Merc.
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Chapter 25 – The Final Run
Tor woke up gradually. The warm fuzzy feeling in the back of his mind was gone. The memories of the conversation with the Alien were still crystal clear. He had a shower and then went to get a bite to eat.
As he meandered slowly back to the science station a voice in his mind said, ‘Now that your awake it’s time for you to leave! Your ship is in the docking bay.’
Tor halted for a moment then returned to his room to collect the few personal belongings he had brought with him. Also and almost out of instinct he went and recovered his environment suit and put it on.
Tor glanced around. He could not see anyone talking to him but did as the voice asked and wandered casually towards the docking bay. With little thought of the previous days events he approached the airlock door and it opened. Stepping inside the door closed and sealed the inner airlock door hissed slightly with the pressure difference and opened.
Almost with a casual air of automatic routine he positioned himself in the pilot seat. He paused for a moment and thought there should be something wrong but everything looked and felt right. He checked the weapons and shield array and could not fail to notice that they were still as the Alien AI had changed them. He smiled and reflected that this was perhaps a gift. Also the transporter continued to show replicator capabilities.
“Computer, get me clearance to depart!” Tor requested.
The original voice of the computer responded, but it was not Sweetys’ voice or that of the Alien AI. “Clearance granted! Docking clamps released and inner station doors opening.”
Tor felt the release of the clamps and using manoeuvre thrusters only guided the ship to the next set of doors. The inner airlock door closed, and after a brief wait the outer door opened.
The Piranha gracefully exited the station. In front of him the elegant half moon shape of the alien craft. He gave it a graceful fly by noting the sleek lines having never really had an opportunity until now to view the alien ship. He noted the three rounded ridges that ran over, what Tor took to be, the top surface of the ship and the two lower ribs that formed the standard thruster housings for the ion drive. At the front of the ship the two lower ridges came together in a graceful arc and provided the similar shaped opening that represented the reverse thruster housing.
A voice told him, ‘I’m ready to leave now! Please lead the way and I thank you for your courtesy!
Tor once more glanced around, the com channels were silent, but he felt obliged to reply vocally. “It’s my pleasure!”
He engaged the forward thrusters and angled his way towards the edge of the asteroid field. Pulling up the sector map on the HUD his eyes widened slightly. “So many ships!” He murmured.
‘Think nothing of them!’ The voice in his mind reassured.
This did not comfort Tor as much as he would have previously expected it to. He pulled up the details on the nearest ships some twenty k’s from their position and sighed as they were recognised as War Master ships and accordingly designated friendly. As he scanned the much larger force they were a mixture of unknown Dark Nebula ships and designated friendly-neutral and the Bloodhearts designated hostile. Tor was nervous of the Dark Nebula although ahead of the Bloodheart ships they appeared to be in an attack formation and heading his way.
Closer to the stations and the gates another force the HUD registered as Claw Clan and designated hostile.
There was only one way to the Danna’s Chance gate and that was past all the separate factions.
Creed had already ordered the ships computer into battle mode and to give full tactical updates.
“All ships acknowledged and status green!” The computer reported.
He sat quietly ready with the thrusters and manoeuvre controls, his gaze fixed on the approaching Dark Nebula ships. All his ships were paired off and fighter pairs were allocated to defend other pairs. They would fight together as a cohesive group watching out as much for each other as for personal glory in the kill.
The coms channels were silent.
At fifteen k’s separation he spoke, “Fighter group six, battle plan delta two!”
Examining the HUD he saw the two Octopus that were flying some distance away in a remote holding pattern, suddenly change direction and turn to a vector that would pass between the two flights of ships and only a short distance ahead of the oncoming Dark Nebula vessels. Again there was silence.
The computer announced, “Fighter group six, four k’s to drop point, two k’s, one k. Primary and secondary Dispersal Field Cluster Mines deployed. Ships are returning to group.”
