Through his muddled mind, Yen heard Tylgar speak. “Sir, the Ballistae and her sister ships are entering the battle.”
CHAPTER 39:
Keryn was relieved when she finally saw her opening. Pulled away from the rest of the battle, two Terran Destroyers nursed their wounds. Air still leaked from holes throughout their hull as they slowed their engines, feeling a safe distance from the Alliance ships.
Pushing the engines hard, the Ballistae and her two sister ships swooped in on the dormant Destroyers, firing their first volley of missiles before the two ships could respond. The plasma explosions rocked both ships, buckling the bulkheads and rupturing the already damaged hulls. As the second set of missiles struck, the two Destroyers crumpled; the Terran ships drifted apart in pieces.
Keryn felt a sense of relief in the control room of the Ballistae. Sitting back and watching the battle unfold was a strain on her conscience. She had yearned to fly into combat and save the embattled Cruisers, but she had restrained herself knowing that they would not win the war if her crew failed in their mission.
The Ballistae skimmed over the top of one of the shattered Destroyers as the trio of ships set a direct course for the dormant sun. The large black sphere sat detached from the rest of the battle and few small Terran fighters blocked their path. A steady stream of rail gun slugs coupled with the combined might of three Squadrons of fighters destroyed what little resistance they offered.
“Ballistae, this is Squadron Commander Decker,” Adam called in from his fighter. Adam assumed the role of Commander naturally, surprising some of the veteran pilots with his grasp of aerial tactics.
“Go ahead, Adam,” Alcent replied. Keryn monitored the communications from her position but relied on Alcent on the bridge to maintain the radio transmissions.
“We have five Destroyers pulling away from the main pack and pursuing,” he stated, his voice flat and emotionless. Still, Keryn was sure that he was feeling the same flood of nervousness that she was.
With the Alliance Fleet already suffering heavy losses, it didn’t surprise Keryn that so many ships would turn to assault three relatively unscathed Alliances ships. Her only hope was that, having already accelerated into the system, the Ballistae would be able to maintain its lead and reach the sun before being engaged.
“We’re tracking them now,” Alcent replied. “All ships, focus rail gun fire to the rear to deter our pursuers.”
From the control room, Wyck pulled up the tactical display. Together, they traced the launching of dozens of thick metal slugs from the rear of their three ships. Seemingly in response, the five Terran Destroyers launched a full volley of rockets. The approaching red dots nearly outnumbered the metal slugs. Still, Keryn had little concern about their first attack. Launched from so far away, the Alliance ships would have plenty of time to launch a defensive attack and destroy all the missiles long before they threatened any of the three vessels. Instead, she turned her attention to the steadily decreasing number on the top left of the display. The number continued to count down the distance between the ships and the darkened sun. If her calculations were correct, Keryn still believed they could reach the sun before the Terrans made contact.
As Keryn looked back toward the tactical display, she noticed another red triangle emerging from ahead of the Alliance ships. Scrambling, she activated the intercom. “We have a sixth Destroyer coming in from straight ahead,” Keryn yelled into the radio moments before the Ballistae shook from an impact.
“Believe me,” Alcent yelled back, “I already know!” He left the radio channel on as he called orders to the other ships. “Take evasive maneuvers and return fire on that son of a bitch!”
Rockets launched from their ports as the three ships separated from one another. Many of the missiles exploded harmlessly in the gap between the three elusive ships and the sixth Destroyer. Still, all three ships rocked from close impacts.
“Give me defensive fire to the front,” Alcent ordered.
Keryn continued monitoring the attack. Slugs continued to fly from the three ships, destroying enemy rockets. With every volley, however, the missiles grew a little closer before they were destroyed. Stealing a glance at the distance counter in the top left of the display, Keryn grew alarmed. The numbers were no longer rolling comfortably toward zero. They had slowed drastically.
“Alcent, why are we slowing down?” Keryn called to the bridge. “We need to keep nearly maximum speed if we expect to reach the sun in time.”
“And I cannot very well fly at full speed at a heavily armed Terran Destroyer!” Alcent replied angrily.
“The missiles behind us are closing on our position,” Wyck said, concern creeping into his voice.
“I thought we had defensive fire covering our rear!” she said, spinning on the young Uligart. Keryn felt sweat roll between her shoulder blades. The plan was falling apart quickly.
“We still do,” Wyck explained, “but the other two Cruisers have focused all their attention on the new Destroyer.”
“Stupid!” Keryn exclaimed, slamming her fist down on the console. “We flew right into a trap.” The first five Terran Destroyers hadn’t worried about the distance when they fired their first volley. With so many targets to try to destroy, the Alliance ships didn’t stand a chance of stopping all the rockets.
“Alcent, we need to get out of…” Her words were cut short as an explosion reverberated throughout the Ballistae. Keryn was tossed from her feet, landing roughly on the hard ground. Above her, the tactical display flickered and threatened to fail. “Alcent, I need a damage report!”
She climbed back to her feet just as Wyck hurried back to the controls from where he had fallen. “Alcent, what is our status?” Her fingers worked furiously on the tactical display, trying to ensure power didn’t fail to the vital system.
“Alcent, what is…” She stopped as Wyck placed a hand on her shoulder. Looking crestfallen, he shook his head.
“The rocket hit the bridge,” Wyck said softly. “Anyone that was up there is dead now.”
Keryn allowed herself only a moment of sorrow for the loss before her mind started to spin into action. “Can you reroute all the control systems from the bridge to this location?”
Wyck shrugged. He stared at the console as though seeing it for the first time. Keryn placed hands affectionately on his shoulders. “Wyck, can you reroute the systems?”
Snapping out his stupor, he shook his head. “Sure, I think I can.” Hurrying back over to the console, Wyck opened the panel underneath its keyboard and began fidgeting with wires.
“Ballistae, this is Squadron Commander Decker,” Adam called worriedly over the radio.
“Adam, this is Keryn,” she called as she activated the microphone.
“Thank Gods!” Adam said with an obvious sigh of relief. “I was worried when I saw the rocket hit.”