Sacrifice:The Shenkar War (40 page)

             
Another shuttle exploded before any fighters could rush to their aid. But soon, the remaining shuttles were surrounded by the remaining EDF fighters as they attempted to break free to open space. Evan and the rest of Necro Squadron surrounded the last shuttle to exit. Energy flashed all around him as they attempted to move through the battle. Ahead, a Shizrec cruiser loomed in their path.

             
“
Anyone have any torpedoes left?” Evan asked his squadron.

             
April and Darren were the only two who still had any.

             
“
Wraith, Banshee, launch your torpedoes at the bridge of that bastard. Maybe with their shields gone, they will move off,” Evan commanded.

             
April and Darren’s Scorpion fighters moved forward and began their run on the cruiser. Two torpedoes flew toward the enemy cruiser as enemy fire began to intensify. Two great explosions rocked the cruiser as the first then the second torpedo slammed into the shields over the bridge. The cruiser, however, didn’t move off as they continued their approach.

             
Damn
, Evan thought to himself.
Getting past this cruiser will be difficult while trying to protect this shuttle
. His comm unit cracked to life as Steve’s voice came over.

             
“
April, what are you doing!” he yelled.

             
Looking at his readout, he saw that April had not pulled off her torpedo run and was heading straight at the bridge of the cruiser.

             
“
Banshee, return to formation. That is an order!” Evan commanded.

             
“
Sorry, sir, but these bastards have to pay. They killed Michael.”

             
April’s forward shields crackled with energy as she sped straight at the bridge. But for as much energy as was being thrown at her, she made it through. April’s fighter slammed nose first into the bridge of the cruiser. A great gout of flame exploded outward, and the cruiser suddenly began to shift down seemingly out of control. The opening was enough, and Evan and the rest of Necro Squadron escorted the shuttle free.

EDF
Sacrifice

              Turning to the Admiral’s console, Caqel surveyed the damage indicator and saw he wouldn’t have much time. All energy cannons were now on auto fire and were laying down continuous suppressive fire to give the escaping shuttles some time to get away. Punching up a targeting solution on the nearest cruiser, he fired all available cannons at it. Salvo after salvo tore into the cruiser, leaving a dead husk in space. A massive explosion rocked the
Sacrifice
as something deep inside the ship exploded. Checking his controls, he saw that the primary fire control reactor had overloaded and exploded. The resulting explosion left the
Sacrifice
defenseless as all energy cannons went quiet.

             
Activating the propulsion, he was relieved to see that it was still functioning. Pushing the reactors to full power, the engines rumbled under the strain; but the
Sacrifice
moved forward, gaining speed as she went. Looking at the display, he smiled as he saw the Shenkar battlecruiser directly in his path. It wasn’t until he was almost on top of the other battlecruiser did they realize what the Captain had planned.

             
“
Okay, you bastards, let’s see if you like the taste of this battlecruiser ’cause you are about to have her rammed down your throat!”

             
The ship rocked hard, and the Captain was slammed forward against the console. A great rumbling sounded as the
Sacrifice
crashed headlong into the enemy battlecruiser. Great chunks of metal tore free as the two battlecruisers met. Then the
Sacrifice
’s main reactor overloaded and exploded. The final thing Captain Caqel saw was the fire all around him and the final thought that went through his head was
,               “
Ha, guess they never played chicken.”

             
And with that, the two battlecruisers exploded.

Shenkar Command Base

              Krailsha watched stunned as the two battlecruisers slammed headlong into each other. He had to admit a certain respect for these humans. Even in the face of certain death, they would go down as warriors. He felt that it was too bad these humans couldn’t have been made an ally. He also worried that if these humans were equipped with more than just this one battlecruiser, it could prove fatal for him and his Dread Fleet--especially now that he had just lost his last battlecruiser. He would have to remedy this somehow.

             
“
All remaining forces, pursue and destroy any remaining humans forces. None are to escape,” he commanded.

             
Turning to his new second-in-command, he spoke again.
“
I will be in my quarters. I need to send a message.”

Battlefield near
Planet N-6

              Evan watched as the
Sacrifice
rammed the Shenkar battlecruiser, the forward halves of both battlecruisers immediately engulfed in flame. He wondered how many of the crew were still on board. He looked over at Steve’s fighter and saw him suddenly peel away and head back toward the burning
Sacrifice
.

             
“
STEVE, GET BACK IN FORMATION!” he yelled into his comm unit.

             
“
I have to save her; I can’t let her die,” said Steve, his voice full of anguish.

             
“
I know, Steve, but if she was on board, she wouldn’t have survived that. All we can hope is that she was on one of the surviving shuttles.”

             
With relief, he saw Steve’s fighter turn about and head back to rejoin the formation. But his feeling of relief did not hold long as his control board lit up with warning alarms. Checking his scanner, he saw forty inbound Shenkar fighters, ten of which were the Crescent fighters.

             
“
All fighters, break and attack! Shuttle pilot, do not wait for us. You know your destination.”

             
Pulling hard on his stick, he brought his fighter around to engage the Shenkar fighters. Almost immediately, three crescent fighters were on him. Slamming the stick forward, he spun his fighter down in an effort to lose his three pursuers. As he flew his wild ride, the comm unit was a constant run of chatter from his fellow pilots.

