Chapter 6
Surprise Attack
Red was a little apprehensive following the Chancellor’s call. Suddenly, he was expected to organize an attack on the Intergalactic Fleet on Clarion.
Most of his flying had been done in the skies over Tarizon. He’d only once ventured into outer space, and that was for just a few tiks, to rendezvous with ES 26 and escort it in for a landing. The T-47s that made up the 3rd Army’s 1st Airborne Division were good fighters, but lagged several generations behind the new T-69s designed and built for the Intergalactic Fleet.
If that wasn’t enough to worry about, after they had attacked the Fleet, he and his men had to report to Gallion to be assigned to a pair of Earth shuttles that were being refitted for combat duty. In just two days, they would be leaving for Earth. Red had been told to put in a call to Captain Shilling for more detailed orders.
“Captain Levitur here, calling as ordered.”
“Red. Yes, I was expecting your call,” Captain Shilling said.
“I understand we’re going to Earth,” Red said.
“Yes, how do you feel about that?”
“Ah, I’m fine with it except for the fact I’ve had very little training or experience in space flight.”
“Yes, but the sad fact is that you have more experience than anybody I know. That’s why I picked you.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes, but don’t worry about it. We’ll have a cycle in space before we get to Earth, so you’ll have plenty of time for additional training.”
“Right, but what about the raid on Clarion? We won’t have time to train for that.”
“No, so I’m not expecting any miracles from you and your men in that regard. Just a quick flyover, fire a few missiles, and then straight home. Our objective is simply to delay them, so I don’t want you to engage the T-69s. If you do they’ll slaughter you.”
“But when we attack they’ll come after us,” Red pointed out.
“True, but with the Fleet about to leave Clarion I don’t think they’ll follow you very far. They’ll be on a pretty short leash.”
“I see. That makes me feel better. The only thing I still have a problem with is: How do we get close enough to the base to fire our missiles? Surely they’ll spot us coming and try to intercept us.”
“Yes, normally they would, but their detection system will be down at about the time you arrive.”
“Really? How do you know that?”
“Sabotage. We have friends on Clarion.”
“Oh. Are they reliable?”
“Absolutely. Don’t worry. Your attack will be a complete surprise, and by the time Intergalactic Command figures out what’s happening, you’ll be long gone.”
“Oh. Excellent. Sounds like a good plan, then.”
“I think so, but if you come up with anything better, let me know.”
“I will.”
“Then good luck to you, Captain. See you on Earth in a cycle.”
Red hung up the GC, feeling only slightly better than before he’d made the call. Captain Shilling had more confidence in her plan than he did. He hated to rely on sabotage for his mission to be successful. What if the saboteurs were caught and the detection system was on line when they arrived? If that happened, his raiding party would get slaughtered.
After considering the problem during the night, the next morning he decided to call his friend, Captain John Sillmar, the commander of the 31st Airborne Division, currently operating out of Shisk. Red explained the situation to him.
“I wouldn’t depend on a saboteur if I were you,” John said. “I’d make sure you weren’t detected even if all systems were still operational.”
“But how could I do that?”
“Come in on the back side of Clarion and travel close to the surface, under their radar. Their detection system will be pointed toward Tarizon, so they’ll never see you coming.”
Red liked that idea. He was glad he’d called his old friend. They’d met right after the ambush of John’s airborne division during the Battle of Rini in Lemaine Shane, on the border of Tributon and Rigomol. He was one of the few pilots who escaped the trap the TGA had set for them. After that Red and John had flown together, attacking and destroying many hovertanks.
“Okay,” Red said. “Great idea. The next problem is rounding up enough fighters for the two Earth shuttles. Do you know of any T-69s anywhere? I heard some were delivered recently.”
“No, but we’ve got a dozen T-59s in our 3rd Wing.”
“That’s almost as good. How’d they like to go to Earth?”
“Why not? There’s no action around here anymore.”
“All right, then. They’ll need to report to Gallion in two days.”
“Fine. I’ll issue the orders.”
“Great, John. I appreciate your help.”
John was concerned about his friend going to Earth to confront the Intergalactic Fleet. He personally didn’t see how the Fleet could be stopped, and feared Red would be killed in the process of trying. He didn’t want to say anything to Red, but he had an ominous feeling about the mission.
“Is Leek going with you?” John asked.
“Before us, actually, aboard ES 26. They will be leaving very shortly.”
“Do you think we’d be bothering with Earth if Leek weren’t in the picture?” John asked.
