Warfare: Rise Of Mankind Book 2 (16 page)

              They started off at a brisk pace, moving onto a heavy incline. One of the techs shouted, “I’m closing the blast door!” which essentially meant they wouldn’t be fried as they traveled. Clea tapped at her scanner to bring up a timer based on the energy build up. She frowned at the twenty seven minutes that appeared.

              “This might fluctuate,” Clea said into her com. “But right now, I’m seeing only twenty seven minutes before detonation.”

              “Not exactly thirty,” Hoffner said. “Let’s hope it’s like every other time I install software and it jumps up to forty.”

              “Um…I don’t think it works like that, sir.”

              Hoffner chuckled. “I know, Clea. Stay focused, everyone. The shuttle’s incoming and will be here in plenty of time.”

              Five minutes into the run, Clea’s legs began to ache. When she did her run on the treadmill, it adjusted to give her inclines but this seemed entirely different. Carrying equipment, and the weight of impending death, changed the scenario. Plus, and she hadn’t thought of it before, the gravity on the planet may be somewhat different than she was used to.

              Of course, living on a ship meant planetary gravity always felt a little odd. Earth’s in particular made her feel a little on the light side. Another five minutes and her lungs burned. She did her best to ignore it, to concentrate on motion instead of the pain it caused. Those around her, the technicians who were
not
used to this kind of exertion, seemed to  be suffering the most.

              They would definitely be pushed to their limits.

              Perhaps hustling would cut some of the time down. The fifteen minutes might’ve been walking. She didn’t think to ask and now that they were in motion, it was too late to ask. Of course, how often did they really clock their time? Maybe they were wrong…A chill took the sweat on her neck.

              Maybe they were wrong about it
only
taking fifteen minutes.

             
That kind of thinking is exactly what Captain Hoffner warned me against.

              The shuttle sent a ping to the group and it appeared on her head’s up display. They were less than eight minutes out and making good time. Reports indicated the fighting stopped on the surface. Alliance troops fell back and granted the enemy access to the facility. The mainstay of the enemy forces were attacking the front doors, or at least filed inside there.

              Clea found some grim satisfaction of what they’d find in there. If they figured it out, they’d likely not be able to get away in time. Yes, the alliance was about to use a valuable asset but the sheer number of victims on the opposing side, the losses they’d endure there…it may not make up for it all but it might make it easier to stomach.

              The Behemoth and Crystal Font prepared to reengage the enemy. As they moved toward the enemy position, Olly kept an eye on various readings throughout the system. He noticed a particularly large surge on the planet, something which made him sit forward suddenly and whack his knee on the console.

              “Ouch…”

              “What’s wrong?” Tim asked, “This too much for you?”

              “Shut up, man. I just hit my knee.” Olly cleared his throat. “Captain, I’ve got a strange reading from the surface. If I understand what I’m seeing, it’s only going to get worse. Right now, I’d say it’s strong enough to wipe out a house but if it keeps going, and I don’t see an end to its increase, it might be able to destroy a chunk of the continent.”

              “Do you have an origin?” Adam asked.

              “The facility…” Olly hummed. “It
must
be their reactor. The Font shared some of their technology with me before we left Earth and it’s very possible. They use a renewable energy source but if it’s not contained, it’s pretty destructive.”

              “Like our pulse drives.” Gray scowled. “Agatha, can you get a message to Hoffner and Clea?”

              “I’ll try, sir. The interference is pretty intense.”

              “Get on it. I’m patching into the Crystal Font.”

              Kale appeared on the screen. “Have your people picked up that energy reading from the planet’s surface?” Gray asked. “It looks pretty intense.”

              “We have.” Kale frowned. “Either the reactor of our facility has been damaged or someone has intentionally set it to overload. Regardless, the damage will be catastrophic. We need to get our people off immediately.”

              “We’re trying to reach our people right now,” Gray said, “ but a more pressing problem is presenting itself. Those two ships have to come down. If they see us going for the surface, they’ll be trouble.”

              “More importantly, I’m sure they have picked up the readings as well.” Kale turned away for a moment and nodded. “Yes, they are charging forward…probably not to get their people but in a vain attempt to stop the process. They want that data, they can’t afford for it to be destroyed.”

              “Chances of success?”

              “None. That reactor is going to explode.” Kale shrugged. “It’s just a matter of when that happens.”

              Gray nodded. “Understood. I’ve got an idea. How are your planetary satellites powered?”

