The Longest Day (Ark Royal X)

by Christopher Nuttall

  Abigail coughed, loudly. “Was that it?”

  Brian rolled over and checked his terminal. The link to the datanet had vanished. He hastily checked around, but there didn't seem to be any working processor nodes within range. Even the emergency system was down. The lights flickered again, worryingly. He stared at them for a long moment, trying to decide what it meant. The Management might well have skimped on the shelters. Perhaps they hadn't bothered to keep them in good condition after all.

  He sat up and peered at the airlock hatch. The telltales were slowly turning to red. Brian sucked in his breath, resisting the urge to curse savagely. Outside, the atmosphere was gone. And that meant ... he stood and walked over to the life support system. It looked as though it was working, but he had no idea how long it would last. If the atmosphere was leaking out of the colony, and it certainly looked like it was, it was quite possible that the rest of the emergency systems were in a pretty poor state too.

  “Someone will come to rescue us,” the heavyset man said. “Won’t they?”

  Brian kept his thoughts to himself. The solar system was at war. Sin City wasn't that important, not in the short run. And besides, the aliens were probably shooting at anything that moved. God alone knew how long it would take Home Fleet to drive the aliens away ... if they did drive the aliens away. Brian had followed the news as best as he could - too much had been censored - and he knew, all too well, what had happened at New Russia. Home Fleet might have already been destroyed.

  Abigail poked his arm. “How much oxygen do we have?”

  She was raised on the moon, Brian reminded himself. She knows the importance of air.

  “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “If the recycler is working, we’d be able to stay here indefinitely - at least until we run out of food and water. If not” - he checked the system, carefully - “we have somewhere between six to eight hours.”

  “That’s long enough,” the heavyset man said. “Isn’t it?”

  “I don’t know,” Brian said. “There’s a war on. It might take far too long for someone to come looking for us. They might not even know we’re here.”

  Abigail paled. “They would, wouldn't they?”

  Brian shrugged. “I don’t know,” he repeated. “They might not have alerted the SAR network before all hell broke loose.”

  The heavyset man didn't look any better. “What do we do?”

  Brian looked at the emergency supplies. “I think we wait long enough to see if the Management manages to reseal the colony,” he said. “And if we don’t hear from them, we leave the shelter and try to escape.”

  “We’d die,” the heavyset man said. He was definitely panicking. “Do we have enough air to go somewhere else?”

  “I don't know,” Brian said, suddenly feeling very tired. If only they knew more about the situation outside the hatch! “But if we stay here, we will die.”

  ***

  “Hits confirmed,” Tracy reported. A new string of updates flowed into the defensive station as the Luna Federation’s decentralised command network struggled to cope with the situation. “Sin City and Balamory have gone off the air. Even landlines are down.”

  “Crap,” Garcia said. There was nothing he could do about any of it. “I ...”

  “Incoming fire,” Selene snapped, loudly. His voice hardened as new alerts appeared in front of him. “They’re targeting us specifically!”

  “Switch the lasers back to point defence mode, then put the mass driver on rapid fire,” Garcia snapped. The aliens had already taken out two other mass drivers. If they shot out a couple more, they’d have a window to land troops on the moon. If, of course, they wanted to actually invade the moon. Their first set of attacks showed a frightening lack of concern for civilian casualties. “And alert our back-up. They may have to take command of this sector.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  Garcia leaned back in his chair as the wave of missiles and KEWs came closer. The aliens had clearly learnt a few things during the battle, even if it was just to use KEWs to weaken the point defence long enough to let the missiles slip through and strike their targets. Selene could take out one set of incoming weapons, but the second set would hammer the base to rubble.

  Building those damn fortresses would have been a very good idea, he thought. Half the incoming missiles vanished from the display, but the remainder kept coming. A proper fortress could probably have taken a KEW hit and survived. I ...

  The ground shuddered. “They took out the mass driver,” Selene reported. Another earthquake followed, shaking the entire base. “Sir ...”

  Garcia let out a breath. He’d known death was a possibility. The moon was a harsh mistress, after all. She didn't show mercy to those who flouted her rules, who ignored the dangers, who ... making a mistake, deliberately or otherwise, was lethal on the moon. It was a truth that few Earthers understood. Those who did chose to live in space rather than planetside.

  “It’s been a honour,” he said, quietly. He’d never see his wife and children again. He just hoped they knew he’d died well. “I thank you.”

  He closed his eyes and waited for death.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Near Earth/Earth Orbit

  “Damn you,” Ginny swore. The alien pilot was twisting and turning like a corkscrew as she chased him through the remains of an industrial node. “Hold still!”

  The alien craft spun around and started to spit plasma death at her. Ginny evaded, firing back with savage intensity. The alien pilot avoided the first set of plasma bolts, but one of the later ones struck his craft and blew it to atoms. Ginny yanked her starfighter away from the orbiting debris and glanced around, trying to assess the situation. The combat datanet was badly disrupted. Deliberately or not, the aliens had taken out a number of the relay nodes.

