A Viper's Nest: Border Station Five - Chapter Thirteen
“All Wings report to the Launch Bays,” said a female voice, “I repeat, this is a Drill. Enemy fighters inbound, all Wings report to the Launch Bays, this is a Drill,” she said.
Across all pilot decks of the Ruination of Minerva, Vipers rushed towards their assigned Bays. Zsosu surprised John when she appeared at the doorway to his left and shouted, causing him to choke on some glowing paste. With practised ease, the Viper pilots inside the canteen stood in unison and headed for the nearest exit.
“Time to go,” Nuki said as she stood, “do you think you are ready?” she asked.
“I do,” John replied between coughs.
“Make sure you bring your pad,” Nuki said as she turned and headed for the nearest exit. She watched as John retrieved it and jogged over to her. “Normally, I would get you to lead the way. However, I think it is best you follow,” Nuki suggested.
“Agreed,” John said with a laugh as he attached his pad to his right thigh. Heading to where Nuki was waiting, John made eye contact with Zsosu.
“I am assigning you to the Flight Lieutenant’s wing,” she said, looking down at John. “Considering this will be your first time piloting a real Mamba, I suspect you will appreciate and learn from her experience,” Zsosu pointed out, and then smiled at John.
“Thank you,” he said, admiring how her light blue scales reflected the light.
“I suggest you use this opportunity to learn as much as possible,” Zsosu suggested, “now hurry up and get to the Launch Bay. Matriarch Ossih and Admiral Sshuizshallius will be watching this drill closely,” she warned. Without thinking, John saluted and then turned around and headed off with Nuki.
*****
“Urgh, why do I have to wear this thing?” Ossih asked as she sat down on her command chair.
“Because we are about to have a battle,” Sshuizshallius replied.
She looked up from her position at the Tactical Display Table and rolled her eyes. Ossih had complained about wearing a Nanosuit for the last few minutes. Its dark crimson colour contrasted against her yellowy-orange scales. Bridge Officers tried not to snicker as the Matriarch tugged at the thin yet strong fabric of the Nanosuit. They resumed their work after Sshuizshallius glared at them.
“You know full well that all crew are required to wear their Nanosuits while on duty, especially during a battle,” Sshuizshallius pointed out. Ossih sighed as she looked over to where she was standing.
“I suppose I should present myself as a role model for your crew, even though it is only a drill,” Ossih said.
“I am sure they will appreciate it,” Sshuizshallius replied.
“What battle do we have today?” Ossih inquired.
“Five waves of Lupine Heavy Fighters will be attacking the fleet,” Sshuizshallius replied, “and our Mamba Fighters will launch and engage them,” she pressed a nearby button, and the TDT’s hologram changed.
Projected high above the TDT, the hologram showed Border Station Five and the Matriarchy fleet. Moments later, and approaching from behind the fleet, several red blips appeared. They headed for the larger Matriarchy vessels shortly before being intercepted by blue blips, representing the Black Mambas. As the two forces engaged, the TDT projection created a second wave.
“As you can see,” Sshuizshallius said, gesturing to the hologram, “this is the planned attack pattern for the Lupine forces during the drill,” Sshuizshallius pressed a nearby button as she finished talking. The TDT resumed its projection of the surrounding space.
“What will the rest of the fleet be doing?” Ossih asked.
“For this simulated battle,” Sshuizshallius started to say as one of the Bridge Crew passed her a pad, “the majority of the fleet, as well as the station, won’t be taking part, however,” Sshuizshallius said as she passed the pad back to the waiting Viper, “a few of the smaller vessels will represent key objectives during the drill,” she said.
“What will John be doing?” Ossih inquired.
“He has been assigned to Flight Lieutenant Nuki’s Wing,” replied Sshuizshallius as she tried her best not to roll her eyes.
“If I recall, this’ll be the first time John has flown one of our fighters,” Ossih said, and Sshuizshallius nodded.
“The reports from his training sessions indicate that John should be able to pilot a Mamba, however,” Sshuizshallius started to say as another crew member passed her a pad, “he is a Male, and a Terran. We have no data on how well he’ll perform in a live fire exercise,” she said. The waiting crew member smiled at Ossih and then took the pad from Sshuizshallius when she was finished with it.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Ossih said. “I have a feeling he’ll surprise everyone,” she finished with a smirk, and then smiled at Sshuizshallius.
*****
John jogged behind Nuki as she and the other Viper Pilots headed toward their assigned hangar. It had been some time since he had last done some exercise, other than having sex, and so John found that he was nearing his limit when at last they arrived at the hangar’s heavily armoured doors.
One of the pilots placed their hand on the nearby palm scanner, and after a few beeps, the large doors unlocked and slowly swung open. The smell of machine oil and fumes hit John as the Pilots headed through the doors. Stepping into the Hangar, John was surprised to find it very similar to the version he had seen inside the training pods.
“John, over here,” Nuki called out, and John rushed over to where she was standing.
“Is this mine?” he asked, and Nuki nodded.
“Yes,” she replied “just like your training pod, this Mamba has been modified for you to fly. You will find it almost identical to the pod,” Nuki said.
A Viper Engineer appeared and activated the fighter’s ladder. After it had finished lowering, John took hold of the offered hand and pulled himself up and onto the ladder. Reaching the top, he stepped into the cockpit, adjusting his position so that he could comfortably sit down. As he slotted his legs onto either side of the flight stick, the Engineer appeared.
“Here, let me help,” she said.
John watched as she placed her left hand on his right leg, bent down and used her right hand to grab the cables dangling between his legs. The Engineer eyed his crotch as she connected them to the chair. Smiling up at John as she finished, the Engineer stood up and strapped him in.
“Good luck out there,” she said.
“Thanks,” John replied as the Viper smiled at him before stepping off the fighter.
Once the Engineer was clear, John lowered the cockpit canopy and brought the Mamba’s engines online. Switching flight mode to carrier launch, John then activated the grappling arm. His fighter rocked left to right as the arm took hold of the Mamba and loaded it into the launch tube in front. Once in place, the HUD inside John’s cockpit changed to launch mode and displayed a percentage meter.
*****
“Loading complete,” said Launch Control, “charging now. Let me know when you wish to launch,” the Viper said.
“Understood,” replied John.
“John, try and stay calm,” Shalsui said, “your vitals are spiking,” she added.
“Sorry, he replied, “I’m surprisingly nervous,” John replied.
“You have done this plenty of times,” Nuki pointed out, “Just breathe normally and relax,” she said.
“Charge at one hundred per cent,” John said, changing the subject.
“All systems are green, launch on your word,” said Launch Control.
*****
The Gloydius-class Gunship, Matriarch’s Patience, flew past The Ruination of Minerva as the Battleship powered up its holo emitter. A diamond-shaped section of its hull rose ten feet and then arcs of green energy sparked across its surface as the device activated. Shapes of various sizes and colours appeared around the Matriarchy fleet as the emitter cycled through the test phase. Once complete, several hardlight holograms of Lupine fighters appeared and slowly performed manoeuvres around the fleet.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to holographic space battles,” Captain Solsa said.
The light from the Tactical Display Table reflected off her porcelain-white primary scales, making her glow bright green. As she shook her head, Solsa’s hood flapped back and forth, the motion making the light darken as it hit the softer inner part of her hood. The warm pink secondary scales taking on a darker green hue.
“I’m just glad the computer assigns them a specific tag, otherwise, tracking them would be a nightmare,” Tactical Officer Zusku pointed out.
“Agreed,” replied Solsa. She watched as Zusku tapped away at the TDT. The green light was barely noticeable on her dark green scales.
“What were our orders again, Captain?” asked Comms Officer Izsal as she stood to Solsa’s left.
