by Tripp Ellis
“I got called back to the fleet. I’m going to be flying in Operation Galactic Shield’.”
His eyes went wide. “What? But you’re just a trainee.”
Chloe grinned and pointed to the new rank device on her collar.
“They promoted you? Now I know the inmates are running the asylum.”
“I’m going to make a damn good lieutenant, Mister.”
“I know you are. I’m just worried. Everyone’s saying this is it.” His face was grim. The impending battle loomed large over everyone in the fleet.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine out there.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I appreciate the optimism.”
“You know what I mean.”
“This is what I signed up for. You know me, I’m not going to run from a fight.”
“Yes, I know you very well. Stubborn, determined, and bullheaded—and I guess that’s why I love you.”
Chloe’s eyes sparkled. “Did you just say the L word?”
“Sorry. It just kind of slipped out.”
“Well, you can let it slip again. I won’t mind.” She looked at him with her glimmering blue eyes.
“Make it back in one piece, and I’ll say it again.”
She gave him a kiss and they held on to each other like they were never going to let go. Both of their eyes misted over.
“I’ve got to get to the Ready Room.” She broke away from him, reluctantly.
“Take care of yourself out there. Keep your head on a swivel, and watch your back.”
She gave him a mock salute. “Yes, sir,” She said with a dose of sarcasm. Then she got serious. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
The two stared at each other for a long moment, as if trying to burn the image in their memory. Each knowing it may be the last time they see each other.
Chloe spun around and marched down the back ramp of the Vantage and headed for the mission briefing.
“We are outnumbered and outgunned,” Commander Clark said. He stood at the front of the Ready Room. Chloe’s footage once again displayed on the monitor, and the entire squadron studied it with rapt attention. “Their fighters are faster, more nimble, and better armored. We can’t win the battle standing toe-to-toe with these aliens. We’re going to have to strike quick, watch our backs, and get out of there.”
“Look at the size of that fleet,” one of the pilots said. “How are we supposed to cause any meaningful damage?”
Clark pointed to the display. “We’re going to go after the super-carriers. They are the largest most powerful ships and have the highest probability of inflicting damage on the colonies.” He zoomed in on one of the super-carriers. “We believe these structures here are communications towers. If they are unable to talk to each other and coordinate maneuvers, we stand a better chance.”
Some of the pilots looked hopeless.
“Intelligence tells us their combat information center is located here. These two targets are going to be your main focus.”
“Do we know what the orb is?” Chloe asked.
“No.” Commander Clark pursed his lips and shrugged. “The fleet will jump to the last known location of the enemy armada. Our fighter squadrons will launch simultaneously. The destroyers will lay down heavy fire, and with any luck, you’ll have a path to do precision surgical strikes. Getting past their defensive cannons and fighters is going to be tricky. We’re going to go in, hit hard, and get out. As I’ve said, a prolonged engagement is not to our advantage.”
The faces of the pilots still looked grim. “Why do we always get the shit jobs?” one of the pilots asked in jest.
“You think we’ve got it bad? The Marines are taking barnacles and doing ship-to-ship infiltrations.”
Barnacles were the nickname for the Armored Deployment Vehicles the Marines used. They were specifically designed to latch onto hulls, form a hard seal, and cut through virtually any composite material.
A ship-to-ship invasion was one of the toughest operations in the entire UPDF military. You had to be a special breed of person to sign up for that kind of punishment. Casualty rates were often as high as 80 or 90%. Odds were slim that the ADV would even make it to the enemy ship. Then you were a sitting duck while the barnacle attached and cut through, which could take up to 15 minutes. After that, you had to storm the enemy ship and face their troops head on. But if you sent enough Marines, some of them would get through, and the ones that did would wreak havoc on the enemy. Marines were expendable. That’s just the way it was.
“Does anyone have any questions?” Clark said.
“Whose brilliant idea is this?”
Clark shot the sailor a look. “This comes directly from President Slade.”
