Operation Hellfire (2 page)

"Launch, launch, launch!"

Red numbers ticked down as the grav sled pushed him towards the wall. For a moment it looked like he might crash into the first layer of armoured metal, but just before his fighter made impact, the door slid open. He passed through as a sequence of layered doors did the same. The entire process was barely perceivable, and in a fraction of a second he was out of the protected interior of the ship and in the darkness of space. His engines activated automatically, warming up quickly so as to avoid causing immediate damage to the system.

"I've got them," said Cassandra.

Nate looked to his left. Cassandra performed a barrel roll to form up alongside him. Her skill with the fighter was impressive, and he could have watched her for hours, as he had done when she was using the Star Crusader combat simulation. This was no longer a game, and the constant beeping coming from the threat indictor focused his mind on his one job. Out here it was the real deal, and death was permanent. The face of Jack popped up briefly, and Nate felt an ache in his stomach and chest.

"Okay, what have we got?"

Cassandra responded instantly.

"Byotai Hawkmoth fighters, four of them, and they are moving on search vector coming this way."

Nate swallowed twice, making sure his throat didn't dry up. It took a sip from the feed tube at his mouth to finally allow him to calm down. The computer had already projected the route the fighters would take. Based on the heat and electronic emissions of the three ships, it would not be long before they were detected. Even with all systems deactivated, it would take hours for a ship to cool sufficiently to make it hard to spot in the cold void. The only thing in their favour was that the dust rings around the uncharted planet hid the three ships from a cursory scan. Radar had a hard time telling debris, rock, and ships apart when surrounded by yet more dust. As they moved closer, the easier this would be.

"They are scouting. Look at their last course change. They've already crossed through here before, probably in the last few hours. They are following a classic search pattern, and it won't be long before they've spotted the ships."

Cassandra sighed.

"And they are too small to be out here on their own. Let's go."

The suggestion was unnecessary because Commander Higgins had already given them three waypoints to follow before reaching the target. As they reached cruising speed, they were already five kilometres away and still accelerating. Both craft were capable of higher speed, but to do so required either more time or the use of their burners. They had no surplus time, and the burners would make them easy to pinpoint against the coolness of space.

"What do you think, hit them right away?"

Nate considered her words, but Commander Higgins interrupted before he could say what he was thinking.

"Buoys have picked up multiple faint energy signatures for major support vessels moving into position. Six plus ships, and they are decelerating on a course that will take them past our current position."

Nate shook his head.

"We have to hit the scouts before they can send word we're here."

"Agreed," said Cassandra.

New waypoints popped up on their helmet overlays.

"Move to the second point and drop your speed. If they turn away, leave them. If they move any closer, you will need to stop them," said Commander Higgins.

"We're on it," said Nate.

With little more than a gentle blip on the controls, the two fighters moved off to the right and continued their acceleration to the next marked point. As they continued onwards, Nate began tagging the fighters and started to calculate optimal firing ranges and angles. Once alerted, the more agile Byotai fighters would split apart and make their job that much more difficult.

"Almost there, be ready," said Cassandra.

The two sat in silence, following the preset course and barely straying more than a few centimetres. They were still inside the marked zone when another alert flashed.

"What the hell!" Nate yelled.

The computer marked the positions of the ships as a formation of three passing his position at incredible speed. There was no way to halt or slow a ship sufficiently unless using incredible levels of power, or over time, and these spacecraft might just as easily been on their way to another destination.

"There's no chance that is a coincidence," said Cassandra, "Not out here, in space. The numbers are...an impossibility."

More warnings popped up, and this time of active signal scans and radar pulses. The fighters were stealthy, but based on the angles of the fighters and ships, and their proximity the computer flagged them up as having a seventy percent chance of detection. The ships were gone as quickly as they had arrived, but if their mission was to perform high-speed sweeps, then they had been successful.

"Relentless, This is Knighthawk Leader. We've been made," said Nate.

"Understood. Engage at will. Maintain IFF. We've prepared a welcome for them."

Nate blipped the acknowledgement and then passed through the second waypoint. They were now travelling between two thin discs of dust and rock, and according to the data from the perimeter buoys, the Byotai fighters were forty kilometres ahead. Icons on the forward display marked their last known position, but Nate still could not see them with his own eyes. Then a dark pattern swirled through the mist, and out of it came a formation of five fighters.

"Targets, two-o'clock. It's a trap!"

It was an archaic method of target acquisition, and most pilots would never even considered using it. Nate and Cassandra were not average pilots. They were video gamers first and foremost, and in their simulated engagements they frequently used such old-school shorthand.

"Got 'em," said Cassandra.

