SF-17 Starhawk
Mog Daruhl System, Druthagar Kingdom
Fischer brought his Starhawk into a tight spin and pulled up as a blaring alarm warned of an enemy lock. The G-forces pushing him against his flight seat caused the edges of his vision to go black. He fought to maintain consciousness before the alarm disappeared and a brief shudder went through the fighter, indicating another near miss. He slotted in behind one of the boxy Druthagar fighters and pulled the trigger with a thought. A barrage of neutron beams lanced out and through the enemy craft. Moments later, it erupted in a brief ball of fire and debris. He soared through the field, his shields absorbing the force of the minuscule fragments.
<Could use a little help here, Two,> Fischer said through the squadron link as he looked over the tactical overlay in the corner of his vision.
<I guess you and I are not good enough, Kayden> Lieutenant Shila Tajik teased.
<That’s okay, we’re busy anyway,> Lieutenant Kayden Vance replied.
True to his word, the two of them were trading blows with a trio of Druthagar ships. There were half a dozen more Druthagar fighters pawing the void around him. They were mostly focused on others, but, judging by his own close call, he wasn’t going unnoticed. While several of the Stariek fighters were lost to the Dwarves, Fischer was pleased to note all of Alpha Squadron still remained. Slowly, the form of the final Druthagar warship grew larger in his viewport.
<I’ve been a little busy here, Alpha One,> Ava replied. As the message came through, a red dot next to her green one disappeared. Within a few more moments, she was flying by his side. <You rang?>
<I need you to back me up. We’re making a run for the warship. If we time it right, I should be able to get a missile into its side.>
Silence met his statement for several seconds before Ava finally replied.
<That’s suicide, Ethan, and you know it.>
<I ran the calculations, Ava, and it’s possible.> He brought his fighter into a tight upward spiral as a Druthagar one launched a LIDAR-seeking missile at him. A slurry of ECM spewed into the void behind him. The missile exploded harmlessly over a kilometer away.
<How many calculations, and how many say this is a good idea?>
This time, it was Ethan’s turn to remain silent. He sighed, confident his reluctance was oozing through the link. With a thought, he switched to a private link to her, cutting out the rest of the squad.
<One in ten thousand.>
<What did I say about taking unnecessary risks? Do you have some sort of hero complex forcing you to make yourself a martyr? What will your sister think if you don’t make it home?>
<I don’t know, but we need to do something, Ava. That warship has ruined too many lives, we can’t—>
<You’re not going to solve anything by letting it ruin more,> Ava interrupted. <Look around us, Ethan. The fleet has already destroyed four of their ships. Just let them handle one more while we clean up their fighters.>
An alarm blared in his cockpit as one of the Druthagar locked onto him with a missile. Cursing under his breath, he pulled his fighter into a pair of barrel rolls to the side. The rocket continued following him, undeterred by the ECM his Starhawk threw into the void. He juked back to the other side, spewing more of the countermeasures. His heart hammered in his ears as the missile continued towards him until it took the bait and detonated much too early to damage his fighter.
<I made a promise.> Ethan knew his agitation was leaking through the link, no matter how much he tried to hide it. <If I don’t do this…>
<Then what?> Her voice rose slightly, though not quite to the point of yelling. <No one’s going to call you a coward or make fun of you for not taking a death plunge. You don’t walk up to a bear, punch it in the nose, and expect to live to tell the tale. It’s common sense, Ethan.>
<You don’t understand.> Fischer scoffed and shook his head, though he knew she couldn’t see him. If she could only see the situation from his perspective, if she could understand how much Elina meant to him, maybe then she would think differently. But she couldn’t. <I have to try.>
Before Ava could argue the point further, a priority message from the Celestial Phoenix overrode their connection. In the corner of his vision appeared the face of Lieutenant Kiran Price, the communications officer onboard the carrier.
<Attention, all Stariek small craft,> the man said. <You are hereby ordered to return to the Celestial Phoenix immediately. I repeat, all small craft are to return to the Celestial Phoenix and land at once.>
The image disappeared as quickly as it came.
For several seconds, the silence seemed to ring in Fischer’s ears. He continued on his trajectory as if on autopilot. His tactical board showed the others beginning to turn and head back to the Phoenix, though he was surprised to see Bahr still following.
