Star Crusader: Siege of Kalar

by Thomas, Michael G.

  “Ironclad Leader, we’re losing space down here.”

  Billy’s Phantom drifted into view, and Nate felt a pang of frustration that his friend was safely flying an almost completely undamaged craft, while once again he was flying something that could tear itself apart at any moment.

  “Roll right!”

  Nate did as he was told, and a single Mahingan swept past them. Nate rolled back, but Billy was already on it. Rather than spin about, he let his own turrets do their terrible work. In seconds, the enemy fighter was a shattered wreck, dropping and trailing flames.

  “Okay, pilots. Everybody inside, now! It’s time to leave!”

  Nate gulped as he heard that.

  “What about Victorious?”

  “You heard me,” Lieutenant Commander Holder repeated, “Get inside, fast!”

  Nate didn’t like the sound of that. He started to speak again, but Valdis interrupted him.

  “Understood.”

  Nate’s frustration was obvious. His body and mind told him two completely different paths to take, but Valdis remained controlled. She was usually the one gunning for action, yet their roles had suddenly been reversed.

  “I don’t like this.”

  “I know, but it’s the plan. We turn around, and what can we do? Our ship is wrecked, and we have our orders.”

  As before, icons appeared as waypoints, showing them which ships to approach. Most were heading towards the armoured transports, but some landed inside the Byotai attack cruisers. Holder moved in front of him, wagging her wings before accelerating away. The other two Phantoms were hot on her heels, leaving Nate at the rear.

  “We’re heading for ANS Indomitable. Stay close, this is gonna get frosty.”

  Nate made further adjustments, trying his best to avoid the myriad of enemy fighters coming for them. Their pilots must have worked out what was happening because they quickly turned their attention from the ships to the smaller craft. Gunfire lashed the flank of Matilda’s Phantom, and Nate stopped breathing as sparks enveloped the one side.

  “Help her.”

  Valdis was already on it and swung her turrets around. As she fired, another burst came in from the massive hull of ANA Agincourt. A Mokku broke apart, scattering broken chunks of spacecraft in Nate’s path.

  “Hold on!”

  There was no time to take evasive action, so both held onto the controls and waited. The cockpit turned completely black for the briefest of moments, and chunks of broken metal shattered against the nose. Then as quickly as it had arrived, the debris vanished, and they were free.

  “We okay?”

  Valdis checked the screens and then looked to the sides of the cockpit.

  “We’re still flying, Nate. I don’t know how, but we are.”

  “Crazy,” he muttered.

  “Starboard doors are opened ready. Get inside and put your birds down safely,” Holder ordered.

  Nate hesitated, and then spoke over the encrypted network.

  “Affirmative, heading inside now.”

  He rolled to the right as shots flashed past him. The turrets on the nearby ANA Agincourt opened up again, cutting down a pair of Mokku fighters and creating a corridor for him to travel along. He moved closer to the ship, marvelling at its angular design and the massive double ring-nacelle. The ships were already moving away from the massive facility and heading towards the icy world of Kalar Sopitam. As Nate looked for it, he found the dark sphere filling part of his view. With no star bathing the system with light and radiation, it had no light to reflect. It was like some great black hole waiting to suck them in. The ship nacelles pulsed with even more energy, serving as a reminder that they were going to jump from the system.

  “The change of course is just a ruse,” said Valdis, “We’re not going to Kalar Sopitam, are we?”

  Nate nodded.

  “Yeah, I think you’re right. We need to get out of here.”

  Valdis said nothing, keeping her attention focussed on the never-ending supply of enemy fighters. Her guns kept on going, even as the first two Phantoms raced inside and through the lower flank hangar doors. Billy followed, leaving Nate and Valdis out on their own.

  “Just one more…shot…”

  Valdis fired again, and all three turrets put shots into the nose of yet another Mokku.

  “Hold on!”

