by REM
“I’m coming in from behind, Josh. Going to take out the enemy at your six, mate,” Ven transmitted.
Not like I need the help, but in this case it’s surely welcomed, thought Josh, threading another twin blast. He peered at his radar and saw Ven’s striker closing in on the shadow fighter. He wondered if the enemy craft would pull off, but the Mercen pilot was set on taking Josh down.
Thoot! Lasers flashed out from Ven’s striker, straight past the shadow fighter, and broke Josh’s shield.
Josh felt his ship rattle while seeing the remnants of his shield fizzling away. “You broke my shield! What the hell are you doing!?”
“I missed, mate. It sliced out of the way.”
That’s bullshit! thought Josh, glancing back and watching out not just for the shadow fighter, but for Ven too.
“You’re leading him too far. I’ve got to pull off and get back to the others,” Ven transmitted.
Josh saw the dot representing Ven’s striker make a sudden turn. He tried to kill me! That son of a bitch tried to take me out! Lasers flared by his cockpit. I can’t afford to get hit. Oh, man! And this shadow fighter is damn good for not having a stripe.
“Fuck it.” Josh punched his stick, cut his thrusters, and fired a shot in the midst of a danger flip. The trailing enemy craft exploded as Josh’s striker spun out of control. It took him a fair bit of wrestling with his stick, but Josh recovered stability of his ship.
Insane maneuver. Still gives me a rush.
Josh doubled back toward the other fighters. He saw Jekel letting off round after round from his machine guns before, boom—a shadow fighter burst into a ball of flames.
Captain Scope was chasing the remaining shadow fighter that was trying to flee deeper into Creston territory. Josh flew in the direction and heard, “Don’t touch this shadow fighter,” from Captain Scope.
A thin, clear beam flashed out from the captain’s striker and struck the Mercen craft to its rear.
A mini prototype force cannon? thought Josh.
Scope fired consecutive lasers that both missed intentionally wide left. Then he pulled off from the Mercen’s tail. “That’s it. You pilots did well. Get back to the Rampage. I will take it from here.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir” came through over the transmission from Jekel and Ven.
“Sir, what did you hit that last shadow fighter with?” asked Josh.
“Tracker—new tech. I can’t say anything more about it,” Captain Scope responded.
“Aye, sir. Thank you, sir,” said Josh, banking his striker on course for the Rampage. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Scope heading in the direction the final shadow fighter had fled.
“Route formation, on me,” Jekel transmitted.
Josh flew to his wing. Now we just have to hope Commander Clint or Captain Scope can come up with something before it’s too late.
Chapter 10
It was early morning when Maya knocked twice on Josh’s door, then stuck her head into the room and said, “There’s an emergency meeting at the Jupiter Hall. Get up, Josh, we’ve got to go!”
Josh had managed to crack open his eyes before she shut the door. He groaned. This is wrong. I should get special sleeping privileges for running these nightly missions. It took only a moment for him to come to his senses. We must’ve learned something critical about the Mercens’ intentions! Josh hopped out of bed and threw on some clothes.
He was the last from his unit to arrive at the hall, but saw a couple pilots from the 1st squadron making their way in.
“I saved you a seat,” whispered Jill, when Josh had made it to a row.
“Thanks,” he replied, peering down the line at his crewmates, taking a seat. He exchanged an icy glare with Ven upon glancing at the row behind him, and received a tired look from Jekel, whose hands were resting on his plump belly at the end of the line.
Officer Rolly was standing at the front left of the room with two others. Josh had remembered hearing that Officer Stinnet had been sent home to Creston, now that Rolly had been recovered.
The lights dimmed. Captain Tichi made his way to the front podium and spoke. “My fellow crew, the situation regarding the Mercen force cannon and their terra-fumes has reached a grave state. A secret has been kept from you all in order to help ensure the safety of Creston lives. That secret is no longer needed… Commander Clint is alive!”
Chatter broke out amongst the audience, with many wondering why Captain Tichi would say such a thing when they were certain Commander Clint was dead—it had been witnessed by multiple pilots.
