Chapter Three
Lucian Alliance Controlled Space Sector D Five-Zero-Two
After dropping out of hyperspace, 1st Lieutenant Donald Levitt activated the cloak of his F-308 and began the hunt. He was a member of the Mongoose Squadron assigned to the Odyssey and today, his mission was to hunt down the last of the Lucian Alliance freighter fleets so the Joint Kill Team led by his boss, Lieutenant Colonel Freeman could eliminate them. The JKT consisted of six 308s, three from his squadron and three more from the Chargers, the British squadron assigned to the Churchill.
After letting his boss know that he was on station VIA the Intra-flight datalink, Freeman sent a message back letting him know that the JKT was standing by.
Levitt loved flying the F-308. In addition to being able to send messages without speaking thanks to the IFDL, it also came with a touchscreen display panel, a distributed aperture system that made blindspots a thing of the past, an electro-optical targeting system to complement its long-range sensors, and an interstellar hyperdrive which made long-range strike missions like the one he was partaking in possible.
The F-308 was twice the size of its predecessor, the F-302. The size increase was necessary in order to accommodate its defensive and offensive systems. The shield and cloak generators were the two driving forces behind the size increase.
Even though he was in a recon role for this mission, he was still fully equipped to deal with any alliance gliders or his opinion, better equipped. Whereas the 302 could only carry four AMRAAM missiles and a pair of railguns, the 308s armaments consisted of two railguns, and two tactical plasma beams under the nose, four AIM-9X Sidewinders housed in two side weapon bays, and thanks to the addition of AMBER racks, the eight underwing light pylons were loaded with two AIM-120D AMRAAMs which gave Levitt a total loadout of twenty missiles.
For all of these impressive features, the 308 did have some drawbacks in Levitt's opinion. One, the cloak and shield couldn't be used at the same time which was understandable given the power requirements. Two, it was slightly less maneuverable than the 302 which wasn't too surprising since it was built as a heavyweight aerospace supremacy fighter, and three, the backseater position was eliminated. Again, another minor loss because with F-35 style sensor fusion and everything you need to know displayed right in front of you on your display terminal and helmet-mounted display, copilots and WSOs were more like third wheels on a date.
What the 308 lacked in maneuverability, it definitely made up for it with the extra speed provided by its two additional engines.
Twenty minutes later, Levitt's automated warning and support system started chirping.
"Alert, alert. I've detected a group of contacts on the outer edge of your sensor coverage on bearing three, four zero."
"Copy that, Julie. Moving to investigate," Levitt replied then banked right and sped towards the contacts. As he covered more of the nine-hundred-mile distance, more of the contacts appeared on his screen.
"Julie, I am now counting forty-two contacts on bearing three, four, zero. Run a scan please."
"Scanning now, standby."
A few seconds later, the results of the scan were instantly posted on his visor. The imagery feed from the EOTS confirmed the location of the jackpot.
There they were, the Lucian Alliance freighters. Unlike the Kassa trains that were pulled by Al'kesh, these were full-fledged medium-sized cargo ships. The readings of their power levels which were also displayed on Levitt's visor indicated that they were holding position at very low power levels in the hope of avoiding detection.
A hope that was now officially all for naught. With the targets located and tagged, Levitt sent the fleet's coordinates to Colonel Freeman along with the coded message they drew up in the briefing.
Lima, Alpha, India, Tango, Papa. Lobsters Are In The Pot. The response was just as swift.
Charlie, Bravo, India. Copy, Bruisers Inbound.
Shortly after getting confirmation, the fighters of the Joint Kill Team released their MK-IV nuclear-tipped anti-ship missiles. Four of them soared from the AMBER racks on the two heavy pylons followed by four more from the ventral weapon bays. Shortly after clearing the birds, the missiles banked the left and went into hyperspace.
As Levitt remained on station to report the results, he couldn't help but let the Jeopardy theme song play in his head. The wait lasted long enough for the tune to repeat itself twice then his panel beeped to let him know the missiles were seconds away from dropping out of hyperspace.
The missiles emerged several feet above the freighters and struck them before anyone onboard could sound an alarm. The nuclear explosions looked like bright blue flashes in the distance.
With the freighter fleet destroyed, the need for radio silence was broken.
