Syl ‘ Ghar Ish checked her navigational computer for what must have been the fiftieth time. Still, the pursuing craft were behind them if not half a click closer than before. The order for her squad of Interceptors to pull out came from Fleet Command as soon as the Kushan Defenders began to prevail in the dogfight that had taken place. Syl’s men although experienced and combat hardened weren’t able to outmatch the sturdy Defenders. Due to the Defenders’ superior armor and firepower Syl’s squadron had lost 3 ships (it was only her and four wingmen now) and Gehal’s Interceptor was badly crippled, fashioning bullet holes across the fuselage and a severed stabilizer fin.
The order from Fleet Command included the coordinates of a patrolling Taiidan Task Force that sported a support frigate among other ships. Ish squadron was to rendezvous for refueling and await further orders.
«Leader, this is two. Hope we’re close. It’s getting worse in here» came Gehal’s voice through much interference over the comm channel.
«Status report Two.» She demanded.
«Well, I was already having trouble keeping her in formation.» Gehal replied «Now I get a fuel loss report from my computer»
Syl turned her head to port to get a visual on Gehal’s situation. She did distinguish a fine thread of fluid leaking from the side of his Interceptor, crystallizing as it flew into the vacuum of space.
«Give me a fuel estimate Two.» She finally ordered. «We’ re already stalling, we don’t want to leave you stranded here, right?»
«Roger that captain. Fuel enough for another dozen clicks if my meters aren’t shot up too.»
«We’ll have to count on them for the time being Two. Rendezvous with Support frigate Tenezz in...» she checked her HUD «...8 kilometers. Just hang in there Gehal, you’re doing fine. Lead out.» And with that Syl turned away from her wingman’s craft to get indications from her own ship.
«Leader, Three here, why not leave Two for the Kushan? He can’t even kamikaze straight, much less get into a furball.» Belvorr’s attempt at joking was obviously meant to lessen the grief for the loss of the three of their copilots. It managed to bring on a chuckle from the rest of the squad.
Syl tried to suppress a smile herself and only marginally succeeded.
«Well, because if situation calls for it, Three, we simply tie your ship to mine using cables and you can tow me into kamikazeing» Came Gehal’s amused retort.
Syl was milliseconds away from smiling again at Gehal’s comment only to let her mind bring up the faces of the pilots that had died mere moments sooner.
«Less chatter people.» She said eventually, trying to remind her pilots of the seriousness of their situation. «Three, that claw of Defenders 20 clicks back didn’t look that funny when we were in their guns’ effective range, now did it?»
Three’s respond was fast in coming and sounded dead serious.
«No ma’am. Shutting up.» He said.
«Okay boys and girls, the good news is, I have a visual on Tenezz and escort.» She could indeed make out the form of the support frigate with its flattened deck and a multitude of strike craft in sphere formation around it. The blue and white of the ship making it stand out against the dark backdrop of space.
«Leader, this is Four. Anyone got a confirmation on escorts?» That was Alysh Ka Rett, the only other female pilot in Syl’s squadron.
«Three, here, I can only verify the manifests of the Diirvass squad Eloork.»
«Two, blind as my sensors are, I can also verify a squadron of Raachok. Both squads of 6.»
Syl checked if her sensors also showed the 12 corvettes and found they did so. The claw of the pursuing Defenders was at 18 km away and closing steadily, but with those Diirvass around them, Syl’s squad would be able to spend ample time refueling and repairing.
«Okay people, time to move in. Three, take Four and Five and head in to refuel, I’ll hold back and escort Two in.»
«Affirmative captain,» Belvorr, the most lively man in the entire fleet, couldn’t hide the relief from his voice but did volunteer to stay behind with Syl. «You sure Two doesn’t need an extra baby sitter? I’m used to nursing him.»
«I’m ...» Syl couldn’t finish due to Gehal’s sudden interruption.
«Three, I’m not dead yet, in fact, captain, I would suggest you all go ahead and refuel, I can hold my own for the last 5 clicks...» Gehal responded.
«At ease Two, I give the orders around here.» Syl concluded. «Three, you still in my sights?»
Belvorr brought his Interceptor to full speed with the other two pilots following him at delta formation, while Syl maintained her post next to Gehal’s damaged fighter.
«I hate the outcome of this, captain» Gehal spoke with exasperation showing in his tone.
«Elaborate Two.» Syl said
«Well, should I be dead with Fielk and Khanet and Judiif,» Gehal’s reminder of the three lost pilots made Syl turn to look at her wingman’s ship «I would be remembered as another of those brave enough to face the Kushan and die in battle. I would have honored my Kiith.»
He continued «Now I’ll be considered saved by the timing on Fleet Command’s part.»
«Would you rather be with those that died or the ones to avenge their deaths Two?»
Syl’s question came carrying the grief she experienced from her first mission even. And the grief she felt every time one of her friends died in the hands of an enemy.
