by Ryk Brown
“I didn’t do this,” Robert insisted. “We did this. You, and I, and all of them. Every one of them. Don’t ever forget that.”
“I shall not, my friend.”
“Now go,” Robert insisted. “Go and celebrate with your countrymen.”
“You are not joining us in celebration?” the lieutenant commander wondered.
“Not today. I’m exhausted. I’m getting too old for this fly-boy stuff.” Captain Nash watched as Lieutenant Commander Rano left to join the celebration. By now, the last of the eight Cobra crews had disembarked, and people were opening bottles of Tannan celebratory wine.
Robert Nash thought about that day in the hospital, when his baby sister had told him of his new assignment. He had loathed the idea of becoming an instructor. Now, he realized how wrong he had been. He was doing more than training young men to go into combat. He was giving hope to a world.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Gentlemen,” Major Prechitt said, as he led the Avendahl pilots into one of the Eagle hangars at the Porto Santo airbase, “these are your Super Eagles, fresh off the line. Each of them has been through their basic shakedown flight to verify that all systems are working properly.”
Commander Goodreau and his men walked past the major toward the row of eight Super Eagles lined up across the hangar abreast, their wings retracted to save space.
“I’d like to introduce Ensign Joshua Hayes, and Ensign Loki Sheehan. They served as the primary test pilots for the Super Eagle prototypes. I’ve asked them here today to share their observations about the handling characteristics of the Super Eagle, and the differences they’ve noticed between the Super Eagle simulator, and the actual ship.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Commander Goodreau said. He paused for a moment, turning to Josh and Loki. “No disrespect intended to the young ensigns, of course. We have read all your reports.”
Major Prechitt looked confused. “I thought that you might find their…”
“We are quite well versed in the technical and performance data of the spacecraft,” the commander interrupted. “I believe we shall do fine without wasting the valuable time of Ensign Hayes or Ensign Sheehan.”
“Commander…”
Commander Goodreau took a deep breath and turned back toward Major Prechitt. “Major, I have just over a month to get thirty-two of my pilots ready to fight in these cobbled-together ships, and the remaining twenty-four of those pilots won’t be here for two more weeks. In addition, I am expected to train another thirty-two pilots, most of whom have little to no flight training, shortly thereafter. That is assuming, of course, that the good people of Earth can continue the ludicrous, breakneck pace at which they are slapping these ships together.”
“Commander, these ships are hardly cobbled together…”
“Terran airframes and flight control systems. Old Corinairan propulsion systems, picked up from the junkyards on Palee, no less. Takaran weapons systems and avionics. My dear major, the Super Eagle is the very definition of cobbled together. My God, the only thing that makes this ship remotely interesting is her jump drive’s control system. A remarkable idea, really.” He turned back to look at the Super Eagles he and his men were about to fly. “However, I suppose that shouldn’t be too surprising, since the idea was conceived by the daughter of a nobleman.” He turned back to the major. “I hear she is quite a remarkable young woman.”
“Indeed she is,” Major Prechitt agreed, realizing that there was no changing the commander’s mind. “Very well, Commander,” he added with a nod. “I’ll leave you and your men to your task.” Major Prechitt looked at Josh and Loki, gesturing to the side with a slight nod of his head for them to follow him.
Josh and Loki looked at one another as the major turned and walked toward the exit, then back at Commander Goodreau and his men as they headed toward their ships to prepare for their first flights.
Loki turned and followed Major Prechitt out of the hangar, with Josh following close behind. Once outside, they both jogged a few steps to catch up to Major Prechitt.
“Is that guy serious?” Josh wondered out loud.
“I’m afraid he is,” Major Prechitt replied.
“I heard that Takaran fighter pilots were arrogant, but…”
“You heard right,” the major said bitterly.
“So, you’re just handing them eight Super Eagles, and they’ve got, what, maybe twenty hours in the sim, each?”
“You had less than that, Josh,” Loki reminded him.