“We’re to remain alert during the training session,” Solsa replied. “Fighters from the Minerva will be fighting several waves of Lupine fighters,” she said.
“I hear that Terran male will be flying too,” Izsal said, and Solsa nodded.
“Apparently, the Matriarchs wish to see how well he performs in a Mamba,” she said.
“Well,” Zusku began as she adjusted the display in front of her, “let’s just hope he’s as good in space as he is in a nest,” she said with a smile.
“Ha,” Solsa laughed, “I’ve heard some of our Gunnery Vipers are itching to get him into one of their nests,” she said, and several of the bridge crew laughed.
“They even have a pool going,” Izsal said.
“What’s the bet on?” Solsa asked.
“It’s a combination of who’ll get him into their nest first, and whether the Patience will be first,” Izal replied.
“I’m not sure anyone will win if that’s the case,” Solsa said, “the likelihood of the Terran coming on board the Patience is slim,” she pointed out.
“That’s why I haven’t made a bet,” Zusku chimed in.
“Receiving orders from the Minerva, Captain,” said one of the Bridge crew.
“Send it to my Command Chair,” Solsa ordered as she turned around and headed toward her chair.
*****
“Punch it,” John said. He was pushed into the back of his seat as Launch Control fired his Mamba out of the tube. John grunted from the sudden force of gravity as he flew out of the Carrier, as well as his Nano Flightsuit tightening around his limbs. Remembering his training in the pod, John tried to adjust his breathing. Shortly after launching, the Mamba shook as it flew through the Minerva’s shields. Then John used both his engines and thrusters to carefully turn his fighter to the right, eventually flying alongside the giant battleship.
“Alpha Wing, form up on me,” Nuki said over the comms.
John found her fighter on his sensors, adjusted course and flew over to where she was waiting. As he arrived at Nuki’s location, John fired the thrusters at the front of his Mamba, slowing his speed, and just about managed to stop alongside her. Minutes later, the other members of Alpha Wing arrived, and as Nuki headed off, they altered their formation into a delta wing.
“Shalsui to all Wings,” the Wing Commander said, “in sixty seconds, hardlight Lupine holograms will commence their attack on our fleet. This will be an endurance test, so manage your resources carefully,” she ordered.
“What does that mean?” asked John.
“We will not be able to resupply during this drill,” Nuki replied. “Stay with me and follow my orders. I doubt you will have any issues,” she said, and John noticed it was a private channel.
“Understood,” he replied, making sure he selected the correct channel.
“Alpha Wing,” Nuki said over the open comms, “we have been assigned to the sector patrolled by Matriarch’s Patience, a Gloydius-class Gunship. Let us show those muscleheads what real Vipers can do,” she said. The other members of Alpha Wing cheered.
Appearing on the sensors for John’s Mamba was an objective marker, and as he stayed in formation with Nuki, his HUD displayed the marker a few seconds later. Checking his position on his sensors, John noticed that he was falling behind. So, pushing forward with his left hand, John’s fighter accelerated forward and kept up with the other members of Alpha Wing as they headed toward the waiting Matriarchy Gunship. His Nano Flightsuit activated again as the pressure from the engines pushed him back.
“How are you doing, John?” Nuki asked.
“Those training pods are great, but they don’t compare to the real thing,” he replied.
“Ha,” laughed a member of Alpha Wing, “just wait until you are pulling fifteen to twenty gs trying to get a lock on a Lupine Fighter,” she said.
“Okay, keep it down,” Nuki warned.
“I should be fine,” John said, “I am an experienced fighter pilot after all,” he pointed out.
“Not in zero g,” replied Shalsui. John guessed she had been listening to their comms. “Just keep in formation with the Flight Lieutenant and you should be fine, John,” she said.
“Understood,” replied John.
*****
“Captain,” Izsal called out, “the Minerva’s Alpha Wing is approaching,” she said.
“Understood,” replied Solsa. “Bridge to Gunnery Sergeant Nisha,” she said after pressing a button on her Command Chair.
“Nisha here, Captain,” replied the Gunnery Sergeant.
“We have a wing of Mamba Fighters approaching, remind your crews they’re not the enemy,” Solsa ordered.
“Ha, of course, Captain,” replied Nisha.
“Do you think she’ll listen?” Izsal asked as Solsa closed the channel.
“Well, if she doesn’t, then she’ll be confined to her quarters after the drill,” Solsa replied.
*****
“All right, you muscle-bound freaks,” Nisha shouted, “we’ve got a wing of Mamba fighters heading our way. I want you all to trigger their early warning systems,” she said with a smile, and the room echoed to laughter.
Nisha watched as the gunnery crew for the Matriarch’s Patience headed for their assigned turrets. While the drill was only for the fighters stationed on board the Ruination of Minerva, other ships within the Matriarchy fleet were allowed to assist. However, only laser-based weapons were permitted, and their power settings had to be set at the lowest level.
“Your turret should be ready in a few minutes,” said a Viper Engineer as Nisha walked over to where it was sitting. She looked around the room and watched as each Gunner entered their turrets and powered them up. Minutes later, the Engineer finished the maintenance work she had been doing for the last few hours.
“Were you able to fix the issue with the firing mechanism?” Nisha asked.
“Yes,” replied the Engineer, “I’ve replaced the part and done a quick test, and everything seems to indicate that the problem has gone,” she said.
“That’s good to know,” Nisha sighed, “I wouldn’t want to hit any of our ships, especially with this drill going on,” she said.
“Well, as I said, it should be fine,” the Engineer then packed away her tools and moved away from the platform. She watched as Nisha entered the turret and activated it.
“You’ve even got rid of that annoying screeching noise,” Nisha said.
“Yeah, whoever did the maintenance last didn’t fill the lubricant properly,” the Engineer pointed out.
“I suggest you back away, I’m ascending,” Nisha said as the platform began to rise.
*****
Flying through space, John looked around as his Mamba flew past several Matriarchy vessels. He was busy enjoying seeing through his cockpit, as though it wasn’t there, when an alert appeared on his HUD.
“Erm, is anyone else seeing this?” John asked. His cockpit began emitting a warning sound.
“Seeing what?” asked Nuki.
“My HUD just lit up like a Christmas tree,” John replied.
“What is a Christmas tree?” one of the Viper pilots asked.
“Hey, we are being targeted,” another pilot said.
“I’ve found the source,” John said, “it’s coming from... hey, why are they locking on to us?” he asked.
“It is the Patience,” Nuki pointed out, “I think their Gunnery crew are trying to scare us,” she guessed.
“Urgh, those muscle-bound freaks,” a Viper Pilot complained.
“Muscle-bound?” John asked, confused.
“So, you know the average height of a Viper is eight feet tall?” Nuki asked John.
“Yeah, and Matriarchs are normally nine,” he replied.
“So, Gunnery Vipers usually are closer to nine feet. In fact, a higher percentage of them are, compared to the rest of the Matriarchy Military,” she said.
“Wow,” John replied. “Why?” he asked.
“The majority of the weapon turrets used by The Matriarchy are manned,” Shalsui chimed in. “To aid them in their work, which is often very taxing, long ago it was decided that Gunnery Vipers needed to be a lot stronger than the average Viper,” she said.
“Artificially or through selective breeding?” John inquired.
“A bit of both,” replied Nuki.
“However,” interrupted Shalsui, “in general, Gunnery Vipers spend a lot of their free time weight lifting and consuming specialised food, which helps increase overall muscle mass,” she said.
“So, when you say ‘Muscle-bound freaks’, you literally mean it?” John queried.
“Yeah,” replied Nuki.
“If you ever find yourself alone with one of them, or several, be careful,” Shalsui warned, “they have a reputation for wearing out Males,” she said.
“Noted,” John replied with a laugh. “We’re still being targeted,” he pointed out.
