by Ryk Brown
“Heavy cruiser, dead ahead,” Kaylah reported. “She’s lost all starboard shields from her midship to her bow.”
“Target that cruiser and let her have it,” Nathan instructed.
“Locking all tubes on the cruiser,” Jessica replied. “Firing.”
“They’ve spotted us,” Kaylah continued. “Target is rolling to port; trying to protect her unshielded side. They’re locking their defense turrets on us.”
“Ready stern tubes; full power triplets,” Nathan instructed. “We’ll fire point-blank, no target locks.”
“Understood,” Jessica acknowledged as incoming energy weapons fire began pounding the Aurora’s forward shields.
“Dusahn octos to starboard,” Kaylah warned.
“Aurora has already engaged point-defenses,” Jessica reported. “She’s establishing a defense perimeter.”
“Ready a jump to five hundred meters past the cruiser,” Nathan continued. “We’ll jump over her, fifty-meter clearance, and then pitch up slightly once on the other side to bring our stern tubes to bear.”
“Got it,” Josh replied.
“Forward shields are down ten percent,” Jessica warned.
“Plotting jump,” Loki reported.
“Picking up signs of structural weakening all along the cruiser’s starboard side,” Kaylah reported as the ship was rocked by incoming fire. “If we can get a clean shot at her, she’ll bust wide open.”
“She’s rolling too fast for us,” Jessica added. “Our torpedoes are hitting fully charged shields.”
“We have to time this just right,” Nathan realized.
“Target is deploying her ventral missile launcher,” Kaylah warned. “She’ll have a firing solution on us in ten seconds.”
“How long until her unshielded side is facing directly away from us?” Nathan inquired.
“Approximately fifteen seconds at her current rate of roll,” Kaylah answered. “Multiple jump flashes to port! Gunyoki fighters!”
“Comms,” Nathan called. “Tell the Gunyoki to engage the octos.”
“We can handle the octos,” Jessica insisted.
“They’ll wreak havoc on the Nighthawks,” Nathan replied. “I want them gone.”
“Gunyoki have acknowledged your orders, Captain,” Naralena reported.
“Missile launch!” Kaylah announced. “Four inbound! Five seconds!”
“Stand by to snap-jump,” Nathan instructed Loki.
“Gunyoki are jumping over us and engaging the octos,” Kaylah reported.
“Snap-jump is ready,” Loki acknowledged.
“Cruiser’s unshielded side is facing directly away from us, Captain!” Kaylah reported.
“Snap-jump!” Nathan ordered.
“Snap-jump, aye,” Loki replied, as he initiated the jump.
The constant pounding of their forward shields from incoming energy weapons fire suddenly ceased.
“Pitch up and bring our stern tubes to bear on the cruiser,” Nathan continued as the jump flash washed over the bridge. “Fire all stern tubes when ready!” he added as he switched the main view screen to the Aurora’s stern cameras.
“Pitching up a hair,” Josh announced as he initiated the slight change in the ship’s attitude.
Jessica studied her targeting system, waiting for the right moment to open fire.
“Cruiser is spinning up her jump drive!” Kaylah warned.
“Now would be good, Jess,” Nathan urged.
“Firing!” Jessica replied.
It was too late. The pale blue light was already spilling out over the Dusahn cruiser’s black hull. Nathan watched in dismay as the first batch of plasma torpedoes fired from the Aurora’s stern tubes streaked toward the enemy ship a mere six hundred meters away, finding nothing but empty space after the cruiser jumped away.
“Damn it,” Nathan cursed.
“We need to pitch up more, or we’ll hit atmo in ten seconds,” Josh warned.
“Pitch up,” Nathan ordered.
“The three remaining surface-to-orbit batteries are locking onto us,” Kaylah warned.
“Jump us out one light minute as soon as you get a clear jump line,” Nathan instructed. “We’ll come about and reengage the cruiser once we figure out where she jumped to.”
