Chapter 22 - Fight for the Neu Lambea! A Desperate Pursuit!
From their cockpit and bubble turret, Konno, Otto and Josiah had a good long gaze upon the space battle that was raging in front of their Tiger IIB. The Neu Lambea and her fourteen escorting ships, which included an old Gaiderol-class battleship, were being swarmed by quick and angry Deathvatators who were performing hit and run dive attacks on the Garmillan vessels. Approaching from their port side was a Gatlantean task force of more than thirty ships, which included three Nasca-class carriers at the rear, who were exchanging long range salvos with the Garmillan ships using their impulse cannons.
Despite looking visibly battered and damaged, the Neu Lambea wasn't down for the count and continued to retaliate with her two triple 406mm shock cannon turrets, taking down one more Lascaux-class cruiser with a well aimed salvo. Her escort vessels and DWG 109 Debake fighters weren't backing down either, and continued to desperately try and protect their flagship.
However, regardless of their tenacity, they were still severely outnumbered and were being worn down by the constant attacks of the Gatlantean ships and fighter bombers. Five of their ships had already been destroyed which caused a massive debris field to form throughout the area and the defending fighters were barely able to mitigate Deathvatator attacks.
"Damn it!" Josiah cursed as he watched the melee unfold. "So much for a discreet rendezvous!"
"What should we do?" asked Otto nervously from behind Konno.
"W-We have to help them," she stammered as her hands clutched her flightstick tightly.
"And run into that furball? Are you crazy?" muttered Josiah before holding his head in thought. "Our best bet would be to return to the Audacious' flotilla first and come back with proper reinforcements."
"But by then there might not be anything left to come back to!" exclaimed Konno.
Josiah cursed silently under his breath. Konno was right, but they were still just one torpedo bomber.
"Ms Yashiro! Above!" cried Otto suddenly pointing up.
"W-What?"
Konno turned to where Otto was pointing and squinted at the approaching object: A Deathvatator!
"Crap!" she cried as she accelerated the Tiger IIB to full power.
The Gatlantean spacecraft fired a burst of green projectiles which just missed the rear of the warp booster as they accelerated out of its attack path. The Deathvatator quickly recovered from its miss and swooped around back onto their tail immediately. Konno pulled hard on her flight stick in an attempt to jink left and right to shake the Gatlantean off their tail. However the Tiger IIB coupled with the warp booster was too sluggish and she couldn't properly pull off her maneuvers. She craned her neck back to try and catch sight of the Deathvatator but thanks to the size of the booster, her rear vision was severely hampered.
"Anton! Get him off our tail!" exclaimed Konno as she tried to move their craft as unpredictably as possible.
"I'm trying!" shouted Josiah as he let loose another burst of gunfire at the tailing enemy craft. However, the Deathvatator was rolling around and he couldn't track it properly. He strained himself to keep his shots steady as his body creaked under the pressure from the G-forces of Konno's maneuvers. The Gatlantean fighter opened up again on their struggling aircraft, this time landing several shots straight into the right side of the warp booster causing it to burst into flames.
"Damn it!" cried Josiah as their spacecraft buckled violently from the impacts.
Konno gritted her teeth as she swiftly deactivated the warp booster's attachments with her left hand while her right hand continued to maneuver the craft. The large orange and black boosters dropped behind the Tiger IIB, spiraling out of control. The tailing Deathvatator pulled up sharply to avoid the warp booster just as it exploded. However, the maneuver had put him squarely in Josiah's sights.
"There you are!" exclaimed Josiah triumphantly. The bubble turret opened up with a flurry of projectiles, filling the green and white Deathvatator's belly full of holes before it exploded in a fireball.
Otto let out a loud sigh of relief as he saw the Deathvatator explode. However, in front of him, Konno was glancing around on high alert. The Gatlantean had pushed them into the battle zone and she couldn't let another enemy get a jump on them. As she scanned their immediate area, she spotted a Garmillan Dekabe fighter just under them being chased by another enemy Deathvatator. Instinctively, she dove down to try and help him.
Josiah lurched in his seat as the Tiger IIB made a sharp turn to follow the Debake.
"What are you doing?!" asked Josiah loudly as he tried to stabilise himself.
"We can't just idle here!' yelled Konno, "We're stuck here anyway! We have to help somehow!"
The brown spacecraft swooped in behind the Deathvatator as it continued to roll around in an attempt to follow its prey. With the warp booster now gone, Konno could maneuver much more freely and was able to easily get a good firing angle on the Gatlantean spacecraft. Suddenly, the Deathvatator pulled up sharply, catching Konno off guard. She burst a snap shot at the fighter bomber but her shots went slightly wide. Konno pulled up to follow the Deathvatator but a chunk of debris suddenly drifted into her path, forcing the young pilot to roll around it and take a wider path instead.
However, the Gatlantean took the opportunity to bank around and slot himself in behind them.
"He's behind us!" shouted Josiah as he fired a few shots from the rear turret.
"I know!" cried Konno.
The Deathvatator fired two missiles causing alarms to blare in the cockpit. Konno inhaled sharply and rolled the Tiger IIB into a series of turns. One missile strayed off course, but the second stuck to their trail like glue. Konno's breaths quickened as she tried desperately to maneuver away from the deadly weapon. Just before the missile could hit their engines, Konno dove sharply under another piece of debris causing the missile to hit it and explode into a blinding fireball. The trio winced as the shockwave from the explosion hit them.