A hush fell over the room. They all respected Slade. She was a hero of the First Verge War, and had saved the Federation countless times. Her book on space combat and military strategy was required reading for all military personnel.
“Let me be perfectly clear. If we fail to deter this invasion, it’s going to be the end of humanity. We have no other choice but to throw everything at this we’ve got. There is no alternative. We know what the Saarkturians are capable of.”
“We should’ve finished off the Saarkturians when we had a chance,” somebody said.
“I agree,” Clark said. “But there’s no time like the present to make up for past mistakes.”
31
The Revenant
The pilots scrambled to their fighters. They sat in their cockpits, prepped and ready to launch at any moment.
Chloe felt the Revenant’s slide-space drive engage. The bulkheads rippled and warbled, and her stomach curled up in knots. Her body was tingling with nerves. Going into battle was like mainlining adrenaline.
The minute they emerged from slide-space, the fighters would launch and make their attack. Every ship in the fleet was on the same trajectory. They were all heading for the alien armada. A simultaneous, coordinated attack. With any luck, they’d all get in and get out without sustaining too much damage. But things didn’t go according to plan when the Navy arrived at the designated location.
Hundreds of Navy warships emerged from slide-space. They were positioned to surround the enemy fleet. But the aliens were no longer there.
The nebula was empty.
The only thing that remained was the strange orb that had been at the center of the alien armada.
President Slade watched the monitor in the CIC of the Revenant. She had grown antsy watching the action unfold from the Situation Room. It just didn’t feel normal.
The display showed an image of the star field and the orb. Slade clenched her jaw and cursed under her breath. The grim realization that the colonies were now vulnerable washed over her face. “Return the fleet to New Earth immediately. I fear we’ve made a grave mistake.”
“Aye, Madam President,” Captain Bryant said.
“Plot jump coordinates for New Earth. Alert the rest of the fleet.”
“Aye, sir.” The tactical officer programmed in jump coordinates and relayed instructions to the other warships. Within a few moments, the computer made the calculations and was ready to make the quantum jump. “On your command, sir.”
“Engage.” Bryant said.
The tactical officer pressed the button.
Nothing happened.
“Is there something wrong, Officer Bennett?” Zoey asked.
He kept fidgeting with the controls and rechecking the coordinates. He looked over the diagnostic screen. Then shrugged. “Everything seems to be in working order.”
None of the other ships had jumped away either.
Zoey picked up the handset at her command console. “Engineering, conn. Give me a status report on the quantum drive.”
A few moments later, a voice crackled back over the line. “Conn, engineering. All systems are green, but the field generator isn’t functioning.”
“Why not?”
“I’ll have to get back to you on that, sir.”
<
br /> “Make it snappy.” Zoey set the handset down. The frown on her face made her displeasure obvious.
“I think I know what that orb is,” Emma said. “It’s a quantum disruptor. It’s preventing us from jumping to slide-space.”
“It had to be activated after we arrived,” Slade said.
“It was either programmed to detect our arrival, or someone stayed behind to trigger it,” Emma said.
Slade looked pale as a horrific thought rushed through her mind. “We’ve been lured to this location.” Her face flushed red with anger. She was furious with herself for rushing to attack. She left the rest of the colonies vulnerable. “How long will it take us to get back to New Earth under linear propulsion?”
“At this distance, 42 years, Madam President,” the tactical officer said.
Slade’s heart sank. ”In your estimation, how far would we have to travel to escape the effects of this device?”
“At full thrusters, we should be clear of the device’s quantum disruption in about a month. Provided our slide-space drives haven’t been permanently damaged.”
Slade’s face was grim. The LRADDS lit up with a flurry of red triangles. Klaxons sounded.
“Sir, we’ve got enemy contacts,” the tactical officer shouted. “Multiple heavy warships.”
