This is a science-fiction story by Gadget. If you like it, be sure to leave a comment!
"This is Lieutenant Tony Rawlston of the thirty-eighth mech division:
come in anybody." Tony Rawlston tried to reach somebody over the tacnet
but received no answer. It had been two days since the eradication of Alpha
Fleet. Tony was still waiting for pickup by the relief ship. He figured
that the rescue effort started the minute after the aliens left the area.
While he realized that the vessels had a lot of space to cover, he was
still worried. Being stranded in a Jupiter orbit in a mech with no
maneuvering capabilities was not the conclusion of his life that he anticipated.
"This is Lieutenant Tony Rawlston of the thirty-eighth mech division:
somebody come in." He tried to keep the note of desperation out of his
voice but was not entirely successful.
The two days of captivity was starting to wear on his body as well as
his mind. His legs had cramped painfully multiple times and his back was
killing him. Nourishment was not a problem. The mechs equipped with
emergency survival rations that could keep the pilot alive for a week alone
or a month supplemented by other food and water. The pasty food was very
bland but it served its purpose. A more pressing problem was waste
disposal. The tank on board the mech could only hold so much material
before it was full. Rawlston did not want to discover the limits of the
tank's capacity.
"This is Lieutenant Tony Rawlston of the thirty-eighth mech squadron:
somebody answer me damn it!"
Tony Rawlston put his head back against the padded headrest of his seat
and closed his eyes. He tried to slow his breathing to stave off the panic
threatening to overtake him. He tried to think of pleasant things but
the thought of a slow painful death kept pushing to the front of his mind.
His water would run out and he would then slowly die of thirst. His mech
would float through space for the rest of eternity...
"Come in Lieutenant Rawlston, this is EDS Ranger. We have your
position and we are moving in to get you."
Tony's eyes flew open. He was not sure if he actually heard the
communication or if he just imagined it. He stared into space, waiting for
another call to come through the earpiece in his helmet.
"I repeat: This is the EDS Ranger come in Lieutenant Rawlston," came
the call over the speaker.
"YES," shouted Tony Rawlston. He toggled the tongue switch to activate
the microphone "This is Tony Rawlston, great to see you guys. My maneuvering
jets are out so you guys are going to have to all the work."
"It'll be good to actually do some work," came the reply. "There
haven't been a whole lot of survivors out there."
"Damn. How many were there?"
"Not enough to fill this ship. I hope the other two fleets are able to
stop them because I don't know how successful the rebuilding effort will be
with these kind of numbers."
Rawlston thought this guy was way to bleak. "I think the soldiers
in those fleets hope they do better then we did too. Now come pick me up."
* * * * *
Braxton hoped Beta Fleet faired better against the alien invaders than
Alpha Fleet. He sat in his powered down space fighter, sweating inside his
environmental suit. The sixty-eighth attack squadron was in position
inside the asteroid belt, ready to pounce on the alien invaders when they
entered the field.
The destruction of Alpha Fleet had been complete. Although the humans
had been able to inflict heavy losses on the enemy, the aliens' sheer
weight of numbers simply overwhelmed the human defenders. Reports from the
battle indicated that the invaders had technology only slightly more advanced
than that used by the Earth Defense Fleet. The aliens used deadly space
fighters but either did not have mechs or had just not revealed them yet.
Reports showed that the humans' mechs were very effective against the enemy.
The mech's superior maneuverability allowed them to wreak havoc on the
alien fighters. In the end though even the mechs' better mobility
could not save them from annihilation.
Braxton looked at the timer on his darkened control panel: fifty-five
minutes until the arrival of the enemy fleet.
He tried to occupy his thoughts and not think of the rapidly approaching
battle. This would be his first real combat; as it would be for all the
young pilots waiting with him. He had logged many hours in the simulator
and in mock combat but in those situations there was no threat of death.