“I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it. Probably not, though.”
“So, have you talked to Leek—tried to dissuade him from taking on the Intergalactic Fleet?”
“No. It wasn’t his doing. The Chancellor ordered the mission and offered Leek command of it. I think she believes Earth is just a staging ground for the Purists, and they’ll eventually return to retake Tarizon. Or destroy it.”
That idea shocked John. He hadn’t thought about the Intergalactic Fleet returning to Tarizon, but it made sense. Evohn Cystrom had promised revenge for his father’s death. Even if it took many cycles, he would return. John thought about volunteering for the mission, too, but couldn’t quite bring himself to do it. I’m not ready to commit suicide just yet.
“Hmm. You might try Queensland,” he suggested. “I think the T-69s you mentioned were shipped there.”
“Oh. Right. Thanks,” Red said appreciatively. “I’ll call them straightaway.”
“Be careful, my friend. I’ll pray for you.”
“Thanks,” Red replied. “I’ll need it.”
By nightfall, Red had lined up the fighters needed for the final two shuttles. He’d found nineteen brand new T-69s that had been delivered to the 4th Airborne Wing of the 3rd Loyalist Army, now based at Torq Air Station in Queensland. They were immediately ordered to fly to Gallion to be loaded onto the two shuttles. Now all he had left to do was plan his attack on Clarion.
Red decided not to use the T-69s for the mission, as they were too valuable to risk at this stage of the operation. He opted instead for an attack group of six T-47s and five T-59s. They’d sneak in, cause a little mayhem, and then get back to Gallion so they could be loaded onto the shuttles immediately. There was no time for delay. They had to leave for Earth before the Fleet did.
That night Captain Shilling called from ES 26.“Before we were out of radio contact, I wanted to see how your plans were coming along,” she said.
“So, you’re already on your way to Earth?” Red asked.
“Yes, Tarizon is almost out of view.”
“Wow! That must be an amazing sight.”
“It is. When will you be attacking the Fleet?”
“In the morning. Everything is set. The rest of the fighters should be loaded aboard the shuttles during the day, and we’ll launch just as soon as we return from Clarion.”
“Excellent. I knew I could count on you, Red.”
“By the way, I managed to get us nineteen T-69s.”
“Where did you find them?”
“Queensland.”
“Hmm. Well, Central Command is working on getting y
ou even more fighters, plus an experimental T-73. It’s equipped with some special weaponry that should prove helpful.”
Red was relieved that he wasn’t the only one working to outfit the two shuttles. He was sure Central Command could do a better job than he. Besides, he’d have his hands full running the mission to Clarion.
“Good,” he said. “So, I can concentrate on the Clarion strike now?”
“Yes, you’ve done all you can logistically. Central Command will take it from here. When you get back from Clarion the shuttles should be ready to go.”
“Excellent. Then I’m going to go round up the pilots for the mission and go over our attack plan with them.”
“All right. Good luck tomorrow, Captain. I’ll talk to you after the mission.”
“Will that be possible?” Red asked.
“Yes, if your shuttle launches tomorrow night we’ll be able to stay in radio contact for the duration of the flight. So, it’s important that there be no delays in your takeoff.”
“I’ll do everything in my power to keep us on schedule. Don’t worry.”
“I know you will. May God and Sandee be with you.”
After he’d hung up the GC, Red yawned. He was exhausted from working virtually nonstop for two days. He needed to get some sleep before the mission in the morning. But first, he called in his wing commander and told him to gather the men for a final briefing. When they’d all arrived, he outlined his attack plan and explained their objectives. Then he went to the barracks and hit the sack.
At first, Red couldn’t sleep, but when he finally did, he had a nightmare. In the dream, his squadron was coming in over the hills surrounding the Clarion base when they were ambushed. He and all his men wiped out.
Red woke up with a start when his GC beeped. He fumbled for it and finally got it to his ear.
“It’s time, Captain,” Lt. Terson advised.
Red yawned. “Already?”
“Yes, sir. Just enough time for a shower and some breakfast.”
Red sat up and stretched, shaking off the last effects of the nightmare. “Well, this should be an interesting day, huh?”
“Yes, sir.”
“By this time tomorrow we’ll be on our way to Earth.”
“Yes, sir. I can’t wait.”
“Have you ever been to Earth, Lieutenant?”
“Yes, sir. I’m an Earthchild. Lived there seven cycles. I’m anxious to see it again. It’s such a beautiful place.”
“Well, I hope we can keep it that way.”
