SODIUM:4 Gravity

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SODIUM:4 Gravity Page 8

by Arseneault, Stephen


  Within ten minutes of the war's beginning we had lost 36 of our mobile guns, 12 Defenders and 146 Drillers. The aliens were down 52 fighters. I fought back the urge to race into battle as our own attack counter ticked just under two minutes.

  As I watched the casualty counters my emotions would race from elation to sorrow back to elation. A burst of alien fighters would be lost followed by a number of Defenders and Drillers followed by another bad run for the aliens.

  When our command block went green I throttled up and headed into battle. Randy quickly selected three alien fighters and the holo-screen placed blue circles around the otherwise yellow blips. The alien fighters quickly turned as we approached and sped back towards their command ships. As the gap closed between us and our foes I began to get an uneasy feeling.

  We were soon facing an alien destroyer. Two Defenders from our squadron went red on our display with the first shots from the powerful alien craft. Randy fired off 32 of our Drillers as I banked hard in an attempt to evade the enemy. Our shields went to 34% and then 68% before our distance from the destroyer began to widen.

  Six more Defenders were lost in succession as the alien destroyer moved in on our weaker ships. The battle screen was now filled with blips from our squadrons of Defenders and Drillers.

  During our retreat Randy targeted two more alien fighters. This time we met them with a vengeance. I rolled high on the first as Randy fired the coil guns and I then hammered each with a shot from our new gravity pulse gun. The first fighter was cut in half by a tungsten pellet while the second was knocked dead by a gravity pulse.

  I quickly turned our GAF back towards the stalled fighter and Randy hit it with a coil round. The alien fighter exploded in a flash of glory as we sped through its debris cloud. Randy selected two more fighters to target when a counter order came in. We and the other GAF ships were to take heat from the destroyer until the other Defenders in our squadrons had managed a retreat.

  I again turned the ship back towards the alien destroyer. I reduced the feed to our BHD giving Raven more power to apply to our shields. Shepard ran a calculation giving us a 1,000 kilometer safe distance from the destroyer with a 500 kilometer direct hit bringing about our demise.

  In coordination with the four GAF ships in our squadron we took turns charging and then retreating in an attempt to draw the alien destroyer out. The tactic allowed two squads of Defenders to race free before the aliens once again adjusted their tactics.

  Our Defenders were being ripped apart one by one. I called on Command to order their full retreat and was denied. I then gave the order myself. I was not going to sit idly by while my fellow crews were left hanging. Again, I attempted to draw in the destroyer as our ships headed back towards the safety of the Moon.

  I maneuvered in close to a fighter as we fled to take one last shot. The coil gun round from Randy was deflected by the fighter but my gravity pulse hit home. Again the alien fighter went dead in space. Within the first minutes of battle, we had taken down 12 fighters and lost ten of our Defenders. Forty brave men and women had met their end.

  As a group, we had expended nearly two thirds of our Drillers. I glanced down at the casualty counts and was disheartened to see the confirmed loss of 132 Defenders and one GAF. We had 187 confirmed alien fighter kills yielding a kill ratio that was not sustainable. We were way outnumbered and were losing ground.

  Raven then came in with an idea. She stated that we might be able to sneak our way in close to the destroyer under the cover of the dead alien fighter. The gravity pulse gun could be used with a wide beam to generate a circular gravity field. It would allow us to push the alien fighter back towards the destroyer.

  We would then proceed to follow the dead alien craft using our stealth abilities. If all went well, she felt that we had a shot of getting inside the destroyer where we would be able to do real damage. Shepard quickly ran the calculations.

  Given the fact that the alien destroyer might simply move away and that we would possibly be detected Shepard placed our chances of success at 31%. I looked around at my crew and they each nodded in approval. I flipped directions and accelerated back to the dead enemy fighter.

  When we arrived a utility robot was hard at work attempting to revive its transport. A quick pulse from the gravity gun sent it hurdling off into space. I adjusted the gravity beam to the numbers Shepard provided and we began to slowly push the alien craft.

