As the fighters began to close, Lee yanked his controls hard to starboard, almost losing his breath as the inertial dampeners fought to overcome the maneuver. He leveled out as the aliens shot past where he had been. Once again, he pushed his power plant to maximum, trying to get as much speed as possible. He dodged back and forth as he fled from his pursuers. Just as he thought he had made a mistake in his plans, he saw his next target hurtling straight at him.
The third fighter in the group was aligned head on to Lee’s Peregrine. The other two fighters had reacquired their target and were gaining on the Earth fighter. The approaching alien craft opened fire. Flashes of emerald blazed across Lee’s display, requiring him to fly by instruments only. Under his breath, he counted down the seconds. He felt more impact on his shield from behind as the other ships sought to destroy him as well.
Just as Lee’s shields began to overheat and collapse, Lee performed an emergency stop, violently reversing his thrust and coming to a complete stop in space. As his vision began to blacken, he directed his engines straight up, forcing his ship to fall vertically away from the battle. The three ships screamed at each other, each still firing their deadly plasma bolts in what had been his location.
Lee shook off his blackout just in time to see the two lead Ch’Tauk fighters slam into each other at full speed. The impact sent shockwaves of energy out through space, flipping the Peregrine nose under tail. The trailing fighter was able to pull out in time to avoid the collision. The insect ship was still tossed by the explosion and Lee decided to take advantage of the confusion.
He set his engines at full again, noting that the ship was running dangerously low on power after the battle. His ship must have been one of the ones that Hathaway had ordered drained to maintain life support on Baal. He tried to search his scanner for the signals from the other teams. He saw all four ships as glowing blue circles on the situation screen. Alice and Fluffy still showed six alien fighters engaging them. Aztec and Wizard had taken care of four and also had six Ch’Tauk vessels in tow.
“Flyboy,” crackled the voice of Wizard over the radio. “Flyboy, can you read? Aztec’s hit bad and I am bleeding plasma from my fuel cells. I could use some help.”
“Acknowledged,” replied Lee. “I’m on my way.”
Lee turned his ship to port and headed off towards the two experienced pilots. He noted that Alice’s team had dispatched another alien ship while he had been on the radio. He scanned local space to see the remaining fighter from his battle limping off towards the scout ship. The big vessel still sat watching the engagement without moving. Lee wondered again why the jamming signal from Baal had not been turned back on. He hoped that Henry and his team could handle Hathaway on their own while he was off fighting the enemy.
As he raced closer to the other two pilots, he began to see traces of plasma flashing across space. Wizard had said that he was leaking from his fuel cells and Lee could see that he was right. At the rate he was losing fuel, he would likely be dead in space within a few minutes. As he came into visual range of the battle, Lee saw the extent of the damage clearly.
One of the ships had a large hole blown in its starboard wing and was moving at only half the speed that the Peregrine was capable of. Lee assumed that was Aztec. The other ship really did look like it was bleeding. Orange-red trails of plasma leaking across the rear engine compartment were being flung out into space as the fighter twisted left and right, avoiding its pursuers as much as possible. The Ch’Tauk appeared to be circling the damaged fighters, playing a game of cat and mouse with their injured prey.
Lee checked his shields and saw that he had only enough power to withstand a few hits. He needed to draw off the alien fighters and give Aztec and Wizard a chance to get their ships under control. He aimed his fighter above the circling Ch’Tauk ships, hoping to be seen as he intercepted the path of one of the enemy ships. Two of the Ch’Tauk angled up to follow him. The other four adjusted their flight into a defensive formation. They wanted to protect their kill.
Lee began to fly in erratic jumps up and down, trying to evade the plasma bolts of his pursuers. He turned his nose down flat, causing the enemy to shoot past him. As he continued downward, he turned the nose of his ship around and opened fire. The armored belly of the second ship caught a glancing blow, causing him to fall out of formation with his partner.
