Chapter Sixteen: Zero Hour

"Breaking, breaking, breaking!"

"Echo Squadron, get after them!"

"Watch the starboard wing!"

"Ahhhhhhrrrgggghhh!"

"Bogies, ten o'clock!"

Major William "Willis" Hawk's shipboard COM was suddenly inundated with tens of reports in a matter of seconds. One minute he'd been flying his usual route around the island, checking in with both Kilo and Victor Squadrons to be sure the ground was clear, and the next all hell had broken loose. It made for a dizzying attempt to keep up with the fragments of radio chatter until finally, something clear came through.

Hawk immediately recognized it as his CO's voice.

"Talon, this is Flight Leader," Major Erin Collins said, her voice strangely calm. "Are you receiving?"

Willis tapped his own COM fast. "Affirmative, Flight Leader. All due respect, but what the hell is going on? The COM's going wild and I've got all eyes on the surface right now, but I don't see – "

"Look up, Hawk."

The major did as she said and took in a sharp breath as he finally saw what was happening just above him in orbit. An enormous field of debris filled the space where the formidable Suave Affair used to be, and the smaller Excalibur was absent. He rapidly clicked a button on his console to change the display, and now saw green pinpricks of light above where Major Collins had deployed the remainder of her pilots. All three squadrons were in Broadswords, currently engaged against a large group of Seraphs just outside Khan's atmosphere.

Willis realized with growing trepidation that that could only mean one thing.

"Oh, fuck."

The words came out the moment he saw the Storm ship show up on his main screen, and suddenly a sour sense of dread settled in his stomach. No, he thought, almost desperate. No, please, not –

"The Suave Affair was just destroyed, Talon," Major Collins said then, giving voice to his fear. "Right after we launched."

Shit. "And the Ex?"

"Gone, but not in the way you think. The Storm ship went after the Affair first, and since it was already moderately damaged from our last run-in before we arrived, it didn't make it. The Ex did the sensible thing and jumped in the meantime. They knew if the Affair fell, they didn't stand a chance."

"Jesus," Hawk breathed. It may have been smart in some ways for the Excalibur to have taken to Slipspace to flee the chaos, but in doing so, it had left all the pilots and ground troops wide open to attack from the enemy vessel; Willis was sure that the Storm ship wasn't going to keep its assault isolated to space. And in that case, it was up to him and Victor and Kilo to keep the Marines dirtside safe.

That included his wife and his baby brother.

"What's going on with the ship now?" Hawk asked.

"It hasn't glassed the surface yet, so that's something," Collins replied. "So far it's just attacked our own boat and launched Seraphs."

For a second Major Hawk found that curious, too, but then he remembered something Natalie had said to him when they'd been billeted together at Outpost Columbia, before it had been overrun and largely demolished by the ex-Covies. She'd told him that there was a reason the Covenant hadn't glassed this half of Khan during the Human-Covenant War, and why they were so keen on having it now – the ruins. Willis knew the Remnant wouldn't risk permanently erasing their holy site just to get rid of the humans around it, so for that, at least, he felt relatively confident that the UNSC forces wouldn't get instantaneously barbecued anytime soon.

As for an all-out war on the surface for control of the place, however, Willis had no doubts that they could count on that.

"They're not going to stay up there for long," he murmured over the COM then.

"What was that?"

"The Storm," Hawk said louder, with conviction. "They're not up there to tango with you guys, and their biggest threat in orbit is gone now. They're going to head for the atmosphere."

Willis suddenly cursed under his breath at how patient and cunning the Remnant had been. Three months the UNSC had been here, going back and forth from the Affair and the mainland and the island, and always the focus had been on the ruins and – as he'd recently found out himself – the threat posed by the portals inside. Instead, while everyone had been busy fretting over the backdoor, the Storm had apparently now decided to come in the traditional way. And they'd taken them all – including the Affair – by surprise.

"Collins, I'd suggest – "

But she cut him off then with urgency in her voice. "Talon, watch it! They've just launched Banshees! The Phantoms aren't far behind! We'll try to get as many as we can up here but I'm warning you now that we're badly outnumbered! And we've still got those Seraphs to tackle!"

"On it!"

