Chapter Four: Rays of Hope

             The courier sped towards the CU CHULAINN at breakneck speed. Almost before the navigator had fully replied to the permission to dock, the Vanship ran into the hangar of the battleship, slamming into the ground at full force, nearly smashing the fragile craft. It skidded to a halt close to the doors that lead to the rest of the ship, and the pilot jumped out, clutching a commission tube.

            Caroline stood in the door, blocking the courier pilot's way. "Where is the message?" The pilot shook his head. "I have strict orders to hand it only to te commander of the CHULAINN." Caroline beckoned the man, and they rushed off towards the bridge. When the courier had signalled, it had seemed very urgent, and the pilot's haste now seemed to confirm it.

            She stepped beside her brother at the front viewport and indicated the pilot to move there, too. Tom turned around. "What is it, Caroline?"

            "The courier who signalled us is here."

            "Already? That's a pretty fast touchdown," Tom mused, grinning slightly. "Why the haste, pilot?"

            "I have an urgent message from the Den for you, it's vital."

            "Let me see," he accepted the commission tube from the pilot and broke the seal. Extracting a rolled-up piece of parchment, he unrolled it and skimmed over the lines. Caroline watched as her brother's eyes sparkled. He crumbled the parchment and ripped it to shreds. "Pilot, return to the Den, and tell the base commander that we received the message. Tell him to prepare for a complete overhaul, and to get enough material and ammunitions to stock up for an extended period of time." The pilot nodded and saluted, then left.

            "Set a course for the Den. Full speed ahead, forget about inaudoble drive. We're going home," Tom announced. When she had relayed his orders, Caroline turned to him again. "Why?"

            Tom grinned mischievously. "The BATTLEMASTER is nearing completion."

            The CU CHULAINN moved through the clouds swiftly, like a silent predator gliding through the skies. As it approached its base in the Grand Stream, the ship and its crew gaped at the sight. What they had come home to was not a home, or a safe base. It was a city under siege. Guild fighters were dancing around the mountain, pouring machine gun fire into the flanks of solid rock.

           There was no trace of the battleship that must have dumped the fighters, that meant they had come here on their own. But their numbers suggested they were a full battlegroup, designated to take out a military task force. Tom grimaced slightly. The Guild had found them. At least they perceived them as a great enough threat that they dispatched an entire battleforce to deal with the undefended base only.

            The base, however, was anything but undefended. Even while the CHULAINN was approaching, camouflage panels slid aside, and anti-aircraft guns began to return fire, raking fire across the formation of star-shaped fighters. They were putting up a fight.

            "Ahead full! All hands to battlestations! Prepare for boarding parties! Bow guns, elevation thirteen degrees z, plus eighteen x-y. Aim and fire at will. All other turrets, open fire at will!" Tom bellowed as the CHULAINN accelerated to combat speed and raced headfirst into the engagement.

            The base was battered and bruised from their brush with the Guild forces, but they had held their own well. Tom surveyed the damage done to the dock as the CHULAINN moved into anchor position. There were several fallen support beams, and some of the command and observation structures were on fire. Nothing that couldn't be fixed.

            What couldn't be fixed, on the other hand, was the fact that the Guild had finally tracked them down to their base of operations. That was not good. They'd have to abandon the base before they brought in reinforcements to finish the job. With a slight rumble the CHULAINN made contact with the dock's tethers and came to a rest.

            Tom glanced out towards the side and noticed the battleship at their side. It was entirely black, designed for stealth operations, especially at night. The only part of the hull that wasn't painted a dull black were the letters on the bow that read BATTLEMASTER. He watched as the repair and resupply crews rushed on board to patch up the ship for her next engagement.

            "What is the status on the BATTLEMASTER?" Tom asked the dock chief. The elderly man who had been part of his original crew let his glance wander over the black hull of the battleship for a moment before returning it to Tom. "Well, she's practically ready to go, but she hasn't had her maiden voyage yet, and we've had no chance to test out that 'extra equipment' you had us install. She should be running fine, though."

            "Is she battle worthy?"

            "Well, as I said, she's ready to go. The only problems could be with either of two things. Either, we screwed up when we pieced together the Claudia Unit, or the new equipment in the bow blows. But I don't think we crewed up on either of those, so we should be fine," the chief replied.

