The fighter station looked tiny, but as they moved closer, it was actually a massive loading hangar, with enough space inside for anything up to thirty fighters. The occasional rocket or missile struck the station, and they jinked and rolled as they made it the last few metres.
"Keep your weapons hot and move fast! Don't stop until you're at the objective."
The three burst through the outer opening and some kind of layered, magnetised field. Nate and his Bullnose moved in first with the other two following a moment later. Powerful lamps lit the hangar, bathing every surface in a bright, light blue hue.
"Gravity well, hold on."
Nate gave the engines a boost of vertical power as the gravitational force increased from nothing to something not far short of half Earth normal gravity. The heavy gunship dropped like a stone, and even with the engines on full burn, they still struck the floor with a crash.
"Slow us down!" Billy screamed.
Nate already had the engines pushed hard, and after three bounces, they lifted little more than a metre from the gleaming floor. Reverse thrusters continued to slow them, and Nate let out a short sigh of relief.
"That was close."
The Hammerheads came in just behind him, and forewarned by what had happened to the gunship, they were ready. By lifting their noses and activating their thrusters prior to entering the hangar, they managed to avoid hitting the surface. The three moved ahead over the gleaming surface that looked as though it had been polished to within an inch if its life. Two long spindles extended out like withered fingers into the hangar, with many more fighters hanging like dry-cleaning from them. Shapes moved near them, humanoid and armoured.
"Soldiers," said Billy.
At the same time he tagged them, and the computer assessed their shape, size, and equipment before coming up with an error in identification. Unlike the colours used by both sides, these soldiers seemed to be wearing much heavier armour that was a dull ivory colour.
"They're not Byotai regulars or Anicinàbe clan soldiers."
Nate shook his head as he listened. He had very little room to adjust his position, and had to leave the targeting to Billy. He swivelled the turrets and tracked the targets as they raced past them and to the point towards the rear indicated by Captain Dreuc. He spotted the cylindrical structure, along with a wide smoked black material that sheathed the lower segment. Then their gunship shuddered as something struck it from the left.
"Star Empire soldiers," said Billy, "They have to be."
"We're going for the drop off," said Rex.
"Understood, we'll cover you from back here."
While Nate spun his gunship around, the two Hammerheads continued forwards with their gunnery systems still active and firing. They were not far from their objective, and as they neared it, they lowered their gear and slid into position in a loose V shape. Nate turned his own craft completely around so that they were facing away from the Hammerheads.
"Hit them, Billy. Keep them back from the marines."
Billy needed no further encouragement and opened fire at the enemy soldiers as they scattered for cover. They had a perfect view of the soldiers as well as the swirling patterns forming away from the station. Some of the station's defences must have been activated because dotted lines marked the tracer rounds from at least four small-calibre turrets. Some of the soldiers stood their ground and returned fire with their personal weapons, and Billy punished them for their tenacity. A mixture of hardened slugs and thermal rounds struck their armour, the majority glancing off and leaving little more than black scorch marks on the spacecraft.
"Look, to the right," said Nate.
Billy tracked the guns and raked a unit rushing behind a group of large black metal machines. The turrets guns knocked down two, but at least four ran behind one of the devices that immediately activated and lifted a metallic shield that protected them. Two barrels pushed out from the unit and aimed at the Bullnose.
"Deck defences. How did we not spot those?" Nate asked.
Billy was already busy swinging two of the turrets around.
"Not good!"
Once in position, the guns blasted away and raked the weapon system, but none of the projectiles were able to penetrate its armoured hide. Then the guns fired, and the Bullnose gunship lurched to the left. No alarms sounded, but a console to the right flashed and then blacked out.
"Okay, I'll deal with this one," said Nate.
With a gentle boost of power, he lifted them from their landing skids and rotated the entire hull so that the chin-mounted guns were lined up. These were not the light guns fitted to the turrets, but a pair of high-velocity coilguns, the same kind of technology used in ground vehicles of the Marine Corps. The guns fired magnetised solid slugs at incredible speeds, and as they did so, the entire gunship shuddered. Nate held his breath as they struck the turret and cheered as the unit exploded in a fiery inferno.
"Yes!"
Only now did the two Hammerheads settle down on the metallic surface. Nate looked up at the clock and felt a shiver of panic spreading through his body.
Six minutes gone already. This is going to be close, really close.
Nate's concentration was immediately broken by a priority call from Corsair Squadron. He listened carefully while still targeting distant enemy soldiers.
"Knighthawks, this is Corsair Leader. You're in serious trouble. I repeat; you are in serious danger."
He shook his head while tagging another small group of enemy soldiers. This time they were keeping close to the fighter rails upon which a number of stationary fighters waited impotently.
"The warships have launched three squadrons of Mahingan fighters and are ignoring my fighters. I also count multiple troop dropships. They know you're on the station, and they are coming for you."
She paused, as though unwilling to pass on the news.
"That's twenty plus bogies and a lot of ground troops, and they are coming your way....fast. ETA less than ten minutes."
