“Now make sure you don’t shoot their ship. Okay Wanda?” Ryan said.
“Uh-huh. I get it real good,” Wanda answered.
Minutes later we were in the air in search of Vorgian transports. Then the COM crackled on.
“We found our first target, they’re landing now.”
“Understood,” Ryan said.
“Looky! Sensors see a real faint object nearby! It’s not one of ours,” Wanda explained.
“Get us there!” Ryan ordered.
“Kay, kay, I will,” Wanda accepted.
“James… C’mere!” Ryan called.
I squeezed into the already cramped cabin.
“Keep your eyes open,” Ryan said.
I looked around the sky in search of transports.
“Sir!” Wanda shouted. “Two additional ships just showed up.”
“What are they?” Ryan questioned.
“Dropships, fully armed.”
“Be careful,” Ryan warned.
“They’re ‘proachin’ our position!” Wanda announced.
“Take evasive action,” Ryan commanded.
My eyes darted around looking for the hostiles.
“There!” I said, pointing at a Vorgian transport.
“I see ‘em,” Wanda said.
We began to turn in their direction. I noticed the dropships had opened fire. The transport rattled as several missiles impacted the shields.
“Shields at thirty percent!” Wanda said.
We were gaining on the transport, though it seemed to be descending toward the ground, as if to land.
“Twenty-one percent,” Wanda updated.
We were less than a hundred meters over the ground. The Vorgian transport was heading toward a small, deep gray structure.
“Come on…” Ryan murmured as we sped toward the black-coated transport.
The Vorgian transport eased toward the ground. The door opened and several SAS came out. Then, I saw a now-familiar face, Lt. Davis.
“Sir,” I said to Ryan. “That’s Lieutenant Davis. The one I told you captured us.”
“All right… If he thinks he can take our people, we’ll take him.”
Then I saw Francis Gonyon step out. He was blindfolded and handcuffed. Behind him was an SAS holding the A-Z gun. Our transport was meters off the ground.
“Four percent shields!” Wanda said frightfully.
The transport door opened. Ryan unclipped his SR‑4 and ran out first. Philip and I were right behind him. Ryan knelt on one knee and took aim. He fired. The Vorgian with the A-Z went down. Phil and I fired. Two more SAS hit the sand. My next shot hit Lt. Davis in the leg, but I was aiming for the SAS next to him. Lt. Davis fell to the ground clutching his wound. Finally the Vorgians realized our position and opened fire. Assault rifle rounds flew by. Ryan shot another round into the tallest Vorgian standing. I didn’t even have a full clip left in my SR-4… Only three rounds.
We ran over to Francis. Ryan and I looked for the key. With a quick search we determined that the Vorgian who had the A-Z Gun had the key on his ammo belt. I unclipped it and ran over to Francis.
“Thank you,” he responded as the metal clasp released his hands.
“You’re welcome,” I told him, “It was Ryan’s idea.”
Then a missile exploded beside us, bits of earth spattering over us.
“Get to the transport!” Ryan yelled.
We sped over to the transport. Though as I placed my first foot back onto the ship I looked back to see Davis still holding his leg as he appeared to put distance between himself and us.
“Ryan, if we’re going to get Davis, we need to do it now!” I called out, stepping back onto the ground.
“This here hunk of metal won’t last much longer!” Wanda said.
“Okay then, get us out of here!” Ryan commanded.
“Ryan! Are we leaving Davis?” I asked again.
“Prex it James!” Ryan cursed. “Let’s get him, hold up Wanda!”
Together, Ryan and I tore across the ground, more bits flying up all the while, and seized Davis from the ground. He put up a slight fight, but we managed to drag him back and tossed him into the transport. Without another thought Ryan took his head and slammed it against the metal door as the transport lifted skyward. The ship shook again, hit by yet another enemy barrage.
“Hold on!” Wanda said as the transport lurched forward with a sudden burst of acceleration.
Then the COM came on, “This is Sergeant Pinkip, we captured several high ranking officers,” Pinkip announced. ”We have some… information… What happened,” The COM continued resuming its static.
