by Jan Domagala
“Weapons systems online, sir, targeting at your discretion,” replied the pilot who kept the freighter in a low hover while watching the hatch for the rest of the mercs to climb back on board, not an easy task when Rygar was barking orders at the same time. The fact that he remained calm under pressure showed the high calibre of pilot the young man was.
Once the team were all on board the freighter, the lateral hatch was secured after the rappelling ropes had been dragged back inside and, with Rygar seated beside him in the co-pilot’s chair, the pilot gave the freighter full thrust which took the craft up into the air once more as they gave chase to the shuttle.
“IT LOOKS LIKE WE MAY not get away so easily, Colonel,” Lieutenant Hall said as his scanners indicated the freighter was lifting off from its hover to come after them.
“Can we outrun them?” De Boer asked.
“I’m not sure, sir, but I’m gonna try anyway,” Hall replied.
“What’s the shielding like on board this thing?” Hawk asked, as he had an idea.
“We have just the standard reinforced hull plating, it’s a shuttle for general use, not a battle craft sir, why?” Hall replied.
“I’ve got a feeling that these guys came better prepared than we did for this op and they just may have weapons on that freighter,” Hawk replied, a little concerned.
“Well, in that case if they get within weapons range of us we’re screwed,” Hall said, fatalistically.
“Well son, you’re among the best of the best so make sure they don’t come within weapons range,” De Boer said.
“I’ll do my best, sir,” Hall replied proudly.
“We’ll soon know if my suspicions are correct, because if they get within range they’ll go immediately to weapons lock,” said Hawk. The three of them were crowded around Lieutenant Hall as he piloted the shuttle with expert touches on the controls.
“GET US AS CLOSE AS you can,” Rygar told the pilot as he manned the weapons’ controls. The pulse cannons mounted below the front pilot’s cabin were controlled by a console that had a joystick, and the targeting scanners were shown on a heads up display on the forward view port. Rygar had primed the cannons and was targeting the shuttle awaiting weapons lock tone to signify that he would hit what he was aiming at.
The freighter was being flown on full thrust as they tried to close the gap between the two ships. The freighter just about had the edge being the larger craft. The engines were more powerful and could put out more thrust and they soon found the gap between the two ships was closing as they bore down on the shuttle.
“We’re within weapons range, sir,” the pilot said and Rygar aimed carefully as the weapons lock tone sounded.
“I’ve got you now,” Rygar said as he fired the pulse cannons.
INSIDE THE SHUTTLE the weapons lock tone sounded and they all knew what that meant. Hawk looked at De Boer not needing to say that his suspicions were correct, they all knew they were in deep trouble.
Hall threw the shuttle into a series of severe twists and turns to throw off the aim of the gunner ready to kill all of them.
When the plasma bolts came, the first things hit were the engine thrusters, but luckily it was just a glancing blow and caused hardly any damage to the engines. Hall banked away from the next salvo hoping to evade being destroyed.
“We’re going to have to take her down towards the ground and try and lose that bastard another way,” Hall said as he steered the shuttle frantically in a series of twists and turns that it wasn’t really designed for.
“You’d better strap yourselves in, this could get a little scary,” he added.
8
On board the Valkyrie Captain Jefferson had kept an eye on the proceedings between the shuttle and the freighter.
“Is there nothing we can do to help them?” he asked the bridge crew. “Come on people give me some options here, I’m not about to let our guys down there get killed while we sit up here with our thumbs up our asses,” he added, getting more and more frustrated as they watched the action develop close to the planet’s surface.
“Sir, we could enter the planet’s atmosphere and fire a QX missile at the freighter,” suggested the weapon’s officer.
“By the time we got close enough to fire it would be all over,” added the pilot.
“What about firing from orbit?” asked the Ops officer. “If we tie in the targeting from the missile console to the scanners we just might get a more accurate long-range weapons lock,” he added.
Jefferson thought about it for a second before replying, “We have no other choice, we have to try it. Make it happen people.”
The Ops officer went immediately to work in matching the weapons lock sensors to the long-range scanners and within a few short moments that seemed to stretch out into eternity, he had done it. With an exuberant smile he turned to the weapon’s officer and said, “She’s all yours.”
“Limit the yield on the missile, I just want to damage that craft enough to allow our people to escape. The last thing I want to do is destroy a freighter over that terrain, the debris would scatter over too large an area and would just bring unwanted attention to us being here,” Jefferson said as a last minute thought.
“Limiting the yield now, sir, and scanning,” replied the weapons officer. “We have weapons lock sir,” he added.
“Fire!” Jefferson commanded.
“FUCK! SOMEONE HAS A weapons lock on us,” said the pilot of the freighter when his console lit up warning him of the incoming missile.
“What?” Rygar said incredulously. “They must have a support craft in orbit, that’s how they got here. Of course, I didn’t make the connection that a shuttle must have had a lift here and not made it on its own power,” he added, feeling rather foolish as he realised his mistake.