“John, contact the Patience and ask them to cease their targeting,” Nuki ordered.
“Why me?” he asked.
“Because I have ordered you to,” replied Nuki.
*****
“We’re receiving a hail from the approaching fighters, Captain,” Izsal said, pulling Solsa’s attention away from her pad. She had resumed her seat at the Command Chair.
“Patch it in,” Solsa ordered as she placed the pad against her right thigh.
“This is Lieutenant John Lawrence, hailing Matriarch’s Patience,” said an unfamiliar male voice. The murmur of conversations inside the Patience’s bridge disappeared as each Viper listened, realising that it was the Terran Male.
“Receiving you loud and clear, Lieutenant,” replied Solsa as she looked up at the viewscreen. “My name is Captain Solsa, commanding the Matriarch’s Patience,” she said. The view from inside John’s fighter showed him sitting inside the darkened cockpit.
“Alpha Wing has been assigned to your patrol sector,” John said, “out of curiosity, do you know why your turrets have us targeted?” he inquired.
“Are they?” Solsa replied as she looked at Zusku, who in turn frantically used a nearby keypad on the TDT.
“Yes,” replied John, “no…wait, looks like they’ve stopped targeting our fighters,” he said. The viewscreen showed him leaning forward to look at the sensor display.
“It must have been a glitch,” replied Solsa, “I will have my Engineers check our systems. I am sure the Matriarchs would not want you to get hurt,” she said.
“Ha, that’s true,” John replied.
“We look forward to working with you,” Solsa said as the commlink was closed and the viewscreen returned to an exterior view.
“I thought you ordered the gunnery crew not to target them?” asked Izsal, and the Captain glared at her.
*****
“Not bad for your first official comms,” Nuki said. She adjusted her heading to bring Alpha Wing alongside the Gunship.
“I wasn’t really sure what to say,” John admitted as he flew alongside Nuki. The thrusters alongside the hull of his Mamba fired as he made minor course corrections.
“That is okay,” replied Nuki. “I imagine the Captain is scalding her gunnery crew as we speak,” she said.
“A prank gone wrong?” John suggested.
“Not necessarily,” replied Nuki, “it is common for Gunnery Crews and Pilots to fight each other, but it never results in any injuries,” she said.
“So, they were just teasing then?” John asked.
“Most likely,” replied Nuki, “I do, however, think that Captain Solsa will be telling them off, right about now,” she pointed out.
*****
“As you can see, Matriarch,” Comms Officer Aszu said as she pointed to the TDT, “each Wing of Mamba Fighters, launched from the Minerva, has taken up key patrol routes around the fleet,” Aszu adjusted the TDT when she finished speaking.
“So, if we follow the shown route of the Lupine Fighters,” Ossih said, pointing at an approaching group of holograms, “they’ll encounter our fighters and attack?” she asked.
“That’s correct, Matriarch,” Aszu said with a smile. She noticed how the green light from the TDT reflected off Ossih’s orange scales. She had never seen it before, but her secondary scale colour of black made her hands look like she was wearing fingerless gloves.
“Thank you for helping me to understand,” Ossih said as she returned the smile.
“The first wave of Lupine Fighters will be in weapons range in ten seconds,” Tactical Officer Oki announced.
“Have our forces detected them?” Sshuizshallius asked from her Command Chair.
“Not yet,” replied Oki.
“If I’m reading this correctly,” Ossih said from where she was standing, “the Lupine Fighters are approaching our fleet in stealth mode,” she tapped away at the TDT as she finished speaking.
Sshuizshallius stood up and headed over to where her Officers and the Matriarch were standing. She looked at the data Ossih was reading, glanced at what the TDT was displaying and then looked up at her two officers.
“Did you change the parameters?” Sshuizshallius asked.
“No,” replied Aszu.
“I don’t even know which simulation we’re using,” replied Oki.
“Hmm,” Sshuizshallius said as she accessed a new screen.
“What’s wrong?” Ossih asked.
“This isn’t the simulation I chose for today’s drill,” Sshuizshallius replied.
“Who selected it?” Ossih inquired.
“No one,” Oki answered as she too scanned through the data Sshuizshallius was reading.
“I’m confused,” Ossih said, looking at the three Vipers, “if no one selected it, why is it being run?” she asked.
“It looks like an override signal was sent by the station,” Sshuizshallius said as she looked up at Ossih, “the command code used has a Matriarch Cypher.” She then made eye contact with Ossih.
“Don’t look at me,” she said, “I imagine it was either Szaki or Eztuh,” Ossih then looked at the other Bridge Officers.
“Or both of them,” Oki suggested.
“Did they tell you that they were going to do this?” Sshuizshallius asked Ossih, and she shook her head. Her large, flared hood flapped back and forth.
“No,” Ossih replied, “I’m more interested in John and whether I can get him in my nest, than playing around with combat drills,” she admitted. There was an audible snicker from a Viper, somewhere within the Minvera’s bridge.
“We’ll contact the Station once the drill starts. For now, I need to address the fleet,” Sshuizshallius said as she walked over to her Command Chair. “This is Admiral Sshuizshallius,” the bridge of the Minerva went quiet as she spoke, “to all ships hearing my voice, an unexpected simulation has been chosen for today’s drill. While we ascertain the goal of said simulation, endurance mode is cancelled, and all vessels taking part are to activate their holo-rearm and supply nodes,” Sshuizshallius ordered.
“Confirmations are coming now, Admiral,” Aszu announced.
“The first wave of Lupine Fighters has already commenced their attack,” Oki said.
“Understood,” replied Sshuizshallius, “have the computer analyse the simulation, I want to know its aim. Contact Border Station Five,” she ordered.
“At once, Admiral,” replied Oki.
*****
Alpha Wing flew past Matriarch’s Patience as the last of its turrets ceased tracking the Mambas. Looking to his right as he went past, John watched as the shadow of his fighter danced across the Patience’s curved hull. As it went past the turret at the front of the Gunship, John used his Mamba’s sensors to zoom his view in. Sitting inside the turret was a heavily armoured Viper. She looked up as Alpha Wing started to turn and waved.
“Huh,” John said before remembering his commlink was open.
“You okay, John?” Nuki asked.
“Sorry,” he replied, “I was looking at the Gunship as we flew past, and noticed one of the crew waved,” John said.
“She probably noticed your fighter was out of formation,” Shalsui replied, “Pay attention to what you are doing,” she ordered.
“Sorry. Yes, ma'am,” replied John.
Several of the pilots in Alpha Wing sniggered as Nuki led them toward their next patrol target point. John focused on maintaining formation with Nuki, ensuring his fighter stayed within the highlighted patrol path displayed on his sensors and HUD.
“So,” John said as he cleared his throat, “is it me or should our sensors be picking up the approaching Lupine Fighters already?” he queried.
“You have a point,” Nuki replied, “Wing Commander, have your sensors picked them up?” she asked.
“Negative,” Shalsui replied, “I will contact the Minerva, see what they…” A signal from the Battleship overrode all Comms Channels.
“This is Admiral Sshuizshallius. To all ships hearing my voice, an unexpected simulation has been chosen for today’s drill. While we ascertain the goal of said simulation, endurance mode is cancelled, and all vessels taking part are to activate their holo-rearm and supply nodes,” Sshuizshallius ordered.
“What the fuck?” said John, after a few seconds.
*****
“Admiral,” Ossih said, standing by the TDT.
“Yes, Matriarch?” replied Sshuizshallius, the light from the holograms above the TDT reflecting off her light green and cream-coloured scales.
“Why not just cancel the drill, reset the scenario, and then run what you had originally planned?” Ossih asked.
“Because I can’t,” Sshuizshallius replied.
“What do you mean?” asked Ossih, and she heard the Admiral sigh.
