Gev Braxal made one final check of her suit seals before her hand punched the "clear to depressurize" button on the fighter's left control panel. Her head craned around to look over her left shoulder as she finished her preflight check of the fighter's atmospheric control surfaces.

The skin of the left wing distorted visually when she pushed the control stick hard toward that side. A quick glance over her right shoulder showed that curving delta wing to have reshaped itself to increase lift. Looking back toward the tail, she confirmed that the thrust vector vanes on the ships small but powerful Fission drive were functioning. The indicator panel to her right showed all green status on weapons, armor, maneuvering thrusters, radar, targeting systems, life support, damage control systems, and main engine. Given the dedication of her Chief Maintenance technician, Gev wasn't surprised. She turned her attention to the rest of her squadron.

"Phoenix Squadron, this is Phoenix Lead. Report in."

She waited several seconds before the first fighter reported in. The others followed in quick succession.

"Phoenix two, all systems go."

"Phoenix three, Radar status yellow. All other systems go."

Gev keyed her radio again. "Phoenix three, report on problem"

A yellow status meant operational, but that there was an observed or reported problem with the system. A yellow status to a key system was enough to ground most vessels. In combat though, it was the commander and the pilot's call as to whether the problem was critical enough to cause a mission abort.

A moment later, she again heard Che'kek's distinct buzzing voice over her radio.

"Phoenix lead, the anomalous radar glitch wasn't corrected last night despite the techs' best efforts. My technician assures me that the unit would require replacement before the problem can be eliminated. He ordered the unit six months ago, but it never arrived at Fortress Pale. Radar test shows duplicate returns for a moment, but the echo target is less distinct. By adjusting the radar gain, I believe I can compensate for the problem."

"Understood three. Do your best. Four, report"

"Phoenix four, all systems go."

"Uh, Phoenix five here... standby Lead."

Gev knew Phoenix Five was Junior Lieutenant Gorlma's ship. He had been doing well in training, but the young Dralasite was still the newest member of the squadron and was still adjusting to fighters. She would never have assigned him to this mission had her back up pilot Lieutenant Sanders not been stricken with the viral infection called the New Pale Shakes. It was a virus easily treated with Biocort, but the treatment would take time.

Traditionally, one of the more experienced pilots in the squadron was assigned as the back up pilot because each ship, though of the same design, had slightly different handling characteristics. A more experienced pilot had a greater ability to compensate for those changes. Gorlma was so new in the squadron though, that Gev was originally planning to reassign Sanders to be the primary pilot of the number five fighter for the duration of the conflict. The virus disrupted her plans, at least for this combat mission. After another five seconds though, Gorlma reported in, interrupting Gev's thoughts.

"Phoenix Five reports all go."

Noorn and Watson reported in soon after in ships Six and Seven. All fighters were ready for combat.

"Phoenix flight, Phoenix lead. Prepare for launch."

Gev keyed her Flight Operations radio and reported to the Flight Controller.

"Flight Ops, Phoenix lead. We are ready for launch. Seven birds report combat ready."

"Roger Lead. Launch when ready. Sathar fleet is inbound on vector 128 mark 324. Radar profile analysis indicates four heavy cruisers, two assault carriers, seven light cruisers, twenty-six assault transports, thirteen destroyers, and four frigates. Our orders are not to engage the enemy fleet. The shuttlecraft from the Challenger is already inbound to the planet. Captain Galvin has authorized the use of your squadron to protect the shuttle until it lands. The freighter sent here to evacuate the colony has arrived too late. It's still half a day out from Volturnus and has been ordered to turn around. Secondary objectives are to cripple any Sathar warships which pursue the Vengeance and Challenger as we prepare to jump out. Over."

"I copy Flight Ops. Phoenix squadron out."

Gev hit the transmit button on her squadron frequency radio.

"Phoenix Flight, you heard the man. That shuttle is no match for a fighter. Let's keep the enemy ships off her until she can make planetfall. Two, take Three and Seven, guard our ride home. Four through six, you're with me. All fighters launch now."

Gev's shoved the throttle handle forward and felt the G forces shove her back into the seat as the atomic drive pushed her sleek fighter out of the bay and into the emptiness of space.

To her left, she saw several other fighters accelerating alongside her.

Her radar display lit up with bogies inbound to the planet. The computer quickly tagged the type and range to each vessel and designated a color to indicate friendly or enemy vessels. Each fighter's computer and radar also interfaced with the computer and radar on the Vengeance, which were far more powerful than that carried by the fighters.

Gev pointed the nose of her fighter toward the gap between the Sathar Fleet and the lone shuttlecraft lumbering toward the planet Volturnus.

"Phoenix Lead to all fighters, go to weapons hot status. Minimum ten K separation between fighters. Phoenix Two, You're in charge back here. You and your flight go to communications channel Tactical Three, we'll be on Tactical One. See you shortly. Good hunting Rand."