Invisible on the HUD each of the cluster mines filled an area two k’s in diameter with tiny magnetic bomblets each one capable of making some impression on the shields of any ship and in quantity were lethal. Creed had ordered four mines to be dropped with only one k separation in two directions making a concentrated centre.
The Dark Nebula ships continued their advance suspecting the two Octopus ships were a lure to try and get the faster ships to split off in a futile chase.
The lead ships in the formation flew into the field, there was a brief delay then the explosions started. The rear ships suddenly veered and banked away. Three of the wolf ships became a halo of detonations ionising in the shields before two of them disintegrated. The lead Mamba twisted and turned as its shields became enveloped in a coruscate corona of explosions.
“Beautiful!” Creed observed without feeling.
The Mamba fighting to escape suddenly flared the superheated elements that once formed its hull and engine spread out in increasing rings other bomblets sparkled briefly caught in the wash of superheated particles.
They continued to wait. Of the forty original Dark Nebula ships they had lost five in the mine field and three were limping away with hull damage and damaged systems. Creed wondered if they would make it past the Claw Clan ships being easy scavenging.
The enemy ships had regrouped and were now forced to take a wide berth of the space in front Creeds Mercenaries.
“All ships to follow me! Fifty mps and ready for evasive manoeuvres from hostile missile launches!” Creed ordered and slowly the group moved to intercept.
Tor was watching the unfolding combat as his and the Alien ships headed towards the Danna’s Chance gate. The Mercenaries engaged, five fighters split from the Dark Nebula group and headed towards them.
“Computer designate the Dark Nebula craft as hostile!” He kept course but monitored the ships as they approached on an intercepting vector. But rather than the direct assault they cut ahead of them by just over two k’s. Swinging around to the side the Dark Nebula ships then released drones. Tor couldn’t count how many as they swarmed in on the ships.
Occasional particle streams shot out from the alien ship picking off a fast moving target. Tor felt the buffering on his shields. “Computer target drone!”
“How many?” The computer requested.
Tor paused as he began to take evasive manoeuvres trying to latch onto one of the fast moving targets. “Five he responded!” Five distance readings popped up onto the HUD as they drew within firing range the particle beams lanced away from the shield. The drones vanished.
“Shields at ninety percent!” The computer announced.
“What did I get hit by?” Tor asked as he banked the ship around.
“Nothing, shields depleted by weapons system!” The computer answered.
“Give me a status on the Ghojs’ ship?”
“Ships shields are at ninety nine percent!”
Tor swung around to see three more drones explode under the sporadic weapons fire from the Alien vessel. The ship did not divert its course and kept flying towards the Danna’s Chance gate. Three of the Wolf ships engaged Tor as he continued to evade drones but now only selecting one at a time.
The Alien ship stopped the drones buzzed and slowed to close firing range the other two Dark Nebula ships both Scorpions closed on the position but refrained from engaging.
“Shields sixty five percent!” The computer announced.
One of the Wolf ships flashed across the nose of Tors’ ship. “Target Wolf ships.” He ordered, now understanding why his own shields were taking a significantly greater hammering than before.
The Alien ship appeared to flare, particle beams shooting out in every direction and enveloping all the attacking drones each one glowing momentarily then fading. The alien ship moved forward again.
Tor only glimpsed the fading moments of the Aliens attack as he turned the Piranha to close the distance on the wolf but it had already turned back for another attack run. The particle beam lanced out catching and destroying a passing drone to strike the oncoming wolf. The beam slicing into the ship before it could evade.
Feran Bloodheart was watching from the command deck on his Station in Brennans Triumph. He snorted loudly at the scene. Camera drones were providing him a perfect image of the battle as it unfolded.
“So much for drones!” Feran called out to one of the tactical officers, who suddenly appeared worried. “Order the deployment of LTs’ near the gate and squash mines in the path of the ship!”
His own ships began to move into position.
