Star Crusader: Siege of Kalar

by Thomas, Michael G.

  Commander Higgins stopped speaking, and as many of the pilots drifted away, Lieutenant Commander Holder moved to his side. The two exchanged words, but quiet enough that none present could hear what was being said. Nate strained his hearing before spotting a Byotai pilot moving closer and looking at him with interest.

  “Star Crusader?” he asked, with a thick, barely understandable accent. There were more words, but Nate’s translator utterly failed and buzzed an error sound. He felt flustered but knew he should respond.

  “Yes?”

  Valdis moved to his side and translated, but already Nate knew what the pilot wanted. He stepped closer, reached out with his right hand, and grasped the Byotai’s arm.

  “I would be honoured.”

  The Byotai hesitated, and for a second Nate thought he’d misread the situation. The pilot turned and bellowed to his comrades, many of who stormed over to join them. One in particular, an overweight, darker skinned pilot came up before him.

  “You will join us in simulation?”

  Nate nodded.

  “Yes.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Kalar Anchorage, 9th Quadrant

  January 13th 2473

  Nate managed a few hours’ sleep before Valdis and the others turned up. He barely had time to dress and pull on his Naval issue PDS armour before chasing after them. His helmet hung from his side, as was common with many of the more experienced pilots now. Any failure in the station, and they could be left with air, or even sucked out into space. At least with his helmet to hand, he could seal his suit and have a fighting chance to survive.

  Their quarters were the most lavish he’d ever seen, and he suspected they were for senior officers. With the Anchorage mainly deserted, there was space and facilities to spare. The walk to the training centre was not far, perhaps ten minutes, but he’d spent every second gawking at its vastness. It might not have been the most advanced facility the Byotai had ever built, but it was certainly the biggest. They moved quickly, covering the distance at a fast walk.

  “Why have I not heard of this place before?”

  Valdis laughed as she stepped onto a wide gantry that extended out over a large precipice. Ahead of them a glass structure rose nearly a hundred metres up into the air before vanishing into the station.

  “Why would you? It’s used for the service and repair of ships. It’s a massive maintenance hub, not a military base or trading post. Nobody chooses to visit Kalar unless they have work to be done on their ships.”

  Nate shook his head and paused on seeing quite how high up they were. He looked over the railings and down into the vast pit below.

  “And why are there always shafts like this? Is it to make it look even bigger, or to create dramatic moments at just the wrong time?”

  Billy moved up behind him and bumped him intentionally. Nate stumbled and grabbed the railing. He turned around, an angry expression already fully formed across his face.

  “Hey! Cut it out.”

  Nate was not scared of heights, but was only too aware that falling off the edge would have deadly consequences.

  “Jackass.”

  Billy tried to say something, but the look from Nate and the others quickly silenced him. He’d been trying to lighten the mood, but instead it made him look even more stupid than normal. They reached the end of the gantry before Valdis answered.

  “The shafts are for circulation. And yes, they do look very dramatic.”

  She nodded towards the large glass tower.

  “The training centre used to be for the maintenance drone controllers. In the past the machines would be controlled by individual pilots.”

  “And now they are semi or fully autonomous,” Matilda said.

  “Exactly. Why hire a hundred operators, when the machines do the same for nothing? But then came the last Biomech War. So they reopened this section and restored the controls, but for training, not operations.”

  Nate smiled now that he understood the structure’s purpose.

  “Kalar was the home of the maintenance crews and equipment, but this station was also home to the newly raised Kalar Militia.”

  Nate was sure he’d heard the name before.

  “Militia?”

  Valdis nodded, pointing to a sculpted figure in front of the glass doors. It was big, perhaps three metres high, and made of a gleaming metallic material. It took a moment to realise it was a stylised representation of a Byotai soldier. Nate passed it and stopped at seeing something familiar.

  “Human?”

  Valdis reached out and touched the sculpture.

  “Yes, the Kalar Militia fought on Spascia in the war, in the siege. The entire unit was destroyed during the Biomech invasion.”

  She placed her hands along the runic text to the front.

  “It commemorates the war dead, and the victory of Spascia. Four hundred and seventeen souls; all lost in action.”

  Nate looked at the figures, their sculpted faces, hard expressions, and the body of the Human next to them. It was strange to see it there, as though the two people had fought alongside each other for millennia, where in reality two generations ago the very idea of alien life was still argued.

  “A lot has changed,” he said.

  “True,” Valdis agreed.

  She moved from the design and to the doors. The glass slid open, and Nate noticed the cracks in the material. From a distance the place looked well maintained, but already he was seeing through the façade. For all of its size and sophistication, the Anchorage was a backwater, hastily patched up to supply a war effort a decade earlier. Now it was slowly falling apart and little seemed able to change that. As they entered, a pair of Byotai pilots nodded.

  “Welcome,” said the tallest.

  Nate smiled and greeted them in his best Byotai. They both looked amused, but appreciative. One escorted them inside. Nate and Valdis were first, with the rest of the Ironclads right behind them. Matilda brought up the rear as she carefully examined the entire structure with interest. There were many defunct systems, and even part of the passageway appeared as though unused in years. They moved through an opening into a ring-shaped room. Glass covered two-thirds of the wall, giving a grand view of the vast pit and the gantry bridge that led back into the station.