«Point taken captain.» Through Syl’s headset, Two’s voice sounded a bit more optimistic. «Next time those Kushan show up, they’re only friction against my bullets.»
«Glad you’re with me Two,» Another visual showed her the rest of her squad was already performing docking maneuvers with Tenezz. «Start, docking maneuvers and bring it to three oh nine point six, increase relative altitude and wait for autodocking procedure.» She could now see the two squads of Corvettes around Tenezz and felt a bit more at ease being close to so much friendly firepower.
«Roger captain, bringin’ it in as smooth as she goes.»
The rest of Syl’s squad was in the middle of refueling when she and Gehal went into autodocking, slaving their ships to Tenezz’s guidance grid. Syl’s Interceptor folded its stabilizers along the hull prepping itself for landing. With a soft touch the fighter landed in one of the port empty spots right behind Alysh, ready for the fuel transfer to commence.
«Ish Lead has touched down.» She saw Gehal’s Interceptor sluggishly following her lead. The fins had failed to fold and no sooner than she noticed, Gehal’s voice filled the comm channel.
«Stabilizers not responding. Attempting stiff landing»
Syl turned to look at her wingman’s attempt to stiff land the Interceptor beside her ship. The Interceptor although designed in similar fashion to the smaller Fiirkan Scout, it was configured to support larger stabilizers to allow atmospheric flight. Those stabilizers, however tested out to be an obstacle in landings regardless of the landing gear’s size. The fins were later modified to fold across the Interceptor’s fuselage in an embracing fashion to enable it to land in a variety of surfaces. Landings when the fins failed to retract (called stiff landings by pilots) although not common among Taiidan fighter jockeys, were usually instructed in situations like Gehal’s to attempt saving both pilot and craft.
Gehal was a veteran and one with multiple decorations, being with Syl ever since she was assigned her own unit of Interceptors some 2 years ago. He was good with the flight stick and inventive in the most unpredictable of times. This was one of them. Instead of landing the fighter tail first, he came to a stop above the landing pad and followed by using directional rockets mounted on the ship to bring the nose down softly, then using the directionals on the back of the fuselage he eased down the tail. Thin as the stabilizers were, they were affected only by the faux gravity field projected by the support frigate to assist fighters in landing. The fins touched the deck and absorbed the rest of the weight without snapping. It was as successful a landing as it would ever be.
«Good job Two.» Syl praised.
«Yeah, Two, saved our squad a ship.» that from Four.
«Knock it off guys, you hurt me» Gehal, obviously more relaxed than ever, jovially defended himself from embarrassment «Switching it to auto, Tenezz, I’m all yours.»
Syl was close enough to Gehal’s ship to distinguish the wire-like servo arms that sprouted from Tenezz’s deck to conduct what repairs were manageable. Microwelders and cutters worked deftly across the length of the Interceptor bringing its mangled form to more operational status. Simultaneously the fuel pipes connected to the outer hull, pumped fuel into the thirsty fighter. She checked her sensors again and found that the squad of Defenders appeared to have stopped 12 km away. What the Kushan were up to, Syl had no idea.
«Lead, this is Three, I’m done here. Looking for another party to join.» With that, Belvorr’s fighter took off.
«Three, Lead here. Join the light ‘vettes in formation around Tenezz and wait for us.» Syl checked her instruments to find out what percentage of the refueling was completed «We’ll be joining you soon. Refueling is 78 percent complete.»
«Lead, Four. Launching and joining formation.» Alysh’s ship fired its engines and rose from in front of Syl.
«Five here. All done Lead. Following suit.» Her fifth pilot, Kagoss Pae took off and cleared the spot he occupied ahead of Gehal. Kagoss, a young, hotheaded man not 20 summers old had proven to be a valuable asset to Syl’s squad.
«Be with you in a second!» Gehal sniggered.
«Get yourself in shape first, Two» Syl responded. She glanced at her other 3 squad members who formed with the Light Corvettes around Tenezz.
Half a minute before she was able to disengage from Tenezz’s deck, Syl heard the warning from the frigate’s bridge officer.
«Tenezz to escorting strike craft. Fleet Intelligence confirmed detection of a hyperspace signature, most possibly hostile. I repeat, hostile.» The officer continued «The entry point has been marked and probes are being sent but we have no data as to where the exit will be. Be alert and prep for immediate action. Tenezz out.»
At twenty seconds Belvorr said something about a carrier making frequent in-system jumps.
At fifteen seconds the familiar energy surge of a hyperspace gate formed half a click off Tenezz’s starboard side.
At eleven the huge, angular, dark hued hull of a Kushan Revelation class destroyer had fully materialised through the gate. The comm channel filled with warnings from the rest of the strike pilots.
At ten Syl’s control panel lit up with alarm indicators. The space between Tenezz and the Destroyer filled with muffled explosions.
At nine the first of the enormous projectiles Destroyers use for their cannon mass drivers slammed against Tenezz’s right flank.
