“All hands to battle stations,” Captain Hodge’s voice called over the ship-wide intercom channel. “This is not a drill. We are approaching the Terran Fleet. I say again, all hands to their battle stations.”
Keryn and Yen looked at one another in surprise as the message began to replay, their previous encounter already forgotten. They both leapt to their feet, knocking over their respective chairs in their hurry. Reaching the door, Keryn glanced over her shoulder.
“I’ll see you at the Cair Ilmun,” she said, before disappearing into the hall.
The rush through the ship was difficult, with everyone running one way or the other as they tried to get into uniform and man their respective battle stations. Keryn shoved her way past the slower movers, intent on reaching her quarters, slipping into her flight suit, and getting to her ship before the rest of her team. The message had been unclear about how long they had until the Terran Fleet came into range, but Keryn wasn’t willing to take the chance of being late. Reaching her quarters, she inputted her code and moved quickly into the cool darkness beyond. Before the overhead lights had fully flickered to life, she was in the bedroom pulling her flight suit free from its hangar. She dropped her clothes to the ground, not worrying about putting them away as she slipped into her one-piece suit. Clipping her belt around her waist, she drew both her pistol and long knife from the cabinet and attached them to her belt. Feeling ready, she turned and hurried toward the hangar bay.
Within the bay, pilots and crews ran madly from one end to the other, conducting pre-flight checks and arming the multitude of weapons tubes hanging heavily under the wings of their respective ships. At the far end of the bay, Keryn saw a large group of pilots prepping a ship she hadn’t truly been exposed to before: the Weapons Platform. Consisting of little more than a dozen large bore plasma missile tubes surrounding a single cockpit and engine, the Weapons Platform was capable of maneuvering closer to the enemy Destroyers before launching a dozen Cruiser-grade plasma rockets toward its target. Though slow and bulky, the Weapons Platform offered yet another resource for surprising and ultimately destroying the Terran Fleet.
No surprise to Keryn, by the time she arrived at the Cair Ilmun Yen was already examining the outer hull. He offered her only the briefest of acknowledgements before going back to his examination. Adam placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as he passed, carrying a large arsenal of weapons before dropping them in the crew compartment. Keryn felt nervous; not only because they were going to war but because this time, as she recalled from Yen telling her repeatedly, there would be no room for mistakes. If she screwed up this time as she had before, she would not only lose her own life but that of Yen and Adam as well. While she would mourn her own death, she refused to be responsible for the deaths of those she cared so much about.
The rest of her insertion team rushed over to the ship, decked in full battle armor and carrying their own collection of weapons. Each carried a pistol and rifle and had a knife and a series of grenades strapped to their hip. To her surprise, as they passed, they all offered words of encouragement and confident smiles. Keryn smiled in return, feeling bolstered by their confidence in her.
Before she was even able to slip into the Cair Ilmun, she saw some of the Duun fighters rolling forward, pre-positioning for launch. Though the message had been cryptic, Keryn quickly realized that someone knew the timeline and, judging from everyone else’s actions, they would soon be launching against the Terrans. She hurried inside the Cair Ilmun, letting the door slide closed and seal behind her. In the cool darkness of the crew compartment, she met the stern stares of the Infantry soldiers, already strapped into their seats. Though no one said as much, she knew something needed to be said.
“I’m not the best at motivational speeches,” Keryn admitted. “I’ve never had a lot of opportunities to try to motivate someone else. But I don’t think I need to tell you what’s about to happen. I know a lot is riding on me. Hell, all of our lives are riding on my ability to fly us to one of the Terran Destroyers. I may not have given you a lot of reasons to trust me before, but I promise you that I will not let you down. You will get to one of the Destroyers, even if it kills me.”
The silence that ensued was finally broken by a gruff Pilgrim voice. “We trust you, Keryn,” Adam said. “Make us proud.”
A chorus of support broke from the rest of the team. Smiling, Keryn walked up to the cockpit. Sitting in the copilot’s chair, Yen nodded to her as she entered. “They believe in you,” he said. “We all do.”
