“Affirmative, Orion,” Baran replied. “They won’t see us. We will stay concealed. Steady as she goes.”
Glenn was about to make a counterpoint, but Cole beat him to it. “Grayback, Philly. With the angle of their approach, they’ll end up colliding with us.”
“Hold steady till we’re absolutely certain. They could miss us by a few meters yet,”
“Orion, what do you think,” she asked, not prepared to match Baran’s optimism.
“You have your orders. Hold steady,” Glenn replied in a near whisper, as if speaking too loudly would negate the effect of the vacuum between him and the Salaxian cruiser. He was reluctant about the mandate as well, but knew Baran was right. For the moment, they were concealed, provided no one looked out the window and saw their silhouettes against the moon surface below.
If they adjusted course too dramatically, or ran, they would most likely draw attention to themselves. Glenn placed his left hand over the power switch for his warp engine, which was currently powered down to keep his power signature low. Even after flipping the switch, he would need at least 60 seconds for it to warm up before he could take off. The Salaxian cruiser was now filling the view through his canopy, and his breath became shallow as the bow passed to his starboard side. It stayed true, but Glenn could see the wider aft section of the hull was still going to come very close.
His heart nearly stopped when the collision alarm started blaring, but he ignored it. Even the computer couldn’t tell for sure if they would clear, but was operating on the side of caution. The angled hull loomed closer by the second. Glenn looked out at his starboard wing and flinched as it gouged the Salaxian ships skin, shaking his fighter violently.
His heart began to race faster as he flipped the warp drive on. No serious damage was done, but he didn’t doubt for a second that the graze still sent alarms blaring on the bridge of the Salaxian ship. He slammed the throttle forward and activated the overdrive. The Salaxian cruiser turned towards him and fired. Glenn dodged one shot after another. Even though the Salaxian’s knew he was there, the vantablack coating was making it nearly impossible for them to get a RLADAR lock.
There was a quiet tone from his left side, and he saw the controls on his warp engine turn from red to green. While continuing to dodge Salaxian fire, he selected the rendezvous coordinates from the onboard computer, and set the warp engine power to full.
The distraction allowed the Salaxians to land one shot on his port wing. Only a grazing burn, but Glenn knew it was past time to get out. He engaged the warp drive, leaving the space vacant just as another beam from the Salaxian ship crossed through it.
* * *
“Battle stations. Battle stations. This is not a drill. All hands to battle stations.”
Harper barely registered what was being said, but the klaxons jolted him fully awake. He was still pulling on pieces of his uniform as he made his way down the corridor, and his boots went unlaced until he was in the elevator. He ran down the corridor to the bridge. All eyes were on him as he entered. “Commander, situation report,” he said as he hit the top step.
“Glenn’s back, and he’s got company,” Parker replied.
“Salaxian company?”
“Yes, sir. One Salaxian cruiser, and neither of them is showing up on RLADAR.”
“Is Glenn still on shortwave?”
“Yes.”
Harper walked to Sato’s console and grabbed the mic from overhead. “Orion, this is Resolution Actual. Report.”
There was a long delay before Glenn’s distorted voice replied, “Actual, Orion. I’m trailing the Salaxian cruiser and hiding in her wake. They know I’m in the system, but they’re heading towards the planet looking for me.”
“Understood. Standby.” Harper stared off through the viewport, thinking through his options. Whatever he decided to do, it would have to be done quickly.
“Captain, the three of us could easily beat one Salaxian cruiser. Why not take her head on,” Parker asked quietly.
“We can’t afford to risk serious damage this early in the mission. We need to find a way to destroy them before they get a shot off.” Something caught Harper’s eye that he hadn’t noticed before. The lower half of the moon they were orbiting was completely obscured, as if it were floating in a river that encircled the planet. The dust that filled the system had created a thicker ring around the planet below. “Sato can you detect anything below that ring?”