The rapidity of what happened in the last eight seconds made that small fraction of time look like eons in Syl’s mind. The destroyer’s turrets lanced Tenezz’s right side with two ion beams, melting bulkheads and layers of armor. The order came for the escorts to engage the cap ship while Tenezz attempted to evade the attack. Before her eyes, a ricochet sliced the fuel pipes connected to the valves on Gehal’s ship and the next ion barrage set the fuel still flowing on fire. Gehal started on the comm:
«Captain, I’m still not good for flight, repairs at 65%, fuel level at 86%. What do I do?»
«Shut the valves Two! Cut the fuel flow or you’re toast!» Syl said. By now Multi Gun and Light Corvettes had charged the Destroyer in hopes of damaging it enough to flee, Syl’s men with them.
«Uhh, not good cap. Valves I can close but fuel flow can be shut by Tenezz only. I’m being flamed!» Gehal now, more agitated. Fire was spreading on the deck and across Two’s fighter.
«Go to manual and launch Two! If the fire reaches your tanks you’ll go off like a Supernova!!» The leaking fuel started to splash around the deck endangering to set Syl’s ship on fire too. «I’m launching now, Two, follow my lead.» She blasted off the wounded frigate’s deck and began a wide turn to face Gehal’s ship, still grounded on Tenezz. «Ish Lead is on the air. Two, move it!»
«Captain, those servos are holding me in place. I CAN’T TAKE OFF!!» Gehal shouted.
«Eject Two. Bail out, bail out!!» She kept on turning, making the loop tighter yet
«Ejection not... funct ...amage... ...ject...aaaa..» Syl couldn’t avoid seeing Gehal’s death, but through the static caused by failing comm systems, she was glad she could not hear her wingman’s dying scream...
The next barrage of twin ions hit Tenezz on its damaged side just as she brought her Interceptor to face the frigate. The fire, left uncontrolled, eventually reached the internal tanks on both Gehal’s fighter and the Support frigate igniting fuel deposits. The Interceptor bulged from the inside and fire erupted from a thousand tears before the whole craft exploded in a bright blue flash, scattering pieces of debris. No one ejected, and the repair servo arms were working until the very end of Gehal’s fighter. The support frigate showed heavy damage on its starboard side, with flames sprouting and licking the capital ship’s right flank. Syl shut her eyes for a second. That was not the way for Gehal to die. It was not the way for any fighter pilot to die. She opened her eyes and accelerated to attack speed heading for the midst of the battle. There would be time for grief after revenge was taken.
«This is Tenezz.» She heard on the comm. «We are badly damaged. All strike craft please assist!» The officer’s voice was less official and more like panicky now. «Keep the Kushan gunners occupied while we escape.»
«This is Eloork three. I’ve lost my gunner. He got hit through the canopy!» The Diirvass pilot was the first to stand out in the chatter of battle. «I’m weaponless, returning to Tenezz.»
«Negative Eloork three. Tenezz is non functional for repairs now.» Came the answer from Tenezz.
«Uhhh, roger that. I can always ram someone...Eloork three out.» Disappointment showing more than anything else in the pilot’s voice.
Syl searched her sensors for the rest of Ish squad and found them strafing the sides of the Kushan Destroyer. All three of them in broad formation, they kept out of the destroyer’s field of fire and scored hits against the armored hull.
«Three, this is Ish leader. Wrong use of tactics. Form up on me.» She guided her pilots to the rear of the immense Destroyer and waited until they took positions beside her.
«Lead, this is Three. I guess that’s why you’re a captain and I’m a flight officer.» Belvorr snapped back, obviously busy with keeping his craft out of danger. He flew to where she was «Where’s Two, Lead?»
«Two didn’t make it, Three. You’re my wing now.» Syl tried to keep emotion out of her voice. Belvorr, being the most spirited person in the squad, couldn’t do the same.
«Didn’t....how?»
«No time for that now. Break by pairs and go evasive. Three with me.» She dove in a blind spot below the Destroyer’s middle section and shot forward, her squad following.
«Lead, we’re...uhh...in front of them.» Alysh claimed.
«Yes we are, Four. And we’ll stay here until they leave or we die.» Syl called back. She switched to open Taiidan frequencies. «This is Ish Lead. Eloork squad, do you copy?»
«This is Eloork Lead. What can we do for you?» A male voice, deep and serious-sounding.
«What is the condition up there?» She got a visual of the Multi Gun Corvettes as they circled around the Kushan ship stinging it with continuous fire. Occasionally, a shell from the Destroyer would hit a Corvette reducing it to pieces or in the best of times damaging it severely. The two ion cannons burning through Tenezz’s engines, while the Taiidan ship tried to put distance between it and the Kushan guns.
«We’ve sustained some casualties and are getting pretty worn out. All the Raachok from Tenezz’s escort are gone.» A check at her sensors verified the loss of the 6 light Corvettes to Syl. «They must have gotten hit before we were even ordered to move. The Kushan are redirecting their fire at us.» He continued quickly. «They’re probably leaving Tenezz until after they’re done with us.»
