by Ben Winston
“Our fighters at Earth are engaging the inbound attack squadrons,” Ops reported.
One of the carriers that had been on the way to the moon suddenly turned yellow in the display, and seemed to be falling back. Likewise, two of his fighters from silver squadron, turned yellow and their beacons activated.
“Launch combat recovery,” Ian ordered.
“Drones away,” flight reported over the comm.
Outside the ship, on the part of the hull covering the landing/launching bays, two large, armored drones detached from the ship. The drones were mostly armor and a shield generator with strong engines and a stronger tractor system. There was nothing fancy about these robotic craft. They had only one function; the recovery of wounded and destroyed fighters and pilots during combat.
Ian listened to the sounds of combat unfolding around him as his people fought for their freedom. So far, they hadn’t actually lost anyone, but several fighters had been damaged. Of the missiles launched at them from the carriers, only one made it through the fighters and the point defense system quickly took care of that one. Ian knew that, had there been more missiles, some of them would have made it through to impact the ship.
“Commander, the missiles from the Super Nova are all targeted at Earth. I’d bet my grandmother’s Elvis collection that those warheads are heavy nukes or are enhanced yield anti-matter. It’s too soon to tell you which cities are targeted, but if those fuckers make it to their targets, millions are going to die,” Eischens reported.
Ian nodded his agreement, even though the intelligence chief wouldn’t see him. “Comm, get me the flight leader of Cobalt.”
“Cobalt flight, Hammerhead here, whatcha need Guardian?” a voice said from Ian’s comm.
“We’ve spotted several missiles launched by the Super Nova that are headed for Earth. I need you to jump out and intercept them,” Ian ordered.
“Will-do, Guardian. We have the data feed. We’re a minute from jumping,” Hammerhead replied.
“Hammerhead, it is imperative that you kill all of those missiles. If even one of them gets through, a city on Earth is going to be vaporized,” Ian said.
“Understood, Guardian. Nothing will get past us,” the man replied after a short pause.
“Be aware that the Super Nova is following the missiles. Don’t even try to engage it, concentrate on the missiles. The missiles are your priority. Good hunting, Cobalt,” Ian replied. “Guardian out.”
“Enemy fighters entering weapons range,” the CIC reported.
“All guns, acquire and fire! Weapons free!” Ian called. “Gordon, how’s that problem coming?”
“It’s a slippery one, sir. I’m doing my best!” the woman replied.
“I know you are, Lieutenant, ask for help if you can use it,” Ian suggested and turned back to the hologram hovering in the center of the room.
“Ops, what’s going on with those decoy drones? Why aren’t they evading the carriers?” Ian asked.
“We’re trying to find out, Commander. They quit following our instructions a few minutes ago. If we can’t get them back, the gig will be up shortly,” Chloe replied.
“If you can get them back, shut them down and let them drift. Try to get the carriers to believe that they disappeared,” Ian suggested. “Maybe, with everything else that’s been going on in this system, we’ll start to spook them.”
“That would require them to have an imagination, Commander,” Eischens replied. “So far, I haven’t seen evidence of them having one. They seem to believe that they are invincible, and no matter what we do, they will just keep throwing weapons and troops at us.” He paused a moment. “Sir, I think we stand a chance of pulling this off.”
“You’re just now coming that conclusion? Thanks for the vote of confidence!” Ian said teasingly.
“You know what I meant, Commander. This commander refuses to believe we are a threat to him, so he is mostly ignoring us,” Eischens replied.
“I take it you are mentioning this for a reason, Major?” Ian asked.
“Yes sir. I believe that, no matter what the course projections are, everything they are throwing at Earth right now, is meant for one target. They believe that in order to take the planet, they will have to first destroy us, by destroying Talos. I think they have decided that the community on the surface is the main command center for all off-world operations,” Eischens explained. “However, once they have destroyed the town, the rest of the planet will fall quickly, and they will act accordingly. The Super Nova is moving to Earth, not to intercept us, but to insure Caldarian dominance of the planet. Who would oppose them with that monster over their heads?”
