The Earth Ship

[RSDark_Angel]

Hi all,
Now that I have returned from my holiday, I will be true to my word and give you the sequel to Mystery of the Scorpion .
I hope you all enjoy the sequel as much as you did Scorpion .
And hopefully, my friend KiwiNZ will add this one to his FanFict site to complete the line.
Please feel free to post your thoughts,
regards, Dark_Angel
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An X2: The Threat FanFict story
The Earth Ship
By C.Andrew
a.k.a Dark_Angel

Prologue

Planet Earth, 1999AD.
NASA breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program develops a new form of fusion drive that would easily be capable of inter-planetary travel. This new drive is developed and tested on a small inter-plantary probe, named Starpower. After a year of analysing and testing Starpower the now aptly named Starpower Drive is confirmed to be able to succesfully travel great distances in lesser time. This new technology is kept secret from the public.

2001AD
Starpower manager and chief administrator Mance Bracknell gives the go ahead to design a spaceship that will grant humanity access to its neighboring planets. Design of a starship capable of inter-planetary travel begins, this top secret project is named project Pathfinder.

2003AD
After much time and care put into the design of the vessel Pathfinder, construction finally begins at Cape Canaveral, but is moved to Area-51 in secrecy.

2005AD
First version of Pathfinder is completed and tested. Everything goes exactly to plan until a completely unexpected and fatal error occurs in the main command computer on board Pathfinder. The computer overloads due to a critical software error and thus, overloads the reactor, causing Pathfinder to explode, destroying two NASA shuttles and the orbital launch platform in the process. Project Pathfinder is taken back to the drawing boards.

Early 2009AD
Project Pathfinder is now complete and Pathfinder II is launched into orbit from Area-51 to dock with the new Orbital launch platform. This time the uttermost care is taken to avoid disaster and Pathfinder II succesfully completes docking and systems check in high Earth orbit.

Late 2009AD
A crew of 12 is chosen from all around the world for the Pathfinder expedition and the new crew members are launched and shuttled to their new home.
Pathfinder's mission is to gain data on all of the Solar Systems six planets after Earth and then continue on into the 'Oort Cloud' and 'Kupier Belt' and eventually cross the Heliosheath into uncharted space.
The mission is purely Scientific and regular telemetry from the ship is to be broadcasted back to NASA HQ at Cape Canaveral.

Early 2010AD
Pathfinder begins her long journey to the edge of the solar system, her aim to cross the boundary no human has ever crossed. The whole project is kept secret. Only the families of the crews know of the project, and they are sworn to secrecy.

Mid 2011AD
The final report from Pathfinder comes through as quite disturbing to the command crew at Cape Canaveral. The spaceship has come across some sort of alien artifact deep within the Oort Cloud out beyond the orbit of Pluto. The artifact is said to be a large, disk-like form containing a swirling mass of unidentified energies. The data from the artifact is recorded along with long range footage of the structure.
Pathfinder is never heard of again after their final message. Nothing of this is leaked out to the public.

2022AD – After the discovery of the jump gate principal.
Tokyo University student Ashizava Kazuko is summoned to the former head of the Pathfinder project and the results of Kazuko's work are matched with the data recorded from the last message from the ship that never existed.
Pathfinder jumped from the Solar System Sol into an uncharted system devoid of any life except for microscopic life forms that dwell in the dense particle cloud occupying the system and that feed on the precious metal alloys that make up the crucial stucture of any space faring vessel.

[therjw]

nice one.

the only thing tho is that IIRC there was no gate built in the earth sector they built there own but then again who says they never found it

[KiwiNZ]

yet another neat point of tying you story in with Farnhams Legend! Well done, except, couldn't you make it ESA?

Looking forward to the next part!

[RSDark_Angel]

It is a new jumpgate that was only found by Pathfinder.
The 'Old Ones' watched humanity or a while did they not?
well how did they get to and fro from Sol to where ever if there were no Jumpgate?
its not in the storyline, i made it up completely, but i think its fits in nicely.

[Graf_Grau]

I agree with the others, the general back story states that there was no earth gate.

Given that the gates were built by races Eons older than us we can assume they had Jumpdrives long long long ago so a gate would not be necessary to go to earth.

