Con-Red: Recourse (71 page)

“Contacts jumping,” Regela announced of the ASM signatures with no emotion whatsoever to the heroism going on around her.

In that instant one ship disappeared so that another could survive.  It was also at that moment that everything changed for the besieged battle group.  Firstly the headaches and body pain ceased almost immediately throughout the fleet, leaving everyone drained and almost breathless, as if they had all just finished a marathon.  Secondly the relentless enemy electronic jamming ceased, causing the bridge-wide speaker network to come alive with transmissions from around the battle ground.  Thirdly and finally the terrifying alien cruiser floating ahead of the
Regal
detonated in a halo of multicolored light and torn thoroughly into countless pieces of debris as four or five of the newly detected missiles struck it.  These missiles impacted at tremendous velocities just as they came out of transdimensional space right on top of the enemy ships.  Bypassing the alien defenses they pierced through the heavy shields and buried themselves deep inside the vessels before detonating.  The immense kinetic caused damage was only intensified further when the darmatium warheads went off milliseconds later.

Each of the enemy ships received at least one of these large missiles into them.  Large explosions filled the surrounding space as alien vessels shattered under fire all around them. 
Some of the smaller frigate sized ships simply broke apart under the force of the impact only to be consumed right after by the warhead blast.  To the entire bridge crew of the Majestic class carrier
Regal
it was truly a sight to behold.  Emotions flowed inside them without pause at this moment as the tide of the battle quickly turned.  Only seconds prior they were all on the verge of possible death as was the whole of Carrier Battle Group
Regal
.

“Registering new Drop Outs,” Regela signaled just as the last of the missiles hit and displayed the information hologra
phically on the forward display, “Grid Six Eight, three thousand five hundred kilometers.”

“Identify,” Admiral Singh breathed out and rubbed his tired eyes with his hand
, wishing for just a moment that he was a believer so he could pray his way to a better resolution.

As if in divine response Captain Hinnamen replied, “Federation sir, seven ships, tight formation, unidentified types.  Transponders show them as…”

“
Regal
this is Captain Tris Delveko of the RedSky Defense Force,” came a deep accented voice through the carrier’s communication system and finished the captain’s sentence, “we are here to render any possible assistance.”

When Styker Telwin’s feet touched the hard deck of the hanger bay he finally realized just how exhausted his body really was.  For a second his legs actually gave out under him and caused him to stumble sideways like a toddler taking his first steps.  He reached out for the Dragonfire’s wing strut, but instead found the feeling of soft warm flesh and the sudden appearance of a supporting arm around his waist.  Looking over, Styker saw the smiling face of Stacy Orellia as she helped him away from his craft.  At the same time another crew tech rushed over with a bottle of cold rehydration drink.

“Thank you Chief,” Styker said in the middle of a long drink and petted the crew chief’s shoulder, trying to stand on his own now.

He had been in space and battle far longer than intended and his body cried in protect for it.  Outside of a simulator this had been Styker’s longest time spent inside a cockpit.  When the new RedSky Defense Force ships appeared to render assistance the tide of battle had change dramatically. It had been their missiles that had knocked out the enemy in order to save the day.  How they came about being there that day was a question no one asked or cared about, but they joined in the mop up operation almost immediately.  Their Search and Rescue teams launched quickly to help search for any survives and recover those personnel that needed assistance.  The new arrivals also sent over repair crews to the most heavily damaged Carrier Battle Group vessels in order to help stabilize them.  At the same time any alien ship that had survived the T-Space missile barrage was surrounded and destroyed with harsh vengeance.  On that day there was no mercy showed and no quarter given.

“Welcome back Commander,” Stacy greeted and loosened
her grip some, “got a little hairy out there for a moment, huh?”

Wi
th that her warm smile was gone, replaced with a hint of concern and genuine sadness for what had occurred in these past hours.  It was then that he followed his Chief’s eyes and let his gaze fall upon the hanger bay.  Styker had been so relieved when the Knights received their RTB orders that he had failed to really notice how much the hanger’s landscape had changed.  The vast damage inflicted on the carrier was instantly apparent on the exterior, but Styker hadn’t even thought of the implications on its internals. 