            "All right then. Resupply both ships with everything this base can spare. And tell the men to hurry up with the repairs. When the Guild comes, I want to be ready." The chief nodded in acknowledgement, and Tom turned and left.

            "Recon units in sector 112 report contact with a Guild battleship. They're headed straight this way," Caroline reported. Tom nodded. "All right. If they're in sector 112...they're moving faster than I thought. We have ten hours, at most. All right. Get the people moving," he glanced at the BATTLEMASTER. "You better get aboard your ship, too."

            "Won't you need a second-in-command?"

            He shot his sister a grin. "I can handle it if you can," he told her.

            "You got it." Caroline turned and left for the BATTLEMASTER's berth.

            "Incoming Guild battleship! One thousand yards and closing! Nine hundred yards!" The observation post reported. Tom stole a glance around the now cavernously empty base. "Everyone report to their ships. We're abandoning the base. I repeat, all hands aboard their ships."

            "Guild battleship at 500 yards!"

            Tom stood up from his command chair. "Detach docking clamps. Ahead one quarter. Prepare for full engine output on my mark!"

            "300 yards, and closing in!"

            "Ready all bow guns!"

            "200 yards!"

            The ship began to rumble beneath his feet, and Tom could feel the power output of the Claudia drive units increase as the CHULAINN awoke from her short slumber. "Wait for it...wait for it..."

            "One hundred yards!"

            "Vanships, form a fighter screen behind the ships, and prepare to fan out to provide flanking support as soon as we leave the ravine! Do not engage in combat with the Guild fighters!"

            "Fifty yards!"

            "Mark! Ahead full! All weapons, fire at will!"

            The CU CHULAINN and the BATTLEMASTER blasted out of the cover of the mountain ravine into the open stormy air of the Grand Stream, weapons blazing. The Guild battleship that had practically been parked outside withered under the barrage and remained floating in the air, stunned for a moment from the brutal onslaught.

            When the battleship recovered, its guns began to swivel to track the two gunships that were blasting at it at their respective top speeds, failing to gat a target lock in time. BATTLEMASTER angled slightly, so that instead of just passing by the gigantic ship, the bow of the midnight-black ship was aimed straight at the heart of the Guild battleship.

            The black gunship's sharpened prow made contact with the battleship's hull violently, tearing through metal hull and support beams like paper. As the CHULAINN blasted past the Guild ship, the BATTLEMASTER emerged from the other side, her flanks slightly scarred but otherwise unscathed.

            Caroline grimaced as the BATTLEMASTER shook from the impact with the Guild ship. She hoped their calculations were correct and they had built up enough momentum to tear right through the battlecruiser. All around her the hulls of her ship were screeching in protest under the strain as they broke into the Guild vessel.

            When BATTLEMASTER's bow finally tore through the last layer of metal and emerged on the other side, she let out a breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding.

            "The Guild ship is sinking!" The observation post shouted.

            Caroline turned to look, and she realized the report was correct. The Guild battleship's Claudia drive was definitely failing. "Stern guns, open up at will," she ordered as a grin spread over her face.

            "All rear cannons, fire at will!" Tom shouted as he watched the shells tear through the Guild battleship's hull, marking the once-unblemished hull with pockmarks and craters. Take that, he thought. He kept his gaze on the sinking battleship until it smashed against the ground and shattered into a head of debris.

            Eat that, Delphine. And that's just the beginning. He smiled inwardly. Now, the real war with the Guild had begun.

            "Signal from the BATTLEMASTER! They say, 'Nice job. Where to now?'"

            Tom smiled. "Signal them to follow us to Minagis. It's time we confirmed the legends of the 'Phantom Ship'. And we'll need some help in doing so."

           "BATTLEMASTER acknowledges. They're saying, 'The Guild better look out.'" Tom chuckled. "Look out, indeed. Here we come." Whatever the Guild threw at them, they would be facing twice the punishment now. They would survive. "Oh, and tell my sister, when this is over, I'm going to buy a round for everyone," Tom added, grinning lopsidedly. His hope in their victory was starting to stir again.