“Aye, sir,” Loki acknowledged.
“Suggest we launch a chaser drone along the target’s jump path,” Jessica recommended.
“We can’t hang around and wait for results,” Nathan insisted just as the first salvo from the surface-to-orbit batteries slammed into their ventral shields, violently rocking the ship. “Not with those guns pounding us.”
“Good point,” Jessica agreed, grabbing the edge of her console to avoid being knocked off her feet by the next few impacts. “Shields have already dropped another twenty percent.”
“Set the chaser drone to deliver the intel to C and C once it finds the cruiser,” Nathan instructed as the ship continued to rock.
“Understood,” Jessica acknowledged.
“And remind those Nighthawks that we need those batteries out of commission before we start deploying ground forces,” Nathan added.
“Clear jump line,” Josh reported.
“Chaser drone is ready,” Jessica added.
“Launch the chaser drone,” Nathan ordered.
“Launching chaser drone.”
“Get us out of here,” Nathan instructed Loki as the ship rocked from another blast from the surface batteries.
Talisha Sane’s Nighthawk fighter bounced sharply left as an energy bolt fired down a side street by one of the few remaining air-defense batteries managed to find her as she passed. It was an incredibly lucky shot, especially considering her forward speed. Had her starboard shield been below fifty percent, she would be scattered all over the streets below.
Talisha had never been to Corinair. Until a couple of months ago, she hadn’t even known it existed. And here she was, risking her life to help liberate it.
If her mother was still alive, she would be angry. If her father was alive, he would be proud. As for her siblings, she doubted she would even bother telling them, assuming she survived.
She had only jumped in to attack her third target a few seconds ago, but it already felt like a lifetime. Unlike the previous two targets, this one had no defenses with a clear line of fire between the buildings she was flying amongst. Someone, in their infinite wisdom, had thought that tucking the surface-to-air battery out of line with the intersection of streets would protect it from exactly the type of attack she was trying to execute. For most attack craft, they would have been correct. But they had never heard of the Sugali fighters or their AI systems.
“Ready, Leta?” Talisha asked her AI.
“I assume that’s a joke?” Leta replied.
“Here we go.” Talisha pitched her nose down while simultaneously firing her ventral translation thrusters at full power. The force of the air passing over her fighter’s control surfaces forced its nose to pitch downward as the translation thrusters shot the nimble craft upward. She twisted her flight control stick to the left, firing her starboard forward attitude thruster to force her nose slightly to port, in defiance of the slipstream passing around her fighter. It was a small maneuver, but it was enough.
“Target lock…launching missiles,” her AI reported.
Two missiles leapt off their rails, streaking forward and arcing slightly upwards to acquire sufficient altitude to clear the buildings nearest the surface-to-orbit battery a kilometer ahead of them. The battery immediately pivoted to open fire, now detecting the approaching enemy fighter directly.
Talisha had no plans of waiting for them to open fire. Her forward shields were already down to fifty-eight percent and would not withstand more than a few shots. She already had enough of an upward trajectory to get a
clear jump line and pressed the jump button, just as the target opened fire.
The fighter disappeared in a blue-white flash as the missiles it had launched arched downward, diving into the surface-to-orbit battery. The first missile detonation overpowered the battery’s already weakened shields, causing them to collapse and allowing the second missile to finish the battery off in a spectacular burst of yellow-white light, followed by a shock wave that leveled the surrounding buildings.
Tariq twisted his left control stick sharply to port while pushing his right stick all the way forward, causing his Gunyoki fighter’s engine nacelles to flip in opposite directions, and his ship to yaw sharply to port as it rolled over in the same direction.
“That confused the shit out of them!” Jova exclaimed from the back seat as he retargeted their defensive turrets.
