The Honour of the Knights (First Edition) (59 page)

“
Knights
,
fall back, we
’
re
going to jump back to Spirit immediately,” Dodds heard Parks
over his fighter
’
s intercom.

“
Sir, the enemy forces could follow us…” Estelle
started.

“
I
’
m well aware of the risks, de
Winter!” Parks interrupted. “Fall back now! That
’
s an order!”

“
Yes, sir,” Estelle said, then to the team, “You heard the
Commodore - Fall back! Prepare to jump back to Spirit!”

Dodds complied, ceasing his attack on the Imperial fighters
and starting back towards
Griffin
. The others followed, plasma
and laser fire chasing the retreating ATAFs.

But as he headed toward the carrier, seeing enemy fire streak
past him and striking both himself and his friends, he was reminded
of a very similar situation that had occurred some months back; and
something inside him snapped. He slowed and swung his fighter back
around to face the pursuing enemies,
Griffin
and the other ATAFs falling
out of his cockpit view.

“
Dodds, what the hell?” Enrique said.

“
Dodds, get back here now!” Estelle called out to
him.

Dodds ignored her, as well as the calls from the others to
turn back around and return to
Griffin
,
so
that they might all depart the system whilst they still could. He
started to weave, dodge and twist his way through the swarm of
Imperial craft, surging closer to the six gathered frigates and the
enormous form of
Dragon
. And it was not long before he was well within range of his
target:
Ifrit
.

With the
cumulative enemy fire focused on his ATAF alone, his defences had
taken a considerable beating during his approach. Not that it now
mattered - he was right where he wanted to be.

* * *

“
Dodds.” Hawke did not need to be told who
was piloting the ATAF that was streaking towards
Ifrit
‘s
bridge; he instinctively knew that only one man
could be so arrogant as to pull off such a manoeuvre when everyone
else was falling back. He barked an order to the crew to
concentrate the carrier
’
s fire on the fighter, as the ATAF
aligned itself with the bridge.

For a moment, Hawke’s eyes widened. It was going to ram them!
At the same moment, a barrage of fire issued from beneath the
ATAF
’
s wings and
sped towards the bridge
’
s viewport, almost right where the
Imperial admiral and the former Confederation commodore were
standing. The bolts slammed headlong into the
bridge
’
s frontal
shield quadrant, at first striking it like rain drops upon a sheet
of glass. A number of seconds later, the shield collapsed, unable
to withstand the continuous hail of fire being directed at it. The
ATAF pulled away from its collision course, its work
done.

Hawke saw the bridge
’
s shield quadrant splinter for an
instant before the remaining bolts crashed unhindered into the
bridge
’
s main
viewport. Huge web-like cracks began to sprout at the points of
impact, and both he and Zackaria turned to evacuate the bridge
while they still could, the black-clad soldiers that occupied seats
and consoles springing up to follow them. The next instant, the
last set of bolts shattered the frontal viewport.

Hawke
managed to steady himself for but a fraction of a second before the
tremendous force of depressurisation yanked him backwards. He
crashed into one of the forward control consoles, fingers
scrambling for purchase about the long edge. A warning sounded on
the bridge and a pair of large blast screens starting to close, to
contain the exposure.

Zackaria
tumbled over backwards, straight through the middle of the
shattered window and out into space, the blast screens coming too
late to prevent his departure. Hawke followed, losing his grip on
the console that had at one time promised to spare him.

More
than half of the bridge crew were condemned to the same fate as
Zackaria and Hawke, unable to prevent themselves from being
jettisoned from the bridge.

* * *

Liu
looked up from his console. “Sir, it appears both Admiral Zackaria
and Commodore Hawke have been spaced. Enemy forces have also ceased
attacking.” He sounded confused.

“
Bring us about,” Parks said, wanting to see for himself. The
carrier turned back to face the enemy forces, and as the numerous
capital ships and fighters came into view, Parks saw that the scene
had become a good deal calmer than the chaos and savagery of the
battle that had proceeded it. A tremendous amount of debris and
wreckage tumbled about, but now guns on both sides were silent. It
was as if they had all at once reached a stalemate.

* * *

Dodds slowed and looked about from his run to see a number of
flailing bodies tumbling out across the surface of
Ifrit
. A small feeling
of satisfaction welled up within him as he made out what appeared
to be the unprotected body of Hawke amongst them. In their current
state, Dodds gave them all only a couple of minutes before they
succumbed to the vacuum; although, after what he had witnessed back
at Arlos he would not be surprised if they survived a little past
that. Whatever it was, they would not last very long.

As he continued to watch the bodies floating along, Dodds
became aware that he was no longer being fired upon; and nor was
anyone else. The enemy forces had ceased their attack on him, the
other
Knights
,
and
Griffin
, and were instead milling
around close to where the bodies tumbled. He remained where he was,
watching the Imperial and stolen Confederation fighters breaking
away and turning back towards
Ifrit
and
Dragon
. He saw a Ray ahead of him
slow, turn and accelerate away, without any intimidation of the
ATAF before it.

“
What
’
s going on?” It was Kelly, sounding
quite bewildered. “Why did they stop attacking?”

“
I… I don
’
t know,” Estelle said, sounding
just as bemused by what was occurring.