The once pristine landing deck was now covered in debris from the ceiling.  His eyes quickly caught the opposite side of the massive space
.  That great opening on that end was half devastated from the enemy strike and now covered with fallen structural work that had been severed during the attack.  As such all of the surviving squadron craft now had to enter from the port side entrance.  Normally this would have dramatically increased the recovery time of the fighters and bombers based on the
Regal
, but on this day that was not so.  Each squadron had been so badly mauled that their current numbers posed little problem for those controlling their docking orders. 

Even as he stood there another pair of fighter craft buzzed by only meters away to land in a newly cleared bay.  One of these Dragonfires appeared heavily damaged wit
h multiple disabled engines, one missing wing, and impact holes throughout the armored hull.  It was a miracle the heavy fighter had made it this long, Styker thought as he watched with held breath while it paused in its directed bay before settling on the deck.  With relief Styker finally looked away and realized that others of his squadron were now standing around him.  All but Gator, who was still being recovered by the S&R team, and of course the deceased Brent, stood there looking out together while savoring the cold beverages brought to them.

Many of the pilots had different responses to what had happened and all that they had witnessed.  Some were
jovial together, happy to just be alive after everything, while others simply stood there in silence with blank gazes and expressions as they drank their fill.  Styker knew those feeling and reactions would change slowly once their adrenaline began to wear off and some rest was had. 

As he took his first steps forward towards the hanger exit his ears caught sounds he had not heard on a military ship in a long time.  The weeping and crying
took seconds to become thoroughly apparent, but when they did it was hard to hear anything else.  Male and female pilots alike had simply collapsed under the weight of their emotions and fatigue after emerging from their fighters and interceptors.  Most of these brave pilots based on the carrier had never experienced actual wartime combat before.  Sure they had been involved in skirmishes with pirates and the like, but heavy combat the sort they had just experienced was something entirely new. 

Each person had suffered loss that day, be it comrade or lover.  This had not truly hit home until they had touched down on the hard decking.  During combat those feelings were suppressed, thanks to train
ing, medication, and constant innate self-preservation, but now at the end of it all there was nowhere to hide.  The experiences they had suffered flooded into them like a broken dam to overwhelm them.  Styker knew those feelings well, he had been through them before and was in no position to judge.  Everyone went through them differently.  Some would still take days to fully register what had happened, while others were almost catatonic with medical personnel surrounding them.  They all mourned those that had died as well as those that they had killed, for taking another’s life was no easy task, even if that life had been that of an enemy.

“Glad you made it through Hotshot.”

Styker heard coming from his left and turn quickly with a smile already on his face in recognition.  As he turned Tiari Okawa ran into him and wrapped her petite arms around his body, almost causing him to fall over.  Her warmth washed over him as he held her tight and felt her lips on his for the first time in days.  At that moment there was no one else.  The entire hanger vanished for just a few seconds and Styker was truly happy in this day of mourning and death.

“I
had a little help?” he smirked and pulled away really slowly while looking into her eyes, “I’m really glad you made it out alright too.  It got really rough out there.”

Tiari’s smile faded slowly as she thought about the battle
and gently rested her head into Styker’s outstretched hand as it caressed her cheek gently, “yes, not everyone was as lucky.  We lost a lot of good people out there.  The Battle Group, if we can even call it that now, got really hammered today.  If those RedSky people hadn’t shown up…”

“It would just have taken us a bit longer to take care of business,” Styker interrupted and
smiled into her eyes once more as he pulled her closer, “you and I were just getting warmed up out there.”

“Well look who turned into an optimist out there,” Tiari expressed softly as she
lifted her gaze to his eyes, trying hard to not look around the hanger itself.

Both of their respective squadrons had come through relatively unscathed by the enemy.  Each one had lost some fighters, but thankfully only a single pilot.  Other squadrons, however, had been much less
lucky.  Many had been reduced to less than fifty percent effective combat strength.  The precious few Valkyrie bombers had been devastated even further due to the dangerous nature of their assigned missions.

“Ti, why don’t we go change out of our business clothes and celebrate life.  We can mourn our casualties later, but right now I’m just happy we both made it,” he
said while sensing her thoughts and feelings about the situation.

He saw her nod slightly before taking her gloved hand into his.  Together they turned to the large entrance way that linked the hanger to the rest of the ship and took
their first steps forward towards some semblance of happiness.

That slight progressed was stopped in its tracks as the overhead speakers came to life, “attention, attention, this is the Captain
.  All Senior Officers report for debriefing in twenty minutes by order of the Admiral.”

