Battle Earth V (23 page)

“Sir, we’re ready for ‘em,” Taylor said.

Huber casually turned his head and nodded, remaining in the dreamy state.

“All the technology in the world, and yet we are still so often in the dark. Intelligence, reconnaissance, communication, these are out weaknesses now.”

“Yes, it is difficult to live once again in a communication dark age,” he replied.

“Not knowing is the worst thing in the world. We could have a fleet large enough to end the war, or we could be awaiting our destruction.”

The Admiral was speculating in a quiet voice that only Taylor could hear, as they were so close to each other. Before he could answer, a siren went off, and they quickly turned to see several objects on the scanners.

“Sir, we’ve got confirmed enemy incoming!” shouted Vega.

The Admiral sprung to life and jumped onto his feet.

“How many?”

Vega went silent as he carefully studied the screens.

“Twelve targets so far, with more incoming. At their present speed, they will be in range within five minutes.”

“Launch the rest of our fighters and prepare to fire!”

The last of the craft on the Washington scrambled. The crews had been waiting for the call, and all were streaming out of the docking bays within two minutes. There was some relief on the bridge that the waiting game was over, but now a new dread overshadowed them.

Huber tapped a few buttons and brought up a zoomed display of what was coming at them. Several of the bridge crew gasped when they saw the horde of ships. Many of the Naval personnel had only ever seen one action, and that was a surprise attack on the enemy at the gateway. A determined and organised attack by the Krycenaeans was never something any of them could get used to.

“In range of our primary weapons in sixty seconds.”

“Fire when you have a solution,” replied Huber.

Taylor stood silently and prayed they had enough power to hold off the enemy. It was not himself he thought of, but Chandra and the others they had left behind. He wondered in every free moment he had how she was doing. He knew she’d be knee deep in enemy bodies, and that at least brought him some relief.

“We have a firing solution, weapons hot, fire when ready!” Vega shouted over the intercom.

The Washington’s big guns opened fire first and were soon joined by the other carrier and the larger vessels in the fleet. The space around them was lit up like a fireworks display as railgun rounds soared towards the incoming enemy. Two of the enemy ships, which appeared to be frigate in size, were completely obliterated in the initial salvo.

The hulks of the wrecked ships continued on, but most of their outer structures were blasted out and smashed into several other enemy ships. The incoming craft opened fire seconds after being struck. The Washington was screened by dozens of ships in the human fleet, meaning it saw little of the opening volley.

Pulses smashed into the frigates and destroyers around them, but most continued to lay down fire against the enemy. Taylor had never had the luxury of watching such a battle from afar, and it struck him how relentless the enemy were in the pursuit of human destruction. Never was there any attempt at communication or any form of negotiation.

Do they really want us all dead that badly?
He asked himself.

The enemy craft continued to rush towards them, despite their losses.

“We’ll surely lose much of our communication as they come into range. It matters little, every man and woman in the fleet knows what they must do,” Huber said to the crew of the bridge.

The enemy ships were still closing the distance at a rapid speed, and Taylor could see the human fighters closing in to engage.

“Their priority is to prevent any and all potential boarding actions,” Huber whispered to Taylor.

“They put me out of a job then,” he replied dryly.

Huber shook his head in astonishment that the Major could be so calm and witty under pressure. It was a character trait he truly appreciated.

“Major, I’m not sure even the President of the United States could put you out of a job.”

“No,” he muttered as he looked out to the enemy ships, “but they might.”

The overlay screen that gave them a three hundred and sixty degree view cut out, and the report of the loss of communications soon came in. They were left with a few fixed video feeds and hard lines to comms around their own ship only. By all accounts, they were in the dark yet again.

Taylor and Huber stood beside each other and watched as half a dozen of their ships advanced past the Washington to provide a further buffer to the Capitol ship. Their previous engagements had taught them all a lot about the weaknesses in their defences.

One of the displays lit up with a bright burst as one of the human frigates was struck and burst into six pieces. The immense loss of life weighed heavily on both their hearts, but they could now do nothing but watch. In that moment, Taylor got a taste of the sense of emotion their leaders must go through. They had to stand and watch as men and women were killed, pursuing their directives. It left Mitch feeling hollow and disgusted. There was rarely a time he wished to face the enemy in person, but this was one of the occasions, if only to save him from the sickening display before them.

The Washington’s guns continued to roar with a continuous barrage. Through the hail of gunfire and pulses, they could begin to see the extent of the enemy fleet. It was sizeable, but by no means overwhelming. The combined human fleets had obliterated the first wave of enemy ships, and it had a great impact on their strength.

One of the enemy hulks floated quickly towards the Anglesey, one of their destroyers. Evasive manoeuvres were not quick enough, and the hulk smashed into the tail section of the destroyer. The impact ripped a great tear in the outer hull of the ship, and they could see a dozen bodies rush out from the breach.

The Anglesey was smashed off course but remained intact. Its forward guns continued to fire as other crews rushed to secure the breach and put out the fires.

They’re going to make it
, Huber smiled in relief, but it was in vain. Six huge pulses smashed into the destroyer’s hull and ripped it in two.

“My God,” whispered Huber.