“Their COM system must’ve been damaged,” Phil commented.
“Hostiles are turnin’ ‘round,” Wanda said.
Chapter 7
Rescue and Rest
“We’re approaching Pinkip’s transport,” Wanda told us. “Visual!” Wanda reached down turned on the COM. “We have a visual. Ready to land!”
“Understood,” the COM responded.
We quickly descended due to our landing thrusters on the belly of the transport being damaged. Our landing was hard and loud.
“Now we wait,” Ryan commented.
Four long minutes passed as we waited for the COM to tell us that our ride home had arrived. Then it came.
“This is Captain Graham of the Comanche… Come in.”
“This is Sergeant Dunkelman,” Ryan began, “We’ve been awaiting your arrival.
“As expected, Sergeant,” Graham announced.
“We’re on our way sir!” Ryan informed the Captain.
“Good. We need you on board ASAP. We only have seven cruisers. This may be a rough fight.”
“Understood sir,” Ryan acknowledged. “We’re en route, ETA is… eight minutes.”
“Very good, Graham out,” he concluded.
We continued to ascend into space. Soon the battle was visible, Elonian and Vorgian vessels waging war in orbit of Sontonos.
“I’m detecting hostile fighters ‘hind us,” Wanda said.
“Sir!” Ryan said as he activated the COM, “This is Sergeant Dunkelman, we have enemy fighters on our six! Requesting escort.”
“It’s yours, Sergeant,” Graham responded. “Alpha One through Seven support those transports,” he ordered over the fighters’ COM.
“Yes sir!” Alpha One responded, his voice barely audible through Graham’s open transmission with our transport.
An entire squadron broke away from the fight and came in our direction. Soon they had shot past us and proceeded to open fire on the Vorgian strike units.
“Keep it steady, we’re almost there,” Ryan said as we came ever closer to the cruiser. I recognized it from Enphuerzo, the word Comanche beautifully emblazoned on the side.
“Sir, open da gates,” Wanda said cheerfully.
“Understood Airman.”
The hangar gates slowly opened, and we soon passed through the energy barrier that kept the atmosphere inside the ship.
“We’re in,” Wanda announced.
“Acknowledged” Captain Graham said.
The second transport flew in behind us, slowed to a stop and landed.
“Let’s go,” Ryan ordered calmly as he exited the transport.
I followed closely behind.
The cruiser was well kept, it’s walls were the shiny silver color of the Elonium-Jericonium alloy used in all new ships. Its lights were radiating bright light, yet not blinding. The air was cool but still comfortable compared to the tropical heat of Sontonos. In fact, the cool air was actually somewhat refreshing.
I soon found myself on the bridge of the Comanche. This room was slightly darker. Holopods and computer screens were scattered about the walls and desks.
“Sergeants,” Graham said as he glanced over at Ryan and Deborah.
“Captain,” they answered.
“I’ll get back with you for debriefing in a moment,” Graham said.
“Yes sir,” Ryan
responded.
“Sir Neutron Bullet at 90% charge,” the Ops Officer informed the captain.
“Lieutenant Hill, prepare nuclear warheads Alpha and Beta,” Graham returned.”
“Uh…Yes sir,” the Lt. hesitated.
I was surprised as well. Most cruisers only held about three nukes, activating two seemed like a desperate move. Even Heavy Cruisers, A subdivision of Cruisers, had as few as five nukes.
“Target the frigate over there with the Neutron Bullet…” Graham said as he pointed on the holographic TRIAD.
Tactical Reconnaissance Imaging And Detection, or TRIAD, served as the modern means of detecting just about anything. It was used both aboard ships and ground-based systems to by commanders to guide theirs troops and fleets through a battle of which the scale would otherwise be too large.
Though I was confused. The Comanche’s strongest weapon was the Neutron Bullet. Why would Graham target a frigate?
“Um… Yes sir,” Hill accepted.
“Good… Now get a nuke locked on to both of those Avengers.”
“Verifying targets… Done! The Neutron Bullet is armed. I’ll get the nukes…” Hill said.
No one spoke for a few seconds.