However this does not negate the possibilty of the gate existing if we follow another path of the back story. The old ones did not want the humans to be interacting with the other races therefore lets say they did have a gate hidden away as you suggest for observation purposes. I guess they could have a "self destruct" for the unlikely event that the gate was discovered (space is vast!). So maybe add that the gate closed vanished or somesuch in 2011ad after the ship went through. This would link your good idea more in line with the current story.

Still a good idea.

[RSDark_Angel]

I should think that the Old Ones would have had a gate into Sol. If just for inspection purposes.
If you noticed, I placed the gate deep within the Oort Cloud, the furthest point from Earth still in the solar system
Maybe the gate was destroyed after Pathfinder went through...
I left it out because humans dont know what happened to it
use your imagination.

Another theory is that It could have been placed there when humans developed, so the Old Ones didnt know how dangerous the system was back then

[bladeuk]

Good to see you back, i hope this is as good as scorpoin, sounds good so far!

[RSDark_Angel]

Chapter 1 – Escape

Captain Gillian Sherwin roared out commands as a computer console erupted in a shower of sparks directly behind her. The GSS Razor hung in space, silhouetted against her own life-blood. Columns of smoke filtered out through nasty punctures in the twelve inch-thick hull plating, fires raged visibly through the portholes and the nasty scars were plainly visible where the Hornets had struck. But Sherwin was determined not to give in, however bad the situation might be. Their enemy also lie in tatters, an identical Split Python listed badly off on the Razor's Port bow, torn to pieces by the lethal barrage emitted from the Razor's batteries. To the Razor's starboard however, Sat the Vermillion, the flagship of the Split family Rhy. Vermillion had stood strong in the onslaught, with only small ammounts of damage here and there. Sherwin ground her teeth together as another volley slammed into the hull.
“helm, bring her around 35 degrees facing the Vermillion to that our starboard turrets can get a clear shot. Comms, where is the God damn Aggamemnon!?”
“Their having trouble ma'am. Tied up with the Python Zathahk”
Sherwin growled at the communications officer. “Get me Marvel!”
The officer nodded and turned back to his gently smoking console.
After a few seconds, a thick set face appeared on the main monitor above the bridge view port.
“Captain Sherwin” Marvel nodded into the comm. Sherwin noticed a trickle of blood running down the bridge of his nose and down across his lips from a nasty gash on his forehead. “We are moving Samarkand to your location now, we had a scrape with some bombers.”
“Understood Ban, listen, we need fighter support now! These guys are walking all over us!”
“Way ahead of you Gillian, Umbrea and Tannis flights are inbound, E.T.A four mizuras.”
Sherwin let out a sigh and nodded her thanks. The shape of Captain Marvel disapeared to be replaced by an unhealthy schematic of the Razor's structural integrety. Sherwin sat back down in her chair and held on tight as the ship rocked once more.
Outside, the Vermillion was keeping a safe distance in between itself and the Razor and launching a constant stream of fighters to attck the GSS Python. Split Mambas, many with bold paint schemes, fluttered around the Razor like moths around a light. Only two ships fought back the continuous tide of fighters. Two Pyramidal shapes danced gracefully in and out of the mob of Mambas, keeping as many of them away from torp runs as possible.
The Razor banked away from the Vermillion, heading for the other stricken Python, giving her starboard turrets a good clean shot at the Vermillion's starboard bow. The turrets along the Razor lit up like a beacon, hammering the forward shielding of the Vermillion with PPC fire. The shots pounded into the flickering shields and ripples of blue energy danced across in a widening circle. Vermillion began to dive to escape the onslaught but the power and concentration of the Razor's attack punched through the shields and impacted on the hull plating of the starboard section, tearing the thick armour like aside like paper. The ship buckled under the barrage of death. The shots carried on punishing the hull whilst the Vermillion made its desparate dive for freedom, strafing the whole length of the starboard section with fire. The stricken Raptor sailed away from the Razor down below the ecltiptic plane.
Sherwin grinned as she manouvered the controls on her control console. Putting the Razor into a steep dive in persuit.
The two mighty ships dove vertically through the ecliptic plane and headed down into the depths of space below.


