Astra Pt. 04

BS-1 did not. Ash moved over and lined up with the heavy laser cannons to keep them from shooting the fighters. They fired on the scout. The scout took the hit to the shields at point-blank range. Ash blew the cannons away and shot them down to the hull, went to the side, and repeated on the other battery. Then parked 2 meters off the bridge, "Test me again asshole!"

Danyelle saw 3 fighters coming in. "Fighters, your activity is about to turn deadly. You are flying into our scout's point defense weapons that are automated, HOT, and will tear you to pieces if you do not stay out of the battleship fight."

Two turned, and one fighter did not. The PD weapons blew the engines off. Ash spun as they got hit and Danyelle snared it with a tractor beam a meter from the bridge of the battleship. Sprits came over and latched onto the fighter, "I have the fighter, You watch the bad boys. You got the bigger guns."

Danyelle dropped her tractor beam. Sprits pulled off at full speed into the fighter bay and set the fighter down inside the Tera-5 military dock. She hit the PA, "Your fighter interfered in a battle with us and 2 battleships during this exercise. He got hit by PD weapons. Make sure he is alright. One friendly fighter was disabled and captured by the tractor beam. Before it crashed into a battleship bridge!"

Ash chimed in, "The fighter wreckage has been taken to Tera-5 military Dock. He was warned off, and 2 others listened. One did not. I would start docking the Admiral's pay for every weapon he is forcing us to destroy. You might be able to afford a new set of ships the way he is going."

President Grendal walked over to Admiral Stiller and yelled at him. Jack called out, "Tera fighters, Callsigns." There were four left.

They heard, "Wildcard and Crazy Eights are together. Weasel and Magnet are together. We are having our asses handed to us. Correction. Weasel and Magnet are both torn up. They are covered in black soot and pink paint and headed for the dock."

Jack called out, "Lancer-1 and -2 are dropping down to 1x speed and engaging the last remaining pair."

He hit the private channel, "You go high, and I will go low, just like we practiced." Lancer-1 went under Wildcard and passed him. Wildcard tried to line up a shot on Lancer-1 when Lancer-2 flew over and painted his canopy pink. Crazy Eights went to invert to avoid Lancer-2 and did not catch that Lancer-1 had spun and moved underneath him and splattered his canopy pink. Astra jumped on the comm channel, "3 more fighters have joined into the fray and one has green scales painted on it."

Wildcard yelled out, "Fuck I cannot see shit. I got pink paint all over my canopy." Crazy Eights screamed, "They were like 2 vultures that circled and just painted my ship pink. They missed the canopy because I went inverted. Then one came around underneath and blasted the hell out of it. I am out of it."

Jack looked at the 3 fighters and used the public channel, "Stay at this speed Lancer-2 you clean up the 2 stragglers. Dragon Lady is mine. She will be a Pink Lady when I am done with her!"

He heard back, "Bring it on asshole. I am not firing fucking paint!"

They broke off and she tried to stay on his tail when he jammed it in reverse. He got hit by her lasers but took minimal damage to shields. They went to 85%.

He lit up the nose of her craft with PD lasers in the process. While this occurred, Lancers 2 went into a reversing spinning climb with her nose pointed down and blasted the canopies off her 2 targets.

Dragon Lady flew by Lancer-1 who unloaded his rounds straight into her engines. One cut out before she inverted her ship and flipped. He slowed down and retro'd right on the thrusters while inverted. He shot out her canopy with pink paint and then both sides of her fighter from bow to stern until it was covered. He left no scale untouched. "'Dragon Lady' is now a 'Pink Lady.'"

They heard her scream, "God damn it! I will have your license for this!"

Ash called out, "Lancer-1 and Lancer-2. Tell the last pilots your callsigns."

Jack chuckled, "Lancer-1 is Merlin."

Lauren chuckled, "Lancer-2 is Death Blossom. Off to rearm for the range."

Jack called out, "Sorry guys, Merlin knows how to work his magic. I hope you enjoyed seeing 2 of the Lancer heavy fighters I designed for your military."

He took off while Crazy Eights groaned, "Man that was brutal and with a rookie wingman even."

Wildcard groaned, "At least we were the last 2."

Jack corrected him, "Your Wing Commander was the last one standing. That rookie took out her 2 wingmen. New callsign, Pink Lady."

Dragon Lady yelled out, "That is not my callsign!"

Wildcard asked, "What is the third fast mover?"