“Alpha tube is locked on target. The tube is unsealed, Beta is seeking lock…” Hill said.
I waited, pondering Graham’s next move.
“Locked… unsealing tube… done!” Hill continued.
“Sir, codes entered, targets locked, awaiting your command.”
Graham closed his eyes in thought. He then pulled out a small command pod and entered several numbers.
“Fire the nukes, wait eight point four-three seconds after their launch and fire the Bullet” Graham ordered.
“Yes sir!” Lt. Hill said.
“Alpha is away… Beta is launched as well sir.”
Seconds ticked by. Then the auto-fire, set exactly to Graham’s specifications, fired the Neutron Bullet. It soared, a brilliant blue, quickly catching up to the nuclear warheads.
Near simultaneously the nukes and Neutron Bullet impacted their desired targets. Yet it was then I saw Graham’s tactical genius. The two lead Vorgian ships both erupted with tremendous thunder. Not only that, but the Hentronium-cased Neutron Bullet ripped apart the outer hulls of three Vorgian frigates before coming to a halt as space junk. From the Comanche’s angle it had a clear path straight through several enemy ships. The impact was likely enough to disable all three ships. An entire third of the incoming Vorgian fleet was wiped out within twenty seconds.
“Perfect,” Graham stated, “Let’s see what they do now.”
“That was incredible,” Phil said in awe.
“Agreed,” Ryan said.
“Super Cool!” Max exclaimed.
“Max, be quiet,” Nevin countered.
Several Vorgian ships began turning around.
“Where are they going?” I asked.
“I would bet they’re heading to the other side of the planet,” Phil answered. “They’ll use it as cover.”
“Why not just warp?” Nevin asked.
“With the beacon destroyed, they’d have no quick way of coming back. I bet they have reinforcements inbound,” Philip continued.
“How many?” Nevin asked.
“There is no way to know, but I would assume that they have enough to turn this fight.”
Several ships curved out of view behind Sontonos.
“Power the engines!” Graham ordered. “Follow those ships.”
“Yes sir!” The Nav Officer responded.
The cruiser began to accumulate speed. Graham reached out and activated the COM.
“Magnum Squadrons, Omicron through Sigma, target their engines.”
Magnums were the fleet’s heavy bombers, they were durable and well armed. Two light gauss Cannons mounted on either side of the cockpit and a torpedo launcher attached to the bottom made them a formidable foe. Once you add the chin mounted auto cannon, the Magnum was a well-rounded bomber.
“Interceptor Squadron Lambda, escort the Magnums.”
“On it, sir,” Lambda One replied.
The squadron streaked off toward the retreating Vorgians. Three Frigates had stayed in the fight to hold off our fleet, yet maybe six Vorgian ships had made it behind the planet to safety.
“How long before we get a clean shot at them?” Graham asked.
“Taking in to account their speed and ours, assuming that they hold steady…” the Nav Officer explained, “Our ETA should be about four minutes.”
“I see…” Graham murmured thoughtfully. “Have the Neutron Bullet ready to fire.”
“Yes sir,” Lt. Hill returned.
The heavy cruiser steadily advanced toward the Vorgian fleet. Within minutes the Comanche and the rest of Graham’s fleet had made it within firing range of the Vorgians.
“Target the nearest cruiser,” Graham commanded.
“Yes, sir!” Lt. Hill responded as he entered the targeting solution. I waited nervously, pondering Phil’s prediction. Seconds passed slowly.
“Fire!” Captain Graham ordered as nearly thirty silver orbs erupted in front of our fleet.
“Prex!” the TRIAD Officer muttered. “Twenty-eight Vorgian contacts.”
“Get us back to Enphuerzo!” Graham ordered.
“Preparing coordinates, sir,” his Nav Officer announced.
Activating the COM Graham said, “Fall back to Enphuerzo! We’re done here.”
A final rumble shook the Comanche and then only the steady hum of the engines remained. It was faint, barely audible, but within the expanse of space around Enphuerzo it could be heard.
“So Sergeants,” Graham stated after about ten minutes of post-combat checks. “You said that you have a high profile Vorgian prisoner, correct?”
