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"HORNET'S NEST DEAD ahead!"
Radko just nodded. The statement from Owens had been for everyone else, everyone hunched over their stations or over tablets. Radko was watching with his own eyes as the ril-galas station loomed ever-larger. He glanced at the sand table, which displayed current enemy deployment thanks to information being fed in from Hamelin at the LiDAR network control and supplemented by the other ships in the task force.
The ril-galas had taken notice. The invader armada was redeploying to face the sudden appearance of a Commonwealth frigate and, more alarmingly he was sure, two udukiin dreadnoughts in their midst. The redeployment was bad for Beta Group as it meant they'd be facing stiffer opposition, but it would be a major benefit to Alpha Group.
"Alpha Group starting their attack run," said el Bahari, glancing up at Radko. "The ril-galas were so focused on us that Alpha is nearly on their doorstep."
"Scramble Outlaw Squadron," he said. "And let's try to clear them a path. All batteries forward fire. Relay to the dreadnoughts."
"Forward fire, aye," she said. "Relaying."
"Outlaw Squadron away," said Owens. "Getting damage reports—nothing major at present."
"Outlaw One to Vimy Ridge."
Cagliari's voice came through crystal clear and Radko made a mental note to ask her, once they had time, to upgrade the older comm systems on the Vimy Ridge with ones like her Argentavis fighters.
"Go ahead, Outlaw One."
"Keep an eye out on your starboard stern, you've got an admirer."
The lack of concern in her voice surprised Radko.
"Confirmed," shouted Hamelin. "But Commander, I'm getting clear readings."
That meant an actual ship, not the semi-organic kind of vessel created by the ril-galas. In the early days, they'd hardly been able to track the invaders on LiDAR at all. It was only through Hamelin's near-obsessive attention and the assistance of a psychic that they'd been able to do it, and though their methods of detection had improved since then, readings for ril-galas vessels were still indistinct.
"Show me," said Radko, heading to the rear of the observation dome.
A mag window popped up for him and he centred it on the approaching ship.
It was large, the size of the Vimy Ridge at least twice over. Taller than it was wide, its hull gleamed white and the six massive rear-mounted engines blazed as it powered through space to catch up to Radko's fleet.
"I'll be damned."
El Bahari was suddenly beside him.
"Radko, isn't that-"
The comm line crackled to life, cutting her off.
"HMS Royal Sovereign to HMCS Vimy Ridge, this is Admiral Phillip Mahoney."
"Admiral," said Radko. "Lovely day for a shakedown cruise."
"Yes, quite. Tell me where you need us, Commander."
Muting the channel for a moment, Radko turned to el Bahari.
"No formal help?"
She just shrugged and he unmuted the comm line.
"Form up with the Vimy Ridge, Admiral," he said. "I'm glad the government came to its senses."
Mahoney snorted.
"You give them too much credit, Commander. You and I may be sharing a cell after this."
"Then let's make sure this is worth it," said Radko.
A glance from el Bahari and it was Radko's turn to shrug. Something was happening on the station, something that went beyond the Cortez situation—something that would lead Mahoney, ever conservative in his action plans, to launch the Royal Sovereign on his own authority. The help was welcome, but the unknown impetus behind it put an uncomfortable feeling in Radko's gut.
"Something wrong, Commander?"
El Bahari was looking at him with a frown. Not quite concern, but orbiting the same star.
"I don't know," he said, nodding toward the Hornet's Nest, looming ever larger ahead. "Let's cross this bridge before we worry about the next one."
She nodded, then undid the top button of her uniform jacket and withdrew the command chip that hung on a chain around her neck. Her half of the code to activate the Vimy Ridge's nuclear arsenal.
"I believe it's time."
Withdrawing his own key, Radko followed the XO to the sand table console. In unison, they inserted their keys and confirmed the command via retinal scan.
A loud ping sounded throughout the ship, followed by the hollow, automated announcement 'nuclear warheads armed.'
"Prepare for nuclear deployment," said Radko, hearing the order echoed on down the chain of command.
The Hornet's Nest filled his vision now, the mag window rendered unnecessary. Flashes of light bloomed near its crown, where Alpha Group had begun hammering home their assault.
Directly in front of him, the station was untouched.
His own group had been bogged down by the enemy redeployment.
As the whole ship shuddered under a barrage of enemy fire, Radko swore and slammed his fist down on the railing.
"We need to break through," he said through gritted teeth.
"Ramming speed," said el Bahari, looking over to him from where she remained at the sand table.