  Once the alien fighter was securely set in the circular field I pushed the throttle to full for five seconds. The BHD was then shut down and the active skin maximized. It would be a five minute ride to the destroyer under the cover of the dead alien fighter.

  We continued our watch of the battle stats as we drifted closer to our target. We had lost another 20 Defenders, but had taken out a respectable 97 alien fighters. There was no word yet on the success of a Driller making entry into any of the large alien craft.

  Shepard kept a running ratio calculation showing the number of alien fighters killed to the number of Defenders. The initial results showed the aliens having more than 4,500 fighters remaining when our Defenders would have all been annihilated. It was a number that Earth's ground defenses would not be able to counter.

  As we drifted we were soon within range of the destroyer's gravity weapon. Tension grew as we passed the threshold where our shields would not withstand a direct hit. Three minutes turned to two and then to one.

  Raven waited patiently with our own gravity shield. If the alien destroyer slowed the fighter with a wide beam Raven would in turn use our shield to slow us by pushing against the dead fighter. The tension and anxiety continued to grow with each kilometer as we moved.

  At 200 kilometers the destroyer began to brake the dead fighter as anticipated. Raven modulated our shield to keep us within ten meters of our cover. As we continued to slow we passed within five kilometers. A flurry of utility robots then emerged from the destroyer moving towards our position.

  At one kilometer Raven nixed our gravity wave. As the dead fighter continued to slow the active skin allowed us to pass through it and continue to drift towards our target. As the last of the alien utility robots passed our position it stopped and turned its antenna group towards us.

  The robot moved quickly to our position and spun on its axis as if looking for something. I awaited the death blow from the destroyer, but it never came. We drifted through the dull gray metal hull of the destroyer and into a brightly lit saltwater filled chamber teaming with squids.

  I gave Randy the go-ahead and he immediately set loose 16 Drillers from our arsenal. The BHDs of the Drillers turned the saltwater into steam as they sped away towards the bulkheads. I sent a gravity pulse towards the outer wall puncturing a small whole.

  Water from the chamber began to spew into space and crystallize as it froze. The squids within the chamber swam wildly towards the bulkheads only to be killed when explosions from the Drillers took out the ship’s systems.

  I flipped our ship around aiming our BHD back towards where we had come from while Randy opened fire with the coil guns. Each pellet from the coil guns turned the water to steam as it shot outward from our GAF.

  For a moment I reveled in the thought that today was the day that the enemy finally took casualties. Today was the day that they felt pain. I sent pulse after pulse back through the water towards the bulkheads each time opening up a gaping hole.

  As the bulkheads collapsed the great ship began to moan. The water temperature surrounding us began to rise rapidly. I took it as a sign that it was time to go. I pushed the throttle to full and we instantly exited the alien destroyer.

  Raven directed our shield towards the back of our ship as we began to accelerate. I clinched my teeth as the shield shot up to 78% and then slowly began to fade. We watched on the rear camera as the alien destroyer's hull began to buckle and twist.

  In a final gesture of death the destroyer exploded in a violent flash as one of the Drillers found its way to its fusion reactor. Cheers
of joy rang through our GAF as we sped away, back towards safety. Randy smiled broadly as he targeted and killed two more fighters on the way.

  We had the first kill of a giant ship of the alien fleet. I hoped it to be the first of many. I gave Command a verbal of our tactic and was told it was being put into place wherever possible. When our celebration ended we were again heading back into battle, this time with our squadron by our side.

  Without the destroyer as backup the remaining alien fighters were much easier prey. I again glanced down at the stats and was encouraged to see 1,826 confirmed alien fighter kills to our 347 Defender losses. Shepard's ratio calculation showed us as having a small fleet remaining when the alien fighter count reached zero.

  Much of the afternoon was spent chasing down fighters in our quadrant. We kept our distance from the main body of the fleet and the other large ships as we picked away at their fighters.