<Ethan, time to head back,> she said on a private link. <It’s not worth it.>
Fischer said nothing. He watched the form of the Druthagar warship steadily growing larger and briefly considered pushing his throttle to the max and seeing if he could take it with him. Then his mind flashed back to the study sessions he led for Emmie. If he died, it would devastate her.
Another voice in his head, one he hadn’t heard in the flesh in over a year, promised him she wouldn’t think poorly of him for backing off.
With a sigh, he brought his fighter around in a wide arc to head back the way he came. Bahr’s Starhawk followed close to his starboard wing. He looked over his shoulder to get a final glance at the Druthagar warship. One of the Hyperion battleships sailed overhead, charging towards its shark-like bow. Part of him wished it was him that got the honor of dealing the death blow to the Druthagar.
Another was glad he would at least have a chance to go home to his family.
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HMV Oberlander
Mog Daruhl System
“Stariek fighters are withdrawing, sir,” called out Lieutenant Lennart Fleischmann, tactical officer aboard the Oberlander. Like the rest of the bridge crew, he was younger, yet had still proven himself in combat aboard other vessels in the Hyperion Navy. He had a youthful look to him even for his age, and Kindler had to remind herself he wasn’t fresh out of the academy.
“How nice of them to give us a clear playing field. Navigation, bring us in.”
General Liliana Kindler smiled as her battleship turned to face the remaining Druthagar warship. She was pleased to be able to face one head on, seeing how her fleet was able to destroy the rest before she could gain a reasonable study of their capabilities. Its bow was painted to resemble what must have passed as one of the sharks from Druthagon. At its tail was a series of tally marks, presumably one for each kill it obtained. The sight made Kindler scowl and scrunch her nose. Such uncouthness had been stamped out of the Hyperion Navy generations ago.
“Tactical, load tubes one through eleven with Stalker missiles.” Kindler brought up an overlay of the Druthagar warship above her station. She spun it slowly in the air, marking the places she wanted the missiles to hit. The engines and what appeared to be hangar bays were always good options. “Make tubes ready in all respects and open outer doors. Target Victor Five with magnetic cannons and tubes one through six.”
“Firing solution set, sir,” replied Lieutenant Fleischmann.
“Match bearings, shoot, tubes one through six and magnetic cannons.”
The ship rumbled every half second as each of the missiles leapt from their bays. New blue dots on the tactical board showed the missiles as their engines ignited and they rocketed towards their target. A steady grumble continued to resonate through Kindler’s feet from the magnetic cannons. A dozen five hundred millimeter shells filled the space between the Oberlander and Victor Five. They slammed into the warship’s hull, ripping chunks free before the missiles connected. Each of them hit their target. Explosions blossomed across the ship’s surface. Large swaths were ripped away, leaving a trail of glittering metal in its wake.
“XO, is there any sign of point defense on their vessel?”
“None, sir,” replied Colonel Victor Reinhardt.
“Curious. Do they just think their ships are so strong as to withstand our might unshielded and undefended?”
“It’s possible, sir. I think it’s about time someone’s proved them wrong.”
“I couldn’t agree more, Colonel.”
The Druthagar’s version of magnetic cannon rounds sailed through the void towards the Oberlander. Rumbles ran through the ship as the return fire landed home. Missiles crossed the distance towards them. Their point defense turrets swiveled into position. Each of the warheads was batted down with surprising ease. The missiles didn’t seem to have any sort of AI to dodge the defensive fire.
“Shields holding at ninety-five percent, sir,” Lieutenant Fleischmann called out. “All enemy missiles destroyed before they were able to impact our shields.”
Kindler glanced down at the overlay displaying ship status. All status indicators still showed green, which brought a smile to her face.
A brief flash appeared on the Druthagar warship. The viewscreen showed a similar harpoon as that which skewered the Celestial Phoenix rocketing towards them. Less than a second before it rent its way into their hull, the point defense cannons pivoted and put a web of flak between it and them. It tore through the web, causing a series of detonations to blossom in the otherwise void of space. When the fireballs faded, the harpoon was nothing more than a pile of dust. Its chain hung limply in space.
“General, tactical,” Fleischmann said, keeping his eyes on his console. “Enemy harpoon destroyed.”