Creed was taking a special dislike for the Split Military chain guns, two of his ships had been damaged. As he banked high and left of the general melee he witnessed one of his Mambas strafed by a Scorpion. He could see the line of pit marks puncturing the hull before the projectiles hit the canopy of the cockpit. The suited pilot looking up before the impacts tore through the suit and the sudden decompression mixed with the escaping atmosphere of the ship, spraying blood from the body over the cockpit and through the holes in the shield that instantly crystallized in the impenetrable cold vacuum of space.
The Scorpion turned to find the next opponent but Creed had him in his sights and sent in a volley, both the previous pilots’ wingman and Creeds caught the ship in a heavy crossfire. The ship exploded but there was no cheering.
“Computer get that Mamba under AI control I want it with the other two and flight six.” Creed ordered. There was an unwritten rule of mass combat that a damaged ship leaving the battle zone was no longer a threat. It would be a different story with the pirates who would be looking for some easy cash.
The red mist now descended over Creeds, “Wingman team up with the flight three wingman!”
“Sir!” The response came back.
Creed dove back into the maelstrom of heavy fire of the main battle. Picking out a Wolf ship, darting around, he closed in at full thrusters. Twisting and turning the Mamba dove, pulling hard up and with the control thrusters screaming he opened fire on the Dark Nebula ship that suddenly dived off to one side, but Creed had anticipated a move and was correct in his anticipation. The Wolf exploding and the super heated shards bounced off the hull as he shot through the expanding halo of gases.
The ship turned again finding another target. This time he homed in on a Scorpion, and noted darkly that it was yet another ship equipped with Split Military hardware. It fired on an AIC Eel, tearing chunks out of the hull as it strayed past in pursuit of a different target. Just before Creed was in firing range the Scorpion veered away. He turned in anticipation of the new vector only this time did not turn hard enough to stay behind the Dark Nebula ship which again appeared to be randomly firing on anything that strayed into its weapons range.
Flipping the Mamba into a roll he dodged a hail of plasma shots. Somewhere behind him several Wolf ships had targeted the Mamba and were gathering into pack formation.
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Concentrating on his target, Creed banked over the Mamba and pulled back hard. There was a clatter on the hull, instinctively he hit the booster.
"Warning hull breach! Atmospheric leakage of five units a second with internal cabin pressure falling by three bar per second!" The computer confirmed Creeds concerns.
"Get the mini-bots to patch it and quick!" He growled and fired on the Scorpion as it swung around for another pass. The plasma strikes pushing the Dark Nebula ship off target and forcing it onto an evasive vector. Two of the remaining four active Eels joined the pursuit by closing on separate vectors.
The message was clear to all the War Master and AIC ships that their primary targets were the ships armed with solid projectile weapons as these were the greatest threat to the bigger ships.
In the heat of battle none of the War Master or AIC ships noticed the remaining Mambas had disengaged and were on an intercept vector with the Alien ship.
Tor was relaxed, his eyes scanning the HUD for the last few drones. The wolf fighters had been troublesome for a while and had severely drained his shields partially due to the ships weapons set up. In a quick series of particle beam bursts he located the Alien ship now some distance ahead of him and set off in pursuit, ever aware that there were Dark Nebula ships closing and the Bloodhearts were gathering near to the gate.
The War Master and AIC ships were still outnumbered despite their higher kill rate and were heavily engaged. To his horror, four of the Mambas turned towards him. With several k's separating them they launched missiles. Tor immediately changed vector, flying towards them, as the missiles drew close he suddenly changed direction. The missiles would take a little time to turn but now the Mambas were closing into firing range.
"Target just one Mamba!" Tor ordered anxiously and painfully aware that to destroy just one ship would significantly sap his shield strength.
The first pass was good and the lead Mamba suddenly had to veer away on an escape vector as the particle beam latched on and began to rob it of its shields. The remaining three split and swooped in from alternative directions to try and catch the Piranha in cross fire.
"Shields seventy five percent!" The computer affirmed.
He turned the ship sharply to one side, recognizing the danger from the HUD readout as three sets of plasma crossfire cut through the intervening space. Switching direction again the Piranha dove down to Tors left and began to roll around as he tried to get closer to his main target. The Mamba was still, as Tor would describe it, licking its wounds and waiting for its shields to recover.