There was a sense of dread in the pit of his stomach that was threatening
to overwhelm him. He wished that there was no radio silence so his
commanding officer could talk to them but that was not going to happen.
Braxton decided to occupy his thoughts by looking around the asteroids.
He saw dozens of fighters and mechs, all shut down and clinging to
asteroids. He wondered what the pilots of those machines were doing right
now. They're probably all looking at me, Jax reasoned. He turned
around in his seat then to look behind him at Rob's fighter. He thought he
saw Rob give a thumbs up but it was to dark to be sure. Braxton turned
forward again and just sat there staring into space.
* * * * *
The evacuation of Earth was going well. The two waves of transports
leaving for Haven had gone well. The transports had just arrived for their
third trip. EDF command decided to start using military spacecraft to
transport more civilians. Calculations showed that if no extra ships were
used, the last wave of transports would be ready to leave 1.7 hours after
the projected arrival of the enemy fleet. Figuring that Gamma Fleet would
not be seeing any action for at least another week, Admiral Geraldine
Fornes ordered half the fleet's vessels to make a transport trip.
That was why Jennifer Addlet was boarding a shuttle that was going to
take her to a space craft carrier. As a manager of a military production
facility she was not expecting ever to be one of the vessels she was
overseeing the production of. She expected to travel in space when it was
her turn to evacuate, but not on a Sparta class military vessel.
She was one of the few millions left on Earth. Over the past twenty
years 5.5 billion people had been ferried to Haven. Civilians not critical
to the production effort were the first to go. Their responsibility
was to start a civilization on Haven. Among those transported first were
the vast majority of construction workers. They were assigned the monumental
task of building homes for the refugees that would follow in later years.
The abodes that they built were very small and uncomfortable affairs, but
they would serve the purpose of furnishing hopefully temporary homes for
the people of Earth.
As these homes were built, more people were gradually brought to Haven.
These people were mainly those skilled in establishing industry. They were to
setup military assembly lines and get them operational. That group of
refugees also included the workers to man those lines.
Following transport groups started to bring everybody else to Haven.
Production facilities on Earth were gradually dismantled and transported
to Haven and reassembled there. The workers of those facilities were moved
with their plants. Jennifer's was one of the last facilities to be moved.
She was packing all that she was allowed to carry with her. The rest of her
possessions that the government had not taken for its efforts were put
into storage on Earth.
She still could not fully comprehend what she was about to do. Moving
to another town or city was one thing but she was leaving her planet.
It was not that she was terribly attached to the planet as much as the idea
that an alien group was driving her from the only ground she had ever known.
All stories of Haven indicate that it was almost exactly like Earth. This
did not change the fact that they were running from their home. The feeling
unnerved her.
Jennifer closed her last suitcase and looked around her soon to be
abandoned bedroom. She stood there holding her suitcases just remembering
her past experiences in that room. She stood there for long minutes,
hardly moving. Jennifer then shook herself from her reverie, wiped a
solitary tear from her cheek and turned on her heel. She walked from her
house and put her cases on the ground outside the door. She reached for
her key but then decided against it. She threw the key into the bushes,
picked up her suitcases then walked towards the bus that would take her to
the starport and her new life. She did not look back towards her home; that
life was over.
* * * * *
Admiral Gary Capinetti stood in front of a 3-D map of the asteroid
belt in the situation room of the EDS Townsend, flagship of Beta Fleet.
The situation was unfolding as they had hoped. The enemy fleet was moving
towards the asteroids would be there in half an hour. The Townsend
and the rest of the capital ships of Beta Fleet were about 2000 miles
Earthward of the belt. They were moving toward it at a speed that would
hopefully make the enemy believe that they wished to make it to the
asteroids before they did. This would hopefully make the enemy less
suspicious of a trap in the rocks. At the speed the aliens were approaching
it did not appear that they suspected a trap.