However, the enemy Deathvatator wasn't done yet and continued to chase them relentlessly, opening up with gunfire from its eight forward machine guns. Konno grimaced as the shots whizzed right by the cockpit. She tightened her grip on the flightstick as she weaved through chunks of debris to try and throw off her opponent. She craned her neck to look behind and saw the Gatlantean follow her every move. A few rounds glanced off the fuselage of their Tiger IIB causing Otto to cover his head in panic. Tears began to form in Konno's eyes as she heard Otto freaking out behind her.
"Anton!" she cried out.
"Working on it!" yelled Josiah as he fired another burst at the Deathvavator. But yet again his shots missed by an inch.
"Do you think we could straighten out for just a second? If we do that I think I could get a guaranteed shot!" exclaimed Josiah over the radio.
"I- I," stuttered Konno. Her eyes darted around as she ran through the scenario in her head. If they stayed still even for just a moment, there was no telling whether they'd be able to shoot him before he shot them. If she predicted wrongly, it would surely lead to their deaths.
"I don't know!" she cried out into the radio, "I don't know what to think! Since when did you trust me to make this kind of decision?!"
Josiah's eyes widened when he heard Konno's shaky tone.
"I-"
The tactical officer grimaced as he ducked instinctively to avoid a burst of gunfire that whizzed past his canopy.
"Aren't you the pilot here?!" exclaimed Josiah. "You're the one who has the training! So stop panicking and just give me an answer-"
"I don't have one!" cried Konno as she continued to dodge fire from the Deathvatator. "I'm just some rookie pilot who's barely fought in any battles! I would have been shot down a long time ago if my squadron mates hadn't been covering me! I can't give you an answer because I don't want to accidentally get us all killed!"
Josiah's eyebrow twitched upon hearing her words.
"It's just as you said!" said Konno as her voice began to quaver. "All I do is cause trouble and force people to clean up my mess! It happened with Genta and now I'm doing it again-"
"That doesn't matter now!" snapped Josiah suddenly.
Konno nearly jumped in her seat when she heard the tactical officer's voice causing the Tiger IIB to jerk.
"You're here now! Alive! Despite your mistakes!" Josiah blurted out. "You still have the chance to prove yourself and show that what I said about you was wrong! Weren't you the one who said that you were going to do better and shut me up?"
Konno widened her eyes when she heard Josiah's words.
"T-Thats-"
"All that matters right now is that we get rid of this Deathvatator!" Josiah exclaimed as he continued to fire at the pursuing Gatlantean fighter bomber. "So stop worrying about what you couldn't do and focus on what you can do! You're not going to give up here and waste the dream you've worked so hard for right?"
Konno's hands tightened their grip on her flightstick.
"N-no," replied Konno quietly
"Then get him off our tail already!" cried Josiah as he glanced back at the cockpit where the young pilot was.
"R-Right!" said Konno as she shook off her tears and pulled hard on her flight stick.
As the Tiger IIB soared into a climb, Konno glanced behind and gritted her teeth when she saw the Deathvatator still clinging to their tail. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the remains of a wrecked stern section of a Garmillan destroyer drifting just off to their left. Konno's mouth opened as an idea came to her mind.
"Anton! I have a plan!" said Konno as she accelerated toward the large green wreckage.
"Shield your eyes and wait for my signal!" Konno yelled as she let loose a missile into the rear of the destroyed Garmillan ship.
"Got it!" answered Josiah as he did what he was instructed.
A split second after the missile impacted the stern, Konno rolled over and dove under the big explosion with the pursuing Deathvatator following suit. However, the Gatlantean had failed to notice that the explosion had caused multiple large chunks of debris to break off from the wreckage. And before he could evade, one large piece of torn metal flew into his spacecraft, piercing into the upper fuselage, causing sparks and smoke to leak out into space.
As the wounded Deathvatator struggled to keep itself under control, Konno swiftly maneuvered their Tiger IIB under its belly giving Josiah a perfect shot.
"Anton! Now!" Konno cried as she held her flightstick still.
Josiah erupted with a hail of gunfire screaming at the top of his lungs. The Deathvatator shuddered violently as it was hit by the torrent of gunfire from it's underside before exploding in a glorious fireball.
"Yes!" exclaimed Josiah victoriously as they flew away to the edge of the battle zone. Konno let out a large sigh of relief before turning around to check on Otto who was trying to catch his breath.
"Are you alright?" asked Konno.
The bespectacled Garmillan seemed to be on the verge of throwing up but gave her a tired thumbs up. A slight smile came to Konno's face before she turned her attention back to the front.
"Anton, about what you said just now-"
"W-we'll discuss that later," Josiah quickly cut her off.
"R-right," she said as she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.
"Okay! What do we do now?" she asked, opening her eyes with newfound determination..
"Not sure," replied Josiah. "Could you give us a better view of both fleets?"
Konno nodded as she adjusted the Tiger IIB to roll slightly to the left which gave Josiah a better view of the Neu Lambea's battle group and the Gatlantean fleet from his bubble turret.
"It looks like a huge portion of the enemy fleet and their Deathvatators seem to be mainly concentrating their fire on the Neu Lambea," commented Josiah. "That might be why we haven't seen any of her bombers yet."
"A-Are you thinking of doing a torpedo attack on a Gatlantean cruiser?" asked Otto.
"No, that wouldn't make much of a difference," Josiah shook his head thoughtfully. "We need to hit the enemy fleet hard, somewhere that would ideally cause them to become disorganized so that the Neu Lambea and her fleet will have some space to mount a counterattack. But with our one torpedo bomber, it's pretty tricky..."