“Very good,” Kindler murmured. She ran her hand along the banister surrounding her command platform as she circled to the front. The viewscreen showed the long side of the Druthagar warship as the Oberlander’s powerful thrust let it run circles around it. Their enemy’s superstructure was clearly visible, like an incomplete skyscraper. Streams of smoke and gas expelled itself from various points before dissipating into the void. “Navigation, bring us about to their engines. Tactical, load tubes twelve through thirty with Prowler missiles. Make tubes ready in all respects and open outer doors. Target Victor Five’s engines and other critical infrastructure.”
“Firing solution set, sir.” Lieutenant Fleischmann’s hands flew over his console. “General, it appears Victor Five has lost thrust. They are drifting through space.”
“Well, well.” Kindler straightened her back and looked at the dessicated carcass of the warship through the viewscreen. “Not so tough now, are you?”
“General, communications,” called out Lieutenant Wentz. The woman turned her head slightly in Kindler’s direction. “Receiving a request for surrender from Victor Five. They wish to negotiate terms.”
“Colonel,” Kindler said, turning to Reinhardt, “what would you recommend? Destroy them, or listen to what they have to say.”
“I believe the choice is yours, General.” The man sensed Kindler’s potential response to the noncommittal answer and continued, “Their lives were forfeit the moment they declared war on us. Therefore, it would be well within our rights to punish such insolence. However, there could be something worthwhile gained from capturing their vessel rather than destroying it.”
“A good point, Colonel.” Kindler stroked her chin for a moment before turning to “Relay to the rest of the fleet to surround Victor Five. I don’t want them getting any funny ideas.”
“Just remember, it could be a trap, General,” Colonel Reinhardt whispered to her.
“I’m well aware of that, but I appreciate your reminder, Colonel. Is there a video, Lieutenant?” Kindler asked, strolling to her command chair with a smile touching her lips. When the communications officer relayed a confirmation, she added, “On screen.”
Immediately, the external view of the Druthagar ship was replaced with an internal one. Sitting on what could only be described as a throne—made of stone, no less—was one of the filthy dwarves, his hard skin marked with dust and debris. Blood freely streamed down his rough face, soaking into his thick black beard that came down to his waist. What were once fine robes were ripped in places and stained by more blood.
Their bridge itself was a catastrophe. Only a handful of technicians still could move, the rest having been crushed by falling beams or skewered by errant pipes hanging from the ceiling. Those five stood in a line behind the throne. Each of them held a knife in folded hands at their waist.
“You have reached General Liliana Kindler of the Hyperion Empire, commanding officer of the HMV Oberlander.” She narrowed her eyes. “I have been informed you would like to surrender to a superior force. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?”
“Typical human,” the dwarf growled, his voice coming as if gravel. “Arrogant. Ignorant. Your lot think they own the galaxy. You think you can go where you please.”
“Until someone can prove otherwise, I think we are allowed to go wherever we please.” Kindler leaned forward and smiled widely. Her hands gripped the arms of her seat tightly. “And it sure as hell isn’t going to be you proving us otherwise.”
“No, I regret to admit it will not.” The dwarf brought up his hand, revealing a knife as he pressed it to his throat. Behind him, the others followed suit. “But I will not give you the pleasure of defeating me, either. May Movrim honor me among the dead. Krokir claim your useless souls.”
Before Kindler could say anything, they pulled the knives across their throats. Blood spurted from each of the six for a moment before they collapsed to the ground, some toppling over each other. The one on the throne smiled as his head fell back against the chair.
“Communications, cut feed.” Kindler felt more irritated than anything as the viewscreen returned to show the warship drifting uselessly. At least she would have the honor of removing it from the universe. “Tactical, destroy it.”
The ship detonated. Not from Hyperion weaponry, that much was certain. The explosion blossomed from within, ripping apart the structure of the vessel deck by deck, compartment by compartment, in less than a second. Chunks of debris, most no larger than a square meter, expanded outwards in a sphere towards the surrounding ships.
“Sir, it appears they initiated a self-destruct sequence on their primary reactor.” Fleischmann maintained his gaze on his console. “Our scanners were unable to penetrate their hull to get a read before it reached critical levels.”
Kindler took several deep breaths, barely maintaining her composure. Perhaps this was what General Zorn felt when a particularly annoying enemy—or, in his cases, cadets—bothered him. However, she knew better than to give in to the anger. She stood and moved to the edge of her platform.
“Very well,” she said, gripping the railing. Kindler turned to look down at Lieutenant Wentz, though the woman couldn’t see her unless she turned around. “Contact the marines and have them storm the outpost. Let’s avoid a repeat of this failure, shall we?”
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