«That might be our advantage Eloork Lead. What if we keep em busy and you take out the bridge?» Syl asked, diving out of the way as an ion beam washed by, mere meters away.
«Will do Ish Lead.» The Eloork squad commander replied. «Targeting now.»
Syl, switched back to Ish squad frequencies and addressed her squadron.
«You hear that boys and girls?» she said «We’re bait until those Diirvass gunners give the Kushani captain enough high velocity reasons to leave.»
«Lead, this is Five. You’re always taking us to the nicest of places.» Kagoss commented.
«Right you are, Five. And here’s someplace nicer.» She checked her targeting screen and continued «Why don’t you and Four fly by the gun turrets while me and Three take the ion cannons?»
«Roger captain. Five out.» The young man increased relative altitude to dance around the gun turrets mounted on top of the Destroyer’s hull. Alysh on his wing evaded continuously.
«Three, bring it on my nine and keep loose. We don’t want an ion shower getting us both.» She told her wingman.
«Roger cap. In fact, we don’t want an ion shower at all.» Belvorr brought his fighter by her left side 100 meters or so away.
«I hear you Three.» She said and began evading like an insect eludes a bird’s beak.
The Kushani captain was probably over confident, relying on his ship’s ability to endure serious punishment. Instead of keeping the Destroyer on the move to hold the Diirvass in his field of fire, he continued onward, trying futilely to hit the nimble Interceptors, seldom firing its ion cannons to further damage Tenezz. The 5 remaining Multi-Guns, however, formed a wall right behind the Destroyer’s turrets and out of its effective field of fire, while concentrating their shots on the bridge. It looked as if they could drive the Destroyer away, if they kept on it. Light as the damage was, it was continuous and relentless. The Kushani captain changed his strategy though, and in one last salvo, the Destroyer’s ion beams drilled through the Taiidan frigate piercing the hull and igniting fuel and ammunition. The shock from the explosion was enough to tilt the Destroyer. Pieces of the frigate scattered in every direction. The Kushani commander obviously wanted to deprive the Taiidan strike craft of any refuel or repair options they might have had. Syl cursed silently and ordered her squadron:
«Ish squad this is Lead, follow me. We’re joining Eloork squad to drill a hole in that damn ship!»
«Three here. Copy that Lead.»
«Four. Affirmative.»
«This is Five. Acknowledged.»
Syl switched to Taiidan frequencies again and addressed the rest of the Taiidan craft.
«This is Ish leader. Eloork, when is that bridge coming apart?» she asked.
«Eloork leader here. Can’t tell, Ish Lead.» The Diirvass squad leader proclaimed. «Our weapons aren’t meant to cripple capital ships. Could be 4 seconds, could be half an hour.» He proceeded. «That armor is thick as an asteroid.»
«We don’t want to cripple the whole ship, Eloork.» Syl said in as astute a voice as she could manage. «Just the bridge.»
«Trying our best» Came his voice again.
«Oh, and Eloork?» That was Alysh’s almost purring voice through the comm channel.
«What?» The pilot asked, seemingly annoyed.
«Even resourcers can tear an asteroid apart.»
The silence that followed proved that no one was prepared for that remark.
«Good going Four.» Syl broke the silence «Care to tell the rest of us what that means?»
«Well, if it is only a matter of time, leader, we can put time on our side if we stop the Kushan dead in space.» The other pilot claimed. «We just go for the engines while Eloork continues smashing the bridge.»
Syl rolled her Interceptor and turned it away from the Revelation Destroyer’s massive guns. While under the Kushani ship’s hull she called for her squadron.
«Form up on me. Lock in wall and let’s trash some engines. Good thinking, Four. You just got yourself a two day leave.» She praised.
Her pilots never hesitated in bringing their ships out from the enemy fire arc. Within 4 seconds they were forming a wall. Belvorr on Syl’s right, Kagoss and Alysh directly below them.
«Everyone in?» Syl asked.
«Three in»
«Four in, Lead»
«Five. I’m in»
«Locking and transmitting ANC data.» Syl said finally.
The Automatic Navigational Compensator was a simple piece of hardware, connected to both communication and navigational systems. What it did was record the coordinates of the pilot’s choice of ships at any given time and lock a pattern or formation relative to those ships. Then ran a correctional program that continuously transmitted that pattern of coordinates to the nav computers of those ships. The navcomp given instructions by the ANC made adjustments after a maneuver was completed to attempt to keep the craft in the locked pattern or formation making the necessary alignment in course and velocity. While the pilot was still responsible for most of the work, the ANC made it child’s play to keep in formation.
And so the quartet of Interceptors sped by the Destroyer’s aft, turned across the path they’d just traveled and ended up in the huge ship’s wake.
«Target engines only.» Came the order from Syl. «Acquire targeting solutions and fire at will»
«Acknowledge Lead.» Came Belvorr’s confirmation accompanied by similar acknowledgments from the rest of her squad.
