E.D.F Chronicles - E.D.F resurgent Page 3

  The huge, hulking Danitza’s, ponderously manoeuvred their great size to bring their awesome weapon systems to bear. While the smaller, more agile Ghandhi class destroyers and Mandela class light cruisers sped forward into the assault.

  Some of the Alexander class medium cruisers hung back to form up as escorts, helping protect the larger ships from attack themselves. The accompanying Jefferson class heavy destroyers although barely a third of the size of a Danitza added their considerable firepower to the fray, their specially designed rotary rail-cannons although much smaller than the battleships allow them to get in close and literally pound the enemy to pieces, some of them had gone through the upgrade process, changing their rail-cannons for the Solarian based high power lasers, as rail-cannon shells proved so ineffective against Krenaran shipping during the onset of the war.

  3. Prelude to Armageddon.

  The Liberty surged forward as Eldathar rapidly banked the ship to avoid the incoming particle cannon fire from several enemy Krenaran ships directly ahead of them.

  Liberty, and the other Solarian battlecruisers traded fire with their own fusion cannons. Multiple incandescent blue energy beams shot forth from the Solarian reinforcements, their raw power instantly decimating three of the Krenaran vessels in bright balls of flame.

  Behind them, the Danitza class battleships Defiant and Vengeance; recently upgraded with the new long range laser turrets opened fire, deep blue energy beams from their massive primary dorsal turrets lanced out across space and smashed into two more of the Krenaran ships. One was hit amidships; a ragged flaming hole marked the impact site on the vessel. The other was hit directly in its rear engines, which detonated violently, blasting apart half the ship, the fiery debris strewn wreckage spun out of control.

  Four more Krenaran ships rapidly swooped in to perform an attack run on another Danitza, its accompanying escorts firing volley after volley, trying to shoot down the attackers. However they were proving to be elusive targets.

  The Liberty changed course to intercept, “target the closest ship, fire torpedoes when ready,” Michael said.

  Two high energy torpedoes sped towards one of the Krenaran ships, they were elusive but not enough to outwit the advanced guidance systems of the Liberties torpedoes. They detonated upon impact and tore apart the Krenaran ship in a devastating fireball.

  Long range laser fire from the Hermes’ own comparatively limited batteries had managed to annihilate two more of the stealth ships, while the last remaining Krenaran vessel abandoned its attack run.

  On the viewer, through the fiery debris of destroyed Krenaran stealth ships and the explosions of battle, Michael could just about make out the shape of a far larger Krenaran ship beginning to form, the massive flat topped vessel had a huge command structure located towards the rear of the gigantic ship. Michael’s heart sank as the sight filled him with dread, he had seen these ships before in news reports, but never actually encountered one. They were the Krenaran command carriers, the largest and most deadly ships in the Krenaran fleet, and he was all too aware of the firepower one of these ships possessed.

  Solarian intelligence briefings had told the E.D.F that the small rectangular pods which slowly rose close to the fore of the flat main hull contained rapid firing H.O.T rockets, which worked on Heat Ordnance Tracking. The E.D.F navy had a database of all enemy ships encountered thus far in its history, and each was listed according to the threat it represented, this was known as its threat level.

  Michael remembered that this ship was listed as an alpha level threat, the highest threat level that can be given to a ship.

  The H.O.T rocket, was a type of torpedo that homed in on any given heat signature on any ship that didn’t display a correct Krenaran I.F.F signature.

  Michael remembered that it was these ships that were responsible for the decimation of unarmed refugee transports around the Aurelias colony nearly eight months ago, ending almost ten thousand lives in barely five minutes.

  Now the huge Krenaran command carrier advanced, slowly, menacingly toward the fleet as those deadly rectangular pods began to rise once again.

  The remaining stealth ships all retreated towards it consolidating their position; some were caught and decimated by Solarian fusion cannons and E.D.F lasers.

  However, the Krenaran carrier had not yet launched its waves of attack craft, interesting, Michael thought.