“Because your sisters have locked the scenario into the ship’s computer,” Sshuizshallius replied.
“Ah,” Ossih said, “and while Matriarch access codes are the highest in The Matriarchy, one Matriarch can’t override two codes,” she realised.
“Yes,” said Sshuizshallius.
“Perhaps we should contact the station, see if my sisters can undo their work,” Ossih suggested.
“Perhaps,” agreed Sshuizshallius.
*****
“Sensors are picking up Lupine Corvettes with Heavy Fighter escorts,” John said as his HUD alerted him to the incoming sensor contacts.
“Spotted, John, thanks,” Nuki said, and John noticed the patrol route on his HUD change as she made adjustments on the fly.
Alpha Wing turned to face the approaching holograms. Each fighter’s momentum remained unchanged as the thrusters alongside their hulls fired, rotating each Mamba on its axis. As soon as they entered weapons range, Alpha Wing opened fire. Missiles launched from their bays, rockets firing, and onboard computers calculated appropriate course corrections to reach their intended targets. The three enemy Corvettes fired their thrusters and slowly turned their hulls to face the approaching Matriarchy fighters. Their Heavy Laser turrets tracked Alpha Wing’s approach and opened fire.
“Alpha Wing scatter!” Nuki ordered as she rotated her fighter ninety degrees to the left and pushed forward on her throttle. John tried his best to keep in formation with her as Nuki’s engines flared into life.
The sudden shift in gravity made John grunt loudly as the G-forces pushed him back, to the left, upside down, and to the right. He felt his Nano Flightsuit tighten and adjust itself as his Mamba Fighter banked to the right, corkscrewed to the left, pulled a three hundred and sixty degree loop, and then dived down.
“Fucking hell,” John swore as Nuki finally flew straight.
“Sorry about that, John,” Nuki apologised, “but we had two fighters targeting us. Thankfully, Oaszi was able to take them out,” she said.
“If I don’t throw up after this, I’ll be surprised,” John admitted.
“Throw up?” Nuki said, “What do you mean?” she asked.
“Be sick, vomit,” John replied.
“Oh, I see. Well, yes, it does happen,” Nuki said as she piloted her fighter toward two approaching Heavy Fighters.
She cycled through her available weapons and selected a pair suited for them. A look and a wink later, and Nuki sent the choice to John. Pulling the trigger, her Mamba’s newly formed lasers opened fire and, after a few shots, burnt through her target’s shields. A missile lock informed her that the missiles were ready, and as she watched them fly off towards her target, Nuki was pleased to see that John had copied her selection, as the other Heavy Fighter exploded shortly after hers.
“Those were surprisingly effective,” John said.
“Well done with your kill, John,” Nuki said as she turned toward one of the three Lupine Corvettes.
“Switching to the armour-piercing variant,” John announced, “do we need stronger lasers?” he asked.
“No, the Mamba’s lasers are fine, just increase their power,” Nuki said.
“Understood, dropping available power from engines,” John said as the two Mambas flew toward the Corvette. It’s two laser turrets turned to face the approaching fighters and opened fire.
“You have the lead, John,” Nuki said.
With assistance from his onboard computer, John increased his fighter’s speed and followed the path the computer projected onto his HUD. Flying through space, the two Mambas avoided most of the incoming fire. As they got closer to the Lupine Corvette, several Heavy Fighters appeared from above and to their right. John thought that he and Nuki might need to make evasive manoeuvres, however, before he could mention this to her, the space before them lit up.
“Hang in there, John,” said a familiar voice, “I have my gunners targeting those Lupine Heavy Fighters. Opening fire now, you have a clear run to that Corvette,” Solsa said as the Matriarch’s Patience came into view on John’s right.
“Thanks for the assist,” John said as one of the Lupine fighters exploded.
“I wish we could miniaturise a Gravitic Accelerator,” Nuki said once the channel with the Gunship was closed.
“What’s a Gravitic Accelerator?” John asked.
“It enables our ships to fly from one point in space to another and then stop,” Nuki replied, “no need to adjust our heading, use thrusters to slow down or even spin around and use the engines. You just stop,” she said.
“Huh, that reminds me of how spaceships travelled in an old sci-fi show,” John said as he made a minor course correction.
“If the Matriarchy Science Division were able to shrink them to fit inside fighters, or perhaps design a new fighter to fit around one, then it would make our fighters and pilots almost invincible,” Nuki said as they flew past the Gunship.
“It would certainly make my life easier,” John admitted, “while I’m an experienced fighter in atmosphere, space combat is new to me,” he said.
“You are doing fine, John,” Nuki replied, “you have far surpassed our expectations,” she said, trying to assure him.
“Thanks,” John replied.
*****
Solsa watched from her Command Chair as John and another Mamba flew past and headed toward the Lupine Corvette in front of them. The space around Solsa’s Gunship lit up as her turrets opened fire and several hardlight holograms exploded. She watched as a pair of enemy fighters went into a hard burn and then spun themselves around to face Matriarch’s Patience. Using their momentum, the enemy Heavy Fighters tracked the Gunship as they flew past. Their heavy laser cannons opened fire, and several shots struck Solsa’s ship. The computer simulated battle damage as the Gunnery Vipers nearest tracked the two fighters.
“Open fire once you have a clean shot,” Solsa ordered.
“Aye, Captain,” came the reply.
Shortly afterwards, all four turrets on the left-hand side of the Patience’s hull opened fire. Their twin laser cannons recoiled as each shot dumped heat into their heat sinks. The turret to the rear missed with its first two shots, however, the Viper inside the turret adjusted her aim and scored two direct hits against the lead Lupine Heavy Fighter. The turret next to her had better luck and scored a direct hit on the fighter’s engines with both of her shots. Before the rear left turret could fire again, the hardlight hologram exploded.
“Well done, you two,” Solsa said as she watched from her Command Chair. “We’ll be approaching the Lupine Corvettes shortly. Make sure you take the remaining fighter out,” she ordered.
“Aye, Captain,” replied the Gunnery Vipers.
The remaining Lupine Heavy Fighter had managed to dodge the incoming fire from the first two turrets on the Patience's left side. As it drifted past and adjusted its position to open fire on the engines of the Matriarchy Gunship, the vessel turned to its left, enabling all four turrets to lock on and fire. Seconds later, the hologram exploded. Coming about and resuming its course toward the Lupine Corvettes, each turret found a suitable target and fired.
*****
Firing his lasers, John watched as they impacted against the enemy Corvette. Nuki joined in, and after several more hits, a brightly coloured flash followed, and the vessel’s shields failed. Seconds later, missiles from Nuki and John’s fighters flew toward the ship. Defensive fire from concealed point-defence weapons attempted and failed to destroy the approaching missiles. Fortunately, for John and Nuki, their missiles were able to reach the hull of the Corvette and exploded shortly after their anti-armour warheads punched through the vessel’s armour.
“Strike one, Corvette,” Shalsui said, “well done, you two. We have two more Corvettes to go. Join up with the rest of your Wing and take them out,” she ordered.
John’s HUD lit up as Nuki plotted a new course for two of them to head to their new objective. He adjusted his heading to form up on the right of her fighter as she flew towards the rest of Alpha Wing. Looking at his Mamba’s sensors, John saw two more waves of Lupine Heavy Fighters approaching from behind the remaining Corvettes.
“Is it me, or were they hiding behind their bigger ships?” John asked.
“Most likely,” Nuki replied. “Status on your fighter?” she asked.
“Engines are fine, lasers have a good amount of power left, eighty per cent on Nanos, pilot is tired,” John replied.
“You will eventually get used to space combat,” Nuki said, “Configure your bays for the multi-launch anti-armour missile,” she ordered.