Although there was no proof to back-up Eischens explanation, Ian felt he was most likely correct. However, he couldn’t afford to change tactics in the event the man was wrong.
“I’m inclined to agree with you, Major. However, I don’t see how changing our current strategy would make anything better,” Ian replied.
“Oh, no Sir, I wasn’t suggesting that. What we are doing right now is exactly the right thing we should be doing. From all appearances, the Caldarians have no idea how to counter this type of combat. The one thing I’m afraid of, Sir, is that everything we are doing will be fruitless.”
Ian was surprised by that. “How so?”
“Sir, even if we destroyed every single fighter and carrier that thing carried, what would be left?” the man asked.
“Just the Super Nova, it would be pretty much defenseless,” Ian replied.
“Is it?” Eischens asked. “Even if we stripped every one of her offensive ships from her, that monster still retains the power to destroy the planet before we could do anything to it. Even without her fighters and carriers, there is no guarantee that we could defeat her.”
“Well, no, it would still be a hard fight, but it can be done. The odds are a lot higher without her fighters,” Ian explained. “So what would you propose we do about it, Major?”
“We need to think about how to seriously damage the big ship. That will take their minds off of Talos,” Eischens replied.
“Would four anti-matter tipped hyper missiles work for you?” Ian asked grinning.
“That would certainly be a good start, Sir!” Eischens replied.
“Tell you what, Major, send your son out here, I have a job for him,” Ian said.
“He’s on his way, Sir.” Eischens replied.
Jenny looked up at Ian in question, he smiled and winked at her.
“Caldarian carriers and fighters are in attack range.” The report over the comm stated. As if to underscore the announcement, the ship rocked slightly as it took fire.
Jenny immediately turned back to her console. “Damage control to port section one thirty seven, decks five and six. Engineering, I’m showing the shield generators in sections one thirty five through one forty are in stand-by mode.”
“We’re on it!” was replied, but Ian couldn’t tell from who.
“Gold squadron, one of those assholes just scratched the paint job. What are you doing out there? Enjoying the view?” Ian said into the comm to Talena.
“Just making sure you’re awake in there, Guardian,” Talena replied, but Ian could tell she was preoccupied. From what he could see of the fight going on outside the ship, she was very busy. Ian had two squadrons of fighters out there, one led by Talena, and the other led by Cindy. Luckily, there hadn’t been a lot of friendly casualties yet. The enemy fighters were still having trouble targeting the nearly invisible fighters that Ian’s pilots were flying.
“Earth orbit in fifteen minutes, Sir. I’m trying to not outrun our fighters,” Chekov reported.
“Good work, steady as she goes, Lieutenant,” Ian said nodding his approval.
“You asked for me, Sir?” the younger Eischens asked from beside him.
Ian turned to him and pointed to where Lieutenant Gordon was working furiously at a terminal. “Do you see that woman over there?”
“Yes Sir,” the E
nsign replied.
“I want you to give her a hand. She’s got a navigation problem that’s giving her fits,” He sat up a little. “Lieutenant Gordon, I’ve asked Ensign Eischens to give you hand. He has a grasp of the higher maths and programming that’ll blow your socks off.”
Gordon looked relieved. “Thank you Sir, I was trying to think of someone I could call to help with this.”
Ian winked at the young man who was still staring at the attractive red-head. “Go on, Ensign.”
Jenny saw his expression, chuckled, and shook her head. “I thought you wanted to get the issue solved? I somehow doubt that putting those two together is going to speed up the process.”
Ian grinned. “I think you’ll be surprised.” He watched the two out of the corner of his eye to make sure that they did actually fix the problem with the hyper missile programming. He wasn’t disappointed, they got right into the problem, and were soon lost in their own little world.