              “Small pulse engines,” Kale replied. “Someone from the surface can make course corrections to keep their orbit steady.”

              Gray smiled.

              “What’s your thought, Captain?”

              “Olly, give me a count of artificial satellites orbiting the world?”

              “I’m picking up thirty-three sir. Six were destroyed when the enemy ship committed suicide near the four alliance cruisers.”

              “That’s thirty-three bombs floating around the planet,” Gray said. “If we have our pilots grab them, they can hurl them toward the enemy. Meanwhile, our bombers will unleash their own ordinance. All combined, even if we don’t take someone down, we’ll definitely harass the hell out of them while we put some pulse cannons behind the attack.”

              “An excellent strategy,” Kale agreed. “I will have our people start rounding them up.”

              “Hold on,” Olly said. “I’ve tapped into the satellite control and am bringing them back around to this side of the planet. That’ll make it easier for the pilots…they won’t have to fly all the way around to get the back ones. ETA…oh, crap…it’ll only be practical to grab around thirteen of them. The rest are too far away. They’d take nearly a half hour even with help from our fastest fighters.”

              “Can you make them fall?” Adam asked. “Drop them on the enemy forces around the base?”

              “Not with any accuracy,” Olly said. “Their thrusters are only meant to keep them in orbit and from colliding, not navigating to a specific location on the surface.”

              “Don’t worry about that,” Gray said, “it would’ve been a nice opportunity but we have bigger fish to fry. Get Revente on the line and put our bombers with those satellites. Coordinate with Crystal Font ships to send enough ordinance to distract our enemies. Redding, put us on an attack course. We’ve got to make something happen now or a lot of people are going to die.”

***

              Rudy’s team had been on standby for the majority of the engagement. When his wing got clearance to launch, he knew they were nearing an endgame. They didn’t like to deploy the expensive, larger ships without knowing they’d be able to accomplish their mission. Whatever the captain had planned must be good.

              “Rudy,” Revente got him on a private channel. “We’re trying something a little crazy but it  shouldn’t be too dangerous for you. Command is sending the planet’s artificial satellites against the enemy, using their pulse cores as bombs. You guys are going to send your own ordinance along with them.”

              “Two for one,” Rudy said. “I get it. They can’t possibly stop them all, right?”

              “Exactly. They might shoot a few down but if you guys unleash everything, we’re hoping to see their shields drop.”

              “Then?”

              “Then the Behemoth and Crystal Font swoop in and unload pulse cannons on them.” Revente paused. “Just keep back from all the blasts. I want you guys to fire and get out. No heroics. Deploy and run, got it?”

              “You take the fun out of living,” Rudy joked. “I’m starting to wish I’d taken up with Meagan’s wing. She gets to risk her life constantly.”

              “I’m sure she’ll trade places,” Revente said. “Get your people in position and wait for my mark.”

              Rudy repeated the orders to his wing and they headed out to the designated coordinates sent to their computers. Other ships flew around them, the smaller, more agile fighters providing escort. He felt thankful to see them, knowing his own vessel lacked their maneuverability. The bombers carried plenty of armor, enough to withstand a lot of punishment but prolonged engagements meant certain death.

              “Hey, Rudy,” Meagan’s voice crackled in his ear. “I heard you get to actually be useful this time around.”

              “Glad to see you too, Meagan.” Rudy smirked. “Let me guess, you got escort duty?”

              “Sort of. My people are going to help hurtle those satellites at the bad guys. Looks like I finally get to know what it feels like to throw bombs around.”

              “A lot more scary than your little blasters, I assure you.”

              “We’ll see.” Meagan flew over him, practically little more than a blur. “See you soon, buddy!”

              “Don’t take too long!” He called. “We’re sitting ducks on this line here.”

              “I know. We’re flying as fast as we can.”

              Rudy brought them up on his long range scans, putting a camera on it. It zoomed in enough so he could see the first ship launch a tow cable, attaching it to the first satellite. As the pilot gunned his engine, he pulled the makeshift bomb away from orbit and off toward the enemy ships fast approaching.

             
Jesus, this is going to be closer than anyone thinks. Those guys are really hauling ass!

              His own computer warned of the energy surge on the planet’s surface, a massive power build up leading to an explosion. Whatever their opponents thought they could do, command disagreed. They said the process was irreversible. Whatever went on down there was going to happen regardless.