As Konno also looked upon the raging space battle, she noticed that the Deathvatators were peeling away after finishing their bombing runs on the Neu Lambea and her escorts and heading back towards the three Nasca-class carriers in the faint distance which seemed to be completely untouched. Konno soon realized that there was a bigger problem that needed to be resolved if the Neu Lambea, her task force and their misfit crew were to survive.
"Guys, I think the Gatlantean cruisers and destroyers are the last of our concerns," said Konno. "If we don't stop any of those three carriers back there, they'll keep rearming and sending more Deathvatators for us to deal with."
"You're right," replied Josiah. "From that range, Neu Lambea won't be able to hit those Nascas, if her main gun range is similar to Audacious' that is..."
"Wait wait wait!" said Otto, realizing what the two were about to do. "You're not actually suggesting that we go attack the carriers on our own are you!?"
"Do we really have any other choice?" asked Josiah. "The Neu Lambea is pinned down by the enemy bombers and her escorts are being worn down by the Gatlantean force. At this rate, even if we somehow survive we're going to end up stranded light years away from the Audacious! It's quite a gamble, but we're the only allied bomber in the combat zone that can carry out a strike."
"I agree," said Konno as she did a quick status check on their spacecraft. "It'll be difficult, but I think I know how we could pull it off if we could get some help to keep the horseshoe crabs off our tail. Giezler, do you know any of the Garmillan frequencies we could hail?"
"Y-yeah, give me a moment" said Otto as he inputted something into his control panel causing static to play over their radio.
"What exactly do you have in mind?" asked Josiah as the static faded.
Before Konno could respond, the trio's ears were suddenly engulfed with the radio cries of Garmillan pilots, causing them to freeze as they heard the frantic exchange of calls for help and replies. Konno gulped when she recognized some of the situations the pilots were in, but forced herself to focus on the task at hand.
"This is Earth torpedo bomber Osprey Two calling all allied Garmillan fighters. Does anyone copy?" she called out.
Konno waited for a response, but the Garmillan fighter pilots seemed to be unable to hear her.
"I repeat this is Earth torpedo bomber Osprey Two calling all allied Garmillan fighters-"
"This is Captain Houth of the 22nd Astro Fighter Squadron. Identify yourself!" came a harsh and irritated voice.
"This is Lieutenant Konno Yashiro of the Osprey Fighter Squadron, stationed from the Earth battleship Audacious," Konno replied. "We were supposed to rendezvous with your ship to collect vital information to be passed to the rest of the allied fleet. Our identification passcode is: Carrier Pigeon."
"Oh, so you're the one that was sent by General Dolmen," said the Garmillan flight leader. "Sorry for the messy reception, but we've got our hands full fighting these green barbarians."
"Yeah, we noticed." said Konno as she noticed another Deathvatator flying past in front of her which she promptly shot down with a quick burst of gunfire. "We're going to try to help you guys fight them off as well. Our goal is to sink one of those Nasca-class carriers."
"What? Are you out of your mind!?" exclaimed Captain Houth in disbelief causing Konno to flinch slightly. "There's no way you would ever make it past that defensive screen of Gatlantean ships let alone take down one of their carriers!"
"It's better than trying to dogfight against Deathvatators in this torpedo bomber," Konno argued. "Please sir, we have a plan to get past. We just need some fighter cover so we can make our run without being taken out by Gatlantean fighters. Could you spare us a few escorts?"
Seconds ticked by, but there was no response from the Garmillan fighter squadron leader. Konno began to grimace when suddenly a younger voice spoke up on the radio which coincided with the arrival of a red Debake fighter pulling alongside the Tiger IIB Attacker's starboard wing.
"This is Lieutenant Hübner of the 22nd Astro Fighter Squadron! My flight and I will assist you with your attack run on the enemy carriers!"
As the Garmillan pilot finished his sentence, two more red Debake fighters pulled up alongside and behind their aircraft prompting a smile to form on Konno's face.
"Lieutenant?" came Captain Houth's voice on the radio in surprise.
"We've got this handled Captain!" said Hübner, "There might not be another chance to strike the Gatlanteans like this!"
Captain Houth paused for a moment before replying to the Lieutenant.
"Alright, I'll leave it to you," he said sternly. "We'll talk about this later."
"Naturally," replied Hübner with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Just make sure we have somewhere to land once we get back!"
"Thank you very much!" replied a grateful Konno.
"Don't mention it! Just returning the favor!" said Hübner.
Konno raised her eyebrow at the Garmillan pilot's statement but widened her eyes when she recognized his plane as the Debake they had helped earlier.
"Yes!" cheered Otto. "Looks like we've got a slim fighting chance!"
"So young miss, what's the plan?" came the breezy voice of another Garmillan pilot.
"We'll be taking a wide approach toward the Gatlantean fleet's left flank," explained Konno. "I'll need your assistance to keep the Deathvatators off of us until we start to get near to the enemy ships. Once we get within their AA defense range, form up with me in a tight formation and follow my lead. We'll rush through the main Gatlantean attacking force and target one of the carriers in the back."
"R-rush through the enemy fleet?!" stuttered Josiah.
"That's an awfully bold strategy," said Hübner before giving out a confident laugh, "I like it! Bolz! Klein! You heard the young lady!"
"Yes sir!" replied the two in unison before the three red fighters sped away prompting Konno to accelerate as well.
Josiah gritted his teeth as the makeshift squadron of spacecraft banked away from the Neu Lambea's task force and made an approach for the Gatlantean fleet. Why did they have to risk themselves charging through the enemy fleet? Couldn't they try to go around it instead?
Josiah opened his mouth to question Konno's plan but froze when a bolt of realization suddenly hit him. His mouth slowly closed and curled into a nervous smile as he realized what the young pilot was up to.