"What?"
"I read your report on the blockade at Thor's Hammer," she said. "You rammed the ril-galas battleship, using the ERA armour as an offensive weapon. The Royal Sovereign has the same armour, which gives us two very larger battering rams."
He nodded once.
"Do it. Relay to Mahoney."
After waiting for her acknowledgement and confirmation from the Royal Sovereign, Radko opened a fleet-wide channel.
"JTF1, this is Radko. Alpha Group, keep pressing the attack. Beta Group, the Vimy Ridge and Royal Sovereign are about to punch a hole through the enemy line. Take advantage, it won't last long."
He flicked off the main channel and opened a direct line to the Sovereign.
"Ready, Admiral?"
"Yes, but Radko, I want to apologise-"
"You can apologise if we survive, Sir. For now, just fight."
"Understood."
"Ramming speed on my mark. Three... two... one... mark!"
Deckplates thrummed as the ship's engines fired at full power, the Royal Sovereign keeping pace directly to port and slightly above the Vimy Ridge.
"Prepare forward missile batteries. Prepare dual broadsides."
Confirmation of readiness came almost immediately.
"Forward batteries fire at will."
In perfect unison, dozens of missiles silently rocketed outward from both Commonwealth ships, slamming into the ril-galas line, creating a sudden, brief fireball. And just as suddenly, the Commonwealth vessels were there, into the debris, full speed ahead.
Impact.
The entire ship shook and Radko was thrown to the deck, leading heavily on his left knee. The Vimy Ridge echoed with the screaming of stressed metal and the holographic Vimy Ridge on the sand table flashed as the impact activated dozens of ERA plates, sending electrical pulses through whatever they had just hit.
Radko had no idea what type of enemy ship they'd rammed, and he didn't care. He hauled himself to his feet, glanced up to make sure the Sovereign was holding formation and then looked directly to port and smiled.
They were dead centre of the ril-galas line.
"Full broadsides, port and starboard. Now!"
Along the flanks of both the Vimy Ridge and the Royal Sovereign, cannons and rail guns erupted. A first ril-galas battleship blossomed into a short-lived fireball, then a second. An entire wing of enemy fighters flared and disappeared. A sunfish took heavy fire and lost control, plowing into another of the same, and both exploded.
"Another broadside!" said Radko. "Forward batteries, deploy nuclear warheads. Concentrate all fire on the Hornet's Nest!"
The broadsides hammered into the reeling enemy line and as the vibration of the cannons faded and Radko watched the nuclear warheads streak toward the ril-galas station, a dozen black, birdlike shapes shot past the Vimy Ridge, then arced back to begin attacking the enemy fleet's undefended rear.
"Sir," said el Bahari, pointing to the sand table.
The display had shifted to show the Hornet's Nest, the ril-galas deployment, and the positions of all JTF1 vessels.
Nuclear strikes had been registered by both the Vimy Ridge and the Royal Sovereign. And Her Divine Retribution had followed directly behind the Vimy Ridge and was now unloading into the station with its own weaponry while Her Glorious Vengeance tore into the ril-galas line.
"Alpha Group reports the Vor Rokhaar has lost propulsion control," said Owens.
A pair of ril-galas fighters strafed the Vimy Ridge, causing a minor shudder to run through the ship, followed by a sudden jolt. Several crew members staggered.
"Owens?"
"We just lost one of our positional thrusters, Commander," said Owens as the corresponding component on the holographic display blinked red.
"We need to reduce thrust," said el Bahari, tucking an unusual stray lock of hair behind her ear. "We can't maneuver well at this speed without a full set of thrusters."
"The Vor Rokhaar's engine core has ruptured!" said Owens, looking up sharply. "She's gone."
From the very beginning, they had known that some would not survive the mission, that they might lose entire ships, but the reality still hit hard. Radko had led them into battle. The icaran crew had given their lives to his cause. To the liberation of Earth.
"How many nukes do we have left, Amira?"
She quickly scanned the continual stream of data on her tablet.
"Sixteen."
"I want them all fired into that thing," he said, jabbing a finger toward the Hornet's Nest. "And I want all nuclear-capable vessels to do the same."
Nodding once, el Bahari relayed the command, then, suddenly Owens cried out.
"Brace for impact!"
A ril-galas fighter, spinning out of control, slammed into the Vimy Ridge.
An explosion. Fire.
Thrown against the rail, Radko felt a burning pain on the left side of his face and saw flames and heard yelling. The sounds were all muffled.
The hiss as the fire suppression systems kicked in.