The noise of several people speaking at once replaced her voice, but she returned in a matter of three seconds.
"I am withdrawing our attack on the capital ships and redeploying to your position. We have to hold until the fleet arrives," said Lieutenant Commander Holder, "Are your teams in place yet? Can I send the signal to the Admiral?"
Billy looked to Nate and shook his head. He spoke quietly, so as not to be heard.
"Look at them. They've only just arrived."
Nate checked the view behind them via the virtual screen. The doors on the two Hammerheads were open, and both squads moved out. Gunshots were exchanged from more hidden soldiers attempting to beat off the boarding party. There was no guarantee they could complete their mission.
"Lieutenant Heiskell is on the ground, and the marines are inside. We will complete the mission, Sir."
There was deathly silence, and when Nate looked to Billy, his friend was still shaking his head.
"Are you crazy? What if we fail and the fleet arrives at the same time as reinforcements from the Byotai homeworld? We'll all be dead."
A new image popped up from inside a marine's helmet. The figure was moving quickly and towards a series of ladders. Every few seconds a flash would mark the firing of guns.
"Heiskell here. I'll stop the Rift, even if it takes the destruction of this entire facility. Just keep them off my back!"
Nate looked at his friend.
"Look, Billy. We are behind enemy lines, and we have a mission to complete. If we don't say yes, we'll be trapped out here, and the fleet will be forced to rescue us."
He tried to smile.
"Whatever happens, it will be decided right here, and I can tell you now, those marines will not stop until the Spacebridge is permanently off-line."
"Lieutenant Commander. You can send the signal."
The Lieutenant Commander spoke again, quickly removing any ambiguity from his confusion.
"I've already sent the request. Either we are being jamm
ed, or the Admiral has already changed his location."
Billy hissed in irritation at this, but Nate took it in his stride. He gave a little more power to their engines, moving away from the Hammerheads to get a better angle on the remaining soldiers. The calm voice of the Lieutenant Commander returned.
"All squadrons reform on the station and deploy in a defensive pattern. We need to buy time for the ground team. Good hunting."
CHAPTER TEN
Rift Control Station 'Theta'
1st Quadrant Spacebridge, Trinity Sector
Nate looked nervously at the clock and watched it count down. The fighting on the landing deck was over for now. A single unit of four marines had stayed back, and after a bloody battle, the last of the enemy soldiers had disappeared inside the station. Now Nate and Billy could do little more to help, and waited with little but the occasional message from the marines as they worked their way inside the station. They only had a videostream feed showing from Lieutenant Heiskell's visor, but that was more than enough to make them anxious. Progress was proving much slower than expected as dozens of soldiers tried to hold back the marines.
"How much longer?"
Nate could tell his friend was nervous, and from the look of the battle outside, he could tell why. The last of the enemy fighters had been destroyed or forced to flee back in the direction of the enemy capital ships. That bought them a little breathing time. It was a temporary victory, but it was enough time for the survivors of Thunder Squadron to move into position around the station to join them. As each second clicked past, they waited for the inevitable assault by the rest of the fleet.
"They started with six, now they have four left in the field."
Nate nodded grimly.
"I know. And our Knighthawks are not doing much better."
He pointed to the icons on the cockpit.
"All three of the Bullnose gunships have taken damage, and now they are out of missiles."
The communication indicator blinked, announcing another priority message.
"We're coming in hot, and the Star Empire spacecraft are on our tails. Help us!"
"Lieutenant Commander Holder," said Nate.
His voice was quiet as he said the words under his breath. Billy checked the tactical disposition of the marines and almost choked. He looked to Nate and pointed urgently at the imagery.
"They are twenty metres from their objective."
At that very moment an alert sounded, and their attention was drawn to the flashing lights outside the station. Both said the words at the exact same moment.
"The Rift."
While Billy looked out at the magnetically sealed entrance to the hangar deck, Nate looked to the computer readouts. The countdown clock had finally reached the number he had been dreading.
"That's it. We're screwed. I tell you, Nate, we're truly screwed!"
Nate shook his head.
"No way, not until it's over."
The sound of gunfire on the videostream from Lieutenant Heiskell showed they had entered a main area filled with pulsing lights and barely contained energy.
"We're at the target. Charges being set, estimated time ninety seconds. We are draining their capacitors. It will buy us a little extra time."
His voice was drowned out by an urgent call from Lieutenant Commander Holder.
"Knighthawk Squadron, reform on me, now! It's time. The Rift is opening!"
The voice was Ensign Hawkins, and for the first time Nate was actually happy to hear his voice. Nate didn't hesitate, and hit the burners. All four engines swung back and activated simultaneously. Smaller jets fired underneath to raise them from the floor as they moved through the shielded entrance and back into the darkness of space.
"Get ready, Billy, I suspect this is going to get rough."
As they moved out, the other three Bullnose gunships moved away from the station and towards the quickly approaching group of enemy fighters. Behind them and inside the incomplete circular station was the shape of a Spacebridge forming. Normally, they would stabilise in a matter of seconds, but this time it crackled and flashed and then vanished as quickly as it had begun.
