by P. C. Haring
They had no reply other than to break off and head back to their respective bases. The tactical upload indicated the Verasai force had breached the outer defensive perimeter and would be in the sanctuary within fifteen minutes. The sensor data also indicated the rogue planet was now within range of the short-range sensors and, if she had to guess, almost looked as though it had developed a tail, like some sort like a comet. Odd.
“Yeah, Valeer, I do,” she said.
“Too bad we don’t have time to find out.”
“Actually…” A darker tone warmed her voice. “I was thinking...when this is all over how about your squadron and mine meet for drinks at the rendezvous?”
“I’d like that.”
“And, Colonel Valeer, what do you say that the commander of the squadron with the least kills per pilot picks up the tab?” The words were out of her mouth before she realized she had said them. Assisting the Remali in a combat drill was one thing, but according to the orders from Central, they were to remain out of the fight unless engaged. But in the back of her mind, she knew the same thing Valeer knew and the same thing she suspected the Captain knew- at some point, the Mjöllnir would be forced to defend herself.
Valeer let out a single laugh. “One small problem, Labonne. Do you have any Remali currency with which to pay such an exorbitant tab?”
She laughed. “I don’t anticipate needing any,” she taunted.
Valeer returned with a chuckle, “All right...you’re on.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
November 9, 2832
13:15
Surahan Sector
THE APPROACHING VERASAI fleet struck like a swarm of insects. One moment, the surrounding space was calm, quiet, and serene. The next, the Verasai fleet blew through the inner perimeter like a hive of angry hornets, with only a smattering of mines detonating. The Remali wasted no time as they unloaded against the advancing swarm, destroying the front line of Verasai fighters.
The Mjöllnir held back, still docked at the station, taking in as many refugees as they could cram into the ship. The ship’s massive volume proved a great advantage as nearly one hundred thousand refugees crammed themselves into the Alliance battleship. The port and starboard flight decks had been converted as had every square meter of cargo space, recreational space, corridor space, and nearly every other noncritical area. Bringing that many people aboard was a double-edged sword. On one hand, a single ship capable of carrying so many was a tremendous resource. But on the other hand, if the Mjöllnir fell, the loss of life would be even more significant. Even if she took significant damage, evacuating damaged sections and moving repair crews through the ship in a timely matter would now prove impossible. But there was little choice in the matter.
In the Mjöllnir’s Operations Control Center, Cody and Cassandra Amado stood around the central display observing the tide of the engagement. While the Remali put up a strong fight and effectively cut the enemy down, the sheer number of Verasai ships made it near impossible for them to hold their ground. Inevitably, a Verasai battleship broke through the line and made for the station. Then they stopped, much like someone would stop if they suddenly saw someone they weren’t expecting standing in their way. Cody Amado cleared his throat.
“All right, here we go.”
Amado turned to the communication station as he put on his headset. Cassie already had hers on and stood ready to monitor. The officer manning the station turned, but Amado responded to the report before it could be delivered.
“The Verasai trying to contact us?”
“Affirmative, Captain.”
“Put it through.”
The obligatory moment passed as the signal was routed.
“This is Regent Miresh Melor, Commander of the Lorencha, flagship of the Verasai expeditionary force to the Alliance vessel Mjöllnir docked at the station. State your business.”
Amado rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck, as if he were preparing to dive into a pool for a workout.
“This is Captain Cody Amado of the Mjöllnir. We are here on a humanitarian mission. At the request of the Remali, we are evacuating refugees off their station for relocation.”
He looked to Cassie and shrugged. He hadn’t lied.
“Request denied, Captain. Surahan station is Verasai property, taken from us by the Remali. The station’s population, the ‘refugees’ as you call them, are to be held for questioning.”
Cody scoffed.
“Regent, if you have dispute over the ownership rights of this station, I suggest you take it up with the Remali through diplomatic channels. As for the refugees, we are taking civilians only. I can promise you that none have any useful information for you.”
“It does not matter. They will be held, as will you, while we impound your vessel. Prepare to be boarded.”
Cody Amado sighed. He knew where this was going to go. Cent-Com had instructed him not to fire the first shot; they had not instructed him to be conciliatory.
“Regent Melor, the only place this ship is going is to deliver refugees. We are getting under way now.” He motioned to the pilot who began executing commands. “And we are departing this sector. Any attempt to stop this ship by force will be considered an act of aggression to which I will respond by defending this ship with every resource at my command.”
“So be it, Captain.”
The communication line went dead as the Verasai cruiser moved to intercept.
“Sound battle stations. Set condition one throughout the ship!”
Personnel rushed into action as the Mjöllnir closed its distance. The ship’s defensive electronic countermeasures went online. By pre-determination, the ship’s offensive weaponry remained offline so as not to provoke the Verasai. They closed the distance, and the deck rocked. They recovered, but Amado turned to Aler.
“Captain,” Aler said calmly, “the Verasai have fired upon us. Direct hit to the main hull. They’re turning to an attack posture and I’m detecting their weapon capacitors are re-charging.”