"Enemy fighters incoming eleven o'clock high!" came the same breezy voiced Garmillan over the radio.
"I see them!" said Konno as she glanced up to see four enemy Deathvavators diving towards them.
"Engaging!" said Hübner over the radio. A pair of Debake fighters swooped in and strafed the enemy formation, shooting down two of the Gatlanteans before they could come into gun range of the Tiger IIB and causing the remaining two to split in a panic.
One of the remaining Deathvavators made a beeline for the Tiger IIB and opened up with its guns as it attempted to make a head-on pass. Konno rolled under the Gatlantean's shots and let the enemy fly past them allowing Josiah to take it out with a few well placed bursts.
"Finally!" smirked Josiah.
"We've got more enemies approaching from five o'clock!" came the rougher voice of the other Garmillan pilot as he took out the last of the initial Gatlantean attackers.
"Never mind about them! They're too far!" said Hübner as their small squadron regrouped and charged towards the Gatlantean ships.
"Right! We're almost at the Gatlantean fleet!" exclaimed Konno as the Gatlantean ships loomed over in front of them.
"Hang on guys!" She yelled to her bomber crew as the AA defenses of the Gatlantean destroyers began to fill the air with green lasers. "We're going in!"
The Tiger IIB and three Debakes whizzed through the hail of deadly green projectiles in a tight formation, rolling and jinking as they charged straight for the nearest Kukulkan-class destroyer. Just before they could collide with it, Konno dove the Tiger IIB under the ship and passed under its keel before dashing towards the next destroyer and twirling around it from its port side. The three red Debake fighters followed suit and spread out slightly as they weaved through the enemy fleet while hugging as closely as possible to the Gatlantean ships. In an effort to shoot down the pesky spacecraft, the Gatlantean destroyers ended up hitting each other with friendly fire. Konno glanced behind her and grinned as she watched the tactic she had copied from the Gatlantean interceptor come to fruition.
"Enemies approaching from four o'clock high! They're following us into the enemy fleet!" yelled one of the Garmillan pilots.
"Seriously?!" muttered Josiah as he grunted in pain.
"Bolz! Behind you!" shouted Hübner over the radio.
"Wha- Damn it!"
Konno watched in dismay as two Deathvavators swooped in behind one of the Debakes who had gotten separated from them and fired their missiles. The red fighter banked left and right quickly before maneuvering itself right above a Kukulkan destroyer.
"Take this!" cried Bolz as he flew past the destroyer's bridge luring the missiles right into it causing it to explode in a satisfying explosion. The trailing Deathvavators attempted to follow him past the bridge as he dashed over another destroyer but got shot down by their own friendly AA instead causing the Garmillan pilots to laugh hysterically.
"T-these guys are crazy!" muttered Josiah
Konno giggled in response as they weaved past the final destroyers and flew out of the main Gatlantean fleet. However, another freshly launched squadron of Deathvavators from the carriers had been waiting patiently for this moment and charged in when they saw the four fighters clear the fleet.
"Uh oh!" gasped Hübner. "Guys, we've got more incoming!"
"How many!?" asked Otto meekly from behind Konno.
"Too many!" exclaimed Klein as a dozen Deathvatators charged at them with guns blazing.
"Evade!" cried Bolz as he and the other pilots took evasive action while also firing their guns as the Deathvatators whizzed passed them in a flash. Miraculously, all four allied planes survived the pass and were able to take out at least three of the charging Gatlantean fighter bombers. One of which was shot down by Josiah himself in his rear gun turret.
"They overshot us!" cried Hübner.
"They're coming back around!" replied Konno on the radio. "There's too many of them for us to fend off together!"
"Split up!" cried Hübner. "Klein, stay on the young lady's wing! Bolz and I will try to lure some of the Deathvatators away!"
"Yes sir!"
In a matter of seconds the makeshift squadron separated themselves into two pairs. Hübner and Bolz's two Debakes veered to the right with five Deathvatators on their tail, while the Tiger IIB of Konno and the Debake of Klein continued onwards to the carriers with four of the horseshoe crab-shaped fighters in hot pursuit.
After shooting down one of the lead Deathvatators, Josiah noticed that his ammo for the rear turret was running low and realized that he probably didn't have enough to take down the remaining three Deathvatators. Josiah cursed under his breath.
"Yashiro! I don't have much ammo left!" he cried.
"Noted!" replied Konno as she quickly switched her radio to contact her solo wingman. "Klein, my gunner is low on ammo. I need your help to deal with our pursuers!"
"You got it Miss!" replied Klein. "Hold on!"
Cutting power to his engines, Klein performed a double barrel roll to reduce speed of his Debake which caused two of the Deathvatators to overtake his space fighter. Before the Gatlantean pilots could even react, Klein promptly shot down one Deathvatator with a quick well-aimed burst from his guns. The second Deathvatator panicked and tried to shake off the Debake from behind, but unintentionally fell into the gunsights of Josiah's bubble turret.
"Gotcha!" Josiah coolly said to himself as he fired a few well aimed bursts of ammo into the side of the Gatlantean spacecraft, sending it smoking and spinning out of control before it was finished off by Klein's Debake.
"Nice work!" compliment Klein as he pulled up his Debake alongside Konno's Tiger IIB from the left wingtip. "Your gunner is one crack shot!"
"Y-Yeah!" smiled Konno before turning to look at the Nasca carriers which were beginning to draw close.
"Wait guys," said Josiah suddenly, ignoring Klein's comment. "Where's the fourth Deathvatator?"
