Three Square Meals Ch. 033

"It'll be fine, trust me!" she replied with a grin.

They laughed at her buoyant optimism, finished their breakfast and then showered and dressed for the day, before heading up to the bridge to keep themselves occupied until they arrived.

It hadn't been long before they immediately saw that John's caution had been well advised. Calara was helping Dana with the automated interdiction responses, while he was hanging out in the Commander's ready room with Alyssa and Jade. They were making some well researched and convincing arguments, about some interesting ways to keep themselves occupied for the rest of the trip, when the intercom buzzed on his desk. The two girls stopped kissing for a moment, looking down at John from where they sat on his desk, as he answered the call.

"We've got a high priority call coming in from Terran Federation Military." Calara said urgently.

"We'll be right there," John said and rose quickly from his chair. "Sorry ladies, I'll have to hear closing arguments a bit later," he added with a wink.

They giggled happily, and then followed him out onto the bridge, as he strode up the steps to the Commander's chair.

"Thanks Calara, put me through please," he told the brunette, and she accepted the incoming transmission. The view-screen crackled to life on the bridge, and the face of a stern man in a Terran Federation Navy uniform filled the image.

"This is Captain Maddox on the Medusa," he said in a firm voice. "You will soon be approaching the Dragon March. Please state your purpose and destination."

"This is Commander Blake on the Invictus," John replied. "We're visiting Port Medea, to conduct a crew transfer."

Captain Maddox's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Our sensors show your vessel is heavily modified from the standard assault cruiser specifications. You may continue on your present course while we verify your story, but prepare to be boarded and searched if it doesn't check out." he said ominously before closing the comm channel.

"Things must be a lot worse than I thought if they've set up picket ships to keep everyone out," John said, looking concerned. He turned towards Alyssa who was seated beside him in the Executive Officer's chair. "Put me through to Charles Harris please, honey."

The blonde girl nodded eagerly, and set up the call using her console, then waited while the powerful comm relay attempted to make a connection over the long distance to the Olympus Shipyard.

"We're picking up the Medusa on our long range sensors," Calara informed him eagerly. "It's a Heavy Carrier!"

"Any support ships?" he asked her immediately.

"Three heavy cruisers, several light carriers and dozens of destroyers," she gasped, as the sensor data picked up the Terran Federation transponders.

"That's a big reserve force," John muttered grimly. "Something big must be happening."

"John, I've got through to Charles," Alyssa told him urgently. "Putting him on-screen."

The image of Vice Admiral Charles Harris filled the viewscreen, and the older man's face was lined with worry since they last spoke to him.

"It's great to hear from you John, but It's not a good time. What do you need?" he asked bluntly.

"I'm looking to recruit a medical officer. She's fresh out of medical school, so not a huge loss to the Navy. I was hoping you could green-light a transfer under my command?" he asked succinctly.

An amused grin formed on Charles' face and then he laughed good naturedly. "Going by the rest of your crew, I can only imagine what she looks like. You're going to wreck fleet morale if you keep headhunting all the pretty girls from the Navy. What's her name? I'll authorise it immediately."

"Her name's Rachel Voss, based on Port Medea," Alyssa interjected helpfully. "And hi, Charles!" she added happily.

"Hello Alyssa," Charles replied to the beautiful girl, with a bemused smile on his face. "I'll put the transfer through right now."

"Wait a minute!" he gasped suddenly, looking at them in alarm. "Port Medea! John, you're not heading into the Dragon March are you?"

"Is that a problem?" John asked archly.

Charles was about to say something, and then clenched his jaw tightly shut. He turned and entered a few quick commands on his desk console before turning back to them. "I've authorised a permanent transfer awaiting your confirmation, but you need to promise me you'll get in and out as fast as you can. Don't hang around, John..." he warned his old friend soberly.

"Thanks Charles, I appreciate it, and the warning," John replied, and nodded to the older man respectfully.

"Be careful," Charles said, his worried face disappearing from the screen as he hit the button to end the call.

"Well, that didn't sound good," Alyssa said somberly.

"No, not good at all," John agreed, as the girls all looked up at him in concern.

"If they've pulled that large a force in as a reserve, they must be anticipating a breakout deeper into Terran Federation territory," Calara said speculatively.