* * *

Lance Blansher completed his systems check and clasped his hands around the control stick of serial zero-four, Umbrea two. The Nova responded well to his slightest touch and his turret gunner, Larice Scalter, showed everything in the green.
Umbrea flight flew in Delta formation, with zero-four covering serial six-two, Umbrea lead.
The flight of twelve Argon Novas was acompanied by Tannis squadron, consisting of another twelve Nova's. Both flights formed a formidable forces with the Argon Centaur GSS Trinity backing them up. Blansher closed his eyes and mentally prepared for the inevitable combat ahead. Intel showed the Razor was under attack from a Split Carrier. Umbrea flight had arrived on the scene only a few mizuras earlier and had helped to finish off a few straggling bombers that had attacked the Samarkand. There they had met up wuth Tannis wing and left to help the Razor. Tannis wing's home was the Samarkand, but Umbrea were based on the GSS Reliant, undertaking repairs in Argon Prime. When the call that Julian Gardna and most of GSS's capitalships were in danger, Umbrea flight had been ordered to take immediate action as they were the only Nova wing in standby. All of the Reliants other wings were not at full srength because of repairs. So here Umbrea was, flying their first code red sortie since the battle for Omicron Lyrae. Blansher had not been idle during their period of rest, he had trained vigorously on the simulators every day and flown the occasional patrol which usually ended up in a scuffle with some pirates. But this was different, this was war and he was ready to face whatever came. He checked the scanner readout and counted thirty Split Mambas in action around the Razor. Both warships were diving down, well if you could call it down, through the ecliptic plane and into the dark abyss below.
“Umbrea flight, check in” came the order from Umbrea lead, just ahead of Blansher.
“Two, in the green” he said into the wing channel.
“Three standing by”
“This is Umbrea four, everything is four-A”
And on it went. Blansher listened to all his comrades report in and awaited for the command.
They were appraching the combat zone fast. Adrenaline rushed through Blansher's viens as they came closer...
“Break and engage, I repeat break and engage, Stoop and Sting Umbrea!”
That was it, Blansher twisted the control stick and put serial zero four into an intense barrel role as his wingmen peeled off to select their targets. Through the cockpit window, Blansher saw Tannis flight separate.
Selecting a target, Blansher throttled up to full and switched to Wasps.
“This is where the fun begins” he muttered, spotting his target amongst the throng of fighters.

[LeeE]

Oh dear, i forgot about your cliffhangers

Nice work, very good opening chapter

[KiwiNZ]

Very good one! Initially I thought I had missed something when the cap ships were stuffed already but you set that right nicely. looks like there is still a bit of action lined up

Looking forward to the next part!

[therjw]

nice cant wait for the next part

[RSDark_Angel]

Julian Gardna twisted the control sick to the left, putting Helios into a sight spin to avoid an oppressive Mamba. He wore a helmet encrusted with wire links and small flashing lights and a heavily tinted visor came down across his eyes. More cables ran down his arms and into the data feed attached to the equipment before him. Julian sat slaved to Helios via VR, Virtual Reality. He saw whatever Helios saw, he felt whatever Helios felt. And right now he was surging with adrenaline from the intense battle raging only meters away, outside the Razor. He closed his finger down on the trigger of the control stick wired to his left arm and three steady beams of energy lashed out from the laser ports on each point around the unmanned cockpit. Inside the visor of the VR helmet, Julian saw the laser beams strike the starboard fin of the Mamba he was pursuing. The ship spun and dived out of the constant stream of power and narrowly avoided collision with another Mamba. Julian guided Helios down after the Mamba, taking careful aim once more.
“Joules, you got a bandit on your six.” yelled Jo Rider, slaved to Prometheus at the VR console next to him. Jo had made a steady recovery in the hours since their escape from the unknown system. She was, however, still weak, and sat in an automated wheelchair equipped with emergency oxygen tanks and a water supply just in case.
“How far away are you?” Julian replied, not taking his eyes off the view before him.
“Too far away to help, try and shake him”
Julian fired once more at the fleeing Mamba and twisted out of the dive before he could see whether he had scored a hit.
Another Mamba was hot on Helios's six as Julian pulled up back towards the scared hull of the Razor. The Mamba wheeled around and managed to get a lock on him. Julian pulled out and boosted the throttle up to full, heading along the length of the mighty Python, taking snap shots as he flew. The warning tone chimed again and Julian cursed under his breath. Persistent Bastard, he thought as he made his third attempt to loose his attacker. This time Julian managed to duck down below the volley of HEPT fire as it soared overhead. The Mamba overshot Helios and flew straight overhead. Julian saw his change and pulled up hard, coaxing the Khaak M3 back up to top speed. Now directly behind the Mamba, Julian let out a long stream of lethal alien weapon fire which impacted right on the back of the Mamba's cockpit. The shields flickered and gave way, allowing the deadly laser beams to strike the cockpit hatch. The metal didn't argue with the lasers and gave way instantly, penetrating the outer shell and obliterating the inside of the cockpit. Julian saw the three shots blast out from the cockpit window. If the pilot had luckily escaped the beams, he would have asphyxiated quickly enough. Julian pulled Helios up and out from behind the Mamba that was now on a collision course with the Razor's shields and selected another target. There was a bright flash as the Mamba was incinerated by the 400 MegaWatt shields. Helios flew over the top of the Razor and passed the bridge. It was then when Julian noticed the twenty-four Novas speeding to assist.