Or they don't care, thought Capinetti. The way the aliens tore threw
Alpha Fleet, he had his doubts if the aliens considered the rest of the
humans fleet a threat. These were not the feelings he conveyed outwardly
though. He projected the image of a confident leader, one that is confident
that his forces will emerge victorious in the upcoming battle.
"Twenty-nine minutes until the aliens enter the prime kill zone," came
a call from an ensign at a terminal in the back of the room.
"Thank you Hansen," replied Capinetti. Gary stared intently
at the screen searching for any indication that the invaders suspected
the human ruse. There was none though; the aliens just kept coming forward.
"Everything is going right but I can't shake this bad feeling that I have,"
Capinetti said to himself. I hope these are nothing but the fears of an
old man.
"Twenty-eight minutes until the arrival of the enemy," called Ensign
Hansen.
Time moves inexorably forward. Admiral Capinetti sighed and stared at
the holographic map.
* * * * *
Jax looked at his timer and saw that there was twenty minutes until it was
time to spring the trap. He was starting to feel very anxious. He began
to feel that he was inadequate for the job. How could he, a complete rookie,
hope to have any success in stopping these aliens? Earth was doomed because
there were thousands of rookies, just like him, protecting the planet.
"No, stop thinking like that," Braxton said to himself, "that'll get
you killed for sure." He needed to relieve some tension. Jax let out a
yell at the top of his lungs. He screamed until he was out of breath.
"There we go. That's a good tension reliever. Now I just have to try to
re-"
He stopped talking as some motion outside his canopy caught his
attention. He looked to his left and saw a rock about the size of an
elephant slowly spinning as it came directly at his fighter. "Oh shit,"
breathed Jax.
Human scientists had recently developed electro-magnetic shields.
The energy required to power these shields so that they could protect a
fighter in combat was immense. They had not yet developed a small enough
power source. What they did do was put a minor field generator on the
fighters to provide navigational shields. These navigational shields
would protect the vessel from small space debris about the size of a
baseball. While these were no help in combat they did cut down on
maintenance significantly.
Jax knew that the navigational shields would not be enough to stop that
rock. He just stared at the asteroid as it slowly made its way toward his
ship. He started to feel panic welling up inside him. His chest felt
constricted and it was hard to breathe. He knew it was going to hit his
ship. He also knew that if he didn't move he was going to die before the
battle had even begun. But if he moved it would probably tip the aliens off
to the ploy the humans were going to pull on them. He started to sweat
even more profusely than he had been before. His first response was to get
out of there but his mind stayed his hand. If he moved Beta Fleet's
fighters would be in a sorry predicament. Frozen with indecision, he just
watched as the rock silently approached him.
As the asteroid approached, Braxton's flight response was becoming ever
harder to deny. "I have to stay here. Maybe it will miss me. No it is
definitely going to hit me. I can't leave. If I move we're all in trouble.
Damn!"
He reached for the button that would power up his fighter but pulled
his hand back. He looked out and saw the rock was about a minute from
hitting his ship. He kept looking from the asteroid to the button.
He tried to think of another alternative but of course there was nothing
else to do.
Forty-five seconds. Braxton started to really panic. It took constant
force to keep his hand from hitting the button that would get him out of the
predicament that he was in.
Thirty seconds. He started letting out small cries with each
breathe now. He knew that he didn't leave soon he wouldn't have time to
leave. He turned his head to look at the asteroid and just stared at it.
Twenty seconds. With a cry Jax hit the button. The cockpit lit up
as his fighter came to life. Almost as soon as the fighter was operational
the collision warning started sounding. Braxton watched as the display
informed him of the power up progress.
Ten seconds. "Come on!" Jax yelled. The fighter was finally
ready to go. Braxton released the magnetic clamps holding his fighter to
the asteroid and pushed the throttle forward.
Jax rocketed away from the asteroid and looked behind him to see the
two rocks collide.
* * * * *
"Sir!" Hansen turned his seat to face the admiral. "There is a fighter
moving in the asteroid field!"