Josh heard Hoss whisper, “What the hell is he talking about?!” then felt a rush of blood flow to his head, and a sense of awe at seeing Commander Clint walk out from behind a draped segment near the stage.
There were gasps throughout the room.
“Oh my God… it’s really him,” one pilot could be heard saying.
Captain Tichi saluted the old commander, and left the platform as soon as Clint had arrived to the podium.
Josh peered about at the shocked faces of his colleagues.
Commander Clint cleared his throat and said, “A strike on Creston may be imminent. The Mercens are amassing in great numbers far past the southern edge of the Void Zone, in a section of space known as the Hard Line. This type of posturing typically serves as a diversion for an attack carried out from a different front, which is a strong indication the Mercens are planning to hit us with their new weapon.”
The shocked pilots’ faces changed into ones of dread.
Josh felt his heart skip a beat.
“Even in knowing this, a buildup of that magnitude must be countered, forcing home command to shift a large portion of our fleet to meet the threat, and thus making it easier for their deadliest weapon to slip through our defenses.”
Clint stopped for a moment to peer around the room. “The Mercens’ massive force cannon, wielding enough terra-fumes to wipe out Creston, is real, folks; this was confirmed by interrogation of an enemy scientist. At this point we are about ninety percent certain the force cannon is, or was, on a liquid planet deep in Creston territory.”
There was another round of brief chattering from the stunned crowd.
“Our tracker wasn’t able to enter the planet’s atmosphere for fear of detection, but it is believed the Mercens must’ve set up a floating base, which would suggest they’ve been exploiting this blind spot in Creston defense coverage for some time.”
Jill peeked over at Josh and whispered, “I don’t know how our intel team does it.”
I do, thought Josh, tuning back in to Commander Clint.
“This news was just cracked minutes before our assembly. Home defense has tasked us with being the first team to strike the Mercens’ secret base. We’ve estimated there to be around twenty to thirty shadow fighters, but these numbers could be entirely wrong. Squadron three and squadron one will be flying together for the assault. You’ll be rendezvousing with seven strikers from a Creston cruiser based about an equal distance from the liquid planet as us. The Creston cruiser near the southern Void Zone will be covering all patrols for the Rampage, and reservists will guard our vessel. Primary objective is to take out the force cannon; destroying the base and any fighters comes second.” Commander Clint paused before saying, “You’re the best pilots of the entire Creston fleet—get it done.”
Josh eyed some of the gritty looks amongst his peers, and felt his spirit lift.
“Good to have you back, sir!” a pumped-up pilot shouted.
It was hard to tell from the distance, but Josh could’ve sworn he’d seen a faint grin crack on the commander’s lips prior to Clint’s leaving the stage.
Officer Rolly wasted no time in rounding up the 3rd squadron pilots. “Let’s go!” he said, with an angry look and a strong gesturing of his arm.
The 3rd squadron hustled through long corridors at Rolly’s rear to keep pace with the officer. “Get dressed, get food. North flight deck in ten minutes!” Rolly ordere
d, splitting off into a different hall.
The pilots broke into a jog.
Ace hurried the group and had everyone down at the north flight deck in eight minutes. Officer Rolly was impressed upon arriving a minute later.
“Tomlin will be leading all squadrons when together, but an advanced profile has been loaded to your dash too, Ace,” said Rolly. “That force cannon’s on the liquid planet, I just know it. Void Zone pilots truly are the best in space. Fight as a team. I want to see all of you make it back here!”
The officer’s words reminded Josh of the cost of war. Damnit, he thought, peeking at his crewmates’ faces, knowing there was a strong chance some of them would die.
Officer Rolly stuck out his hand for all to grasp, then said, “Get to your ships!”
The crew broke off and jogged for their strikers.
Josh caught up with Maya en route to his. “Watch out for Ven, Maya. He can’t be trusted in battle—he’ll try to kill one of us.”
Maya looked at him with alerted eyes and said, “Okay, Josh,” before glancing in Ven’s direction.
