by J Palliser
23
Twenty-Two
Aiden marched down the corridor on Hannover where his squadron's quarters were located to tell them the news. He wondered how they'd react, although he was pretty sure he knew. But it wasn't every day that you were going to tell your squad-mates that they were going to have to fight a Devastator. Strangely enough, three members of Knight Squadron had been at Dravin and assaulted the first Devastator. Himself, Commander Becker and Commander Simms. At the time Aiden had been a member of Blue Squadron, flying under the call sign Blue Three. Blue Squadron only had six fighters to fly in that engagement; Blue Six had been lost to pulse cannon fire and Blue Five got downed by Defenders. He remembered that Becker had also had to pull out due to battle damage from a pulse cannon blast. After that, Ru, Flight Officer Harris (Blue Four) and himself had flown into the trench alongside Krill Decker, Jacen Kruger and Stig Harker. Harris had been killed by a pursuing Defender first. Ru and Jacen had been forced to pull out. A Defender then gunned down Stigs leaving only Aiden and Krill in the trench. Thinking of that still gave Aiden chills. If Lilana Lao hadn't arrived in her Warthog when she did he and Krill probably would be space debris.
Walking through the arched doorway into the Knights' quarters Aiden saw that they had all gathered together to hear what he had to say about the briefing. He told them everything, about the Devastator and the almost suicidal plan to destroy it. After he finished there was long, tense silence. And then it was broken by, as Aiden had thought it would be, Duke Max.
"Satan's black bones! Hali damn you, you were right! I owe you twenty!"
That brought a relieved smattering of laughter from the pilots and then Ru spoke up. "Let me get this straight. They want us to actually fly the surface of the Devastator, navigate around the superstructure and then torpedo the main reactors and get out before it explodes?"
"That about sums it up Commander," said Aiden.
"I don't know about you guys but I'm in. A merry chase around the Devastator sounds great," chimed in Duke. The other pilots cast Duke disparaging looks and a couple threw some paper cups at him. Aiden held out his hands to order silence.
"Quiet! Look, I'm not gonna give you some pretty, patriotic speech because frankly I'm not very good at them and I respect
TWENTY-TWO you all too much as pilots and friends to make you suffer that indignity. What I will say is that if it is my doom to have to make a suicide run into a Devastator…" he paused looking around at the eleven other Knights solemnly, "then I could think of no finer group of pilots to be flying with. I'm very proud of you all. Over the last year we've helped to steal a Vindicator from the Tungari we helped put a stop to their Piranha fighter program. You know, when I first put this squadron together back on Dravin Base, I sorta had this idea in my head that I could make a better fighter squadron than Wolf Squadron. Well, I've come to realize that… we are so much better than the Wolves!" This earned him shouts of approval.
"We're Knight Squadron and we've built our own legacy." Over the clapping and cheering he said, "Okay speech over. Now the squad of Waffen SS will be leaving in a few hours for their part of the mission. After that we'll only have a few days before we have to go as well, so I suggest you all get your affairs in order and get some sim time in. Do whatever you need to make yourselves as ready as possible because I think that it would be very good for our legacy if Knight Squadron could add a Devastator silhouette to our hulls, don't you think?" he said with a rakish grin.
24
Twenty-Three
Ru Laredo found her commanding officer in Hannover'sOfficers cafeteria, nursing a fizzy drink. Sliding into a seat behind him she said, "I thought you didn't drink."
"I don't. Alcohol makes me sick not drunk. Besides I can be perfectly melancholy on my own."
"You're not getting pre-battle jitters on us Captain?" she grinned. Aiden managed a grin of his own. "It's not that. It's just… I remember how many good pilots we lost to the last Devastator. How many we've lost since. And I get to thinking, how many are we going to lose this time? Will it be Commander Simms? You? Me?"