The pair of fighters pulled apart slowly, both pushing their engines harder. The computer tagged all available targets and confirmed they were indeed fighters, but instead of the expected four, there were nine of them, and the pair of Alliance fighters now massively outnumbered.

"They must have let a couple in the rings."

"Yeah," agreed Nate, "And now they want to take out our own scouts. Well...that's not happening."

He broke medium-range radio silence to contact Relentless. It was still relatively safe as the fighter remained in line of sight of the ship, and that meant he could make use of the active burst mode laser transceivers. Though unsuitable for use in high-mobility dogfights, the system was perfect for their current situation.

"Relentless, this is Knighthawk Leader. We have a second group of five bogies. That makes a total of nine hostiles. Distance one-twenty klicks from your position...engaging."

"Understood, Knighthawk Leader. Hit them hard and then fall back to the cordon. We will provide supporting fire if they pursue. Good hunting."

Nate and Cassandra split apart even further so that the gap increased to two hundred metres between them. Their engines were burning hot as they accelerated towards their targets. The intention was to have the maximum closing speed before launching, giving the enemy less time to escape the missiles or to turn back.

"I have lock," said Cassandra.

Nate smiled as the data from her fighter joined the similar data on his. The missiles were semi-active radar tracking weapons and would only activate their systems when within ten kilometres. This made them hard to track until it was almost too late.

"Knock them out of the sky."

Cassandra fired first, launching a pair of the powerful four metre-long Dragon V long-range missiles from the hardpoints on her left wing. They were radar guided and capable of travelling three hundred kilometres until their fuel reserves ran dry.

"Fox Three!"

A second later, another pair launched from the right wing. There was no time for Nate to watch them. He was already busy selecting his own targets to launch his own. The first pair launched and then the second, but this time they lifted up and headed towards the second group of fighters.

"Fox Three," said Nate, mirroring Cassandra.

Both pulled back on their controls and then veered away in a wide roll. Once facing away from the enemy fighters, they placed their fighters on a course to take them well below the three Alliance ships. That was the moment when the active radar alert flashed inside Nate's helmet. It was the loudest alert tone, designed to catch his attention no matter what he might be doing.

Here it comes.

He didn't check the course or speed of the detected missiles. That could wait for a moment. All he wanted to ensure was that the two of them were inside the inner one hundred-kilometre zone of the capital ships. That would allow the two ships to provide them with a degree of additional protection. If they stayed out there, they would have to deal with the threat alone. As they pulled out of their long roll, they came to face the ship. Nate nodded ahead and moved his fingers to the thrust controls.

"Hit the burners. Let's go!"

Both fighters activated their burners, and the pair of fighters blasted away at maximum speed. They moved so fast that droplets of fuel burned off behind them, creating tiny streaks and sparks.

Orion Battlegroup, 8th Quadrant, Uncharted Space

Nothing looked more violent than a pair of Alliance fighters with their burners active. This was the least efficient way to travel, but the only way for them to reach such incredible speeds in a short amount of time. The initial boost of acceleration pushed Nate back hard into his seat. As it eased off, he checked the tactical orb and spotted the two groups of missiles. Theirs were almost at their targets, but the second group was now halfway to Nate, and still accelerating. They were running out of time and space.

"This is gonna be close. Knighthawk Two, get ready to separate."

Cassandra grunted, probably due to the tremendous g-forces pushing against her body. They both wore pressure suits, but that could only absorb part of the force.

"Affirmative."

The two looked like small comets as they blazed through space, expending more fuel in ten seconds than since they had launched. Nate kept a watchful eye on his tactical orb as his missiles finally reached the target zone and activated their internal sensors. Until now they had made use of the sensors aboard their own fighters. Now each began transmitting using their power active radar scanners to identify their own targets based on mass, speed, and heading.

Go get 'em!
Nate thought.

Within a single second, all four missiles vanished from the display, along with their returned tactical data. At first it seemed they had completely failed, until a single radar blip from Cassandra confirmed that of the nine scout fighters, there were now just six.

"Yes!" Nate yelled.

He hadn't intended on making much noise, but the tension of the situation was simply too much for him. When he looked ahead, he could see multiple white flashes as more missiles were launched from the two warships. The IFF system identified them as batches of Dragon V long-range missiles, and all were heading towards the incoming group of five fighters, each directed by the systems aboard the destroyers.

"Good shooting, Knighthawks. You've got your own problems now, though. FDS shows you have eighteen missiles heading your way. Recommend course change to six-five, now..."

"Understood," said Nate.

He sent the data to Cassandra and then pulled on his stick.

"Now!"

