"New targets heading this way."
It was one of the Naval crew who carried a Marine Corps carbine in her hands. She pointed off into the distance where the long pipes along the floor and ceiling vanished into dust and steam. Pulses of blue energy ran along what appeared to be thick fibre optic cables. Private Valentine stepped through the doorway just as the Byotai defenders appeared. There were five of them, and they ran along the section of deck right at the marines. Gunfire raged back and forth, and casualties were inflicted on both sides.
"Keep moving."
The marines advanced one step at a time, even as more defenders appeared. For every marine brought down, two Byotai were killed, and still they kept going. By the time Sergeant Perkins reached the end of the corridor, he'd been hit three times, and his PDS armour was struggling to repair the breaches in the outer plating. The passage split off into four directions, but based on his scans, he suspected the one to the right was what he wanted. Without waiting for the others, he leapt inside and found two Byotai waiting in front of a massive motorised conveyer belt system. Huge crates of ammunition and missiles were stacked in mounts on the walls.
Good timing.
He ducked down as one fired a pistol and then struck him in the face with the butt of his carbine. Private Valentine was in next and fired a burst from the hip, killing one and injuring the other.
"Is this the place?"
Sergeant Perkins nodded quickly.
"Hell, yes. Place the charge and..."
A hole the size of a man's fist appeared in his chest, and he slumped forward and crashed to the ground. Behind him was a large Byotai soldier, resplendent in thick armour and carrying a thermal rifle. It was the same kind of weapon that had nearly killed her before.
"You animal!"
Private Valentine extended the carbine out to the creature's body and opened fire. Two rounds struck it just as it knocked the weapons aside. That didn't stop her fighting, and she reached down for the pistol, only to remember she'd given it to one of the crewmen. The Byotai soldier started to laugh and then pointed his own weapon at her chest.
"Hey!"
Another marine jumped into the room and nearly fell over at seeing the enemy soldier. He fired a long burst that struck the back of the creature and sent him tumbling forwards. Private Valentine sidestepped just in time to avoid it falling onto her. It staggered three more steps and then tipped over, face first.
"Thanks."
She knelt down to check Sergeant Perkins. Incredibly, he was still breathing.
"Help me with him. We need to leave."
With great effort, the two lifted the wounded marine and made for the doorway. More enemy soldiers were flooding the area from the other corridors, and the smoke of battle mixed with the flashes of light to create a maelstrom of death and confusion. Then she stopped, pushed Sergeant Perkins to the marine, and moved back.
"Hold on."
She ran over to the articulated loading machine and placed her thermite explosive charges. The pack contained an integral magclamp that held it firmly to the walls of the ship. Just a few button presses activated the unit and triggered the locking system. It flashed five times, and then a numbered counter popped up showing ninety seconds. She returned to the marine and activated the communications channel.
"This is Private Valentine. The charge is set. Everybody back to the Mauler, now! We have ninety seconds!"
* * *
The Byotai Hawkmoth had changed course once more and was accelerating towards a series of rocky ice formation. They were a perfect way to mask his position, and it made it even harder to shoot at him. Rex was determined to shoot him down, but he'd also noticed the messages arriving of the desperate battle aboard the enemy ship.
They need my help. DuFarl will have to wait.
Rex spun his fighter around in a flat spin to pursue and fired a short burst at the enemy fighter. His shooting was well aimed, yet the Byotai pilot managed to evade the shooting with ease. The Hawkmoth spun around, fired a short burst, and continued on its course. The return fire clattered about his right engines, and once more warnings were sounding. His fighter was now so badly damaged there was a chance he might not even make it back in time.
"Rex Hampel, get back into formation, now!" Lieutenant Higgins demanded.
* * *
Nate had removed his straps and was under the control panel fiddling with cables. The main power management system had overloaded, and to his surprise the breaker circuit shredded. Instead of just pulling the lever to reset the system, he had to rewire it from memory, and it wasn't easy.
"Okay, knife."
Billy was above him and handing down the small utility knife.
"How much longer?"
Nate cried out as he caught his finger against two sharp plates. He then peeled back the cables to reveal bare metal. He shook his head in stunned amazement at what this was all coming down to. A state of the art spacecraft, now rendered useless due to damaged wiring.
"This is Valentine. We're coming aboard. We have to leave, now!"
Nate could hear the voice from the communications units in the cockpit, but down on the floor he had more pressing concerns. Billy bent down and pointed the torch at the damaged section, nearly blinding him in the process.
"What, are you kidding me?"
"Nate, we've got fifty seconds till the charge blows. We have to leave."
He looked up to his friend and laughed.
"Then shut up and let me get on with this."
He pushed the last three severed cables together and twisted the bare metal into one tight piece.
"Tape."
Billy handed down the electrical tape, and Nate wound a small piece around the connection.
"Okay. Punch it."
Billy hit the engine start just as Nate was climbing back into his seat. The engines roared, and for a moment little happened. The ship shuddered as he applied more power, but they were still embedded deep inside the enemy ship. Billy pointed at the countdown, but said nothing. Nate threw it a brief glance and almost threw up when he saw they had just twenty-three seconds to go.