“Sir, the attack force has entered the atmosphere. Talos is under a full alert, and has activated their shield and weapons systems,” CIC reported. “The United States has also put all forces at home on full alert. The last message from the Admiral said that he had told the President of the impending attack, and that we were responding to it. He said they will try to stay out of our way, but will have fighters in the air to ‘assist’ us.”
“Wonderful. Well, we tried,” Ian replied.
Star Dancer battled the two carriers and their fighters while it made its slow progress to Earth. Meanwhile, in open space, between Earth and Venus orbits, a full squadron of Shadow fighters scrambled to chase down and destroy the missiles that were heading for Earth. Closer toward Venus orbit, but steadily accelerating, the huge Caldarian warship was headed for a final parking orbit over the planet it had come to claim.
At Earth, the Caldarian force held their speed, and refused to slow down and engage the fighters that had been sent to intercept them. They did drop fighters to keep the ‘Terran’ fighters occupied while the carriers continued on. The ploy worked simply because of the number of fighters they left behind them. When the carriers crossed over the high deserts of Utah and Nevada, they deployed yet more fighters, as well as several more bombers.
When it was clear to Ian that the carriers wouldn’t be slowed, he directed every fighter they could launch from the moon to Earth to help defend the town. The lunar fighters arrived at the planet, at the same time that Star Dancer did, and immediately dropped into the atmosphere to help stop the enemy that had just made it to missile range of the small community.
The amount of fighting taking place in the atmosphere was very obvious to the inhabitants of the planet, and there would be no way to cover it up. Some of the fighting, actually made it almost all the way to the ground, as some fighting took place near Las Vegas. Several enemy and one friendly fighters had been shot down in that area. Ty had dispatched cloaked shuttles to track the course of the battle from very low altitude for the purpose of cleaning up the mess before anyone else could get their hands on the wreckage, or the pilots.
The main battle took place over southern Colorado, eastern Arizona, all of New Mexico, and parts of Nevada.
Chapter 21
Talos, New Mexico
Earth, Sol Sector
Combat location: Eden
“Sir, the assault force has entered the atmosphere. Two carriers launched fighters to engage ours, but the rest of the carriers have not slowed down, they are still coming. E.T.A. is twenty-nine minutes,” the Marine manning the ops terminal said to Ty.
“Sound the alarm. Let’s get everyone down in the shelters. Activate all weapons systems, and bring the shields to full power. If any or our troops aren’t suited up and armed, they need to be ASAP.” He touched the button on his Comm. “Colonel Petrie, this is Ty.”
“This is Petrie, what’s up?” the man replied.
“We have guests coming, E.T.A. is twenty-five minutes. From the looks of it, this is going to be a full attack, including nukes and anti-matter. Please make sure all your people are suited up for the duration,” Ty said.
“I ordered them all into their armor when you first told me about the ships. We’re ready for them,” Petrie replied.
“Good, I’ve also activated all the weapons systems, so your heavy guns should be hot. Good luck out there,” Ty said.
“In case I don’t get the chance to say it, Colonel Anders, thank you for letting us be a part of this. This is what Marines are meant to do.” Petrie replied.
“Semper Fi, Colonel,” Ty said.
“HOO-ahh!” Petrie said and closed the channel.
“Do we have missile lock yet?” Ty asked.
“Any second, Sir.” The other man in the ops center replied.
“Feel free to light them up as soon as you do, Corporal. All weapons are free to fire as soon as they have a positive lock.” Ty ordered. “Remember, there are a lot of friendlies, and normal jets up there.”
“Will do Sir,” the man replied.
“Connors, have our troops get to the surface and help the civilians get to the shelters. I want everyone off the surface before any of those bombers get into range,” Ty said noticing that there were still people running around on the surface. “What’s the problem up there anyway?”
“Two children are missing. We’re checking to make sure they aren’t already in the shelter, but they are still looking for them on the surface too,” Private Connors replied.