* * *

Blansher unleashed his barrage of fire just as his prey came into the scope. The Mamba was caught under the heavy HEPT fire and buckled as the shields gave way. The Mamba spun three-sixty degrees around the cockpit as the white hot plasma melted away the port wing and engine module. Blansher adjusted his angle of attack and fired another three bursts, this time hitting the Mamba right in the underbelly of her cockpit. The Split M3 went out in a large flash of fire as the oxygen tanks were united with the fuel ducts.
Rolling out of the way, Blansher's Nova soared past the explosion and sighted another Mamba, straggling around the underside of the friendly Split Python, to escape the clutches of what looked like a Khaak M3. Blansher gasped and targeted the M3.
“Umbra Lead, this is two, Khaak M3 sighted, recommend action” he barked into the comm.
“Negative two, Khaak ships are not to be harmed, they are property of Mr. Gardna himself. Protecting them are on your bonus objectives list. You should have read it thoroughly Blansher.” His harsh captain forced a low growl from deep within Blansher's throat. “I'll see to you when we're back down!”
Gritting his teeth, Blansher hissed “Lead” he spun away from the M3 and targeted another Mamba.
His new quarry banked and spun to avoid the lances of Beta high energy plasma as Blansher locked on and opened fire. Unable to do so, the Mamba took several hits to the starboard wing and broke off as the shots seared and burnt the metal. The Mamba dived and spun down into a wide spiral, serial six-two hot on its tail. Blansher heard the sound of the Nova's rear turret lighting up for the first time as Larice selected a target.
“We got a bandit on our seven Lance!” She warned, firing away at their attacker.
“Keep him at bay Larice” Blansher replied, concentrating on the fleeing Mamba in front. He finally scored a direct hit and the Split fighter broke apart under the hail of fire. The Mamba behind had broken off to avoid the shots from Larice's Mass Driver. Blansher pulled up and the huge form of the Raptor Vermilion loomed up ahead. Blansher skillfully weaved six-two into the small gap in between the Raptor's primary section and port section, coming out of the front to be harassed by close range HEPT fire from the M1's forward turrets. Blansher jinked his fighter around to avoid the plasma balls and pulled out to safety. He saw another Mamba chasing a Nova of Tannis wing and throttled up to assist.

* * *

The two mighty capitalships had now leveled out and were a few klicks below the ecliptic. The Python was directly behind the Raptor now, pumping round after round into her rear shielding. This crossfire was simply a large mass of blue PPC fire that would tear apart any unfortunate ship that happened to fly in.
The Vermilion buckled as the shields gave way and the PPC rounds penetrated once more. The whole ship rocked as the shots plunged into the metal, tearing off M5 sized chunks. First one engine sagged and disconnected as the shots pounded the ship, then a second disintegrated in a mighty explosion as one of the coolant valves was ripped to shreds. The Vermilion began to fall, with two engines down and her rear stabilizers melted into an unrecognizable pulp. But the mighty Raptor was not down yet. Even with the engines down and loud klaxons blaring on every deck, the M1 lumbered slowly around to face the now stationary Razor. Up on the command deck, the Split Captain yelled one word in his native tongue.
“Torpedoes!!!”