"The Kintark must really be causing some damage," John said, nodding in agreement with her assessment.

"Didn't you say the two sides were pretty balanced?" Alyssa asked him curiously. "Why would it suddenly be going so badly for our side?"

"It could be a whole host of reasons; an incompetent commander in a key position on our side, a strategic genius commanding their force, some kind of tech advantage, or the Kintark Empire throwing everything they've got at us. Without knowing more details, it could be anything," he replied with a helpless shrug.

"We've got Maddox on the Medusa hailing us again," Calara spoke up.

"Put him through," John ordered grimly, and the stern faced captain of the heavy carrier filled the viewscreen once more.

"You may proceed, Commander Blake," Captain Maddox said grudgingly. "But we'll be keeping an eye on you."

John didn't bother to respond to the impolite Captain and just ended the call, the other man's surprised face disappearing from the screen.

Alyssa pressed a button displaying the sector map, which showed their current path in a green line. "We've got five hours left until we get to Port Medea," she said, as the Invictus raced across the map at incredible speed using its Tachyon drive.

"I'm not seeing much on the long range scans," Dana offered. "There's no civilian traffic to be seen anywhere!"

"Any merchant shipping must have been warned off by the picket ships," Calara suggested while studying the map.

They stayed up on the bridge, and just chatted pensively while they kept a careful eye on the long range scanners. After a few hours, Dana announced that she'd finished the interdiction automated response, and when John gave her the go ahead, she activated the new computer subsystems. She laughed when she saw the rest of the crew glancing around the bridge warily.

"It's not much more complicated than the automation in the cleaning robots!" she exclaimed, as she giggled at their paranoia. "You aren't worried about them taking over the ship too, are you?" she added teasingly.

They laughed along with her nervously, and she rolled her eyes at their wariness. She was about to make another joke when Calara suddenly spoke up.

"We're picking up a large flotilla of ships on the long range scans," the brunette said in alarm.

"Ours or theirs?" John asked curtly.

"Just a few seconds longer," Calara said, waiting for the transponder information to be populated on the sector map. "They're friendlies!" she eventually sighed with relief, as information began to appear detailing their Terran Federation affiliation and configurations.

"It looks like they're leaving the Dragon March," Dana observed, noticing how quickly they were approaching the substantial convoy of vessels, which were clearly travelling to some location behind the Invictus. "But if there's lots of fighting going on, why would that many ships be leaving?"

"Alter our course slightly please Alyssa, bring us in for a close flyby," John requested, intending to confirm his suspicions.

Alyssa dutifully made the course corrections, and the glistening black assault cruiser made a subtle directional shift, which would take them within a few dozen kilometres of the flotilla. They waited and watched the system map as they raced past the departing Terran Federation vessels, and detailed sensor information began to be displayed against each ship.

"Holy shit!" Dana swore vehemently, saying what they were all feeling.

"I can see why they'd be retreating," Jade said quietly, as she gazed up at the battered ships.

The flotilla was made up of dozens of battle damaged Terran vessels, ranging in size from corvettes, all the way up to a lone battleship that had been brutally savaged by plasma fire. Each of the ships told a similar tale of woe, with damage ranging from moderate through to critical, and all showing the trademark scarring from plasma attacks, the weapon of choice for the Kintark Empire.

"They're getting hammered!" Calara gasped in shock. "That's nearly a quadrant fleet right there."

"And those are the survivors," John muttered grimly.

"Is there anything we can do to help out?" Calara asked plaintively, as she turned in her chair and looked up at him where he sat on the command podium.

"We're just one assault cruiser," John replied to her helplessly. "We pack a hell of a punch for a ship this size, but there's not much we can do in a straight fight against capital ships."

"Well, at least not yet," Dana corrected him, her eyes sparkling and her grin eager.

"I think upgrading the Invictus that much is beyond even your incredible skills," John said, smiling at her fondly.

"We'll just have to see, won't we?" the redhead said archly.

John shook his head in amusement, and focused his attention back on the sector map. They all watched the sad convoy of wounded ships limp away, as the Invictus raced further on towards the Dragon March. When they were approximately thirty minutes from Port Medea, Calara began to highlight sensor readings on the system maps as they tore through each system, passing the different stars along their route.

