Iron Five

by Seon O. Stronghold

  I turn in time to see another Cyclone on the ground a hundred feet away, Auto-cannon spitting at me. My armor takes the hits but I am going to have to do something about it soon or he will tear into me.

  “...missile lock...missile launch imminent...” But…One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…and still more Catalysts rain down on him as bullets slice through his armor, reducing the advanced technology to bent, twisted, burning and torn apart scrap metal. The Mecha bursts open in a hail of fire and debris.

  “…Whooooooow!” Mirana flies by and leaves a row of rising dust in her wake.

  “Nice save Gunner...”

  “Anytime Alpha…”

  “I thought I was supposed to meet you on the Hawk?”

  My DAWG lifts me into the air and I join her as she comes around for another low level fly-by.

  “I owed you one...”

  “Iron Five…”

  Akita is first in my ear “Alpha…”

  Pitbull now “On our way boss...”

  “Estoy Aqui...”

  “Get down here…” I switch to Mirana “Gunner..?”

  “Alpha..?

  “Get to the Hawk, re-load and wait for us there...”

  “Copy that…”

  I watch her peel away from our holding pattern, gain altitude and shrink to a dot in the brown sky. Through the Neural, I get a flash of my team approaching and after we are all in sync, I take us to a thousand feet at the speed of sound. With the majority of the Cyclones out of the way, we might actually have a fighting chance.

  “Okay guys, there’s no room for error here. I’m on point, Pitbull and Akita, you’re the second wave. Hound, Dane, you guys finish what we’re about to start.”

  “Boss…I have visual on Jackal Three…”

  “I see it Bull, follow me in and let’s do it clean the first time...”

  I accelerate and lead the team to three hundred feet above Immediate Ground Level. The desert floor whipping by looks like a never ending smudge as we close in on our target.

  “Raider One…”

  The onboard computer projects Al-Jair’s call-sign and his voice hits me like a slap in the ear. He is in combat. I can tell by the wildness in his words and the chatter-chatter of gunfire behind them.

  “Alpha I have you on scan, bring the fire!”

  “Clear out…”

  “Copy, clear-out…”

  We rush toward the monster saucer with sixty seconds to impact and at the speed of thought, I select my Supernova’s, launch them both, and climb into the heavens like a rocket.

  Keden’s dirt floor shrinks within seconds and the indicator passes two thousand miles per hour as the first heavy missile detonates, and one by one the rest of my team deliver their blows.

  At fifteen thousand feet, I roll over as the rapidly rising and churning cloud of fire and smoke erupts. The Raiku Command Platform breaks apart and crumbles to the desert floor, all of their aircraft and ground troops either surrendering, being blown up or high-tailing it to the next platform a hundred miles away.

  I go to open-communications now “Iron Five. Angels twenty, form up on me…”

  “Aye Captain…”

  I rise to twenty thousand feet and we head off toward the Minera. Then, stepping up to twenty five thousand feet, I connect to our Forward Command Center.

  “Nalas Command…”

  “Captain Gant, Nalas Command has you on link, what’s your status?”

  “Low on firepower and need re-load...”

  “Track Hawk at angels forty, locale is being uploaded to you…now”

  “Copy, Hawk is Angels forty and location is received…Iron Five on our way.”

  We take our flight to forty thousand feet and the expanse of Keden, like a light-brown desert map, spreads out beneath us. The HAWC is two hundred miles away and we will be there in five minutes.

  “Iron Five, Hawk has you on approach vector, you have guidance on link. Go auto and reduce speed to three hundred and twenty, over...”

  The voice is female and sounds like her throat is made of sand paper.

  “Iron Five copies guidance…”

  I slow to three hundred and twenty miles per hour and give control to the autopilot

  “…Hawk, you have control.”

  “Roger that Iron Five. Re-load is twenty seconds after dock-up. Remain inside your machines. Await clearance and coordinates before undock.”