"Switch target! Nearest Mamba!" Tor ordered, and then had to change direction again as the missiles closed in for another pass. The sound of control thrusters echoed through the cabin as they shifted from one of the ship to the other. "Hold fire until I give the order!"
He continued his feigned pursuance of the original target as the remaining three Mamba closed in again for another pass.
"Missiles self destructed!" The ships computer reported.
Tor watched the HUD the distance continued to close. He rolled and turned the Piranha as plasma cascaded in from behind him taking a hit to the shields.
"Shields seventy percent!" The computer informed.
"Fire!" Tor replied.
The chasing Mamba turned as the particle beam locked on, Tor turned back to try and keep the ship in range. Small explosions rippled through the Dark Nebula ship and the pilot bailed out.
"Shields at fifty percent! Forty percent!"
The Piranha jarred suddenly as it took hits from one of the remaining Mambas. He put the ship into a roll and began evasive manoeuvres. They were one ship down but Tor had to let his shields recover.
In the distance the Alien ship stopped and waited.
The Mambas sped away as Tor brought his ship around but held off from firing weapons. "Computer! Keep the Mambas' back by firing short one to two second bursts as soon as they get in range!" It was more a gesture he hoped to allow his shields time to recover.
The Dark Nebula ships found themselves in an impasse not daring to stray in to weapons range of the Piranha but unable to get a good weapons fix without swinging in perilously close. Tor was left to dodge missiles as he drifted towards the stationary Alien ship.
Elsewhere Creed reviewed his HUD and with only fast Wolf ships remaining the Dark Nebula ships were withdrawing back towards the Hatikvah's Faith Gate. He would review his losses before committing to a direct assault on the Bloodheart position.
Serandamancketal called in, "Looks like our boy is in trouble!"
Creed glanced at the sector map. Tors' Piranha was gradually making progress towards the waiting Alien ship. Around it at safe distance the three Mambas circled.
"Looks like he's got them worried!" Creed answered but made no commitment to send help.
Of the eight AIC ships, two had been destroyed and three had hull damage. His own losses were one ship destroyed and four ships with varying amounts of damage. The damaged vessels grouped together out of harms way. Those with serious hull breaches and systems failures were unmanned the pilots now taking refuge in the two Octopus ships.
Creed aimed towards the position of the Alien ship but set the engine speed to slow approach. The Bloodhearts had been given plenty of time to prepare themselves against attack including laying mines. He knew he would be a fool to charge the defensive line and with only the five other fighters to support, it would be suicide.
The three AIC ships went into formation behind him as the remaining two War Master ships moved into position either side. After a moment of further study he came to a decision, "AIC vessels support Piranha then withdraw and escort damaged ships to safety."
"War Masters follow me we're doing the three ship sting, hit and fade lock onto my target! Start with a wide sweep and attacking from the Hatikvah's Faith side of the sector!" He paused before closing the com, "And watch out for any Claw Ships!"
Tors' Piranha was almost back to full shield strength when the Mambas started their united attack run closing in from three sides in a slightly staggered closing distance. Just before the first one reached firing range it started to send out a stream of plasma. Tor easily evaded the shots. A particle beam shot out and struck the Mamba as it turned away. Tor watched both his own and the Mambas shields drop then the particle beam stopped the second Mamba was much closer as it opened fire. Tor banked the ship over in a tight turn to avoid the plasma. Once again the particle beam snaked out and stuck the attacking ship in a short duration burst and stopped when the Dark Nebula ship broke off its attack.
The last of the Mambas then began to fire but there was no plasma. Tor heard the projectile rounds punch their way through the hull. The consoles in front of him flashed red smoke filled the cabin from ruptures power conduits.
"Atmospheric loss at ten units per second! Cabin pressure dropping at six bar per second!" The computer informed.