The two fighters pulled up and rolled away in the opposite direction while sending another boost of power through their burners. The missiles made subtle changes to their own headings, but for the next few seconds they were clearly visible to the automated guns aboard ANS Blackfish. Though relatively unsophisticated, the five turrets with a clear line of sight were slaved to the powerful Fleet Defence System that formed the heart of the ship's equipment. This was a complex integrated anti-aircraft and missile warfare system used by all fleet defence destroyers.

"Activate countermeasures, cut the burners, and move to waypoint seven."

A pattern of radar reflective material mixed with thermite flares burst out from ports fitted to the rear of each fighter. The pattern was almost beautiful as it spread out like the petal of a flower, creating a large target for the missiles to follow. A handful fell for the bait and exploded against the countermeasures, but twelve still broke through and made directly for the fighters.

"Roll."

The two pilots performed another manoeuvre, desperate to avoid the closing danger. Nate looked over his shoulder and spotted the multiple streaks of tracer heading his way. Five turrets, each carrying four cannons, were now firing continually and filling the area of space behind them with flak shells. These cases were full of razor sharp shards of metal that burst upon reaching either a preset distance or when their proximity sensors detected a foreign body. One by one the missiles were blasted apart until just three remained.

"Split up," said Cassandra.

Although Nate was nominally in command, he had no problem taking her advice. They split apart. One missile followed her, the other two made a subtle course change and headed right for him.

"Hello!" said a familiar voice.

Nate looked back; two more Lightnings streaked past, dumping countermeasures as they went. Both missiles exploded harmlessly, leaving just one in pursuit of Cassandra, and for some unknown reason, this warhead refused to be distracted. It flew right by the three fighters, increasing in speed at it reached its terminal flight path.

"I...I can't shake it!"

Nate sensed the fear in her voice, but the missile was moving too fast for him or the others to reacquire it. He watched the distance close metre by metre.

"Punch out! Get out of..."

The last moment seemed to slow down as the missile rushed at the fighter. No movement, spin, or stratagem could shake the weapon now. As soon as its onboard computer knew it was close enough, it sent the signal to its warhead, and that was it. The fighter exploded in a bright yellow blast as the missile detonated just three metres behind the engines. Molten metal and plasma tore into the fragile craft, ripping it apart with ease and filling space with broken metal and exploding ordnance.

"No!" Nate screamed.

He pulled his stick to the left and rolled away to avoid striking the wreckage while keeping his eyes on the impact zone. Several sections of shattered fuselage, as well as an almost intact wing section continued forwards on their previous trajectory. Then came another blast as fuel or a warhead ignited, finally destroying anything that remained. Images of Cassandra filled his thoughts, leaving him dumbfounded and almost completely incapable of acting.

No, no, it can't be!

"I'm okay," said a familiar voice.

Nate looked left and right, but he had to rely upon the computer scanner to find and tag the tiny pod that had burst out from the front of the spacecraft.

She made it.

Nate almost choked at seeing his friend was alive.

"How the hell did you do that?"

"Cut the chatter, Knighthawk Leader," said Commander Higgins.

As usual, the man's voice was both calm and stern.

"Form up on the perimeter. We've got company. Keep them busy a little longer. Cardigan Bay needs six more minutes."

Nate checked the navigation and tactical orb and found the newly identified threat. It was much closer than it should have been, and he shook his head at what he could see. It was a single Achilles II Class heavy cruiser, and a design much older than anything being used in the fleet, apart from Relentless. Behind it was an equally large ship, one that appeared to be a standard Byotai Class armoured transport. It was almost completely black, making it hard to identify against the blackness of space. The engine pods hung down low, and long insect like wings extended out above it, each filled in with pale green material.

"I don't understand, Relentless. IFF flags her as hostile. Isn't she Alliance?"

As if to answer his question, a whole series of warning lights flashed on. The first was the active radar scan that showed the ship was using its long-range Doppler radar to check the area. More followed, but the ones that really worried him were weapon lock warnings.

"She's recorded as Jaeger, Byotai flagged, and one of the decommissioned cruisers we exchanged with the Byotai a decade ago."

Nate's eyebrows rose as he listened. He had no idea the Alliance had sold old ships to the Byotai, and he doubted anybody back then thought they might be used against them in the future.

"Knighthawks, keep away from them, and watch for bombers."

The onboard database already showed the name of the Alliance ship as previously being ANS Defiance, a ship Nate had never heard of. He had not seen an Achilles II before, but had come across the previous design many times in simulated engagements. It was one of the old front-line ships, little different in size and capability to the later Crusader design. An Achilles II was powerful and carried more weapons than the previous design, as well as better engines and substantially thicker armour. She was more than a match for two smaller Alliance ships, even if she did lack the particle weapons and artificial gravity generators of the newer Crusader Class.