Get the hell out of here!
Throwing caution to the wind, Nate pushed the engines to full throttle, and though the Mauler slid back a fraction, it remained caught up in wreckage. He checked each of the forward displays one at a time until finding what appeared to be the problem.
"No way, that's not good."
He extended a hand to the unit and pointed at several twisted sections of metal that were caught around the nose and front starboard engine.
"Billy, use your guns and clear a path."
He didn't need to be told twice and swung the four turrets around to the front. Each unleashed a hurricane of firepower that ripped apart the metal with ease. At the same time, Nate blipped the engines three times, and with the third the Mauler tore itself away from the wreckage and out into space.
"Yes!"
Nate swung them around and hit the engines. The ship began accelerating away from the heavy cruiser; every second taking them further from danger. Nate began to relax until he saw the terrible carnage ahead of them. The two ships were just five kilometres apart, and the gunfire between them constant. It was now almost impossible to tell what was gunfire and what an impact. Nate saw the shape of a Hawkmoth circling behind them. It was arming a pair of missiles. At that very moment, the thermite charge detonated inside the Byotai ship.
Nate clenched his fist with excitement as flashes erupted from the underside, one of which completely ensnared the fighters. More explosions continued ripping through as the ammunition stores aboard the heavy cruiser shattered the innards of the ship. From the flames and dust came the Hawkmoth fighters. The damaged spacecraft turned back to protect their crippled capital ship, or perhaps even to eject to safety, wherever that might be.
"All fighters, converge on Mongoose," said a familiar voice.
Lieutenant Higgins!
Two of the Lightning
fighters altered their course and moved into position at the flanks of the Mauler. One left a trail of flame from its rear section, the other had dozens of holes smashed through its wings. Neither looked capable of combat. Nate spotted their call signs via the IFF system, but one was clearly missing.
"Where is Rex?"
The flight-path indicators showed Rex and Jack had split apart a minute earlier, one moving to join Lieutenant Higgins, but the second had gone dark.
"Nate, look!" Billy said.
From just above ANS Relentless, and nearly nine hundred kilometres away, appeared a series of small dark shapes. They appeared at long-range until Nate had tagged a dozen Byotai Komodo Heavy Bombers. The formation moved from the cover of the asteroid field, and behind them came a massive warship of similar shape and design to the heavy cruiser, but this one was at least twice as big. They were a long distance away, but travelling fast and towards the scene of the battle.
As Nate looked at the distant shapes, he barely even registered the missiles coming from above. He had no idea how they had got there without being detected, and not even his reaction could save them. He tensed his body, but incredibly, Jack swung his fighter up and into the path of the attack. The entire volley of missiles slammed down into the spacecraft and blasted it apart in an instant. The Lightning ripped apart as a Hawkmoth dropped down from above, its guns blazing. Another missile struck Lieutenant Higgins’ tail, blasting off a section. It sent him into an uncontrollable spin. Nate instinctively drifted to the right and narrowly avoided being hit as the enemy fighter moved below and then circled around to attack. Billy glanced back at his friend.
"Ammunition is gone. We're defenceless."
Nate did his best to get them back on course, but he'd lost the position of the fighter for just a second. Then he saw it coming for him from behind.
"Nate!" Billy screamed.
He turned back around and spotted a Lightning fighter coming right at him. The fighter was blasting away with all of its guns and rushed past, literally smashing into the wreckage of the Hawkmoth. Incredibly, the crippled Lightning was still operational and turned around to move into formation alongside the other two.
"Good shooting, Rex," said Nate.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Nate hadn't noticed, but when he looked back at Relentless, it became clear the fighting had stopped, if only for now. There was no gunfire coming from the Byotai ship, yet a fusillade of projectiles continued to strike her from the direction of ANS Relentless. The enemy ship might be crippled, but the battle-scarred Alliance ship was making certain of her victory.
The area of space between the two capital ships was littered with the debris of the violence. Chunks of ships, discharged ammunition, and the bodies of many crew from both sides. The friendly face of Captain Galanos popped up, and this time she looked even more exhausted than ever before.
"Good work, pilots. Get aboard fast. The Byotai reinforcements will be here in seven minutes. It's time to leave."
* * *
For the first time in hours there was complete and utter silence. The Mauler was down and clamped to the deck. Both inner and outer doors were sealed shut. The only vibration now coming from the last few volleys fired by Relentless.
"I thought the Byotai ship was out of action."
Nate looked to Billy and laughed, or at least as close to a laugh as he could manage.
"I think the Captain is making sure. There's no harm in giving them an extra burst before we leave, is there?"
Billy shrugged and then looked back to the door. The metal bars that clamped the door in place were now to the side, and he kicked at the door, making it swing open and letting in the cool air of Relentless' hangar deck.
"Well, what are you waiting for?"
Nate clambered out of the cockpit. He stumbled and landed face down. One of the rescued transport crew helped him to his feet and reached out with his right hand. Nate hadn't even realised it was one of the Captains. He lifted his hand to salute, and the man responded in kind.