Jack laughed, "There was a third and a fourth; both with live weapons. The third was Lancer-3, "Callsign 'Maid Marian' She worked at being a distraction to the 2 battleships and helped their missile racks eat themselves for lunch. Then returned your wounded fighter that got into the battleship fight. It was not like they could hit her. The fourth was my scout after the Ravager failed to produce a workable model. That is a model Stingray Scout, TAR-2 King Arthur. Callsign Phoenix. As the lady flying has risen from the ashes. Is that not right Ash?"

Ash laughed, "I like the callsign, Merlin."

They laughed at that. As he landed on the ship. He got out and they popped the covers into the weapons compartment. He used telekinesis to lift the covers off. "Pull the locker pins."

They pulled them and he lifted out the four barrels with telekinesis as Ash and Grace worked to bring in the next set in the same manner. He got up on the stairs and looked down and pulled all the ammunition cans with his mind. Then lined up the first two cannons. "Lancer-1 locked in."

He grabbed the next 2 and put them into place, "Locked in. Rearm both. Set breakers on for pulse laser Gatling cannons."

Tim opened the maintenance hatch and ran the program for the PD systems showing them green now and repeated it for the other. Sarah brought in the fresh ammo for the rail guns.

Jack jumped into his fighter as Lauren jumped into hers after both covers were locked in after being rearmed by Grace and Sprits. Danyelle jumped into Merlin, "Bay is cleared."

Jack saw Grace pull into the co-pilot seat next to Ash who looked over, "Buckle in."

The 3 fighters launched 90 degrees down. Merlin launched next and was followed by King Arthur. Jack called out, "Keep some space. Lancer-1 is first up so follow me into the Death Valley approach. Death Valley Tower. We have 5 fast movers coming in to run the course."

He heard, "Course is cleared by Presidential direction. Go, fast movers. We are timing you."

Jack was focused. He corkscrewed the entire length of the course and shot out the other side. He only used retro thrusters for his turns instead of banking. He heard, "What in the hell were those ships?"

Ash called back, "The first 3 were Lancer heavy fighters. The first 2 are headed for the Mojave test range. Lancer-3 was Sprits Travus the record holder of this course and she will be holding and waiting while 1 and 2 pulverize the course. They were followed by the Shuttle Merlin and the last one is the Stingray class scout TAR-2, King Arthur. Why?"

He laughed, "Your lead pilot set a new course record by over 5 seconds! He never banked. Not in the traditional sense. That was fucking beautiful."

Jack laughed, "Pilot Jack Travus, callsign Merlin. Thank you for the use of your course. My first time flying that course."

The guy laughed, "All 5 of your ships blew away the old course records and that last ship was huge by comparison. You flew a massive scout through our course!"

Jack called out, "Would you like to see the Excalibur run your course?" Jack laughed. "Heading into Mojave, just Lancer-1 and -2, others hold back out of range."

The tower responded and laughed, "They were all fast, especially the first 3. The Merlin shuttle, we have seen before. We recorded it all for the news."

Jack hit the button and President Grendal was there and he shook his head, "I just accepted the resignation of Admiral Stiller. After I ripped into him. There are several badly wounded on Tera-5 and aboard the battleship, your scout had to fire upon."

Jack sighed, "Get shuttles to get them to Tera-5 Astra, tell Dr. Carol to help out where she can. Save the people, especially from the station as they were not stupid enough to fire on my ships. If they need and want the blood to help out she can give it to them."

He looked at President Grendal, "We were 5 for 5 in completing the Death Valley course Merlin went as well with all 3 Lancers and our Stingray. Believe it or not, my fighter now holds the new course record but all 5 blew the previous record away; including my Scout. That record was held by Spirits Travus, who flew Lancer-3 when she used her single-engine rocket. I corkscrewed my way through the course and never let up. Lancer-1 and -2 are entering the zone."

They went in and neutralized all the anti-aircraft batteries at the range and then missile batteries. Flying over them and letting the PD lasers rip the missiles to shreds as they exited the tubes. They blew away every standing and every flat target on the range and left nothing firing back at them.

Jack called out, "This is Merlin, we have run out of targets other than the ones he stashed away for another day. Lancer-1 and 2 are ready to head home. I think Lancer-2 killed a family of bunnies as the last things moving on the course. Exercise terminated, if you agree, Mr. President."