  “This is it,” said Valdis.

  Nate’s eyes scanned around at the dozens of computer simulator units. They were almost identical to those he’d used months ago during training for the contest, back before the fighting started.

  “Wow,” said Billy, “I remember this.”

  At least a dozen Byotai were there, and from the frenetic shouting of the pilots, Nate realised they were already in a simulated battle.

  “Over here.”

  It was a familiar sound, and as his eyes shifted to the right, he found Lieutenant Commander Holder waiting on a raised section in the middle. Next to her a vast display showed a cinematic view of a battle. Nate walked towards it where it commanded the centre of the improvised training centre.

  “Sir, apologies. I didn’t see you there. It is…”

  “That is fine, pilot.”

  She looked off to the sides of the structure.

  “So, the Kalar Anchorage was a shipyard, Naval base, and repair centre. And now we’re using it for pilot training. Strange, don’t you think?”

  “Not really, Sir. Everything we do seems to be strange.”

  Matilda joined him, and Cassandra formed up on his left. Matilda seemed the most concerned with their current predicament.

  “Sir, should we be here when the fleet is in a vulnerable position? We should leave while we can.”

  “No. We are here for forty-eight hours, and Colonel Gun has made his orders quite clear. We will use every available hour to work together, to train, and prepare for the coming fight. He wants us ready to work as a single unit in battle.”

  She pointed to the many empty simulator pods.

  “And by the end of tomorrow I expect all of you to be working
together. You’ll fly close, provide air support, and coordinate your actions as though you’ve always worked together.”

  Her eyes ran along the group, stopping with Cassandra.

  “When we leave, you’ll be taking the Phantoms, and each will take six fighters to support. Make sure you know what you’re doing. The Phantoms are a prize to us, and to the enemy. According to our science teams, we can expect to run into more of them in the future.”

  Matilda lifted a hand.

  “Uh…did you say to support?”

  The officer nodded while raising one eyebrow.

  “Indeed I did. You will provide heavy support for the fighters. It’s a new world, and while we have those fighters, we’ll use them to our advantage.”

  Valdis didn’t seem to be particularly impressed with the plan.

  “Sir. You want us to split the Phantoms apart, and use them individually to support fighter squadrons?”

  “Yes. But…” Holder lifted a hand, “That is just one way we will be conducting operations. I also want you to practice as a unit again. There is no telling what we will face, and I want you ready. Understood?”

  One by one they nodded in agreement. At that very moment the cinematic imagery of the simulated battle finished, and the pilots lifted off the web interfaces from their heads. Holder looked out to them, her eyes slowly scanning each of them.

  “The Phantoms are captured technology, and we will use them to hurt our enemies, before we can study them for ourselves.”

  She pointed to several of the Byotai pilots.

  “You need to learn to fight alongside these advanced fighters, and the best way to do that is to see what they can do. We ran into a squadron of them while engaging the Star Empire fleet at your homeworld.”

  Holder licked her lips before announcing what they were waiting to hear.

  “We will begin training with a simple operation. Ironclad Squadron will take on all of you in a free-for-all skirmish. Fourteen versus four, how will you do?”

  Some of the younger, less seasoned Byotai made all manner of noises, but the rest remained relatively quiet.

  “Once you have finished these trials, we will discuss how to work together to maximum effect. Any questions?”

  None of them spoke, each looking and waiting for the word.

  “Very well, to your ships and wait for the simulation to begin.”

  Nate walked off to the right where a bank of ten pods waited alone. A Byotai technician hovered nearby. One by one they slipped into the pods and pulled on the equipment, much to the bemused look on the technician’s face. Valdis spoke to him quietly, before returning to her own.

  “What did he say?” Billy asked.

  “He wanted to know how many of you had used the equipment before.”

  “You told him?”

  Valdis chuckled.

  “I told him the truth, that you’re all videogamers, civilians with no military background.”

  Even Nate was surprised to hear that from his friend. Billy glanced over and shook his head, but then they both spotted the face of the alien. To their surprise they received a slightly confused looking thumbs up. Valdis laughed.

  “See, he likes you.”

  They donned on the simulator units and closed their eyes. Nate had done this so many times he actually began to worry that he would be confused at which was the real deal, the simulator or the actual fighters. As the link activated, he felt the inside of the fighter as though he was actually there.

  “Open your eyes.”

  He did so and grinned at seeing the inside of the Phantom. The design was correct, though he could see the subtle difference between the 3D model made by Alliance technicians with their scanners, and the real thing that he’d flown. The Phantom was unlikely to stay in their hands forever. He had little doubt that when he returned to the Alliance, they would want the craft to tear apart. Even so, deep down he still hoped this would be his, forever. Of all those in the Alliance, only he and his friends had ever flown the fighters, and they’d already proven time after time that they could use the alien craft to achieve the impossible.

  “This mission is simple, a fourteen versus four furball in an asteroid field. One squadron will use Hawkmoths, the other the Phantoms. Are you ready?”