“I need you to do me a favor, Yen,” Keryn said a little sheepishly, hoping not to offend him.
“Name it.”
“I need you to go back to the back and join the rest of the team. If I’m going to do this, then it’s something I need to do alone. You won’t always be there to support me and give me advice, so I need to learn to succeed entirely on my own.”
To her surprise, Yen smiled as he unbuckled his restraints. Standing, he placed his hand on her shoulder. “Good luck, Keryn,” he whispered. He walked into the crew compartment and Keryn slid the door separating the two sections of the ship closed. Alone in the cockpit, she took a deep breath before taking her seat. She turned the series of switches that would start up the engine and complete the pre-flight checks. As the engine warmed up, a familiar Voice spoke in her mind.
I know you said you want to do this alone, the Voice said, but I want you to know that I’m here to support you. No matter the differences we’ve had in the past, you and I are eternally one mind. Without you, I can’t exist. Whether you want me here or not, I will do everything I can to help. I won’t let us die today.
Surprising even herself, Keryn smiled. “For once, I’m glad to have you here.”
Pushing forward on the controls, the Cair Ilmun rolled out of its alcove and took its place amongst the other ships preparing for launch.
As the Revolution entered the galaxy, the dozen ships in its Fleet spread out in a two ship tall line and advanced on the central planets of the system. Having already detected the Cruisers on radar, the Terran Destroyers were similarly aligned in anticipation of the grueling battle to come.
“All Cruisers, this is Captain Hodge,” the message proclaimed from the Revolution’s bridge. “The enemy has decided to stand and fight, which will lessen the work that we will have to do in pursuing them. Hold your line until my order. Arm all plasma warheads, load all rail guns, and await my orders. On my mark, prepare to deploy the Squadrons. And, for everyone, Gods’ speed.”
CHAPTER SIX
Both ranks of ships fired their initial volleys before the fighters had the opportunity to launch from their underbellies. Across the inky void, plasma rockets streamed, their smoky exhausts filling space with intricate weaves of overlapping trajectories. Near the center of the battlefield, blue and purple plasma explosions blossomed soundlessly, turning the front view screens of the Cruisers into brilliant, colorful displays while, simultaneously, masking the movements of the enemy ships.
With their actions blocked from the Terran Fleet, the Alliance Cruisers began firing massive barrages of rail gun slugs. Though a bit archaic when compared to the complexities of the plasma warheads, the rail guns were some of the most effective weapons in the Fleet’s arsenal. Built of three parallel metal bars, set in a triangle pattern, the rails of the guns were heavily magnetized. Large metal slugs, oppositely polarized from the rails, hovered in between the rails until propelled forward, where small grooves in the metal rails projected the magnetic fields forward, launching the slugs from the Cruisers at high velocities. In the frictionless space, the slugs never lost their kinetic energy until striking a solid object, like a planet or, in this case, a Terran Destroyer.
The slugs from both sides raced through the darkness, their matte coatings leaving them nearly invisible against the backdrop of distant space. On the Cair Ilmun, Keryn gritted her teeth as the Revolution shook from impacts. Her view blinded by the hangar bay door that still remained close
d, she could only imagine the damage being done to the ship and hope that they would soon have the opportunity to launch, preferably before the Revolution was destroyed from counter fire. Keryn had never been fully engaged in space combat like this before, which left her irritable and scared. Though she didn’t know what she would face beyond the confines of the Revolution, she finally began to understand how the Infantry in the crew compartment behind her must feel. She would rather take her chances against an armada of Terran ships than sit in the belly of a Cruiser with her fingers crossed that she wouldn’t be obliterated without every launching.
When the bright red light above the hangar door finally shifted to green, Keryn released an audible sigh of relief. She released fists that had been clenched until her knuckles had turned white. Shortly thereafter, the roar of venting gas filled the massive hangar as they prepped for launch. Keryn switched on the internal communications channel and took a deep breath before speaking.
“We’re getting ready to launch,” she said, hoping her voice sounded confident to those relying on her piloting skills for survival. “Sit tight and I’ll get you to a Terran Destroyer shortly.”
