>> Chapter 9 >>

Chapter Ten
HNS Liberator
Hiigaran System (no longer in orbit)
14:15 New Daiamid AHL 06.17.21

Commodore Edson and a fully recovered Captain Saborn were giving out orders simultaneously, and their words overlapped each other.

“General quarters, general quarters. All crew to general quarters. Weapons, begin final pre-firing procedures. Sensors, I want a rough estimate on how many ships there are in the Imp fleet,” ordered Commodore Edson.

“Seal all space tight doors in one minute from mark. Mark. Engines to flank speed. Begin final calibration of stabilization systems,” said Captain Saborn.

“Sir, I had at least two thousand Imp vessels of frigate class and above before the Siege Cannons did their work. Now I have about one thousand six hundred. We’re still outnumbered nearly two to one.”

“Very well, sensors. We’ll just have to be twice as good as them,” replied Commodore Edson.

“Remember, sir, we still have a few more tricks up our sleeve,” added Captain Saborn with a half concealed smile.

“Oops, I almost forgot.”

The Liberator, Lightning Fleet, and the assembled ships defending Hiigara lumbered forward towards the advancing Imperialists. The strike craft of both fleets ranged out ahead of each fleet’s capital ships, and minutes later, started to engage each other in the space between the two fleets. But noticeably absent from these engagements were the Kadesh ships.

“Commodore Edson, this is Commander Jensen. Where are the Kadesh?”

“Do you have time to ask?” was Commodore Edson’s reply.

“Well, sir, right now I’m docked with a Support Frigate. I took a few hits, and the guys on board are patching me up. So, where are the Kadesh?”

“Can’t say. But they are within system, I can tell you that.” Ten minutes later, the capital ships of each fleet closed to visual range of the strike craft battle. Lightning Fleet’s upgraded fighters were doing significant damage to the Imperialist strike craft, but the Hiigaran strike craft were still horribly outnumbered, despite the successful opening gambit.

A Blade Mk VI
Hiigaran System
14:28 New Daiamid AHL 06.17.21

Commander Jensen and his wingman, Captain Kyle Cahn, led Wraith Squadron through the massive furball. Strike craft were dodging, firing, and exploding, while the large capital ships were slugging it out with ion cannons, missiles, and energy cannons. To his fighter’s left, Commander Jensen say an Imperialist Destroyer succumb to two squadrons of Attack Bombers and an Ion Frigate. An ion beam pierced through its hull, and a volley of plasma bombs severed the ship. Then, a squadron of Imperialist Kaarks escorted by a squadron of Triikors arrived, too late to save the destroyer but eager for revenge.

Commander Jensen switched to the Wraith’s frequency on his comlink. “Break by pairs. One flight, two flight, take care of the interceptors. Three flight gets to kill some bombers. Use cannons, save the missiles for capital ships. ” Having heard acknowledgements from his flight leaders, Commander Jensen and his wingman dived towards the Imperialist interceptors. Caught off guard, the squadron scattered, and Commander Jensen dropped in neatly behind one. The pilot attempted a hard break to starboard, but Commander Jensen unleashed a burst of energy cannon fire that shredded the drives of the Imperialist fighter, causing it to explode. The Interceptor’s wingman got on Commander Jensen’s tail, and fired a burst. Commander Jensen broke hard to starboard while launching beacons that simulated his fighter’s energy signature. The energy cannons destroyed the beacons, and the Imperialist interceptor attempted to set up a second pass. The pilot tried to correct by cutting his speed and climbing, but Captain Cahn slowed down as well and fired his energy cannons into the fighter’s reactors. That Interceptor also exploded.

HNS Liberator
Hiigaran System
14:34 New Daiamid AHL 05.17.21

Commodore Edson was jolted in his seat as a salvo of fire from the heavy cruiser that occupied most of the bridge window hit the Liberator. The Liberator had been damaged during a previous skirmish with several Imperialist ships, and had been undergoing repairs. Until an Imperialist Heavy Cruiser and two Assault Frigates had decided to play, Commodore Edson thought. The Liberator returned fire as the two Assault Frigates that was escorting the cruiser unleashed their own weapons. Two Repair Corvettes were repairing the Liberator, but it was not enough to offset the damage.

