Shook awake by a klaxxon, Leon swore. "Another exercise?" He got out of bed and headed to the window. What he saw made him swear even louder. He puts his gear on and ran to the ready bay.
When Leon ran into the bay, he saw UE fighters launching every 1/2 second. He jumped into his UE Fighter and started take-off. The engines whirred loudly and suddenly, the fighter lurched forward and out of the bay. He switched over to tactical frequency.
"This is Commandant Leon Gardocki requesting battlefield situation." A monotonous voice comes the comm, "A Voinian fleet has jumped in on the north side. The fleet has 3 Voinian Cruisers and 5 Voinian Frigates, giving them a total of 8 ships. We have a wing of UE fighters and 3 UE Missile Frigates. A UE fleet is on its way from Centauri to as......" Leon switched his radio over to his wing frequency. "All right, guys, we have to protect the UE SuperCrusier. We have enough to hold them off until the backup fleet from Centauri arrives. They have 12 Heavy Fighters launching as I speak. I want squads 2, 3, and 4 to get them before them come, but maintain the defensive position, do not attack into the fleet. My squad will pick up the stragglers. Make sure you listen on this frequency for tactics changes." A series of replies came through his helmet, and he switched over to the squad's comm. "Guys, we will be the end of the spear. Diamond formation, break off at my mark to engage." He looked out of his cockpit and saw the formation being done.
The Heavy Fighters came out as the first wing of attack, trying to get at the SuperCrusier. The 3 squads picked them apart, leaving 2 for Leon's squad. "Break now. 2, 3, follow me on this one. 4 and 5 take the other one." With perfect execution, the squad broke and decimated the remaining fighters. Bringing up the tactical frequency, Leon told the 3 Missile Frigates to switch to the wing frequency.
On the station, the commanding officer looked on. Speaking into the radio he said, "Commandant, this is the Commander. Suggest that you keep a squad near the station, to protect against boarding parties. I have the station on full alert." Leon's voice came up. "Sure, I was planning on bringing all forces to protect the station and Alpha Construction. You heard me, squads. Defensive positions around the station and Alpha construction."
The battle raged on with the Missile Frigates wrecking havoc from a long range. Their SCATTER Missiles could severely damage a Heavy Fighter, and their supply is almost endless. One Frigate tried to test the formation.
Leon saw the Frigate coming in. "All fighters form up. Let's get this sucker. Missile Frigates, concentrate fire on the challenger." Flashes of light blinded Leon and the station commander. After the firing had stopped, there was nothing left. "Everyone still with us?"
At the far edge of the system, the Voinian commander waited and watched. His fleet would be enough to crush every UE ship in the system, but he still waited. His orders were clear.
Leon's radar lit up all of the sudden. The backup UE fleet had arrived! They deployed their Fighters and Hunter missiles and within seconds the fleet was gone.
The commander smiled when the Voinian ships left the battlefield. The ships had just made a microjump, a hyperspace jump in the same system. The first ship came in perfectly. The rest of fleet should be arriving momentarily. All of the sudden, they popped up near his fleet. A bridge officer addressed him. "Sir, the ships came too close to slow down before hitting us!" No reaction from the commander. "Sir..." "I heard you the first time, Ensign." The officer walked back down to his post. The ships got closer and closer...
(This message has been edited by moderator (edited 12-26-2001).)