Josey's fingers drummed against the control stick of her fighter/bomber restlessly – less then two minutes ago they'd received their flash orders from the Ranger – but no go signal. Her flight – Hound flight, which had pulled elements from both Red and Gold squadron's – the ships most definitely rookie groups had crept to nearly within torpedo range of the Valley Forge, which now she was considering a target. While this wasn't her going to be her first combat sortie – or even her first in command of a flight – it was her first combat sortie in command of a squadron – and she was somewhat nervous.
She fully expected the Ranger to launch the rest of her squadron, that being Gold – along with Red to support her flight. Two months ago – safely in place as the Assistant Squadron Commander of the Reavers – she hadn't any doubts.
But now – with a bunch of wet behind the ears baying for their mother's nuggets at her back she couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive. Even her Weapons officer – Ensign Quark – was new.
And while she felt she'd done all she could to gel them into a fighting unit – she realized that if push came to shove – she was going to have to find out the hard way, like every commanding officer in a combat situation before her. It was not an overly pleasant feeling.
Josey's musings were interrupted by an abrupt transmission in her ear. "Homeplate to Hounds – Run. I say again Run. All Fox are to be considered hostile."
Jamming her throttle forward without a moments pause, Josey keyed her mic. "Hound Two, Lead is linebacker. Three and Four stack up."
Mic clicks confirmed her communication, and she continued, "Huntsmen you're on cover."
Flipping over to intercom she spoke, her voice falling into short, clipped tones as it always did as her adrenaline started to pump, "WEPs. Full spectrum directional ECM on the Valley Forge – let me know if they start painting us."
"Rog boss." Quark replied in her ear.
They both had their hands full now as Josey whipped their fighter around the last of the large frozen asteroids between them and the Valley Forge, and started darting at full combat power through the lighter chaff that separated them from their target. Two seconds behind them came Hound Two. With Hound Three and Four another five seconds behind that.
The tactic they were employing required the lead ship – or linebacker – to make a very close pass on the enemy vessel – strafing with phaser cannons and photon rocket pods. Two seconds behind the second fighter bomber would loose a salvo of heavier ordinance – anywhere from a pair of torpedoes to a ripple fire of up to the full ten on the external hardpoints – depending on distance to target and firepower expected to be needed. The first ship's job was to weaken, or even drop the target's shields – leaving them open and bare to the second's fire.
This of course – also meant that the first ship had a tendancy to pull a lot of fire from the target – but there was little that could be done about that. It was a tried and true tactic that had been used to excellent effect during the War.
It had also gotten a lot of fine pilots and crews killed. Josey didn't plan on being one of them.
"We're at optimal torpedo range." Quark chimed in behind her.
"Hang on, this is going to get interesting WEPs." Josey replied as she kicked all discretionary power to her engines, the heavy fighter accelerating once more as she continued her random twisted path down at the Valley Forge. A moment later she heard the early warning warble in her headset and stomped on the right rudder pedal, throwing her fighter sideways as she overrode the compensation thrusters momentarily and sent her fighter in a perpendicular direction to her original line of flight as a line of phaser fire blew through the space they'd been in a moment before.
"I'd say they don't like us much boss." Quark grunted from the back seat
Rolling the fighter back hard, Josey brought them back on course – she only had to close another two kilometers before she was within firing range for her rocket pods. "Hang on WEPs – I'm gonna make you bleed."
Josey's taunt was not completely in jest – while the fighters carried the exact same type of inertial compensation found on all Starfleet vessels – to better feel what was going on in their environment – one where death could be a hairs breath distant fighter pilots dialed back their inertial compensators – leaving them somewhat susceptible to the extreme g-forces some of their maneuvers could generate. The Weapons Officer on the Hawk fighters sat farther back – and as all back seaters before them, bore even more brunt then the pilots. More then a few had succumbed to a blackout – though in her time flying with him Quark had not. He did however tend to bleed copiously from the ears.
The range numbers flashed down and Josey flicked a switch on her throttle, bringing up the Hawk's primary targeting systems. The rocket pods were already selected, and the targeting piper popped up on her hud – a tight round crosshair that floated in her vision, correcting for motion of the craft. A second square popped up – indicating her target area on the Valley Forge.
Another line of phaser fire shot by – this one close enough light their shields. So far the tight cone of ECM they were generating was doing its job. But the closer they got to the frigate – the less useful it would be. Slewing the fighter a bit with her rudder pedals Josey lined up her shot – and when the range tone sounded in her ear she mashed her thumb against the pickle, her ordinance trigger, and squeezed the gun trigger on the stick at the same time.
Twenty five photon rockets per side ripple fired in less then two seconds off her wings accompanied by the direct fire of her fighters linked forward pulsed phaser cannons. The shields on the Valley Forge lit up against the sudden onslaught, the repeated strikes falling within a very small area – and like a striker against tempered glass, the shields shuddered, and momentarily, failed.
A heartbeat later Josey yanked her fighter into a bank, and hauled back on the stick as if her life depended on it. The heavy fighter strained as Josey over-rode the compensation thrusters, forcing the back end of her fighter to skid around in and even tighter loop as she pointed them back the way they came. Phaser fire lanced by her fighter twice, closer then before and she heard the shield level warning start to warble as her fighter streaked back the way it came, just as a pair of bright red stars, photon torpedoes fired by Hound Two sizzled past, almost close enough to reach out and touch before they slammed into their target just before the Valley Forge's shields could recover their strength.