“Then this will blow their minds,” Tariq snickered as he discontinued the maneuver and pulled back hard on the right control stick. The tank-like fighter’s nose pulled up and over, pitching over a full one hundred and eighty degrees before he pushed his control stick back to center to abruptly stop the pitch-over. Now flying backwards, he was facing both his pursuers; one to the right and one to the left.
“I’ve got the one on the left,” Tariq announced as he armed his flechette missiles.
“I’ve got the one on the right,” his weapons officer replied.
Tariq pressed his firing button as Jova fired their defensive turrets. As beams of energy shot out to their right, four small missiles leapt from the underslung pods on either side of their cockpit, closing the distance to their target in seconds. The first two missiles impacted the first octo’s shields, collapsing them in a flash of sparks. The warheads on the tips of the second two missiles split open, separating into dozens of tiny splinters, each penetrating the enemy fighter’s hull and driving in deep before detonating. The dozens of tiny explosions set off a chain reaction that tore the Dusahn fighter apart, destroying it completely.
“Left is down!” Tariq declared.
“Right is down!” Jova added as his defense turrets found their way through the second octo’s shields and into the black and crimson fighter’s starboard propellant tank, igniting its contents in a brilliant, yellow flash.
“Damn!” Tariq’s wingman exclaimed. “What the hell do you need me for?”
“It isn’t always that easy,” Tariq admitted.
“Four more octos coming up from the surface!” Jova warned. “One two five, twenty-seven down relative!”
“Seven, do you see them?” Tariq asked over comms, noticing Dota Seven and Eight were nearby and already on a direct intercept heading.
“Got them on tactical,” the weapons officer of Dota Seven replied.
“Takuda!” the pilot of Dota Seven called to his wingman. “Follow me in! We’ll jump straight to them!”
“I’m with you, Mohal,” Cylo assured him.
“We’re changing course to join you,” Tariq advised. “We’ll be there in ten seconds.”
“They’ll all be dead in ten seconds,” Mohal bragged as the two Gunyoki fighters jumped to their targets and opened fire with everything they had.
“Jump complete,” the Weatherly’s helmsman reported.
“Target jumped ten seconds ago,” Bonnie reported. “Along the same heading, but only a few light minutes at the most. Very weak jump energy signature.”
“Mike, jump us ahead thirty light seconds at a time until we catch them,” Captain Hunt instructed.
“Thirty-light-second jumps, aye,” the helmsman acknowledged as he entered the commands into the Weatherly’s jump computer.
“Be ready on all tubes and forward weapons turrets,” the captain advised his XO at the tactical station.
“Jumping,” the helmsman reported as the jump flash washed over the bridge.
“Wait fifteen seconds between jumps,” the captain instructed. “Give Bonnie time to find them.”
“No frigate,” Bonnie reported.
“Jumping,” the helmsman announced.
“Still nothing,” Bonnie repeated.
“Jumping.”
“Contact!” Bonnie exclaimed. “Twenty clicks dead ahead. They’re turning to port.”
“They’re going to jump again,” the XO warned.
“Helm, five degrees to port and jump ahead twenty clicks, quickly! I want to be right in front of them!”
“Five to port and jump ahead twenty clicks,” the helmsman confirmed as he initiated a slight turn to port and dialed up the next jump.
“Starboard plasma turrets!” the captain continued. “Fire as soon as we come out of the jump.”
“My finger is on the trigger,” his XO assured him.
“Target is preparing to jump again,” Bonnie warned from the sensor station.
“Jumping to intercept,” the helmsman announced as the jump flash washed over the bridge again.
“Target directly to starboard and closing fast!” Bonnie reported.
“Firing starboard plasma turrets!” the XO announced from the Weatherly’s tactical station.
“Collision in fifteen seconds!” Bonnie warned from the sensor station.
“Ready escape jump!” the captain barked. “Thirty light seconds!”
“Direct hits all across her bow!” Bonnie reported with excitement. “Multiple hull breaches with violent decompression!”
“Snap jump!” Captain Hunt ordered.