Syl punched the necessary data in her targeting computer and her HUD splashed a blood red triangle centered on the Revelation’s engines. No sooner had she began firing, than a hail of bullets from the rest of the fighters crossed the distance between them and their target pounding the enemy ship’s engines mercilessly. The damage was all but visible at first. The projectiles sent sparks and chipped armor parts flying through space but the fire showed to have no effect. Then, the gaps started appearing in the engine’s emissions before they coughed a huge gout of flame and vanish altogether. The Destroyer’s engines were dead.
«Way to go Ish squad!!» Kagoss cheered.
«Yeah!»
«Weeeeow!» Belvorr shouted into the comm.
«Three, knock it off, you’re deafening me.» Syl complained. «Clear the channel, people, I want to talk to the Kushan. Three, contact Eloork. Tell them to form behind us and standby» She went on. «And stay behind that Destroyer. We got the engines but not the guns.»
Putting her words into acts, Syl switched to open frequencies and hoped for two things. One, that the Kushan were listening. Two that the Kushan would answer.
«This is captain Syl Ghar Ish of the Taiidan armed forces.» She said, not really expecting a reply. «Retreat your ship and we will cease fire»
For a moment, everything was silent. She could feel things as if she was outside her cockpit. The Kushan Destroyer was beginning to drift, much like derelicts tend to do before stopping altogether. The comm channel remained as silent as the cold vacuum outside her canopy. For a few seconds she wished she could remain like that, listening to her breath and thoughts only. Having the repose this mission never granted her, to grieve for her dead wingmen. Suddenly the click of a communicator filled her ears.
«This is Petuose Ni Klesp of the Kushan Navy. Commander of the Bruiser.» He was speaking slowly as if trying to make a point to her. A voice of authority. «Your handful of insects couldn’t harm my ship if we were shooting ourselves to assist!» He sneered. «What makes you Taiidan pests think you are in a position to negotiate?»
Syl decided to give the Kushan Commander one more chance, if not for him, then for his crew.
«Well, the fact you cannot fly a straight line is mostly because we pests blew your engines to the rim of the galaxy and back. I’d call that reason enough to indulge a negotiation.» She spoke slowly, trying to imitate his manner of speech. «Hyper out of this quadrant before you end up wearing your lungs around your neck,» she paused «Commander.»
A small pause on his part made her think he was actually considering her proposal. The answer was totally different than she expected.
«You will regret that attempt at humor captain Syl Ghar Ish. We Kushan have a low tolerance for irony.»
She considered taking advantage of his low tolerance for irony once more but the comm clicked showing the other end of the transmission had switched frequencies. She did so herself to inform her wingmates of the situation.
«Hang on to your sticks people. This ain’t over yet.» She said. «Eloork, be prepared to blast the bridge. Ish, we’re gonna strafe their sides and rear.»
Without warning a rectangular patch of space illuminated the front of the Revelation Destroyer, as the hyperspace gate opened to swallow it whole. Cheers immediately broke among her people and in seconds, the Kushan ship was gone.
This doesn’t make sense. Syl thought. Why did he talk like he did if he was going to let us go anyw...
«Captain, this is Four. Respond please» Alysh blasted through the comm unit.
«Go ahead Four.»
«Remember those Defenders we danced with earlier today?»
«Yeah Alysh, what about them?»
«Well, cap, they’re inbound.» Alysh said. And if she was agitated it still didn’t show. «ETA is 20 seconds.»
Well, there it is. Syl thought. All the Bruiser did was clear the way for those damn Defenders. Even with the Multi-Gun corvettes around us, we’re all easy pickings.
«Evasive action everyone! Spread out and try to deny them unison.» Syl ordered finally. She turned her Interceptor to face the oncoming enemies. «Eloork, try to break through the center of their formation.» She felt the rush of adrenalin that preceded her every dogfight. «Make your ancestors proud.» She concluded.
«And maybe they’ll let us join them some other time.» Belvorr muttered.
«Well said Three.»
The tight claw formation of enemy Defenders closed in with their guns blasting at the handful of Taiidan craft. Captain Syl Ghar Ish silently offered a small prayer to Sajuuk and prepared to avenge the deaths of her squadmates.
It was admiral Bikjet Nabaal who sounded more agitated than his crew. As soon as the distress signal from Tenezz had reached his ship, he had put all efforts on hypering to her location. Resources, however, were scarce and the collectors in his disposal were going through long journeys to find gas pockets or small asteroids to refine. The last shipment of resources was to arrive in a few minutes. With that shipment, he could feed the vast requirements in raw materials his hyperdrive demanded. Then, and only then, could his Carrier - the Khooptil - reach its destination to aid Tenezz.
«WHERE IS THAT COLLECTOR??» Admiral Bikjet roared to his bridge crew.
His radar officer turned to him. «It is starting docking maneuvers with us sir. The resource transfer should be complete in 30 seconds.»