"I don't know what the Alliance is doing with pilots of your age, but somebody made the right choice. That was one hell of a piece of flying."
The man then moved away, leaving Nate waiting next to the Mauler. Billy dropped down alongside him and leant against the hot metal plating of the Mauler. Only now could they see quite how badly damaged the vessel was. A loud howl built up inside the ship as the engines powered up, and both of them grabbed onto the Mauler tightly. It was only for a moment until the dampeners could compensate for the forward momentum. Off to the right were the smashed shapes of the two surviving Lightning fighters. Rex and Lieutenant Higgins climbed down their respected ladders and to the deck. Crew and civilians alike were smiling about, and a good number were clapping and cheering.
Both pilots walked past the odd selection of people until they reached the Mauler. Lieutenant Higgins gave one of his rare smiles and nodded.
"You gave her one hell of a beating. Still, at least you could follow orders."
He looked back at Rex and shook his head.
"I'm sorry about Flight Cadet Ironside. We lost a lot of good people today."
Rex didn't seem to know what to say, but Nate felt obliged to say or do something.
"Jack put himself on the line for the rest of us. None of us will forget that."
Rex nodded in silence, and then stepped forward towards Nate. For a second it looked as though they would come to blows, but instead he reached out with his right arm, and Nate did the same. They shook hands for the first time.
"I couldn't have asked for a better wingman."
As their hands separated, the last of the marines inside the Mauler filed out. More personnel wandered in from the internal elevators, including Matilda and Cassandra heading for their friends at a jog. They reached them just as Lieutenant Higgins turned around and blocked their path. He began speaking with them when as a voice whispered close to Nate's right ear.
"Nathaniel Lewis. Thank you for that. You'll make a combat pilot yet. May I?"
Nate turned around and found him looking at the battered and bruised form of Private Valentine. Her armour was burnt and scratched from the incredible gun battles she'd been engaged with. There were also multiple areas of dried blood on her chest and arms. Her visor was open, and she lifted her arms up to remove the entire helmet with a clicking sound. Beneath the armour was that bronzed face he had seen only a few times before. Her long, slightly curly hair was matted with sweat and hung down limply at her shoulders.
"May you, what?"
She leaned in close and kissed him directly on the lips while holding him firmly against her armoured body. They seemed to be there an age, so much so the others began to feel a little uncomfortable. Private Valentine finally stepped back and winked at him before moving off. When he looked back, he found Rex and Billy with their eyes wide opening and grinning like school children. Cassandra and Matilda were now there, and they moved closer in, hugging or shaking the hands of the others.
"Well, that was, interesting, wasn't it?" Matilda asked.
Cassandra looked a little flustered as she leaned in to Nate and gave him a quick, slightly awkward hug. As they parted, Nate noticed the figure of Lieutenant Higgins next to one of the rescued crew. He’d seen Nate looking at him and pointed over to the battered fighters.
"Get some rest, son. You're going to have to help me get the rest of the birds combat ready. This has just turned into a shooting war, and we're right in the middle of it."
Rex walked towards the officer.
"Where are we going, Sir?"
Lieutenant Higgins rubbed at his chin.
"We are heading to the border and joining up with Admiral Churchill, veteran of the Biomech war and senior commander in this sector."
Rex looked back at the other four to make sure they were listening. The man was something of a legend in the Academy after his exploits in the war.
"That's right, Cadets. Orion Command has pull
ed back all our assets and is mobilising. We're joining the fleet, and if I know the Admiral, he's going to want payback."
He looked to each of them in turn.
"It's time to graduate. Are you ready to stop being cadets, and become my combat pilots?"
Nate heard the words, but all he could think about was that last escape from the explosions around the Byotai ship. The thrill of the chase, the excitement of the battle, but also the loss of a friend like Jack. It wasn't what he'd expected, but he knew there was no place he'd rather be. The others had already answered, and he had no idea what a single one of them had said. So he looked at Lieutenant Higgins and saluted.
"Yes, Sir, that's exactly what I want to be."
THE END
FURTHER INFORMATION
There are many more books set in the Star Crusades universe covering some of the most momentous events, such as the Great Uprising that resulted in the establishment of the Alliance as well as the Biomech War. There are multiple series including 'Uprising', 'Nexus', 'Mercenaries' and beyond. Please visit Swordworks Books to learn more, examine the historical timelines, and to see maps of the territories described in the books:
Star Crusades: Uprising
Set in the years 2437AD-2440AD.
Star Crusades Uprising chronicles humanity's first interstellar confederation that is torn apart by religious strife and extremism. Mankind has expanded out from its Solar System and on to Alpha Centauri. Generations of stability are lost as a mysterious faction arises deep inside the Confederation. While the disparate forces of the Confederacy attempt to deal with the crisis, criminals and rebels launch terror attacks that destabilise the colonies and turn brother against brother.
Star Crusades: Nexus
Set in the years 2457AD-2463AD.
Star Crusader: Hero of the Alliance Page 26