Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1)

by Burger, Jeffrey

  "So far, so good, Skipper. You on your way back?"

  "Yep. And thanks to Walrick, we're moving three at a time."

  "Cool... how many are in there anyway?"

  "Believe it or not, more than we can carry," boasted Brian.

  "Wow! What a break, huh?" Paul slapped his knee in jubilation. "Are they nice?"

  "Real nice..." Jack inhaled the sweet smell of a new machine. It was crisp like a new car. "Only three miles on the odometer too..." he joked.

  "Brand new huh?" Mike rubbed his hands together. "Man, I can't wait to fly one of those babies."

  The Lancias rounded the stern of the Freedom and simultaneously fired their breaking jets. "Gear down," said Jack, "engines off, anti-grav on... Ok tower, line us up, we're comin' in hot, we got a schedule to keep."

  The landing lights flashed on and the tower lined up their V formation. The Lancias came in fast and braked hard, bouncing solidly on the deck. The pilots popped their canopies early as they slowed to a reasonable taxiing speed, swinging off the runway. Unbuckling as they taxied, the three pilots shut the systems down before they had completely stopped. The Lancias slid momentarily on their skid plates and the pilots jumped to the deck without ladders. "Let's go!" exclaimed Jack. They sprinted to a waiting shuttle and closed the hatch. "Go ahead, Ensign," prompted Jack.

  Myomerr glanced over her shoulder. "Yes, sir." The shuttle lifted off and accelerated from the flight bay.

  ■ ■ ■

  The cargo bay of the Velorian freighter was fairly well lit when Jack, Brian and Walrick returned. Myomerr maneuvered around and slid up in front of the first shuttle and killed the systems. Closing their visors, they exited the work craft. Myomerr opened the cargo door for loading, then headed for the loaded craft to fly it back to the Freedom. The three men headed for more Lancias.

  Two crewmen were loading the last parcels of cargo off an anti-grav pallette into the stern of the first workcraft. "It's all ready, Ensign," commented one. Myomerr checked the cargo and its stability before she readied the shuttle for takeoff. Finding everything acceptable, she lifted off shortly after the Lancias.

  The landing on the Freedom was a carbon copy of the one before it with the exception of the loaded shuttle taxiing in afterwards. Knowing they could not return to the Velorian freighter until this shuttle had been emptied, the three pilots dismounted their Lancias at a leisurely pace.

  Empty anti-grav palettes were lined up behind the shuttle as deck crew hustled to unload the cargo. Jack, Brian and Walrick, walked to, and stood outside the shuttle, waiting for the crews to finish unloading. Jack had given some thought to lending a hand, but it was obvious the crews had a rhythm and he didn't want to interfere with their performance.

  "All hands to battle stations! All hands to battle stations!" Suddenly, lights everywhere flashed red and the alarm klaxons sounded throughout the ship.

  Jack grabbed a headset off a passing lineman, palming the earpiece against his ear. "This is the Captain, what's happening, bridge?"

  “A signal from Commander Smiley,” said Walt, “hold on I'll route him to you...”

  "We got company, Jack..." Paul's transmission was full of static.

  "How many?"

  "Three," came the answer, "looks like small, medium and large, on the edge of our grid."

  “Fighters?”

  “You wish,” replied Paul. “The small one looks to be about the size of the Freedom...”

  "Ok," called Jack, "stay put for now, I'll get back to you." He saw the last loaded palette leaving the back of the shuttle. Tossing the headset back to the lineman, Jack turned to the pilots. "Let's go, everybody in..."

  "Where are we going in this thing?" demanded Walrick.

  "To help our people finish over there," yelled Brian. "Now, get in!"

  Jack and Brian took the cockpit seats, Myomerr and Walrick sat behind them. "Ready?" Jack was already powering up. The shuttle whistled through the bay and out the door. "Tower..."

  "Go ahead Captain."

  "Ready three of the Lancias, I want them fueled, armed and ready to launch when we return." The tower acknowledged. "Bridge..."

  "Yes, Captain..."

  “Walt, make sure all the gun batteries are fully charged. Plot a course straight away from the freighter which keeps it directly between us and the pirates."