             
“
Watch it, Vampire; you have one on you,” said Crystal.

             
“
YEAH, GOT HIM!” said a triumphant Dimitri.

             
“
Thanks, Demonknight,” said Tim

             
“
Darren, look out . . .” warned Steve.

             
But Darren never heard the warning. His fighter exploded as two crescent fighters swooped in from above and destroyed him. After this, things became worse. David was next; his fighter collided with a Shenkar fighter that had turned suddenly. The resulting explosion destroyed the three Shenkar fighters that had been pursuing David, but Evan would rather have his fellow pilot back. Diving for a formation of Shenkar fighters, Evan directed his fighter into a suicide dive that took him through the formation, narrowly avoiding some by inches. The pursuing crescent fighters were forced to break off pursuit. Bringing his fighter back around, he quickly caught one of his pursuers and destroyed him. Quickly, he searched for the other two and immediately found one pursuing Steve just ahead and above him. As Steve broke to the left and down, Evan pulled up, and as the Shenkar fighter passed, he destroyed it with three quick bursts of energy from his cannons.

             
As he again looked around, his control board warned of more enemy inbound. He spotted twelve more fighters coming in from the ambush site, and another crescent fighter seemed to be coming in from open space. This crescent fighter was white and seemed somehow different; for one thing, it was moving very fast, and scans showed it to be very heavily armed.
How can this day get any worse?
he thought to himself. But it did get worse as he heard Crystal’s voice over the comm unit.

             
“
This is Revenant. I am in need of immediate assistance. I can’t shake these bastards,” she called.

             
Looking around, he found her being pursued by three crescent fighters. Crystal’s shields flashed continuously as the fighters poured energy into her rear energy shields. Pulling his fighter around, he hit his afterburners and made his way toward her, knowing he would never make it in time.
No!
he thought. He couldn’t lose Crystal, too. She continued to dodge and weave in an attempt to lose them, but her shields suddenly failed and a shot tore free a huge chunk of armor. One more shot and she was done for if she couldn’t break free. Evan’s eyes filled with tears as he watched his love about to die as the late-coming white crescent fighter now fell in behind the three pursuing Shenkar fighters. The white crescent fighter’s energy cannons glowed, and energy shot forth. But its shots never impacted upon Crystal’s fighter; instead, they impacted on one of the pursuers. The shots quickly overloaded the shields, and the ship exploded. Quickly and methodically, the crescent fighter destroyed the two remaining pursuers and Crystal was safe.

             
The mysterious fighter then broke off from its path behind Crystal and began to fall upon any Shenkar fighter it came across, tearing them apart. Evan could only watch in fascination as this Shenkar fighter attacked his own fellow pilots, killing them mercilessly. The pilot flew with such fluidity that Evan thought whoever it was made it look effortless. Within minutes, the fight was over and all the Shenkar forces were destroyed.

The white crescent fighter banked to its side and moved in position up alongside Evan but made no move to leave or engage him. The canopy to the fighter was black, and Evan could see nothing of the pilot. The rest of the squadron formed up all around the Shenkar fighter, and it still made no move to escape. Keying his comm unit, he set it to a general frequency.

              “
Pilot of the Shenkar fighter, I am Lieutenant Commander Evan Maxis of the Earth Defense Force. Thank you for your assistance. Please state your intentions.”

             
The only response was no response, only dead air. Looking to make sure there were no more Shenkar forces in the area, Evan then checked to ensure that the shuttle they had been escorting was safe. Readouts showed the Omega shuttle to have just entered the asteroid field. Looking back at the crescent fighter, he keyed the open channel and again he spoke.

             
“
Shenkar fighter, what are your intentions?” he asked again more firmly.

             
Silence again met his question. Suddenly, the crescent fighter rolled up and over to position itself inverted just above Evan’s fighter. The Shenkar’s fighter canopy was four feet from his own canopy. Looking up, even at this proximity, he still couldn’t see through the black canopy to the pilot within. It was almost as if the pilot of the Shenkar fighter was examining Evan. Then, after several seconds had passed, the Shenkar fighter finished the roll to position itself alongside Evan’s fighter once again, but on the opposite side. Now thoroughly irritated, Evan keyed an open channel and spoke.

             
“
Shenkar fighter, you have five seconds to state your intentions before we open fire,” he demanded.

             
Evan prepared to fall back suddenly so he would be positioned directly behind the Shenkar fighter. Keying a direct feed to Tim and Crystal, he spoke.
“
Okay, I am sick of this game. Prepare to engage the fighter when I move.”

             
“
Are you sure, Evan? I mean, he did save my life. I would feel rather bad about killing him . . . or her,” said Crystal.

             
“
Well, that may be so, but he isn’t responding, and for all I know, he or she might be looking for where we are all going now that the
Sacrifice
is gone,” said Evan.

             
Just as he pulled back on his stick, the Shenkar fighter’s afterburners came to life and the fighter shot forward, easily pulling away from Evan and the rest of Necro Squadron.

             
“
Holy shit, that fighter is fast!” exclaimed Crystal.