Konno froze when she heard Josiah's words and quickly glanced around for any glimpse of the last pursuing Gatlantean.
In the back seat of the Tiger IIB cockpit, Otto groaned as he felt sick in the stomach from all the high-G maneuvers. As he leaned his head back to rest, he noticed a tiny object diving at him at high speed from above. His eyes grew wide as he quickly recognized what it was.
"Incoming Deathvatator from above us!" screamed the bespectacled Garmillan in alarm.
Konno swiftly glanced upward and in a split second yanked the joystick hard right.
However, Klein was too late to evade and before Konno could call out to him, several green tracers pierced through the red Debake, a few through his engine and two others straight through his cockpit.
"Klein!" Konno gasped in horror as the Garmillan fighter burst into flames and veered off course.
Immediately, Konno turned towards the badly wounded Debake when she saw that the Deathvavator was swooping about for a finishing blow.
"Yashiro wait! The enemy carriers are right in front of us! We have to press the attack now before more reinforcements come!" cried Josiah.
Konno looked to her right and sure enough the three Nasca-class carriers were positioned alone and completely exposed.
"But Klein-" Konno started.
"D-Don't w-w-worry about me!" said Klein on the radio in a raspy voice. "Just finish your torp attack a-a-and I'll meet you back on the Neu Lambea! Go!"
Konno grimaced as she turned to see the limping Debake barely avoid a pass by the last Deathvatator. The young pilot tightened her grip on her flightstick before biting her tongue and forcing herself to pull away.
"Roger!" said Konno through clenched teeth as they accelerated towards the three Nasca-class carriers.
"The carrier on the right side looks like it's preparing to launch another air strike!" exclaimed Josiah as he rotated his turret to look ahead.
"I see it!" replied Konno as she steered her Tiger IIB to start her run on the designated enemy carrier's forward starboard bow.
As the Tiger IIB began to close the distance to the Gatlantean carrier, it and its sistership began letting loose a fierce barrage of AA fire and impulse energy beams at the Cosmo Navy torpedo bomber that was coming towards the two ships.
"Eeek!" shrieked Otto as a few shots exploded near the canopy of the Tiger IIB Attacker. Even Josiah was slightly unnerved by the sight of so many green pulse lasers being shot at their Tiger IIB. Just seconds before Konno was in range to release her torpedoes, she realized that she had forgotten something in the heat of the action.
"Guys! Where exactly is the Nasca carrier's weak spot?" asked Konno suddenly.
"You're asking that now?!" exclaimed Josiah in disbelief.
"Aim midship!" yelled Otto. "The area where the hull is connected to the flight deck section!"
Konno quickly locked her radar's sight on the specific section of the Nasca's hull and pulled the trigger on her flightstick.
"Torpedoes away!" yelled Konno as the two black torpedoes dropped from their rails and streaked towards their target.
Konno ignited her engines to full throttle and flew over the Nasca just seconds before the missiles impacted the carrier.
The torpedoes, which were specifically designed to penetrate the armor of a battleship, slammed through deep into the hull before detonating two seconds later, ripping through several decks amidships. More smaller detonations soon followed as they ripped through the hangar, incinerating parked Deathvatators and their munitions which started even more fires and explosions. Eventually, the Nasca was torn into half by a massive explosion that could be seen by all the combatants in the battle.
"W-w-we… We got it!" mumbled a dumbstruck Otto as he leaned onto the side of the cockpit and broke into a laugh. "We actually did it! Scratch one Gatlantean flat top!"
"No kidding," smirked Josiah, "Now let's get out of here before they can get their revenge on us-"
Before Josiah could finish his sentence, the Tiger IIB suddenly swung around and began heading back towards the Gatlantean fleet causing him to grunt in pain.
"Y-Yashiro! What the hell are you-"
"Klein! Hang in there!" exclaimed Konno suddenly causing Josiah to frown. "We're coming back to help!"
"Yashiro stop!" cried Josiah. "You're going to get us all killed!"
Konno clenched her teeth as the Tiger IIB slowed down.
"Klein? Can you hear me?" she continued to ask.
However, the young pilot was only met with a silent response that was all too familiar to her. She grimaced and quickly tuned in to another channel on her radio.
"Hübner! Bolz! Are you there?" she stammered.
"Yeah! Somehow!" came Hübner's voice over the radio bringing a smile of relief to Konno's face. "We saw the explosion! Nice work-"
"Hübner! 3 o'clock below you!" cried Bolz suddenly.
The young pilot felt herself tense up when she heard gunfire over the radio.
"Bah! They don't stop coming do they?" replied Hübner after a short pause.
"I don't think they liked having their carrier blown up," laughed Bolz sarcastically.
"True, I guess Klein and Osprey Two did their jobs a little too well!" replied Hübner in a similar tone. "Young Lady! We won't be able to disengage for a while! Get to safety first! We'll catch up with you when we celebrate our victory!"
Konno winced when she heard Hübner's response.
"Y-Yes sir," she replied quietly as she lowered her head.
"Don't worry! We've got some surprisingly good food on the Neu Lambea!" laughed Hübner. "Look forward to it! It'll be my treat! Gharle Garmillan!"
As the radio switched off, Konno slowly banked the Tiger IIB back around to leave the combat theatre. As they quietly flew through space, Otto looked out of the canopy and saw a number of explosions happening among the Gatlantean fleet. Squinting a bit, he realized that they were coming from a Garmillon squadron of Snuka dive bombers who were making runs on the Gatlantean ships.
