Ceres Tarn
04 May 2020Maggie Oz
"An' den she says .. "Fine but you can keep the oth'er seven!" ", the crowded room breaks into raucous laughter as Al delivered the punchline as only he canWe were packed into the Pilot's Ready Room of the Anti-Xeno Initiative, the local rulers of HR1185.
Al was keeping the tension at bay with his endless stories and "I was there when it happened" tales.
Everyone was pretty tired, it had been hectic of late. The Thargoid presence hadn't diminished any despite our best efforts.
They either had endless numbers of ship crew or, as I was beginning to suspect, their ships were drones, grown for the specific purpose of attacking the Human sphere.
I was the only Imperial in the group so that put me on the outer somewhat, but having Al on my side quelled any issues anyone might want to cause.
Flying out with them day after day didn't hurt either.
"ATTENTION ATTENTION: Eagle Eye 2 reports Xeno attack wave incoming. All available pilots report for tasking immediately"
As this message blared out over the tannoy the door to the ready room opened and the AXIN Squadron Commander strode in, looking business like.
"You heard it, pilots. We have what looks like a major incursion happening. Alpha and Bravo flights I want you here" he said, pointing to an area of space on the system map on the wall
"We expect the main incursion to come in via that vector. Position your ships to hit them the moment they drop into real space. "
The Squadron commander went on through a list, distributing the assembled pilots around the system in offensive, defensive and supporting positions.
"Al? Where's Al?" The Squadron Commander called, looking about
"Yo! " called Al
"Al you and ... Maggie" he said, checking the roster he had for my name, then looking at me to match it to a face, "I want you in a high orbit over A4, your job is to make sure that no "leakers" get through to the facilities here and to protect the Indra. I also want you to shepherd any damaged ships into the Indra and cover 'em so their scouts can't pick 'em off. You gotta decontamination loadout? "
"Yes Sir. I have a 3E unit so I can do 2 at a time if needed" I replied
"Outstanding!" He replied "I know you two been doing pretty well over the last few days, but this is a big one. I expect their top ships to be comin' at us. If they come for you just holler for support and try to slow 'em down ok, Al? Don't go getting yourselves in too deep."
"Shaw ting Boss" said Al, I nodded.
"OK any questions?" the Squadron Commander asked, looking around the room. There were none.
"Let's do it, fly tight you guys. Launch schedule is here" he finished and transferred the launching order from his tablet to the main wall display.
I knew we'd be well down the list so let the others go first while I studied the lines and crosses and data points of the deployment of the squadron in the system.
Fleet tactics really hadn't changed much since ancient times. Larger ships forming a central core protected by smaller ships. Pickets and vanguard to detect and fix enemy vessels for the larger ones to finish. Support ships to keep the combat units in the line and fighting.
The Commander had laid out the resources well and gave us all the best fighting chance.
Al and I made our way down to the space dock.
Al's Federal Gunship and my Imperial Clipper were stored side by side. We did out pre-flights while waiting for the other ships to be launched.
I was still running my AX cannons, but I had dropped a medium cannon so as to fit a Flak Launcher.
Al had a solid loadout of 4 Guardian Gauss Cannon and some serious reinforcing. He also had a Fighter Bay, but the attrition of the last few weeks saw him down to a single fighter.
Al's Fighter Pilot was one Lamont Avery nice enough guy, but like most fighter pilots he had a pretty high opinion of himself and I'm sure he was convinced he only had to snap his fingers at me to get me into the sack.
As the Empire persists to a large extent on hereditary inheritance it is still not legal to produce a fertile clone. The legal view point is that you get one life to bear children but not beyond that.
It also extends to the scientific problems associated with a narrowing of the genetic diversity if the number of people cloning became especially large and the moral and social concerns about eugenics.
We still have sexual desires and abilities but there is none of the "procreate the species" imperative that a first lifer has. Sex is more about forming deep, emotional connections.
Fighter pilots aren't noted for being deep or emotional.
"Hi ya, Maggie," said Avery with a winning smile
"Hello Monty, " I replied, knowing full well he despised that nickname, "All set?"
"Yep sure am, I.. " he was cut off by a fierce argument coming from a port official and a woman with 3 children moving through the space dock.
"I don't care what the problem is you simply MUST grant launch approval to my pilot immediately I have to get my children to safety" the woman cried in a shrill and panicky voice
"Madam you will get launch approval just as soon as the fighting ships have all launched"
The woman spotted me ... I recognised her as one of the coven from the restaurant.