Lee returned his ship to a forward position and reengaged his engines. He executed a wide turn and tried to reacquire a target. The other fighter screamed out of nowhere straight at him, lashing his ship with green energy. Lee’s shield controls began to flash, indicating that they were almost drained. He stopped his forward motion again, causing the enemy to lose him as a target for a few precious seconds.
Lee turned in space, hit his engines again, and tore off at a sharp angle from where he had been. He aimed his ship back to where the crippled Peregrine fighters were still being circled by the enemy. His fingers tapped at controls on his ship, shunting power from his life support system to his shields. The indicator that had been blinking red shifted back to a blinking yellow.
His ship shuddered as a plasma bolt grazed his rear compartment. A glance at his screen told him that both of his pursuers were back on his tail. Once again he started weaving left and right, evading hits and trying to protect his struggling shields. As he approached the crippled human fighters, two more of the Ch’Tauk ships broke off their game with Aztec and Wizard and started to fly straight at Lee.
“Oh hell,” said Lee. “More fun for me.”
His mind raced, trying to find a solution to his dilemma. He had two Ch’Tauk hot on his tail and two more trying to become one with his nose. He didn’t think he had enough power for any more wild acrobatics, so he decided to try the old fashioned method. He aimed his ship straight at the lead attacker and opened fire.
Lances of plasma shot out of his cannons, peppering the armored insects with fire. As the Ch’Tauk tried to swerve to avoid a collision, Lee adjusted to keep the other ship straight ahead. He kept up the fire, occasionally feeling blasts at his rear and side as the other ships kept at him as well. Just as it seemed that the Ch’Tauk ship would hit Lee’s Peregrine head on, Lee reversed engines. He felt the straps of his restraints bite into his shoulders, but kept up the plasma fire. The other ship tried to pull up, causing the plasma bolts to tear into his underside.
As the Ch’Tauk ship burst into pieces, the pursuing ships tried to flash past him on either side. Debris from the exploding ship gouged holes in the alien armor and Lee followed it with more plasma fire as he continued to fly backwards through space. Two more ships exploded and he began to tumble from the shockwave.
Lee’s controls went dead as he flipped end over end, powerless. His screen had blinked out when the shockwave hit him so he was blind to the space outside. He tried restarting the ship, with no result. Madly, he flipped switches and pounded at the ship’s controls. He knew he would only have a few minutes of breathable air without ship’s power. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself and think.
Finally, he activated an emergency restart by holding down the throttle while pressing the startup controls. The universe opened up again as his screen restarted. It would take a few seconds for his shields to reset, but he had speed now and intended to use it. He slowed the tumble and pointed the ship back towards his colleagues. Throwing everything he had into the engines, his ship tore through space. His screen showed that he now had only three enemy ships to deal with. Alice and her partner had taken care of another ship of their own.
His ship rocked as an enemy bolt slammed into his port wing. His shields had not yet cycled back on, so he saw torn metal and wiring fall back behind him. His instrument panel lit up with red, indicating system failures across the board. He shut down almost everything as his shields finally popped back into place. His ship wobbled as he flew, now unsteady in its flight. He scanned his surroundings, trying to find the ship that had fired on him.
The Ch’Tauk ship had swung around him as it passed and was now zeroing in on him again for the kill. Lee tried to turn and accelerate, but his controls were sluggish. As his view lit up with green fire, Lee wondered if he would see Earth when he died, or just the hell of deep space.
The Ch’Tauk attacker vanished in a bright explosion of plasma. The debris bounced off of his shield as it raced off in all directions. Lee stared out his viewer, trying to figure out what had happened. A Peregrine fighter flew past him, trailing glowing red plasma in its wake.
“Wizard!” Lee Exclaimed. “Where the hell did you come from?”
“Did you just expect me to sit there,” he said over the radio, “while you had all the fun? Besides, babysitting Aztec was getting old. His radio is dead, so I can’t tease him.”
Lee checked his screen to see Wizard circle around to form up with Lee. Aztec’s ship had managed to move closer as well, and the three human fighters met together for the first time. Their screens showed that the final ship had pulled back and was heading for the scout ship. The three Peregrine fighters turned and headed for their fellow ships, still fighting with three ships of their own.