Major Hawk kicked his Pelican into gear then and switched COM channels, so that he was broadcasting to both his squadrons above the island – Kilo and Victor – as well as Cobra, who'd thankfully landed on the mainland just several minutes earlier to ferry down supplies.

"Kilo, Victor, and Cobra, this is Gold Leader," he said. "Some of you may have noticed that we've got company upstairs. The Affair is gone for good, and the Excalibur has momentarily jumped away to keep our cargo safe. The rest of the air wing is currently engaged in orbit, so that means it's up to us to provide the Marines on the ground with overhead support. We've got multiple Banshees and Phantoms inbound right now – ETA is six minutes. So let's get ready to rock."

In the brief interim, Willis checked all the status indicators on his craft, then his payload – he'd just rearmed and refueled a few days ago when he'd taken Cooper and the spook up to the Affair, so he had a full complement of missiles on board, as well as plenty of ammo for the heavy machine gun. After that, he checked the position of his squadrons relative to the incoming ex-Covie fighters and made sure they were all accounted for.

It was during the last minute before things really started to get crazy that he took a moment to press his gloved fingers against the family picture taped to his cockpit, as he always did. Natalie and their three kids smiled back at him.

Stay safe down there, Coop, he thought to himself. Gabe, Liam, and Liv, remember to wish Mommy and Daddy luck. We're going to need it.

A frightening number of Banshees swooped in on them a few seconds later, some moving to engage, others keeping on the flanks of several Phantoms as they escorted the larger crafts groundside to drop troops and vehicles. Willis knew that every one he let through would threaten his wife and little brother on Qamar, so he quickly pushed the controls of his Pelican harder and went after them.

"Cobra, focus on tagging the bastards making for the surface!" he cried over the radio while he maneuvered. "Kilo, you do the same, but try to stay above the ruins. Victor, let's move to counter, now! We need these skies clear!"

There was one exception to the rule in Willis's orders, and that was his best friend and wingmate, Captain Brandon Heat. In a private channel to his friend, Hawk amended, "Snoopy, you're with me."

"Gotcha, Talon," came the near-instant reply. "Wouldn't want it any other way." Willis could hear the grin in his voice in the next words. "Without me around there'd be nobody to pull your ass out of the fire, sir. And if something happens to you, Natalie'll have my ass. So – "

"So you have a vested interest in keeping me alive so you don't have to face my wife's wrath," Hawk finished with a slight smile of his own.

"Pretty much, Talon. Speaking of which, bogies at one!"

Willis had had his sights on them the entire time, waiting for the trio of Banshees to come into range before he hit the triggers on the missiles and launched. It was a dangerous move to make while the Storm craft were rocketing toward them, but that was the major's MO, always had been. It was how he'd made a name for himself as an ace pilot at a young age, and why he maintained that status now at thirty-one.

Cooper may have been good at leading, but Hawk was good at flying.

As soon as the missiles were away, the Banshees let out a flurry of plasma lances of their own, but Willis and his Pelican were already gone. Hawk hit the thrusters and went up, while Heat read his move and came in from the flank, strafing the lithe purple ships with his machine gun. One of them exploded in a fiery plume, catching the brunt of the Pelicans' joint assault. Another began trailing smoke as one of the missiles burst against its side. The third came out unscathed though, its pilot clearly more skilled than the others as the alien craft banked left to right to dodge the MG rounds, then went into a tight roll to avoid Hawk's missiles. Willis noticed and jerked the controls of his Pelican again, diving for the unharmed vessel with his own MG blazing. In the meantime, Heat zeroed in on the injured Banshee.

The second wave of the attack succeeded where the first didn't. Out of the corner of his eye on his console, Major Hawk saw the damaged Banshee his wingmate was after suddenly burst in midair while it attempted to maneuver away. Captain Heat let out a loud whoop over their private channel.

"Woo! You see that, Talon? That's how it's done, baby!"

Willis smiled a little in his seat. "Nice hit, buddy! Now get after the rest. I got this last one."

"You sure, Tal?"

"I'm sure, Snoopy. Go."

"Roger that."