              “All pilots, this is Panther One,” Meagan’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “We along with the Tai’Li have attached cables to all available satellites and are moving them into position. Bomber standby to unleash your barrage.”

              “Just keep out of the way,” Rudy said into the com. “We are tying our guidance and detonators to the enemy signal but they’re still fast moving projectiles.”

              “We’re pretty good at avoiding those,” Panther Two spoke up. “Don’t worry about us, just get your big butts back to base safe and sound.”

              “That was quite the alliteration,” Rudy said, “did you come up with it all on your own?”

              “Cut the chatter,” Revente’s voice interrupted. “Focus on the mission. We’ve got too much at stake for joking around.”

              Rudy smiled, mostly because he knew Revente too well to think he was actually angry. Stories of his past indicated he’d done some pretty outrageous stuff as a young pilot, up to and including some pretty insane heroics. Because of his results, often the type that won battles, he got promoted. Rudy always thought it was to get him out of a cockpit and into something where his experience would survive.

              “Alright, everyone,” Meagan said. “We are beginning our attack run. We’ll reach maximum velocity then release our cables. When we give you our mark, let them go. We’ll get out of the way.”

              Rudy focused, engaging his computer and preparing to unload every bomb in his payload. He tapped into his wing. “Okay, guys. You know the drill. Enough thrusters to avoid recoil from deploying. No one departs until
all
bombs are deployed. Fall back together and form up for RTB, got it?”

              His wing acknowledged.

              The enemy vessels charged toward them. Fighters led the way, providing a screen. If they only launched a few bombs, they might be a problem but they barely provided little more than obstacles in this case. The massive ordinance they planned to send against them wouldn’t be a fight, it would be an explosive moment of chaos.

              Meagan’s wing and the Tai’Li suddenly pulled up, their cables dangling behind as they reeled them in. “Fire, now!” Meagan shouted.

              “You heard her!” Rudy yelled. “Go, go, go!”

              His ship began to shake as the bombs were deployed, one after another ejecting from his vessel and speeding off toward their target. They rarely did carpet bomb tactics, never fired in such a manner because two or three pieces of ordinance did plenty of damage on their own. If half of what they fired landed, it would cause some serious trouble.

              Sixteen bombs each, a grand total of one hundred twenty-eight bombs. As their destructive fleet headed toward their targets, they saw over a hundred glowing turbines driving them onward. “Form up and RTB!” Rudy pulled up, rendezvousing with his wing. “It’s on you, Meagan.”

              “We’ll clear a path but we can’t do it long…See you soon, Rudy.”

***

              Meagan felt the cable detach and yanked back on the controls. The satellite flew beneath her, speeding toward the enemy ships. “Fire now!” She shouted to the bombers as her own wing formed up. They needed to address the fighters, clearing them out so the bombs didn’t get wasted on smaller targets.

              “Get some of those bastards, guys,” Meagan called. “Two on one. They like to solo so let them die alone.”

              Mick took her wing and they closed on their first target, spinning in behind him. The ship tried to climb and bank but her first two shots clipped it’s wing, sending it into an uncontrolled dive. It collided with one of his own men and both exploded in a spectacular fashion. They turned, preparing for another engagement.

              Blasts erupted around them, flying past the cockpit and nearly taking her out. She made a minor correction, diving enough to avoid the attacks but to keep him on her six. “Get him, Mick. I’m not in the mood for what he’s selling.”

              “On it, boss.” Mick flipped around and she saw him blur off as another barrage surrounded her.

              “This is getting close, Mick…”

              A series of blue colored attacks flew past her, pulse shots from Mick’s fighter.
Jesus, I’m going to get taken down by friendly fire!

              An explosion shook her from behind. For half a moment, she thought she might’ve been hit. A quick check indicated all systems read normal. “Thank God…And thank
you
, Mick.”

              “No problem.” The bombs flew past them, wrecking fighters that didn’t get out of the way fast enough. Such fast moving weapons cut through anything in their path, ripping them apart without so much as diverting their courses. Quickly, the fighting stopped as enemy fighters tried to get out of the way while the Behemoth shots blew them away.

              “Whoa,” Meagan shook her head. “We have to get out of here, guys. Fall back. Now!”

              They turned toward the Behemoth, burying the throttles as they flew away. Behind them, lights flashed as ships exploded, those who couldn’t get out of the way. According to her scanners, they were trying to take out the bombs but there were too many. The satellites helped mask them, making the attack all the more effective.