“Continue on course, but do not engage. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that was a poorly aimed warning shot.”
The deck rocked again, harder and more violent than before. Cody’s hand shot to the central display, steadying himself.
“Captain,” Aler reported once the ship stabilized, “the Verasai have fired again.”
“Well, then,” Cody said, looking to Cassie. “It would seem that we have been attacked and will need to defend ourselves.”
“Agreed, Captain.”
“Mr. Aler, bring all weapons systems online and begin calculating firing solutions. Prepare to engage the enemy.”
November 9, 2832
13:25
Surahan Defense Zone
LABONNE SMILED WICKEDLY as her quarry was reduced to cinders. The advantage of deploying late into the fray was that her squadron would be able to ride in and pull off a nice ambush against the unsuspecting Verasai ships already engaged against the Remali. She rolled to port to avoid striking a larger piece of debris. As she emerged on the far side, Valeer crossed her line of sight, pursued by a pair of Verasai ships. She turned to pursue forming up directly behind and scoring two quick and clean kills before she veered off to support her own pilots.
“Thank you for the save, Labonne, but you stole those kills from my wingman.”
“His loss,” she chuckled as her forward guns scored a non-lethal hit on their next target. “Supplies are limited. Act fast!”
An explosion directly ahead drew her attention as one of the Remali frigates took hull damage. She evaded, avoiding being caught in the blast, but as she leveled to acquire a new target, a new heavy cruiser entered the arena. Instinct took over and she gave herself no opportunity to back down.
“Mitchell, Dyson! You and your wings form up on me.”
They charged forward. The cruiser’s weapons remained silent, allowing its fighter wing to launch without being shot down from friendly fire and meet th
eir attack. Labonne’s wing introduced itself with weapons fire as the nine ships scattered into a broken formation and opened fire, cutting the approaching Verasai fighter wing in half.
The two units met, and blew past each other.
“Do not engage! Continue on course to the cruiser, accelerate to full throttle, and put as much distance between the enemy fighters and us as you can.”
She turned her attention to her rear sensors. As predicted, the Verasai ships had turned and were pursuing her group back towards the cruiser.
“Incoming!”
Her attention shot back to the goings-on outside as the target opened fire with its own defensive weapons, creating a wall of fire through which her group would have to cross if they wished to take the ship down.
“Hold your vectors! Open fire and punch a hole!”
Nine ships entered the field of fire with their weapons blazing. Six came out.
Labonne shook her head as the ship’s violent jerking subsided and the ride, inside the minimum weapons range of the enemy ship, became much smoother. Her ship had taken minor damage, mostly burns and hull scorching, but the skin of her port wing had been penetrated and she was venting. She paid it no mind. The automated diagnostics would detect the problem and close the proper valves. She had a cruiser to destroy, which loomed ever larger as she closed. Her targeting computers lit up when she entered her own weapon’s range.
“Attack!”
The survivors broke formation and scattered around the outside of the ship, strafing and firing as they flew. The rounds shredded the battle-hardened hull of the Verasai cruiser, but she did not let up. In truth, her fighter was, —as were the other five— scanning for any form of power surge or damage their heavy weapons could exploit.
“I have a shot,” Mitchell reported, “and I’m taking it!”
Labonne spun around and picked off another Verasai fighter before it could get a bead on her. The alarms went off, indicating a power overload in the enemy cruiser.
“Direct hit! I’m reading feedback surges all along their power grid. All Gryphons get clear now!”
She didn’t bother to look behind her and confirm the pending kill. Instead, she throttled forward and bugged out. The cruiser erupted, engulfing its own fighters, as they were unable to clear the blast in time. Labonne smirked.
“Nice kill, Colonel, but that still only counts as one,” Valeer’s voice said.
She laughed. “One for the cruiser, plus the dozen fighters caught in the blast.”
November 9, 2832
13:25
Surahan Sector
THE DECK beneath General Rashar’s feet trembled as the ship absorbed the latest in a series of weak attacks from the battered Verasai line. She stepped back a pace and took in the display as it rotated and filled the corner. The strategy had been perfect and having the Mjöllnir on hand had allowed her forces to hold the line without worry of what would break through. When something did, the Mjöllnir would engage and defend the station.
This strategy allowed the Remali vessel to form the forward line with every available ship, while at the same time being able to defend the station without pulling ships out of position. Of course, this strategy could have been executed with another Remali vessel instead of the Mjöllnir, or a smaller forward line. But this combination seemed to be working with surprising effectiveness; there weren’t as many Verasai units as the intelligence she retrieved had indicated.
“General! One of the enemy frigates is withdrawing. It looks like they’re trying to bug out!”
She turned to the reporting officer, confused. “What about the rest of the enemy force?”
The deck rocked beneath her but her legs, aided by the cybernetic attachments of her dry suit, held their place and she kept her balance.
“The rest of their fleet?”
“They’re still engaging.”
The deck rocked again, reinforcing the report.
What the hell were they up to? Why was one ship pulling back and leaving a hole in their offensive line while the rest continued their fight.?