"Heiskell?" Billy asked.
Nate nodded in agreement.
"Must be."
They hurtled away from the station, but that didn't stop them from noticing the massive amounts of energy lashing back and forth around the generators and capacitors systems. These sections of the station were housed behind large curved segments, far away from the habitable parts of the facility.
"I would have hit the generators myself," said Billy.
Nate laughed.
"That's why you're not in charge, then. They are shielded and armoured better than a cruiser. It would take multiple hits from ANS Warlord to disable something like that."
Billy grimaced as Nate slid their gunship hard to the left to avoid a missile as it streaked past them. Like many missiles and rockets, it was equipped with a radar scanning proximity fuse and activated as soon as it was in range. There was no shockwave that could affect the gunship, but the cloud of metal fragments scattered in all direction. Dozens struck the plating along the side of the spacecraft, some even breaching the port engines.
"Not good!"
Nate grabbed the controls as the power levels dropped off and almost threw them into a spin. The engines pulsed and sent flashes of flame behind them.
"What was that?"
Nate tugged on the control again, and then reached for the computer controls.
"Hold on, I need to purge the engines."
It took several seconds before the gunship shuddered violently, and all four engines released a great flash of energy. One by one they sprung back to life, though one began to dump small amounts of coolant vapour behind them. Nate checked the diagnostics and sighed.
"That missiles shredded the coolant feeds to engine two. She's running real hot."
The gunship shuddered again, but Nate appeared not to notice. Billy looked up from his own weapons control console.
"What do we do?"
Nate sighed while pushing the engines harder.
"Nothing we can do. We use what we have left to stay alive, and just hope the engines hold together."
One of the now distant turrets on the station continued firing at them, and Nate had to jink both left and right to avoid the fire. Then it stopped as quickly as it had begun as they left its combat radius. Nate pointed ahead and above their current position.
"There they are."
Slightly above them was a large formation of Lightning fighters, and to Nate's horror several of them were leaving tails of fuel. One even flew with flames running the length of its engines. He wanted to know how many had made it away from the battle, but right now there were more important things to do.
"Good work, pilots. Thunder, you are under strength. I want you to stay back and provide close escort for the station. Do not let anything get inside to our boarding party. Leave the fighter battle to us."
"Sir."
The small group of fighters from Thunder Squadron broke their position in the formation and to a one-kilometre perimeter around the station. The four Bullnose gunships of Nate's unit looked relatively insignificant.
"Knighthawks and Corsairs, follow me."
With a subtle boost of power, Ensign Hawkins led the gunships towards the remainder of Corsair Squadron. They dropped in just behind them in a loose, staggered formation. It was a formidable unit of spacecraft, but he could already see they had been badly battered, and none of them appeared to be carrying any more missiles. All of the ordnance had been expended in the violent battle around the capital ships.
"Knighthawk Leader," said Nate, "I have a suggestion."
"Go on."
Nate licked his upper lip, a habit he simply could not escape.
"We have the armour and protection for this fight. I suggest we form the van, and let Corsair form up in pairs behind us."
The pause was much shorter than Nate had
expected.
"The LT concurs. Knighthawks, to the front."
The powerful engines of the gunships propelled them past the more agile forms of the Lightning fighters, as they moved away from the protection offered by the nine still operating Lightnings. A tenth dropped back as one of its two engines ripped apart. The crippled fighter tipped upside down and then rolled towards the station and the handful of fighters from Thunder Squadron.
"This is not one of your smartest plans, you know?" said Billy, "Now we are gonna take the heat for this entire force."
Nate nodded.
"Yeah, I thought you might think that. All we have to do is keep them busy till the fleet arrives. We can do that, can't we?"
Billy nodded at the forward display.
"You tell me. These gunships are supposed to be tough, I guess we'll find out."
The gap between the two groups increased as the lighter fighters slightly decreased their forward speed. Nate checked to his left, and then right, making sure his three comrades were still with him. He could see Hawkins to his right, recognising the markings he'd had placed along its flanks to identify his gunship to the rest of the squadron.
"They sure are ugly birds, aren't they?"
Nate hadn't really looked at them in this way before, but with the bullet holes, scorch marks, and damage, they now looked as though they'd fought in a hundred battles. The stubby shape of the spacecraft looked odd enough without the bulbous chin and myriad of additional turrets.
"If you say so."
Billy barely looked at them and turned his attention back to the weapon systems. He'd already made fine adjustments to the targeting systems, optimising them for long to medium range gunnery. Without his assistance, they would have to rely on the automatic targeting, calibration, and gunnery.
"Hawkins sent the order to load 60mm micro-Sanlav rounds into the main guns. That should help beat them back for a while."
Nate nodded.
"That's a good plan. How many are we carrying?"
Billy shook his head.
"Not many, Nate, not many at all. Twenty rounds for each gun."
The range between the two formations continued to drop, and now Nate could see the dots were growing in size.
Star Crusader: Knighthawk Squadron Page 18