The main Gatlantean fleet had completely broken their formation and were being overwhelmed by the reinvigorated Garmillan fleet and their newly launched squadrons of Snuka dive bombers whose attacks tore apart the enemy cruisers and destroyers. In addition, the Garmillan ships had begun pushing into the green and white ships with their positron guns ablaze, sending the Gatlanteans scrambling in all directions.
On the other side, the remaining Gatlantean carriers began to warp away before a squadron of FWG.97 Dolcia torpedo bombers could reach them, leaving a number of Deathvatators behind to the unmerciful Debakes which slaughtered them to the last spacecraft.
Otto let out a long sigh of relief and leaned back into his seat.
"Whew! Somehow it all worked out!" he sighed peacefully.
Konno began to scan the Garmillan planes that were flying throughout the area but forcefully closed her eyes and chose to look ahead instead.
"You do realise you're going to have to get used to this eventually?" came Josiah's voice over the radio.
Konno didn't answer and instead silently focused on flying back to the Neu Lambea. Slowly, the battered but still intact red and black battlecarrier soon came into view.
For the moment, the young trio's long grueling flight had finally come to an end.
November 13th 2204 - Earth Defense Headquarters Central Command Center, Tokyo Metropolis, Earth
Inside the headquarters of the Earth Federation, a meeting between the top brass and several veteran commanding officers of the UNCF inside a large darkly lit conference room was taking place. However, not all the meeting's members were physically present, as a few were still aboard their own ships which were on patrol or exercise missions and had to be broadcasted live through visual screens. Whispers and casual conversation soon died down as Chief Commander Heikuro Todo and General Kotetsu Serizawa took their places in the conference table and began the meeting
"Thanks for coming on short notice," greeted Todo. "By now you should have heard of the situation in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Somehow, Gatlantis seems to have risen back from the dead and have begun a series of attacks throughout most of the Great Garmillas Empire's inner territory since the start of the Earth Garmillas Interstellar Bilateral Exercise. Several of Garmillas' patrol fleets, bases and the ships which we sent to participate in the exercise were ambushed and destroyed in the opening skirmishes. With most of Garmillas' forces stretched thin and a majority of their fleet still present in the Milky Way and other distant territories, the Garmillas government and the CO of the Cosmo Navy ships in the LMC have requested for reinforcements from our fleet to help deal with these resurgent threats."
"How many Gatlantean ships are we talking about?," asked Commodore Archie Sladden, the commanding officer of the Dublin, whose visual feed was shown on one of the view screens.
"The scale of the enemy forces is still unclear," replied Captain Saki Todo from another viewscreen who was presently aboard the Ginga which was currently orbiting Garmillas itself. "But from the reports I'm getting directly from Garmillas High Command and Commodore Davenport from the Dauntless, it seems most of the enemy forces are just expeditionary fleets that have been performing hit and run attacks."
"Forgive me, but why exactly is Garmillas requesting support from us?" asked Rear Admiral Tetsutaro Ozaki of the Devonshire, formerly CO of the late Enceladus patrol fleet. "Isn't their own fleet more than capable of dealing with them? Especially if it's only expeditionary forces and not those massive legions of Calaklums that we previously dealt with."
"Those 'expeditionary forces' destroyed one of their most prized space ports on their first day of their attacks," replied Vice Admiral Kozo Tani with a serious frown, who currently commanded the Aldebaran and the Inner Solar System Fleets. "Considering the audacity of that attack, I hardly call these expeditionary forces far from harmless. If there is anything we have learnt from fighting Gatlantis is that they'll stop at nothing to achieve their goal of spreading death and destruction."
"If those Gatlanteans have indeed returned and are hiding in large numbers, I suggest we bring up the bulk of our WMG battleships," added Rear Admiral Washio Nishina of the Achilles, a commanding officer in his late thirties who had a narrow jaw. "Crush them swiftly and decisively through a show of power and force. That will teach those green monsters to stay dead!"
"I don't think that would be the right course of action," argued a young but firm voice.
Nishina shot a glare at the speaker on one of the screens with a hint of resentment in his eyes. "And why would that be Captain Kodai?"
Susumu Kodai, the captain of the legendary Yamato, calmly responded in a respectful manner. "There are still too many things we don't know about this resurgent threat. Such as how the Gatlanteans survived the Golem purge or how to deal with those new rumored Gatlantean ships that can attack our ships completely undetected. To rush in without knowing how to beat the enemy's new secret weapon is foolish and suicidal."
"Kodai is right," said Vice Admiral Osamu Yamanami, the former CO of the late Andromeda. "We shouldn't be too overconfident in our own ships' resilience and abilities to deal with the new threat. Until we learn how to track and destroy the enemy's stealth ships, I suggest extreme caution when combating these Gatlanteans."
Nishina glared at both Yamanami and Kodai but quickly regained his composure. "Of course. My apologies sir."
"There is also another issue we need to take note of," added Tani as he brought up images taken by the Audacious. "Prior to the destruction of Garmillan Starbase 239, one of our joint fleets in the exercise encountered a giant mobile space station which attacked them without provocation. It was reported that the unidentified vessel had impressive firepower and defense capabilities that are estimated to be ten times stronger than the most powerful ships in our arsenal."
"How many survivors?" asked Kodai.
"Out of the twenty-five ships that fought against it, only four survived," answered Tani grimly.
A couple of younger commanders gasped in horror upon hearing the figure, while a few senior ranking officers merely showed a darkened expression.
"However, three out of the four vessels that came out of the battle were eventually destroyed or scuttled due to skirmishes with the Gatlantean forces," continued Tani. "Leaving the training Andromeda-class battleship, the UNCF Audacious, as the sole survivor of that fleet."