None of the Peregrines could move swiftly, but they tried to coax as much power as possible from their ships. Lee could see the plasma trails of the battle ahead. He hadn’t heard from Alice or Fluffy the entire time and he hoped that they were just too busy to call. He decided to chance distracting Alice.
“Princess,” he called, “this is Flyboy, we’re coming in.”
“About time, Flyboy,” she replied quickly. “I was wondering if you hadn’t forgotten about me already. Men can be so fickle.”
There was a crackle of static over the line and Lee checked his screen. Fluffy had been hit hard and was tumbling through space. Lee aimed his fighter towards the Ch’Tauk vessel in pursuit, but was shocked when the ship broke off and headed for the scout ship. Fluffy seemed to regain his flight control and stopped his stumble. All of the Ch’Tauk ships were heading off towards the large alien ship.
The scout had begun to advance towards the damaged fighters. All five of the Peregrines met and formed up in a defensive line. Surprisingly, Alice had the least damage of the group, so she took the lead position with Lee, sliding in to his right. The five pilots watched as the alien ship approached. It now had five escorts of its own, but the smaller fighters were moving towards them. The pilots waited.
The scout ship opened fire on the smaller Peregrine fighters. Lee and Aztec flipped out of the way of the powerful bolts while Alice, Fluffy and Wizard accelerated straight towards it. The human fighters loosed their weapons at the scout, but the bolts only scorched its armored hull. They evaded the return fire and tried to regroup with Lee. Alice was hit as she turned to evade another blast, twisting her around and making her hull leak red fire.
“I’m hit, Lee,” she screamed over the radio. “I’ve lost engine power!”
Lee tried to accelerate to her, but his damaged fighter was not up to the task. The beetle-like shape of the Ch’Tauk ship loomed over the smaller human fighters. A blast of plasma tore from its weapon. Instead of hitting Alice, though, the bolt slammed into Wizard, who had swung into the line of fire at the last minute. There was a blast of static on the radio as his ship exploded.
The other four humans tried to turn to Lee, but they were in no shape to go anywhere. The closest they could do was limp away from the scout. Lee saw on his panel that another jump point had opened close by and he assumed that the Ch’Tauk had called for reinforcements. He knew these were to be his last moments and he was eerily calm about it.
Just as the Ch’Tauk ship was about to destroy the final four ships, a massive blast of energy tore a gaping hole in the insect-like body. Fiery plasma leaks exploded from the Ch’Tauk ship as more energy rained down on it from the jump point. The smaller Ch’Tauk fighters were destroyed without returning fire as the massive form of the War God class cruiser, Mars exited the jump point, cannons blazing. It took mere seconds for the warship to completely destroy the smaller scout ship, leaving behind only debris and fire in space.
Lee looked up in wonder as the gigantic ship sloughed off the remainder of the fiery corona from the jump exit. It leveled out and angled itself parallel to the course the four fighters were on. His radio startled him as a new voice came over his communication line.
“This is Mars,” said the voice. “Do you require assistance?”
14
The four battered fighters struggled back to Baal under the protective cover of Mars. Alice was forced to eject from her ship due to the plasma leaking from the tear in her hull. Lee moved into position as she ejected from the Peregrine and rode his undamaged wing into the landing bay. As Lee set down on the deck, she stepped off and waited for the deck to pressurize.
As air filled the hangar, Lee opened his cockpit and stepped out. Alice was already heading away from his fighter towards the airlock door and Lee ran after her. He caught her just before she reached the inner door and turned her around.
“Alice,” he asked over the suit radio. “Where are you going?”
“I’ve got a shuttle to pilot, Lee,” she said, pulling away from him. “There are people injured and I need to do my job.”
Lee stood, dumbfounded, as she entered the airlock and the door closed behind her. The alarm rang out on the fighter deck to indicate the air had equalized. He pulled his helmet mask off and held it to his side, staring at the door as she left the inner airlock. Another noise caught his attention and he turned back to the other fighters, where the pilots were climbing out.
