Mako (The Mako Saga: Book 1) (48 page)

“Very good,” said Katahl, turning for the door. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a briefing of my own to get to, though one final word of advice.”

“What’s that, sir?” Lee asked.

The admiral leaned in and lowered his voice. “Watch yourselves out there today. If I know Ryan, he’ll have a few surprises planned for you, so be careful.”

“Copy that, sir. Thanks.”

Then, in a stunning display of gratitude that Lee found both honorable and incredibly humbling, Fleet Admiral Markus Katahl stood up straight, snapped to attention, and saluted them.

“
Renegades!
” he barked, “Be safe, good luck, and happy hunting today.”

Watching Katahl exit the hangar, Lee lacked the words for what he was feeling. In the beginning, all he’d hoped for was to come here and contribute something—anything that would help these people, and preferably without making a total fool out of himself or the others in the process. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that they would come this far by the time it was over, and yet here they were.

On a related note, if the pressure hadn’t been on him to succeed before, it sure was now.

“Alright Eight-Two, time to figure out just how well you’ve been paying attention,” Ryan called out, ushering them to a nearby viewscreen to assume command of the briefing. “Today you’ll be flying a textbook surgical strike mission on a mockup enemy outpost located on the moon of Revlyn, the last planet in our solar system.” As he continued, the pixelated image on the monitor began to zoom, starting from its initial wide shot of the moon and tightening to a closeup of the outpost itself (a small complex of geographically represented structures which were nestled atop a series of cliffs along the moon’s northernmost mountains). “Intel has confirmed the presence of an Alystierian base to the north, a base that could eventually become a prime staging point to invade Auran territory. We want you to take it out.”

“Fair enough,” Lee nodded—his eyes fixed on the image—his mind already fast at work in search of any strategic advantage he could find. “What’s the play?”

“Once the Praetorian arrives in the sector, which should be momentarily, the five of you will gear up and prepare for immediate deployment. Daredevil, you and Northern Star will launch in the Praetorian’s pair of Makos while Hurricane and Wulver will deploy in an additional pair on loan to us from the Sabra.”

“Whoa, what about me?” Link piped up. “I don’t get a Mako?”

Ryan pursed his lips. “With respect Jester, but in the interests of putting your squad, as a whole, in the best possible position to succeed, we thought it best to hold you back in a Thresher where you seemed… well, a little more comfortable.”

“Sorry, Shortbus,” Mac teased. “Maybe next time—if you work hard enough, take all of your vitamins, and eat your Wheaties—you’ll be able to earn your Big Boy wings too!”

“Whatever,” Link glowered.

“As I was saying,” Ryan continued. “Once you’re airborne, you are to proceed to the target and neutralize it.”

“I presume we can expect air resistance?” Lee guessed.

“You can.”

“Care to expound upon what that might entail?” Danny added.

“I cannot,” Ryan grinned. “I will tell you this. In order to achieve maximum success, you’ll need to eliminate the command bunker, located here.” The image zoomed again onto a subterranean structure inside a ridge on the southeast corner.

“Easy enough,” Mac noted. “A direct hit with a Devastator should do the trick, right?”

“Oh absolutely,” said Ryan, “if a Devastator were strong enough to penetrate the 900 yards of solid rock between the bunker and the surface—which it’s not.”

“Ahhhhhh,” Hamish murmured. “There’s that other shoe I’ve been missing.”

“Hold on,” Link protested. “The Big D’s are the heaviest ordinance we carry. If those won’t destroy the target, what do you expect us to do? Get out and flick boogers at it?”

“It’s a canyon run,” Lee deduced, spying the long, winding ravine that released into a clearing directly at the foot of the bunker’s supporting cliff face.

“And the award goes to your squad leader,” Ryan chuckled. “Our geological guys believe that a direct hit here,” he pointed to a pin-sized dot halfway down the cliff, “will collapse the rock around the structure, thus triggering a cave-in. A strike anywhere else is pretty much a waste of time and ammo.”

“Ground defenses?” Lee asked.

“Affirmative,” said Ryan. “But to what degree? That I can’t tell you.”

Lee stared at the image for a moment longer, soaking up every element of data and information he could as the outline of a plan began to form in his head. There were still a lot of variables in flux, namely the station’s ground and air security. But at least he had something to work with—a framework—and that was good enough for now.

“Any questions?” Ryan asked, deactivating the viewscreen and turning to face them.