"Roger Lead. You too!"

Gev checked automatically to see that her wingmen were on the same flight path and found to her satisfaction that they were in standard combat formation with perfect spacing. Even Gorlma in the number five ship was holding position like a pro.

Her appreciation for her squadron was cut short when she heard her Flight Ops frequency radio crackle to life.

"Phoenix squadron, Flight Ops. New contacts around the closest carrier indicate that it's launched eight fighters. Acceleration profile indicates Marauder class fighters. Heading unknown."

"Flight Ops, Lead. We copy. Out."

Gev switched back to her flight's Tactical frequency.

"Four, Five and Six, increase acceleration to maximum. If their target is the shuttle, those fighters will be able to intercept it before the shuttle can reach the atmosphere."

Gev squeezed every once of acceleration from her fighter and verified that her flight was keeping pace. A glance at her radar display showed what she was afraid of. All eight enemy fighters were heading toward the shuttle. Gev quickly plotted the optimal interception point and relayed it to the rest of here flight. Her computer tagged the enemy ships with letters A through H to ease in identifying them. Gev's fingers flew over her computer screen as she assigned targets to the other three members of her flight.

"Four, your target is Marauder Foxtrot. Five, you take Hotel. Six, you've got Alpha. I'm targeting Echo. After that, choose targets at will. Let's stop them cold."

"Four copies"

"Five... uh... confirmed Lead."

"Six copies. Let's give 'em some payback for the Admiral Clinton"

Gev smiled, then began narrowing her radar beam for the most accurate measurements of her foe's velocity and heading. Her assault rocket would have to lead her target by a considerable distance if the Sathar fighters didn't alter their course to engage Gev's group. It was almost a shot straight into their flanks. Deflection shots like those were tricky with assault rockets, which were unguided but incredibly fast. If the target moved appreciably between launch and impact less than a second later, the shot would be wasted as the rocket sailed harmlessly by.

She waited as the range narrowed to her target. As the minutes clicked by, she saw a change in some of the enemy ships' headings.

"Four Five and Six, we've got four of the fighters turning to make a head on run at us. It seems we're not the only ones making an assault rocket attack."

"Roger Lead, standing by for evasive maneuvers upon their launch. Five out"

The range to her target decreased quickly now, and Gev's finger hovered over the launch button while her eyes studied the radar and video display. After what seemed an eternity, the range reached forty thousand kilometers, and after some final adjustments, Gev's thumb pressed the launch button.

A white streak of light shot forward from under her fighter as the rocket's powerful fission drive accelerated it to astronomical speeds in less than a tenth of a second.

Her camera display showed the enemy fighter try to evade the rocket by firing its starboard thrusters and wrenching its nose to the left. The maneuver was too little and too late. The rocket struck at relativistic velocities and buried itself completely within the enemy fighter's hull before exploding in a white hot fireball.

Wreckage that spun away into space was all that remained of that ship.

"Scratch one worm!", Gev cried triumphantly into her microphone.

"Make that scratch two", she heard in reply and too her surprise, she saw the Sathar ship designated as "H" disappear from her monitor.

Her computer alerted Gev of an enemy rocket launch with an urgent whistling sound.

Without even thinking, Gev wrenched her control stick to the right and fired left side maneuvering thrusters. A blindingly fast streak shot by her fighter just beyond her cockpit canopy.

It exploded aft of her fighter, causing no damage to her ship.

"Six here, that was a close call Lead"

"You're telling me!", Gev replied.

"Lead this is Four. It appears five of the marauders are closing on us to use guns, but fighter Beta is going after the shuttle."

Gev glanced at her tactical display and agreed with Lanar's assessment.

"Four, keep me clear while I plant a rocket up Beta's tailpipe. Five and six, mix it up with the enemy. Shoot straight, we're outnumbered."

"Lead, Four has your six o'clock covered."

Confidant that Grall Lanar was up to the task, Gev concentrated on closing on Marauder Beta.

She soon had the rapidly retreating fighter in her crosshairs on the Head Up Display. She studied her tactical plot display and quickly determined that she would just close to firing range before the Marauder would draw within range of the shuttle. Provided nothing distracts me, Gev thought. With five Marauders attacking her four fighters, the odds were definitely in the Sathar's' favor. Gev's radio speakers in her helmet came alive with transmissions from Gorlma and Noorn.

"Five, you've picked up a worm in your six. Slide right and lead him into my sights."

"Firing thrusters"

Judging from the sound of his voice, Noorn was keeping his head about him, but Gorlma sounded a bit nervous to her ears. Under the circumstances, she couldn't blame him, and she regretted leaving him and Noorn alone to take on the remaining fighters. Nevertheless, she had a hunch most would soon follow her and Lanar. As if on cue, she heard Lanar's voice.

