page 20