The third squadron blasted off from the M.N. Rampage. Ace took the lead and swung the group around to the south side of the mothership, where the 1st squadron was already in space. They joined into the fluid formation with Tomlin slightly in front.
Please let that damn force cannon be there, thought Josh, wanting to put an end to the threat once and for all. He noticed they were flying along the same course his black ops group had flown the night prior.
Their fleet flew for hours before picking up the seven additional void strikers on radar. Tomlin had addressed them as the blue squad. “Listen up,” the mission leader transmitted. “We’re going to be hitting the liquid planet from three angles. My squadron will be spearing the attack from the front. 3rd squadron will be flanking from the southwest. Blue squad will be flying in low, tagging the base, then striking any enemy fighters from the rear. If there’s any sign of the terra-cannon, take it out—that is priority one! Six minutes until split.”
Josh glanced at Maya and Tor flying to his right. He also looked for Jill, who was flying at his low left.
Minutes passed fast, ahead of Tomlin transmitting, “Okay, break.”
“3rd squadron, follow me,” said Ace, bending left. Josh and the others trailed behind him. The blue squad descended.
It was only a couple of minutes later that Josh saw a blue planet with specks of white coming into clear view. There it is.
“Max speed!” Ace transmitted.
Their strikers bolted through space.
“How come they haven’t intercepted us yet?” Kyle transmitted, when the squadron was nearing the planet.
Good question, thought Josh, curling his brows and wondering the same.
There was a moment of silence before Tomlin transmitted, “They want to fight us within range of their surface-to-air; has to be it.”
“Aye,” Ace responded.
Josh was nodding in his cockpit.
“Here we go!” Tomlin transmitted.
Josh saw the 1st squadron thrust into the liquid planet’s atmosphere from the far right, while the 3rd squadron hooked around to a different entry point. He then heard: “Looks like fifteen of them coming in hard!”
Another 1st squadron pilot transmitted: “Six more just launched from the base!”
“We’re flanking them now!” Ace transmitted. The 3rd squadron zoomed into the atmosphere.
Josh’s striker was at max thrust with the rest of his crew. Holy hell, he thought, staring at the concentration of enemy ships. At least they’re easier to see when not in space.
A barrage of lasers flared out from the enemy craft aimed at the 1st squadron.
“Fire!” Tomlin transmitted. His team unleashed a hail of beams.
Half of the enemy fleet broke off toward the 3rd squadron and sent searing lights whizzing their way.
So much for a flank! thought Josh, slamming a thumb to his trigger and returning fire with the rest of his team.
Kaboom! A striker from the 1st squadron exploded.
Boom! Boom! Two shadow fighters erupted into balls of flames. Things got messy fast; fighters curled and cut in all directions. Lasers were flying everywhere.
“Watch out for blasts coming from the surface!” Nate transmitted.
Josh weaved through an array of fire and saw beams flashing up from below. He eyed the enemy base. It looked like a metal island, having a round one story command tower and wide launch pad on its southern side. There were numerous attack cannons, plus a rear flat with nothing on it.
“Blue squadron, where are you?!” Tomlin transmitted.
“Hitting now,” the blue leader responded.
The seven strikers from the Creston cruiser zoomed in low, letting loose a storm of missiles and lasers that pounded the enemy’s floating base.
Boom! A blue squadron fighter was blown to bits. Lasers sprayed from surface cannons and forced the blue fighters to swerve off from their approach of the enemy launch pad, where eight more shadow fighters launched into the air.
“One of ours down, eight more enemies up. We took out about two thirds of their surface-to-air,” the blue leader transmitted.
“Do not make another run on the base! We need your squadron on those eight adds,” Tomlin transmitted.
“Copy that,” the blue leader replied.
“Any sign of that damn terra-cannon?!” Ace transmitted.
“I don’t see it, I don’t see it!” said Hoss, who was tangled with enemy craft at a lower altitude.
Josh swung his striker into a streaking coil and swerved in pursuit of two fighters hot on Tor’s tracks.
“At your nine, Maya!” Jill transmitted, sifting through enemy fire of her own.