  Nate put the fighter through flank doors. He felt a tingle down his back as the triple door system opened and closed to let him inside. It was fast and safe, but there was always doubt that the system might fail. That would leave him vulnerable to crashing, with no way to slow down in time, but then they were through and moving along the length of the ship. He knew it was the lower deck, below the operations level, yet it looked tiny right now. The other three fighters were towards the rear, leaving him space to land.

  “Okay, here we go.”

  The Phantom came in low and fast, but Nate had already feathered the engines. Valdis worked the retro engines and coaxed every possible newton of thrust. The deck shortened by the second, and soon they would be right on top of the other fighters. Sensing they may not slow on just their engines, Nate knew there were only two other options. He pushed down hard and forced the fighter to the deck. Down they came and then hit the metallic plating hard.

  “Nate!”

  He chose to ignore Valdis for the moment and switched all power to the forward thrusters. The Phantom gouged the deck, leaving deep scars in the metalwork and great clouds of sparks. To his surprise, a massive barrier of rubberised lattice swung out in front, snagging them as they passed through. The fighter caught up in the unit and slowed to a halt, throwing both pilots forward. Had it not been for their harnesses, they would have been killed instantly.

  Nate remained motionless, stunned both mentally and physically. Even when the doors hissed open and deck crew entered, he was still there. Finally, he shook his head and looked to the new arrivals. There were some Alliance Marines in full armour, as well as technicians and two Thegns. The strange alien creatures looked oddly friendly, perhaps helped by the partial PDS gear they now wore.

  “Flying Officer Lewis!”

  Nate blinked twice and tried to reach the door. Hands grabbed him and helped pull him inside. He then realised who it was and started to salute.

  “Sir!”

  Lieutenant Commander Holder laughed.

  “Not now, Lewis. Where is Valdis?”

  She stepped up behind him as though nothing had happened.

  “Here, Sir. Did we all make it?”

  Before any of them could say more, a howling of engines forced them to rush to the deck. Nate moved with them and looked up as two Hawkmoth fighters dropped down and lowered themselves to the deck, followed closely by a single Jackal. In space the fighters looked small, but this close they were quite sizable. Both folded in their fragile wings as they settled down onto the deck with little effort. As soon as the second landed, a great boom reverberated through the ship, followed by the loudspeakers singing their song.

  “This is the Captain. Seal all decks and prepare for docking maneuverer.”

  “Prepare for what?” Nate asked.

  Matilda and the others filed out of their fighters to join them, but Nate’s attention was on the Jackal. He recognised the colour and markings from back on the massive facility. It was the one Valentine had escaped aboard, and his heart pounded knowing that she’d made it back in one piece.

  “For my manoeuvre, idiot.”

  Nate dragged his eyes away from the Jackal and towards his friends. Matilda removed her helmet, and he was surprised to see the wide smile on her face. Cassandra was right behind him, and the other pilots, including Valdis’ comrades followed up the rear.

  “She’s right,” said Cassandra, “Look.”

  Billy heard what they were saying and pointed off to a number of screens on the nearby wall. Svana and Lilija were there already, watching the unfolding events with intrigue. Two showed an external view of the Anchorage as it
shrank slowly in size. At first it wasn’t clear what was happening, but Matilda pointed at the third unit. At the same time deck crew raced past, the thud of seals and blast doors reminding them that the entire ship was undergoing a complete lockdown.

  “There!”

  Nate watched open-mouthed as a Byotai attack cruiser came in closer and closer. It was directly above them now and started to roll so that two of its four wings completely enveloped the sides of the ship. Nate gulped and then turned to Matilda.

  “They went for it?”

  She gave one of her rare smiles, and he could immediately tell it was genuine. Matilda knew how smart she was, just as the others did, but she remained saddled with something bordering on a Cassandra Complex.

  “Looks like it, doesn’t it?”

  They watched in stunned silence as more of the Byotai ships did the same, a pair even moving above and below ANA Marathon. The visual effect was bizarre, with the ships merging together into a great mass of metal.