  “Will do…”

  The com flickers off and the hazy outline of the High Altitude Weapons Carrier appears ahead. Fighter groups of MAV’s serve as escorts to the heavily fortified and armed Carrier and can be seen flying with it and in patterns at varying altitudes. A few Mecha and Sky Fighters are on deck, some just arriving, some being loaded while others head off to other battle sites. My altimeter reads forty thousand feet and the switch from manual to auto flight is flawless. I connect to Mirana’s MAV on a secure link.

  “Gunner..?”

  “Alpha…”

  “When this is over, let me buy you a coffee…”

  My heart beats as if in combat while she takes her time with the answer. Three seconds, but it seems like an hour. The Weapons Carrier is clearer now.

  “I know a joint in Marasa…”

  I have no idea what Marasa is and no doubt, she realizes this

  “…it’s a little town on the Minera. There’s a coffee shop on the waterfront called King’s brew…”

  “Sounds like a plan…”

  Our conversation lasts a good five minutes and I am about to ask her about her tastes when the HAWC Flight Director comes through again.

  “Iron Five…Speed sync in twenty seconds...”

  I acknowledge him as the Carrier gets closer until we pass over its flat surface of lights and landing docks. Three heavily armed Mecha unlatch from an area off on my right and as they lift into the wicked air currents, one by one, the Ked pilots slide away from us and drop off into nothingness.

  The sensations of the Autopilot as it shifts and corrects my trajectory are strange. Slowly, it takes me over the designated space for my DAWG, and the computer shows my deceleration while my team and I slow to three hundred miles an hour; matching the flight of the Weapons Carrier.

  The auto-guidance brings me down until the thump of my machine colliding with the Eversteel surface indicates a solid connection. The docking clamps snap my legs in place and my Mecha is now held stable as robotic arms and loaders connect to me. A digital menu appears and I select my choice of weaponry.

  Armor piercing, explosive rounds - Full re-load

  Catalysts – Full re-load

  Supernovas – 2

  The slight shudders that rock me are effects of the ammunition being fitted outside. The computer tells me that I’m good to go and the Flight Director makes contact.

  “Iron Five, you have release in thirty…”

  “Iron Five reads thirty seconds to release. We’re good to go.” Switching to my team “Iron Five, follow to angels fifteen and bullet to Jackal two...”

  Pitbull comes back “On you, Boss...”

  The flight director is in our ears again “Iron Five, you’re good for flight. Undocking now…good luck...”

  The Latches unclip and I feel the change in motion as they do. I go from securely standing on deck to swaying in the wind, so it’s back to manual control for me. Asking my DAWG for power, I lift into the heavy air-currents and accelerate over and away from the HAWC.

  CHAPTER 15 - JERICHO

  Sunlight cracks the dusty horizon with its silvery glare. It has been a wild night. The dark, early morning skies had been all lights and action unlike anything I have ever seen in my career. Guns blazing, missiles tracking, bombs targeting, explosions erupting, ground shaking, sky shattering…we did, however, manage to destroy Jackal Two and One but the celebration was short lived. Not long after our efforts to hold our enemies at bay seemed successful, we found ourselves badly outnumbered as swarms of Dynasty fighter
squadrons and Battle groups, broke atmosphere, overran the forward command posts and devastated Keden’s frontlines. We and Al-Jair were forced to regroup and await further instructions, and now, the Raiku are mere moments away from taking Dunan and its outlying territories.

  “Iron Five…”

  Al-Jair comes over our coms

  “…We’re making a run on Jackal Seven in twenty minutes. Keep us clear of hostile aircraft and artillery until we’re through…”

  “Iron Five copies, we’ll be there in twenty...”

  But an avalanche of noise splits the heavens. At thirty thousand feet, we bear witness to a crippled Raiku Battle Cruiser as it falls helplessly to the desert floor below. No doubt killed in orbit, it is a spectacle to behold. About a mile long and half mile wide, the warship comes apart in balls of flaming pieces, each chunk monstrous while the bulk of it travels, according to my scans, at over a thousand miles per hour. But as it falls, it slows. Even in the face of annihilation the Magnatech fail-safes on board would slow it down, reducing a potential planetary catastrophe to nothing more than localized damage.

  “That’s gonna make a dent...”

  I respond to Mirana on the open com “Whatever hit it must be a powerhouse...”