The enemy armada was hiding in the hazy nebula and had emerged to surround the fleet. The nebula’s disruption of the sensors had made the enemy virtually invisible until they were almost on top of the Navy.
Energy bolts pummeled the UPDF fleet from all directions. The devastating barrage of fire slammed into the Revenant. Bulkheads rumbled and shook.
“Launch the alert fighters,” Bryant commanded. “Hit them with the Mark 25s and target them with Widowmakers.”
“Aye, sir,” yelled the weapons officer.
The Revenant’s Mark 25 cannons swung into action. The staccato report clattered through the ship as the cannons fired a blistering stream of 16 inch armor penetrating rounds. They zipped across the star field, exploding against the enemy warships in a brilliant amber glow.
20 megaton nukes launched, spitting propellant behind them as they rocketed toward the heavy destroyers. Most of them were incinerated en route by the orange energy bolts hurling through space. The ones that did impact seemed to do little damage. This was going to be one hell of a fight.
Chloe rocketed into space with the rest of the Jolly Rogers of the Strike Fighter Squadron 703. The skull and cross bones were painted on their tail fins.
The acceleration flattened Chloe against her seat. Like wasps from the nest, thousands of fighters swarmed into the nebula—squadrons from every destroyer and carrier in the fleet. It was pure chaos. Energy bolts darted in all directions. Cannon fire and missiles streaked across the star field. The LRADDS glimmered like a Christmas tree, alive with inbound threats. Hundreds of enemy fighters buzzed toward them.
The Jolly Rogers formed a combat spread and prepared to engage the enemy. They greeted each other with an exchange of bullets and energy bolts. The two squadrons clashed in a twisting, spiraling frenzy. It was hard to keep oriented amidst the confusion.
Almost instantly, several Stingray’s where annihilated. They erupted in blinding explosions, showering wreckage into the nebula. Chloe caught sight of the devastation in her peripheral vision.
The comm line constantly crackled with chatter. Frantic pilots calling for assistance. The occasional shout of joy when a kill was made. And the disconcerting sound of a pilot cut off in mid sentence.
Chloe swooped into position and targeted an alien fighter. She squeezed the trigger on the joystick and a flurry of bullets flew across the star field. The 30mm guns peppered the alien craft, igniting it into a ball of flame. Shards of debris scattered. Chloe could hear tiny bits of metal ping off the hull as she flew through the wreckage.
Everywhere she looked, there was turmoil. The new Devastator class destroyers were firing plasma cannons at the enemy warships. Blue bolts of plasma crisscrossed with the orange energy bolts of the aliens. Chloe watched as one of the enemy warships decimated the USS Gettysburg. The barrage of energy bolts tore through its shielding and shredded its composite hull. Multiple sequential explosions occurred in various compartments, reducing the once majestic destroyer to a fragmented, twisted carcass.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the aliens had a clear advantage and were making short work of the UPDF fleet.
“I’ve got one of these things on my tail and I can’t shake it,” Lieutenant Morgan screeched over the com line.
Chloe angled her vehicle and engaged the enemy fighter. It spiraled through the tumultuous battle, pursuing Morgan’s Stingray. “I’m on it.”
The three spacecraft twirled through the chaotic jumble of debris, explosions, and crossfire. It was a miracle that anything could survive out here for long.
Lieutenant Morgan was a good pilot. Controlled, precise, and well-versed in theory and tactics. But she wasn’t able to lose her attacker. And the nimble craft was evading all attempts to target it with the rear firing guns on her Stingray.
Chloe weaved and rolled and dived, trying to keep up with the lithe craft. Her focused eyes were glued to the enemy fighters thrusters. She followed its every turn, getting into the zone, almost able to anticipate its next move. She finally lined the enemy fighter up in her sights and squeeze the trigger. A stream of bullets peppered the fighter, exploding its thruster. The backend of the craft shredded and one of the wings tore off. The vehicle spiraled away, no longer a threat.
