Alpha One - Chris Burton [148]
This could be a bad day, he thought.
He was suddenly dragged back to reality. The Assistant CAG reported some success in the last half hour, and his latest report suggested the dogfight between the jump ships and the Kryl fighters was nearly over. The reports from the Sabre group attacking the Kryl cruiser suggested the beginnings of something good. The cruisers’ shields were all but depleted, but only two Sabres remained to continue the assault. Although the Halo 7 continued to fire alternate rounds of plasma cannons and teutonic missiles at the Kryl cruiser, he needed Rapier back up to finish the job.
There were no reserves, though, and until the Kryl skirmish was won he could not risk releasing any of the Rapiers to assist the fight against the cruiser.
Hoskins was also worried about the condition of the Halo 7. She was still intact and her shields held up remarkably well. There was damage to the main SD drive and the auxiliary shield harmonics were currently failing to consistently alternate the shield polarity. Even if the battle ended in success, they still must get to the blue wormhole fissure, and goodness only knows how many other Kryl ships were out there waiting for him. He needed something positive.
He didn’t have to wait for too long. The call from Obeya was brief but it was good news. She was okay and they were bringing Winterburn back, albeit dead. The bad news was that the Sabre was defunct and the Eagle, with no light speed capability, would have her work cut out just to get back to the Halo 7.
Again Hoskin’s train of thought returned to the here and now as yet another huge explosion rocked the command bridge.
“Shield status?”
“Holding steady at twenty seven percent. The harmonics are still not working properly. A few more hits like that and we are done for.”
“Thank you for your summary, Mister Jacques. This battle is being won, so let’s draw on the positives if you will please.”
“Update from Sabre group leader. The Kryl cruisers shields are down.”
“Target the cruiser with everything we’ve got.”
“PBA?” asked Commander Jacques.
“No. We won’t be able to transfer the power reserves quickly enough. The fucked up shield harmonics are making life difficult.”
“Sir. The frontal shields are failing.”
“Compensate.”
It was too late, and a huge plasma cannon burst from the Kryl cruiser smashed into the side of the ship’s frontal lobes. The force of the explosion rocked the ship once again, but Hoskins knew that this one was bad. “Get a team down there A.S.A.P. Get some temp shielding in place quickly, dammit.”
It was clear that both the Halo 7 and the Kryl cruiser were severely weakened, and, although no critical systems were damaged in the latest impact, the shield harmonics made the Alpha vessel a sitting duck. This battle could go either way.
The battle continued for another half an hour, with the Halo 7’s shields periodically failing, but somehow managing to stay in operation when hit by enemy fire. Hoskins waited for some news to indicate they were back on top. It was a long wait, but finally it all came together.
“Sir, the Rapier group reports the Kryl fighters have pulled back.”
Finally some real good news. “Excellent. All jump ships to target the cruiser immediately.”
* * * *
In the end, the jump ships won the day. The Rapiers’ superior capability in an open fight, and the Sabres’ ability to pick off its targets at pace and indiscriminately, proved to be the crucial factor in a contest which Alpha should have lost. There was no time to carry out a battle analysis. The Kryl Cruiser was destroyed and that was that. Hoskins pulled back both the two remaining