Alpha One - Chris Burton [20]
“Commander…CAG says Sentinel ships aft shields our down”
“All ships target the aft shields.”
The Sabres did their job and the Battle cruisers began to re-target their main weapons. The four Alpha Battle Cruisers and their jump ships began to get the upper hand. Hoskins was fortunate that the nearest ships were ships of the Line. With two more Alpha vessels on their way, Hoskins knew Yoshi would not stick around for long. He had proven his point, and showed this ship more capable than anything the Sentinels had ever sent before.
* * * *
General Yoshi was disappointed. The other Earth ships were no match for his vessel. Enough was enough. Monitors showed more Alpha vessels were on route and this fight was over. He issued the command to move out, and the huge Sentinel vessel roared into life and made good its exit.
* * * *
The humans suffered considerable damage and loss of life. Seventeen jump ships were lost in the thirty minute combat. The battle cruisers were still largely intact—except for the Aurora 5, which listed to port with only maneuvering thrusters and no operational drive. The ship’s hull was pitted with impact blisters and the bulkheads were in tatters. The Aurora 5 was a salvage vessel only.
Hoskins sat in his bridge chair and stared out into space in disbelief. How could things have changed so much in just forty-eight hours? The Fox was as good as dead.
Chapter Nine
The Weekend
Weekends off were a rarity in the final academic year. Jake, Carla and Steve took advantage of this treat to ‘let their hair down’ in the knowledge that, this morning, they could all take their time recovering from the ‘night before’.
It started when Carla returned from Titan late Friday evening, and they met up at the ‘Apple Bar’ in the central campus area. The bar was a popular student hangout which derived its name from the source of their specialist drink: cider. Much cider was consumed and following a visit to the local Chinese restaurant they went back to Carla’s apartment: Carla and Steve, very much together, and Jake accompanied by Maria Shavenosky.
Jake awoke with a start. He took a few moments to establish his bearings and to realize Maria slept soundly on the other side of the bed. This was Carla’s spare bedroom. It all came back to him, the drink, the revelry, the Chinese food. Yes, he definitely slept with Maria and it was good.
Then the room began to spin and he jumped/half-fell off the bed and headed for the bathroom.
Having emptied the contents of his stomach, he gingerly returned to the bed and his sleeping companion and lay down. Head pounding, he returned to his sleep, praying that in a few hours he would feel better.
Jake woke again at nine a.m. to find Maria already risen. He heard voices in the living area and realized Maria, Carla and Steve were all up already. He got up and headed straight for the shower. Refreshed and feeling slightly better, he dressed and headed for what smelled like the traditional post ‘student’ night breakfast, ‘fried’.
Steve patted Jake sharply across the back and whispered, “Well, well, you and Maria seem to have got it on again my friend.”
Jake grunted, suddenly embarrassed, not thinking what reception he would receive from Maria.
In the event, this was not an issue as she came to him and kissed him.
“Well, you took your time Mr. Carter,” Jake responded. They embraced briefly before sitting down to eat breakfast.
Three hours later, Jake and Steve sat outside a café in the main campus area. The sun broke through following a tropical downpour that these days was much a part of the extended British summer. The heat felt unbearable, so they elected to take a seat beneath the air-cooled parasol. Steve told Jake about Carla’s return and how all seemed okay between them. Jake doubted this, but pacified his friend by agreeing and suggesting perhaps the short time apart was a necessary evil.
Their conversation cut short