A day passed without incident. The silence was unnerving. Chris couldn't understand why there hadn't been so much as a communication from the Aquataine and it's battle group. He couldn't use the simulators because the Swords were on scramble alert during the day, while the Ravens were on scramble alert all night.
Chris was standing on the observation deck when the alarms begun to wail. He quickly ran to the briefing room, where the other Swords were already assembling. They all took their seats as the Base Commander entered, his pace faster than usual. "We just received a distress signal from the Aquataine. This comes as no surprise." The Commander activated the tactical map. "The Aquataine's signal came from a small asteroid belt on the other side of the system. The message stated that they had been swarmed and most of the battle group is dead, including Admiral Petrarch. The current commander of the Aquataine is the chief engineer, Sydney Burkman. Your assignments are as follows. Alpha wing, you will go to investigate. Beta, you will escort a supply convoy to the captured asteroid base. Gamma, you will patrol the area around the Repair Yard. Everyone will fly Perseus fighters, armed with Subach and Prometheus S cannons. Secondaries are twin banks of Harpoons. Good Luck."
As was usual post-briefing, the Swords filed out of the briefing room and headed for the flight deck. Chris climbed into his fighter and flipped the power switch to the on position. Within seconds, the ship lit up, shields came on, and the engines roared to life. He pushed the throttle forward and shot out of the bay, followed by all of Alpha wing. "Alpha, stand by for coordinates." Chris quickly transmitted the coordinates of the Aquataine's position. "Alpha wing engage subspace drivers." Chris activated his subspace drivers and was soon in subspace.
Meanwhile, in deep space, far from any planet, the Orion destroyer Vesan and the Colossus Battleship Harbringer exited subspace. In front of them was a Ravana class Shivan destroyer and two Lucifer Superdestroyers. Normally, this sight would be met with combat, but instead, the ships began communicating using the ETAK based communication system. To the casual observer, ETAK code was nothing more than subspace pulses. To the Shivans in was a language, a language in which they could communicate. To most Terrans, ETAK was a ghost of the Neo-Terran Front.
In only minutes, the Vesan, Harbringer, and the Ravana destroyer entered subspace together. The two Lucifers entered subspace on a different vector. And then the area was empty and devoid of life once again.
Alpha wing dropped out of subspace near the asteroid field but not in it, to do so would be to risk a collision with an asteroid. Chris activated his active scanners and panned his fighter's nose around to view the asteroid field. He spotted the Aquataine just as his sensors chimed that they had a contact. "Alpha wing, stay close." Chris pushed his throttle to full and raced toward the Aquataine.
The Perseus fighter was an interceptor. It was fast and agile, but still tougher than the Ulysses fighter. It's weapons capacity was reminiscent of the old Apollo space superiority fighter of the Terran-Vasudan war. It's engines were much more powerful than any other fighter's engines in the fleet, giving it unsurpassed speed and the largest afterburner reserve in the fleet.
Chris boosted the power to his engines to give himself a bit of extra speed as he closed the distance to the Aquataine. As he got closer he saw the extent of the damage. The Aquataine's hull was ruptured in multiple places, and it was missing an entire engine mount and one of the flight decks. What shocked him even more was the status of the Aquataine's subsystems. There wasn't a subsystem above ten percent integrity and most were completely offline.
Weapons discharges caught his eye as he got closer, but his sensors identified then as friendly weapons fire from a group of heavily damaged Erinyes fighters. He activated his communication system, "Aquataine, this is Alpha wing of the 77th Swords, please respond."
"Alpha wing." Sydney's voice was hard to understand through the static. "I'm Chief Warrant Officer Sydney Burkman, we've sustained heavy damage and have lost at least 50% of the crew. Another 25% are still unaccounted for."
"What do you need in the way of repairs?"
"We've got enough parts to get the engines online, what we need is time. The enemy capitol ships are the Vesan, and Orion class destroyer, and the Harbringer, the Colossus. After that, they've got a small armada of other ships and a large contingent of fighters and bombers. They cut through our fleet in seconds. Most of our fighter squadrons were destroyed trying to cover our escape. All that's left is Alpha 1, Alpha 4, Gamma 3, and Theta 2 of the 70th Blue Lions."
"We're here to help. What are they shooting at?"
"Asteroids, we've got crews targeting the turrets manually. We have to stop the asteroid from hitting the Aquataine. Luckily, this field is mostly immobile, and the Lions have pretty much destroyed all the asteroids in the general area. Our transmitter is shot, inform the repair yard that we'll be coming as soon as possible."
