Duty, 3: Combat Readiness
24 Apr 2022Meowers
Like all new recruits, I was given a day off before my assignment to a wing. It was quite a long way to the Pleiades for most of them, but I'm okay with flying for a long time, so it wasn't so exhausting by my standards. Spent a day doing nothing in particular, got my fresh uniform, was testing that training software, roaming around the carrier and looking at people... Was quite an interesting experience, you know, never thought I'll be wearing a uniform, it was something new and maybe... Comfortable? Now, at least. It was the uniform of people doing a good thing. Still can't get used to be a part of something big, you know. I was alone most of my time. Sleeping in the ship instead of dorms, but an officer told me it's okay, almost all of the pilots who came here on their own ships do that.
And then the training, I was assigned to a wing along with two other relatively green recruits and an experienced pilot on the leading role. Passed the theory tests with flying colours, then those virtual simulations... I was told I'm doing quite impressive despite being new. But the remote-controlled dummies were the most entertaining stuff!
Have to admit, that Anti-Xeno combat required some interesting changes in the loadout. Shields were nearly useless against Thargoids, so I had to install more armour and module reinforcements, then those Gauss Cannons that work almost like railguns, repair modules, special Xeno-scanner... Flying without a shield was definitely another new thing for me, I was feeling, like, naked for the first time, but those new armour plates were insanely thick.
So, these remote-controlled targets, we were shooting them with our cannons powered down to minimal while our wing leader was floating nearby and making this thing imitate the real Thargoid Interceptor behaviour. Wing was doing quite fine, just a bit chaotic, nobody had enough proper experience in tactics, it was like everyone was on their own, drawing circles around a target and bombarding it with shots. We were scoring those 'kills' one after another, then meeting each other in the mess... Hah, I was almost like a student again, but the lectures were far more interesting than some tech stuff I was learning year ago.
Get to know folks from my wing better, Joseph was a seasoned pilot who taught us all the tricky stuff, he was flying a Krait Mk2, and two rookies like me, David, a young boy, like in his early 20's, and Christine, she was about my age, they were piloting Chieftains provided by AXDF, as their own ships weren't fit for combat. And also some people from other wings, can hardly remember the names... So much people, hah, maybe I still have a chance to become a sociable creature. They already told me once that I look like I'm not quite there at the moment, being silent and looking somewhere else. Ah, those humans.
However... That kind of atmosphere gave me some positive thoughts. Yeah, there were some sad and depressive stories about the Thargoids, but most of the time people were pretty okay, talking, joking, discussing their latest flights and so on. Even, hah, caught myself once leaning against the wall in the mess and looking at the crowds, and... smiling. Can't remember when I did that last time.
And hey, next day I got my first real kill! It was awesome! First day of doing real patrolling in some index-named barely known system in the Pleiades sector, and the first Cyclops kill. Oh, yeah, Joseph even gave me a pat on the back when we returned on the Atlas. That alien bastard was just nailed, long-range sensors picked up its signal near the rings and we moved to intercept. Those Thargoids were like I've seen in the training software, GalNet videos and other sources: flower-looking thing that regenerates and you have to shoot at it until one of its 'petals' starts to glow red. Its multiple hearts were placed in those limbs. Then some accurate shots right at it, and boom! So, ripping those limbs off was making it weaker until it ceases to regenerate, and then it's time to finish it off. There's also a way to kill it by raining down so much shots that the damage could overpower the regeneration capacity, but... That was for more experienced pilots, and wings that had already developed that chemistry of coordinated actions.
It was like... Hey, I know how to do that! Come and get some, you freak! Our wing dropped from the cruise mode several kilometres away from it, we spread out, accelerated and opened fire. Hah, whatever they have for pants, we caught it with them being down, the Cyclops frantically tried to target at least one of us when we already got it surrounded. I couldn't see how the rest of the team were doing, but, according to the radio chatter, that Cyclops was a piece of cake for four of us. I've landed some good hits on it, even saw how my Gauss rounds were ripping its pieces away and some kind of disgusting green liquid was gushing out of the breaches. Joseph shot two of its limbs away, then Christine got the third... And the second Cyclops joined the party, emerging from... What they have for cruise mode? Ah, doesn't matter. So I've been told to finish that one. Deploying two heatsinks one after another, I became nearly invisible for it, got closer and fired a pair of volleys, lighting it up, then a 180 turn and blam! Fourth heart turned into a shower of burning debris. A little wait until its shields dropped to zero, maintaining a safe distance, and a few more shots. Aaaaand it's gone!
Oh, that sound! Just... wow! I had real goosebumps all over my arms, that was really something new! Oh, I'm going to like it sooo much! I really hope it wasn't a beginner's luck, hah.
Had to return though, Marshmallow was just a bit scratched, but David's Chieftain had more damage, one of the thrusters was malfunctioning, also several armour breaches and a jagged piece of Thargoid vessel was sticking out from one of them. Looks like he got too close and collided with it, I don't know. He couldn't comment on that, like, everything was too fast, but Joseph said he was quite far away and probably was hit by debris. Anyway, I was glad he was okay, and the repair teams had seen much worse.
Hah, they even offered me a beer for that first. Told them that coffee will do much better.
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Joseph Fischer