“Yes, sir,” Ryan said crisply.
“Who?” Graham asked.
“James…. You met him, who was he?” Ryan inquired.
“Uh…” I stuttered, surprised to be asked. “Lieutenant Trevor Davis, sir,” I told Graham.
“Thank you… Ross,” he said, reading the name patch on my shirt. “I understand he is now in the brig… correct?” he questioned.
“Yep,” Sergeant Pinkip acknowledged.
“Very well. We’ll have him sent to a safe place ASAP, along with anyone else you may have captured. As for you, you’ll be going back to Euphola on the Griffin. It’s an LRM frigate,” Graham informed us.
“Thank you, sir,” Ryan and Deborah said together.
“You’ll debrief with Colonel Miller once you are on the surface. Pleasure working with you… Good luck!” Graham concluded as we exited the bridge.
Now we had to get to the hangar for a ride over to Griffin. We wandered back down the halls to the hangar. Once there, we looked for our transport, piloted once more by Airman Wanda Xavier.
“Hi Wanda,” Max stated as we climbed on.
“Howdy ya’ll,” she responded. “Ride to the Griffin?” she asked.
“Yup” Ryan answered.
The ship began to rise and turn toward the gates. They slowly opened and our transport flew out, emerging into an ocean of darkness. We quickly approached the Long Range Missile Frigate. The ship was rather long for a Frigate. It had a wide extension on the back to house the engines and additional missile tubes. As we approached the hangar’s gates, I noticed it was far smaller than the Comanche’s. Once we were inside, it became ever more apparent. Only two Carrier-Class shuttles were housed inside. There weren’t any strike craft like fighters or bombers. In fact, there was barely room for our transport.
“Well… We’re here,” Wanda stated. “Y’all did good back there.”
“Thanks…” Ryan sighed. “It coulda been better though.”
“Whappened happened, Sarge,” Wanda said softly. “Y’all did just fine.”
“Right… Well let’s just hope the Colonel thinks the same thing.”
“Agreed,” Nevin said.
We exited th
e transport and stepped out on the hangar’s floor.
“Bye Wanda,” I said thinking this would be the last time we would see the eccentric pilot.
“G’day!” she said back as her transport slowly lifted.
It turned around and exited the ship. Soon the gates closed behind her.
We walked around the cramped hangar and we arrived at the blast door that that was the primary exit. We waited quietly as it opened. Though soon Max broke the silence.
“That mission was coolio!” he commented.
I looked him straight in the face. His smile was wide and his hair was a sandy blonde. His eyes were a deep brown.
“Max… that mission was bad. We lost several of our best men. One of our finest revealed himself to be a traitor. There was nothing ‘coolio’ about it,” I barked sternly.
“Whoa,” Max’s face went blank with surprise.
Then a soldier armed with only a holstered sidearm walked over to us.
“Corporal Gorman. I’ve been instructed to escort you to the mess hall by Commander Keller,” the soldier said.
“Understood, Corporal, we’re right behind you,” Ryan said. We followed Cpl. Gorman down several halls and up a flight of stairs. It wasn’t long before we had arrived at the mess hall.
“We should be jumping soon, thirty minutes after entering Euphola orbit you’ll deploy to the surface via a Carrier. Till then, you wait here,” Gorman told us.
“Alright… I understand Corporal,” Ryan said.
We all approached a long table and sat down. However, Gorman waited at the door to the mess hall.
“Say… where’s Sergeant Pinkip and her team?” Max asked.
“They… are debriefing elsewhere,” Ryan told him.
“Obviously,” Nevin said as he faked a cough.
“Hey!” Max said.
“Be quiet Max,” I told him before he could complain about Nevin’s comment.
Then, the ship-wide COM activated, “All hands prepare for jump.”
The voice likely belonged to Commander Keller, but I didn’t really know. Seconds passed. “Jump complete, we are in Euphola orbit.”
“How do ya think the Colonel’s doing?” Nevin asked.
“Probably being his old fat self,” Max said.
Ryan glared at Max and suppressed protest to the comment.
The War Across the Stars Page 7