“Snap jump!” the helmsman acknowledged as he jumped the ship ahead to escape the pending collision.
“Ninety to port, Mister Souza,” Captain Hunt instructed as the jump flash washed over the Weatherly’s tiny bridge.
“Ninety to port, aye.”
“Get me a damage assessment on that frigate, Bonnie.”
“Stand by, she’s half a minute away,” his sensor operator replied.
“Recon data from Aurora coming in now,” Cameron’s communications officer reported.
Cameron and Lieutenant Commander Shinoda studied the holo-map hovering over the plotting table as the locations and status of all ships, friend and foe, began updating.
“Not bad for the first few minutes,” the lieutenant commander commented.
“It would have been better if the strikes had taken out that cruiser and that frigate.”
“The Aurora should be able to handle that cruiser, especially now that we know where it is.”
“They didn’t get them on the first run,” Cameron pointed out. “Which means the CO of that ship isn’t stupid.”
“He was dumb enough to get followed by a chaser drone,” the lieutenant commander pointed out.
“But look where he went,” Cameron pointed out. “Back to Corinair, where there are still some surface-to-orbit batteries to back him up.”
“He’s trying to draw the Aurora into the kill zone, where those guns can reach her,” the lieutenant commander realized. “We should warn them.”
“I’m certain Nathan has already figured that out,” Cameron insisted. “Unfortunately, the Aurora will eventually have to break off and attack the dreadnought in the Takara system. Otherwise, the Ghatazhak won’t be able to make it to the surface. That needs to happen in the next two minutes, or it will be too late. Every octo on that dreadnought will have launched and they’ll be swarming all over the system, making it impossible to get the Ghatazhak in and out.” Cameron studied the holo-display a moment. “How many surface-to-orbit batteries are still operating?”
“Last recon data showed eight still in operation and with undamaged shields. Unfortunately, between octos and local air-defense batteries, we’re having trouble getting to them. We’ve already lost three Nighthawks attacking those last eight batteries.
“We can’t afford to lose them so soon,” Cameron noted. “We may need them to take out that dreadnought over
Takara.” Cameron sighed. “Comms, order the Nighthawks to abandon their attack on surviving surface-to-orbit guns and concentrate on the air-defense batteries.”
“Aye, sir.”
“The Glendanon cannot jump in while those STO guns are still in operation,” the lieutenant commander reminded her. “They’ll tear her apart.”
“Look at the remaining STO emplacements,” Cameron told him, zooming in the display and pointing at their locations on the surface. “None of them are in heavily populated areas. The Aurora can take them out from orbit with minimal collateral damage, and her shields can withstand more hits from those guns than the Nighthawks can. And we need those air-defense batteries out of the way, or they’ll tear up the pod haulers and Kalibris before they can deliver the Corinari to the surface.”
“And the liberation of Corinair would be a failure before it even started,” the lieutenant commander added.
“Comms, message the Aurora. Tell her to destroy that cruiser ASAP and then take out the remaining surface-to-orbit emplacements. Include the location of those STOs in the transmission.”
“Understood,” her comms officer acknowledged.
Cameron sighed. “As usual, everything depends on the Aurora.”
“Jump flash, two hundred thousand clicks to port,” Kaylah reported from the Aurora’s sensor station.
“Flash traffic from command,” Naralena followed. “Our chaser drone found the cruiser. It’s back in orbit over Corinair. New orders are to take out that cruiser as soon as possible and then target the remaining surface-to-orbit batteries on Corinair.”
“Just as we expected,” Jessica commented from the tactical station. “Maybe her captain isn’t as good as we thought.”
“Or maybe he wants us to believe he’s just seeking protection from those surface batteries,” Nathan suggested.
“You think it’s a trap?” Jessica asked. “That there’s another ship lying in wait to ambush us?”
“It’s a possibility,” Nathan replied. “Prepare to jump us back to Corinair to press the attack on that cruiser,” he instructed the helm.