  Instead those rectangular pods gradually rose to their full height, and with a dull metallic ‘clunk’ locked into place.

  He knew that even the Liberty with all its speed and agility would never make it to that carrier before it launched its deadly payload. They would have to brace themselves for the inevitable onslaught that the enemy ship would unleash upon them before trying for a counter attack.

  There was a deathly silence, as the crew of the Liberty looked on through the shimmering viewscreen with fear in their eyes, as if they were staring death in the face, for none of them knew when the command carrier would launch its deadly payload, or even if they would be hit or not. If they were, the Liberty would most likely not withstand it.

  Six intensely bright flashes lit up the forward hull of the enemy carrier in quick succession as it unleashed the missiles. The multiple warheads sped towards them with incredible speed.

  As the warheads hurtled towards them, the remainder of the Krenaran fleet leapt into plasma drive, and were gone. The multiple H.O.T rockets continued to speed towards the E.D.F fleet, ships opened fire attempting to shoot down the onrushing torpedoes to no avail, they were just too fast to get a lock on. Michael could just make out the blazing white flare of the enemy missiles engine.

  Before they could hardly blink, a Ghandhi class destroyer burst apart in flames as one of the torpedoes smashed into it dead centre with horrific force. The destroyer was stationed right next to the Liberty, and the tiny ship shuddered violently from the force of the explosion. People were thrown to the floor, consoles across the ship shattered, sending sparks showering. Smoke filled the command centre as delicate electronics ruptured and sizzled, and it was all Michael could do just to hang onto his seat.

  Eldathar had managed to hang on and flung the ship into a steep dive as the mid section of the devastated destroyer hurtled towards them wreathed in flame. It shot past missing slamming into the Liberties rear engines by a matter of only a few feet.

  There was carnage in the rest of the fleet where the torpedoes struck home. Two of the missiles slammed into the Battleship Achilles, who the Liberty had just helped to save, turning its enormous rear engines into flaming ruins.

  Two other torpedoes blasted apart a Mandela class light cruiser as well as an Alexander class medium cruiser both ships tore themselves to pieces as their reactor cores ruptured, sending debris careering in all directions. The final torpedo decimated a Jefferson class heavy destroyer, the ship listed lazily as fire swept through the vesel, before it too burst apart in a bright fireball.

  The tightly packed mass of ships weaved to and fro trying to avoid the maelstrom of destroyed vessels and debris; several ships almost collided into one another in their rush to escape the onslaught. Only the skill of the pilots prevented an even bigger disaster.

  When the chaos had finally subsided, Michael asked for a full status report.

  “We have some small electrical fires on deck four; deck six had taken some damage from th’ explosion cap’n, and a few minor scrapes, but all in all, we are not in bad shape all things considered; not in bad shape at all.” Kinraid replied, his thick Irish accent showing through.

  “Good, have repair crews tackle the fires, and begin repairs.”

  “Already done sir.”

  It was to be expected, Michael thought, though if Eldathar hadn’t reacted with the speed that he did, we would have all been gonners for sure. When he saw the flaming wreckage of that Ghandhi class destroyer hurtling toward him, his life had flashed before his eyes.

  The casualty rate had been higher than he had expected however,
they had lost twelve ships in total, four of them were Solarian. Those delicate crescent shaped metallic craft now floated uncontrollably, their slender hulls fractured and broken. The Achilles had taken severe damage and was on fire on several decks, it could no longer take part in the larger battle at Gamma IV.

  Instead it would have to limp toward Delta Foxtrot base, a small naval facility on the edge of the wolf 359 system. It was a heavy blow, the Danitza’s brought a lot of firepower to the table and losing one, meant losing all that weaponry.

  The rest of the 6th battlegroup formed up with this second fleet, and together the remaining 188 vessels all leapt into plasma drive, a huge burst of light erupted as they did so. The other damaged vessels would have to make what repairs they could along the way.