“Damage Control, report,” said Commodore Edson

“No new major damage. We’ve lost the starboard wing gun turret. Minor hull breaches on levels 8, 9, and twelve.”

“Alright. Weapons, cease missile fire. When the missiles are all rebuilt, launch a volley at the largest hole in the cruiser. Communications, ask for assistance. Tell them that a squadron of bombers or Super Acos would really be appreciated.”

Commodore Edson’s call for help was quickly answered. A squadron of Super Acolytes arrived behind the three Taiidan capital ships, and began firing their ion cannons on the Heavy Cruiser’s drives. Several engines were disabled, and parts of the ship went dark. The Assault frigates turned towards the Heavy Cruiser to fire on the Super Acolytes, but then a squadron of Attack Bombers launched a volley of plasma bombs at the port frigate’s rear, propelling it into the side of the Heavy Cruiser. The frigate exploded, tearing a huge part out of the Heavy Cruiser in the process. Then the Liberator’s missiles fired, and flashed into the hole, explosions ripping through the hull. The cruiser was fatally damaged now, and a volley of plasma bombers finished it off. The cruiser’s reactor core overloaded, and the resulting explosion destroyed the entire ship. The remaining frigate was destroyed by concentrated fire from the Liberator and the fighters.

New Daiamid
Hiigara
14:41 New Daiamid AHL 06.17.21

The Kushan Sa was now in the bunker two hundred meters underneath the New Daiamid with all of his military staff. The officer manning the sensors station barked out a warning.

“Sir, there are few Imperialist shuttles coming down towards the planets surface. They’re cloaked, and we saw them because they heated up during entry. Our fighters are moving to intercept.”

“All right, mobilize all ground units to take care of whatever comes out of those. I don’t want them gaining an inch of our ground,” replied the Kushan Sa.

“Yes sir,” said the communications officer. “The Third Marine Division is moving to respond.”

KS Buer-Sai (Divine Wrath)
Somewhere in Hyperspace
14:50 New Daiamid AHL 06.17.21

The Kadesh armada had been refitted, upgrading its Swarmer vessels with improved drive technology and corvette class energy cannons. However, the Swarmers were not compatible with the newest drive technology, and thus still needed refueling.

Ship Master Luran gave the order to drop out of hyperspace. The Kadesh Needleship, twenty Multi Beam Frigates, and twenty Fuel Pods emerged from hyperspace in close proximity to a cluster of six Imperialist carriers, which had numerous damaged strike craft engaged in docking patterns. Behind them, four Revelations, two Deacons, ten Assault Frigates, ten Ion Frigates, and twelve Support Frigates appeared. The Needleship, Fuel Pods, and Support Frigates all disgorged squadrons of fighters and corvettes. Immediately, Swarmers broke up the Imperialist’s screen of fighters, and shot past the corvettes to perform strafing runs on several escorting frigates. With a hundred twenty Swarmers and twenty-four Advanced Swarmers, the frigates didn’t stand a chance. Multiple hull breaches caused the heavy guns on the Swarmers vented the frigates’ atmosphere, suffocating parts of the crew. Energy cannon rounds cut open plasma conduits and sheared through bulkheads, causing massive internal damage. The frigates were reduced to floating wreaks.

Blades, Acolyte, and Crusader fighters arrived behind the Swarmers, and devastated the disorganized Imperialist strike wings, which were busy chasing the Swarmers. Energy cannons blasted open cockpits and drive arrays, killing the crews instantly. Other fighters were disabled, leaving their occupants to die a slow death from asphyxiation. Missiles exploded among the ranks of the corvettes, turning many into rapidly expanding clouds of gasses. The damaged Imperialist strike craft ceased docking and joined the fight, but were quickly destroyed as well. Mangled bodies and debris floated around the space near the carriers.

Thunderbolts and Super Acolytes began their runs on Imperialist carriers after the majority of their strike wing was destroyed. Damaged drives vented orbs of plasma into space as crewmen drifted out along with debris from gaping holes in their hulls. In minutes, the carriers and their escorts had been reduced to burning hulks and space debris.

>> Chapter 11>>