  "That will deviate us from the gate we're headed to, Jack."

  "That's Ok, Walt, I have an idea." Jack jinked hard as he entered the field of debris. "Trigoss, you almost ready to go?"

  "Almost... I had one of the boys warm up three more craft for you, they're ready to go."

  "I don't know if we have time for that Chief." Jack swung hard to avoid a hefty piece of scrap. The bay door yawned close ahead.

  "It'd be a shame to leave them behind..."

  Jack could see them all at the stern of the shuttle in the bay, loading cargo as fast as they could. It was almost full. He passed through the doorway and braked hard, setting the craft down next to the first. Jack left the systems on. Walrick was at the door, he pulled on the release handle. "Wait!" Brian yanked his arm away. "Put your visor down, turn on your suit..."

  "Sorry..." Walrick felt foolish, his zeal had gotten the better of him.

  "Warthog Leader to Shuttle Two..."

  Jack stayed to answer Paul while Brian and the Velorian pilot exited the craft to help Trigoss finish up. "Go ahead, Pappy."

  "They're gettin' kinda' close Jack. You mind telling me what you got in mind?"

  "Do you think," Jack's mind was racing, "you could make them think there is more of you than there really is? Like spreading out and maybe popping in and out of the field?"

  If Paul hadn't had his helmet on he would've liked to scratch his head. "You're kidding right?" Jack admitted he wasn't. "Well, maybe... I don't know," shrugged Paul. "Sounds kinda' lame, but we'll try it."

  "Thanks," said Jack. He wanted to avoid an engagement. Three to one was lousy odds, not to mention being severely short on crew and ship readiness. He dropped to the deck from the shuttle to see Trigoss and the ground crew, now loading it. "What are you doing?! We need to get out of here! Let's go!"

  "Just another minute, Captain," said Trigoss, we're almost done. You go, we'll be alright."

  Jack just then realized Brian and Walrick were nowhere to be seen. "Where'd they go?" He looked around frantically.

  The engineer thumbed over his shoulder. "Took two Lancias and headed back, you should too..." He never stopped loading the shuttle. "Go on, get out of here. Myomerr's got the other one, I'll get this one." Jack looked up as the loaded shuttle lifted off the deck, Myomerr waved through the cockpit perspex before rotating towards the bay door.

  Jack looked around at the fighters. "Which one?"

  "That one..." Trigoss pointed at a Zulu gunship. "These two wouldn't start," he motioned toward the next two Lancias in line. "So we warmed up that one. Get going Captain."

  Steele trotted across the bay to the boarding ladder hanging from the belly of the gunship. "Hurry up, Chief," he urged before ascending the ladder. The Engineer watched the ladder retract as he loaded the shuttle.

  The Zulu had a two man cockpit but one man could fly it without any assistance. The second officer acted as an offensive weapons officer, and other two crewmen operated the defensive gun turrets. One turret was on the bottom at the stern of the ship, the other on the top of the hull, forward of the center.

  Jack glanced around at the panels, all the systems were on and the engine burners warmed up. He flipped on the anti-grav and started his taxi glide as he secured his harness. He steered clear of the parked Lancias and, pushing the stick forward, accelerated past the shuttle and toward the open bay door. O
nce outside, he retracted the gear, fired the four engines and headed toward the Freedom. As he cleared the debris field, he saw two fighters emerge from under the nose of the Freedom.

  "Warthog Leader, this is Flight Two, vector us to your locale." Jack recognized Brian's voice.

  "Roger, Flight Two, here are the co-ordinates..." Paul read off the numbers. "Where's Leader One?"

  "He'll be along shortly," answered Brian.

  The three ships had advanced about halfway into Paul's sensor screen and stopped. He contemplated contact to see if he could determine what their alliance might be. His identification screen gave him a technical two-view line picture, but it was in white which meant the computer received ambiguous information about the target's identity. He decided to wait.

  Jack rounded the stern of the Freedom, lowered his gear and fired breaking jets. "On my final approach, tower..." The tower cleared his approach.

  "This is Shuttle Two," called Trigoss. "We're clear of the freighter and on our way back." The tower acknowledged the transmission.