  It was another three day journey to Gamma IV, and Michael knew that this little skirmish was but a small taste of what awaited them when they arrived. He felt decidedly uneasy about the prospect.

  The Krenarans now knew that they were coming, word would have spread from those escaped ships, and there was no way E.D.F command could have prevented a build up of ships of this magnitude to go unseen anyway, the attack was but a small skirmish designed to thin out the numbers a little, before the main battle.

  As they continued on their journey towards the planet, Michael spent much of his time going through the repair reports of the damage suffered at the hands of the Krenaran attack. The damage to deck six, was a little more serious than they had first thought. Debris from the destroyed Ghandhi class destroyer had, in places, caused minute fractures in the hull, as debris fragments collided against it; possibly weakening the Liberties stealth abilities. All Michael could do was wait and see, it could not be fixed in transit, that’s for sure.

  4. A desperate defence.

  Colonel Nikolai Vargev was stood on a concrete platform at the top of the main command tower high above the surrounding buildings and workshops within Echo base. Silently looking out over the windswept plains of Gamma IV and stroking his dark moustache. It was a bleak, cold, often damp place. Raising his binoculars he could see the shadowy forms of the Valcasian mountains on the horizon, and the glinting steel structures of the far off colony buildings in between, the bright sunlight of the Gamma sun shining off them.

  The shipyards and naval repair stations were all in orbit above the planet, while the vast tank factories, munitions factories and warehouses were on the surface itself.

  Vargev squinted through his binoculars, gently panning them across the horizon, straining to catch any glimpse of the advancing Krenaran ground forces. He didn’t know how many there were, but he knew they were coming. He had sent two squads of his most expert trackers to ascertain the size of the enemy forces almost six hours earlier, he was confident they would return; as yet they hadn’t.

  General John Steel; the British commander of the 3rd armoured company, the ‘Hells angels,’ strode up and stood next to the big Russian.

  “Still wondering where the devil they are colonel?”

  “Something like that,” Vargev smiled as he continued to peer into the binoculars.

  The platform they stood upon, was atop a twelve story high tower, the other floors all contained training rooms, workshops for aspiring E.D.F engineers, as well as offices for the hundreds of operations staff of the base itself.

  To his north, lay the 40 feet high, reinforced concrete perimeter wall, and the guard towers which studded it in even intersections, directly ahead of them was the main gate, where the two largest guard towers loomed over a wide tarmac road, serving as the only entrance into the base. A giant barrier and security station barred access, which could only be opened by inputting a unique identification code issued to all staff working on the base.

  To Vargev’s west, there stood the massive munitions factories, where tonnes of rail-cannon shells, and a host of other ammunition was made, and even further to the west, he could just make out the tops of the enormous tank factories, huge columns of steam rose from their stacks from the cooling processes used to make the armour.

  Running through the middle of those tank factories was a narrow yet deep canal, which provided the vast quantities of water used; named the Aquarius canal by the workers after the astrological water carrier.

  As Vargev turned his attentions eastward, he could see the vast shape of the spaceport, several hundred meters wide. It was designed to accommodate the bulk freighters who would transfer tanks, other armoured vehicles and supplies to larger freighters in orbit which would in-turn transport them to whichever E.O.C.A colony was in need of them.

  Attached to the spaceport was the even bigger loading area, where vehicles would be arrayed for each particular pickup, then driven onto the freighters themselves.

  Further east, Vargev cast his eye over the tall warehouse buildings, where tanks and equipment would be stored awaiting pickup. It was always busy around those buildings as military vehicles drove to and fro from the loading area.

  As he returned his attention northwards once again, he could make out the snaking course of the river Tariseia, where the Aquarius canal got its water. It ran through Gamma colony, about a few kilometres further up the road. The colony itself was a small self contained city, built for the workers at echo base.

  Vargev knew he should feel comfortable in the formidable protection that Echo base offered, but he didn’t. There would be an attack soon, he could feel it, but hadn’t a clue where the attack would come from, the tension was rising amongst the men, as it always did on the eve of battle.