"What the hell?" Capinetti looked at the holo-image of the asteroid
field. He caught a glimpse of a tiny speck moving amongst the large
asteroids. It then stopped and looked like any other small rock. But moments
ago it was not moving like any other small rock.
"What the hell," Capinetti repeated. He turned to Ensign Hansen.
"Give me the status of the enemy fleet. If we saw that movement we can
bet the aliens did to."
"Aye sir." Hansen turned to his sensor readings. He pushed some
buttons to bring up the readings from probe-12, the only probe in range of
the enemy fleet.
"Sir! The main body of the fleet has stopped! A force of twenty-seven
vessels has broken off and is heading towards the field!"
"Damn!" Capinetti slammed his fist hologram console as if to emphasize
his point. "Give the pullback order to those fighters! Get them out of
there on the double."
"Aye sir!" Ensign Roosevelt replied from Cabinet's left. "All forward
elements of Beta Fleet pull back! I repeat all forw-"
"Their forward attachment has stopped outside the field-Sir the aliens
are opening fire!" Hansen yelled from the sensor station.
"Get them out of there!" Capinetti turned to Roosevelt. "Orders to
the fleet: All ahead full and prepare to launch reaming fighters."
Capinetti turned back to the holo-image of the asteroid field.
Before his eyes, objects big and small were disappearing.
* * * * *
"Everybody detach and take evasive maneuvers!" came the orders over the
tacnet. Jax was already detached so he started try to hide behind the
quickly disappearing asteroids. As he jerked and turned he saw fighters
and mechs everywhere being destroyed by the rain of death. He saw a
mech release from an asteroid and then get a massive blaster hit through
the torso. The mech floated for a few moments before exploding in a short-
lived fireball.
"Rob you still out there?" Braxton called to his wingman.
"Yeah, I'm on your tail right now!" came the reply.
"This is all my fault! I sh-"
"Don't worry about that now! We have to try to get out of this first."
Jax banked behind one of the few large asteroids. Just as he and Warner got
behind it, it exploded. They avoided the larger pieces and let their
shield handle the smaller pieces.
"OK everybody listen up!" Lieutenant Baker called over the tacnet.
"We can't last long out here like this. We're going to have to charge
the ships. Form up with whoever is left and get in close to the capital
ships! Fighters cover the mechs on the approach. Let's go!"
"Lets go Jax!" Rob banked towards the alien ships and hit the
afterburners. Jax banked and followed suit.
Braxton flew as fast and straight as possible. He did not want to
do to much juking for two reasons. First he did not want to stray
into a blast. Second flying straight would allow him to reach his
destination quicker. There were blasts all around him. He saw many human
fighters disappear in flowering explosions.
All of a sudden there was a bright flash outside of Jax's fighter
and it was shaken hard. He still had total control though.
"Brax! You OK man?" called Warner over the tacnet.
"Yeah,"
replied Jax. "A blast must have passed through my shielding." He glanced
at his instruments and saw his navigational shields were gone.
They were about to enter firing range of the alien ships. Lieutenant
Baker called to the pilots over the tacnet. "Listen up. OK, I want the
Ghost, Phantom, and Phantasm squadrons going after turrets on those
ships to cover the mechs. You got that?"
"Ghost: acknowledged."
"Phantom: acknowledged."
"Phantasm: acknowledged."
Jax, Warner, and the rest of Phantom Squadron banked towards a group
of ships on the left side of the group. There were four smaller ships
and a larger one. Jax's targeting computer tagged them as four scout
vessels and a destroyer.
"Stay alert Phantoms: multiple new targets."
"Rob," called Jax, "that destroyer is deploying fighters."
Enemy
fighters were be disgorged by the alien destroyer. They banked towards
the approaching human craft.
"Warner, you and your wing take out weaponry on that destroyer.
We'll handle the fighters."
"Yes sir. Jax lets go to work." Warner banked on to his left
wing then dove at a particularly large gun emplacement on the alien
capital ship.
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