Just a bit of boredom during my duty today.....read if you wish.
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"Command, this is Kappa wing, we've exited subspace and are reading the depot 4 clicks out from our current position. We're reading a wing of Ulysses fighters gaurding the depot, along with a wing of Medusa Bombers and some sentry guns."
Elsi heard the familiar clicking sound as the Helmet radio went off and took a quick glance around the rather cramped cockpit, reading the guages and displays for any sign of trouble. Everything was pretty much optimal, except for a small fluctuation in the reactor, but it was well within optimal levels...the subspace jump in had been bumpy, so that was probably to blame.
The radio cackled as Jason replied back. Commodore Jason's aged and rather expresionless face appeared on Elsi's HUD right alongside the target display, above the little icon that represented her Zues Bomber. Elsi always wondered how Jason had managed to stay as expresionless as he always did. No matter how bad situation was, his face always remained cool. Where his face showed nothing however, his voice betrayed him. The voice rang out over the radio, a deep and medium-pitched voice, Elsi could almost see the tension in it.
"Acknowledged Kappa 1, we're jumping in to support you now."
Elsi was quick to respond as she slowed down the old bomber, turning it to face the bright blue subspace hole to her right. Through it came the Dauntless, a leviathan-class cruiser. The Dauntless had been with them for a long time now, and Elsi had come to know Jason personally over the years. This would be just one more attack, and hopefully nothing should go wrong.
"We're in the system. Derek, what's your status?"
Elsi looked over to the Perseus fighters flying just off her port wing. They were some distance away, but close enough so that Elsi could see the people through the cockpit glass. Derek's face came up on the Hud where Jason's was as he replied in his signature scottish accent and dialect.
"Aye, this is Gamma one, ready to cover the lassie's backside as always!"
Elsi smiled and retorted. "Better enjoy the view flyboy, cause the only thing you're gonna see is my afterburner trail!"
The smile turned into a frown as Jason interrupted the conversation.
"Pipe down you two! Enemy bombers and fighters inbound. Intercept those warheads before they can hit us."
Elsi studied the radar display. The hostile fighters were quick, and smart for that matter. Already two of them had targetted her vessel, and the bombers were homing straight in for the Dauntless. This cargo depot must have been Vital for them to come out so quick. The closest fighter was now three clicks out. Her voice came accross the radio loud and clear as she shouted outed orders, manuevering the old bomber to face the oncoming hoard. The engines flared up behind her as the Bomber accelerated rapidly to attack velocity.
"Allright people, listen up! Cortez, Olander, on my backside, get those fighters off me, hit 'em with the Hornets and Tornadoes - Hiller, hang back for the moment! On my go we fient and parry! Understood?"
"Roger that, Fient and parry it is!!"
Cortez replied. Although Elsi couldn't see, she knew that behind her the bombers would be forming up on either side and moving in formation. Transferring all power to the engines, but making sure not to hit the burners just yet. Looking to the port side, she didn't see Derek's wing anymore. Where had they gone?
Only when a shadow came over the cockpit did Elsi look straight upwards and laughed. Hanging right above her fighter, totally upside down from her reference was Derek, waving at her. He looked forwards and hit the burners, racing ahead towards the incoming fighters.
Derek, Derek, Derek....what the heck am I ever gonna do with you? Elsi thought to herself.
Dismissing the thought just as quickly, Elsi focused back onto the hud in front of her. From both sides missiles streaked out towards the oncoming fighters, leaving a trail that Elsi's bomber had to fly through, obscuring the hud a bit.
The fighters didn't even flinch, instead their burners went out and continued to coast forwards on simple thrusters. All the missiles focused on two of the fighters on either side.
At about a second to impact however, the fighter pilots hit their burners and strafed to the left and right, moving out of the way and surging ahead before the missiles could react. They didn't even launch counter-measures to avoid the missiles. These were veterans pilots, that was clear now.
"All pilots looks like we've got vets here! Engage the Ulysses ASAP! We're going to need cover!" Elsi shouted over the radio as the hud flashed, indicating multiple missile locks on her bomber. A second later, all the fighters launched Harpoon missiles, which streaked accross to her position, leaving a brown trail behind them. Elsi kept the bomber steady, but her voice was anything but as she transferred everything she had into the shields up front.
"Oh crap! I've got multiple missiles inbound! Transferring shields to front! Hiller, launch the bomb now!"
Elsi watched as the missiles came in...closer...closer...
"You sure? You've got no shields at back! The sho-"
Elsi cut him off mid-sentence and screamed.
"No time! launch it NOW!"
Perfect. Time seemed to slow down to Elsi as she rolled the bomber to the port, hitting her burners all the way. The result was that the ship now took a cockscrew-like path with which to dodge the missiles. The first missile came and missed her starboard side by bare inches. The bomber continued to move into the roll as the second missile came in, this time scraping by the bottom of the hull and continuing outward. It exploded some 50 meters behind her, causing the bomber to jolt forward a bit as it took shrapnel from behind. This apperantly saved her as the unexpected jolt caused the third missile to miss her by an even closer margin than the first. But she wasn't spared from the fourth as it plastered itself right onto her shields, jerking the craft back so badly that it flipped the node upwards and back, forcing the craft to go forward only on inertia. Elsi recovered quickly to turn the bomber backwards to face Hiller coming in with the other bomber, and an inferno missile filling the space between him and her. The distance was small enough so that she could see him through the cockpit. From all around her, the fighters streaked forwards, rather surprisingly and quickly.
"Hit it Hiller, hit it now!!"
No reply came from Hiller, instead, all she could see was the blinding flash of a shockwave eminating from the Inferno missile in front of her, turning everything to white.
[to be continued!]
Some feedback would be seriously appreciated on this