  As if on cue, hundreds of Starships pierce the sky, their blue and white hulls dazzling in the morning sunlight and their Earthfront logos visible even without magnification.

  “Earthfront…” Hound breaks the silence.

  And we look on as our home ships descend and flood the battlefield within minutes.

  “Alpha..!”

  I accept Al-Jair’s incoming transmission “Victory here is ours. Your new objectives are to report to Nalas and board the Starship Cala, then rendezvous with Al-Raadein on Aaram.”

  “Alpha copies objective Nalas, and Mission Rendezvous with Al-Raadein. It was a pleasure fighting alongside you General.”

  “The pleasure was also mine Earther…Fly brave...”

  “Fly strong...” I give my blessing and switch to Iron Five’s secure com “…Iron Five, Bullet to Nalas. Form up and speed sync in ten.”

  The thrill of battle is still in me but I am, at the same time, glad to be away from this war and finally one step closer to my ultimate objective. I don’t care how long it takes, or what I have to do to get it done, but Terri will answer to me for what he did, even if it is by my trigger.

  Leaning sideways, my DAWG drops from the sky and thirty thousand feet becomes twenty thousand in seconds. The fight on Keden might be over, but the war has only just begun. Getting a battle-group to an already invaded Earth is not going to be a walk in the park.

  “Iron Five, Nalas Command has you on approach, follow digital to L Z one five, contact on touchdown.”

  “Roger that Nalas Command, we have digital.”

  Nalas Base is a hazy outline ahead of us, I descend above the Minera, deploy my airbrakes and the distance closes within the minute.

  “Nalas Command...Iron five is on deck and waiting.”

  “Iron Five... power down and proceed to Hanger seventeen. Condor awaits you for bullet to Aaram. Welcome back.”

  “Copy that....”

  After shutting down the DAWGs and leaving our cockpits for the first time in almost twenty four hours, we get to our new ship. It has been a rough ride, the past few hours, and we each take turns in the bathrooms onboard Condor. The spaces are not as roomy as the Mirage but will still do nicely. While each of our flight suits are run through a cyclic cleaner, sterilizing and eliminating all traces of piss and shit, the team and I relax in clothes given by Al Jair’s staff. It’s unpleasant business, but a part of the whole nonetheless.

  ********

  Now harnessed and sitting in the cockpit of this triangular ship in fresh flight suits, we ready the systems for lift off and are awaiting permission to launch. It has been a gruelling battle and we are all feeling the effects of sleep, but Aaram is five hundred light years from K1 so we will have a good six hour sleep after we enter hyperspace.

  “Condor, Nalas Control has you ready for launch. Taxi to runway five and hold, over?”

  “Condor copies Taxi to runway five and hold.”

  I take a good look at the people around me. It was not so long ago that Terrier was with us, behind the controls, right where Dane is sitting. Things have changed but we are still Iron Five. I steal a glimpse at Mirana and she looks my way. I smile before going back to what we were doing; there will be time to talk later.

  With a slight push into my seat, Maria rolls us out of the hangar and into the blazing sunlight, across the tarmac and then with a one hundred and eighty degree turn, lines up with the runway. It has been a long time since I have experienced a rolling takeoff and within the minute, our coms come alive.

  “Condor, your launch is a go. Take it to angels seventy and await co-ordinates.”

  “Condor copies angels seventy and wait for co-ords...”

  The brakes are released and the cockpit shudders under the immense power of the Sol Combustion. Dane accelerates the ship and we speed down the runway. Outside my window, Nalas and her island blurs past and then drops and angles away from us. The familiar sensation of my stomach being pushed into my gut lingers on the edges of my thoughts but in two minutes, the sky grows darker and Keden becomes an image of grooves and lines far below.

  At seventy thousand feet, we are on the edge of the planet’s atmosphere. The Condor’s artificial gravity kicks in, and after a crackle on the com, the rusty female voice from Nalas comes through again.

  “Co-ordinates to System Gate Jericho have been uploaded. Good luck Condor.”

  I acknowledge the Flight Director “Condor has co-ords and our flight is a go.”