Letting out a long breath in slight annoyance the commander looked back over at Tiari, “
our Admiral sure has some horrible timing.”

Twenty minutes later freshly clean and redressed in uniform
Commander Telwin strode into the assembly room with a mealbar in his hand.  There had been no time to eat so he had grabbed one from his quarters.  Thankfully most of the senior officer quarters had been spared, but that was not true for some of the others he quickly found out through overheard conversations and complaints.  They would have to deal with that later.  For the moment the battle was won and there were bigger issues to deal with.

Inside the briefing room there were more empty seats than Styker remembered.  He recognized Tiari’s hair from the back and
took a seat beside her without a second thought.  She appeared to have had the same idea as him about bringing food to the meeting, but unlike Styker she had apparently had enough time to stop by the mess hall to get a food tray before showing up.  Tiari gave him a quick smile and gently pushed the tray in his direction.  Smirking back at her he reached down to took some fruit from the tray before looking around once more.

At first he thought that perhaps he was a little early
as there were still many seats unoccupied, but that soon proved to not be the case as the blast doors came down to seal the room off from the rest of the ship.  With that the light dimmed and Admiral Singh entered the room from the right with Captain Hinnamen.  The look on both of their faces told Styker everything he needed to know about this meeting and caused him to stiffen in his seat.  Even Tiari noticed his new posture, causing her to examine the commanding officers more thoroughly herself.

“First off let me congratulate each and every one of you on our victory today,” Admiral Singh began while looking over the entire room, studying every person seated there, “with
out the hard work done by you and the pilots under your command we would probably not be here today.  At the same time without the crewmen and crewwomen throughout the battle group the same might be true for all of you.  It just goes to show you how important teamwork really is and why we train so hard to work together in unison.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “also, in case some of you were no
t aware yet, I want to wish you a Happy New Year.  I know this was not quite the start you were hoping for, but there is nothing we can do about that.”

“I was hoping to celebrate
the New Year with our hard fought victory, but unfortunately there is more bad news to be had.” Once more the admiral stopped to look around the room, the anticipation of his words drawing everyone towards him. “Less than half an hour ago I received a transmission via FRINGCOM that during the battle unknown enemy forces penetrated Aquarius space and carried out a surprise attack on Telcore itself.  A number of other targets throughout the outer sectors were struck as well.”

At the mere mention of Telcore Styker’s heart
dropped in his chest and shattered.  He actually had to replay the sentence in his mind as he did not want to believe the words spoken to him.  The new came as such a shock that he almost failed to hear the rest of the Admiral’s announcement and never felt Tiari’s hand fall upon his arm.

“
We have to go back!” Styker yelled out at the admiral before even realizing that he was standing now.

Achyuta Singh’s eyes narrowed slightly as he stopped and looked over at the origin of the voice, “excuse
me Commander Telwin, I didn’t catch that.”

“
Sorry sir,” Styker finally caught himself, still shaking a bit from the image of his children and wife being caught in the middle of a planetary invasion, “we have to take the CBG to Telcore.  There are millions of civilians that need our help.  We can’t just leave them stranded!”

“At ease Commander,” Admiral Singh eyed Styker, “I understand and sympathize with your concern
, but we have our orders.  AQUACOM will handle Telcore.  We have orders to 3R at Port Lima and that’s what we are going to do.”

Instead of calming Styker down this only enraged him further.  He knew that going to the Port Lima Naval Base for Repair, Replenishment, and Recuper
ation would take weeks at best to complete before the group would head out again.  In that time the entirety of Telcore could be conquered and his whole family could be dead.

“I understand sir, but there isn’t time for that!  We’ve already fought the enemy.  We know how they operate.  We have the advantage.  Any other units sent to Telcore would be green in this instance.  They will be slaughtered and the planet would
still be conquered.  AQUARCOM needs the data we collected today and our experience,” Styker insisted forcefully while feeling Tiari tugging and squeezing at his arm.

“You’re out of line Commander Telwin!” Captain Hinnamen shot back and took a step forward in defense of his admiral, “have you seen the situation outside?
We are in no position to fight a superior force.”

“The Captain is right,” Admiral Singh added calmly, “and I think you know that.  You yourself witnessed the damage suffered by the
Battle Group in this attack.  If we jump into a warzone, even with our new found experience, we will be the ones who are slaughtered and would not help anyone.  How would you feel then?