Chapter 6
With that the Tiiadans powered up their Grav Well Generators, forever trapping us here unless they are destroyed, or shut down. Even with our Kadeshi Multi-Beam Frigates, and Swarmers, who are stuck here with us, we are still -strategically- at a major disadvantage.
Our Strike Craft are useless because they would receive so much damage just flying in and back that they wouldn't survive 2 minutes in battle without receiving lethal amounts of radiation, therefore we only have our borrowed Swarmers. So we'll have to stick with our big ships. The only thing is that they have twice the Heavy Cruisers we do, and at least 3 times the number of Ion Frigates. Plus the Turanic Raider fighters and corvettes have thicker armor, meaning they can fly in this region without their pilots coming down with radiation poisoning.
General Sjet, with urgency in his voice that no one on the bridge has heard him speak with before, issued orders that could possibly mean live and death for a great many souls that were looking to him to get them home to their families safe and sound. "Heavy Cruisers and Multi-Beam Frigates go straight for the Grav Well Generators, Ion Frigates, and Destroyers cover them. And I want all Support Frigates to repair 'em as they get hit, I want as many vessels to come home as I can get. Swarmersโฆ you're the only things we have that can truly fight their corvettes, and any other Strike Craft they try to throw at us. We'll try to cover you as best we can but I can't promise we can hit everything that gets on your tails, so be careful. We're trying to get word Hiigara, and the Great Nebula, but they are jamming our long-range comms. We sent a quick message out before they started jamming us, but we have no way to know if anyone has heard us. As soon as those Grav Wells are down, Swarmers dock with your Fuel Pods, and all ships hyperspace out to the following coordinates. From there we'll escort the Kadesh to the nebula."
One of the newer cadets, Lt. Major Piira Somtaaw, who was recently transferred aboard theย Khar-Toba II's bridge got up from his sensor terminal and walked over to the general,
"Sir, what about the shipyards? Shouldn't we focus on that, and then engage this fleet?"
"Would you rather die today and have no one know where or what happened to us, or would you rather get back to Hiigara, warn HFC where this place is, so they can get a nice big, pretty fleet out here and knock it out of space, and survive. Huh? Now get back to your station."
"Yes sir."
As this new battle raged and Ion Beams passed from one vessel to another, like bridges of pure destructive power, and Mass Drivers spat out their rounds of metal projectiles. Our fleet was getting ever closer to the Grav Well Generators and their freedom from this hell-like super nova.
Try as they might, the Heavy Cruisers and Multi-Beam Frigates couldn't make it to the generators. The Imperialist Tiiadan Fleet formed a wall in front of them that prevented us from getting within firing range, while the Raiders actively engaged our fleet. The Swarmers did a pretty good job of eliminating enemy fighters and corvettes, but in the first 10 minutes they had lost 2 of their pilots. Our fleet had sustained their own losses from some hull breaches on several capital ships, and about 150 individuals dead.
As things were taking a turn for the worse theย Khar-Toba II's sensors picked up additional hyperspace signatures. All that you could hear were the curses, and groans from crewmen working at sensor stations, and other officers around them, as the sudden feeling of certain death settled over them. At that exact moment the short-range comms light up, and the familiar accent of the Kadesh came over the speakers.
"Kushan Fleet Commander, General Kiirt Sjet, this is the Commander of the Kadeshi Mothership:ย Raala, Lt. General Tunii. We received your distress call and hightailed it out here. How may we assist?"
"Thank the Desert Gods of Kharak you made it here. We are trapped here until those Grav Well Generators are destroyed. And if we can, we should probably shut down that station to your portside. Maybe if we knock-out these scum here we can capture this shipyard for the Hiigarain Fleet Assembly."
"We'll have to see about that, but for now lets worry about the Tiiadans, and the Turanic Raiders."
"Sounds like a plan."