  Two destroyers then turned in our direction. I put the call out to our squadrons to retreat. As we turned and fled, our holo-screens lit up with another 4,000 ground launched Drillers rocketing up towards the approaching destroyers.

  The space surrounding the large ships was soon filled with small explosions as the ships maneuvered and fired upon the Drillers. I took the opportunity to again throw our squadron into battle. We kept our distance from the large ships as the relentless Drillers charged the destroyers again and again.

  Cheers once again filled our cabin as one of the destroyers ceased to move and showed signs of destruction. Again a bright flash told the story as the fusion reactor aboard the destroyer was breached.

  Our celebration was short lived as the mega-ship maneuvered in close to the remaining destroyer. Wave after wave of Driller exploded in bright fury as the mega-ship swept the surrounding space with its powerful gravity beam. The active Driller count in our quadrant soon dropped to zero.

  Without the threat of the Drillers our kill ratio soon plummeted back near one-to-one. The mega-ship moved to another quadrant enacting the same highly effective Driller sweep. The tides of war had once again turned back towards the invader's favor.

  With the alien destroyer once again limiting our attacks I tried repeatedly to knock another alien fighter offline. As a new strategy the aliens triggered the self-destruct of their disabled craft. A green fog would spray out encapsulating and dissolving the dead fighter before we could make use of it.

  The next hour was spent chasing down the stray fighter that ventured too far from its parent destroyer. Our squadron's original 28 Defenders now numbered 12 and our team of four GAFs was down to three. We had kill credits for one destroyer and 47 fighters.

  After many hours of battle I was surprised that nearly half of our mobile coil guns were still in service pumping out tungsten rounds. Our scientists and engineers had launched a number of special Defenders with a new gravity shield. The special Defenders would sit in the middle of a cluster of mobile guns protecting them from the relentless attacks by the alien fighters.

  Slowly but surely a pod of alien fighters accompanied by a destroyer would charge a group of our mobile guns. The alien losses were heavy, but our mobile guns were falling one by one.

  I asked for Command to deliver new orders, but none were forthcoming. Command was occupied with larger strategies. Our holo-screens soon lit up with 186 new launches from the ground. It was a new type of nuclear space mine with an active skin and passive sensor.

  Each launcher held 20 such mines which would be released once free of Earth's gravity. The mines would drift towards the fleet and float unseen until fired by a 20 kilometer proximity trigger. The warhead was expected to kill any craft within 500 kilometers.

  As our battle continued, I locked onto a new fighter and gave chase. The fighter weaved and dodged, but our GAF and my reactions were too fast for its programmed behavior. Randy quickly notched another kill.

  The nuclear mines had soon drifted into position. A bright flash from a detonation showed on our holo-screens every few minutes. We were five hours into our war of attrition. The stats showed 4,324 confirmed alien fighter kills to our 1147 Defender losses. Our mobile guns had been knocked down to only 47 still in operation. The numbers remained in favor of the invaders.

  The war in the heavens continued to churn until the last of the mobile guns went silent. As we chased a fighter an urgent order came in from Command. All Defenders and GAFs were to return to Earth to their designated city defense assignments. The massive alien ships were making a move into Earth's atmosphere.

  The space mines took their last heavy tolls on the alien fighters. As a result the final alien assault force consisted of 10,652 fighters, 11 destroyers, four cruisers and a battleship. The mega-ship remained space-bound along with ten of the carriers.

  We were soon on our way to defend Seattle, Washington. I pushed the throttle to full as our squadrons split up for their new assignments. My nervousness grew as thoughts of civilian casualties entered my mind. We took up position above the city along with 22 Defenders and waited for the inevitable attack. We were now defending our homes.