"Wreck sites," she said ominously.

"How can you tell?" Jade asked her curiously.

"I've spent hours poring over sensor readings for sites of pirate attacks, and then there were the Ashanath victims of the Drakkar raiders. I recognise the debris patterning," she said soberly.

"Military ships?" John asked her pensively.

"No, civilians I suspect, probably lone merchant vessels that were picked off by long range probing attacks," Calara said, studying the nearest solitary wreck and its sensor profile.

"Well that explains the complete lack of civilian ships around at least. It looks like everyone is giving this place a wide berth now," Alyssa concluded.

The sense of anticipation rose as they closed on their destination, and it came as a relief when the Invictus finally dropped out of hyper warp, arriving unscathed at the Iota-Leonis system, home of Port Medea. Alyssa displayed the system and tactical maps in the centre of the bridge, and the bright blue-white glow of the Class O star appeared, centred on the map. Iota-Leonis had no habitable planets, but there were several gas giants orbiting the star, and according to the tactical map, these were heavily utilised by numerous gas mining facilities and refineries. Port Medea was a substantial Terran Federation starport, and was in orbit around a volcanic planet in the fifth orbital path around the star.

Their sense of relief was immediately shattered, when the tactical map suddenly displayed an overwhelming riot of sensor data, as the sensor readings were processed and updated on the map.

"What is all that?" Dana asked in amazement, as she gazed up at dozens upon dozens of active ships in the system.

"We've arrived right in the middle of a major attack!" John said in alarm. "Calara, I need a summary. Are we in any immediate danger?"

The brunette stared up at the map, cataloguing and analysing the vast amounts of data being gleefully displayed by the computer from the sensor data. Target vectors and flight paths from the combatants became clear, and she began to ascertain the attack plans of the Kintark forces.

"It's a carrier led strike force," she began, looking at the distant sensor readings at the edge of the map. "It looks like a heavy carrier, supported by a cruiser class vessel and a few dozen destroyers. They've been engaged by the garrison ships from Port Medea, but it looks like the Terran Federation forces are outnumbered."

"What are they targeting?" John asked her, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the map.

"The carrier launched two wings of bombers: one is going for the refineries, the other is chasing a group of Terran Heavy transports," Calara replied, pointing at the Kintark bomber wings on the tactical map. "There's also a wing of dropships heading for the starport!" she added in alarm.

"Why aren't the Port Medea CAP fighters intercepting them?" John asked with a concerned frown.

"They're overwhelmed by the Kintark fighter wings," Calara replied. "There's too many for them to deal with. John, we have to help them!" she pleaded.

"We won't be able to intercept all three groups in time," Alyssa said sombrely.

"I need cold analysis Calara, which targets have the most strategic value," John ordered her sternly.

The brunette's eyes darted up at the map, and she calculated the impact that losing each of the targets would make to the Terran Federation forces in the Dragon March.

"We can't lose Port Medea, it's the main medical station and staging site for the entire region. If we lose the refineries, refuelling our forces will be much harder, and will have almost the same impact," she said, before glancing at the fleeing heavy transports, her eyes filling with remorse. She then looked up at him and said in a clear voice, "Only the transports have no significant strategic value."

John met the brunette's gaze and nodded, before turning to look at the blonde on his right. "Alyssa, bring us about on an intercept course against the bombers targeting the refineries. Once they're eliminated, we'll wipe out the dropships."

"What about the transports?" Dana asked plaintively. "Can we help them too?"

As if on cue, a warning light began to flash on Alyssa's console, indicating an incoming hail from the transports. She glanced at John and he nodded. She pressed the button and the viewscreen flickered, a panicked naval officer appearing in front of them.

"Thank god you're here!" the man gasped with relief. "We're evacuating the wounded from Port Medea, there's hundreds of marines and naval personnel on board. You've got to protect us from those bombers!" he said, his voice riven with fear.

John darted a glance at Calara, who shook her head slightly, her face ashen. Despite the shocking news that there were hundreds of troops aboard the transports, it still didn't raise their strategic value above the other targets. His face took on a grim cast, and he was about to respond to the transport captain when Jade spoke up.

"I can take out that bomber wing with the gunship," the nymph said in a determined voice.

