"We haven't been sitting here admiring the view."
Nate continued to turn their craft away, but as he glanced at the wreckage littering the entranced to the hangar, he still looked confused.
"Explain."
Matilda answered with Cassandra laughing in the background.
"We loaded most of our spare fuel and ordnance at the entrance, and Heiskell's marines rigged up a remote detonator circuit. It's a one-use weapon."
Nate grinned widely.
"Nice work, very nice work."
As they pulled away, Nate watched part of a dropship explode, while the second lay shattered along the entrance. It was a bloody affair, and he tried to not think about how many soldiers may have just been killed. Billy must have noticed his expression because he tapped Nate on the shoulder.
"It was them or us, Nate."
Nate turned to his friend and nodded.
"I know. But in the game this would be a nice score for the mission. That was a spacecraft full of people like you and me. We're killers, Billy. Like it or not, that's what we are now."
He was interrupted by an urgent broadcast from Corsair Leader.
"All fighters, reform on me. We've got trouble," said Lieutenant Commander Holder.
Nate checked her position and then hit his burners. He was quite frankly amazed she was still alive, and even more amazed to find Ensign Hawkins near her. His gunship trailed fuel in a silvery pattern behind him. The battle was still far from over, but by either luck or judgment, the Alliance fighters seemed to be getting the upper hand.
A quick glance confirmed the enemy capital ships were only a short distance away now. He'd almost forgotten about them.
The ships!
Nate looked out of the cockpit at just the right time to see one of them fire a broadside. With large calibre weapons, they were unlikely to hit the fighters, but they fired nonetheless. Massive projectiles hurtled into the dogfight and exploded, sending debris into friend and foe alike. Nate's heart almost stopped when three objects immediately vanished from his list of fighters.
"Lieutenant Commander. We won't last long out here with those main guns."
As if to emphasise the point, a pair of Mahingan medium fighters exploded in a terrible mix of fuel, ammunition, and shattered metal. Their broken remains scattered off into space while fighters from both sides broke formation. Another flash from the Rift announced the arrival of the new enemy warship, and this one looked even bigger and more powerful than the four already there. Its huge kinetic gun turrets swivelled about to point at the remaining Alliance spacecraft.
"I have an idea."
Billy looked to his friend, but before he could speak the new arrival unleashed a broadside that sent large calibre proximity charges into the battle. A single Lightning was caught in the crossfire, the others scattered in panic. The new ship was close in size to an Alliance Crusader class heavy cruiser, and in seconds the Alliance fighters seemed to be trapped in the tightening net of Star Empire ships.
"Well? What's your idea?"
It was every man for himself, as Nate spun their gunship around in a series of complex manoeuvres to avoid the gunfire. Without moving his eyes from the forward view, he spoke quickly.
"We move in close to the capital ships. If they want to shoot us, they'll hit their own warships. It'll buy us some time."
Billy's eyebrows lifted in astonishment.
"What? We go where?"
Nate moved his eyes towards Billy for just a second.
"We attack the new warship, and we attack it now!"
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Rift Control Station 'Theta'
1st Quadrant Spacebridge, Trinity Sector
The Rift collapsed with such energy, tendrils of flame and electricity lashed out for kilometres in every direction. Anything inside the Rift immediately disintegrated and was swallowed as though it was an artificial black hole. Normally, these tears in space-time collapsed instantly, leaving little sign of their previous position, but this time was very different. Blue energy crackled around the station for many seconds until every single light on the facility went out. Had the Star Empire warship still been coming through, it would have borne the brunt of the attack, but it surged away from the distortion with its engines on full burn.
"Get away from the Rift!"
Nate had absolutely no idea who was talking. He punched the burner controls and moved away from the station as fast as his gunship would take him. Even with the engines on full power, the gravitation pull of the Rift slowed him down.
"Nate, more power!"
"I know...I know!"
Billy deactivated the weapons and even part of the life-support, anything to give a little more power to the engine system. He even knocked off the navigation, radar tracking, and other active scanners. It left them blind for a short while, but it did finally provide an extra twenty percent power to the main engines. With just the engines and forward display still active, they were forced to draw on the oxygen reserves inside their PDS suits.
"Man, it's getting cold, fast."
"Look," said Billy.
They watched something else come through the Rift. It looked like a Byotai cruiser, but it was completely shrouded in crackling energy. The Rift finally collapsed, taking most of the ship with it. What remained exploded in a might fireball and lit up like a small star. With that last burst of energy the field collapsed, leaving the station alone and burning from multiple internal fires. All three fighter squadrons moved towards the newly arrived ship at full-speed as it fired another volley. The distance was little more than fifty kilometres, but in space that was almost right on top of each other. The other four capital ships continued to fire at them, but the closer they moved to the ship, the less fire was directed at them. As the Rift collapsed, so did the powerful pull on their spacecraft.
"Nate, this is insane," said Billy, "We need our system on-line."
"Do it!"
Billy switched on the life-support first, followed by sensors, and then finally the weapons. It didn't take long for each to come on-line, and they watched the displays eagerly as ships and fighters appeared. Every direction the two looked at outside was full of gunfire and explosions.