«Communications. Any signals from Tenezz?» Admiral barked.
«Negative sir.» The communications officer pressed a button on his console. «No long range communications, but I can detect short range transmissions in both open and Taiidan frequencies.»
«That would be the escorting craft.» Bikjet thought aloud. He turned to his radar officer once more. «Can you verify the presence of the enemy Destroyer in that area?»
«Sir, the Destroyer must have used its hyperdrive to retreat, but I do have hostile signals in that immediate vicinity.» The thin, bespectacled man offered.
«We’ll have to chance it.» The admiral nodded. «Have our Defense fighters ready to scramble and deploy to protect us.» A loud cracking noise spread through Khooptil’s hull. His first officer turned and said. «Resource transfer complete sir.»
«Engage hyperdrive.» The admiral turned to the front viewport and saw the blue portal emerge from nothingness to engulf his ship. He hoped it was not too late to save Tenezz...
Syl cranked the throttle to full hoping to get behind the Kushan Defender before it could bring its guns to target her Interceptor. Having excellent coverage however, the Defender didn’t leave much chance for that. Still, even when the lock warning sounded in her cockpit she decided to take advantage of it. She called in her wingman.
«Three, check my seven. See that bogie tracking me?» She asked hastily.
«Got him Lead. What do I do with him?» Belvorr came back.
«Oohhh, let me think..» She twisted and rolled, trying to break the lock the Defender had on her ship. «Blast him to Haarsuk’s orbit or something.»
«On it Lead.»
Belvorr never hesitated. Syl cut forward trust completely and used vector changer rockets to trade her Interceptor’s nose for back. She did so in time to see Belvorr’ s mass drivers fire in succession. The nose mounted light cannon did little to penetrate the Kushan Defender’s renowned armor but the side-attached Heavy repeater gun punched its projectiles through the Defender’s cockpit, piercing through it and blowing the blocky fighter to pieces.
«Nice going Three.» Syl circled her ship out of the core of the dogfight to get an overall idea of the situation.
The initial pass had brought the Multi-Gun corvettes of Eloork squadron facing the center of the enemy formation and Syl’s squad following from behind. The tactic being for Eloork to cause maximum damage breaking the enemy formation into smaller elements while the Interceptors tracked those straying too far from their wingmen and lacking support. It had worked so far. Out of the 20 Defenders only half of them remained and they would be in need of fuel soon. The toll was also high, though, and one of the Multi-Gun corvettes had fallen to the Defenders’ unbearably heavy fire.
They’re regrouping. Syl noted. Should they form up, we’re in for some extreme pounding. She felt almost exhausted. The mission had gone wrong in every thinkable - and unthinkable - way. A couple more passes, she urged herself and it should get quieter out here one way or another...
She was far enough to see Kagoss’s ship trying to dodge shots from two enemy craft and doing a very good job. But she saw no other immediate help for him and decided to help him out.
«Three, stick close. We’re going to get Five out of trouble.»
«Yes captain.» Belvorr sounded as if he was smiling. «Always wanted a chance to get Five’s ass out of trouble.»
«You’ll get it, Three. Just hold tight.»
«I heard that.» Kagoss answered.
«Where’s your wing, Five?» Asked Syl. Her visual of the situation didn’t reveal Alysh anywhere close to her wingman.
«She broke to shake pursuit. I guess she...» Kagoss’s ship took a hit from one of the Defenders before he could finish his reply. Damage wasn’t visible from Syl’s position but she saw the Interceptor start trailing sparks. «Shit, captain! There goes engine 3.»
With one less engine the Interceptor was almost as slow as the Defenders they were facing. Kagoss has another 10 to 12 seconds before those Kushan chew him to pieces Syl thought. Time to even the odds.
«Five, prepare to break course and go between them on my mark.» Syl said.
«Between them? I’m not sure about this captain...»
«Shut up and get ready.» Syl insisted. «Three, when they turn to trail him, we go for canopy shots. You take starboard bogie.»
«Roger, Lead.» Came Belvorr’s voice.
«Five, ready?»
«As possible Lead.»
«Mark!»
Even before the brief syllable died on Syl’s lips, Five’s Interceptor switched nose for tail and shot toward the two Defenders closing in on him. Syl hoped he still retained enough of his engine power to speed past the Kushan fighters in time. This had to be synchronized perfectly. She punched in the codes for her targeting computer to track the Defender’s cockpit canopy (the least armored part of the whole fighter) and the HUD painted the red triangle onto Syl’s visual of the target. Smile for me creep she thought. Right as she had ordered, Kagoss brought his ship in a course that too him between the Kushan strike craft and predictably enough they rotated to track him with their guns. She brought her targeting reticle as close as she could into the red triangle marking the Defender’s canopy and prepared to fire. Come ON! she urged. The target wasn’t an easy one. The Defender’s cockpit was protected by a wedge of armor on the top, and that was where her approach was from. Concentrated as she was on targeting she barely heard Belvorr’s guns firing and his confirmation on a kill.