"Mongoose One, this is Mongoose Four. All targets destroyed. I repeat, all targets destroyed."
"Copy that Mongoose Four. Rejoin on us, we're heading back to the ships."
"Roger."
Lucian Alliance Ha'tak
Somewhere in deep space.
Remo walked into the dining hall where his twenty-person crew was assembled. They were not here for a meal, this meeting was about making a decision.
"Brothers and sisters, I just received word that Alliance Central Council has called for remaining ships to fall back to Lucia and aid in the upcoming defense. So far seven ships have answered the call but I have a feeling that if we go to fight at Lucia, we will die at Lucia."
"I say we take advantage of this moment and split from the alliance right now," Taggert, a big bald man declared. Those at the table voiced their agreement.
"Screw the bastards, I will never forgive them for destroying my village on the day they forced our world into their fold," Valera said.
"I have a better idea Commander. Why don't we join up with the Tau'ri ships when they arrive at Lucia to aid in destroying the Lucian Alliance once and for all."
"Part of me is attracted to your idea, Leonen. But given how angry, the Tau'ri are about that stupid ship bomb attempt on their planet, their ships will most likely blast us on sight."
"I'm surprised they waited this long to strike back," Taggert said.
"As am I. But it's time to put this matter to a vote my fellow Arcadians. Do we throw ourselves away at Lucia or ignore the Central Councils' call."
"Screw the Alliance," everyone shouted in unison.
"Very well. There is an uninhabited planet not far from here. We shall go there and wait out the final battle between the Tau'ri and the Lucian Alliance."
Homeworld Command
Pentagon.
8:00 PM
"Sir, Colonel Davidson and Commodore Mathews are reporting for the scheduled check-in."
"Put them on screen, Walter," O'Neill replied. With the push of a few buttons, the two ship commanders appeared. "Gentlemen, has the hunting been good?"
"Yes, sir. We just recovered our 308s from their sortie against the last Lucian Alliance freighter fleet which was very successful. All forty-two freighters were tagged and bagged with zero losses for our birds," Davidson said.
"And while the Joint Kill Team was busy hunting the freighters, we dealt with the four Ha'taks that were guarding this sector. Davidson's ship bagged three and I got the fourth which brings our total of destroyed motherships on this op to fifty-two. Most of those being claimed by the Odyssey of course," Mathews added, "I wish I had a ZPM giving my Nexus beams some extra juice."
"It would nice if we found a vault with enough ZPMs to equip our shiny ships, including the ones we plan to have in the future. But anyway, the gate-bombing portion of Operation Boomerang has come to an end with ninety-seven enemy strongholds blown to kingdom come by our MK-XIIs. All that's left now is Lucia and Taskforce Hammond is currently…" O'Neill checked his watch before finishing. "Four hours out."
"Should we keep hunting for more Ha'taks, General?" Davidson asked.
"I have new orders for you and Commodore Mathews. I want you two to put yourselves at an optimal standby point near Lucia. Even though I'm confident Colonel Carter will pull off the win for us, I still want some backup waiting in the wings in case the battle goes sideways."
"No problem, sir. I'll send Colonel Carter a message after we find a spot," Davidson said.
"Very well, O'Neill out."
After closing down the videolink, O'Neill turned his attention to the orbital display screen showing six blue icons. The USS Apollo, HMS Iron, PLAS Sun Tzu, RFS Chekov, RFS Gagarin, and, the sole carrier of the Tau'ri fleet, the EUS Austerlitz all on standby in case the Lucian Alliance tried to send some ships at Earth and surrounding space was swarming with 308 patrols. The Daedalus was still down for its refit which Colonel Caldwell was still very pissed about because he and his crew were missing out on the war. It also meant that its role as the flagship of the Pegasus Fleet was currently being occupied by the HMS Victory.
AN. I meant to post this chapter earlier in the week but a combination of writer's block and the second round of the Pfizer shot knocking the wind out of me slowed me down for a bit. Bruiser is the brevity code for an anti-ship missile and AMBER stands for Advanced Missile and Bomb Ejection Rack.
Update#2. I added one more paragraph to make this chapter more complete. I meant to do it last night but exhaustion caught up to me.