“Understood, making the changes now,” John replied, “you’d think I’d be used to this after spending time in the pods,” he said.
“Our pods can only simulate real life to a point. Besides, you are new to this,” Nuki pointed out.
“True, I’m just saying, I thought this would be easier,” John admitted.
“It would have been harder if you had not spent time in the pods,” Shalsui chimed in. “Now, hurry up and attack those Corvettes,” she ordered.
*****
“Admiral, to what do we owe this pleasure?” Matriarch Szaki inquired from her seated position. The light from above reflected off her buffed orange and black scales.
“I wanted to ask why the two of you changed today’s drill?” Sshuizshallius replied. Her face glowed green due to the nearby projection of the TDT.
“We were reviewing past drills and combat data, and decided it would be good for you and your crew,” replied Matriarch Eztuh. “After much discussion, we thought it best a surprise would mix things up,” she said.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” asked Ossih. Sshuizshallius was almost pushed out of frame by the Matriarch.
“Because you’re part of the drill,” Szaki replied.
“You spend a lot of your time away from the bridge,” Eztuh said.
“Especially during real battles,” Szaki pointed out.
“Oh,” Ossih replied.
“However, we are pleased to see you engaging with the crew and using that big head of yours to figure things out,” Eztuh said.
“Well, you two always seemed to know what to do, so I just left you to it,” Ossih admitted.
“We know,” replied Szaki and Eztuh in unison.
“Ah,” Ossih grudgingly realised.
“Matriarchs,” Sshuizshallius said, hoping the tone of her voice wasn’t out of order.
“You’ll find the training simulation hidden at the end of the Minerva’s database on Lupine combat doctrine,” Eztuh said.
“Ossih’s authorisation will unlock it, and then you’ll be able to examine it while the drill plays out,” Szaki said.
“Thank you, Matriarchs,” replied Sshuizshallius as she leaned over to close the Comms channel.
*****
John followed Nuki as she flew toward the two approaching Lupine Corvettes. Looking up and to his left, he spotted two other members of Alpha Wing as they headed towards several Lupine Heavy Fighters. As they got closer, the two Mambas slowed their speed, turned ninety degrees to their right and then accelerated forward. Their engines flared as they pushed the fighters forward, enabling both Mambas to flank the enemy fighters. Turning on their axis, with bursts from their thrusters, the two members of Alpha Wing straffed the Heavy Fighters as they drifted past.
“Incoming,” Nuki said, pulling John’s attention away from the nearby combat.
“Looks like a pair of Heavy Fighters, and crap…another pair appear to have turned around. Looks like they’ll engage us while we’re busy with the first pair,” he said as he glanced at the sensor display.
“Good spot, John,” Nuki replied. “I am going to send you a series of commands you will need to use during this fight. You will need to make good use of your Mamba’s Eye Control System,” she said.
“I’ll try, but I might be getting a headache from all the blinking and winking,” John replied.
“To be honest, I am not surprised,” replied Nuki, “the Eye Control System is designed around Viper physiology,” she said.
“Is there a way I can switch most of its functions to manual controls?” John asked.
“Our Mambas do have backup controls inside each cockpit,” Nuki replied, “you’d have to power down your fighter before bringing them online,” she pointed out.
“Which is something you can’t do when you have four Lupine Heavy Fighters heading straight for you,” John pointed out.
“Exactly,” replied Nuki, “once we have dealt with them, contact the Minerva, ask for assistance,” she suggested.
“Good point,” John replied.
“You have two more pairs of fighters heading your way,” Shalsui said, interrupting the conversation. “I am sending the rest of Alpha Wing to aid you two. You both need to keep them busy until backup arrives,” she said.
“Understood,” replied Nuki and John.
*****
“I’ve been going over the parameters of the drill selected by the Matriarchs Eztuh and Szaki,” Oki said as she placed her pad on the side of the TDT.
“What have you discovered?” Sshuizshallius asked.
“Overall, there aren’t any big surprises,” Oki replied. “There’s the stealth approach at the beginning, extra waves appearing when our Pilots attack a Corvette, and their behaviour and combat patterns use the standard difficulty settings,” she said. “However, the Artificial Intelligence has been enhanced,” Oki pointed out.
“Enhanced? In what way?” Ossih inquired as she looked at the Tactical Officer.
“Well, we usually use the latest combat data to create our drills,” Oki replied, “and then when it is selected, whoever is running the drill will choose a difficulty setting,” she said.
“The difficulty selected determines how the AI behaves during the drill,” Sshuizshallius chimed in.
“Yes, Admiral,” Oki said. “It appears this drill has been given an adaptive AI model, and so I’m not sure how this drill will end,” she looked up at Sshuizshallius and Ossih as she finished.
“What does that mean?” Ossih asked.
Sshuizshallius picked up Oki’s pad and scanned through the information displayed. She then used a nearby keypad, and a new window appeared in front of her. From where she stood, Ossih thought the new window was displaying a sped-up plan of the drill.
“If our Pilots struggled to deal with the waves of incoming Lupine Heavy Fighters, as well as their Corvettes,” Sshuizshallius replied as she adjusted the TDT to display what she was looking at. “Then, the drill will simply play out as it currently is,” she said.
“However,” Oki chimed in as Sshuizshallius handed her pad back, “if our Pilots do well, then the drill will adapt itself or more specifically, the AI,” she said.
“Adapt itself, how?” asked Ossih.
“By mimicking the behaviour, skill and tactics of our Pilots. As well as calling for aid,” Sshuizshallius replied.
*****
Gunnery Sergeant Nisha sat in her turret and watched as Alpha Wing flew around the Patience like a troupe of dancers. Each pair of Mambas appeared to dance around each other as they piloted their fighters through space. Dodging incoming fire and performing dizzying manoeuvres as they flew through space. An approaching group of Lupine Heavy Fighters caught her attention as they attempted to make an attack run on the Gunship’s current position.
“Nisha to bridge,” she said, opening a channel to the Patience’s Bridge, “we’ve got a wave of fighters heading our way,” she reported.
“We’ve seen them,” replied Zusku, “the Captain has ordered the ship to fly straight and then turn to the right, give them a broadside,” she said.
“Understood,” replied Nisha as she closed the channel.
A lone Heavy Fighter caught Nisha’s attention as it attacked the Patience from below. It fired its Heavy Laser Turret at the underside of the Gunship and then activated its boosters in an attempt to get out of range of the Patience’s turrets quickly. The Gunship’s computer registered the impacts as severe damage along the underside and proceeded to shut down key sections of the ship. Reactor and engine output were lowered to two-thirds, three of the turrets went offline, and shield strength went down by twenty per cent. As the Lupine fighter attempted to make its getaway, Nisha got a lock on, tracked it as it tried to dodge any incoming fire, and then she pulled the trigger.
Nothing.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Nisha said, “I’ve got no power,” she then punched the control console in front of her.
“Oi, no damaging my ship,” complained Solsa.
“Er, sorry, Captain,” replied Nisha. “Turret One just died,” she said.
“Well, it’s not the drill that did it,” Solsa replied, “looks like there’s a fault with your turret,” she said.
“Urgh, Turret One, descending for repair,” Nisha said as she went to activate the lift. Moments later, Nisha was about to hit the console again when she noticed the power to the cradle was down.
“Now that is something the hologram did,” Solsa said, “and don’t hit your console again, otherwise you’ll be in your nest for the rest of the day,” she warned.
“Sorry, Captain,” Nisha said again.