“Tactical analysis of the withdrawing ship.”
Another Verasai frigate, this one remaining on the line, took another volley of hits, the last of which ripped clean through the hull. The doomed vessel exploded, peppering the surviving vessels with fiery debris.
“General, the withdrawing frigate has sustained only minor damage. Its weapons, defensive, and engine systems are all functioning at ninety percent.”
Rashar stepped closer to her display, scrutinizing the data in front of her.
“Check its communication array.”
“General, it’s active. Looks like in addition to the normal combat chatter, they’re trying to transmit a signal out of the pulsar.”
In that instant, everything clicked into place. This force, far smaller than anticipated, was never intended to be the mainstay of the fleet. That group was heading somewhere else, or possibly waiting outside. This advance had been intended to divert attention away from another point, or at the very least to soften up sector defenses. The lone frigate’s message could be a call for help, or an alert to everyone else that this section had been properly engaged. But from this close to the pulsar, that signal could not get out.
“Break formation and engage the frigate! Don’t stop until it’s destroyed. Update mission objectives: all enemy ships are to be destroyed and not allowed to escape!”
November 9, 2832
13:30
Surahan Sector
FIRES RAGED across the hull breach on the Mjöllnir’s main fuselage as she came about once again for another pass against her Verasai opponent. Under normal circumstances, those sections would have been sealed and vented. But with crewmen trapped behind the fires, venting action was not an option. Being shot into space would kill them immediately, but at least they had a chance with the fire.
The deck bucked and more of the hull ruptured. There was no de-compression, but the outer layers did breach. The Verasai battleship was one of the few ships truly capable of standing toe-to-toe with the Mjöllnir. In a one-on-one engagement, the statistics favored the Mjöllnir, but the Lorencha had been joined by a second ship, a heavy cruiser, and for the moment the Alliance warship was in the fight of her short life.
As were the crewmen manning her.
Within the Mjöllnir’s OpCom crew-members ran to and fro as they struggled to defend the ship. Cody winced at the pain of the bump on his head from the last volley. Before he could straighten up, the duty medic’s hands were on him, trying to get his attention to dress the wound. He batted her away. The bump would wait.
The Mjöllnir came about in a hard turn, its rail gun positions splitting their fire between the two attackers, buying time for the ship to maneuver its heavy cannons into position for its next volley. The heavy cruiser launched a pair of heavy missiles, but the Mjöllnir’s ECM did its job in jamming the warheads. The missiles veered off and detonated against each other, causing no appreciable damage.
“Target closing in!”
“Welcome to our kill zone,” Amado muttered.
He watched as the Mjöllnir completed its maneuver, turning away from the Lorencha to focus on the heavy cruiser. In truth, the Lorencha posed a bigger threat, but the heavy could be taken down faster and had the added bonus of not killing Lieutenant Melor’s mother. They completed the turn maneuver and the starboard fixed positions added their opinion to the argument at hand, reasoning that if the port side guns were holding their own against the enemy, the doubling of voices should start driving them back.
The logic of the argument proved sound and found further support when the Mjöllnir’s six heavy cannons erupted in rapid sequence, punching new air vents into the enemy hull. The ship shuddered under the new abuse of a return volley, this one slicing through the port ventral flight deck. Fortunately, Labonne’s fighter squadron used the deck on the flight pod, which had been primarily ignored. Unfortunately, her ships were already e
ngaged and could not aid the Mjöllnir in her struggle.
Again, Amado ordered the ship to pull back, opening up the range of attack and giving his ship more breathing room, and again the Verasai closed that distance. The smaller heavy cruiser was only slightly faster than the Lorencha and used its speed to press its attack ahead of the Verasai flagship. The Mjöllnir lurched once again and overhead, panels shorted out in showers of sparks sending the smell of burnt power conduits into the air.
Amado stole another look at the display and found the situation to his satisfaction. The Mjöllnir was fighting in full defense, offering no direct challenge. Their position left them as the only thing standing between the Verasai and Surahan station. Abandoning this position and conceding the fight to retreat and regroup would effectively surrender the station. But even as his ship rocked under the pummeling it was now receiving, Captain Cody Amado smiled in triumph.
Now they had them.
With a pointed finger, Amado signaled his communications officer, who then activated a pre-programed sequence on her console. In their duel, the Mjöllnir had pulled back, forcing the Verasai warships to advance to press their attack. In doing so, they had left the protective cover of their support ships. This overextension of the Verasai attack against the Mjöllnir left the older, smaller, and weaker frigates vulnerable and unable to receive mutual support from the cruiser’s heavy weapons. Without the cruiser’s protection, the three frigates proved no match for the Valor and found themselves chewed up in no time flat, giving General Rashar the chance she needed to engage the Lorencha. Without the support of the flagship, the Verasai heavy stood no chance as the Mjöllnir’s heavy cannons unloaded against the cruiser’s aft quarters and smashed through the engine housing. The rail positions offered their assistance and tore the Verasai hull to pieces. Two blinks of the eye later, the target was no more, and the Verasai were on the defensive.