"Damn, it's even strong enough on its own to repel a fleet that has one of our Andromedas?" muttered another Dreadnought commander in disbelief. "In that case, I think we're going to need more powerful ships to bring that monster down!"
"Hold your horses gentlemen," replied Chief Commander Todo as he tried to reassure the nervous captains in the room. "The mobile space fortress hasn't made another appearance and has vanished without a trace. The Garmillans have already dispatched a recon fleet to look for it, but so far it hasn't been sighted. Until we get more information about this unknown threat, we'll hold our big guns in reserve till we know where it is and how to beat it."
"We still have yet to confirm which ships will be deployed as response to Garmillas' call for assistance," added Serizawa. "Unfortunately, this means we have to negotiate with Starsha of Iscandar for permission to allow more of our WMG battleships to operate in combat in the LMC."
At the mention of Iscandar's ruler, multiple groans of annoyance and outbursts of protest echoed throughout the conference room.
"Not again," mumbled one of the commodores.
"How are we supposed to help our Garmillan friends out when that queen is too reluctant and stubborn to let our most powerful ships into the LMC!?" Sladden protested on the screen. "Especially since hostile forces are invading her own backyard! Every day wasted negotiating with her could lead to more deaths of our own men and the destruction of more of our ships!"
"Ignorant pacifist," mumbled Nishina under his breath. "One day her ideals will get herself and her own neighbors killed for good."
"Calm down gentlemen, she isn't that unreasonable to deal with," reassured Rear Admiral Shigeru Tomiyama of the Antares as he tried to calm down the heated members of the meeting. "Besides, she had previously approved the passage of two battleships with WMGs to be brought in for the earlier interstellar exercise three months ago with the help of Ambassador Varel."
"Although we should have been allowed a few more battleships like we originally planned," muttered Captain Hicks of the Defender with dissatisfaction. "Jack's Dauntless and that redundant manned Andromeda prototype shouldn't have gone alone to the joint exercise with the Garmillans. Especially if it's in the interest of furthering our cooperation with them with our most advanced ships-"
Serizawa shot a fierce warning glare which prompted Hicks to shut up.
"Regardless of whether we get approval from Iscandar's monarch or not," Todo continued. "We are already drawing up plans to reinforce Commodore Davenport's forces in the LMC. Our proposal is to have three battle groups, consisting of Dreadnought-class battleships supported by Edinburgh-class cruisers, which will give both the Garmillans and our own ships a boost in surveillance and wider awareness of the battlefield in hopes of countering the Gatlanteans before they can even get a chance to strike."
"Commodore Sladden," Serizawa addressed the D-class ship commander. "Your task force is the closest to the New Balun Subspace Gate Network. How soon can you arrive at the LMC once we've gotten approval to reinforce Commodore Davenport?"
"According to our best estimates, I think the Dublin and her escorts could arrive there in about two weeks or so," replied Sladden.
"In that case, prepare your ships at once and set a course for the LMC," said Serizawa. "I'll also be ordering the Delaware's battle group to be redirected to the LMC to support both you and Davenport's forces."
"Right away sir!" nodded Sladden. "We'll get ourselves underway! Also one more question: Will the Ginga be joining us for assistance since she's already in orbit over Garmillas itself? We could really use another boost of our wave motion shields from her CRS amplification system like back then!"
Todo looked towards her daughter and gave her a stern look. Saki Todo sighed discreetly to herself before answering Sladden's question.
"I'm sorry Commodore Sladden, I'm afraid to say that our hands are tied. As much as we want to assist 'Dauntless Davenport', the Ginga is… preoccupied with another mission that takes top priority over the current crisis with the Gatlanteans."
"I understand Captain Todo, sorry for asking," replied Sladden. "I guess we'll have to make do with the forces that we have available."
"What about the Arethusa?" asked Hicks. "Can we send her out instead in Ginga's place?"
"Absolutely not!" answered Yamanami firmly. "At least not anytime soon. She's still having her technical problems being worked on at the Alpha Centauri Naval Base's shipyards which are far from being fixed. We don't want to have a repeat of Arethusa's maiden voyage do we?"
Everyone in the meeting room grimaced and went silent at the mention of the recent embarrassing incident which involved the new experimental Aquarius-type Andromeda.
"Sir if I may," asked the commanding officer of the Ark Royal, breaking the awkward silence.
"Yes Commodore Pellew?"
Commodore Marcus Pellew, an England born commanding officer in his early-50s presented his question. "Since Captain Kodai and her crew are on good terms with both Garmillas and Iscandar, would you want to redeploy the Yamato and her task force to LMC as well? The Ark Royal could still lead the upcoming carrier training exercises for our new Ibuki-class carriers on her own."
But before Kodai could respond, Tani shut the proposal down immediately. "That won't be necessary Commodore Pellew, both your ships are needed to keep a wary eye on both the Neu Darold and the Vem Heidern at the Alpha Centuari Naval Base. We cannot afford the risk of another Garmillas WMG ship joining that faction."
"And just how long are you going to keep both ships and their crews detained?" questioned Kodai with a slight hint of anger rising in his voice. "Both crews have been stuck in that system for seven whole months with the completion of their ships' refit and repairs deliberately stalled. Those Garmillans deserve to return back to defend their homes. Or are you planning to keep them in the dark about this crisis as well?"
The conference room went silent. No one wanted to address the hidden conflict that had arisen within the Earth-Garmillas Alliance since the end of the Gatlantean War.