The bridge crew were utterly silent as they watched the devastation unfolding. They could do nothing now but rely on the gun crews and pilots to do their jobs. They watched for another five minutes as the enemy fleet came to a halt, and the fleets duked it out like old ships of the line.

Friendly fighters ducked and weaved in between the battle, preying on the alien transports as they tried to breach the lines of frigates and reach the carriers. As they watched, two such transports burst into fragments, another three punched through a hole in the perimeter.

“Sir, they are on intercept course with us,” said Vega hastily.

“Bring the bastards down!” Huber screamed.

They watched a wing of three human fighters bank hard and engage the three ships. They got out an initial burst of fire but were cut down from cannons from the enemy vessels. Two of the fighters exploded immediately, and the other was blown off course.

“Target our guns on those ships!” ordered Huber.

Vega was already relaying the commands before the Admiral had even finished giving them. Taylor watched with bated breath as the ships rushed towards them. He felt his hands grip tighter around the briefing table. As much as he didn’t want to see the Washington be compromised, he was desperate to get stuck in with the fight rather than watch it from afar.

“Destroy them!” Huber shouted.

The Washington’s guns opened fire with a vicious burst, destroying one of the enemy transports in its first volley. The second damaged one of the others, but they had passed within the range of many of the guns. The Kittyhawk rushed to their aid and fired rapidly at the leading enemy craft, and with one concentrated burst, smashed it off course, causing its hull to twist into a burning wreck.

They all watched the remaining enemy ship that was already damaged, still hurtle towards them. It was larger than the transports they had faced at the gateway, and Taylor was already trying to estimate the number of Mechs it might carry. A couple of hundred was his best guess, but he prayed he was wrong.

“We must have something left? Shoot the bastards down!” ordered Huber.

“Sir, they have passed within range of our guns. There’s nothing more I can do.”

“God damn it! Taylor, have your marines ready to repel the breach!”

Mitch was about to leap into action when he caught a sign of movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked closer to the display screen.

“Admiral, look!”

Huber rushed to his side and looked down to see two of the Washington’s fighters swoop in on a sharp arc towards the transport, running its length and strafing as they went. The bursts of gunfire ripped into the hull, but it kept moving. As the fighters passed, they spun around and continued to pour fire into the transport, continuing at the same speeds backwards. At the last moment, they put their engines on full as they approached the carrier.

The enemy transport was a complete wreck, but it still smashed into the hull at a fair speed. At the bridge, they couldn’t feel the impact against the vast carrier, but they could see the hole it smashed into the lower decks. After tearing a huge gouge in the Washington, the ruined transport merely floated past. Huber sighed in relief.

“Have those decks sealed off and repair crews sent immediately! Taylor get some of your troops down there to protect the crews whilst they work.”

He looked back to the frontline and could see the enemy attack had been smashed over the defensive wall of the fleet. Many of the ships continued to fire out at the remaining enemy ships, but he could see that most had already begun to flee.

“Do we pursue them?” asked Vega.

“No, continue to lay down fire while they are in range, and redress our formation as our communications come back on line.”

“Sir, this may be our only chance to finish them.”

“Count ourselves lucky, Captain. We fought the enemy on their terms in their system, and we won. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Wouldn’t you agree, Major?”

Taylor didn’t like being put on the spot in opposition to the XO, but he certainly did agree with the Admiral from a tactical perspective.

“Yes, Sir, we should take the time to repair and restore what we have, and get to the aid of our forces on Red 1.”

Huber smiled at Mitch’s well-timed retort.

“Sir, communications are back online.”

“Do we have contact with the rest of the fleet?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Open up a channel.”

Huber took a deep breath, and after the nod from his XO, he began.

“This is Admiral Huber. I want to congratulate you all on a job well done, but before I go any further, let me ask you all to organise any assistance you can to our comrades. We have crippled ships, stranded personnel. Let’s look to our own.”

He waited briefly to see that Vega had already begun working to the order, and knew he could carry on with it already underway.

“We won a valuable victory here today. The enemy knew we were here, and that is what they sent to fight us. They underestimated you all. They underestimated your courage, your strength, and your fortitude. Thank you all. May we remember those who fell today, for as long as we live. Congratulations to you all. Huber out.”

He sighed deeply and sat down. Taylor could see the Admiral was utterly exhausted. The whole situation weighed heavily on their minds, and Taylor’s mind and body felt as if he’d been out there fighting them with his own hands.

“I don’t envy you,” Taylor said quietly.

“Nor I you,” he replied.

“Then we must be in the right jobs.”

Taylor laughed. He could tell his suggestion of supporting Red 1 passed the Admiral by. It was not that he was not listening, but that Huber was a rightfully cautious man. Taylor already knew he could do little to change his mind, but that would not stop him trying.

“Sir, may I have permission to attempt to break the siege of Red 1 and bring our people back?”

“I am sorry, Major, but you know our situation here. With the several thousand troops we have, we have too few to protect the ships of this fleet. It is not just this carrier that is in danger of boarding by the enemy. The enemy attack was repulsed, but not without cost. You can guarantee they will return in far greater number. You know this enemy. They will not quit because of their losses. They do not care for their losses. They will keep coming at us until they finish the job.”