'Hey listen... I didn't mean to raise your hackles or anything. I was just asking the questions that have been put to me. I want you both to know that I think you are all doing an amazing job.'
Straus relaxed a little and said, 'Well... thanks. I think the long hours and the pressure to get this right has me on edge. No harm, no foul.'
The week passed uneventfully, and in those days Coop's crew had an opportunity to film interviews with several of the crew and some of the pilots of Phoenix squadron.
Straus used the training Ninja and gave each of the film crew a ride out to the asteroid to watch and film the operation close up. Later they accompanied Phoenix squadron to the asteroid belt and demonstrated how they blasted the smaller asteroids in order to capture the DEP and bring it back to refuel the transports.
Finally, just over a week had gone by and Darla said, ‘That’s it. The asteroid is on the proper trajectory.’
‘Colorado and Mackenzie, disengage and prepare to move out,’ said Straus.
‘Acknowledged,’ said both captains.
Once the transports had rejoined the Adamant, they set course for the second asteroid. The Adamant took up position behind, while the Colorado moved out in front to increase the asteroid’s speed. The Mackenzie moved into a position to stop it's rotation then pull it up and to the left in relation to the first asteroid. Once both transports had ramped their tow beams up to full power, the computer calculated a more precise estimate.
‘We’ll need to maintain this configuration for seven days, six hours. Impact will take place thirty minutes later,’ explained Darla.
‘That’s cutting it pretty close, Doctor. It doesn’t leave a lot of room for error,’ said Straus.
‘True. We only have one shot at this. We have to make sure we do it right the first time,’ said Darla.
_ _ _
Phoenix squadron was flying round-the-clock patrols in the area, while the Adamant continued to perform long range sensor sweeps looking for the slightest hint of the enemy drones.
Thirty-six hours had passed uneventfully and Straus was just about to dismiss the day crew from the bridge.
‘Commodore... picking up energy fluctuations on the long range scan at 180 degrees relative, range 150 kilometers.’
‘Signal Alert Status Red. Mr. Burke, bring us about. Lt. Bell contact Flight Ops and have them scramble all fighters. Mr. Kyson raise the shields and energize the weapons.’
‘First flight is moving to intercept,’ said Kyson as he monitored the sensors.
At that moment twenty drones warped into the area. Leading the way were two Beetles followed by two Starfish. Behind them were the usual assortment including Tanks, Boosters, Boxers, and Darkwings.
‘Kyson, lock forward batteries on those Starfish and open fire,’ ordered Straus.
‘Mr. Burke keep us between the drones and the transports. Flight Two, cover the transports and don’t let anything through. Flight Three, join up with Flight One.’
The forward batteries successfully destroyed the first Starfish. Flight One was now engaging the first Beetle, as the Adamant focused it's firepower onto the second Starfish.
‘Jambo, you’re with me,’ said Chance. ‘Tex and Circus take out that second Beetle.’
The second Starfish exploded into a cloud of debris leaving the DEP drifting in the spreading debris field. Flight One split into two attack groups and focused on the Beetles. Flight Three split up and started in on the Boosters.
Two Tanks and two Darkwings ganged up on one of the Galleons pulling down it's shields and battering it with enough firepower to cause it to explode in seconds.
‘We lost Jaws!’ said his wingman.
‘Rat form up on us at 090,’ ordered Chance.
The Samurai made a hard right turn but wasn’t able to shake the four ships that had just taken out his wingman. Before he could reach Chance, the Tanks had battered his shields down and destroyed one of his engines. He ejected just before his ship was ripped to pieces.
Phoenix squadron and the drones were now fully engaged. There was no way the Adamant could safely target the drones from it's current position.
Straus ordered, ‘Mr. Burke, full ahead. Move us into the middle of that furball.’
‘Aye, Sir.’
The Adamant streaked ahead placing itself in the middle of the action. The automated turrets began locking on and taking out enemy drones. What started out as twenty drones was quickly reduced to six, but it came at the loss of a pilot and two fighters.
Just as Straus was thinking that they had the situation under control, Kyson said, ‘Commodore. I’m detecting incoming warp signatures.’
Twenty more drones warped in to the area, led by two more Starfish and two more Beetles.
‘Kyson, concentrate all firepower onto those Starfish,’ ordered Straus.
The Beetles laid down a series of red energy-dampening plasma clouds. Tex and Circus were unable to avoid them, and lost power. One of the Starfish swooped down on them and the Adamant concentrated it's fire power onto it, but it wasn’t soon enough and the two ships were shredded before the Starfish exploded.
Chance and Jambo managed to knock out the other Starfish, while Mustang and Hurst started on the Beetles.
The Beetle plasma finally dissipated to the point that it was no longer a threat. The drones began to concentrate on the Adamant and managed to disable two turrets on the port side. The exploding turrets rocked the ship, but did not breach the hull.