  "Well done, Chief," injected Jack, “did you remember to leave behind our party favors...?”

  “That's affirmative...”

  "Excellent. Hustle up, Shuttle Two, it's starting to warm up out here..." He passed through the stasis field, braked early and bounced hard on the deck. He quickly adjusted the pressure up on the anti-grav, he'd forgotten this was a much heavier ship than the others.

  "Warthog Leader to tower, one of these ships is a light carrier. It has just launched! Please advise!"

  Jack tore at his harness and flipped off the Zulu's anti-grav. He was out of his seat before it had stopped sliding on the deck. Popping the belly hatch, he slid down the ladder holding its sides and dropped to the deck. A crewman struggled to keep pace with the pilot's long legs as he ran towards the Lancia waiting on the port launch tube. "Tell him to engage!" shouted Jack as they ran. "Hit and run! We need time to recover the shuttle and take up the new heading!" The lineman repeated the orders into his headset as they ran, falling behind the faster pilot.

  ■ ■ ■

  "Roger, Freedom." Pappy did a wing over and broke toward the enemy formation. "Let's go, boys. Time to mix it up." he throttled up to half, waiting for the others to group up. "Derrik, you're Leader Two, keep the fighters busy."

  "Right-o."

  "Mad Dog," continued Paul, "you're with me. We're going straight through to that carrier and ruin their day." Mike gave his wing leader a vigorous thumbs up.

  The eight Fallken fighters spread out in a line abreast. Derrik sent the two Lancias wide, he stayed in the center. Paul and Mike, some distance behind him, were ready to take advantage of any hole in the line and dash for the carrier.

  Derrik nosed up, rolled and increasing throttle, came down on the Fallkens from above. "Tally-Ho, boys! Give em' hell!" Brian and Walrick swung inwards and screamed in from the flanks, firing their laser cannons at range. Derrik switched to full guns and waited for the distance to close for his Gatling gun. He lead the first Fallken perfectly and hammered it soundly. It rolled to one side to evade, its shields utterly decimated.

  Brian had hit the fighter on his end with four laser cannons. While not as powerful as the Gatling, they had twice the range. So by the time the Fallken was in range of Brian's Gatling gun, its shields were gone. The pirate turned his fighter away from Brian, offering an irresistible shot. Brian squeezed the trigger and watched the strikes walk down the side of the Fallken's hull. Tiny flashes of flame appeared, then disappeared, unable to burn on in space. Brian released the trigger only when he realized the guns had exhausted their charge. He winged off, disappointed to not see the pirate fighter die. It was only momentary. There was a brief flicker of light below him, and a lone Fallken wing sailed past. "Hasta la vista, dude..." He throttled up and headed back toward the melee.

  Derrik had put some serious damage to his first strike-victim but couldn't seem to get behind him long enough to finish him off. He kept having to shake off other fighters. "I say, die you filthy little rodent!" He squeezed off a brief shot as the pirate zigzagged his damaged fighter.

  Changing tactics, he backed off to get a missile lock. The sudden vibration coming from his stern told him he had other problems. He twisted around in his seat to see two Fallkens scissoring behind him. Laser streaks flashed by his cockpit. "Oh bloody hell!" He glanced down at his defense screen, his stern shield was gone. The computer toned, indicating a lock and he thumbed off a missile. At almost the same time, the Warthog bucked hard. Warning bells rang and he fought the stick as the Warthog spun flatly sideways. He thumbed the boost button and the instant thrust snapped him back into straight flight, blowing the forcing cone out of his damaged port engine. The middle of his engine glowed red hot as ruptured fuel lines sprayed fuel over the outside of the thrust burners.

  Walrick was just behind the pirates on Derrik's tail but he couldn't get there fast enough. His heart sank as he saw the damaged Warthog spin away. He picked a fighter and locked on. Clearing the safety, he fired two missiles and broke off, winging after the second one. If Derrik was still alive, Walrick knew he needed to keep the pirates away. He chased down the second fighter and destroyed it with a long burst from all guns. The pirate made no attempt to evade, he foolishly tried to outrun the faster Lancia.