Sato went to work on the multispectral scan, but frowned when the results came back. “No good, sir. The signals just bounce back. The lost city of Atlantis could be down there and we would be none the wiser.”
“Excellent. Palmer, break orbit and set bearing relative forty-five mark three-hundred. Full speed. Sato, transmit to the Blackwolf and Eagle to follow to our port and starboard flank. Orion, are you still with us?"
“I’m here.”
“I need you to do something. It’s going to be risky, but I think you’ve got the chops for it.”
“What do you need?”
“On my mark, I need you to broadcast your telemetry on a low-frequency tachyon band. Get the cruiser to follow you to the planetary ring, just past the primary moon.”
“Broadcasting a tachyon signal’s going to make me a pretty clear target.”
“I know but I need you to do this you just have to keep yourself from getting hit for a few minutes. The second you see us, dive into the ring and stay out of the way.”
Harper wasn’t sure how much of the silence was sub light radio delay, and how much was Glenn debating further protest of the order, but he finally replied, “You can count on me.”
Harper watched as the bow started to disappear in the dust of the planetary ring, the course burying more of the ship by the second. Just before the sea of dust swallowed the bridge, he pressed the switch again. "Now!"
Glenn flipped the Tachyon radio on, and accelerated over the stern of the Salaxian ship. Just for good measure, he fired his cannons along the hull as he passed. “That should get their attention,” he thought out loud. The Salaxian cruiser answered with a shot that nearly ripped the bow off his fighter. He cut his thrusters and flipped over firing a pair of missiles into the offending laser cannon. A large explosion indicated he had successfully disabled it.
Flipping his fighter back towards his destination, he activated his overdrive, and went into a spiral to throw off their aim. The Salaxian cruiser fired continuously, but was unable to match his trajectory. As they reached the planet’s primary moon, he leveled out with the surface of the ring. Checking his rear scope, he could see the Salaxian cruiser was directly in line with him, no more than 10 Kilometers away.
Glenn saw the glow from one of its cannons and jinked right, allowing the beam to harmlessly crash into the dust below. I can’t keep this up much longer. Do something, he thought. As if in answer to his silent plea, the Resolution crashed through the surface of the ring, like a great whale surfacing for air.
To his port and starboard side, the Eagle and the Blackwolf did the same. He had led the Salaxian cruiser into a box, but had no time to feel proud of himself. Cutting his thrusters, he flipped his fighter back 270 degrees and slammed the throttle forward, disappearing into the dust.
* * *
Harper was leaning forward in his seat when they finally broke the surface. Just as planned, the Salaxian vessel was less than three kilometers away when Glenn disappeared from view, and caught directly in the flank of the Eagle and Blackwolf.
“Weapons lock,” Lane called out.
“All ships, fire,” Harper shouted. In a stunning pyrotechnic display, both battleships unleashed their canons as the Resolution fired a continuous volley of missiles and ship to ship point-defense fire.
Less than a minute passed before the Salaxian cruiser split into pieces and hurdled itself into the atmosphere. Harper sighed as he sat back in his seat. He waited for the crew’s celebrating to die down before turning on the intercom. “This is the Captain. Sta
nd down from battle stations. All hands, stand down from battle stations. The time on deck is 0600. All department heads will muster with me in the C.I.C. at 0630."
A new sense of urgency pulsed through his veins as he switched off the intercom. The clock was now running. It would only be a matter of time before the cruiser was missed, and the entire fleet realized they were here. The system hosting the Salaxian base could already be crawling with ships if the cruiser reported in before it chased Glenn down.
“Orion is coming in for landing now, sir,” Anatoli reported from his console below.
“Download his data from the recon mission, and have him meet me in the C.I.C. Sato, contact Captains Kramer and Thorne and have them meet me there as well.”
Harper watched as Glenn’s fighter landed on the flight deck. It was covered in dust from the ring, which was unceremoniously flung across the flight deck as he activated his braking thrusters. “I wonder if they found anything useful,” Parker remarked from behind him.
