Alpha One - Chris Burton [142]
“Lieutenant Temsouri, I need you to launch three more Sabres. Pair them off with the two already in situ for an attack on the Kryl Battle Cruiser.” Hoskins felt confident in his attack strategy, but he needed more. “Launch fifteen more Rapiers: five to cover the Sabres and the remainder to support the current jump ship initiative.”
“That leaves us three jump ships left, including Enson Carter’s Sabre 4.We will also have only one pilot. I have two in the medical center and Mister Carter is currently not on the hangar deck.”
“I am planning this to be over quickly, Lieutenant. Proceed with my orders.”
The battle continued with only modest success on either side. The Sabre attack on the Kryl Battle Cruiser proved ineffective but Hoskins elected to continue the strategy, relying on the probability that Alpha’s attacks caused unseen damage to the cruiser’s defensive shields. The Halo 7’s shields continued to hold, but their strength was gradually weakening.
* * * *
Winterburn watched the battle unfold and waited for the critical point in number of vessels in the direct vicinity of the Halo 7 before he called for his crew to board the Eagle.
De Vere positioned himself and ten of his marines on the far side of the bay, reasoning this was the most likely cargo bay as it was the nearest to the holding cells. As the Kryls headed for the Eagle, he ordered his marines to open fire with their hypercannons.
Three Kryl were killed immediately, but De Vere’s offensive was short-lived. Winterburn and his drones telepathically penetrated the Troopers brains, and one by one they fell to the floor, their brain stimulus consumed. De Vere and Jake witnessed the brief exchange from their vantage point at the next exit shaft. Fortunately, they were outside the Kryls’ killing range.
The remaining Kryl and Winterburn, with Carla and Joely, hastily entered the Eagle and power-locked the vessel’s bulkhead doors. Jake leapt up from his hiding place, realizing what was happening; but it was too late. Winterburn smiled as he recognized Jake’s face through the port window. Their time would come again. The Eagle launched immediately. All Jake could do was stand and watch in dismay as the Eagle accelerated and departed the Halo 7 via the exit shaft. Winterburn had Carla, and there was no way he could get to her.
Chapter Sixty-Three
Cameron’s Solution
Cameron nearly gave up. They had simulated the use of every type of weapon in Alpha’s considerable arsenal and plowed the ship’s reference databases for option after option after option. The Alpha technicians were helpful, but concluded there simply was no way to close the blue wormhole.
He stood observing the battle from the Botanic. He knew there must be a solution. The question is did he have enough time?
The ferocity of the fighting increased in the last hour. The Kryl continued to pummel the Alpha ships of the line, and gaps appeared in the fleet’s defenses. The jump ships fared little better, and only the Sect divisions held their own. Alpha needed more ships.
Just as it looked hopeless, Admiral Haines; fleet arrived. Haines immediately drove his forces directly into the middle of the Kryl armada, causing the balance of power to shift back in Alpha’s favor.
* * * *
Cameron immediately felt better. The arrival of the large Ionian Fleet could bring an end to this battle, but it was just the beginning. How long would it be before the next Kryl fleet arrived, and how would a continually-diminishing Alpha Fleet deal with that threat as it grew? He realized that giving up was not an option. They must have missed something. There simply must be a way to close the wormholes. With renewed vigor, Cameron reviewed every possibility they looked at right from the start. If they covered every possibility, then the answer must lie in the methods they already had looked at. They must have done something wrong.
Cameron locked himself away in his laboratory with no technicians to assist him. This was all about him