Behind her, the tractor beams attaching the Valley Forge to the two heavy freighters stuttered, and then disappeared. The torpedoes had hit their mark. More phaser fire – concentrated now, as the Valley Forge's crew better understood the threat of the small ships arrayed against them sizzled through space around the Hawk as Josey worked hard to make them as hard a target to hit until they could get back into the cover of the asteroid field.
"How we doing back there WEPs?" Josey asked as the phaser fire started to die away – the Huntsmen had made a strafing run against the Valley Forge's softened shields. Not overly useful – but it drew fire as intended as Hounds Three and Four lined up for their run – Hawk Lead and Two had gotten the soft run – the latter pair were bound to get heavier fire.
There was an edge of a whine in Quarks voice as he responded after a minute or so, his breathing hard, "I'm going… to be cleaning blood out of my lobes for a week after this… boss."
"Such a beautiful mental image…" Josey responded with a slight smirk, as she slid her fighter behind an ice asteroid and throttled back, bringing up her tactical display – Hound 2 slid in beside her.
Quark snickered, "You could always help."
Josey was about to retort when her comm crackled to life, "Gold Leader – this is Homeplate – Red and Gold squadrons are launching now – but we've got unfriendlies inbound. You are re-tasked on the enemy carrier vessel. Assault and disable or destroy as nessasary. Reavers and the 'Cards are being prepped and will be off the deck ASAP – but until then you are our fist. Go to work."
"Gold leader copies." Josey replied as she continued to eyeball her tactical display before calling orders. Suddenly Gold Six – formerly Hound Four dropped off her display.
"Gold Six, this is lead – report."
"Four to Lead – Six is out. Forge got them. Glancing shot – I think they're Echo Victor, but I'm not reading a beacon." Came the response from Six's wingman
"Report on the Forge, Four – and join my wing." Josey ordered as she throttled up, they still had work to do – and she had to join up with the rest of her squadron.
"Six dumped ten photons and two quantums on the Forge before pulling out – its what got them killed sir. But the Forge is now down her starboard impulse engine and gutting plasma from both warp nacelles - she's not going anywhere for a while, but she's still got weapons." Gold Four reported calmly – as the Hawk slid in beside Josey's fighter to port
Josey didn't even pause, "Gold Lead to Homeplate, we've lost Six. Possible Echo Victor. No Bravo. Requesting Angels."
"Homeplate copy's Angels have been alerted and tasked - might be a bit though – things are getting a little interesting over here – light the fires and get over here."
"Lead copies, ETA to target is two minutes. Leave some for us."
"We've got plenty. Homeplate out."
"How fast can we get the 'Cards out the door?" Devin asked as he watched the display in front of him. The sixteen fighters that made up the majority of Red and Gold squadrons was fast approaching a larger group of older, but just as deadly Peregrines. Out numbered was never a good way to start a first engagement.
Tai looked up from her tactical telemetry display, "The Cards and Reavers are behind the LCs in the launch order. It'd take about five minutes, maybe ten to re-arrange everything."
"Negative. Kick the LCs off the deck – and send them on their missions." Devin decided in a heartbeat. It was a risk – the LCs were big fat targets without a proper escort, but he needed the expertise of the Wildcards and the Reavers in there air to bolster the nuggets out there about to be fighting for their lives.
"Sir? That's going to leave them all alone out there – and the weapons on the Valley Forge aren't completely out of commission from all reports."
"No choice – we need those fighters out there to support. Those Peregrines aren't pushovers…." Devin paused a moment, "Terrik – run a scan. I want to know if those Perries are standard configuration or not."
"One moment." The Vulcan Ops Chief responded, "One squadron's worth… is. The other… appears to have an extended cockpit and has photon torpedoe's slung under the wings."
"We've got trouble then. Tae – Retask half of Gold with CAP." Devin ordered as he stood up. "Mr Zephyr – intercept course on the Nimitz. Perpendicular to his current course to give us as much time away from those damned Peregrines as possible."
"Aye sir. Coming about." Zephyr replied quickly
Tae frowned, "Gold squadron isn't loaded out for anti-fighter, and they'd have to drop their stores to lower the ship's overall mass to even hope to beable to fly with those Peregrine's sir."
"Do it. We need more anti-fighter assets, now. If those modified Perigrines get within optimal firing range unhindered, we're going to have a very bad day." Devin ordered as he mentally projected an optimal plane on their current course and trajectory. If the Peregrine's pushed – they'd be in good firing range within two minutes, maybe less.
"Aye Captain, re-tasking as ordered. Half of Gold squad is to be re-tasked with anti-fighter duty – their target will be the enemy bombers to give them a better shooting chance. Red squadron will escort the remaining Gold's on a run against the Nimitz." Tae responded.
"Good. Mr Vertung, you are weapons free on any enemy fighters you can get a clear shot on. Once we're in weapons range of the Nimitz – limit to disabling fire if possible. Use your discretion." Devin ordered as he returned to his command chair. Things were about to get tense on his end. He'd given his orders – and now a lot of young men and women were going to have to carry them out. It was not the first time he'd put people in harms way – but it was never easy to just sit back and watch.