Major Prechitt stopped in his tracks, turning to look at Josh and Loki. “Look, the deal was that Commander Goodreau is in charge of his own pilots. If that means he wants to see to their orientation and training, that’s his decision.”
“But they’ve never even seen a Terran Eagle before,” Josh protested.
“Neither had you,” the major retorted.
“That’s different.”
“Why, because you’re Josh Hayes?” the major asked.
“No, I just…”
“Takaran fighter pilots are arrogant bastards, yes. But they are also the best trained pilots in the Pentaurus sector…”
“I don’t know,” Josh said doubtfully. “I’ve shot a few of them down, you know.”
“And these aren’t Takaran fighters,” Loki added.
“No, but the Eagle airframe is very similar to the old Takaran trainers that a lot of those men trained in when they first started basic flight. They’ll be fine. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
Josh and Loki stood there, dumbfounded, as the major walked away.
Loki sighed. “So much for the orientation lecture I stayed up late preparing.”
Josh looked back toward the hangar, narrowing his eyes, then turned back at Loki. “Those guys are a bunch of dicks.”
* * *
“Jump flash,” Mister Navashee reported from the Aurora’s sensor station. “A big one. It’s the Jar-Benakh.”
Nathan glanced at the battle clock. “Right on time.”
“Incoming link from the Jar-Benakh, Captain Roselle,” Naralena announced.
“Put him on.”
“Aurora Actual, Jar-Benakh Actual,” Roselle’s voice called over the comm speakers.
“Captain Roselle,” Nathan replied. “Glad you could make it to the party. How’s your ship doing?”
“We’re good to go. Truth be told, I’ve been dying to take her into action since we finished her last trials a few days ago. Wish I could have been there for you at Eta Cassiopeiae.”
“Well, you’re here now, Captain. That big ship of yours is going to make these missions a lot easier.”
“I assume the plan still stands?”
“We’ll jump in and ambush the cruisers, the Cobra packs will handle the frigates. You finish off anything that survives our jump KKVs.”
“Not much of a challenge,” Roselle said, “but I guess we have to get our feet wet somehow.”
“Well, we’re trying four and four again this time, so there’s hope.” Nathan glanced at the mission clock again. “We’re off to launch our jump KKVs, Captain. We’ll see you in Beta Hydri after the dance. Aurora Actual, out.”
“Benakh Actual, out.”
“That guy is pretty happy for someone taking six hundred people into battle.” Jessica commented.
“Well, he has been in port for the better part of three months now,” Nathan said. “Hell, I was getting restless after the first three weeks. Besides, if I had that many guns, I’d be dying to use them as well.”
“I suppose so.”
“Mister Riley?” Nathan called.
“Ready to jump to launch initiation point, sir,” the navigator replied. “Jump point in ten seconds.”
“Jump on the mark,” Nathan ordered.
“Tell me again why we’re going in first this time?” Josh wondered as he scanned his flight displays.
“We’re not going in first,” Loki corrected. “We’re going in at the same ti
me.”
“Fine. Why?”
“Most of the Jung fleet is in orbit over Nifelm,” Loki explained. “And there are about twenty surface-to-orbit missile launchers that need to be taken out before our ships can safely engage the fleet.”
“I thought it takes three or four minutes for a STO missile to reach a target in orbit.”
“Nifelm is about a quarter the size of Earth. The Jung STO missiles can probably reach a target in orbit in less than a minute.”
“I still don’t think it would matter,” Josh argued, “not with the Aurora’s new point-defenses.”
“What are you worried about? There aren’t even any fighters on Nifelm.”
“No, just a lot of air defenses, that’s all.”
“Well, whatever you do, don’t get us shot down. We wouldn’t survive ten minutes on that frozen rock,” Loki warned. “Attack jump coming up in ten seconds.”
Josh checked his displays again, then tugged at his restraint harness. He didn’t want to be tossed around like the last mission.
“Jumping in three……two……one……jump.”