"I'll send it immediately, Alpha 1 clear." Chris quickly switched frequencies on his comm board. "Alpha Centauri Repair Yard, Alpha 1 here, the Aquataine is alive but needs time to repair, we'll be protecting them until they can make the jump, Alpha wing out."
"I've never seen a ship so heavily damaged." Anya commented.
"I have, in Capella. I've seen bodies floating in space after some engagements. You want to help them, but then you realize, they're already dead." Chris brushed a tear from his eye.
"Chris." Louis's normally arrogant tone was replaced by a voice that sounded terrified. "I'm reading three incoming jump signatures, the Vesan, the Harbringer, and an unknown Ravana class destroyer."
Chris quickly checked the readings himself. "It's a Ravana alright." He opened a channel the Aquataine. "Aquataine, power down all your systems, instruct your fighters to do the same. We're going to play dead."
"Why?" Sydney asked.
"Because the Vesan, the Harbringer, and a Shivan Ravana class destroyer have exited subpsace 450 kilometers out. There's a chance we can go unnoticed. Use narrow beam transmissions to communicate from here on out. Do not fire until fired upon!" Chris quickly switched off all of his systems except life support, communication, and passive scanners. So far, nothing had come to engage them.
Then a wing of Shivan Mara fighters popped out of subspace only a kilometer from their position. The Shivan fighters fly right past Chris's cockpit and looped around the Aquataine, obviously trying to determine the level of damage. Chris kept his finger on the emergency startup button as the Shivans continued to circle around their position.
After almost ten whole minutes, the Shivans departed into subspace. Only seconds later, the Vesan, Harbringer, and the Ravana destroyer departed as well. Chris powered his fighter back up and opened a channel to his wing. "That was too close," he remarked.
"Your telling me," Louis replied.
"They obviously detected something." said Anya. "But they also couldn't identify it."
"I just don't want to do that again."
"No Louis," Chris stated, "the next time we are that close to a Shivan attack wing, they'll be shooting at us."
Three hours later, Alpha wing, the Aquataine, and the remained Lions returned to the repair yard. A pair of freighters towed the Aquataine to the jump gate to Vasuda, taking the remaining Lions with them. Alpha wing quickly docked with the Repair Yard, where they were reunited with the other Swords.
They assembled in the briefing room and waited for the Base commander to come in. When he did, he waved for them to sit. "Chris, what happened?" The commander asked.
"The Aquataine and it's fleet were obliterated." Chris replied. "The Aquataine barely survived. The more pressing news is that we've sighted a Shivan Ravana class destroyer. And where one is, several million will follow. So we're in for another Shivan war."
"I'm not going to lie to any of you. We are most likely going to die. And an evacuation is in order. However, in an attempt to catch the Shivans off guard and delay their advance, we will be staying in system. We're leaving the Repair Yard and moving to the slave traders asteroid base. Only volunteers are remaining. Volunteers, stand.." He didn't finish his sentence. All of the swords stood up. "That settle it, Alpha wing, get into the Artemis D.H. bombers down in the hanger. Beta and Gamma will fly Erinyes fighters and will cover you. You're to provide cover for the Hedette as it fights a delaying action here at the repair yard. You must hold the shivans back until we get the last transports out of the system. Good Luck."
Minutes later, Chris led his wing back out of the hanger, in their Artemis bombers. He had a bank of Hornet swarm missiles and two banks of 4 cyclops torpedoes. His primary weapon banks were loaded with the Prometheus cannon. He assumed a position just above the front of the Hedette, which was facing the entry vector with both primary beam cannons pointing down range.
Chris tried to steady his shaking hands as he waited for the first wave of Shivan attackers. It was a futile effort, no one could completely control their fears, especially when they knew that the most dangerous enemy of the GTVA was coming for them. The thought of going into combat against the Shivans again was Chris's greatest fear.
But the time for terror was over, three Shivan Cain cruisers and two wings of Mara fighters entered the area, right on the entry vector. The Hedette opened fire, taking out two of the cruisers instantly. Chris accelerated toward the third cruiser. "Alpha, guns only, fire." Chris led Anya, Louis, and Jack in a strafing attack against the Cain cruiser, attacking it from below. Chris shot off the cruiser's primary beam cannon as it charged. After his wing was clear, the Hedette destroyed it with a well place beam cannons shot. Beta and Gamma wings had already dealt with the Mara fighters.
The next wave happened instantly after. Two Rakshasa cruiser and two full squadron of Nephilum bombers entered the area. Again, the Hedette opened fire immediately, cracking one of the Rakshasas into two neat pieces. Chris targeted one of the bombers and opened fire.
The Nephilum bomber was slow and big, making it an easy target. His shots punched through the shields easily and ripped the hull apart in seconds. Other explosions indicated the kills of other members of the squadron.