  Probably deliberately, she thought, as she watched the next wave of alien starfighters roaring towards Earth. It looked as though they’d managed to refresh their pilots, probably by holding a number of craft in reserve until the bombers had forced them to deploy everything they had or face destruction. They may not look like us, but their tactics aren't that different.

  “Rally at Point Delta,” the dispatcher ordered. A new note of intensity had entered his voice. “Enemy craft are on a direct course for Pournelle Base.”

  Ginny felt her blood run cold as she kicked her starfighter into high gear. Pournelle Base had backups, of course, but losing one of the major orbital bases would weaken the defences quite badly. Losing all of them would be disastrous. None of the starfighters could make it through the atmosphere, which meant they might run out of life support before Home Fleet’s carriers arrived to recover them. And she hated to imagine trying to run the battle from the ground. Whoever took over after all the major orbital bases were destroyed wouldn’t be able to see everything that was going on.

  “Form up on me,” she ordered, curtly. She’d been lucky. Six of her subordinates were still alive. The remainder had been rapidly reassigned to her by the datanet, after their original squadrons had been temporarily disbanded. “Try to draw them onto us instead of the base.”

  The alien formations didn't waver as they approached Pournelle Base, the defenders fanning out to meet them. Ginny sucked in her breath, silently admiring the enemy starfighters’ discipline. She’d been right, it seemed. Whoever was directing the battle seemed willing to soak up a number of casualties so they could stick with the original plan. It struck her as faintly absurd, but the Tadpoles might not consider themselves individuals in the sense that humans did. Besides, there wasn't any shortage of human militaries prepared to spend hundreds of lives just to secure a relatively minor target.

  And there’s nothing minor about Pournelle Base, she thought. It doesn't matter if they know what they’re targeting or not. If they take it out, they put a major crimp in our defences.

  Her HUD updated, showing that seven other squadrons had been assigned to the defence force. Ginny bit her lip as the alien starfighters
came closer, bracing herself to return to the fray. Committing so many fighters to defending the base would highlight its importance to the aliens, but it couldn't be helped. The aliens were already targeting Pournelle Base.

  “Give them hell,” she ordered, as she pushed the firing key. Her target exploded, but the other alien craft didn't seem inclined to break and attack. It was odd. They returned fire, but didn't break formation. Five more starfighters died in quick succession. “Reverse course and attack.”

  She braced herself as she chased the aliens towards Pournelle Base. The base’s point defence grid was already online, firing on the alien craft as they approached. Ginny hoped the IFF system was working, although she knew from grim experience that it was somewhat unreliable at close range. There just wasn't time to assess all the incoming targets properly before opening fire. The Tadpole starfighters were too dangerous to take lightly.

  Two more alien starfighters died, but the remainder kept moving, ducking and weaving in an evasive pattern that was disturbingly humanlike. Ginny snapped off a shot whenever she could, yet it was hard to get a solid lock. The aliens bored towards their target until they entered weapons range, then opened fire. Brilliant streaks of light shot towards Pournelle Base, smashing into the base’s makeshift armour. It held, for the moment. Ginny knew it wouldn't last.

  “Pournelle Base is losing point defence,” the dispatcher warned. “Move to cover the base ...”

  Ginny gritted her teeth. “What do you think I’m trying to do?”

  The alien craft darted around the giant installation, pouring fire into every weak spot they found. Ginny saw dozens of point defence weapons and sensor blisters blasted off the hull, airlocks smashed open and venting atmosphere until inner hatches slammed closed. She said a silent prayer for her friends as one alien pilot crashed into a starfighter launch tube, setting off a chain of explosions that threatened to destroy the entire base. Another pilot made a suicide run, only to be picked off a handful of seconds before he would have rammed the base. Ginny cursed, savagely. There was no way the base could endure for long.

  “Incoming friends,” Lieutenant Bush Williams carolled. “Try not to shoot them!”

  Ginny snorted as the French and Chinese pilots slammed into the alien squadrons, driving them away from the base. It didn't last. The aliens regrouped, then launched yet another attack on Pournelle Base. A large chunk of armour came free, blasting out into space with immense force. The alien craft whipped around it and positioned themselves to pour fire into the station’s vitals. Ginny and her squadron raced to drive them away, but she knew it was too late. Pournelle Base was doomed.

  She picked off two alien starfighters in quick succession, then dodged as their comrades came at her. She couldn't tell if the aliens were trying to distract her or believed they’d already succeeded, but it hardly mattered. They had to protect the base long enough to get the rest of the personnel evacuated. And then ...

  I had personal stuff in my locker, she thought, numbly. An alien pilot made a mistake and exposed himself. She killed him without thinking. I’ll never see it again.

  “The bombers are heading out again,” Lieutenant Williams reported. “Maybe they’ll distract the aliens.”