«Three’s bogie is toast.»
Okay, that leaves me. Syl was still a click away from her target when she fired. The first shot missed the cockpit and hit the Defender’s left gimbaled gun instead. The second missed the Defender altogether. Shit on a Kudaark’s nose!! She cursed and braced herself for the Kushani pilot’s return fire. Instead, the Defender shuddered violently and blew up in an expanding fireball that vanished after a few seconds.
«Ish Lead here. Who do I thank for that?» She turned her head around to see where the fire had come from.
«Well, apart from Sajuuk, you should thank flight officer Ka Rett here for bringing us along.» The voice was that of Eloork squad’s leader.
Syl caught view of a flight of Diirvass corvettes in X formation and a lonely Interceptor in the middle.
«Four, make that leave I promised you a three day one.»
«Thank you leader. I had a couple of dance partners who helped though.»
«You can take them with you» Syl smiled.
Cheers broke out among the Taiidan pilots. Syl’s wingmates assumed positions around her and the Multi-Gun ‘vettes joined the formation.
«Are we clear, squad?» Syl asked.
«Eloork took another loss, bringing them down to 4 ships. Other than that, if you ignore the fact that we’re out of long range communications, we’re clear about a hundred km aroun...» Belvorr had meant to continue but a warning from his computer stopped him cold. The message sunk like a dagger in Syl’s heart.
«Hyperspace signature detected.» The computer’s emotionless voice proclaimed.
«We are, like, so much space dust...» One of the corvette pilots muttered.
The hypergate that formed to the left of the Taiidan fighters looked twice as wide as the one used by Destroyers. What now? Syl wondered. An Avatar Cruiser? She started to give orders to the other pilots when a less unpleasant voice filled the comm channel.
The visual admiral Bikjet Nabaal had of the situation when they emerged from hyperspace wasn’t favourable in the least. Tenezz was gone, presumably destroyed, and pieces of debris were scattered everywhere. Only 8 craft were detected in the immediate area but at least they were theirs. All was not lost. Plus, there seemed to be no sign of enemy ships. No visual or radar contacts other than the small group of Taiidan strike craft.
«Cancel launch of Defence fighters.» The admiral ordered his first officer.
«Yes sir.» The man calmly answered.
«Communications, give me an open channel to those strike craft.»
«Aye, Admiral.»
«This is admiral Bikjet Nabaal to Taiidan strike squadron. Please respond.»
Syl had never felt as relieved as when she heard the admiral’s voice. It wasn’t only the fact that he and the Khooptil had come to help. It was also the fact that she had known Bikjet Nabaal years before she had become a pilot. He was still General then and a very good friend of her father’s, before the recapture of Hiigara and the death of the Emperor. Her father was the captain of a Destroyer in Bikjet Nabaal’s unit when the treacherous Elson and his fleet ambushed the Emperor’s forces. Captain Elson along with others who defected had helped the Kushan retake Hiigara and destroy the Emperor’s flagship which her father died protecting. When Kushan soldiers had started the assault on Hiigara, Bikjet Nabaal took Syl’s family under his protection and fled with the remaining Taiidan forces to avoid destruction and prepare to avenge the death of the Emperor. In the following years he was her father after her father’s death. He got her into military service. He helped her become a pilot and was there to promote her to Flight Leader. She hadn’t seen him since he became admiral and took command of the Khooptil about eight months ago. His ship operating in these parts of the galactic core was much of a coincidence but a very welcome one nonetheless, at least on her part.
«This is captain Syl Ghar Ish of the 5th tactical strike wing with the remnants of Eloork squadron.» She tried to keep her voice serious. «Glad to see you here Admiral. Requesting permission to dock.»
«Syl?» the admiral asked. «You here?»
«Yes sir.» She felt delighted to speak to him again.
«By God...Come on in, all of you. We have lots to talk about.» He said, and then continued. «Main hangar doors are open.»
«Yes sir. Dock Conn enabled.»
Syl paired with Belvorr. The rest of the fighters and corvettes followed closely behind her forming pairs and she led them toward the main opening in the front of the Saarkin Cho class Carrier Khooptil. The mouth of the Carrier’s immense docking bay swallowed their ships and Syl hoped they had coffee onboard...
Coffee was the least she was to be offered as Syl found out later. Once hers and Eloork’s squadron had docked, they were ordered to remain in the docking area. The admiral could only spare time to meet them in the docking bay but it was enough time for a brief and fierce hug once everyone else was gone and saluting was done with.
«You’ve changed.» He said smiling. «Did something with your hair?»
«Dyed it black a couple of times, sir» Syl offered.
«Sir? Whatever happened to uncle?»
Syl smiled at the remark. The rest of the pilots had already been assigned temporary cabins and once she glanced around and saw nobody looking she thought she could afford another hug.
«Uncle...» She spoke softly. «Thank you. If it hadn’t been for you...I....»