“
They
’
re worried about hitting Zackaria,”
Chaz said. “They don
’
t want to risk their leader being killed by a stray
shot.”

“
Speaking of which, good shooting, Dodds,” Enrique
said.

“
Yes, good shooting,” Estelle added.

Dodds
had half expected her to lecture him, but his wing leader had
decided to pass on the verbal slap. He brought his ATAF down to
where Hawke and Zackaria tumbled, reducing his speed to that of a
crawl so that he could examine the bodies up close. He moved
unopposed, passing by an Imperial fighter so close that he could
see the occupant within the craft. The pilot, clothed in black and
wearing a dark helmet with ruby-red eyes, paid him no attention
whatsoever, their focus on the commodore and admiral who were so
very close to death.

Dodds came within just a few meters of Hawke, seeing the
commodore
’
s face
contorted in a mixture of pain and disbelief. Even with the twisted
expression, Dodds noticed just how smooth, healthy- and
young-looking Hawke
’
s skin appeared; like that of the soldier whose helmet he had
removed only hours earlier. The man’s eyes were shut tight. Dodds
guessed that he had already lost consciousness.

He then
glanced to Zackaria and gave a start. The admiral was staring at
him with an expression that Dodds would not soon forget: something
had fought itself up from deep inside the man; something angry. It
was a threatening look that almost spoke to him through the vacuum
of space.

My God! He’s still alive!
Dodds
thought.
But… that’s impossible!
He then recalled what had happened at Arlos. So
was that. Dodds noticed how, unlike the soldier
’
s and Hawke
’
s faces,
Zackaria
’
s was
neither youthful nor unnaturally healthy-looking. And though he did
appear old, his face had more of a distinguished and reverent
appearance to it. It demanded respect.

Zackaria
never took his eyes off Dodds as he went by and the young pilot
could not help but think that he was studying him, marking him,
remembering him.

Dodds
’
comms were chattering with the sound of many different
voices, all four of the
White
Knights
trying to get his attention. He
ignored all of them watching as, in the sudden still of the battle,
a number of transport craft passed by him, stopping to pick up the
soldiers that had been jettisoned from the bridge. One slowed close
to Hawke and Zackaria, the two men being drawn inside.

“
Commodore…” Dodds started.

“
Stand down, Lieutenant. Return
to
Griffin
,” Parks said, pre-empting his question of whether he should
destroy the transports or leave them be. Dodds did not argue with
Parks and fell back towards
Griffin
, coming up alongside the
other ATAFs.

Together, the team watched as the transports flocked back
towards
Dragon
,
the huge battleship turning itself away from the Confederation
forces with their approach. Then, one after another,
Dragon
and the frigates
opened jump points and sped away from the conflict zone,
leaving
Griffin
and the
White Knights
all alone.

* * *

Meyers arrived in the Phylent system less than half an hour
after the Imperial naval forces had departed. He apologised
profusely to Parks for the time it had taken him to reach
Griffin
, despite matters
being well out of his control. Parks had waved away the apology and
together the two men began to organise repairs to
Griffin
and the
inspection of the state of
Ifrit
.

“
How are things looking?” Parks asked
Wyatt, as the head of security returned to
Griffin
‘s
bridge.

“
Aside from some minor damage to the
bridge, as well as a few other areas of the ship,
Ifrit
is in perfect
working order,” Wyatt said.

“
Any sign of hostile forces?”

“
No, sir. We performed a full sweep of the
entire carrier and didn
’
t find any. It looks like they all
abandoned the ship. I
’
m guessing they only manned
Ifrit
with the minimum amount of
crew they needed to operate it in the short-term. We did, however,
manage to locate some survivors…”

“
Have them arrested,” Parks said without waiting for Wyatt to
finish.

“
Sir?”

“
Attend to any injuries and then hold them in the brig. If
they try to escape, you are to shoot them dead. Do you
understand?”

Wyatt
frowned. “But, sir… with all due respect, they are just galley
hands and…”

“
You have my orders,” Parks said, not prepared to argue with
or hear the man out. “Now - Is the ship secure?”

“
Yes, Captain.
Ifrit
is ready for
command.”

“
Thank you,” Parks said, dismissing the man
before turning to Meyers. “I don
’
t know about you, but
I
’
ve had enough
of this system for one day.”

“
I can more than appreciate that,
Commodore,” Meyers said. “I will return to
Leviathan
and nominate
some personnel to help bring
Ifrit
home.” The man saluted and left the bridge,
leaving Parks alone to think for a moment.

Parks walked over to the captain
’
s chair and slumped down, feeling
both mentally and physically exhausted. He planned that once they
were in jump, he would retire to his quarters and get some
sleep.

Whilst he waited for Meyers to give him the all-clear on the
skeleton crew he was assembling, Parks reached into his pocket and
withdrew the small plastic capsule inside. The usually clear casing
was somewhat stained, possessing a light red tinge. He guessed
there was a long story to be heard that explained its condition,
yet he had not bothered to ask the
Knights
what they had been through
in order to get it. The five men and women looked more than just a
little exhausted. For now, he was happy to see the tiny, thin data
card safe and undamaged within.