Josh pressed the jump button on his flight control stick. The windows on the Super Falcon instantly turned opaque, clearing up a moment later, revealing a clear, pale blue sky.
The Super Falcon shook slightly, bouncing from side to side, then settled down into smooth flight.
“Hell, that wasn’t bad,” Josh declared. He pulled at his flight control stick, but the ship was slow to respond. “She’s flying more like a harvester, though.”
“The atmosphere is really thin here,” Loki explained. “I’m picking up the first four targets. Locking busters.”
Josh leaned to his left, peering down at the icy, snow-covered, mountainous terrain rushing under them. “Damn, you weren’t kidding…”
“Launching four busters,” Loki announced.
“…This place is a frozen hunk of rock.”
“Missiles have acquired and are running hot and true,” Loki added. “Twenty seconds to first impact. Come right sixty and pitch down four degrees for our jump to the next target group.”
“Damn,” Josh exclaimed as he rolled the ship to starboard, initiating a slow turn as he peered out the window on Loki’s side of the cockpit, “have you ever seen this much snow in your life?”
“First target destroyed,” Loki reported. “No, I haven’t.”
“Sure as hell looks cold down there, I’ll tell you that.”
“Second target destroyed.”
“You know, I’ve never actually touched snow.”
“Third target destroyed. Picking up sensor signals. Air defenses are trying to acquire us.”
“I’ve flown over it plenty of times, back on Earth, that is. But I’ve never been in the snow. Have you?”
“Can’t say that I have,” Loki replied. “Fourth target destroyed. Jump us to the next target group.”
“We should try skiing someday,” Josh said. “Kaylah says it’s not that hard to learn how, you know.”
“Are you going to jump us to the next target group, or just keep yapping until they shoot us down?”
“Just making conversation,” Josh said as he pressed the jump button on his flight control stick.
“Jumping,” Ensign Noray, the Jar-Benakh’s navigator announced.
There was no jump flash translated through the Jar-Benakh’s many view screens, as the system was designed to ‘blink out’ during the jump.
“Jump complete,” the navigator added.
“Multiple contacts, multiple jump flashes,” Ensign Marka reported from the sensor station.
“I guess the party’s started,” Captain Roselle commented, barely containing his eagerness to put his ship to good use.
“Debris field, off our port bow,” the sensor operator reported. “One million kilometers, three hundred up… Wait, I’m picking up another contact. A big one. Debris as well.”
“Where?”
“Starboard side, six million kilometers, one-fifty down relative. It’s the battle platform.”
“Has she been destroyed?”
“No sir, not enough debris. Sensors are a bit scrambled in that direction, though. Lots of radioactivity, fluctuating energy readings, EM… My guess is she’s still in the game.”
Roselle smiled. “Our first dance,” he muttered. “Lieutenant Sahbu, change course to intercept that battle platform. Ensign Noray, plot a jump to take us within fifty kilometers of the target.”
“Changing course to intercept,” the helmsman acknowledged.
“Plotting jump to fifty clicks,” the navigator followed.
“Sugar, spin up your big guns. You’re up first,” Roselle ordered.
“Yes, sir,” Sergeant Shugart replied from the Jar-Benakh’s starboard weapons station.
Captain Roselle waited patiently for his ship to complete its turn. The Jar-Benakh was big, and she was heavily armed and shielded, but she wasn’t fast by any stretch of the imagination. She was slow to maneuver, and slow to accelerate. She simply wasn’t designed to be fast. She was, however, designed to slug it out at close range. She couldn’t take down a battle platform by herself, but against a damaged battle platform, their odds looked pretty good to Gil Roselle.
Then again, he was always a bit of a gambler.
“Cruiser is destroyed,” Mister Navashee reported from the Aurora’s sensor station.
“Any word from the Jar-Benakh?” Nathan asked.
“No, sir,” Naralena replied from the comm station.
“Mister Chiles, take us to high orbit over Nifelm,” Nathan instructed.