He shifted in his chair so that he could look her in the eyes. "I've watched dozens of pilots die around me. I keep having this thought in the back of my head that, maybe it'll be my turn soon. I mean besides dying I could end up crippled for life. Ours is not a profession that lends itself to health or long life. Sometimes I step back from all this and ask myself, what am I doing here? I begin to question my dedication to the Reich. You know that my home world is on the edge of known space. Neither the Reich nor the Tungari have ever been particularly interested in Agmar. I got here because I stowed away on one of the few ships that came to our planet. I was so bright eyed and eager when I began my training as a pilot. I mean I had seen the holos that the Reich had put out about the Tungari Empire. But even back then I had some doubts, especially after the Torreon mission."
Ru frowned, remembering that mission that Blue Squadron had undertaken just prior to the Battle of Dravin. They'd responded to a distress call from the base on Torreon, which was being assaulted by a Vindicator. Blue Squadron had been forced to engage the destroyer and it had cost them six good pilots, three more of which died at Dravin.
"What are you saying?" she asked, concern laced within her voice as she leaned closer to him. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've never been more committed than I am now. When we flew at Dravin and I saw the Devastator up close, saw the lengths the Tungari were willing to go to keep control, something inside me just gave way. I believe now more than ever before that any so-called Empire that could even conceiveof a weapon like the Devastator doesn't deserve to be in charge of the galaxy. The mere fact that they would rebuild the Devastator is just one more nail in their collective coffin"
THE FIFTH REICH: BLOOD AND HONOR BOOK ONE
Ru smiled, a smile that lit up her whole face.
"I'm glad you think that."
"Yeah. I mean, who knows, if we don't destroy this Devastator it might show up at Agmar one day."
"And that's why we are fighting the Tungari now."
"Exactly."
Ru grinned slyly at Aiden. "Where you looking for someone to talk to or were you just hoping that I would come by?" "Not really. But I do seem to be able to talk to you easier than anyone, uh, else, umm." Just then a new voice broke into their conversation. Aiden wasn't entirely disappointed; Ru's face had been getting a little too close for comfort.
"Are we interrupting something?" said Lieutenant Weis Sylvania who, along with Jacen Kruger, Lilana Lao, and Kaylor Kane, had just strolled into the mess hall. Aiden frowned at Weis.
"Go away Weis, it's too early in the evening to have to deal with you. And that goes for the rest of you as well," he said nodding at his former Wolf Squadron comrades.
***
After drinks were ordered and the group was seated around a table the conversations resumed.
"Jacen did I hear right that that they won't be having the Condors flying with the fleet?" asked Aiden. "In a sense they will be. We've just been split up into different squadrons. Jacob, Delaara, myself are still in Condor although its been joined with Strike Wing Red for this attack. I'm Red Leader, Delaara is Red Two, and Jacob is Red Five."
"I'll be flying a Warthog in Green Squadron as Green Three," said Kaylor. "Figures. Valkyrie's are just too slow for us speed demons eh Kane?" said Ru with a knowing grin that Kaylor returned along with guffaws from Weis.
"Hey, you all just be careful out there okay?" said Jacen, "We want to see you down on Kanda to celebrate."
"I'll drink to that," said Aiden as he lifted up his glass.
"And too victory over the Devastator and the Tungari Empire," chimed in Lilana.
They raised their glasses and brought them together and then drank deeply, savoring the taste of impending victory.
25
Twenty-Four
Only a couple of hours later, the shuttle Mylar departed Hannover carrying the Waffen SS. If all went
according to plan, when the Reich fleet came out of gravity-drive a couple of days from now, they would find a defenseless Devastator.An atmosphere of tension and anticipation fell over the fleet, from the Kriegsmarine leadership right down to the noncom techs.
Strolling into Knight Squadron's quarters, Duke found Killian seated before a holorecorder. "Hopefully this letter will never have to be sent to you and the girls, but if it is… well, I've already said what I wanted to say. Take care and keep safe. I love you… dad."
"Recording a message to home?" asked Duke. "Yes, I am. Whether anyone will be able to get onto Korsica, let alone to the desk of my father has yet to be seen," replied Killian turning away from the recorder.