Ash talked with President Grendal, "That was at least 55 fighters we disabled and 2 Battleships."

President Grendal nodded, "I know. Others did not make it into the sky after they fired into the hanger. I have the 2 battleship commanders en route to the Capitol. Along with the Admiral's replacement. A woman name Porta Gonzales."

Jack called out, "She should do your military a world of good. She has another 15 years to go before forced retirement?"

He laughed, "16, You know her?"

Jack laughed, "Of her if things stay on course. She will be taking over for you in 19+ plus years. A young Admiral fast burner all the way. Another good leader according to history. All except cutting off alien relations."

Jack looked down, "Ask the general if he is admitting defeat, I am pulling us back but everything down there is ready for a trash truck and right now nothing is moving. Except for the twitching leg on one of those rabbits."

President Grendal laughed, "He is satisfied. He was satisfied after you trounced all those fighters and you got that scout of yours toe-to-toe with 2 battleships."

Jack smiled, "We are recalled, ladies. Job well done. One last thing for you Mr. President. I am making a presentation at Tera-5 military docks."

President Grendal laughed. "I will let their wing commander know you are coming."

Jack sighed, "I'd like to see how a few of those pilots are doing. Especially the pilot who ran into the point defense weapons."

President Grendal nodded, "How did your scout stay undamaged?"

Jack laughed, "I hooked those fighters up with enough power and 2 shield generators, as in the specs. The scout has more power and 3 shield generators. As one got low, they switched to another to let it recharge. Rinse and repeat. Not that they had to. The scout switched over once. Same with my fighter after getting hit by the battleship's heavy laser bank.

I reworked your point defense software and adjusted the algorithms. It is more aggressive and more accurate. We were blowing away missiles as they came out of the tubes. The battleships fired missiles on Lancer-3 and they exploded inside of the tubes. Let alone the soot Lancer-1 and -2 left over all the fighters. I will send the new algorithms along for your people to look at."

President Grendal nodded, "Thank you for that, you are cleared into Tera-5 military hangar bay. She will be expecting you."

They approached Tera-5. He hit the comms, "Tera-5 this is Lancer 1 2, 3, and King Arthur on approach for your military dock. Cleared by the President."

He heard, "King Arthur. You are cleared. Your fighters did a number on our fighters. Was there a point?"

Jack smiled, "Yes I gave President Grendal the design for a heavy fighter, a replacement for your current fighters if you will. Admiral Stiller who ordered the battleships to intercede was relieved. He told us the fighter was 'too big.' The fact that 2 was all it took showed why you needed better fighter aircraft, sooner rather than later.

A builder has been selected and after today's live-fire drills I can submit the patents for the new weapons as well. It was unfortunate the battleship hit Tera-5. I made sure the Lancers fired red and the Scout fired dark purple so we could identify who did any errant shots."

He had Lancer-2 and -3 follow him in. King Arthur landed behind the 3 fighters. There were smoking pink messes all over the deck. Merlin went directly to Excalibur. He got out of his fighter as Grace exited the Scout. The military guards showed up and shouted, "You are not supposed to be here."

They had weapons aimed at them by these guards. Jack laughed, "This is my lawyer. Those 3 fighters are my aircraft. Tell Wing Commander Felson that Jack Travus is back at the direction of President Grendal."

Lauren got down as the pilots gathered around and they took off their helmets. Wildcard walked out with Crazy Eights. Crazy Eights looked at her, "The Wing Commander said she was going to have you cleaning ships for months."

Jack laughed, "No she is not."

They looked over and Wildcard spoke, "She is especially pissed at you."

Jack nodded, "I was under orders from President Grendal. Your Admiral Stiller insisted these prototypes were 'too big.' He stands relieved after his battleships hit Tera-5. My doctor is over and helping the wounded."

Crazy Eights looked at Jack, "They were saying you did it."

Jack nodded, "Heard that as well. No blue lasers from my craft. Battleship heavy lasers hit it."

He walked over. Powered up his scout and turned it around. Then fired all the lasers out of the bay after checking the sensors. He landed. "I color-coded the enemy fighters red and my scout dark purple. My fighters did not use any lasers on the fighters, other than point Defense lasers and you all got the chance to see those to varying degrees. President Grendal knows as he watched the scout fire on the battleship's engines from the Tera-5 cameras."

They groaned. Wildcard asked, "What about those?"

As he pointed at the Lancers. Jack smiled, "I have plans for those. I found you a builder to build the new air-frames. You will have new fighters coming."