[KiwiNZ]

Excellent battle yet again! Very nice description of the fight in the KM3 and clever idea re VR. Diving along cap ships at close range is always a good tactic when being outnumbered.

Looking forward to the next part!

[LeeE]

Fantastic work, can't wait for the next bit

[RSDark_Angel]

The Vermilion managed to drag its crippled form around to face the Razor, her scarred body swinging around ungracefully through the smoke cloud it had since bled. On board the bridge of the Razor Captain Sherwin glanced at her palmcomp. It showed the time it would take for the vermilion to get a target lock and the status of the Razor's own torpedo bays. What Sherwin saw, she did not like. The Vermilion was 90 sazuras off target lock and all of the forward torpedo bays were empty. She folded the palmcomp and placed it back on her belt. Sitting back in her chair, she flicked the comm Switch and ordered for a general announcement in the forward turret compartments.
“All forward gunners, this is Captain Sherwin. The Vermilion will be conducting a torpedo strike on the forward section of this ship. The one who brings most torps down will get a pay rise, and I'm serious!” Hit those Hornets for all our sakes!” She flicked the switch off and lent back in her chair, placidly calm. This would be the end if the torps got through, the shields wouldn't hold.
The helmsman who had detected the power surge in the Split M1's forward torpedo section was currently being scooped up by a medical team. A suicidal Mamba must have hit a weak point in the shields near the bridge as there had been a tremendous crash, throwing everyone off their feet. Three other bridge crew members were also being carried away on stretchers.
Sherwin took in a big breath and watched all the star fighters dance with death outside the window. A Nova passed fairly close, with a Mamba hot on its tail. But another Nova swooped in and fired a volley at the Mamba, crippling the Split fighter. Sherwin did not know what happened to them next as they flew out of view.

* * *

Julian bore into the enemy fighter with the deadly lances of Helios. The Khaak M3 had taken some slight damage from a nearby explosion and expanding debris. A chunk of metal, God knows whether Argon or Split, had punctured the triangular panel that made up the starboard engine module. Julian could not see it but he could feel it. It was affecting Helios's handling ever so slightly as the engine itself fluctuated continuously. The beams of blueish-white energy plowed into the fleeing Mamba, tearing off chunks of metal every time they hit. The Mamba's port wind finally disconnected and the ship drifted apart, breaking up under the structural integrity breech. Julian flew through the wreckage and turned on another Mamba. Just as he homed in however, two wasps flew in from nowhere and finished the job for him. Looking around through each monitor angle inside the VR equipment, Julian flicked onto the starboard camera just as a Nova sped past, guns blazing into yet another target. Frowning, Julian sped up and reeled on another unfortunate Split.

* * *

Blansher soared over the Khaak fighter scowling. Your going to loose me some credits, he thought bitterly as he pulled the trigger, hammering another Split Mamba that broke up almost immediately. Spinning six-two around to face the huge Razor, Blansher saw three Mambas chasing a lone Nova, desperately attempting to get away. Blansher glanced at his nav readout and saw that it was Roe.
“I've got your back three-seven” he voxed, circling round for a kill. The blue crosshairs of his optics zeroed in on the leading Mamba. Rounds of HEPT fire sailed past the other two M3's, clipping one and causing him to break. The shots found their mark on the lead Mamba, turning the ships engine and wing into something unrecognizable. The Mamba spiraled off and detonated as something went critical. Blansher targetted the last Mamba and tightened his finger over the trigger. His shots missed the Split fighter and hit the shields of the Razor. They passed un underneath the mighty Python and out behind the engine clusters. The Nova, three-seven, banked away hard but the Mamba was hot on his five. Firing a long stream of green death into three-seven, the Mamba pulled away as he say his shots hit his quarry and penetrate the shields.
Blansher bellowed into the comm. “Serial thee-seven! Roe can you hear me?!”
But there was no answer, Blansher flew past his former comrade's vessel, spying the shredded turret and starboard engines. Blansher cursed and flew on, leaving three-seven, her pilot and gunner dead, to drift on uncontrolled into the depths of space.