“Only one way to find out. Parker, you’re with me. Anatoli, you have the bridge.”
* * *
Thirty minutes later, Harper and Parker were standing over a screen in the C.I.C. Data from the reconnaissance mission had been compiled into a digital rendering of the military moon. The pair remained in absolute silence as Harper slowly turned the globe on a touchscreen, occasionally changing the display parameters for energy signatures, life forms, infrared, and x-ray.
Parker was noticeably growing impatient. “Anything?”
Harper sent the artificial moon into a perpetual spin out of frustration. “Nothing. Well, everything. The entire moon is a military manufacturing facility, but no one target would suffice. We don’t have enough firepower to destroy the whole moon, or even all the facilities.”
Parker looked at the spinning globe and brainstormed for a moment. “What about sending all the fighters into the atmosphere for airstrikes. If we spread them out enough, we’re bound to disrupt the infrastructure for a while.”
“It seems like the best option, but it won’t work out well for us.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“If it isn’t already, the system will be overrun by a Salaxian fleet long before the airstrike is finished. Without support fighters, best case scenario is our fleet is destroyed, and we set back Salaxian military production for, maybe a year, and the fighters have to make the trip home alone. A lot of sacrifice for very little payoff.”
“When you put it like that, Captain Pessimist…”
“I am not being pessimistic. I’m being realistic. Three ships, over four-hundred souls, is not an acceptable loss.” At that moment, they heard the metallic clank in the hatch, and the door swung open. Glenn stepped through the hatchway, looking like he was on the verge of collapse. “What happened over there, Major?”
“The cruiser came into orbit and detected me after a little fender bender, so to speak,” he replied.
“What about Philly and the Grayback?”
“When I warped out they still hadn’t been detected, but if that cruiser checked in, they’ll be looking for our ships.”
“Hopefully Captain Baran has the sense to get away from the base until we get there.”
“Do we have an attack plan yet?”
Harper flinched at the question. “No, I…” Something on the spinning globe caught his attention. His hand hovered over the screen, waiting for the image to appear again, and he slammed it down when he saw it.
“Is that a-,” Glenn started.
“Another pyramid,” Parker finished his sentence
“Another?”
"They are all over the planet below us. Center of every city. The Salaxians must’ve duplicated it after they conquered the species,” Harper explained
“The Salaxians don’t strike me as the cultured type. So, what are they for,” Glenn asked.
“I have no idea, but look.” Harper pointed to the pattern surrounding the structure. “Those look like turrets. It’s the most heavily defended part of the entire moon.”
“Meaning it’s important to them. Possibly vital,” Parker added
“Exactly. We have our target.” Harper switched through the display parameters absorbing the information as he went.
“About fifty life signs in the buildings surrounding it. One in the pyramid. We’ll be creating quite a few casualties when we bomb it,” Parker remarked, watching over his shoulder.
Harper flashed a sly smile at her and she returned a suspicious glare, but before she could voice her concern, the department heads started filing into the room, followed by Captains Thorne and Kramer. Harper watched as they jostled and tried to find space to settle in without missing anything important. When the motion the room died down he spoke. “For most of the people in this room, what is about to happen will seem like business as usual. We will be warping into the Salaxian system, and the primary mission for the three ships will be to destroy all present and incoming Salaxian vessels. However, keep in mind that this time we will likely face more Salaxian firepower than we ever have in one engagement, and we’ll be doing it in the bastards’ own backyard.”
“This is the best you can come up with,” Capt. Kramer asked rhetorically. “We could have stayed home and waited for them to come to us, if all we’re going to do is destroy a few ships.”
“Captain Kramer, questions, sarcastic commentary, and bitching will be heard at the end of the briefing. Thank you,” Harper shot back. Kramer turned red and gritted his teeth, but remained silent. “Another thing to keep in mind, is that being in their territory means we may face unexpected challenges that our ships are not designed to take on alone. Like the fighters we encountered at Rutilicus.” He turned to Flight Captain David Dolecki. “That being said, two fighter wings will be assigned to each ship, and the standing order will be to remain in close support of that ship at the discretion of the ships C.O. Red and blue will stay with Resolution, yellow and black with the Blackwolf, and green and orange with the Eagle.”