"If I make a slight course correction, Jade can make it in time to have a chance, but it's not going to leave us much time to intercept the dropships going for Port Medea," Alyssa cautioned him.

John looked at Jade, his face showing a flicker of worry before he hid the emotion, and turned back to face the transport captain. "I'm sending a gunship to escort you to the jump point, captain," he said in a firm voice.

"One gunship! You can't be serious?! There's six bombers on an intercept course, one gunship can't protect us from that many. You need to defend us with your cruiser too!" he pleaded desperately.

John's face turned into a steely mask as he replied, "Sorry Captain, we've got other problems we need to deal with. You're in good hands though, I'm sending an ace pilot in the gunship."

The transport captain began to object again, but after a glance from John to Alyssa, the viewscreen went dark abruptly. Jade rose to her feet, and strode purposefully up the ramp towards the grav-tube, but John moved faster as he darted down the steps to intercept her, and pulled her into his arms.

"You better stay safe," he told her firmly. "I'd be a very disappointed master if anything happens to you. I have plans for us, remember?"

Jade stared up at him, her eyes flashing with excitement. "I won't let you down, I promise," she answered him vehemently. They kissed fiercely for a brief moment before he let her go, and she dashed into the grav-tube, waving goodbye as she descended in the red glow.

With a heavy heart, John turned, and walked back up the steps to the Commander's chair. He could see on the tactical map that the Invictus had altered course slightly, and was now racing towards the bomber wing that were on an attack course for the heavy transports. Alyssa had powered up the massive engines to full power, and the sleek and deadly assault cruiser was closing the distance at an impressive speed. A warning light appeared on his console, that indicated the hangar door was opening, and a few seconds later, Jade contacted them on the intercom.

"Raptor clearing the Invictus hull in five seconds," she informed them in a calm voice.

"Take care, Jade!" Alyssa said in a worried voice.

"Don't worry, I've got a promise to keep!" she said in a cheerful voice, and then the gunship roared away, flying on a direct intercept course towards the incoming bombers.

Alyssa pressed a button to close the hangar bay door, whilst swinging the Invictus around to intercept the second bomber wing. "Two minutes until we're in range," she said after checking the distance on the map.

***

Jade flipped up the safety switch on her flightstick and began cycling through the bombers, targeting each in turn with a glance, so that the optical-target-acquisition HUD could lock on and track them. The Raptor was much faster than the Invictus, and now that the nimble gunship was free of the huge assault cruiser, Jade was able to rapidly close the distance on her targets. The targeting system displayed a zoomed in view of the closest bomber, and the sharply angular attack craft was coloured an iridescent green, the armour plating shimmering with an odd pearlescence.

The targeting reticle flashed red as the Raptor closed within range, and she pressed the thumb button on the flightstick, and fired the laser cannons. Bright orange laser blasts fired out and tore into the bomber, blowing it apart in a single shot. She rolled the gunship and pulled up to avoid the debris from her kill, and the rest of the bomber wing flew past, doggedly pursuing the slow moving transports. Jade yanked back on the flightstick, making the Raptor execute an extremely tight turn, the retro-thrusters flaring to adjust her course. At the same time she pulled the trigger on the stick and the six turreted Gatling lasers opened up, streams of laser bolts cascading out to strike the passing bombers, as the turrets auto-tracked the next targets.

The bombers were too small to be equipped with shields, and the laser fire ripped into their shimmering armour, gouging steaming scars through the plating. The armour seemed to be mildly reflective, but the sheer volume of fire from the Gatling lasers took their toll, eventually melting through the plating and then scything through both bombers, causing each to explode.

Now that she was in the rear arc of the remaining three ships, aft mounted plasma guns opened up from the bombers, sending glowing pulses of green plasma fire towards the Raptor. Plasma was highly effective against shields, and the shield strength on her gunship began to decline rapidly. Jade began to dodge and weave, making it much harder for the bomber gunners to hit her ship with the searing plasma bolts. Unfortunately the targeting computer that controlled automatic fire on her gatling lasers, seemed to be having trouble landing consistent hits, what with all the wild evasive manoeuvres she was performing. The laser bolts that did hit, were scattering impact craters all over the rear armour plating of the bombers, and therefore not cutting through to cause significant damage.