[KiwiNZ]

That little bit took you so long?

Excellent continuation to the battle! Also still nice suspense to the cap ship situation!

Looking forward to the next part!

[RSDark_Angel]

Blansher rolled and dived after the elusive Mamba that had evaded him for a lot longer than any of the others had managed. Serial six-two pulled out of a steep dive and plasma lanced out from her gun ports, lashing the fleeing Mamba. But the Split pilot anticipated and flipped three-sixty degrees in a barrel roll to avoid the shots. Blansher closed in after him, firing all the way. The Mamba careened off to the right, hitting it's speed brakes and dropping in behind Blansher.
“Spast” he hissed, pulling up on the control stick and nosing six-two into a steep accent.
Scalter fired wildly at their pursuer, to an admirable effect. The Gamma IRE fire from the Nova's turret caused the Mamba to break off. Just at that point, another Nova shot past underneath, hot on the tail of another, less fortunate Mamba. It was serial oh-two, Wing Commander Keane's Nova. Blansher rolled six-two over and dived after the skilled Mamba which was now homing in on the six of oh-two. The Mamba began to open fire just as Keane's Nova fired at the other Mamba. It all happened in slow motion, the shots from Keane's Mamba smashed into the first Nova, melting the shields and ripping into the armor plating of the pressurized door at the cockpit's rear, The skilled Mamba's shots tore into the rear armor of Keane's Nova, tearing apart the shields and piling on into the turret. First the glass shattered, Keane's gunner visibly torn apart by the green lances. Then the shots strafed left, shredding the rear of the cockpit section and moving alon to the port wing. They strafed along the rear of the port wing until one shot reached the lower port engine. The whole left hand side of the ship erupted in blue flames as time seemed to speed back up and Blansher soared down, anger welling within him. Keane's crippled Nova spun sickeningly off to starboard, leaving a faint trail of small lumps of debris. The Mamba locked on once more and fired off the finishing shots. They hammered into oh-two's rear cockpit armor, stripping away metal and puncturing the protective seal, A huge rush of oxygen left the rift in the metal, expanding and catching fire as the flames tagged it. It was out as soon as it had been lit, in the deep void of space. The remains of oh-two broke apart as they sped away into oblivion.
Blansher locked on to the Mamba and switched to Hornets, this guy was going out with a bang. Blansher kept six-two on the Mamba's six, waiting for the yellow lock tone to fade into red. The constantly increasing bleeps wound up the tension. The Mamba had obviously guessed by now and was weaving in and out and around. Blansher followed. The Mamba turned and headed for the Vermilion gunning her speed, six-two followed, the lock tone still in the yellow.
The Mamba ahead weaved in and out frantically, trying to shake Blansher as he clung on doggedly, his eyes roving from the lock tone to the visual in front of him. Both ships sped under Vermilion, her lower turret lighting up as the opposing Nova flew past underneath. Blansher expertly dodged all of the enemy flak and retained his pursuit of the Mamba. By now he had guessed that this Mamba was not an ordinary pilot. Either a veteran or a commander or something similar. Well, he had killed Keane, and now Blansher was about to revenge his fallen comrade.
The tone lock chimed and flicked to red as soon as the two fighters cut through the smoke cloud being emmited from the Vermilion's aft section. Blansher pulled the trigger and the first hornet rocketed from his tubes. The warhead began to duck and weave in sync with the intended target as soon as it was a safe distance from six-two. The hornet was soon followed by a second and the two missile/torpedoes were on their way to deliver their deadly payload. The Mamba flipped upside-down, so its cockpit's belly faced the ecliptic above, and began an accent back up to the holographic grid above projected in Blanshers line of sight. Blansher rolled six-two up after the two hornets. The Warheads were getting closer now and the pilot was getting desperate. This Split was no fool however, and he turned once more, leveling out onto a straight line with the ecliptic, and headed back for the Vermilion. The two missiles followed but, once more, a hail of fire erupted from the mighty Split Raptor's aft turrets. Blansher cursed and swept in low to avoid contact with the barrage of death. One of the hornets however was unlucky and a large explosion that rocked six-two's cockpit as she roared past burst out with a crack and expanded into nothingness. Six-two ducked and weaved to avoid the hail of fire from Vermilion. Blansher dived back down below to cross the underbelly of the Raptor, the Mamba took across the dorsal, thundering across the bridge with one remaining hornet in tow. Blansher lined up his crosshairs and loaded another hornet into the tube. When six-two ripped from under the Vermilion, the Mamba soared overhead at almost the same point, the hornet still hot on its heels. Blansher slowed and pulled up, aligning his lock tone once more. Larice's screaming and the sound of IRE fire filled Blansher's ear drums.
“BANDIT, bandit on our six!!!”
Blansher dived low, cursing as the lock tone disappeared. The sound of IRE fire stopped but Blansher could hear the lashing of HEPT energy on the starboard shielding, he barrel rolled six-two, catching a glimpse of the Mamba he was chasing, running away with the hornet hot on its six. Blansher pulled up and gunned the engines to full, watching the Mamba. The hornet would strike any sazura now. Bang, Blansher dived again as a Mosquito detonated on the shields.
“The proximity sensors must be out” said Scalter, opening fire again “didn't see that coming!”
Blansher could not see the Mamba he was chasing visually so he switched to scope. Usually he wouldn't have given a target a second thought, but he wanted this particular Split dead. The small icon representing the hornet was only a millimeter from its target. Blansher banked again as plasma spattered across the port shields. His eyes returned to the scope just in time to see the hornet reach its target. The target remained on the scope and the warhead winked out. Hit, Blansher thought to himself, wounded but not dead. He tagged the Mamba so he could find it later and deactivated his scope. He then turned six-two into a wide turn and targeted their assailant.