Ace and Kyle shot through the middle of the fight side by side and broke off in opposite directions.
“I’m in trouble!” Reena transmitted. “They’re all over me!”
Josh heard laser fire over the channel, but wasn’t sure if it was from Reena’s ship. He saw a striker firing on a shadow fighter and knew right away that it was Jekel. Seconds later that same shadow fighter burst into flames.
Josh fired a shot, but then flinched as an enemy blast broke his shield. Shit! he thought, veering away from the fighter he’d been chasing and assuming evasives.
Reena’s wing blew into pieces from laser fire. “I’m hit, I’m hit! I’m going down!” she blurted.
Josh could see her smoking ship diving toward the ocean at the same time he heard Nate say, “Oh, Lord…” He watched Nate, who was in the vicinity of him and Ven, dive after her.
“What the hell are you doing, mate! Get your ass back up here!” Ven transmitted.
Josh felt sick to his stomach when hooking left into a clutter of enemy and friendly fighters.
“Try to level out, Reena!” Nate transmitted. “Hit your bottom thrusters right before impact!”
Reena cried out over the channel. Her emergency thrusters went off right before her ship hit the water, but her striker spun, then flipped over twice before landing upright and starting to sink.
Nate brought his striker to a hover right above the water, ejected his emergency ladder, and jumped into the ocean.
Josh heard a pilot transmit, “Jacob’s down.” There was a multitude of explosions happening around him, but Josh remained unfazed while honing in on a zagging shadow fighter.
“Filthy snake,” he uttered, jabbing down on the trigger. Beams flashed out from his striker and obliterated the enemy craft.
“Robin’s down,” came through over the transmission.
Josh saw Kyle light up a Mercen, then tear off after another. It was difficult for him to tell who was winning the chaotic battle. At this rate we’ll all be dead.
“Who’s carrying that buster bomb?” Tomlin transmitted.
“I’ve got it,” the blue leader responded.
“Drop that damn thing!” said Tomlin.
“Roger!” th
e blue leader replied.
Josh saw three strikers peel off toward the base. One was blown to bits, but another dropped a huge bomb from its body. The way the explosive fell was like slow motion in the heat of the moment, then—Kaboom! Fire erupted across half of the floating base.
“Just nailed that fighter off your tail, Tor!” Ace transmitted.
“Thanks, amigo!” Tor responded, heavy accent and all.
“I see it!” a pilot from the 1st squadron transmitted. “There’s a large transporter launching from the far side of the base. It’s got a huge cannon protruding from its front.”
“That’s the force cannon!” Tomlin responded.
“We can’t just all pull off at once!” Ace transmitted. “We’ll get shredded giving up that type of positioning.”
“We’ve got to take out that primary! I’ll make sure it gets done. The two of you on my right, follow me!” said Tomlin. His striker tilted west. Josh and Ven veered behind him. Two shadow fighters noticed their advance and shot off after them.
More explosions rang out in the air. Scattered lasers were flying everywhere.
The terra-ship was airborne and soaring toward space.
“Hit these remaining defenses,” Tomlin transmitted, over a private channel he’d synced up with Josh and Ven. The fleet leader snaked through lasers and fired a cluster of missiles that leveled a rapidly firing cannon.
Josh skimmed the base with Ven at his side letting out successive beams, followed by twin missiles. Fires ripped across the Mercen base, taking out the last of its weaponry.
Their strikers zoomed up with Tomlin at point, flying in the same direction the terra-ship had departed.
“Max speed!” barked Tomlin.
Thoot! Thoot, thoot! Thoot! Lasers flashed past their ships from the pair of trailing shadow fighters.
“Evade!” shouted Tomlin. “Stay after that terra-ship!”
Josh zagged and weaved. His crewmates did the same. He switched briefly to the main channel and heard Hoss say: “One’s coming for you, Nate! I’m trying to get to him! Then he heard Maya say: “My shields are down. Stay with me, Jill.” There was laser fire over the channel before Josh switched back to the private transmission.