"Lead, you've got two fighters lining up for a shot on you. I'll try to throw them off, but I'd shoot quick if I were you!"

Gev looked again at her tactical display. The twin Marauders were in a very close formation, with less than a kilometer between them. Their range to her fighter was less than ten K kilometers, which was well within range for assault rockets. Gev was still forty eight K kilometers from her quarry, and had to maintain a steady course and acceleration for three more minutes in order to be in position to stop that marauder from destroying the shuttle.

"Will do Four.", Gev lied, "but keep them occupied and distracted as long as you can."

Gev's set two of her long range cameras to track the two fighters to her rear, her third camera was focused on the Marauder in front. Her fourth, and final camera, she focused on Lanar's ship. She divided her attention between the first and second monitors, showing the marauders aiming at her. When they fired at her, she would have less than a second to react.

A bright flash beneath the hull of each marauder signaled the launch of the assault rockets in unison. Gev's computer shrieked an urgent whistle once more, as Gev pulled back on the control stick and simultaneously sideslipped her fighter. The G forces from her maneuver slammed her down in her seat and to the right side as the fighter's course changed abruptly.

It was too little too late. One of the rockets detonated just below her fighter, spraying shards of shrapnel into the underside of her ship. Gev pushed forward on the control stick to realign her fighter with the marauder still in front of her, but found the steering to be sluggish. A glance at the System Status panel showed that while most of the shrapnel imbedded itself in the hull with little structural damage, one of the shards cut the fuel line to one of the primary nose maneuvering thrusters, cutting her maneuverability by twenty percent.

Still, under the circumstances, she was lucky. A direct hit would have destroyed her ship. Lanar's voice came in over her radio again.

"Lead, the two on your tail are closing to guns, estimate they'll be there in two minutes. I think I can target one of them first."

"I copy Four. Take out your target, then get back to help Five and Six. Let me worry about the last fighter."

"Roger Lead. Four out."

Two minutes... That will put that Marauder here at the same time I'll be ready to launch on Marauder Beta, Gev thought unhappily. I'll have to make the first shot count, because with a fighter on my tail, I won't get another.

Gev studied her display, watching the enemy fighters as they slowly closed range. Heavy lasers were effective only to a range of about two kilometers, even in space. Beyond that, they lacked the focal power to burn through her ship's reflective hull. Fortunately, Gev knew that an assault rocket launch was now out of the question for her pursuers. After firing each rocket, the rotary launcher in the ship's hull had to move the next rocket into place and interface with its targeting system. The calculations required to hit a distant ship with an unguided rocket were difficult even for a computer. Gev knew that the latest UPF and Sathar systems required roughly ten minutes between shots. She hoped the Sathar hadn't made some sort of advancement she wasn't aware of.

Gev recalculated the range to her target and the speed of the pursuing ships. They would be in range just four seconds before Gev would have a shot at Marauder Beta. As the final launch run meant she couldn't maneuver until her rocket was away, Gev hoped they were poor shots.

One of her monitors suddenly flared bright white and when it dimmed again, it showed only the wreckage of one of the pursuing Marauders.

"That was for my Clan!", Gev heard Lanar yell triumphantly, "Lead, you're down to one worm on your tail, and I'm going back to the furball."

Gev smiled... One worm, I can handle.

"Thanks Four. Good hunting."

Gev concentrated on aiming at her target. She'd lined up perfectly and was waiting for optimal range before squeezing the launch button. The computer counted down the seconds left.

At five seconds, she saw an amber colored laser beam light up her cockpit as it narrowly missed her fighter. Gev ignored it and held the ship ahead of her centered in her crosshairs.

Another beam flashed by her ship. With two seconds left, she considered an early launch, but the computer had a firing solution calculated for precisely forty K kilometers and an early shot could throw off that aim by almost a meter. This time, rather than see a shot, she heard it.

The unmistakable sizzle of melting metal was a sound few fighter pilots ever forgot. Although there was no air outside her suit to transmit the sound, the vibrations of the hull passed along a semblance of it. Gev looked at the Status panel, which showed damage to her fuselage just aft of the cockpit on the right side. Then, along with the damage tone, Gev heard the "optimal range to target" tone. Checking one last time that the target was centered in her crosshairs, she squeezed the trigger, closing her eyes to avoid being momentarily blinded by the flash of the rocket's Superfission drive.

As Gev began evasive maneuvers, she watched the camera view of her target as the rocket slammed home. The fighter's wing was sheared off by the blast and it began to spin end over end. Gev saw no maneuvering thrusters trying to counter the spin, so she hoped the Marauder was mortally wounded. Whether it was or not, Gev now had other pressing concerns.