Dragon Lady came storming out to see the craft on her deck. She stopped and stared at the untouched fighter aircraft and looked at the other side. She walked over. "Not a fucking mark on them."

He pulled out his holovid and displayed them up and walked her through the design and what happened. How he got a rookie pilot and himself to kick ass with superior technology.

Dragon Lady looked over his scout, "Damned. You went toe-to-toe with 2 battleships and it is unmarked. No fucking damage on any of your ships!"

Jack nodded, "We tried not to destroy them. They did not make it easy. Their Captains were summoned to the Capitol. You were to have no idea what was coming or when. I alerted President Grendal. Gave you 2 minutes to scramble and you had 4 in the air. Then 48 from your commercial shuttle bay area."

Dragon Lady nodded, "We were not told why. Firing into the hangar bay had my guys running for cover."

Jack chuckled, "Was to get any fighters before they launched. You do not typically have 48 fighters in your commercial shuttle area."

Dragon Lady laughed, "No. They were from other stations and brought in from training the day before. Was not told why though some of them might have been."

Jack looked at her, "The pilot our lancer brought in. How is he doing?"

She nodded, "She is alive thanks to you. She was shaken but told us what your people did to keep her from crashing into the battleship. Said it was her fault for listening to Admiral Stiller to take you out like she had a chance."

Jack nodded, "Those machines existed in a computer 2 weeks ago when I pulled in your pilot. Construction of the scout was already underway before then. The builder who is picking up the fighters will have several every week being delivered. Crazy Eights and Wildcard were telling me how they loved cleaning up pink paint."

Dragon Lady laughed at that, as those 2 shook their heads, "After all Crazy Eights trained the rookie who trounces your 2 wingmen. Of course, I spent 2 weeks teaching 5x flying to her. I had to fly one myself after all the grief those 2 had given me since my arrival. I had to demonstrate that with a fighter I would wipe the floor with them. Also you, Pink Lady."

Her pilots tried not to laugh at that. She just growled at him. Wildcard looked at his Wing Commander, "He is the one who schooled me in the shuttle, his license called him out as a certified fighter pilot trainer. Think he showed it to us today."

Jack held up his hands in surrender, "I advocated to get you better aircraft to do your jobs. That meant you could not tank the testing. That was why I was particularly vague."

Dragon Lady looked at Jack, "How did you get back to your ship and off the planet?"

Jack smiled, "When I left here, I went to my ship. Never went to the planet. I bounced my shuttle off the atmosphere and killed the power and floated out toward my ship. Then retros to get into the docking bay."

Dragon Lady shook her head, "Damned if you are not a clever man."

Jack nodded, "Conniving, determined, and working for the greater good. The reason I did not look to make my scout design known is I did not expect the Ravager program to be gutted. I built it for convoy protection duty for colony ships and prototype testing. It was not for the military. I wanted the airframe makers to make a better product. I have an interview to give as soon as the patents for the weapons hit the office."

She looked over the hull of the scout, "What metal is this?"

Jack smiled, "Titanium-H on my scout. Titanium with Metallic Hydrogen. It takes a manufactured element to make them bind along with a few others. It is 10 times stronger than your titanium alloy. My scout includes that on the frame as well. All the modeling numbers were done with standard titanium alloy and in the case of the air-breathing test at twice the maximum speed. Getting the airframe manufacturers to finally see they had a problem only required one of them to die."

Dragon Lady looked at the ships, "You did a number on us but if the results are getting us some of these in our bays. We will be thankful. Still...pink paint?!"

Jack laughed, "You know how hard it was to come up with metallic paint that we could use in rail guns? She holds 4,000 rounds. If you think they did a number on you; you should see what the two fighters did to the Mojave range.

Ask for the footage from the Mojave range. Nothing was left standing. I set a new course record on the Death Valley run. My first time flying it. Every craft we took down, beat the previous course record. They recorded it all. Lancer-3, my wife Sprits, held that record previously."

Dragon Lady laughed, "You had a scout on that course?!!"

Jack nodded, "Yes, I trained the Pilot myself. I flew through doing a corkscrew without slowing down."

Dragon Lady smiled, "I will have to check out the news for the course footage."

Jack nodded, "We should go and get some work done. Everything goes according to plan, where you see my ship will be my new project. Space drydocks for retrofitting and building the next generation of ships. Destroyer class and up."