  Incredible.

  Then he remembered the rest of the battle. The others continued watching the unique event, but he approached the left screen. With a few taps on his Secpad bracelet, he was able to change the view to one of the stern-mounted cameras. The battle was a long way off, but it didn’t take much effort to adjust the stabilised scope.

  “They have no chance,” he said quietly.

  Footsteps marked the approach of somebody else, but his attention was locked entirely on the battle. There they were, three warships heading towards the enemy flagship. The equal fight was a trick, though, as the rest of the enemy fleet was heading right for them.

  “Insanity.”

  “Is it?” said a smooth, calm voice.

  Nate turned around and there was Lieutenant Commander Holder. Her helmet was off, and her long brown hair ran down past her shoulders. Her usual stern demeanour was gone, but her old-world accent remained off-putting.

  “Three ships against the entire fleet. We shouldn’t be leaving them out here. Just look.”

  Gunfire raged as the bulk of the fleet encircled the three vessels. Small flashes marked gun and missile impacts. Nate had never seen such a one-sided battle, yet ANS Victorious ignored the gunfire and kept on attacking the distant enemy flagship. Lances of light reflected in the dust as her powerful particle beam cannons unleashed incredible energy. Mass drivers hurled hardened slugs back and forth, and then they were overwhelmed. Ship after ship circled them, strafing them with fire, like a pack of wolves taking on a large beast.

  “Just a little longer.”

  Nate couldn’t believe it. Here they were, about to leave the system, while they left three ships behind, to suffer an ignominious defeat at the hands of this most wretched foe. He tried to look away, yet something drew him in with sickening interest. Nate had to know how it ended, even though he really wanted to pretend it wasn’t actually happening.

  Now.

  A Byotai attack cruiser began to break apart. The ships were incredibly tough, but nothing could stand against such overwhelming fire. Guns hammered into its hull, and the volleys of missiles and torpedoes finally finished it off. Explosion after explosion tore a great gash along its central hull, and then there were two ships. Flames spread in all directions, and then it was gone, a burning hulk, and no longer a warship.

  Holder placed a hand on Nate’s shoulder. It was only partially reassuring, and also pinned him in place so that he had to watch the next part of the fight. Matilda and Billy were now there, and soon more of the pilots were alongside and watching the last moments.

  “They are sacrificing themselves for us,” said Svana. Her voice was cool and bitter. Nate detected the hate and anger that lay at the surface. All them had lost family and friends, but Svana was now motivated only by one thing, a desire for vengeance.

  “We should be there with them.”

  Valdis shook her head in the Human fashion and whispered to her old friend. It was that odd short-form of language, the one few of the translator units could ever hope to deal with. Valdis then looked to Nate.

  “We are exactly where we should be. The battle of our time has not yet come, and when it does, we will all be there.”

  At that moment, the final remaining Byotai ship pulled away and boosted its engines. The ship moved quickly, and should have been destroyed due to the damage it had already sustained. To Nate’s surprise the enemy ignored them, and made for the damaged Alliance ship, the flagship of the battle fleet.

  Victorious, what are you doing?

  “Now,” said Holder, “It is time.”

  She pointed to the second screen where the nacelles around the ships glowed with energy. Nate had seen the engines pulse briefly before, but he’d never seen this.

  “What’s happening?”

  “They’re overpowering the nacelles to create a bigger energy-density field. If it works, it will cover the host, and the ships around it.”

  Nate shook his head as the glowing light increased in brightness. It became so overpowering that the coloured faded, to be replaced by a bright white ring. Then it pulsed once and the ship was gone. Nate looked on, open mouthed just as another did the same.

  “It’s working?”

  Matilda exhaled with relief. Nate had assumed she was always one hundred percent convinced of her own theories. This was the first time he’d ever noticed any real doubt in her thoughts.

  “Well?”