The fighter on her tail was attempting to line up again for another shot. Wrenching the control stick to the left and pushing forward slightly, Gev slid her fighter in what she hoped was an unexpected direction. Even with the fighter's reduced maneuverability caused by the damaged thruster, the negative G's from the maneuver almost caused her to black out. A glance at her monitor showed the Sathar Marauder was still glued to her tail.

Damn, this worm's good!, Gev thought miserably, in a damaged fighter, I need to get myself an edge.

Gev glanced at her tactical display again. She saw an object which piqued her interest, and punched up more data on it with a few quick strokes on her computer keyboard.

Leo, Volturnus' second moon, it has an atmosphere, so it will do nicely I think! This should even the odds.

Gev pointed her fighter toward the reddish colored moon, and continued evasive sideslips while closing rapidly on her objective. It was all she could do to avoid the Sathar fighter's laser bursts.

Gev focused her Doppler radar on the ionosphere of the moon, to attempt to get a rough idea of the density of the atmosphere. If she hit the atmosphere at too steep of an angle, it would be like hitting a brick wall, too shallow, and she could skip right back into space.

Gev glanced at her rear monitor just in time to see the Marauder fire again. Four amber beams seared into her craft's tail section, burning parallel lines into the engine housing. One of the rear cameras went dead after showing one of the lasers walk right into it. Warning sirens blared in Gev's helmet speakers just as Gev prepared for her next move. The moon loomed before her, and Gev felt familiar buffeting as her ship began to encounter it's upper ionosphere.

That's the last shot you'll be able to take at me you bastard!

Gev pulled the throttle back to the idle position, then continued to pull it back through the stop to the reverse power setting. The fission engine and retro rockets fired full strength and Gev was slammed full force against the restraining straps in her flight chair. The pursuing fighter, busy concentrating on his next shot, didn't react in time. As Gev's fighter suddenly decelerated, the Sathar fighter slid past Gev's, barely a meter above her cockpit canopy. Gev was a bit too busy to enjoy the view of the disc shaped canard and forward curving scythe shaped wings as the Marauder shot past her.

The metal hull of her fighter groaned in protest as the G forces of the braking thrust and the friction caused by the atmosphere cut her velocity in half in less than a minute. For a second, Gev feared that the combination of laser damage to her engine housing and fuselage, and her seat of the pants maneuver would break her ship apart. The forward hull and leading edges of the wings glowed red hot from the heat of the abrupt atmospheric entry and for an instant Gev wondered if she'd exceeded the maximum thermal specifications by too large a factor. The ship held together though, so after a relieved sigh, Gev concentrated on spotting her quarry. The Sathar fighter was glowing red from the heat of re-entry, making it easy to spot slightly ahead of her and a few hundred feet above her craft.

Gev smiled and eased back on the stick, climbing toward his soft underbelly. In the atmosphere, she was confident that she had no peer. As a Yazirian, she was born to flight, and she'd been honing her flying instincts all of her life. Her prey didn't know it, but he'd abandoned any chance of defeating her when he'd followed her into the atmosphere.

Here, maneuverability is determined more by aerodynamics, than by active thrusters. Gev's sleek UPF fighter design with it's modified delta wing shape was superior to the Sathar design. She was about to prove that once and for all. The Sathar pilot spotted Gev's ship with an auto-tracking camera seconds before Gev fired. The lasers missed as the pilot pushed his fighter over into a steep dive and turned under Gev's climbing fighter.

Oh, no you don't, Gev thought, snarling with determination. I learned that move a long time ago.

Instead of leveling off, turning and then diving after her foe, Gev pulled back further on her control stick until her ship's nose pointed straight up. She then cut her throttle to one quarter military thrust for a second, and then pushed her control stick hard to the left. Rockets in the nose and thrust vector vanes in the tail pushed her fighter into a one-hundred and eighty degree turn as it hung in mid air directly above the Sathar ship. Gev saw the worm looking up at her in surprise through his cockpit canopy as her ship lined up on him and she triggered the quad lasers in her fighter's nose.

The ruby beams struck the narrowest point in the fuselage and chopped right through the left side. The Sathar pilot tried to dodge a bit too late. His sudden sharp turn over-stressed the damaged hull and the front of the craft broke off. Gev watched as the pilot ejected from his crippled craft and began a long descent to the surface. Her job done, Gev turned and headed back into space. It occurred to her that she hadn't heard any radio calls from her squadron for some time. As the red atmospheric tinge gave way to the blackness of space, Gev keyed her radio.

"Phoenix flight, this is Lead, report status."

Nothing broke the silence, not even static. Gev switched to her second radio.

"Flight Ops, Phoenix Lead. I'm having Com system trouble, report on the battle."

Once more, there was no reply. Gev felt completely alone.

Back to Sathar Onslaught Main Page