"Use the replicator to patch the hull!" Tor requested urgently, fighting back the sense of rising panic, as he attempted to turn the ship he realised he had lost significant rudder control. The particle beam was locked onto the attacking Mamba but less than a few moments later it was out of range. Now he was heading away from his intended destination.
The first Mamba engaged risking a prolonged exposure to the particle beam to try and finish of the Piranha. However the beam sliced through the ship and pilot before he had managed to get more than a couple of hits on target. The Piranha's shields were dangerously low Tor quickly examined his options and they were bleak.
"Hull repaired pressure normalising!" The computer informed.
"Fix the rudder control!" Tor ordered.
The two Mambas were beginning their next attack run having seen their colleague knock back Tors' shields to a critical state. The AIC ships were still too far away to help but closing on an intercepting vector.
The Piranha shook as several shot passed Tors' head by a few centimetres and created large fractures in the canopy. Tors' case flew towards the canopy of the cockpit and he hit the emergency eject button. The detonation bolts around the canopy exploded and Tor was sucked out into space whilst grabbing his case on the way out. The emergency jets on his pack fired and behind him the particle beam split and lanced both the Mambas as they opened fire again. The energy pulse from the exploding Piranha was channelled into the beams, stripping away the last of the Mambas shields and in a subsequent double explosion Tor was spun away in the shockwave of the blast.
He lost consciousness for a few minutes and was unable to respond to the urgent hails of the AIC ships. They turned back to run escort duty.
Creeds jaw tightened but he said nothing when Serandamancketal called in and said, "The Piranha didn't make it!"
The Alien ship moved forward again, Creed slowed his ship and the others followed suit. Now was a time to observe and somewhere inside he hoped deeply that this would be worth all the trouble.
Squash mines detonated as the Alien ship approached, enough Creed realised to destroy several M3 class ships. The shields of the ship dropped but only by a third it stopped and allowed them to recover. The Bloodhearts waited.
Again the Alien ship moved forward and more mines detonated. Then energy pulses lanced out and created a path by disintegrating each mine.
The Bloodheart ships began to move releasing drones and launching missiles at the Alien vessel. For the first time they saw the Alien take evasive manoeuvres. The ship appeared to outperform the equivalent M3s' of the races twisting and turning with particle beams lashing out in several directions catching both drones and pursuing missiles. Some drones also fell foul to the missiles fired as the Alien ship ploughed into the host of ships in its path.
Explosions illuminated the void as Bloodheart ships and drones were struck by the Aliens weapons. The Alien ship corrected its course to the gate. Now the lasertowers turned and fired striking the ship. It shook and turned with an impressive turn of speed to escape the beams but not without a significant drain on its shields. Making several passes the lasertowers became the next casualties of the conflict. Then it was through the gate.
On reaching the other side it ran into more squash mines and lasertowers. With the shields now seriously drained it found its vector and shot forward at high velocity leaving mines exploding and lasertowers firing briefly into empty space. Observers then saw a distant flash and the ship was gone.
Tor came too. He was still floating away from the scene of carnage. The Bloodheart ships were leaving the sector. The War Master and AIC ships were in tight formation and making their way towards the Hatikvah's Faith gate.
Case in one hand he clipped it to a tether and released the control sticks. He did not know how far it would be to the nearest station or how much air he had left. Now all he had to do was hope not to be picked up by any pirates.
Behind him a Teladi Hawk gracefully dropped in behind him and opened its cargo bay door. Tor felt the hold of the tractor beam and swore.
Bilyzonus smiled to herself as she contemplated the look on Tors’ face when she let him out of the cargo bay. But for now she would let him sweat it out. Having had an update from Sweety as to the position and difficulty Tor was in she had lurked, waiting for an opportunity to help. Even so she was no match for the Mamba’s so kept as much distance between her and the fight.
As she set her course she received an incoming transmission, “Pilot Bilyzonus! My name is Caran Belign please deliver your passenger to Argon Prime!”
) will probably mean I need to add an appendix or face being lynched... possibly... 
Corrected....