"I'm sorry Captain Kodai," apologised Tani after a long while. "Although it pains me to keep those Garmillan crews here longer than they would have wanted. We cannot afford to let the Dessler faction gain any more powerful assets. Especially if there are sympathizers to their cause among their crews. Although they did lend you support in the final battle of the war, one good deed doesn't excuse the crimes they committed to this planet and to their own. Whether their intentions are good or not, we cannot let any more WMG vessels fall into their hands. And it's your duty to keep it that way."
Kodai grimaced, but realized that he wouldn't be able to change the mind of his superiors.
"Understood Admiral," replied Kodai with a pained expression.
"If there are no further objections," said Todo. "I wish you and your crews Godspeed. Also, remember that this meeting is classified. I want no information to be leaked to the general public without the authority and permission of the Earth government. In the meantime, we'll pass word to Ambassador Varel regarding our answer to his request for aid."
"Yes sir," replied all the commanding officers.
As everyone began to leave both physically and virtually, Todo called Kodai and Pellew before they could terminate their respective calls. "Kodai and Pellew, a minute with both of you please."
Once no one but Serizawa and himself was left in the room, Todo finally addressed both commanders.
"I know it is difficult to accept that Yamato won't be able to aid Garmillas. But the truth is that we still need our most powerful capital ships to guard the outer most defensive perimeter of the Solar System. We don't know what the Gatleanteans are up to or if they are planning to attack Earth again. As you know, we don't have many active large and manned battleships left to hold the line. Until we get more information on what the Gatlanteans' motivations are, we're letting the smaller D-class ships handle the crisis for now."
"Understood Chief Commander Todo," replied Kodai after thinking it through for a couple of moments. "In the meantime could you send us data regarding the reports of the rumored Gatlantean stealth ships for Sanada to analyse? Though we may not be permitted to directly assist our allies, we'll still like to help in any way possible."
Todo thought about Kodai's suggestion for a moment before nodding in agreement. "I'll look into it."
"In addition," added Serizawa. "I want you to drill the rookie pilots you are training for the joint carrier exercise for combat operations in preparation for another fight with the Gatlanteans. In the event the situation deteriorates in the LMC we would like to be prepared."
"Of course. I'll see to it that our pilots will be ready for another round with the Gatlanteans," replied Pellew before his face turned grim as he thought about his former young protegee aboard the Audacious. "Let's pray that Davenport and the rest of our remaining ships in the LMC can hold on long enough for reinforcements to arrive."
A/N: PHEW! That was a big one to write in terms of content! I hope you really enjoyed reading this action packed chapter where the Tiger IIB torpedo bomber finally got it's chance to perform what it was designed to do! But of course the real juicy part of this chapter that I wanted to show was the Cosmo Navy HQ meeting scene!
Finally an appearance of Captain Kodai himself! Honestly I didn't intend for him to appear in this story originally, but it soon became apparent that a scene was really needed where the top brass of the Cosmo Navy was discussing the events in our story back on Earth and how they're going to respond to the threat.
In addition to the reappearances of Yamanami, Tani and Ozaki (the guy who commanded the patrol fleet from his Dreadnought during the early stages of the Battle of Saturn and later temporary commanded the Kongo-class Yuunagi in episode 25 of Yamato 2202), the other COs of the other two Andromedas of the first elite five, the Achilles and the Antares respectively, finally make their unofficial debut in this story. Both captains Washio Nishina and Shigeru Tomiyama didn't appear in the Yamato 2202 anime, but they were featured in the official Yamato 2202 U.N.C.F. AAA-Class DX 1/1000 scale model kit booklet with their group picture and names shown. You may also noticed that in this story they're referred to as either Vice or Rear Admirals. This is because I felt that since their ships are flagships in command of major fleets they would at least have a rank in the Cosmo Navy that reflected their ships' status quo in addition to their seniority of age (aside from Nishina because he's actually 39 but he still has a V.A. rank).
As for the rest of the captains of other ships mentioned in this chapter, they're pretty much OG characters for this story with one of their ships actually appearing in Yamato 2202. Well the Dublin in particular which was one of the first thirteen manned D-class ships that was seen in episode 5 of Yamato 2202 and will make an appearance in a future arc of this story.
Although Ozaki's Dreadnought during the Battle of Saturn was named off screened as only E01, in my headcanon I imagined her as one of the earlier manned D-class ships that was just assigned to the Enceladus patrol fleet and given that designation. In this case I chose the Devonshire because I like that name due to her historical counterpart and the class she was in. Aka the County-class heavy cruiser of WWII fame. Also I play that ship in World of Warships too... XD
In addition, this is the first time where the Audacious' junior sistership, the Arethusa, is mentioned. While she and the Ark Royal doesn't play a role anytime soon in this fanfic for quite a while, there are plans for me to release a short story within the world of this fanfic regarding what happen to the unfortunate Aquarius-type Andromeda during her ill-fated maiden voyage. But you'll have to wait until later next early 2021 for that to happen.
Another of Neu Balgray's sisters is also mentioned in this story alongside the L'Andromede-class astro battleship Vem Heidern. If you're unfamiliar with this type of Andromedas, it's the Garmillan styled Andromeda battleship that makes a few short appearances exiting the Time Fault in episode 21 of Yamato 2202 among other unique Andromeda variants and the BBB autonomous ships.
(Big sigh again) Phew that was a big mecha info dump in the author notes!
For the next chapter release, unfortunately Chapter 23 hasn't been close to even a complete draft as of now due to the extensive rewrites on both Chapter 21 and 22. So expect the release of Chapter 23 to take at least more than a month as my proofreader/co-writer and I have more RL stuff to handle these days... So be patient, stay healthy and we'll see you in the next upload!