Unity

Chapter 10

Several minutes later, Ryan called out, "We have contacts. Looks like a massive fleet ahead of us."

"How massive?" I asked.

"About twice our size," he responded.

I made a call to all the battleship commanders. "It looks like the enemy teamed up against us. We're going to need some quick thinking if we're going to get out of this one. Anyone have any good suggestions?" There was silence. "Alright then, if anyone gets any kind of viable plan put together, let me know. For the time being, everyone keep low on the deck. If we need to retreat, then descend beneath the rings. We can try to take them out as they filter through. Everybody focus on defense."

"Get me a line to Mitch," I commanded. "It looks like it's up to you to save the day brother. I have some ideas forming, but while I'm working on it, I need you to advance forward one hundred thousand klicks. Take along some fighters to form a relay chain for comms."

After a few minutes I had an idea. "Let's hope this works," I muttered to myself. "Drew, how close are the two fleets to each other?"

"About a klick," he answered.

"Mitch, is there a way to attach a missile to a small asteroid?" I asked.

There was silence for a moment. "The missiles are equipped with large electromagnets. That's how they are stored. There might be a way to attach a missile to an asteroid if it had a high enough concentration of iron. The hardest part would be setting up the remote targeting and firing. What's going on in that head of yours?"

"A desperate plan for a desperate situation," I answered with a dry chuckle. "I'll transmit what I need as soon as I have it compiled." I quickly ran several scenarios through the computer. What I had come up with was a huge gamble, but if it worked, we would practically be handed the win. I compiled everything and sent it off to Mitch. At this point he was out of radio range, so the message had to be routed through the fighters that were stationed to act as a relay.

"I got the package," Mitch said. "I hope I never have to go against you. I don't know how you come up with this stuff."

"Just let me know when you're ready to execute," I commanded.

"Drew, how long until they are in weapon's range?" I asked.

"About ten minutes. It looks like they are going slow. They are probably searching for traps," he responded.

"Continue to hold position," I commanded. "Let them come to us." I didn't mind the extra time to prepare. I only wish we had time to lay the trap they were waiting for. "Send a few fighters to some of the larger bodies floating around us. Order them to hang out for two minutes in the blind spots and then return."

"Sowing seeds of mistrust?" Jen asked from the pilot's seat.

"Just trying to help them justify their paranoia." I answered with a smile. It seemed to work as the fleet slowed slightly and began sending out small groups of fighters in front of the main force.

Five minutes later I received a transmission from Mitch. "Our welcome to the neighborhood gift is packaged and ready for delivery. I'm waiting for your order to launch."

"Sending launch coordinates now postman," I replied. "Launch as soon as possible. The further they are from us when this goes down the better."

I activated the fleet wide broadcast, "I have prepared a little surprise for our guests. If all goes according to plan, then our job will be simple. The enemy fleets will destroy themselves while we watch. However, if it fails then we're going to be in a world of hurt. If things go south, we will descend below the rings. The battleships will provide long range cover fire during the retreat. Once on the other side, we initiate hit and run tactics. Everyone stay alert. We are only going to get one shot at this."

I ended the fleet wide message and opened a private channel to Mitch. "Mitch, once you deliver the package, I want to you deposit as many remotely detonated missiles in the rings directly below the enemy fleet as you can. When I give the warning, get back to the rest of the fleet."

Our plans revolved around a three-way battle. I hadn't anticipated the other two teams ganging up on us. It had to have been pre-arranged, but how they found out who was fighting was beyond me.

I watched in anticipation as the rigged asteroid floated into the heart of enemy fleet. There were minor asteroids floating all over this close to the rings, so our special asteroid was just another obstacle to be avoided. I watched as the asteroid reached its destination and the missile took off. I couldn't help but smile at the perfect timing. This moment was critical to our success. I watched as the missile quickly crossed the gap between the two fleets. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought the outer fleet had fired on the ships closest to the planet. The missile impacted a battleship, inflicting damage.

The impact seemed to break the two fleets out of their initial shock. Retaliation was swift and severe. At such close range, each shot was accurate and deadly. With both fleets advancing next to each other, their broadsides were perfectly positioned to launch at a moment's notice. Jen and Drew both cheered. I couldn't help but laugh. It looked like our crazy plan had worked.

I called Mitch, "Mitch, you are a genius. You and your fighters stay put and make sure anything that makes it below the ring doesn't live long enough to scream for their mommies."

"Let's further increase their paranoia, shall we?" I asked rhetorically. "Get me the other battleships. Have your cruisers launch a salvo into the planet-side fleet, but don't use too much ordinance. Just enough to make it look like it was all planned." By the time we joined in, both fleets had taken a serious beating.

A battleship, cruiser and a handful of fighters broke off from the outer fleet and tried to escape below the ring. "Andrew, see what damage you and a unit of fighters can do about the fleeing ships, but do not get close to the rings."

Andrew's ships broke away and chased down the fleeing ships. With both fleets equally devastated, I gave the command to engage all targets. Our sudden display of force caused all enemy ships to direct their attention to us. Unfortunately for them, their combined power was nothing compared to our untouched fleet.

"Fleeing ships destroyed," Andrew said. "A few fighters tried to slip below the rings but were taken out by our subterranean friends."

It only took minutes to destroy the bulk of the remaining ships. Several ships attempted to flee their pending doom, but eventually, we were able to track them all down and destroy them.

Jen let out a loud cheer as the simulation ended. We had just done the impossible. We climbed out of the simulators laughing and enjoying a sense of well-earned euphoria. We had wiped out two fleets while only taking minor damage. I looked across the field of simulators when I heard shouting. Two cadets were having a heated argument on the far side of the room. I guessed they were the squadron leaders and were upset about the outcome of the battle. I decided to walk over and try to smooth things over.

"Good job in the simulators today," I said as I drew closer. They both stared icily at me.

"I would have won if this idiot would not have stabbed me in the back with a knife," the one on the right yelled at me. He had a noticeable French accent. "How long were you two planning this? I thought we had a deal!" This began a whole new round of insults.

"Guys, I don't want to start another fight," I had to yell to be heard. I just wanted to say good job. You both fought your hardest and did you best. That's all that can be expected. And for future reference, I hear there are suspicious asteroids around Jupiter that like to fire missiles at unsuspecting ships." I smiled and walked away. I had gone about ten feet when what I said sank in. I could hear them shouting and swearing at me, but I continued to walk away and joined the rest of my squadron as they made their way back to the classroom for the debriefing.

After we got settled in our seats, Lieutenant Briggs and Admiral Jones walked in. Admiral Jones looked at us for a minute before speaking. "You all are getting good at being lucky. The other two teams teamed up shortly after getting notice of the mission. Allies are essential to staying alive. Remember that." With that said, he marched out of the room.

"He really knows how to kill the mood," said Jen.

"True, but he was wrong about one thing, it's not just luck that has gotten us this far," I replied. We then began the hour long debrief.