“Okay, so let me make sure I’ve got this straight,” said Danny. “We’re to launch from the Praetorian, fly around the planet, fight our way through what we can assume will be modest defenses, at best, then navigate a snare drum-tight canyon filled with more unidentified defenses to hit a bullseye shot on a cliff wall at what I’m guessing will be pretty close to top speed. That about cover it?”

“That’s the crux of it, yes,” said Ryan.

A long pause of unease came over the group while they stared at Lee, as if he had the answers.

“Ah, what the hell,” Link spoke up. “If this doesn’t kill me, the smokes probably will… let’s ride.”

“Flight, this is Ryan,” the captain tapped his earpiece. “We’re all set down here. What’s your status?”

“The cue is cleared, Captain,” a voice replied. “You may launch when ready.”

Ryan then turned to Wyatt, who ran a final check on Link’s Thresher. “Chief, we all set here?”

Wyatt nodded over his tablet. “As set as we’re gonna be, Captain. Go ahead.”

“Alright, Eight-Two… mount up and let’s see what you’ve got.”

“
Ruah!
” the group shouted in unison.

Scrambling to the ladder of the lead Mako and scurrying up to the cockpit, Lee watched out of the corner of his eye as his squadmates did the same amidst the chaotic commotion of mechanics and engineers below. Putting on his helmet and fastening the oxygen mask over his face, he glanced behind him to see Mac almost collide with Aston, who had lingered for a moment behind his mechanical team to wrap up a handful of final calibrations to her fighter’s systems. Shuddering awkwardly at the near contact, the pudgy mechanic snatched up his tools and took off before she could apologize.

Fed up with his rudeness, Mac threw him a dirty look.

Running through his mental pre-flight checklist as his engines began to hum, Lee keyed his comm just in time to see the hangar lights flash to their usual pre-launch orange.

“Alright, everybody, welcome to the big dance,” he called out to his squad. “Sound off.”

“Copy that, Daredevil,” Danny responded first. “Hurricane is green.”

“Northern Star copies green.”

“Jester, green.”

“Wulver copies green.”

“Flight, this is Daredevil. Eight-Two reports green status across the board. Standing by for pylon authorization.”

“Flight confirms green status, Daredevil,” the voice replied in his ears. “Proceed to Catapult One and await pylon authorization. Northern Star and Hurricane, proceed to Catapults Two and Three. Jester and Wulver are on deck.”

As a lone, helmeted deck hand guided him along the taxi lane with a pair of yellow-glowing batons, Lee crept into position in front of Catapult One and halted, pointing the Mako’s sleek silvery nose directly in line with the hangar’s center runway, the starry expanse beyond his designated launch tube all but calling to him now. Closing his eyes, he took one final, calming breath and did his best to clear his mind to focus on both the mission, and the skills on which he’d need to draw to complete it. Then, hearing the static of the comm break for the final time, he opened his eyes.

“Daredevil… the pylon is yours.”

A brilliant blast of blue erupted from the Mako’s afterburners as its engines screamed to life, sending the fighter roaring once more down the asphalt runway, its wings tucked neatly back against its silvery hull which glistened orange under the flight deck’s overhead lights. After safely exiting the hangar into space, Lee throttled up and extended his wings for maneuvering while the rest of the squad fell into the standard V-shaped flight formation around him.

“Okay folks, we’ll be approaching Revlyn in approximately three minutes,” Lee announced, laying the final set of coordinates into his Nav-Com. “Once we round it, I figure we can expect to encounter a good chunk, if not all of their orbital security wing during our approach of the compound, so stay sharp.”

“How many drones do you think we’re looking at?” Danny asked.

“Hard to know,” said Lee. “Ryan was pretty tight-lipped on that, but I’d figure two, maybe three squadrons?”

“Yeah, I’m not even gonna lie,” said Mac. “He was really creeping me out with that.”

“Me too,” Lee agreed, “but I’m sure we’ll find out his reasons soon enough. Until then, everybody stick together, stay sharp, and we’ll get through it.”

Making their way around Revlyn, Lee cracked his knuckles in anticipation of what awaited them on the other side of the red planet. Watching through the canopy as the massive, rocky moon appeared in the distance, his eyes jerked abruptly to his instruments as the radar screen began to chirp.

“Heads up,” Mac called out. “The first wave of drones is inbound and headed straight for us.”