"I thought you and your father were uh, divided about the war?" asked Duke, raking an awkward hand through his long hair.
"We are. But you don't think I'm so bitter that I would deny my family a last message? I have eight sisters living back home as well you know."
"So how come you and your father fell apart? Is he a patriot or something?" "No, he knows that Sylvania is a dictator, he just doesn't know the full story. We lived on Korsica and not a lot of the truth of what the Empire does filters down to Imperial Center. I did something that father never did. I dug deeper and found out what really goes on in the galaxy. When I showed what I found to my father he sympathized with my feelings but he told me that joining up with the Kriegsmarine wasn't the solution. He said that violence doesn't solve anything!"
Duke snorted loudly at that.
"I'd be dead and buried if that's the excuse I tried to use on Imperials back on Ark Royale." "Right. Father's a fool but a naïve fool. I don't think that he wants to acknowledge what the Empire's really done because that would mean that the family company has helped the Empire by supplying it. But even though we parted on bad terms doesn't mean I've severed all ties with my family."
"Well I wouldn't know anything about family ties, never had a real family that I can remember, 'cept you guys," said Duke grinning, "So you make sure that you don't get killed out there wing-man 'cause I want you to one day introduce me to those hot sisters of yours. And that cousin who lives on Kollador! What was her name? I'ella?"
"Sure I'd introduce you to I'ella. Then I'd let Dirik and Orran punch your lights out."
"Who're they?"
"Her husband and her common-law respectively."
"Married? Dammit, what about your sisters?"
Killian chucked a stylus at Duke.
"I wouldn't let you near them with a ten meter shock pole."
*** The hour had at last arrived. The general call to action stations had gone out and the star-fighter pilots of the Hannover flooded into the locker rooms to put on their pilot suits.
Sitting on a bench in the locker room, reclined in an attitude akin to prayer, Aiden tried to absorb as much calm as he could before the coming battle. He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and looked up into the face of his wing-man Ru Laredo.
"Time to go," she said. He nodded and picked up the last items he needed to put on, his life support control box and his helmet. He regarded the helmet briefly. He had worn it since before Dravin and had always like its design, plain black with white Luftwaffe crest on the forehead. Perhaps after this battle he would change the design a bit.
Aiden expertly slipped the control box on and connected it to his suit. By then he and Ru had joined the throng of pilots, techs and soldiers headed for the hangar bays. As they entered the hangar bay, Aiden heard and felt the familiar environment around him, almost as familiar as home. Hangars on big ships tended to be cold places, as the magcon fields that kept precious atmosphere inside didn't do a very good job of keeping in heat. This particular hangar was home to five squadrons of fighters, 2 Valkyrie, 1 Warthog, 1 Spyder, and 1 Defender squadron respectively. Jogging over to his fighter he spotted Jacen and Weis climbing aboard their Valkyrie's.
"Hey Jacen! Last one to kill a bad guy buys the drinks when we get back!" he shouted.
"Sounds good to me! You better make sure you do come back then!"
"Same to you!"
It was a rejoinder they'd all shared countless times before battle, a way of emotionally reassuring their comrades. Aiden and Ru split up as they reached their own fighters. One of the things Aiden had learned during his time as a pilot, first in Blue Squadron, then Wolf, was that should always try give your fighter a once over. After walking around the Valkyrie, he briefly ran his hand along one of the stripes on the side of the fuselage. His Valkyrie was still painted in the style he had chose when Knight Squadron had become official, dark green with black stripes and trim. The green color had been a nod to the fact that as a training squadron, the Knights had been designated Green Squadron.
Satisfied with his walk around he jumped up the ladder that was mounted to the left side of the cockpit, stopping on the edge to regard his green, silver and white mech-droid he named 'Tiny'.
"You ready for this Tiny? This is gonna be a rough one." The mech-droid tootled back a triumphant sounding message.
"Good," said Aiden slipping down into the cockpit. A few fighters over Ru and Commander Simms saluted each other as they climbed into their Valkyrie's. Hiro Yu and Wulf Jag shook hands as was their custom before they boarded their fighters.