‘Port-side shields, down to fifty percent,’ said Lt. Kyson.
‘Mr. Burke, come right to 085 and begin circling the pack. Try to keep our starboard side toward the drones.’
Straus reviewed the situation in his mind. They had now lost three pilots and four ships, as well as two turrets on the port side. The drones were down to five and they were just mopping up now. If another group of drones were to come in they’d be in trouble.
‘Lt. Bell, contact Corvus Flight Ops. I need to speak with Bernal.’
‘Aye, Sir,’ said Bell as she used the quantum transceiver to connect to the station.
‘Bernal here.’
‘Bernie, we have a situation out here. Send in the Black Hats.’
‘I only have Flights One and Two available. Flight Three is stationed out at Eunomia this week.’
‘That’ll have to do. The sooner the better.’
‘They’ll be on there way in five minutes.’
‘Thanks Bernie. Oh, and let Harrison know that we’ll need two replacement Galleons ASAP. Straus out.’
The last of the bots had been put down and Straus was beginning to breathe a little easier. In addition, Rat had been recovered by his squadron mates while he drifted through space and was brought back to the Adamant unharmed.
They just had to hold on for ninety minutes until the Black Hats arrived. It was then that Straus remembered that the prototype EM Plasma devices had been installed on his fighter.
‘Phoenix squadron, all flights, maintain two-man attack groups and continue scanning the area. Mr. Burke, you have the conn,’ said Straus as he stepped into the lift.
He headed to the locker room and put on his armored flight suit then headed for his ship. After a quick pre-flight, he powered up and launched.
He had no sooner joined the others when he heard Kyson say, ‘Picking up more warp signatures at 045 relative, range ten thousand meters.’
‘Phoenix squadron, prepare to engage. Mr Kyson target the Starfish first,’ said Straus.
Straus locked onto the coordinates and prepared to fire the prototype device. Two Beetles and two Starfish warped in with sixteen assorted drones following them in. He fired and the prototype streaked forward and exploded, producing an expanding green plasma cloud.
Two Beetles and a Starfish were caught in the expanding cloud and lost power, then Straus yelled, ‘Fire, fire, fire!’
The forward batteries of the Adamant locked on and fired, as did all nine fighters. Within seconds the thr
ee disabled drones were annihilated. The Adamant locked onto the other Starfish and began pounding away at it's shields. Straus swooped in and fired his short range EM Pulse which knocked down the Starfish’s shields. The Adamant’s energy bolts then blasted it to pieces.
The surviving eight ships of Phoenix squadron joined in the battle. Mustang and Hurst targeted one of the Boosters, while Chance and Jambo went after the other. Straus looped around and spotted a Tank bearing down on Bug and Rabbi. He pounded it with a combination of weapons fire until it exploded and then collected the DEP.
They were now outnumbered by only two-to-one which were odds that they had successfully faced many times in the past. Bug had her new recruits concentrate on the Darkwings, while the more seasoned pilots targeted the Tanks and Boxers. After ten minutes the last of that group of drones had been dealt with.
Some of the fighters had sustained light damage but all were still one hundred percent operational. They continued to patrol the area while maintaining their two-man attack groups.
Just over an hour later, Black Hats Flights One and Two arrived and Straus said, ‘Black Hats, happy you could make it. We’ve finished off three waves so far. Split into your attack groups and stay frosty.’
The Black Hats joined in the area patrol sweeps and Page formed up on Straus’s wing, then he said, ‘Vicks and Bluejay, the drones are targeting our support ships first. I want you and your wingmen to concentrate on staying clear and laying down support fields.’
‘Understood,’ said Vicks.
‘Roger that,’ said Bluejay.
Page said, ‘Picking up energy fluctuations. Here they come.’
Twenty more drones warped into the area and Straus targeted the lead Beetles and Starfish and fired another prototype device. The expanding plasma cloud caught a Beetle, Starfish, and a Tank. The Adamant locked on with it's forward batteries and blasted them to pieces.
Vicks had just laid down a support field and swung around to join her wingman that was heading toward a Booster drone. At that moment the second Starfish came up from behind her.
Straus and Page had just taken out the second Beetle drone and he noticed the Starfish bearing down on Vicks, then yelled, ‘Vicks! Get out of there!’
Before she had a chance to take evasive action it caught her in it's arcing energy beams. The shields lasted for several seconds as she tried to get away from it, but it was just too fast. Her ship started to come apart.
‘Vicks! Eject, eject, eject!’ yelled Straus.
The ship’s engines were destroyed and it started to somersault. Vicks activated the ejection sequence and was fired free of the disintegrating wreck, but due to the ships tumble, she was thrown into the flight path of the Starfish.
Straus accelerated straight for the Starfish drone and fired his last prototype device then said, ‘Page, keep firing on that thing. Try to get it's attention.’
‘Aye Sir,’ she said as she pummeled it with weapons fire.