“The shielding on this ship can withstand a lot more than any normal freighter,” said the captain, whose presence Rygar had forgotten as he was so wrapped up in the action.
“Explain!” Rygar commanded without looking in his direction, all his concentration being centred on targeting the pulse cannons.
“This ship has been fitted out with extra deflectors and has a double hull feature only present on ships of the fleet,” replied the captain smugly. It pleased him that he had some information that this merc leader didn’t, it restored some of the power taken from him by Rygar.
“You’d better be right about this or we’ll all pay,” Rygar said angrily, for he knew this design of freighter could not evade a missile even fired from a distance. They would just have to take the hit and hope it wasn’t a nuke.
JEFFERSON CONTACTED Hawk through the battle com. via his NI. “We have fired a QX missile at the freighter on your six, a low yield just to disable it somewhat to give you enough time to evade it and reach us in orbit. Can’t have the locals pick up on us destroying a ship in their atmosphere, wouldn’t be good for publicity,” he added.
“Thanks for the assist Cap, and in that case we’ll be with you shortly,” Hawk replied, then explained to the rest of the team just what was about to happen.
The QX missile locked on to the target once its initial targeting link to the Valkyrie’s sensors had uploaded all the relevant data. Once fired its internal sensors locked onto and homed in on the target, latching onto a series of stimuli, electronic emissions, heat signatures and electromagnetic pulses. Once locked on, the missile’s own power supply would propel it along until it struck its target. Once fired the QX missile rarely missed its target.
THE CAPTAIN ABOARD the freighter behind the shuttle carrying Hawk and his team said, “Brace for impact,” just before the QX missile struck the engine thruster outlet.
The explosion ruptured the freighter’s outlet and the force of the blast sent the craft spinning laterally, giving those on the shuttle the time they needed to make their run for the upper atmosphere.
HAWK SAW THE BLAST as the QX missile struck the rear section of the freighter behind them and as it started to spin he
shouted, “Now, get us out of here.” Lieutenant Hall complied by giving the shuttle full power and steered her up towards the upper atmosphere and the waiting Valkyrie.
THE PILOT OF THE FREIGHTER soon regained control but by the time he had her straightened out the shuttle was out of weapons range.
Rygar was incensed; he slammed a fist into the weapons control console in fury and screamed at the pilot, “Get after them.”
JEFFERSON SAW THE MISSILE strike the freighter and said, “Right, that should give them time to make their escape so let’s make it easier for them and get into position to meet them as they exit the planet’s atmosphere.”
Hall took the shuttle up into the upper atmosphere with one eye on the sensors that were tuned to the following freighter. Their speed was just enough to keep the distance between them constant and he finally took in a deep breath as he saw the welcome sight of the Valkyrie fast approaching them.
THE CAPTAIN OF THE freighter ordered the pilot to give chase once more and the freighter’s powerful engines gave out the thrust needed to propel them after their quarry.
“We might not make it, sir, they have too much of a lead on us,” the pilot said, as he calculated quickly in his head their speed and the distance between them.
“Just get me within weapons range and I’ll do the rest,” Rygar snarled viciously.
“SIR THAT FREIGHTER is giving chase again, doesn’t seem like we did much damage with that missile,” observed the Ops officer on the Bridge of the Valkyrie.
“I’m hoping the sight of us will discourage them from further action against the shuttle,” Jefferson replied confidently.
“They’re gaining on us again. What have they got in that thing?” Hall said as he steered the shuttle towards the Valkyrie.
Hawk had been watching closely since the freighter had come after them and was asking himself the very same question.
Through the battle com. via his NI Hawk contacted the Valkyrie. “You may have to discourage our hunters a little more forcefully Cap. They don’t seem to want to give up on us just yet.”
“COMING UP ON WEAPONS range,” the pilot of the freighter said.
“Hold her steady on this line,” Rygar replied, as he aimed the pulse cannons waiting for the weapons lock tone.
“CHRIST, THEY’RE ACQUIRING weapons lock on us again,” Hall said as the sensors told him what was happening behind their shuttle.
“Valkyrie it’s time to discourage them further,” Hawk said through the battle com.
Jefferson turned to his weapons officer and said, “You heard the man, discourage them.”
The weapons officer fired another QX missile at the freighter, being careful to target the right vehicle so that the shuttle wouldn’t be hit by mistake. Once the missile left the forward missile tube it acquired the correct target, skirted around the shuttle in front of the freighter and headed straight for its intended target.
“INCOMING!” SHOUTED the pilot of the freighter as he saw the missile homing in on them and realised there was nowhere for them to go to evade it. Within a few seconds the missile impacted their craft just below the flight deck where the bridge was situated, exploding on contact in a fireball that lit up the darkening sky as the two fleeing craft exited the atmosphere of Canto.
“THAT SHOULD DO IT, sir,” the weapons officer on the Valkyrie said as they all watched the fireball engulf the freighter’s forward section. What they were unprepared for was seeing the freighter fly through the fireball unharmed, scorched a little but unharmed.