  Keden’s two Starports are nowhere in sight. Based on the Holo in front of me, they on the other side of the world and according to the info I unintentionally ask for, neither of them would ever be in this location. But Dane draws me from my thoughts as she speeds us up. Everything outside my window shifts now that she has engaged our Eon Drive, and we jump into the blackness of space.

  Keden would be nothing but a micro-speck in the portrait of space now, with all of its fighting no longer our concern. After twenty minutes, we come out of warp and the large, cube shaped Gate known as Jericho speeds toward us. Interacting with the System-Gate’s AI is not at all difficult. The Condor’s Artificial intelligence gives the exact calculations to the isolated station and Maria guides us via the Gate’s Digital Magnetics. We slowly, one thousand miles an hour, move along the Eversteel rail that extends outward from the control center and within the minute, the jolt from a split second of electrocution shocks us all as we are launched into hyperspace.

  CHAPTER 16 - IRON FIVE

  We come out of our jump and the most visible thing in sight is a planet that is, according to my screen, fifty thousand kilometers away. It is nothing but a monstrous ball of white and green, hanging in the middle of nowhere and based on the information being fed to us, this is Aaram.

  We are in the Armenese System and from memory it is a very remote one. Ten thousand light years from Sol, its location in the Galaxy allows for obscurity, because the only access to it is by System Gate or Xaris, the Capital System of the Galactic Nine.

  We approach the planet on its day side at twenty thousand miles per hour and after an hour and a half, and fighting the waves of nausea from our magnetic deceleration, we enter atmosphere and follow the co-ordinates given to us from Nalas.

  “Condor…” The com comes alive “…Nest has you on approach, take it to angels twenty two and auto-dock on pad eight, nine.”

  “Condor copies twenty two thousand feet...”

  Aaram’s mountain ranges become clearer, spreading off in every direction and as we get closer, grooves and crevices and cliffs suddenly become menacing. Like jagged arms outstretched and begging us to come near, the granite edges shimmer in the sunlight, casting long shadows down their barren sides. Beneath Aaram’s pale green and
white sky, the planet maintains a surreal appearance, like soft colors in hazy memories of childhood days back on Earth.

  “Condor…Slow to two hundred and go auto.”

  “Copy…Condor is on approach, slowing to two hundred, we are now on auto...”

  “Nest has you Condor. You have guidance on link. Welcome to Aaram.”

  At twenty two thousand feet, our flight path takes us between many peaks and rock faces that stand like heads on the shoulders of titans. As the scenery drifts by, I imagine what it might be like to live here. The air is a hundred percent breathable, making Aaram the only planet in this system like it. However, there are no cities on this rock but settlements can be found at the bases of many of these mountains where the rivers run clean and clear and disappear below surface.

  In times long gone, Geologists had paved the ways to large lakes in caves, deep underground, but few make the journeys now. Flash Flooding has forever been a danger on Aaram.

  The ship veers to the left and we round another precipice. This reveals a large complex built into a massive mountain near its peak dead ahead. Eversteel buildings, runways and landing pads at many different levels which have been embedded into the surrounding nature, make up the strange sight; latched into the rocky incline like a parasite.

  Within ten minutes we are docked at a landing pad on one of the upper levels. Our escorts lead us through a series of tunnels by way of Airvan and within the hour, my team and I are now standing in an expensive office and in the presence of Keden’s leader, Al-Raadein.

  “Sit, Gentlemen…Ladies…” We take our seats quietly and he continues “…Our efforts have been successful, thanks to your selfless service to Keden…”

  Selfless service..? His definition of selflessness and mine are entirely different

  “…However, our spies have relayed new information. A Cyclone unit has recently been stationed at a Raiku base on Jakta.”

  “Jakta..? That’s four hundred Lights from Sol.”

  “Intelligence has confirmed that it has gone to rendezvous with an army of Dragons…the Dynasty’s equivalent to the Cyclone project. With Raiku battleships awaiting our invasion, it is safe to believe that Terrier will be leading the Dragons to intercept us in Earth’s atmosphere.”

  “Then we’ll be ready for them…”