“Confirmed Star,” Lee acknowledged. “I count five bogies—repeat—five bogies—on an intercept course at 12 o’clock, high. ETA, 30 seconds.” Spying the five unmanned ships on approach through his canopy, Lee continued with his instructions. “Alright, I’m gonna step out on a limb here and guess that this won’t be the only squad they’ll send at us today, so let’s get rid of as many as we can while the odds are even. Jester and Wulver, take their right flank, Hurricane and Star, you’re on the left. I’ll take the leader on point. Stay in formation until I give the order, and be sure to watch your ammo after this thing starts. Remember everybody, this ain’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. So don’t burn up all of your offense in the first leg, understood?”

“Copy that.”

Bracing himself as the enemy opposition closed into weapons range, Lee felt his pulse quicken as the five, ambiguous gray dots ahead gradually came into focus.

“Steady everyone,” he cautioned—the chirps of his instruments steadily increasing in tempo. “Steady…”

A single, solid, high-pitched ring filled the cockpit like a flatlined hospital EKG.

“
Break
!”

With skilled mastery, the five fighters sliced away from each other in a star-patterned blaze of holographic green weapons fire—Mac and Danny ripping out to the left while Link and Hamish split hard right. Meanwhile Lee yanked the nose of his Mako upward, blasting him directly over the bow of the enemy leader as it lurched to evade the initial barrage of Lee’s railguns. Opening up his engines, he tore through the space ahead and leveled off just in time to see his aggressor roll into a pursuit course behind him, his alert system beeping furiously with the enemy’s immediate attempts at a missile lock. Unable to keep pace with the Mako, the drone switched to guns and Lee quickly countered with an aggressive, spiraling dive as another barrage of green cascaded past his canopy.

“Okay HAL, I’ve had about enough of your crap for one day,” Lee growled. Then, with a flip of his wrist, the Mako leveled off at the base of its fall and looped sharply around to port, just in time to circle in behind his hard-charging adversary for an assault of his own. Seeing his crosshairs glow red, Lee slammed back the trigger in his grip, sending a pair of simulated missiles plowing into the engine housing of his automated opponent.

“One down,” he called out as the defeated drone broke off from the engagement.

“Two down,” Mac replied in her usual competitive tone.

“Three down,” Danny responded.

“Four down,” Hamish echoed.

“
Well ladi-frickn’-da for you guys!
” Link scowled over the comm, and looking down to his radar screen, Lee saw where Link’s drone had all but locked him down.

“Comin’ to ya, Jester,” he barked, yanking back on the stick and launching his Mako into an all-out vertical sprint back to Link’s position. A quick lock later, the defeated drone broke off from the skirmish and followed its squadron back to base.

“You’re welcome,” Lee quipped over the comm.

“Hey, it’s not my fault I drew the ace out of the bunch,” Link defended. “Besides, sleek and fast or not, you guys know I hate these single-seater little bitch-mobiles. Give me a girl with some booty on her, and I’ll show you how it’s done!”

“Yeah, I’m not even touching that one,” Mac groaned over her instruments. “Round Two is already airborne and en route.”

“How’s everyone doin’ on ordinance?” Lee asked, winging his Mako back into the lead spot on their newly reformed V-formation.

“My railgun inventory is at 79% and I’ve still got all three of my Eagles,” said Danny. “But I had to burn up both of my Devastators on that run, which puts me out for a bunker run.”

“Me too, boss,” added Link. “That drone torched me up pretty good. I’ve still got my full complement of missiles, but my hull plating is shot. I’ll hang in as long as I can, but I can’t promise much.”

“Don’t worry about it, Link,” said Lee. “Danny will stay on your wing and give you support since he’s taken less of a beating than you have. If something breaks loose and the two of you can make a run at the target, he’ll fly cover while you take the shot. Hamish, you’re with Mac.”

“Copy that,” they agreed.

“Look alive, guys,” Mac warned. “Enemy ETA, 15 seconds.”

“As before, on my mark. Just—”

“
Whoa
, hold on, Lee!” Mac cut him off. “Forget the drones! We’ve got five Threshers—repeat—five Threshers—inbound in echelon formation and closing fast! “

His brown eyes wide with the realization of what was happening, Lee stared ahead to see five, fully-armed SF-11s rocketing toward them—each one staggered in the single file, diagonal formation which was generally reserved for an assault on the weakest member of an enemy squadron.