As the bay doors slid open, the first of the Duun fighters launched, spilling free of the ship and hurtling toward the enemy Destroyers. Keryn followed as quickly as possible, clearing the Revolution and finding her position off its right flank. Her heart pounding, she was glad to be clear of the Cruiser and in open space. She felt as though she stood a chance relying solely on her own piloting abilities instead of relying on the piloting skills of someone maneuvering a few million tons of alloy girders and armored plating. Though the Cair Ilmun was free of her Cruiser, not all ships were so lucky. Debris from a number of ships torn apart by metal slugs floated near the hangar bays of the nearby Cruisers; ships that were destroyed before making it more than a few hundred feet from the hangar bay. Three ships down the line, blue and purple flames jutted from the hangar of the Cruiser. From the midst of the superheated inferno, a few ships limped free of the hangar, tumbling end over end as they fell into the zero gravity of space. Looking around, Keryn couldn’t tell how many pilots had been fortunate enough to clear the hangar bay before a missile struck it. She hoped several, for the sake of the ship’s entire Squadron. The reality of war quickly settled over Keryn as she realized that hundreds of pilots and insertion teams could have their lives simultaneously ended in the briefest of moments.
Focus, Keryn, the Voice whispered. You can’t help them, but you can stay focused enough to make sure something similar doesn’t happen to you.
Across the empty space, Keryn watched the enormous hangar bay doors opening on the Terran Destroyers. From their undersides, the Destroyers disgorged their own Squadrons. Keryn realized that from the perspective of an opponent, her earlier assessment of Squadrons looking like swarms of angry insects was incorrect. It wasn’t insects that she saw spilling from the Terran ships, charging across the space toward the Alliance Squadrons. Sitting above the Revolution, Keryn saw the ships merge into a single sea of flowing fighters, rolling like waves in the ocean, until they slammed violently together. Their momentum built as more and more fighters entered the fray until they were less of crashing waves within a sea and more like a destructive tsunami. As the tsunami crested, slamming against one another, it was punctuated by a brilliant splash of plasma detonations.
Keryn watched, mouth agape. When the Revolution and Defiant had faced one another, she had struggled to find a clear opening through the net of two fighting Squadrons. Before her, filling every inch of available space as far as she could see, over a dozen Squadrons clashed together, filling the spaces not occupied by flying fighters with the wreckage of those already destroyed. Keryn shook her head in amazement and fear, unsure if she would ever be able to pilot through the insanity before her.
To her surprise, the Revolution below her began to move. Down the line, the other Cruisers broke from their positions and began individual maneuvers, leaving more difficult targets for the Terran Destroyers to attack. In response, the Terrans began similar maneuvers. Keryn sat amazed by the sheer quantity of rockets fired from each of the Cruisers and Destroyers. Engaging her engines, Keryn remained in position above the Revolution, along with the majority of other Cair ships. As they began shifting, a single Cair broke from its position and began traversing the chaos on the battlefield, eager to reach to Destroyers on the far side. Keryn found her breath caught in her throat as she watched the pilot weave past a group of Terran fighters. To the pilot’s credit, he outmaneuvered some of the more agile fighters as he streamed onward, passing into the middle of the battlefield. Just when she thought he stood a chance at making it, the wing tore free of the Cair ship, struck by a wayward rail gun slug. Spinning, the Cair ship was helpless as a Terran fighter launched its rockets. Keryn’s heart lurched in time with the exploding Cair and left her feeling empty. Just as quickly as hope had filled her, the realization that over a dozen Alliance soldiers were instantly killed weighed heavily on her.
“I can’t do this,” Keryn whispered as she watched as more and more fighters and transports were destroyed in the ensuing melee. “There’s no way through that.”
You can do this, the Voice replied. Don’t get overwhelmed and don’t get excited. Remember what we learned before. You are the Captain of this ship, which means we don’t move until you’re completely confident that you can get us from one side to the other safely.
“What if I never get that confident?”
Then you let everyone in the back of this ship die, eternally disappointed in your failure as a pilot.