Nisha unbuckled her harness, checked her magnetic boots were working and opened the door to her turret. With a thud, thud, thud, the Gunnery Sergeant walked over to the maintenance bay for her turret and opened the hatch. Remembering her training, she ran the diagnostics check, and within seconds, it showed that the earlier repair job had failed. Cursing, Nisha opened the spare parts locker, removed a replacement fire mechanism module and then thudded over to the rear of her turret. Detaching the pad from her right thigh, Nisha accessed the battlefield repair instructions and then proceeded to make the necessary repairs. Ten minutes later, she re-entered her turret and attempted to power it up.
“Turret One to Bridge,” Nisha called out.
“Go ahead,” Zusku replied.
“I think I’ve fixed the issue, running checks now,” Nisha said.
The lights inside Turret One came on, her helmet picked up a thermal spike from her surroundings shortly before the console in front of her showed that the turret was powering up. The power gauge slowly began to increase, allowing Nisha to rotate the turret back and forth and adjust the angle of the guns. Minutes later, the turret’s power was back to one hundred per cent, just in time for Nisha to open fire at the incoming group of Lupine Heavy Fighters, taking out the last one.
“I see your turret is firing again,” Zusku said.
“It looks like the repair worked,” she replied.
“We’ve started the turn. Make sure you aid the starboard turrets, we’re down to three,” Zusku ordered.
“Turning now,” Nisha replied.
*****
Ossih stood at the TDT and watched as the ships projected above it moved around. Blue shapes indicated Matriarchy vessels, while red represented the Hardlight Holographic Lupine Empire ships. Border Station Five and those vessels not taking part during the drill were coloured amber. Floating in front of her was a zoomed-in projection of Alpha Wing. Using data from each vessel orbiting Border Station Five, the TDT created a live feed of the action.
“So, how do we think Alpha Wing is doing?” Ossih asked.
“They’ve destroyed one of the Lupine Corvettes and are currently heading in to attack another, as well as taking out several waves of Heavy Fighters,” Aszu replied from her position at the TDT.
“As you can see,” Oki chimed as she pointed at two fast-moving blue shapes, ”Flight Lieutenant Nuki and Pilot Lawrence are expertly dodging incoming fire from those approaching enemy fighters,” she said, pointing at a large group of red shapes.
“And the rest of Alpha Wing appear to have broken off their attack run on the Corvette,” Aszu said. “They are turning around and heading towards them. I haven’t been monitoring their communications, but they may be attempting to aid their Wingmates,” she suggested.
“Is it me, or does John appear to be struggling?” Ossih inquired, watching the footage before her.
“The data readouts from his Mamba don’t appear to show anything is wrong,” Oki said as she tapped away at a nearby keypad.
The projection above the TDT changed to a larger window of Alpha Wing, with an emphasis on John’s Mamba. Multiple windows appeared around the main screen, each one showing specific data readouts, from fuel and engine efficiencies to the camera inside John’s cockpit and information transmitted by his Nano Flightsuit.
“What am I looking at here?” Ossih asked as she tried to understand what she was in front of her.
“The screen to your left displays information on John’s Mamba Fighter,“ Aszu replied, “on your right is a bio readout from his Nano Flightsuit, and above is the feed from inside his cockpit,” she said.
“Thank you, dear,” Ossih replied, touching Aszu’s right hand, “however, I was after a more specific explanation, not a statement of the obvious,” she pointed out. Aszu flatterened her hood and stepped back while bowing.
“I’m so sorry, Matriarch, I meant no disrespect,” she apologised.
“Oh, you are cute when you’re embarrassed,” Ossih said with a smile. “Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble. It’s my fault for not being specific,” she admitted.
“Matriarch, please leave my crew alone,” Sshuizshallius said as she appeared from behind Ossih.
“I’m only playing,” she complained.
Sshuizshallius walked over to the other side of the TDT from Ossih, used a nearby keypad and rearranged the information displayed. The footage of Alpha Wing and John’s cockpit view remained in front of the Matriarch, but the data readouts were now in front of the Admiral. Minutes later, she looked up at Ossih and then activated a nearby Comms panel.
“Sshuizshallius to Zhaktlei,” she said.
“Admiral? How can I help?” the Chief Engineer asked. There were sounds of machinery working and loud banging noises mixed in with Zhaktlei’s voice.
“Patch in to Pilot Lawrence’s feed and let me know what you think,” Sshuizshallius ordered.
“At once, Admiral,” Zhaktlei replied.
“What did you see?” Ossih asked, looking down at Sshuizshallius.
“We’ll wait for Zhaktlei,” Sshuizshallius replied.
*****
All John could hear as he piloted his fighter through a series of increasingly complex manoeuvres was his breathing. His headache was getting worse, and both eyes were starting to hurt from the winking and blinking. As he kept pace with Nuki, John began to wonder why none of these issues reared their ugly head during his time training in the pods. Thinking about it as he flipped his Mamba one hundred degrees while making sure his engine remained at idle, John opened fire at an approaching Lupine Heavy Fighter. Several direct hits destroyed the turret before enemy fire forced both John and Nuki to flip over again and increase their speed. Despite the aches and pains he was feeling, John found the sudden increase in gravity oddly enjoyable.
“How are you doing, John?” Nuki asked as she led him through another series of uncomfortable manoeuvres.
“Fine, just dandy,” he complained through gritted teeth.
“How is the headache?” she asked.
“Not getting any better,” John replied as one of the holograms almost scored a direct hit on the left-hand side of his Mamba.
“The rest of Alpha Wing are almost here,” Nuki said, trying to reassure John. As if their current situation could not get any worse, John spotted a new contact at the very edge of his sensors.
“Oh, great, more enemies heading our way,” John grumbled.
“By the time they get here, the rest of Alpha Wing will be with us,” Nuki pointed out, “The others are almost here,” she said. As if to make that point clear, one of the Lupine fighters exploded, and a Mamba shot past John and Nuki.
“Sorry to keep you two waiting,” said one of the Viper Pilots.
“Took you long enough,” John complained, “dunno if you spotted them, but we have more heading our way,” he said.
“I can see them now,” another pilot said.
“Once these fighters have been dealt with, I want everyone to form up into the delta formation,” Nuki ordered.
*****
“I’ve found the issue, Admiral,” Zhaktlei said, her face hovering above the TDT.
Ossih, Sshuizshallius, and her two Officers, Aszu and Oki, were standing around the TDT, watching the drill play out. Out of the five Wings of Mamba Fighters launched, Alpha and Charlie Wings were still dealing with the initial attack by the Lupine Holograms. Beta, Delta, and Epsilon had each rearmed and repaired their fighters and were now making a final sweep of the Matriarchy fleet. At present, the only detectable enemy ships were those currently engaged by Alpha and Charlie Wing.
“What do you think the cause is?” Sshuizshallius asked as Ossih looked over to where the Admiral stood.
“Well, looking at the data from his Mamba, as well as the information sent over by Doctor Mizta, I would say biological,” Zhaktlei replied.
“My thoughts as well. How would you go about fixing the issue?” Sshuizshallius asked.
“Activate the backup controls and limit usage of the Eye Control System,” Zhaktlei replied. “We’ll need to recall John to one of the rearm and repair bays,” she pointed out.
“Will his absence affect the other pilots of Alpha Wing?” Ossih inquired, and Sshuizshallius shook her head.
“No,” she replied. “They have destroyed all remaining Heavy Fighters, and they are now in the process of destroying the two remaining Lupine Corvettes,” Sshuizshallius said.
“Patch me through to Pilot Lawrence’s fighters,” Sshuizshallius ordered.
“Connecting now,” Aszu said.
“Pilot Lawrence,” Sshuizshallius said, shortly after an interior view of his cockpit appeared about the TDT.
“What? Who? Oh crap,” replied John, confused at the sudden, unknown voice addressing him. The feed from the Mamba Fighter fizzled slightly as one of the Hardlight Holograms scored a lucky hit, causing a few sparks to fly and forcing John to barrel roll to the left. The bridge of the Minvera was filled with the sound of John’s grunting and heavy breathing.