“We will, sir. I feel confident our mission will be successful.”
“I wish I had your confidence, but I’m kind of a pessimist, you know.”
“Yes, sir. I know.”
Red laughed. After hanging up the GC, he showered and dressed, ate a quick breakfast, and then met for a final briefing with his pilots before finally heading out to his new T-59.
At 0600, the eleven fighters took off for Clarion, following a flight plan that would take them to the far side of the moon. When they arrived, they swung in low, skimming above the moon’s desolate surface on a course for the Clarion base.
Red was glad his autopilot could take him directly to the base. He had never been very good at navigation. In fact, he’d never actually had to take the final exam at flight school on Pogo Island. The Civil War cut his training short, and he had learned what he needed to know by trial and error while flying over the Beet Islands and the Southern Sea.
A yellow light on his target screen began to pulse, indicating they were closing in on the base.
“Coming up on target,” Red said. “Break off on my mark.”
“Acknowledged,” Lt. Terson replied.
They were flying just under 200 feet over the rugged Rulage Hills. Midway across the expanse, a valley emerged below them. Red spotted the big hangar and dozens of buildings that marked the base.
“Mark,” Red said, taking manual control of his fighter. He peeled off and descended into the valley, as close to the ground as he dared to fly. The other ten planes took off on as many different trajectories. Then he saw the Fleet—six huge attack cruisers, and dozens of fighters waiting to be loaded aboard. He looked around for fighters on patrol but didn’t see any. Then he saw three of them suddenly light up and roar into action. They’d been detected.
“Okay, I see three skutz coming into the mix,” Red reported.
“Affirmative,” Lt. Terson said as he locked on another fighter that was rolling into one of the cruiser’s cargo bays. The missile hit the fighter and it exploded, engulfing the entire cargo bay in flames. A secondary explosion inside the bay punctuated the attack.
Terson spotted an ammunition truck ahead and locked onto it. When the missile hit, the ammunition exploded and took out half of a nearby building. Next, he dropped cluster bombs onto one of the big hangars as he flew over it. Once he’d unloaded all his bombs and missiles, Lt. Terson set his course for home at full throttle.
“C2 leaving the party,” he reported.
Red dipped down barely fifty feet off the ground, heading for the second big hangar. One of the TGA fighters came at him and fired a missile, but just as it was about to catch him he swung around behind the hangar. The missile clipped the side of it, exploding on impact.
“Got a lot of heat on my ass,” Red said nervously. “Could use a little help.”
“I’d come,” Terson replied, “but I’ve dumped my load.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got your back, Captain,” C7 advised.
There was an explosion behind Red. He glanced back and saw his pursuer crashing to the ground in a ball of fire.
“Thank you, C7. Now, everybody say your last goodbyes and let’s get out of here.”
Red dropped his load of cluster bombs on a dozen parked fighters. Then he fired a few missiles at one of the attack cruisers, but its thick lemdinium shell withstood the blast. He held his breath, hoping the big beast wouldn’t shoot back. If it did, he’d be cut in half in a tik by its laser cannon.
“These beasts aren’t so bad when they’re asleep,” Red observed.
“Yeah, but you can bet we won’t catch them napping next time,” C7 replied.
“Okay, mission accomplished. Everybody go home,” Red ordered.
“I’ve still got my cluster bombs,” C4 advised. “I’m going to get that last hangar.”
“Negative, C4, we’ve been here too long.”
But it was too late. C4 was already turning toward the hangar. Red gasped as he saw a gun turret on one of the attack cruisers come to life. There was a flash and C4 was cut in two. The severed halves of the fighter dropped slowly toward the surface in Clarion’s low gravity.
“No! God! Please, no!” Red exclaimed.
There was silence as everyone reacted to the shock of C4’s death. A surge of guilt ripped through Red. He’d let one of his men die needlessly.
“See what happens when you disobey an order?” Red said angrily. “Everyone back to base, now!”
The ten remaining fighters headed at full throttle toward Tarizon. A dozen TGA fighters pursued them for a while but eventually broke off.
Captain Shilling had been right. The fighters couldn’t afford to stray too far from the Fleet. Red relaxed slightly when the last TGA fighter disappeared off his scope, but he was sick that he’d lost one of his men. What was particularly disturbing was how easily the attack cruiser destroyed the T-47. Had they not taken the Fleet by surprise, they would have been massacred. He shook his head in dismay, wondering how they’d ever be able to destroy the Intergalactic Fleet when they faced it in battle. The task seemed impossible.