“Understood, sir,” Dolecki replied.
Glenn looked offended that he had been passed over. “Captain, am I not resuming my position as CAG?”
“No, but I’ll explain. The final thing for everyone to remember, is that they will be providing diversion and defense for what will be the first true counterstrike in the war.” The tension in the room was rising. Harper had elevated their mere attention to genuine interest. Even Kramer’s stony composure had melted as he leaned forward with curiosity. Harper moved the image of the pyramid structure onto the larger main screen “For the first time in history we will be putting boots on the ground in Salaxian territory." The room remained eerily silent, and everyone was beaming, none more than Kelly. Though for him, it began at "boots on the ground."
“Captain Harper,” Thorne started, her eyes had not left the screen since the familiar image of the pyramid came up. “Why not just bomb it?”
“While one of our primary missions is to cause a disruption, we are also mandated to collect intel. We don’t know what it is, what it’s for, or if they have any more. All we know for sure is the Salaxians consider it an asset. As you can see, it’s the only structure that’s defended. Two fighters will break atmo and clear a path through the laser turrets. Three platoons of SSEALS will follow in shuttles, landing just outside the structure, breach the entrance, and head for this power generator.”
He pointed to the red indicator marking a power signature. "The Salaxians will believe we’re there to detonate the generator, and will move to defend. With their forces occupied, the two pilots and a platoon will split off and investigate the pyramid, determine its purpose, then destroy the facility from the inside. Major Glenn, you have ground combat training, correct?”
“Yes, but if I’m taking one of the fighters down, who’s flying my wing?”
Harper looked around the room unsure of the reaction he would receive. “That will be me.” A wave of murmurs washed over the group, and Harper r
aised his hands beckoning for silence. “The decision of how to use the information we find, falls on me. That means I need to be there when the discovery is made.” It was a small lie, but the logic was sound enough. The real reason Harper wanted to go, was that strange pull that had occurred when he saw the first pyramid in the ruins. Something was beckoning him onto the moon’s surface.
He scanned the room again, and found that everyone looked confident and resolved. Parker, however, looked almost angry. She stared at the screen with arms crossed, and he could tell from her unfocused eyes that she wasn’t seeing the image on the screen, but was lost in deep thought. Harper shook his head and tried to ignore it. “Gallagher, have the vantablack cleared from Glenn’s fighter and prep one of the spares.
“Yes, sir.”
“I need your SSEALs on our flight deck by 0725,” he explained to Thorne and Kramer. We leave in one hour, and will be on their doorstep two and a half after that. If there are no questions… Dismissed.”
Most of the officers gradually made their way to the hatch. Thorne patted him on the back and wished him luck before leaving. Surprisingly, Kramer shook his hand and nodded. The look on his face suggested Harper had begun to earn his respect. When Kramer left, only Parker, Glenn, and Harper remained. Glenn was chuckling silently in a chair by the screens. “What exactly is so funny,” Harper asked.
“Just picturing you in the first few minutes after climbing back in the cockpit,” Glenn replied.
“Major, someday when you hang up your wings, you’ll find that you fly in your dreams. I won’t miss a beat.”
“Yeah, I guess we’ll see.”
Harper looked to the ships chronometer. "You’ve been up for over 24 hours, and you’ve only got three before we prep for launch. Get to your bunk.”
Glenn nodded and got out of his seat. He gave his usual half effort salute and made his way to the hatch.
When she heard the hatch close, Parker immediately spoke. “I don’t suppose it would be any good to remind you it’s against regulations for you to leave the ship during combat,” she asked, her voice reflecting the anger in her stance.
Resolution: Bad Star Page 14