“This is Admiral Sshuizshallius,” she said.
“Oh, yes. Sorry, Admiral. I heard your voice from earlier, you just caught me off guard. Sorry,” he apologised.
“The mistake is mine,” she replied, “I should have waited for you to deal with the hologram you are currently fighting,” Sshuizshallius said.
“Thankfully, if they kill me, I won’t die,” John replied. “How can I be of service, Admiral, Sir, er Ma'am,” he stuttered. There were a few audible snickers from some of the Bridge Crew. A glare from Sshuizshallius forced them to resume their various duties.
“We have identified an issue with your ability to fly your Mamba Fighters,” Sshuizshallius said.
“You have? I assume it’s not just a couple of painkillers for this headache?” he asked.
“Your Nano Flightsuit can administer painkillers, if you so require,” Sshuizshallius pointed out.
“It can? I must have missed that when I read its specs,” John admitted.
“John, it is Ossih,” she said, interrupting the conversation.
“Hello, Matriarch,” John replied.
“You are ordered to head to the nearest re-arm and repair point, and await further instructions,” Ossih ordered. “The Minerva’s Chief Engineer will instruct you on how to adjust your Mamba,” she said.
“Understood. This is Pilot Lawrence, breaking formation. Heading to Alpha Two Re-arm and Repair Point,” he said, and then the feed was cut.
“Sorry, Sshuizshallius,” Ossih said as she looked down at the Admiral.
“No need to apologise, you are in charge of this vessel,” Sshuizshallius replied.
*****
Slowing his fighter down, John piloted it into the waiting arms of the Re-Arm and Repair Point. When he came to a dead stop, each arm took hold of the Mamba and began repairing any detected damage. Meanwhile, the fighter’s stores of Nanos were replenished. Sitting in his cockpit, John waited for someone to contact him so that he could adjust the fighter’s controls. The main screen inside the cockpit lit up, and a familiar face smiled at him.
“Hello, John,” said Zhaktlei. “I hear you are having problems with your Mamba,” she said.
“Just a bit,” John replied with a laugh. “I have an awful headache and my eyes are starting to hurt,” he said.
“You can access the painkillers from your pad,” Zhaktlei pointed out, gesturing to it with her left hand. “While you are activating them, I will start the process of switching your Eye Controls over to Manual Inputs,” she said.
“How easy are the controls to use?” John inquired.
“Considering they were designed with you in mind, very easy,” Zhaktlei replied with a smile. “In fact, you might recognise them,” she said as two sets of controls activated and rotated in front of John.
“A keyboard?” John said, surprised, as he looked at it.
The keyboard came in two halves. Each one was attached to an arm extending from the left and right-hand flight controls. Connecting in front of his pilot’s seat, John was reminded of his old Space Sim setup back home. It appeared to have RGB lights and had an almost identical design to the keyboard on the Posiedon.
“I used scans from your cockpit inside the vessel you were rescued from to create something I thought would enable you to pilot a Mamba, should the Eye Control System cause any issues,” Zhaktlei said.
“Ha, all I need now is a pair of speakers and a subwoofer,” John laughed as Zhektlei brought other keypads online.
“I am not sure what you mean by that,” Zhaktlei admitted, “however, from your expression, you are confident that you will be able to pilot your Mamba more efficiently?” she asked.
“Definitely,” John replied with a smile.
“I have deactivated the majority of the Eye Controls and enabled their corresponding keys on the main control panel in front of you, as well as a few additional keypads,” Zhaktlei said. “Your Heads Up Display should already be displaying information on how you can map the keys to your liking,” Zhaktlei pointed out.
“I can see it,” John replied, “thanks for this. I should be ready to go in minutes,” he said.
“I will inform the Admiral, good luck, John,” Zhaktlei said before closing the channel.
*****
“Has there been any sign of the AI calling for aid?” Ossih asked.
“Not yet,” replied Oki. “It could be a trigger,” she suggested.
“A trigger, what do you mean?” Ossih asked.
“Well, so far each launched Wing has encountered a similar number of enemy Fighters and Corvettes, which our Pilots are skillfully destroying,” Oki replied. “However, the AI has not changed its behaviour, and so I think the trigger is connected to one of the two groups remaining,” she said.
“So, you think that either Alpha or Charlie Wings will trigger the adaptive AI?” Ossih asked, and Oki nodded.
“If either of them had destroyed their targets before the other three Wings,” Oki said as she gestured towards the projection above the TDT, “then we’d be facing a much larger force with the Adaptive AI in control,” she pointed out.
“Well, let’s hope it activates before…” Ossih started to say when an alarm sounded.
“Admiral,” Aszu called out as she read the data scroll in front of her, “Alpha Wing just destroyed their last Corvette, and sensors are picking up a call for aid from a Lupine Heavy Fighter, currently being chased around several of our ships by Charlie,” she said.
“Have they managed to jam the signal?” Sshuizshallius asked.
“No,” she replied, shaking her head.
“This isn’t good,” Oki chimed in. “I’ve got the Drill program open in front of me, and, wow…this is a lot of data,” she said.
Before anyone was able to enquire what she meant, the area around the TDT lit up as enemy icons appeared all across the fleet.
*****
John’s Mamba sped along the hull of the Minerva, expertly dodging the raised turrets and point defence batteries, as he piloted his fighter toward the last known location of Alpha Wing. Inside his helmet, he was grinning ear to ear as he used his sensors to locate their position. John was thankful for the painkillers built into his Nano Flightsuit as his headache slowly faded. His Mamba’s computer informed him that Alpha Wing should reappear within the next few minutes. Flying past the front of the giant Battleship, a flash of bright light caught John’s attention, and he watched as multiple Capital-class Warships appeared suddenly. Using his Heads-up Display, John calculated their distance to the Matrarchy fleet and was notified that they were Hardlight Holograms. Guessing that this was the final phase of the drill, John used his right thumb on his Flightstick to cycle through the weapons available to him.
“John, I can see your approach. Welcome back,” Nuki said over the Comms.
“Glad to be back,” John replied. “Any idea what’s going on?” he asked.
“This appears to be the final part of the drill,” Nuki replied, “apparently, a distress call was sent shortly before the last of Charlie Wing’s Lupine Corvettes died,” she said.
“Well, I’m repaired, re-armed, and I’ve got new flight controls, so I should be able to manage what’s to come,” John said.
“That is good to hear,” Nuki replied. “What did they do?” she asked.
“Disabled most of the Eye Controls and activated backup manual controls, similar to what I’m used to,” John replied.
“Surely that will hamper your ability to fly?” asked one of the other Pilots in Alpha Wing.
Their current location had now appeared on John’s sensors, and so he placed an objective marker on his HUD and set course to rendezvous with them. With help from his Mamba’s computer, John calculated the precise speed and course corrections, enabling him to arrive on time.
“The Eye Controls were giving me a headache, despite training with them when we were onboard the Minerva,” John replied. “It wasn’t until I got out into real space that I discovered they were starting to hamper my ability to fly,” he said. “Plus,” John said as he made the first course correction, “the new controls are very similar to what I used back home, when playing Space Sim games,” he pointed out.
“I am not sure what you mean by that,” admitted the Viper Pilot, “but if they help you fly, then that is good,” she said. John guessed she was probably smiling.
“Enough chatter,” Shalsui chastised, “I have assigned you all new targets and plotted a new course for you, John,” she said. “Change course now, and you will link up with Alpha Wing as they prepare to attack their first target,” Shalsui ordered.
“Understood,” John replied as the rest of Alpha Wing signalled their readiness.