  As Jack emerged from the Freedom's launch tube, he flew straight into the guns of an approaching Fallken. "SHIT!" He squeezed the trigger out of reflex and yanked back hard on the stick. His guns did nothing, he hadn't had a chance to arm them yet. But he felt the impact of the pirates lasers on his own shields. He thumbed the boost and reached for the gun switches.

  The pirate didn't follow, instead he broke off and attacked the Freedom. Gun batteries opened up on him, drawing from their charges. Once empty, they would not be able to recharge, as all power would be dedicated to the ship's defensive shields.

  Jack winged over, guns armed, pursuing the pirate low over the surface of the Freedom's hull. "Warthog One to Freedom, looks like they're launching a second wave..."

  "Damn! Bridge, this is the Captain, take up the new course heading and shove off. Now!" Jack powered back and jinked to line up his guns. He squeezed the trigger and watched the Fallken disintegrate, its shields already damaged by the Freedom's gunners. "Clear!" He pulled back on the stick and looped back, heading toward the far side of the debris field. Jack looked at his watch, there wasn't much time left. He shoved the throttle open and fired boost.

  Paul and Mike could see the first two Fallkens emerge from the center launch tubes on the pirate carrier as the cruiser and destroyer moved forward to protect it. Paul and Mike jinked and weaved their Warthogs through the increasing veil of laser fire. "I have lock, I have lock..."

  "Then let `em go!" shouted Paul. Mike was slightly ahead of him. Paul watched as Mike fired missile after missile, with only a slight pause in between. Paul had lock now and was waiting his turn. "Inbound! Inbound! Break! Break!" The threat lamp was lit, the alarm whistling as the computer tracked two missiles on the screen. Pappy rolled left and Mike broke right, with only one of his own missiles remaining on each wingtip.

  The in-bounds passed between, one going straight the other arcing to follow Paul's fighter. Paul boosted, cut a ninety degree turn and facing the carrier again, cut power. The inbound arced wide, searching for his exhaust heat. Paul got lock tone again and fired missiles at the carrier, four in all, before the advancing destroyer forced him to break off. When he boosted to evade, the inbound recognized his fighters profile and resumed pursuit. He jinked to avoid laser fire, but the missile detonated on the edge of his shields sending his fighter tumbling end over end. He wrestled control back somewhere between the carrier and destroyer. The defensive fire was thick enough to walk on and Paul's shields
were almost non-existent. He flipped off power to his guns, hoping it would help his shield generator restore protection. He thumbed boost and held it down, ducking his head out of reflex. The Warthog bucked and rocked, he held the boost.

  Mike was in a roll when the two Fallkens latched onto his tail. He'd shake one, only to regain the other. He looked for Pappy but couldn't see him anywhere. "This is Mad Dog, a little help out here..?"

  "Cut power Mike, break right!" Mike did as he was told and the two pirates shot by him on his left, closely followed by a blurred Lancia, guns blazing. The rearmost Fallken blew in half, its wings spinning outwards. Another Lancia screamed by and peeled off to pursue the first pirate, out of Mike's line of sight. He swung his Warthog around just in time to see Paul's four missiles hit the front of the carrier, just as two more pirate fighters emerged from the launch tubes.

  The first volley of missiles had dropped the carriers forward shields. The second, detonated against exposed plating and the open launch tubes, destroying the unprotected fighters being launched. Brilliant flashes, one after another in rapid succession, danced across the front of the carrier. The newly-launched Fallkens, consumed in the explosions, added their own fury to the force. Giant fireballs jumped from three of the four launch tubes. The carrier's nose was left a mass of burnt, twisted metal.

  Secondary explosions ripped through the ship's forward torpedo bays, belching short-lived balls of flame into space. Jack was out of range of the destroyer's guns and throttled back, looking over his shoulder at the carrier. "Leader One to all birds... back to base." Jack searched the space behind him for Warthogs but could only see one. The destroyer was still firing at something between it and the carrier... "All Freedom's fighters back to base..." urged Jack, looking at his watch. They were running out of time. A heartbeat later, a blackened Warthog under full boost emerged from between the two ships. It made a straight-line, all-out run, for the safety of distance.