“Holy crap! What the hell have they got there, it’s more like a military gunship than a standard freighter,” Jefferson said in shock.
“Hit them again, but this time make it count,” he said.
“What did I tell you about them being more prepared for this op than us?” Hawk said to De Boer.
“They’re almost within range, if the Valkyrie doesn’t stop them soon we’ll be blown out of the sky,” Hall said as he attempted to get the last dregs of power out of the shuttle’s engines.
“They’re firing again,” De Boer said as he saw another missile leave the Valkyrie.
“Let’s hope they have better luck with that one then,” Hall said with trepidation.
They all watched the QX missile swerve around them and head straight for the freighter behind them once more. The missile struck the freighter almost directly over the same spot as the first missile strike and the ensuing explosion was almost double the intensity. A huge fireball engulfed the entire ship and the shockwave raced the Valkyrie through the atmosphere as the energy released was close to a full power blast.
The freighter was thrown off course by the blast and sent spinning off vector. The pilot lost control of the craft momentarily as it headed back down to the ground pulled by the gravity of Canto. Explosions broke out inside the bridge as a series of systems overloaded and they had to wait for the backup systems to come online to regain full control.
Hall saw the outcome of the blast and used the time wisely, getting to the Valkyrie before the pilot regained control of the craft chasing them.
As Hall took the shuttle into the docking bay in the belly of the Valkyrie Hawk said, “Take us to hyperspace now.” Jefferson, still leaning forward in his command chair, gave the command to jump. Only when they entered hyperspace did he sit back and start to relax.
RYGAR PULLED HIMSELF back to an upright position as the pilot regained control of the freighter and looked through the forward view port just as the Valkyrie made the jump to hyperspace.
Getting to his feet, the reality of what had happened washed over him. They had failed. He had failed and he had the unenviable job of relaying that little detail to Wilde. Knowing what Wilde’s reaction would be sent a chill through his blood and for the first time in ages he knew real fear.
“WE DID IT,” HALL SAID, the relief evident in his voice.
“But at what cost!” said De Boer and he looked at Hawk with recrimination in his intense eyes.
Hawk returned the glare with a steady gaze of his own. Straightening to his full height he squared up to the Colonel, “Go on say it.”
“We lost good men down there, all because you wouldn’t divulge relevant data about the op,” De Boer said angrily, standing almost nose-to-nose with the operative.
“That’s total bullshit and you know it. You know how these things go, it’s a need to know basis and you just weren’t in the loop. No one at HQ was aware of just how this would go down. We didn’t expect any action and certainly not of the intensity they brought along, so no one could have foreseen the losses. I’m sorry we lost those guys and you have my word that their deaths won’t go unpunished,” Hawk said with equal anger. He was angry at not getting it right, at not having the foresight to predict what would happen and so avoid the loss of life, but at least now he had a better understanding of how OMEGA worked. Not much of one, but an idea anyway.
“The next time you go after them, whoever you take, make sure you’re better prepared because those guys play for keeps,” De Boer said calming down slightly.
“You can count on that,” replied Hawk.
“What’s your next move then?” asked the Colonel.
“Report back to HQ and inform them of my findings, and then start to look for the real objective behind this mystery group. If it’s any consolation I’ll try and get you included in anything else we do so that your involvement today will mean something. It seems a pity to waste your abilities and your knowledge of what’s gone on so far, why waste time bringing another team up to speed?”
“I don’t know if I should thank you or not, considering how this little jaunt turned out,” De Boer said, then smiled as he relaxed a little, the adrenalin easing out of his system as the danger had passed. He liked this man, he had integrity and wasn’t afraid of standing up to a superior officer if he thought he was in the right. “When you go after them again you had better include me, I have a serious score to settle with whoever’s behind a
ll this,” he added.
“I will Colonel, don’t worry on that score,” Hawk said, adding, “I’d better go to my quarters and start preparing my report,” and he left the shuttle.
The Colonel and Lieutenant Hall disembarked from the shuttle too after securing it and went to the recreation area to relax before the short flight home. They reflected on what they had been through and the friends they had lost. Preparing for the debrief when they arrived back could wait till later. Col Sec HQ would handle the details of the burial ceremony; even without the bodies the ceremonies would proceed.
Hawk went to his quarters to ponder what had happened, what the consequences were and what action should be taken next. All he could do at this juncture was submit his report, tender his suggestions for future action and see what decision was made.
What were OMEGA’s real intentions? What did they intend to do and why had they started now when, according to the captured clone, they had been around for ages, unseen and unknown? What was significant about them wanting to be known now and what would they gain from this action? There must be something hugely significant about the time frame for them to take overt action now after working behind the scenes for so long. Whatever it was, Hawk swore a silent oath that he would learn all he could before stamping on the neck of this beast, choking out its very life.
9
Tanya Wilde and Gavin Taylor, the security guard, were having lunch at The Peaches, a Chinese restaurant that was famous for its authentic meals.