  As he looked over the base in front of him, he could just make out a lone soldier, playing on an old antique harmonica to others around him, the Russian smiled.

  The E.D.F naval vessels that were posted to this area were pushed almost to breaking point trying to hold back the Krenaran attackers. However, sooner or later a Krenaran force will break through, capture the shipyard and then launch an all out attack upon the surface. Every instinct within him was telling him this, and he trusted those instincts, they had kept him alive.

  Vargev had barely a hundred E.D.F commandoes under his command, the most highly trained and deadly troops in the E.D.F. Used in the fiercest of the fighting, each man was already a veteran of a dozen engagements during this war, every one a perfectly honed killing machine.

  He had posted them to strategic locations where he knew the fighting would be thickest. The spaceport, and dug in within the colony itself. The spaceport would be a high priority for the Krenarans as they would no doubt use it as a staging post to spread out and attack the rest of the base, two twelve man squads lay in wait there to prevent that happening, with their lives if necessary.

  The rest; apart from another two squads which were held back to defend the command building itself were ordered to fan out amongst the buildings of the colony, and to prevent the Krenarans from capturing it in the hopes of laying siege to the base itself.

  General Steel however, had far more resources at his disposal. He had bolstered the commandoes position at the spaceport with four Apollo main battle tanks, and two dominator assault walkers.

  Most of his heavy armour was placed amongst the warehouse buildings and within gamma colony, whereas the faster moving elements of the company he had set up in the Valcasian mountains, as a large pass ran straight through them.

  Vargev had approved of the generals decision of sending the 14 or so dominators to gamma colony, as their rugged survivability, thick armour and firepower made them excellent units to use in a built up area, where their comparative slowness wasn’t an issue. Together with 6 more Apollo tanks dug in within the colony, it was pretty well defended.

  However, he had staunchly disagreed with Steel’s decision of sending the large force of raider A.T.V’s and rapier light tanks up into the mountains, as Vargev thought the attack was unlikely to come from there, enemy units would have to cover large areas of open ground once clear of the mountains, leaving them vulnerable. However the general had overruled him to his
chagrin.

  The hot Gamma sun had settled below the horizon, bringing nightfall to the colony. The stars glittered in the inky blackness overhead, and the faint clicks of men checking their weapons could be heard through the quiet night air.

  Vargev could pick up the faint, barely audible conversations of the lesser trained infantry sharing soldier stories, he silently harrumphed at their lack of discipline, at giving their positions away so easily. His commandoes however were all perfectly silent. Quietly watching, and waiting. Vargev smiled to himself in pride, before allowing himself to rest briefly before the fireworks began.

  Lieutenant Shaw was stood on guard at the main gate when he heard a faint dull whine passing overhead. Glancing around his immediate area, he could see nothing.

  Two other soldiers, Corporal Jackson and Sergeant Forrest were busily playing poker. Trying to pass the time until their guard shift ended.

  The whining grew steadily louder; Shaw, now troubled by the noise shone his torch over the dark surroundings, but still could not perceive anything of significance. Readying his pulse rifle just in case, he gave out a blind call of “Halt, who goes there. Identify yourself.”

  No reply came.

  At this call, the two other soldiers put down their cards, and headed over to Shaw’s position. “What’s up Lieutenant, you seem kinda jumpy tonight, your shadow scaring you again?” Forrest asked jokily.

  “Just thought I heard something, a faint whine passing near; probably nothing.”

  “Could be the munitions factories,” Jackson offered.

  “Could be,” Shaw nodded in agreement. “Keep your eyes open anyway.”

  A much louder whine appeared to shoot past them, followed by such a powerful blast of air that it nearly blew the three of them off their feet.

  “What the hell!” Forrest shouted.

  They shone their torches skywards and could just about make out the matt-black and silver metallic hulls that marked the underside of the dreaded Krenaran stealth ships; barely visible in the dark night sky.