"The ships have switched to flak rounds," said Billy.
"Yeah, I wondered when they'd do that."
It was a desperate attempt to drive off the fighters, and the area of space looked liked something from hell. The constant barrage, as well as the escape from the collapsing Rift had completely pulled their attention away from anything else.
"Where are their fighters?"
Nate looked at his navigation orb and shook his head.
"Uh...I don't get it. No, hold on, they're landing on the ships."
"Look!"
Nate followed the direction of his hand as he pointed to a group of shapes in the distance. Second by second they grew in size. The cockpit display showed they were less than a hundred and fifty kilometres away, and still closing fast.
"Ships," said Nate, "And they will be here in seconds."
The computer scanned the approaching vessels, but there were unusual powerful jammers, and their IFF systems were off. The computer was able to do little more than identify their size approximate class and approach speed. Nate's expression changed from worry to pleasure as he recognised one of the first to arrive.
"Relentless. Look, Billy. It's Relentless!"
The ships of Orion Battlegroup swept into position outside the station. Relentless was the third to arrive, and even as she closed, her weapons fired. Pulses of energy erupted from her two sets of particle beam cannons. Then came the staccato pulses of hardened slugs as the kinetic railgun mass-drivers joined in.
"That is a beautiful sight."
More arrived, but Relentless was the closest ship. Nate watched with pride at the spectacle of her railguns powering up. There were turrets all along her bow, as well as additional gun mounts fitted underneath, as well as at the rear of the ship. One
by one they flashed, each sending a single warhead directly at the enemy. She might not have been the largest or strongest ship in the fleet, but she certainly made an entrance.
"That is one tough ship."
In the few days waiting with the fleet, the Alliance technicians and engineers had done much more than simply patch up her battle damage. They'd also reactivated multiple sections of the ship, from the training hall and shooting range through to the combat landing deck. This entire section had been permanently sealed for almost a decade, yet two days of work had replaced the joints and seals to the outer doors. Now it was wide open, like the mouth of a whale.
"We're out of here," said Lieutenant Heiskell.
Billy tapped the icons around the station to connect back to the squad.
"Lieutenant. Your mission, was it successful?"
"Yeah, son. The station is out of action for now. It'll take weeks, maybe months to get it back up and operational."
The man grunted and his video feed reactivated. Nate could now see what the marine could see. They were at the rear doors of a spacecraft and clambering inside.
"That's Rex or Cassandra's Hammerhead," said Billy.
"Yeah. Finally."
He dropped off his forward speed and pulled around to make towards the station. Once lined up, he hit the burners.
"What? Where are you going, Nate?"
He shook his head at Billy.
"The Hammerheads, we need to make sure they get out safely."
"But look."
Billy reached out and tagged the shapes blasting out from the still burning fighter hangar. Gouts of flame followed them, but in seconds they were clear and pulling away from the station. Bright flashes burst from their engines as both Hammerheads activated their burners. Nate shook his head with relief.
"We're clear and on the way home," said Lieutenant Heiskell.
Nate rolled to the left and moved in to a position along the flank of the two Hammerheads. They moved at high speed while more ships arrived. ANS Warlord was next, and as she came onto the scene, she opened fire with a bewildering array of weaponry. From her small hangars came another squadron of Lightning fighters. These were the old models, the same type used back in the battles during the Uprising. They rushed out and made for the enemy vessels. Some fired missiles, others opened up with their guns. In the middle of this maelstrom a Star Empire cruiser and ANS Warlord exchanged multiple broadsides.
"Follow me," said Nate.
He pushed the control column down so that he dropped below the level of the flank-mounted guns on the other ships. Direct energy weapons and guns blasted back and forth, but in seconds the three spacecraft were clear of the danger.
"Close."
Nate looked at Billy and smiled.
"You can say that again."
Just seconds earlier he'd thought the fight might be over, and now the Alliance battlegroup was there in force. All fifteen ships to support what little remained of the crippled civilian vessel, MS Tarandot. The destroyers and cruisers put on an impressive display, but for Nate, Relentless stole the show. She was a powerful ship, but what set her apart from the others was her dual role. She could command fighters in battle, retrieve gunships and landing craft, simultaneously going toe-to-toe with capital ships. A volley struck her bow, and for a second, the hull vanished behind a plume of flame. As it cleared, he spotted the turrets swivel around, each glowing blue as they charged their mass-driver units.
"Incredible."
Multiple barrels fired as one of the sleeker looking enemy ships tried to escape. Its engines glowed brightly, and great flames roared out behind it. Volleys from seven different Alliance ships hammered its hull. It might have got away had it not been for the broadside fired by ANS Warlord. All of its starboard guns fired with such force that even Nate was left feeling truly stunned. The main guns of that mighty ship were a sight to behold, and in less than a minute, the light cruiser was little more than a burning hulk. Its engines cut and multiple explosions rippled through its broken carcass.
"All squadrons withdraw to Relentless," said Lieutenant Commander Holder.