  She shrugged as two more did the same. Finally, it was just them left; the armoured transport ANA Trafalgar and the last Confederate class ship ANS Independence. As the ships left the system, Nate felt more and more alone. A glance to the right showed the escaping Byotai cruiser was seconds away from joining up with them. He was much more interested in the fate of ANS Victorious.

  “She’s stopped firing.”

  There was silence on the deck as they watched dozens of ships move in around the still ship. Guns stopped firing as they waited for their flagship to move ever closer.

  “Look,” said Valdis.

  Nate’s watched the nearby vessels power up their nacelles. He felt guilty leaving the ship behind with General Honorius, Colonel Gun, Spartan, and the others on board.

  “Why aren’t any ships travelling with Independence?”

  The ship flashed once and vanished. Then the star system pulled away as Nate’s own ship activated its interstellar drive. There was a slight vibration as the unit powered up, and then they were travelling without moving. The ships became dots, and then so did the Anchorage. In seconds, all of them were gone, and what remained of the fleet was free.

  “We made it!” Billy yelled excitedly.

  Nate looked away from the screens and to his friends. Three marines approached and stopped alongside Lieutenant Commander Holder. They exchanged salutes and spoke for a moment, and then two left. The third removed his helmet, and Nate gasped. It was an older man, perhaps in his late thirties, and with a deep scar running down the side of his face. The insignia marked him out as a Gunnery Sergeant, and that instantly put Nate on edge. Nate hadn’t seen him before, but he seemed to recognise Nate.

  “Flying Officer Lewis?”

  Nate nodded.

  The man grimaced, and Nate knew right away it was bad news.

  “We lost people back there. Private Valentine was on the door guns as we left the ground. We took some heavy hits, and she was knocked off and fell.”

  Nate opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

  “I’m sorry, son. We tried to get back down, but the gunfire shredded our systems. Either we left then, or we lost the entire ship and everybody inside.”

  “Is…is she dead?”

  The man looked into Nate’s eyes for several seconds, saying nothing at first.

  “We don’t know. Her telemetric readings show she was injured in the fall, but conscious when we breached the station. I’m sorry, she was a hell of a Marine.”

  He turned to leave, but Nate stepped closer and grabbed his armoured ar
m. Normally, he might have struck out, but the Marine could see the young pilot was angry.

  “You just left her there, on her own, to die?”

  The Gunnery Sergeant shook his head.

  “We put down a lot of fire in that place. I saw her get up and break for cover. There might still be some Byotai soldiers there that can help her. Have a little faith. Valentine won’t give up. I’ll tell you this, though. She’s never alone. Valentine is a Marine. If she can survive long enough, we’ll get her. That much I promise you.”

  “When?”

  “I’ve no idea, son.”

  He finally made to leave, but Nate called after him.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Gunnery Sergeant Kenrick. On special assignment from ANS Warlord.”

  Nate was surprised. Warlord was the single battleship in the Alliance arsenal and the flagship of the Orion Battlegroup. More important, the ship was the home of Admiral Churchill, now his senior commander. He watched the man leave, and then returned to his friends. Holder was gone, and most of the deck crew were busily working on the landed craft. Byotai pilots climbed down from their fighters, and Valdis ran over to greet them. That left him with his reduced cadre of friends.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Kalar Anchorage, 9th Quadrant

  January 18th 2473

  Private Valentine leaned back against the bulkhead and took in a lungful of cool air. It was dark and long deserted there, the perfect location to stop for a rest. She was nearly a kilometre inside the Anchorage, and well away from where the violent gun battles had taken place. Each passing day, the place had become cooler, forcing her deeper inside to where the last remnants of heat remained.

  Five days. They’re not coming back, are they?

  She closed her eyes and travelled back to the last moments of the massive battle on the landing deck. She could remember the thrill of the fight, the gunfire, and the enemy soldiers and Technos racing through the place. And then it had all fallen apart. They’d managed to get away in once piece, right before it all went wrong. She felt a spasm in her shoulder, an instant reminder of the impact when she’d hit the ground.