Lieutenant Morgan exhaled. Sweat was beading on her forehead. “I guess I owe you one, Lieutenant Johnson.”
Chloe could tell she was hesitant to say it. “Anytime, Lieutenant Morgan.”
Chloe pulled on the controls and angled around toward one of the enemy destroyers. She throttled up to full speed, determined to make it through the warship’s defenses and put a missile into its CIC. It was a suicide mission, no doubt about it. Everyone in the squadron knew the odds of coming back were slim. To get past a squadron of fighters, energy cannons, and space-to-space rockets seemed like an impossible task. But somebody was going to have to do it. Chloe’s heart raced and her body was coated with sweat. She was tingling with adrenaline, fear, and determination.
Chloe saw the USS Eisenhower fall away amid dozens of explosions. Slowly but surely, the fleet was losing its finest ships. Chunks of debris were hurtling through space. Before long, the nebula would be a graveyard for the Federation Navy.
It was looking like this was truly going to be the last stand. The enemy fleet would go on to conquer the colonies. Chloe pushed the chaos aside and focused on one destroyer. If she could just take one of them out, that would count for something. They might eventually destroy humankind, but they were going to get hurt in the process.
Chloe made a beeline for the closest warship. But two enemy fighters soon emerged on her tail.
32
The Revenant
The proximity alert sounded. Two inbound missiles rocketed toward Chloe’s Stingray. She jerked the stick, twirling the craft, trying to avoid the threats. She deployed two ECMs. They spun out from the back of the Stingray, blazing. The missiles slammed into the glowing ECMs and exploded within a few meters of Chloe’s vehicle.
The blast sent her tumbling out of control. It took a moment for her to straighten out the craft. Energy bolts were hurtling in her direction. They streaked past, narrowly missing.
Chloe arced the vehicle around and tried to get a target lock on the rear facing guns. She sprayed the star field behind her, but nothing was connecting. The two agile fighters spiraled around, expertly avoiding the gunfire.
Suddenly, one of the ships exploded behind her. Then the other. The glowing wreckage tumbled away, splintering into bits.
She heard Kilmer’s cocky voice crackle in her ear. “Now that’s what I call shooting. Maybe you can learn how to do that someday, LT.”
Kilmer could be as cocky as
he wanted, Chloe thought. He had saved her ass. “One can only aspire to your level of proficiency,” she said with a sardonic tone.
“Let’s go take down one of these destroyers.”
“Finally, I think you and I can agree on something.”
The two angled for a nearby destroyer. Energy bolts blasted at them from the ship’s cannons. Giant energy strikes that could incinerate a small Stingray with a single hit. Chloe and Kilmer dodged and weaved through the onslaught of oncoming projectiles. It almost seemed like a video game, but there wasn’t going to be any starting over if things went wrong.
There were so many streams of enemy fire, it almost seemed to blanket the star field. Somehow, the two fighters made it through the defensive perimeter. They zipped along the exterior hull of the massive destroyer, with no more than a few meters clearance. They both targeted the CIC.
Chloe armed her missiles and squeezed the trigger. A tactical nuke blasted from under one of the sub-wing pylons.
Kilmer followed suit.
The two rockets raced across the hull. Chloe could see the small glass viewport of the CIC, and the glowing lights of the instrument panels contained within. The rockets spit fire and propellant as they shot across the destroyer and slammed into the CIC.
Chloe and Kilmer pulled away as the devastating explosion incinerated the combat information center. Multiple secondary explosions rocked the conning tower. Massive chunks of composite materials ripped away, tumbling into space. The structure crumbled and the warship fell away into the nebula.
Chloe and Kilmer hollered with delight.
“I guess we’re going to have to share that kill,” Chloe said.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. My missile hit first.”
“In your dreams.”
Kilmer chuckled.
They angled toward another destroyer. The nebula looked like a fireworks display. The star field was dotted with explosions and weapons fire. They may have taken down one enemy destroyer, but the fleet was taking heavy losses.