"You let THAT monster launch and not me! ?? She isn't even human!!"
The port official looked at me, clearly not having a clue what she was talking about.
I just shook my head at him and turned to the woman.
"I'm not leaving Ma'm. We are just waiting until the others have launched so we can launch to take up a guard orbit over the planet," I said in as kindly a voice as I could muster. "We won't let any of the Thargoids get through, you can count on us" I indicated Lamont who put on his best hero face.
I beckoned her close "Truth is, if you launch now you'll be launching into a full fledged warzone. You are much safer down here, better to stay calm so we don't frighten the little ones hey?' I said in a low whisper, nodding to the kids who looked at me with dinner plate eyes of terror.
"I'd rather die than rely on ... vermin," she said looking at me with a disturbing level of hatred
"As you wish, but I guess then the last thing you'd want is me scooping up your rescue capsules after the Thargoids blow your ship to atoms isn't it? You'd have to pay me the rescue bond. Unless of course you'd rather I left you and them for the Thargoids to collect?" If I couldn't appeal to her sensibilities maybe I could work with her prejudices.
If looks could kill I'd have skipped my 4th and 5th re-lifes from the one she gave me. She turned and scurried back into the base.
"Wow, you sure made a friend there," said Lamont
"We'll catch up later for tea and scones, I'm sure," I replied with no hint of irony
Lamont looked confused, one of the joys of an Imperial accent is that non-Empire types rarely know when you are taking the piss.
Al poked his head out from his ship
"Wadid I miss?"
"Nothing, let's go," I said in an "over it" tone.
We launched a few minutes later, once we lifted off the space dock went into shut down, no one was getting in or out until the all clear was sounded.
We boosted clear of orbital flight and got ourselves to a high guard point. High Guard is a position that is outside the gravity well that allows for maximum supercruise but is still within a rapid response time of any approach vector to the planet below, it varies from planet to planet and A4's large rings were an added complication.
Again we could see off in the blackness the evidence of a savage fight. I noted some explosions had a greenish hue, I surmised these to be the alien vessels with their ammonia atmosphere. There were certainly more of them than ours, but then they had more to spend than us.
The first of the casualties began to drift in, I decontaminated a few ships, did some external verification on ones with systems down but for the most part, they were mainly coming back to the Indra for some quick repairs and a reload of ammunition before rejoining the fray.
I was checking my inventory when it happened. Two Scout ships managed to elude the outer cordon of ships, covered by their attentions being taken by the larger interceptors.
They were making a run for the planet, heading straight for Ceres Tarn.
"Two scouts going for a ground run Al, I'm on them" I called on the comm and then rolled down after the two fleeting shapes darting towards the planet surface.
They ignored me and raced headlong for the station. I wasn't sure what armour the station buildings had but I suspected "not much" I blazed towards them on an intercept vector, looking to put myself between them and the station to block their fire. I managed to cross their line of fire just as they opened up and Witchy Woman shuddered and bucked as two streams of phaser smashed into her. She took it though and her 3 cannon replied, stripping the hull of one of the scouts. I was so low I was looking up at the taller spires on the base and had to snap roll onto a wingtip to miss an antenna then I rolled inverted and rocketed over the lip of a crater before righting myself and climbing hard to get on the tail of the scouts.
Both scouts pulled up racing to the zenith, I wasn't sure if it was to escape or make another run, so I rolled in after them cannon blazing. One exploded and then an instant later the other did as well.
"Nailed 'im" I heard on the comm, as Lamont's Javelin fighter swept past.
"Nice one!"
Both Al and I were low and slow and were clawing for altitude when we saw the real reason for the scouts' attack.
Heading for the Indra was a huge Interceptor, a Hydra, the biggest ship the Thargoids have. The Scouts had been sent in to draw us off and give the Hydra a clear run.
"Dammit!" cried Al "The sneaky bastards tricked us. All ships, All ships, Hyrda inbound on the Indra, we need help here guys"
"Delta and Foxtrot wings, disengage and return to defend the Indra" called the Squadron Commander to the two reserve wings nearest us.
My Clipper had nearly twice the speed of Al's Gunship, I set maximum pips to the engines, firewalled the throttle and punched the boost, rocketing after the Hyrda leaving Al behind. I was not entirely sure what I would do once I caught up to it.