  Ginny shook her head. The second bomber strike had been completely ineffective, save for one fleet carrier that had taken a beating. There was no reason to assume that the third bomber strike would be any better. Hell, the aliens didn't have to worry about missile strikes either. They could concentrate on slaughtering the bombers ...

  And then come back and slaughter the rest of us, she thought. Her body ached. It felt like hours since she’d taken her starfighter out into space. They might wear us down on points alone.

  ***

  “Switch direct command to Nelson Base,” Jon ordered, tersely. A low rumble ran through Pournelle Base. “And then order half of our defending starfighters to escort the bombers.”

  “Aye, sir,” Hanson said. He paused as the giant installation shook again. “Sir, this base is no longer tenable.”

  Jon nodded. Pournelle Base hadn't been designed to stand up to plasma guns. The armour the USN had hastily bolted onto the base’s hull, when they’d realised that the threat environment had changed, wasn't that much of an improvement. They’d really needed to rebuild the entire base and that hadn't been in the cards, not when building new carriers and armoured warships was far more important. It was something for his successors to worry about, after the war.

  More red icons flared up on the status display. The lower starfighter tubes were gone ... it was sheer luck that the chain reaction hadn't spread to the upper levels. Thankfully, the designers had anticipated an explosion in the starfighter bays and planned accordingly. But there was a gaping hole in their armour and it wasn't going to be repaired in a hurry. It was only a matter of time before the aliens hit something vital, no matter how desperately the defending starfighters fought to drive them off. There were already fires on a dozen decks.

  “Order all hands to abandon the base,” Jon ordered. He hoped his people wouldn't be jumping from the frying pan into the fire. The Tadpoles didn't make a habit of shooting at lifepods, but there was too great a chance of the tiny craft being mistaken for something dangerous or merely being targeted by accident. “And inform Cathy that she’s in tactical command.”

  Until Nelson Base gets targeted, Jon thought. He wasn't sure if the aliens knew that Pournelle Base was the heart of the enemy defences or not, but it hardly mattered. The defences would be thrown into confusion until Admiral Mountbatten managed to take command. If they worked out that we were commanding the defences, they can pick Nelson Base out too.

  The thought nagged at his mind as he keyed commands into his console. Pournelle Base was obviously a naval installation - the Tadpoles could hardly have missed the starfighters launching from the base’s tubes - but it wasn't so obvious that it was the command hub. It certainly wasn't the only large naval base in orbit. Why Pournelle Base instead of Nelson or Foch? Had the aliens managed to track human communications through a network of relay stations or had they merely gotten lucky? There was no way to know.

  He opened a hidden compartment in his command chair and toggled the switches inside, ordering the station’s datanodes to begin their self-destruct sequence, then rose. The rest of the staff were already making their way through the hatches, heading down to the lifepods on the far side of the hull. There was no sign of panic. Jon felt a flicker of pride as he grabbed a facemask, holding it tightly as the gravity started to fail. Another series of rumbles ran through the station, the lights flickering and fading. Emergency lighting came on a second later, casting the corridor into gloom.

  They’ll keep attacking until the base is destroyed, he thought, grimly. He could smell burning plastic in the air. The aliens were ripping the base to shreds. And the remains showering down onto Earth.

  “This way, sir,” Hanson called. The remainder of the staff were already climbing into lifepods. “We have to move!”

  Jon nodded, feeling a flicker of claustrophobia as he jumped through the hatch and into the lifepod. The lifepods were tiny, barely large enough to hold a dozen grown men. He’d never liked them. A second later, the hatch slammed down and he felt a lurch as the lifepod launched itself into space. He wondered, grimly, if the automated systems would try to get them down to the planet or keep them in orbit. Staying in orbit might be the smartest choice, but ...

  If we fall through the atmosphere, we may be taken for an enemy attack and vaporised by a ground-based laser station, he thought. The ground-based defences weren't very trusting at the best of times. Now, with pieces of debris raining down all over the planet, they’d shoot first and not bother to ask questions later. But if we stay in orbit, we might be picked off by an enemy starfighter.

  Hanson was peering through the hatch. “Sir, the base is exploding.”

  Jon nodded, shortly. That added another danger, didn't it? The lifepod was too fragile to remain a
irtight if a piece of debris slammed into it at speed. And there would be thousands of pieces of debris in the same general area as themselves ... he sighed, strapping himself into his chair and placing the facemask on his lap. There was no point in worrying about it now, he told himself firmly. Either they survived long enough for a SAR shuttle to pick them up or they died. They should have enough air to remain in orbit for several days.

  And then we’ll have to risk re-entry anyway, he thought. And who’ll be in command of the system then?

  “Sit down,” he said. He glanced from face to face. Five staffers, all suddenly isolated - and helpless. There was nothing they could do, if a marauding starfighter decided the lifepod was a threat and blew it out of space. They didn’t even have access to the command datanet any longer. “All we can do now is wait.”