[Raptordraco]

excellent dog fight. I wonder if they get a chance to catch up to that mamba that was hit by the hornet missile.

[KiwiNZ]

Really great tension in that fight. One would wish Hornets were that fast in the game. Very good battle sequence.

Looking forward to the next part!

[RSDark_Angel]

Thanks, I was inspired by the torp launched by Slave 1 in SW episode two after Obi-Wan in the asteroid field. I always wanted to write a scene like that!!

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“Torpedo launch! Confirmed torpedo launch! All hands brace for impact!” The voice echoed over the loudspeaker. Julian reached up and grabbed for his safety harness, still concentrating on the fight outside. He manage to find the strap and lock it into place. It was primarily there in case the gravity went, if the torps his their section anyway they would be dead. Julian returned his concentration to Helios just outside the hull. The Khaak M3 was spinning and gyrating to avoid enemy flak from a pursuing Mamba. Julian pulled up on the control stick and Helios went into a steep dive, tearing past deck upon deck of the Razor. Julian thought he saw two dark shapes speed by the VR room's view port and was thankful he wasn't out there this time. The Mamba was firing a constant stream of plasma which bored into Helios' shields at every brief interval when she was vulnerable. Julian was getting desperate.
“Jo, where the hell are you!?”
“I'm coming Joules hang on!” she said urgently from the cubical next to him.
From Helios' small view screen, Julian thought he could see another triangular object spinning into the fray. The Mamba behind him stopped firing for a second or two but then started up again as soon as it had a clear shot.
In the next VR cubical, Jo Rider was disparately trying to free Helios from her Split attacker. She put Prometheus into a fast barrel role and opened fire on her target. The beams lanced out from the triple gun ports at the nose and lashed into the Mamba's aft shielding. The Khaak weapons made short work of the shields and soon small bits of debris were breaking off and pinging off Prometheus' hardened cockpit glass. The Mamba dived low, revealing the straggling Helios. Jo immediately lifted her finger from the trigger and dived down, firing the deadly lances again and again at the exposed aft of the Mamba until the ship blew apart in a cloud of metal and flame, each part disappearing rapidly into the black void.
Thats when the Razor bucked as if it had been rammed by another starship. There was a tremendous explosion, causing many of Jo's instruments to crack and explode into showers of sparks. Jo instinctively kicked the console to push the wheelchair back, forgetting that she was connected neurally to the systems and howled in pain as the leads tore free improperly and caused hell through her nervous system. She threw off the VR helmet and immediately grabbed for Prometheus' remote guidance system. The small hand held flickered in acknowledgment as Jo set Prometheus to attack all enemies. She then kicked open the flimsy cubical door and wheeled outside manually to inspect the damage. The door down at the end of the wide semi-circular room to her right was blackened and dented but still in place. The wall paneling along to her right however was blackened and smoldering, some hanging off the wall by thin strips of wire, others scattered across the floor. The electronics work behind these panels was a mess of sparking and flaming wries and charred motherboards. Jo swung herself to the next cubical and rammed the door open with her extended leg. Julian was still in his chair, connected to the VR systems.
“Are you okay?” she practically yelled.
“Yes I'm fine!” he replied just as loudly “Just a little singed”
Jo saw that he was still in control of Helios and backed off to let him concentrate. He, however, beckoned her in quickly and said “There's heavy damage two decks up from here, I can see it through Helios.”
“The Torpedoes?” Jo asked, her voice a little more under control now.
“Yep, two hornets hit the deck above us, three into the one above that. Our structural integrity must be down below seventy.”
Jo swallowed hard, grasping the back of Julian's chair. “My VR equipment is shot, I put Prometheus on autopilot.”
“Good” Julian replied, concentrating on the VR screen over his eyes. He pulled out of a steep dive to inspect the damage to Razor once more. The two decks above them had been torn wide open. Julian could see the flickering lights, the rooms exposed, and their occupants drifting slowly out into the void. He had purposefully not told Jo about the bodies. He spun away, sickened, and targeted a Mamba heading back over to the Vermilion. With an angry growl, Julian made Helios follow.