"Hey Grims! How about you touch up the paint on my Valkyrie when I get back?" Duke yelled to the Knights' head mechanic Arn Grims, "It's starting to look kinda shabby!" Duke's Valkyrie was an all black paint job was an unusual point of pride for the pilot.
"If I had my way, those fighters would never leave the blasted hangar after all the wear and tear you put them through!" Grims shouted back. He sounded angry but his face was split into a wide grin.
Killian Wess paused for a moment in his power up checklist to look at the small ragged photograph of his family. After staring at for several seconds he quietly stuck to the top right edge of his control console as he had always done.
In his cockpit, Chang sat with his head bowed in an attitude of prayer. A tech that was finishing preparations on Chang's Valkyrie reached over and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
"Sir, are you alright?" "It is the custom of my people to always offer a prayer before entering battle," he said with his eyes still closed. The tech nodded respectively.
"May God be with you Lieutenant," said the tech as he slid back down the ladder. Chang smirked.
"We shall see." After Aiden had put his helmet on, he began his Valkyrie's power up procedure. All around other pilots were doing the same and Aiden had grown so accustomed to the different sounds that each of the fighters made that he could tell them apart without looking. As his cockpit canopy closed around him he could see the techs jogging back through the doors of the hangar, not wanting to be present when the fighters started up their main engines. Aiden flicked on his repulsorlifts and eased back on the stick gently, raising his fighter a meter off the deck. He then punched the button that would retract his landing struts. When given the go ahead, he flicked the switches which ignited his craft's powerful Incom 44 fusion thrust drives. The powerful drives sent a familiar vibration through Aiden's pilot couch. He punched a button on his comm. console and announced, "Knight Leader has four good starts and is ready to fly." Aiden had divided the comm channel buttons on his board for five different channels. The first was for One Flight, the second was the squadron channel, the third was Strike Wing Red's channel, the fourth was the star-fighter fleet channel, and the fifth was the fleet channel.
One by one, the pilots checked in until the star-fighter controller announced that all fighters were ready for launch. "All right Knights, let's show 'em how to do this," said Aiden as he positioned his fighter for launch. With the Valkyrie pointing towards space, Aiden ratcheted the throttle up to 1/4, cut out his repulsorlifts and shot out into space.
Star-fighters boiled up and out from the sides of the cruisers like a cloud of insects, flying in long, sinuous lines of threes and fours until they merged above the center of the flee
t, forming into larger, thicker line divided by group. The long line of star-fighters, 360 strong, spiraled to the rear of the fleet and then began to fly through it, passing the various cruisers, frigates and corvettes in an impressive display of piloting. The Knights were easily one of the more recognizable squadrons due to their multi-colored Valkyrie's. As they flew ahead of the fleet, the massive fighter group reformed into a larger arrowhead-shaped formation with each fighter wing forming its own arrowhead with all the wings forming the large arrow.
Aboard the Dragon General Callius opened a channel to Admiral Ryder on Hannover.
"Admiral, we're in position. All fighters accounted for."
One Hannover's bridge, Ryder adjust his command chair so that he could look out the large bridge view-port. "Proceed with the countdown. All groups assume attack coordinates. All craft, prepare to jump into gravity-drive on my mark," came the Admiral's voice over the comm.
"All right. Standby," replied Callius, "star-fighters, gravitydrive in three, two one… jump!" said Callius as he pulled back on the Dragon's gravity-drive motivator actuator. The stars elongated into thousands of streaks of light and then snapped into a swirling tunnel. From an outside observer's point of view, the star-fighter's engines flashed and then they leaped forward with a burst of acceleration, disappearing into the black of space. A few seconds later, the big ships activated their own gravity-drives and vanished into the swirling abyss as well.
'To dream of freedom in this world Our banners flying proudly are unfurled Even if we stand alone we must never hide For in our hearts there is a sense of pride For the blood and honor
For the blood and for the pride'
"Blood and Honor" Ian Stuart Donaldson