Using his thrusters to slow his speed and rotating his Mamba ninety degrees to his right, John pushed forward on his throttle. He grunted as the sudden acceleration pressed him against his seat. Reaching the required speed, John pulled back on the throttle and relaxed as his fighter flew through space, toward the objective displayed on his HUD.
“So, what’s our first target?” John asked.
“We have been assigned the task of destroying a Lupine Cruiser,” Nuki replied. “Make sure you pick the correct missiles,” she pointed out.
“Anti-armour or Capital?” John inquired.
“We will go with anti-armour for the Cruiser’s hardpoints,” Nuki replied. “Once they are all destroyed, we will switch to torpedoes,” she said.
“We’ll need to manage our Nanos then,” John replied, “if we’re not careful, by the time that Cruiser’s guns are down, we won’t have enough for even one torpedo,” he pointed out.
“Select the anti-capital torpedo from your available weapons, and then instruct your Mamba’s computer to put one into reserve,” Nuki ordered.
“Oh, yeah, good point,” John replied.
*****
“Helm,” Solsa called out from her Command Chair, “follow Alpha Wing as they make their attack run on that Lupine Cruiser,” she ordered.
“Aye, Captain,” replied the Viper.
“Zusku, use the TDT to track any approaching Lupine Heavy Fighters. I want us ready for any potential attacks,” she ordered.
“On it now, Captain,” Zusku replied.
“Izsal, let Alpha Wing know we’ll be providing fire support,” Solsa ordered.
“Right away, Captain,” Izsal replied.
“Bridge to Nisha,” Solsa said after pressing the Comms panel on her Command Chair. After a brief pause, the Gunnery Sergeant’s voice came through. It sounded as though she was having some kind of difficulty.
“Nisha here, Captain. How can I help?” she asked.
“We’re going to provide fire support for Alpha Wing as they attack the Lupine Cruiser,” Solsa said. “I want you and your Gunners to keep any Heavy Fighters off the pilots,” she ordered.
“I’ll see what I can do, Captain,” Nisha replied. “Two of the turrets are being repaired under drill conditions, and one is out of operation for real,” she said.
“What happened to it?” Solsa asked.
“Power overload,” Nisha replied, “something weird is going on with the ship’s computer. It keeps sending too much power when a turret gets hit,” she said.
“Have you told Engineering?” Solsa inquired.
“Yup, just did. They’re looking into it,” Nisha replied.
“Understood,” Solsa said as she closed the channel.
*****
John smiled as he flew his Mamba through space, dodging incoming fire and firing at the approaching enemy fighters. Nuki was close by as she led Alpha Wing toward their target. Several explosions to his right pulled John’s attention away from the approaching enemy Cruiser, and as John looked in their direction, the Matriarch’s Patience came into view. With her turrets firing, the space around the Gunship and Alpha Wing lit up like the Fourth of July. John zoomed in on the lead turret and noticed that the Viper manning it appeared to be having some difficulties.
“John, you are drifting out of formation,” Nuki said.
“Sorry,” John replied, “I was distracted by the Gunship. The turret at the front seems to be malfunctioning,” he said.
“Well, leave it to their Engineers to fix,” Nuki replied, “I am sure they know what is wrong and are sorting it out,” she said.
“Understood,” John replied. “Whoa, I just got a large sensor reading on my sensors,” he said. The area around the sensor screen lit up as a large contact appeared just behind the Lupine Cruiser they were flying toward. Using his left hand, John used the nearby keyboard to adjust his sensors, and once it had locked onto the new reading, his Mamba’s computer zoomed in to reveal twenty Lupine Heavy Fighters.
“Good spot, John,” Nuki replied.
“I’m reading twenty fighters,” John said.
“I have them on my sensors too,” Nuki replied. “Alpha Wing, leave the remaining fighters around us to the Gunship. We will have to focus on the ones John spotted,” she ordered.
The rest of Alpha Wing signalled their readiness as John barrel rolled his Mamba to the left, fired his lasers and then flew past an exploding Lupine Heavy Fighter shortly before Nuki destroyed the one in front of her. As Alpha Wing prepared to head toward the approaching large wave of enemy holograms, laser fire and several explosions to John’s left forced him to swerve out of the way. With Alpha Wing accelerating toward the enemy fighters, John found himself struggling to control his Mamba.
“John, you are out of formation. What is wrong?” Nuki asked.
“I’m not sure,” John replied. “I think something hit me,” he said. “Oh crap…” was all he managed to say as his Comms went down.
“John? You okay? John!” Nuki said with a concerned tone in her voice.
*****
Nisah swore as her turret malfunctioned again. For the last ten minutes, each time she tried to do her job, something got in the way. A lucky shot from a passing Lupine Heavy Fighter had impacted against the hull of the Gunship as it flew by. The simulated damage caused her turret to switch off. When she followed the onscreen instructions displayed on her HUD, the door to the turret opened. Which was odd, considering Nisha wasn’t aware there were any door controls for the Patience’s Laser Turrets. Following the instructions again, the turret's lights came on, but the controls would not work. Contacting Engineering didn’t seem to help, as they weren’t even aware of any issues.
“Are you sure nothing is wrong?” Nisha had asked.
“Our systems check shows your turret is running normally,” the Engineer had replied.
“Well, I just opened the door by following the first set of drill repair instructions,” Nisha had pointed out.
“That’s odd,” replied the Engineer.
Five minutes later, the Gunnery Sergeant’s turret was back to normal, although Nisha had a sneaky suspicion that something weird might happen again. She tracked an enemy fighter as it approached the Gunship, turned her turret and opened fire. Even though the laser power was set to minimum, each barrel still recoiled backwards. Dumping any heat into the large heat sink to the rear. The only difference from a normal battle was that it took longer for the heat sink to reach its ejection temperature.
“Your turret seems to be operating normally again,” said the Engineer Nisha had been dealing with.
“Knowing my luck, that statement just jinxed me,” Nisha replied, as her turret turned left and she opened fire once more.
“Let me know if you need any more help,” the Engineer said as she closed the Comms channel.
Several of her shots struck the enemy fighter, and it exploded shortly afterwards. Nisha looked at her sensors to find another target, spotted one coming in fast from behind, and so she turned her turret to the right. Using her experience of several successful space battles, Nisha waited for the hologram to approach and just as it was about to enter her field of vision, she opened fire.
“Yes!” she said as it struck a Mamba along its left-hand side. “What the fuck?” was all Nisha could say as she sat in her turret and watched dumbstruck as her turret continued to fire.
The Mamba attempted to dodge the incoming fire, but, considering the pilot had not expected friendly fire, they were struggling. Nisha tried to shut down her turret, but it kept firing wildly and turning left to right. In the end, she punched the control panel. Her armoured claw punched clean through the controls. With sparks flying and bits of broken glass and metal spinning around her turret, something caught her eye. The Mamba fighter turned towards the Gunship, flames spilling from its damaged hull.
“This is Gunnery Sergeant Nisha to the damaged Mamba, eject. I repeat eject!” she said.
Stepping outside of her now disabled turret, Nisha watched as the Mamba continued to fly directly towards the hull of the Gunship before swerving to the right. A bright flash of light caused Nisha’s helmet to dim as the canopy of the fighter shot upwards. The pilot inside, whom Nisha realised was the Terran Male, thanks to their size, stood up from their cockpit and jumped toward her position. Making sure her armoured boots were securely grav locked to the hull of the Gunship, Nisha reached out and grabbed the Terran Male. She grunted at the impact and then instinctively held him tightly. With practised ease, Nisha used her tail as another anchor point.
“Are you okay?” Nisha asked, opening a comms channel to the Terran Male.
“I think I’m okay,” John replied. “Thanks for rescuing me,” he said.
“No problem,” Nisha replied. “My name is Nisha,” she said.
“I’m John, happy to meet you,” John replied.