“Aye, sir,” Mister Chiles replied.
“I’ve got the battle platform’s debris field, Captain,” Mister Navashee reported. “I don’t believe she’s destroyed though. The field is similar in shape and mass as the one in Eta Cassiopeiae, when only a single arm was destroyed…maybe a bit larger.”
“Any sign of the Jar-Benakh?”
“No, sir. Not yet,” Mister Navashee answered. “But, the light we’re detecting is only… Wait. I’ve got her jump flash now. She just jumped in.”
“And the battleship?”
“She’s closer to us. Nothing left of her. She must’ve taken at least two direct hits.”
“Orbital insertion in two minutes,” Mister Chiles reported from the helm.
“Jar-Benakh is turning toward the battle platform,” Mister Navashee said.
“He’s going to take her on,” Jessica surmised.
“He wanted to get his ship into action,” Nathan commented.
“Even if that platform is half gone, I still don’t see a single battleship as a match for a battle platform,” Jessica insisted.
“Comms,” Nathan said. “Let the Jar-Benakh know we are available to assist them if needed.”
“Aye, sir,” Naralena replied.
“If needed?” Jessica said in disbelief. “Are you kidding?”
“We have our job to do, and the Jar-Benakh has theirs,” Nathan reminded her. “That platform isn’t going anywhere soon. If Roselle feels he can’t take her down alone, he’ll stand off until we can join him. He knows the mission plan.”
“Roselle… Stand off?” Jessica muttered doubtfully.
“Entering high orbit over Nifelm,” Mister Riley reported.
“Launch the CNS shuttles,” Nathan ordered.
“I’ve got the Celestia,” Naralena reported. “They’ve destroyed the cruiser on the far side and are moving into high orbit. They also report the Cobra packs have destroyed all four frigates.”
“Captain, the Jar-Benakh finished her turn. She’s… She just jumped away.”
“Toward the battle platform?”
“I believe so. Stand by.”
“CNS shuttles are away,” Naralena reported.
“Comms. Relay the Jar-Benakh’s movements to the Celestia, and tell them to be prepared to engage the battle platform if needed.”
“Aye, sir.”
“I’
ve got the Jar-Benakh again, Captain,” Mister Navashee said. “She’s in close to the platform. About fifty meters and closing.”
“Firing all starboard weapons,” Sergeant Shugart announced from the Jar-Benakh’s starboard weapons console.
“The platform is trying to hail us,” Ensign Jullen reported from the comm station.
“What do they want?” Commander Ellison asked.
“I don’t know, sir,” Ensign Jullen replied, smiling. “I don’t speak Jung.”
“They’re probably wondering why we’re shooting at them,” Captain Roselle commented, also smiling. “Man, I’d love to see the look on their faces right now.”
“Target is bringing their big guns around to fire on us,” Ensign Marka warned.
“What about their missile launchers?” Commander Ellison wondered.
“The ones on the near side are damaged,” Ensign Marka answered. “And the ones on her other arms don’t have a clean shot.”
“They can still fire them and vector them around onto us,” Commander Ellison warned.
“Their missiles are pretty fast off their rails, so they’ll have to turn wide,” Captain Roselle surmised. “Jobu, take us in closer, say, twenty-five kilometers.”
“Moving in to twenty-five kilometers, aye,” Lieutenant Sahbu acknowledged.
“If they can rotate around and get those active batteries pointed directly at us, we’re going to have less than a minute to shoot those missiles down.”
“Any sign of them trying to rotate the ship?” Roselle asked his sensor officer.
“No, sir,” Ensign Marka replied. “I don’t think they have any maneuvering at all.”
“You let me know if they do, Weedge,” Captain Roselle instructed.
“We’re taking heavy rail gun fire,” Lieutenant Commander Kessel reported from the tactical station. “Starboard shields are already down five percent.”
“If they get below fifty, jump us out,” Roselle instructed his helmsman.