“If they aren’t found in fifteen minutes, then we’re going to have to give up. It’ll be too dangerous for the civilians up there,” Corporal, what’s Star Dancer doing?”
“Still en-route to Earth Sir, she should get her about the same time the enemy does. Operations has just ordered all fighters from Phoenix base to launch and get here as fast as possible, Star Dancer’s Marines are getting ready to deploy, but I’m not sure where they’re going yet,” Corporal Ramirez said.
“Not too many places for them to go, is there, Corporal?” Ty asked.
“Sir, I meant I don’t know if they are getting ready to come here, or they are gearing up for a boarding operation,” Ramirez replied.
“Who are they going to board?” Ty asked, confused.
“Sir, the Super Nova is also in route to Earth,” Ramirez replied.
“Fuck! I forgot about that big bastard. Okay, keep me posted,” Ty said, then touched his communit again. “Main Medical, this is Ty.”
“MedBay, what’s up, Colonel?” Doctor Johnson replied.
“It’s party time, are you all set up down there?” he asked.
“Already? I thought we had another hour!” she said in surprise. “We will be in five more minutes, Colonel.”
“That should be fine, Doctor. Do you need anything?” Ty asked.
“Do you think you could get the Caldarians to simply turn around and go home? That would be really helpful,” the woman replied sweetly. “Everything else we pretty much have a handle on.”
“Multiple targets locked! Missiles away!” Ramirez reported.
Ty shook his head. “Nope, I guess they didn’t get the message, sorry Doc.”
“Keep your head down, Colonel,” the doctor replied.
“Will do, Anders out.” Ty said closing the channel.
“Connors, use the base sensors to find the kids then get everyone underground now!” Ty said. “If they are in range of our weapons, we are in range of theirs!”
“I’ve been trying Sir, I’m still looking, but they haven’t shown up yet,” the private said.
“Sir, I have inbound missiles! Missile defense systems are tracking and firing!” Ramirez reported. He looked over at Private Connors. “We’re running out of time, Amigo, I would get the civilians to the shelter, and keep looking for the young ones with soldiers.”
Connors nodded. “I’m issuing the orders. I’d just like to know where they could have gone that the sensors wouldn’t be able to find them.”
“Where are the o
nly places in the compound that the sensors don’t work?” Ty asked.
“There aren’t that many, near the shield generators or the power units, mostly,” Connors replied.
“What about close to the edge of the shield itself?” Ty asked.
Connors shook his head. “There are sensors on each of the poles all around the perimeter, if they were close to any of those, we’d know about it.”
“Well, send men to check out the shield generators, and power units. Bring all the domestic drones up from the underground base, program them to look for the kids, and turn them loose. In ten minutes we’re going to be trading energy with live Caldarians on the ground,” Ty said. “We’re going to need every Marine we have. Ramirez, warn the Marines about the missiles.”
“Fighters and assault carriers are following the missiles. It looks like they are serious this time,” Ramirez said.
“Those missiles must be shield piercers. I was expecting heavy anti-matter, or nukes,” Ty said.
“Sensors do say they are carrying anti-matter, but you are correct, Sir, the amount is consistent with shield piercers,” Ramirez replied.
“Control, this is Elias. I found them! They were playing on top of the mesa next to the shield Generator. They’re both unconscious, which would explain why they didn’t come running when the alarm sounded. When the shield went active, it stunned them,” Elias explained. “I’m carrying them, and we are running for the shelter.”
“Elias, its Ty. Make for the admin building, and take the elevator down from there. It’s closer to your location. Be advised, there are missiles coming, it’s going to get hairy out there before you can reach cover.”
“Understood, I just handed one of the young one’s off to a Marine, we’re heading for the Admin building,” Elias replied.
“Impact is imminent! All units! Take cover!” Ramirez called.
The command center shook with the impacts. Of the shield piercer missiles, alarms started sounding from the computer system.
“Shield down to thirty percent. We have fires in sections one and four! Damage control to sections one and four!” Connors ordered.