«Nonsense girl!» He squeezed her tightly. «If it hadn’t been for me you would have done just fine.»
Syl felt a tear running down her cheek. She wiped at it hastily. Not a good idea to get emotional right now.
«I bet,» Nabaal continued «I could put you in a probe and you could take on my Carrier and then some!»
Syl drew out of his embrace and smiled at him. He smiled back.
«Which reminds me,» the admiral lifted an eyebrow appraisingly «I want a full scale representation of what you people did to that poor Destroyer to drive it off.»
«Well, it was mostly harsh language and I can tell you all about it but I was hoping I could freshen up before...»
«I didn’t mean now young lady.» He put his hand in one of the uniform’s breast pockets and withdrew a key card. «You go and use my cabin. It’s in the officers’ deck. When you feel better...»
«I can’t use your cabin sir! I merely...»
«You can and you will because I it’s an order.» He looked at her sternly. «Now, as I said, when you feel better you come and see me at the bridge. Then we’ll arrange for your squad’s debriefing. Deal?»
She couldn’t argue anymore about this. She desperately needed a shower and any cabin would do.
«Affirmative Admiral.» She concurred.
He kept on looking at her. A stare that after many years she had come to associate with chastisement.
«Affirmative uncle.» She finally corrected.
«That’s more like it.» He gave her the key card. «Now go. I’ve kept you enough.»
She started for the elevator to the officers’ cabin level. She had almost reached the doors when he called after her.
«Oh, and captain.» Syl stopped walking. «I really don’t expect to see you in less than two hours.»
She shyly turned around to face him. «Is that an order too, sir?» she asked. He simply smiled and made his way to the bridge.
2. The Karos Shipyard
Belvorr stood outside Alysh’s cabin door, smoking. Kagoss was late again. That pretty flyboy never had the decency to be in time. He’d better hurry up cause if an officer sees me smoking here I’ll be lucky not to get spaced. One of the cabin doors, just around the corner of the corridor, opened and he instinctively tucked the cigarette behind his back. Recycled air was bad enough as it was. When people cram in a battleship for months at a time, they tend to appreciate every whiff of fresh air they can get. Thus, Belvorr had gotten himself into trouble for smoking in enclosed spaces like starship cabins and corridors. Habits were habits though and they were hard to die. The door he heard opening closed with a soft sound. Footsteps were heading his way. Splendid, he thought. The footsteps stopped just before the corner. Then a sound just like someone sniffing the air. Oh, great Belvorr mused.
«These things are gonna kill you faster than a charged burst.» Kagoss’s voice came around the corner and then the young man followed. Belvorr all but jumped him.
«You freaked me out, you serpent.» He glared at Kagoss. «And if you think these things...» he held up the cigarette «are fast killers, try being late again.» Belvorr threatened. «My fist will kill you faster than you can say Gravwell.»
«She in?» Kagoss nodded toward Alysh’s cabin.
«How should I know? I ve been waiting outside.»
«Huh? Why?»
«Because, hotstick,» Belvorr said derisively «should I be in there alone with her all this time, who knows what sexual advances she would make?» He put his head down in mock shame. Took another drag from his cigarette. «I am a temptation, I know. My blue eyes...»
«Dark green actually» Kagoss intervened.
«Whatever. My fair hair...»
«Kinda like brown.» Kagoss said seriously.
«You are a serpent, boy.» Belvorr reached and knocked on Alysh’s door. «You make my smooth skin crawl...»
«Smooth skin?» Kagoss muttered jokingly.
At that moment another door opened behind them. Belvorr finished his cigarette and looked for a place to dump what was left of it. He found none. As the footsteps behind them drew closer both men reached and knocked on Alysh’s door. The door chimed an acknowledgment and opened slightly. Alysh was waiting right behind it and looked at Belvorr with an amused and slightly puzzled stare. He looked back.
«Advances eh?» She asked him, right when someone started to turn around the corridor. Belvorr simply shrugged and with Kagoss following, he barged into Alysh’s small cabin pushing her with him.
«Just like last time.» He said as the door slid to close behind them.
«Last time it was ‘’lingerie attacks’’ if I recall» She smiled as he let her go. She sat cross legged on the small cabin cot and the two men sat across her.
«You tried to strangle me with a purple...»
«That was after you tried to wear it over your head like an eyepatch, you pirate.» She said before he could finish.
«Oh, yeah...» Belvorr admitted.
Kagoss was laughing softly at the remarks between Alysh and Belvorr. When things got quiet, he asked. «Why are we here Bel?»
«Why do you think man?» He looked around. «I don’t see the rest of us, do you?»
«You didn’t bring us here to mourn, right?» Kagoss asked. «That wouldn’t be like you.»
«No, not mourn.» Belvorr reached in his pocket and drew another cigarette. «But we gotta do the next best thing.»
«Which is?» Alysh and Kagoss almost at the same time.
«Save our master from disaster» Belvorr answered, blowing smoke from his nostrils.
Syl woke slowly, trying not to move.