The remaining Rakshasas opened fire with it's two forward beams, which didn't penetrate the armor on the Hedette. Chris shot down another Nephilum before the Hedette fired again, cutting the Rakshasa into three neat pieces.
So far the attacks had been mild, and nothing had really hurt the Hedette. Chris knew this was nothing more than a ploy to expend the energy and ammunition of the defenders. The last transports left the station and begun to head for their jump points as six massive subspace vortexes appeared.
"HOLY SHIT!" Louis screamed.
"Three Ravanas and Three Lucifers!" Amy yelled.
"Alpha," Chris yelled. "Target the lead Ravana."
The Hedette's opening volley cut a deep slice into the lead Ravana, but then the three Ravana's opened fire, their heavy beams quickly cut the Hedette apart.
"This is the Hedette, we've bought you all the time we could." Rex yelled over the comm. "We're going up...." and then the Hedette exploded, sending a massive shockwave in all directions.
Chris opened a comm channel to the freighters. "Better go fast, we're not going to be here for long." Chris led his wing toward the lead Ravana. They dodged the flak until they were right on top of the destroyer, in which they all fired four cyclops torpedoes into the destroyer.
The Ravana destroyer begun to break up under the stress of sixteen cyclops torpedoes hitting it in the same spot. A massive fissure appeared along the destroyer's side. Chirs, Anya, Louis, and Jack attacked it again, sending another sixteen torpedoes into the Ravana. This volley was enough to bring the destroyer down, it exploded in a massive explosion as the final transports departed through the jump node.
Chris transmitted the coordinates to the whole squadron and they all disappeared into subspace.
An hour later, the Swords arrived at the asteroid base. They docked in a massive fighter bay on the dark side of the asteroid. Most of their other fighters were already in neat organized rows, including their battered Ulysses fighters. The 135th was already on patrol around the Asteroid base.
When Chris climbed out of his bomber, he finally got a good look at the damage he had taken. His fighter had small pits along an entire side, indicating that a flak burst had exploded near him when his shield were down. There were also burn marks in various other places. He stepped away, letting the technicians put his bomber into the repair rack.
His squadron assembled at the rear of the bay, unsure of where to go. "Well Swords, that was some fantastic flying today." Chris said. "Now, let's find out where the briefing room is."
"This way sir." A technician waved. "Follow me.
The technician led the Swords to what look like a hastily converted mess hall. The Base commander was already there. He was sitting in a chair at the head of a large table. He motioned for them to take a seat. "Swords, we've suffered a terrible blow today. The loss of the Hedette will severally limit our operations, but the Saber, Pirate Killer, and the Mussolini are ready to do battle at a moments notice. I want you all to try and get some rest, we'll discuss our upcoming operations tomorrow. Your Squadron's quarters are on the top deck. The tech that brought you here will lead you to them." He motioned for the Swords to leave.
The Swords quietly stood and left following the technician to their quarters. Each pilot had his own quarters which was surprising, considering the conditions of the base. Equipment was being stored just about anywhere there was space. The corridors were crowded with the mechanics, technicians, and deck officers that kept the station running.
However, the quarters that the Swords had weren't much to look at. Each was little more than a bed and a locker, with just a tiny amount of living space. Chris stripped off his flight suit and changed into a pair of flannel pants and a tee-shirt. They had nothing that was their own anymore. Even their clothes were the property of the GTVA.
Chris turned off the light and tried to sleep. He couldn't, so he just laid on his back with his eyes closed. After an hour, he heard a knock on the door. Since he wasn't asleep he got up and opened it. Anya was there. "Can I come in?" She asked.
"Sure." Chris replied. He turned the light back on, but on it's dimmest standing.
"I can't sleep," said Anya as she sat on the bed.
"Me neither." Chris sat next to her.
"I can't get the destruction of the Hedette, or the Shivans out of my head. I guess I'm afraid."
"You can't blame yourself Anya. There was nothing any of us could've done."
"I know that. It's just a shock." She brushed a tear from her eye.
"Are you okay?"
"I don't know." Anya rested her head on his chest.
"Anya.... the thing that scares me even more than the Shivans is the thought of losing you." He put his arms around her and drew her closer. Soon, they were in each others arms, each holding close to the other. Anya pulled herself up so she could kiss him, and was met half way by Chris.
Chris reached over and turned the lights off as he laid back on the bed, with Anya on top of him. He kissed her again.
Special Thanks: Thanks to all of you who have reviewed and read my story so far. It's nowhere near done, but your continued encouragement keeps me writing more. Thanks again.