"Maggie no, it'll take you apart! " Al cried
"Then get there as quick as you can, Al"
The Indra's gun batteries were spooling up, but without the ability to manoeuvre it would be a sitting duck. The only thing that would save it is if we could divert the Hydra to shoot at us until the other ships arrived.
It was now about time.
How long it would take me to catch the Hydra compared to how close it could get to the Indra in the same timeframe, compared to how long I had to dance on my own until Al arrived compared to how long before Delta and Foxtrot arrived.
I did the numbers in my head and couldn't see a solution where both I and the Indra survived.
I needed to take down a heart, that would make it put it's shield up and give Delta and Foxtrot 5 minutes to close in before it started shooting again.
"Keep your heat low Maggie, it won't be able to target you" Al called on the comm as I started to reel the Hydra in, or was it reeling me in?
I locked it up and hit the Xeno Scanner, revealing its hearts. I targetted one and rolled in to make my attack. As I swept past it the turrets opened fire hammering the heart, in response it released its Thargons and they swarmed after me, followed by a hail of phaser fire that smashed down my shield and tore my hull to shreds.
- Fuck, this isn't going to take long - I thought to myself. I realised then my last engrammic backup was a week ago.
I spun about to take on the swarm and fired flak round after flak round, taking down most of them but still a few got through.
I didn't look at the damage readout, knowing I was about to die wasn't going to change anything.
With each pass of the swarm I managed to break through and pepper away at the heart, slowly wearing it down as Al plodded closer, Lamont's fighter got there first and did what it could, adding to the heart's damage.
Another solid phaser hit and Witchy Woman shuddered from stem to stern I couldn't have much hull left but I was close, so close I could see the heart, glowing bright red as it swung into view and the turret aim points clustered onto it.
"Al, I'm about to blow the heart"
"You're too close Maggie, the lighting will smash you and you won't survive the swarm"
I smashed my thumb down on the stud and my cannon blazed away, at such short range they couldn't miss and the heart erupted spectacularly
I saw the flashing lights as the lightning storm grew to full intensity and slammed the throttles wide open and hit what boost I had in a vain effort to get outside the envelope. Witchy Woman lept past the Hydra, smashing into a petal as she went.
Then the lighting erupted and I was engulfed in a storm of blinding flashes, the visor of my helmet shattered and the control panel exploded sending shards of alloy into my face, a power conduit under the floor let go and blew my left leg off at the knee, my leg's powercell exploded, the flash searing my face and hair. Something slammed into the back of the flight seat and pierced it and my shoulder blade, the ragged point of it protruding just past my jaw. I tasted blood. I lost the sight in my natural eye, but my cybernetic one stayed clear.
Witchy Woman was dead. No power to the thrusters, shields down, the power disto was in reset and almost nothing was working.
I sat in the blackness as the ship lazily tumbled.
I looked up groggily and saw Al's Gunship heave into view, it was pretty badly beaten, a large hole where the fighter bay, and Avery, used to be.
The comm sputtered into life
"Ma..ie ..ou read?"
"Al? Al! , get away the swarm is coming!" I yelled weakly
'Maggie ... ain't neither of us goin' to outrun the swarm."
"Just go Al, they'll go for me and you can get away"
"Naw, I ... I don't think so Mags"
"Al don't you dare!"
"Y'know Maggie, I'd rather go out like this. At the helm, doing somethin' to protect someone, not in some hospital bed somewhere, wearing a diaper"
"Al run you fool, go! you don't understand!" I cried, tears of pain, frustration and sorrow streaming down my face
"Awww Maggie, I wasn't born yesterday and I know fer sure you weren't. I know you do the clonin' thing"
"Don't give your life for me Al, I can come back"
"Mags, whether you live 1 life or 5, every life is special y'know? I don't think you'd be doin' the clonin' if you didn't value every noo life just as much as you did the foist one. It ain't how many lives you have but how you live 'em. In the end, that's all that counts. I can't think of anyone I'd rather give my life for. "
"Al, I've never known anyone like you"
"One of a kind babe, you just remember dat, for how ever many 100's o' years you're around"
The Gunship limped towards the onrushing swarm. I forced myself to watch, searing Al's last moments into my memory, never to be forgotten.
The huge swarm clustered all over the dropship flensing the plating from it in a heartbeat, like a shoal of piranha.
There was a bright flare as the main drive and power plant ruptured and the Gunship and Al exploded in a fiery ball of atoms, taking the swarm with it.
All that remained, was emptiness