Keryn frowned, biting back the tears of frustration. She hated the Voice’s blatant honesty, but couldn’t deny the wisdom of its words. More than anything, the Voice knew which of Keryn’s buttons to push to spur her into action. Taking a deep breath, Keryn looked back over the battle. She slowly let her eyes slip out of focus. When training to be a Wyndgaart warrior in the schoolhouse, Keryn had used a similar technique when facing a very agile opponent. Try to focus on each individual strike, and you miss the more subtle secondary attack. By taking in her opponent’s movements as a whole, she was able to map their strategy and find holes in their defenses. Looking back at the battlefield, Keryn tried the same thing here. Instead of focusing on a single ship and watching its inevitable demise, she took in the full scene. Slowly, the ships flowed into a single, seamless mass, writhing against one another. In this perspective, Keryn began to see that the battling ships did not fully cover the whole area of space. Small gaps appeared, though they closed almost as quickly as they appeared. Given enough time and a bit of patience, Keryn believed that she could exploit one of those openings enough to get them through.
Though Keryn now felt more confident, she wasn’t sure how to explain her strategy to the other Cair pilots, and she cringed as more and more of them grew impatient and attempted their flights. Each ship covered more and more distance than the one before, but the result was always invariably the same. Over a dozen lives lost every time, for nothing more than a few hundred feet of ground gained. Without some distracter, Keryn feared that too many of the Cair ships would be destroyed before a sufficient opening presented itself.
Keryn quickly switched her radio channel to the Squadron’s Cair-specific net. Overlapping voices filled the channel, making it difficult to distinguish true orders and strategy from mind-numbing chatter. Some of the voices were from wounded or destroyed ships, their pilots barely alive enough to call repeatedly for help, though they knew in their hearts that there was no system in place to retrieve a downed pilot until the war was over. Some of the chatter was a play-by-play narration of the Duun fighters, cheering and jeering alternately depending on how the Alliance pilots were performing. They debated between one another about which Duun would survive and which would fail. They watched their own shipmates destroyed by a malicious Terran enemy and they mocked the loss. Anger built within her. The young pilots around her treated this war like it was
a game. A loss of a fighter translated to little more for them than a piece on a board game, moved incorrectly into an ill-advised location. They lost the piece, but it was quickly brushed aside as they moved on to the next. Having no more true combat experience than they did, she couldn’t fathom why she took this more seriously. Could they not hear the calls of the wounded and dying pilots?
“Shut up!” Keryn screamed into the radio, overwhelming even the most raucous conversations. Only the meek calls from the wounded could be heard on the otherwise silent net. “What is wrong with you people? Our pilots – friends and people with whom many of us graduated from the Academy with – are out there fighting and dying and you’re treating it like it’s a game!”
The stretching silence told Keryn that no one was strong enough to oppose her push for a leadership role. It had come surprisingly naturally for her at the Academy to take on the role of leader, once she had identified the tactics necessary to compete in the daily competitions. Her leadership abilities had led her to graduate at the top of her class, earning her commission as an Officer in the Fleet instead of just a Warrant. Now, whether they liked it or not, she would force her newly assumed role on them all.
“I know that some of you are scared right now. I can accept that. When I saw the Terrans pouring out of their ships, I got a little scared too. But every one of you needs to realize that you have a ship full of Infantry soldiers that are relying on you for their very survival. Do something foolish like the other Cair pilots that launched before us, and you not only sacrifice yourself, but you sacrifice all of their lives. I, for one, wouldn’t be able to go on knowing that I was so careless with someone else’s life.”
“What are you trying to say?” an anonymous gruff voice replied. The tone of his voice, though, told Keryn that he had not meant the words to be confrontational.
“When the time is right, and it isn’t yet, I need all of you to be ready to move. As soon as an opening presents itself, we’re going to latch on to the closest Terran Destroyer and let our Infantry counterparts do their job. I know you don’t know me very well. You haven’t served with me that long and many of you are already questioning as to why you’re bothering to listen to me at all. The truth is, as the most junior pilot, I don’t have the authority to order you to follow me. What I do have, though, is the confidence to tell you now that most of us will make it out of this alive if you’re willing to listen to me.”
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