The Starfish caught up to Vicks just as the device detonated. A green plasma cloud developed. She screamed out in pain as the energy beams ripped across her legs. Then the Starfish lost power as it was enveloped in the plasma. Straus remotely opened the rear canopy and swooped in. The canopy scooped her up, bouncing her into the rear seat headfirst.
Straus activated the Warp Field Supercharger and streaked away just as the Starfish regained power and began battering his shields and carbon-scoring the tail section in the process. He closed the rear canopy and pressurized the cockpit.
‘Vicks! Vicks, can you hear me?!’ shouted Straus.
There was no reply and he was in no position to check on her now. He looped around and fired the EM pulse. The shields on the Starfish collapsed. Straus fired two missiles and pounded it with Percussion shot until it blew to pieces. He formed up with Page and they took out a Tank and then a Darkwing.
The bots started to scatter and the attack groups of both squadrons now had the upper hand as they continued the counterattack.
With the immediate threat taken care of Straus said, ‘Page take over the operation. I’m taking Vicks back to Corvus.’
‘Aye, Sir.’
Straus set course for Corvus and diverted power from the shields to the engines. He then boosted the DEP reactor to 120% and hit the override button before the computer could object. He activated the Warp Field Supercharger and streaked away. It took less than an hour to reach the asteroid belt, but he was already nearly out of fuel. He disengaged the supercharger and began bulls-eyeing asteroids and collecting the DEP.
While he was busy doing that he sent a message to the Station that he was returning at top speed with a medical emergency and to have a full medical crew standing by. He explained that it was Vicks and that he didn’t know her condition.
After a five minute delay he had refilled his tanks and turned back on course to continue his charge toward the station.
Fifteen minutes later, Straus screamed passed the outer and inner markers, then went to full reverse, slowing down just in time to pass through the shield barrier. He eased into the docking field and opened both canopies.
The medical team came forward and worked on pulling Vicks out of the rear seat. As they pulled her free of the cockpit, he could see that her legs below the knee were nothing more than charred stumps. Because her helmet was still in place he couldn’t tell if she was even alive.
Tómas was watching anxiously as he tried to stay out of the way of the medical personnel. Once she had been placed on the hover gurney, he grabbed her gloved hand and held it as they hurried off toward Medical.
Straus climbed out of his cockpit, turned to the chief and said, ‘Get her refueled.’
‘Aye, Sir,’ said Chief Wilson.
He caught up with Tómas, who asked, ‘What happened?’
‘A Starfish ripped her ship apart, but she managed to eject. I grabbed her just as it was bearing down on her.’
‘I’m sure you did all that you could. Thank you my friend. How’s it going out there?’
‘They seem determined to stop us this time, but we’re holding our own. I’d better get back. Let me know how she’s doing.’
‘When I know... you’ll know.’
Straus headed back to the flight bay and the chief had a crew refueling and rearming the ship.
Chief Wilson said, ‘There were two more prototype devices ready, so I’m having them loaded.’
‘Very good. Thanks Chief. Let Ames know that they’re working just fine, and to start cranking them out.’
‘Will do, Sir. Godspeed.’
Five minutes later he was heading back out to the asteroid belt, where he topped off his tanks and continued to the Adamant at full normal speed.
Upon his return, he found that another group of drones had warped in, but much closer to the transports this time. One of the transports had been damaged, disabling it's graviton beam. The squadrons were just mopping up the last of the drones.
‘Mackenzie, head back to the station for repairs. Adamant move into position and take over for the Mackenzie,’ ordered Straus.
‘Lt. Bell contact the station and let them know that the repairs to the Mackenzie have top priority over anything else.’
‘Aye Sir. Also, Commodore Harrison wanted you to know that Vicks is going to make it,’ came the reply.
'That's great news. Thanks,' said Straus as he breathed a sigh of relief. He watched the Mackenzie come about and warp out of sight, then said, ‘All squadrons maintain your attack groups and continue scanning the area.’
An hour passed and there wasn’t any sign of another wave of drones. Straus ordered the fighters of Phoenix squadron to stand down and return to the Adamant to refuel both the ships and the pilots. Both flights of the Black Hats maintained patrols. Another hour had passed and still there was no sign of the enemy. After losing a hundred drones, it looked as if they had given up.
Black Hats, Flight One retired to the carrier, while Flight Two continued on patrol. Straus
put the four flight groups onto a rotating six hour schedule to maintain around the clock patrols.
Two days later the repaired Mackenzie returned and the Adamant powered down it's graviton beam and moved off, so that the transport could resume the task.
‘Take us back behind the asteroid Mr. Burke so we can monitor the deflection,’ said Straus.
‘Aye Sir.’
‘Commodore Harrison on the quantum tranceiver for you Sir. Its flagged as confidential,’ said Lt. Bell.
‘Forward it to my comm device,’ said Straus stepping into the lift and pulling out his device.
Corvus Prime: Escalation Page 14