Hawk's determination to beat this clever Storm pilot increased as soon as his best friend left his six. This fight was going to be a matter of pride, one the major was anxious to win. He'd fought many talented Covenant pilots during the War, and even when the last Storm ship had attacked the Suave Affair four days before they'd arrived over Khan. But this one was something special. He'd outmatched two seasoned human pilots so far with elaborate moves to keep from becoming an exploding pile of debris in the sky – and right now, he was giving Willis a run for his money, too.

Major Hawk grinned to himself and raced after the alien craft, enjoying the exhilarating feeling of the high-velocity chase flowing through his veins. It was the reason he'd always loved flying...and a good dogfight.

"All right, you bastard," he said aloud then. "Let's dance."

The first of Willis's MG rounds went right below the ex-Covie's Banshee, missing the fuselage by a hair. Hawk cursed but pushed on, adjusting his aim as he followed his alien counterpart into a barrel roll with weapons close to overheating. Finally a burst hit, and soon the Banshee in front of him was trailing smoke from a wing, just like the other had. The major's smile momentarily widened as he readied his missiles and frantically jerked his craft from starboard to port to get a lock.

But then the Banshee suddenly disappeared.

"What the hell?" Willis screwed up his face in confusion beneath his helmet, searching the skies with his eyes as well as electronics for the bogie. For a moment he wondered if the Storm had learned some tricks from the ever-elusive Prometheans recently, but then it hit him: the pilot had rolled up out of sight instead of sideways to throw him off. It was what Hawk himself would've done in that position.

You're good, but not good enough, my friend, Major Hawk thought with a smirk. Your ass is mine now.

Hawk rolled his Pelican hard to port and yanked the controls up a second later, ending up just behind and to the left of the alien pilot. He liked to imagine that the ex-Covie son of a bitch's eyes went wide inside the Banshee as Willis got a lock and sent his newly armed complement of missiles after it, but of course he couldn't be sure of that. The major then dove back down and out of the way, and waited for the fireworks to go off.

He didn't have to wait long. A sudden detonation above him sent a shockwave rushing across his Pelican, and he had to maintain a white-knuckle grip on the controls to keep his craft level through the blast. When it was over, though, Hawk was happier than a kid on Christmas morning.

I still got it, he thought smugly to himself. That'll give the rest of those alien bastards something to think about. He glanced upward toward the battle going on in orbit, too. I hope Collins is giving them hell up there.

Willis turned his attention back to his own surroundings then and noticed Captain Heat coming back alongside his wing. His best friend's voice was full of excitement.

"Damn! That was some fancy flying, Talon!"

"You know it! Better watch it, though. We got more coming up on our tail."

It was the first time since the skirmish began that Hawk was able to get a good look at his display and see how his pilots were faring around him. His amped up feeling from the adrenaline rush began to diminish when he saw just how many Banshees they had left to take on. They were positively swarming the skies above the island now.

Some had even managed to get through. They were attacking the ground now as they provided cover for their Phantoms to land.

Slowly, Major Hawk's smugness started to turn to anxious fear again. Natalie was down there, and so was Matthew. This was no time to play games. He clicked his COM. "Kilo, Victor, Cobra, this is Gold Leader. We need to step it up! Let's make sure no more Phantoms touch dirt, is that clear?"

Acknowledgment lights winked green across his display, but he found that the worry remained. Deep down, he already knew that all his pilots were doing their very best; they knew what was at stake here. But sometimes, as he'd just found out himself now, even your very best wasn't enough.

The major momentarily had a flashback to the start of the battle for Earth nearly six years ago now. He remembered fighting the Covenant bastards in orbit when they'd first shown up over the human homeworld, and the helplessness he'd felt as he'd watched them destroy the orbital defense platform Athens Station right in front of him, despite the tough fight he and his squadron had put up. Somehow the Covenant had managed to overwhelm them and bypass their defenses to get to their true objective – and now, the Remnant was doing the same thing here.

When he clicked his COM this time, it was to open up a private channel between himself and his wife. Though he had no doubt that the Marines on the ground could see what was happening for themselves by now, he still felt a burning need to warn Cooper of what was coming.

"Colonel, this is Talon in the skies," Willis said then over the radio. "Be advised, you've got Banshees and Phantoms incoming. I repeat, Banshees and Phantoms inbound."

Please be careful, Coop, he thought to himself. For me, and for our boys and our little girl back home.