* * *

Sherwin gripped the arm rests of her chair and pushed herself up. She walked down the platform and up to the holo-navigation map in the center of the bridge. One of the remaining bridge officers stood looking over some schematics on a palmcomp.
“How are we ensign?” She asked, trying to eliminate the obvious apprehension from her voice.
“We took pretty nasty damage to our port side Captain, six hornets got through, damaging decks three, four and five, the most extensive damage on five.”
“The VR room is on three” Sherwin said, more to herself than the ensign.
“Yes, ma'am, if your thinking about Mr. Gardna, I shouldn't worry. I got a message from Miss Rider, they are ok.”
The eased Sherwin somewhat. She leaned over the hologram and looked at the two icons showing the Razor and the Vermilion.
“Load torpedo bays ensign, its our turn now”
The ensign nodded, grim faced and turned back for his console. Sherwin remained at the hologram, looking thoughtfully at all the smaller icons representing the Nova's and Mamba's locked in the vicious dogfight just outside. Once every now and then, a Mamba winked out and occasionally a Nova disappeared. The fight was steadily being won by GSS. The Nova's out numbered the Mamba three to one, Tannis flight down to seven fighters and Umbra down to nine. Sherwin held her breath and returned her gaze to the viewscreen showing Vermilion silhouetted against smoke and fire.
“Torpedo bays loaded ma'am” the ensign reported from his console.
“Roger that, fire at will” she ordered, nodding at the replacement weapons officer. He voxed a message over the intercom to the torpedo bay and flicked his hands neatly across the console before him. Sherwin watched him intently, she was unfamiliar with this recruit and looked for any impression.
“Torpedoes away ma'am” he informed smartly.
“Good, main screen.”
The main screen changed to a camera angle from just above the Razor's now vacant torpedo bays, a timer showing twenty sezuras appeared on the bottom of the screen. Two hornet missile tore away heading for the Vermilion. The two more torps fired from the tubes, momentarily blinding the viewers. These were followed by another six hornet missile. Each headed for a weak spot in the Vermilions forward shielding. The whole of the bridge crew were silent as they watched the ten warheads streak across space towards their adversary. The Vermilion opened fire, one warhead detonated. Sherwin's breath caught in her windpipe as she watched the screen. A second warhead blew apart in a might explosion that expanded and enveloped a passing fighter, now too far away to determine whether ally or enemy. The flak increased as the torps got closer. Another Warhead lit up in a distant ball of flame. Sherwin glanced at the timer, five sezuras until impact. Another fireball glowed in the distance, another Warhead gone. Three sezuras. A Nova sped past the camera view, a little too close for comfort. Two sezuras. The torps could no longer be seen by Sherwin's straining eyes. One sezura. The timer reached zero. The weapons console beeped to confirm impact.