"The Star Empire must have brought her into service to bulk up their forces in this area," said Commander Higgins, "Keep your eyes open."

Nate nodded to himself and then pushed his throttle settings.

"Okay, people, form up, and follow me."

The two fighters moved into position on each of his flanks. Nate quickly saw they bore the emblems of the two Foss Brothers painted down the side of the fighters' noses.

"We've got your back," said Travis.

"Yeah," added Jaren, his brother, "Now they're in real trouble."

Moving in a dispersed V formation, the three fighters moved away from the three ships and into their allocated position to protect the fleet. Meanwhile, the two new arrivals moved through the dust ring and directly towards them.

"Targets spotted," said Jaren.

Red icons flashed up on the tactical orb as the fighters coordinated their scans with the new data coming in from the computers aboard the Liberty Class Destroyer.

"Yeah," agreed Nate, "Looks like two of their scouts managed to get away in time. And now look what's coming for us."

More icons lit up until three separate formations of fighters appeared.

"Uh, that's not ideal," said Travis.

He might have been trying to be entertaining, but sarcasm was no defence against the fighters now moving ahead of the two ships. ANS Blackfish had already performed a full tactical analysis of the craft, confirming they were the dreaded Mahingan Class medium fighters

"Knighthawks," said Commander Higgins, "Two more minutes and we're out of here. Protect Cardigan Bay, whatever it takes."

Nate looked back at the display. It was already obvious that each group was heading towards one of the Alliance ships, and he had seen what the powerful mass drivers could do.

"Right. Knighthawks, it's time to hit them, and hit them hard."

"Hell, yeah!" agreed the brothers in perfect synchronisation.

The three fighters moved around in a wide arc and positioned themselves so that they were running forty-five degrees from the enemy ships and heading back towards Cardigan Bay. The Star Empire fighters had already launched a volley of missiles, and the guns of ANS Blackfish were doing their job of protecting all three ships. Tracer fire showed where each turret was shooting, and every few seconds a missile exploded.

"Coming into range," said Nate, "Launch!"

The brothers launched their entire arsenal of missiles, but this time the enemy was ready. ECM jamming, and a whole volley of countermeasures, meant only one fighter was hit, leaving the rest of the formation unscathed and still heading towards the transport.

"Those mass drivers are deadly, and Cardigan Bay is already in trouble. One good hit and she's trapped out here."

As if to emphasise the point, the Achilles Class heavy cruiser turned flank on and opened fire with a barrage of railguns. These were antiquated weapons from an earlier age, yet for their lack of sophistication, they were easily capable of shredding armour and bulkheads with ease. The gunfire raced towards the damaged ship, but Relentless had already changed course and positioned herself sideways on, next to the landing ship. They could have been little more than two hundred metres apart, but it was enough to force the gunfire to hit the armoured assault ship instead.

Flashes of light marked the impact points from scores of the hardened slugs punching through the outer layers of plating. Unlike most modern Alliance ships, Relentless had been built to the old standards, when thick armour was considered the best protection in fleet battles. Today it was more about layered armour and interceptor weapons. Against an aged and powerful ship like Jaeger, it was the perfect defence. As the first volley finished, Relentless activated her own turrets, each lifting up out of their armoured housing fitted to the hull of the ship. These heavy railguns swivelled about and pointed straight at the hull of the enemy ship.

"Look at her go!" said Jaren.

Five turrets fitted along the starboard bow now pointed to the flank of the ship, glowing bright blue, and then launched hardened slugs. The weapons were from the same era and pounded each other like only ships of their age and power could manage.

"Alert! Alert!"

Nate instinctively looked to the tactical orb and found the problem. A single missile had managed to get close enough before activating its active radar scanners. It was five seconds away and heading right for him.

Mines!

Quite why Nate hadn't thought of it before he would never know. He double-checked the distances involved and then immediately detached two missiles from their hardpoints. At the same time, he increased foreword thrust to pull ahead of them.

"Knighthawks, give me some room."

The twins rolled away in opposite directions just as Nate lifted the nose of his fighter while still flying ahead on his original course. Once in position, he activated his burners and instantly felt the boost. The engines glowed white as he blasted ahead, leaving a streak of flame glinting behind. The expelled heat and flame would last just a moment in the void, but it was enough to detonate the two impotent missiles, both of which exploded. The enemy missile ran directly into the blast and joined them, creating a mini inferno that vanished as quickly as it had arrived.