Nate needed no further encouragement and moved into position along with the others as they headed for the assault ship. Gunfire still moved back and forth, but with the Alliance there in such numbers, the captains of the Star Empire ships had a single, simple choice. Either they fled, or they surrendered.
"Relentless, this is Knighthawk Two, requesting permission to land."
"Permission granted."
Nate let out a long slow sigh.
"Bring in our weapons and put on the safeties. It's time to go home."
They lined up on the bow of Relentless and then moved in behind three other Lightning fighters. As they made it to within a kilometre, each lowered their landing gear. Unlike the upper launch deck, or the flank launching positions on the ship, the combat landing deck could handle dozens of fighters at a time. The only issue that made using the deck more difficult was that it was completely open to the void of space. Nate ran through the landing procedures, and then followed the ILS transmitters fitted throughout the ship. He lined up perfectly and brought in the gunship, leaving plenty of space on each side of his craft. The computer provided additional upward thrust to counter the artificial gravity that increased in strength as they entered the front of the ship.
"We did it, Nate. We survived it."
Nate nodded but kept his eyes fixed firmly ahead. The internal space might be wide, but it would still be easy to crash the gunship if he was not careful. There was always the chance the ship would lurch or shudder due to the last moments of the space battle. They moved on through the long landing deck, taking care to stay high enough to pass the many fighters already landed. Further inside was a more extensive square area designed for the larger craft. Yellow markings showed were they should land, and Nate brought them over one with a bright yellow A on the floor plates.
"We're home."
The Bullnose gunship descended slowly, its landing thrusters bringing them down metre by metre. The skids touched the ground, and the heavily reinforced leg pistons took up the slack as the spacecraft rested gently on its legs.
"Landing clamps...active."
Videostreams from the external cameras showed a robotic clamping system moving to the flanks of the gunship. Their finger like grabbers clamped around the sides of the spacecraft to hold it firmly into place.
"Perfect."
Now secure on the ship, Nate deactivated the main power unit and let out the loudest sigh Billy had ever heard. As they sat there, the landing pad moved off to the side of the ship and behind a double airlock seal. Each section clamped shut until they were in position below the fully sealed flank hangar decks they normally used. The gunship shook gently as elevators lifted the platform up through the dark grey shaft. It took only a few seconds until the bright lights dazzled the pair. As Nate's eyes adjusted, he saw they were on the deck just as before, and dozens of crew were running about.
"I don't know about you, Billy, but I need to rest my legs."
They released their harnesses and made their way to the cramped side doors. A wheeled ladder was already in place, and a crewman helped each of them down. As he let go of Nate, he dropped to his knees in an unceremonious heap on the floor. Billy might have done the same, but this time the crewman held onto him.
"You two okay?"
Nate lifted himself back up and reached for his friend.
"Yeah, we're good. It's just the nerves."
The man nodded and moved off to assist with the next craft.
"Your legs are shot, too, huh?" Billy asked.
The two waited there; stunned by the battle they had just been part of. Nate looked around the deck, and then spotted the damage to their spacecraft. He almost vomited at the sight before him.
"Billy, look at it!"
A chunk of the hull, barely a metre from the crew area was completely missing, and in its places the mangled and burnt remains o
f the outer plate. Nate stepped forward and touched the metalwork. One of the holes was so deep it reached into an ammunition feed. Incredibly, the gunfire had miraculously managed to avoid any of the ammunition or weapon system, and had embedded chunks of shrapnel in the plating behind the cockpit and the weapon systems. As they looked at the damage, a crewman wandered over and began a thorough assessment of the gunship. Nate pointed at the massive hole in the spacecraft.
"Deck Chief, will she fly again?"
The man turned to him and laughed.
"It's not too bad, Sir. The damage is...substantial, but none of the internal systems were harmed. My crew will have that patched within the hour."
He then looked up at the ceiling.
"Son, do you believe in a god?"
Nate shook his head. The Deck Chief moved up close so that their faces were just centimetres apart. Nate could make out every single mark and line on his leathery face. For a second there was no expression, and then he beamed, showing Nate a number of artificial teeth that seemed way too shiny.
"Well, somebody up there saved your skin."
He stepped back, put his hand in the large hole, and then moved it around.
"You took a hit from something big, maybe a 40mm or bigger round. It punched through your armour and then shattered, sending shards inside your bird."
He leaned back so that his back rested against the side of the craft.
"See there?"
Nate and Billy looked inside the hole. To the right was another flat plate, but this one had a single jagged piece of metal embedded in it.
"That's the armoured cockpit divider. It's designed to protect you from breaches in the weapon loading sections, or from hits to the rear of the gunship."
He then stood up tall.
"It's all that stands between the guts of the gunship and the cockpit. That shard was a piece of the warhead, and it embedded in metal just twelve to fifteen millimetres behind where you were sitting. If it had pushed in just a little more, you'd both be dead."
His eyebrows lifted in wry amusement at their expressions.
"And if had hit further aft, it would have hit the powerplant and blown you up from the inside. Lucky...very lucky."
Star Crusader: Knighthawk Squadron Page 20