  Chapter 8

  I looked around at Raven, Randy and Shepard and gave each a nod of confidence as I shook on the inside. An alien destroyer and 126 alien fighters were heading our way. We waited patiently for our foes to enter the kill zone around Seattle, Victoria and Vancouver. Our ground defenses included regular armed forces, 36 heavy coil guns, 76 light guns and 66 of another new weapon... mini Drillers.

  The mini Drillers were fast to fly, quick to turn and had highly resistant shielding, but offered only a conventional warhead. Their biggest asset was to add confusion to the enemy tactics during battle as they chased fighters in a relentless pursuit.

  Just before breaching the outer perimeter of the Seattle kill zone the attack fleet altered course to the north. They moved up through western Canada between Vancouver and Banff National Park. The invaders then turned west to settle in the bay near Port Hardy.

  The calls for assistance from the area were short lived as the alien fighters spread out in an ever widening circle around the destroyer crushing everything human in their paths. I felt helpless as innocent people lost their lives just to our north while our orders to defend the Seattle zone remained.

  I turned to Shepard, Raven and Randy and asked if they had any ideas. There was only silence in response. I turned back to my holo-screen and watched in dismay as the alien fighter's circle of destruction continued to grow around the alien destroyer.

  Shepard then spoke up with an idea. The aliens had been able to trace the 25kHz buzz from our video sensors making our invisible advantage of the active skin largely useless. With our video feeds turned off we would largely be flying blind. Shepard's idea was to modify our video feed to be a series of low power still shots. On our holo-screens it would appear as a jumpy low-resolution video, but the 25kHz buzz would be gone. It was not an ideal solution, but it would be adequate for reconnaissance.

  I put the request into Command and was rewarded with a go-ahead. I gave the order to my crew and turned our GAF in the direction of Port Hardy. A quick burst from our BHD sent us hurdling towards our target. We drifted for half an hour before moving inside the ever widening circle of alien destruction.

  The video jumped in spurts and starts but the images were clear enough to see what was happening below. When we had almost reached the destroyer I patched the video feed back to Command through my QE comm.

  The destroyer was busy. Giant doors had opened on each side and small alien craft were moving out and down into the waters of the bay. Each of the small craft skimmed along atop the water heading for the shoreline of Vancouver Island. An amphibious assault was under way. The same scene was being repeated at various locations around the globe. The large alien craft had landed over shoreline waters and their assault forces were being released.

  Five green blips then appeared on my holo-screen coming from the southwest. They clung close to the cold ocean water of the Pacific. The first
three came directly at the alien destroyer while the final two veered north and then turned to approach from the west.

  Raven punched in the identity codes which revealed stealth cruise missiles carrying old style 1 megaton neutron warheads. They were a remnant of the mistrust that still existed between nations... a remnant of the strategy of mutual destruction. A quick calculation by Shepard placed us directly over the destroyer when the first three missiles would be arriving. We would be in for one spectacular show.

  As the missiles hugged the terrain of Vancouver Island to the southwest I clinched my teeth and braced for an impact that would have no effect on our GAF with its active skin. I was soon let down as a gravity beam fired from the destroyer crushed the incoming missiles making their warheads inert.

  The alien ground units continued to pour out of the dark gray craft heading towards the shore. Raven then pointed out a dark shadow under the water's surface heading northward out of the bay. An underwater assault was underway as well.

  The two remaining cruise missiles continued on their slow approach from the west. I checked the kill perimeter of the alien weapon and took note that we were nearing the northern edge. In an attempt to distract the destroyer I ordered Raven to set our shields at the rear of our ship and I pushed our throttle to full. Our stealth tactic of single shot video had likely been compromised by the move.

  The destroyer quickly reacted firing a beam directly at our position. Our shields went to 102% before dropping quickly. It had been a gamble but the shields had held. At the same time the cruise missiles came within eight kilometers of the destroyer and detonated.

  The bright flash soon turned into a boiling mushroom cloud of fire and debris that spread outward in a thin triangular shape. The alien destroyer sustained heavy damage from the twin blasts.

 

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