It was the first opportunity he had to see the damage to the fighters up close and he was amazed they had survived. Two men Lee assumed were Aztec and Fluffy were walking across the deck on unsteady legs towards him. The taller of the two had a dark bruise growing on his right temple that looked like the flesh had been burned. The three pilots met between the ships and the airlock.
“So,” Lee asked the other two pilots, “which of you is which?”
The tall one pointed to his chest with a grimace. “I’m Aztec,” he said. “Real name Paco Zapotec. He’s Fluffy. I think that is his real name.”
The shorter man tried to reach out to punch his wing-mate’s shoulder, but recoiled as pain shot through his arm. Lee reached out to steady him. It seemed the man’s arm was either dislocated or broken at the shoulder. There was still a smile on the man’s face, though, despite the pain.
“My name,” he said, “is Danny Green.”
“What was Wizard’s name?” he asked. The three men stood silent for a moment before Aztec spoke.
“His name was Merlin,” said the pilot. “I think his parents hated him. Seriously, his name was Merlin Kreuz.”
“He was a hell of a pilot,” said Lee. “He saved Alice’s life. If you guys have a wall….”
Pilot tradition in the Confederacy was to carve the name of any pilot who died in battle onto a wall of the ship somewhere. The other two pilots nodded and pointed to the wall beside the airlock. Lee hadn’t noticed the markings when he had been chasing Alice, but he saw it now.
Like most hangar bays, the wall was ten meters high and ran the length of the launch bay. The wall was almost completely covered in names, from the ceiling all the way down to the floor, and at least half the length of the deck. On one end he saw how the names were carefully engraved in a simple block script, but then they became less ordered and neat as they travelled down the wall. By the time he reached the final names, they were scrawled on the wall as if they had been carved with a scrap of sharp metal.
The other two pilots limped through the airlock while Lee stared at the wall. He couldn’t believe the losses by the carrier. It was no wonder the admiral was a little unbalanced. Lee wasn’t sure he could stand the loss if it had been his ship.
He left the hangar bay and made his way back to the bridge. As he entered the room, he saw Henry Moore still standing on the upper command deck beside the admiral
, who was sitting in his chair. Several of the security guards had begun working with the soldiers to restore some of the bridge consoles. Lee stepped up the ramp to speak to Hathaway.
“Admiral,” said Lee. “I think we’re safe, now.”
“Safe,” said Hathaway with a snort. “In what way are we safe? Now they will know we are here. When your men turned off the jamming signal, it allowed those damn bugs to send out a distress call. It’ll be like cockroach central around here shortly.”
Lee stared at the admiral in astonishment. He had assumed the battle had been quick enough that the enemy would not have had time to send out a distress call. Now he understood why the jamming signal had not been restored as he fought the Ch’Tauk. The system must have shorted the moment it had been disabled, like an engine that had been running for too long.
“But sir,” replied Lee, “Mars is here now. They should be able to defend Baal if the Ch’Tauk returns.”
“Mars was supposed to be far away by now,” said the admiral, rising from his chair to tower over Lee. “She was protecting what was left of our crews. When she saw the jamming signal go down, she executed a micro-jump back here, endangering us all.”
“But …” said Lee, sputtering under the verbal assault.
“But nothing, Commander,” said Hathaway. “Mars was preparing to jump to the nearest star system. She only had enough fuel for one jump and you caused her to waste it saving your miserable life. She was going to recharge her batteries and return to share power with us, but she needed to get as far away as possible so the Ch’Tauk wouldn’t notice the jump point.”
“Sir,” interrupted one of the soldiers below. “Terran Princess has reported arrival of the first shuttle and they have dispatched another team to us. They say they are bringing Captain Ortiz and another medical team.”
“Tell them to turn around,” yelled Hathaway. “We don’t need another captain on Baal.”
Lee was astonished at the pronouncement. The admiral had advanced to the edge of the command deck and was glaring down at the soldier below. Once again, he seemed to lose control of his emotions only to take a deep breath and calm himself.
Resolute Omnibus (The War for Terra) Page 11