  Nate looked across to Valdis. She looked a little different to normal, and it took him a second to realise she was actually wearing a full set of standard Byotai armour. Her own equipment was far more risqué than this, but that didn’t bother him. There was more than enough here to remind him he was in a simulation and not the real world.

  “Very good. Ten seconds, and then you fight. Good hunting.”

  Nate instantly activated his comms.

  “Okay, options?”

  Billy spoke first.

  “Split up and take on small groups at a time. We fight them at range.”

  “No,” said Matilda, cutting him off before he could say more, “Use the bomber formation system. Interconnect arcs of fire.”

  “Svana?” Valdis asked.

  “I say split up and hit them hard.”

  Lilija, her co-pilot grunted in agreement.

  Nate remained unconvinced and checked the tactical display. He was surprised to see English text. He’d flown the Phantom enough to know that all the systems, even those compatible with Alliance protocols, still carried Byotai runic text.

  “Okay, We don’t know what these pilots are like. Let’s do the formation first. Play it safe and see what they can do.”

  There was no disagreement, and that was just as well because their ten seconds were now up. No sooner did the countdown hit zero and a veritable armada appeared before them.

  “Contact!” Cassandra yelled.

  “Fourteen fighters coming right at us, Hawkmoth light fighters. They’re breaking formation, two squadrons, closing fast.”

  “Okay,” said Nate, “Form up, diamond formation, and activate guns. Run down the middle.”

  Nate boosted his engines, and the thirty-five metre-long heavy fighter pushed ahead of his friends. Billy moved to one side, and Matilda to the right. Matilda moved directly below and then rolled over so that her craft was upside down in relation to the others. It was an odd position to be in, but to any half-experienced pilot, the benefits were obvious. Now they covered every single direction with their multiple turrets.

  A light blinked red that was followed by a computerised warning.

  “Missile alert. Missile alert.”

  “Ignore it,” said Nate, “Focus your fire ahead, main guns and your forward turrets. On my mark…fire!”

  The pair of 75mm medium velocity mass drivers thudded away, sending their slugs into the approaching formation. The Hawkmoth fighters were agile, and their pilots clearly experienced, yet two were hit and instantly vaporised in the powerful bombardment. The remaining fighters scattered and redirected away from the front of the formation.

  “Nate, missiles in range in eight seconds.”

  Nate nodded.

  “Switch turrets to point defence, and follow me.”

  Rather than chase a particular craft, Nate shifted course, aiming his nose roughly where the second position was expected to be in twenty seconds. The missiles came closer and closer. Twenty-eight high-speed warheads aimed at the formation. The turrets tracked and fired automatically, requiring no input from the pilots. Flashes marked the impacts, and to Nate’s astonishment, two made it through. One struck the left of his fighter, and the second exploded next to the engines. Alarms blasted, but incredibly the cockpit remained intact.

  “Two turrets gone. Engine’s off-line!” Valdis yelled.

  “All fighters stay in formation, keep firing!”

  With the engines gone, they continued forward at their previous speed. Flames roared from the breached fuel mounts, and still the Hawkmoths came on. Now they were a kilometre away, and the turrets of the heavy fighters blazed away continually. Though smaller calibre, their rounds could easily rip through wings, e
ngines, and fuselage plating. Six fighters ripped to pieces as they came in closer, leaving just six more for the attack.

  “Here they come,” said Valdis.

  Nate watched the six race past to his right, pouring shots into the upper hull of Billy’s Phantom. Armoured sections ripped off, but his guns kept on firing. Two more Byotai fighters ripped apart leaving four. Cassandra called out, her voice high-pitched with excitement.

  “I can take them. Let us break and attack.”

  Nate glanced to Valdis who gave him the nod.

  “Affirmative. Ironclads, break formation and pursue!”

  The others boosted their engines and raced away after their prey, leaving Nate and Valdis alone. They were far from the action, but both could see what was happening via the tactical screen. Two Hawkmoths were down, and then the last two did the impossible and rammed Cassandra’s pursuing fighter. All three vanished from the scanner, but the bright lights were easily visible from the cockpit. Then everything turned black.

  “Wait for my command,” said a familiar voice.

  Nate knew the scenario was over, but even as Lieutenant Commander Holder gave the command to open his eyes, he remained stunned. Cassandra was already up and looked at him while shaking her head. Billy, on the other hand, looked positively excited and bent over to help his friend to his feet. They moved from their pods towards the centre of the room and the raised section. As Lieutenant Commander Holder spoke, a computerised voice automatically translated for the Byotai.

  “The skills of every one of you are not in doubt. You all showed exceptional piloting control and dimensional awareness. Now you need to practise combat as combined formations against likely enemy forces.”

  The cinematic mode on the screen activated. They watched in silence as the groups of fighters engaged in a bloody duel. The camera zoomed about, changing perspective and lens type so that they were treated to something close to a movie. Finally, it ended with the three remaining Phantoms limping back, with two trailing flames and smoke.

  “Comments?”

  Valdis spoke first.

  “The captured Phantoms are like a gaming cheat. They are faster, stronger, and carry better weapons than anything we have, or the Alliance.”