Someone, probably Owens, read off status reports. A hull breach directly below the command deck.
Blinking, trying to focus, Radko realised he couldn't see out of his left eye. Putting his hand against the spot, it came away slick with blood. He was dizzy. His vision darkened and he fell to the deck.
"Medic!"
It was el Bahari and she sounded very far away.
"Commander," she said. "Can you hear me?"
"Yes, I can."
Something cold and hot at the same time was pressed against his face and the pain subsided. He felt something else pressed against his left eye and then the medic injected him with something and the pain was almost entirely gone.
He was helped to his feet and he touched the patch over his eye and looked down into the command deck to see el Bahari barking orders to execute his order to launch all remaining nuclear warheads.
"Commander," the medic was saying. "You need to sit down. The damage to your eye-"
"I still have one eye," he heard himself say, but it sounded like it was coming from somewhere else. "I'll be fine."
"You need surgery."
"And do we have a fucking ophthalmologist on this ship?"
"No, sir."
"Exactly. Help me get down from here."
In the minute and a half it had taken for Radko, with the medic's assistance, to get to the main sand table, the warheads from the Vimy Ridge had already found their mark, and volleys from elsewhere among JTF1 were doing the same.
Through his remaining good eye—possibly his remaining eye period, thought Radko—he watched the sand table as bright circles bloomed for every hit the Hornet's Nest took.
"It is enough?" he asked quietly.
El Bahari turned to him. The look on her face gave him his answer.
"All missile batteries are to continue targeting the Hornet's Nest," he said, his voice sounding weak even to himself. "All other gunners are to select targets of opportunity."
"Yes, Commander."
"Sir," said a communication technician, whose name Radko was struggling to recall. "Private communication for you from the Tianlong."
"During a battle?" said el Bahari.
Radko tried to shrug. Wasn't sure he succeeded.
"Send it to my tablet," he said, gently making his way to one of the few unmanned stations on the command deck. "Go ahead, Tianlong."
"Radko," said the disembodied voice of Zhang. His voice was tight, his words even more clipped than usual. There was some sort of klaxon sounding in the background. "The Tianlong has been badly damaged. My crew is preparing to abandon ship."
A numbness began to creep over him, and Radko was fairly certain it wasn't just his injury.
"Admiral..."
"Commander, I would request that you divert the Azrael's Tear to pick up our lifeboats."
"Consider it done. We'll make sure you get home safely."
"Not me, Commander. The captain, as they say, goes down with the ship."
Though he probably should have, just out of politeness, Radko didn't argue. He knew, should it come to that, he wouldn't leave the Vimy Ridge.
"Understood."
"Radko... your plan was well-conceived and well-executed. It was our best chance. There is no shame in having taken it, and there is honour in this defeat," said Zhang. "We simply did not have enough firepower. We ran out of nuclear warheads; it's that simple."
Lowering his head, Radko closed his eye. He knew Zhang was right, but that didn't fill the emptiness he now felt. Didn't make this any less of a defeat.
And all because they just ran out of...
He opened his eye. Checked the status of Tianlong.
"Admiral."
"I am still here, for the moment."
"Your ship still has engines online."
There was a slight pause and somehow Radko knew that Zhang had immediately caught his meaning.
"Our reactor," said the Admiral.
"I can't ask you to-."
"You do not need to. It is our best tactical decision—the Tianlong is no longer a factor in this battle in any other capacity," said Zhang. "So we will become Joint Task Force One's final nuclear warhead."
For a moment, neither man said a word.
"Radko," said Zhang. "Do not let this be wasted. You have... dare I say, opened my eyes to what we need of the future. Old prejudices die hard, my friend. But I pray they die with our generation."
The transmission was closed on Zhang's end before Radko could reply.
He stood, unsteadily, and made his way back to the sand table just as Owens was announcing that the Tianlong's reactor was beginning to overheat.
"And...," he said, glancing up at Radko. "They're repositioning themselves."
"To point toward the Nest," finished Radko. "Owens, order the Azrael's Tear to become Search and Rescue—the Tianlong has launched lifeboats. And have Cags give them and Zhang cover."
"Zhang is going to ram the station and detonate his reactor," said el Bahari. "Isn't he?"
Radko was fading. He was still bleeding and the loss of blood was starting to get to him. He needed surgery, which he could only get at Thor's Hammer. He managed to nod as he leaned heavily against the sand table.
"Have everyone pull back. And someone help me back up top," he said, pointing to the observation deck.
"Commander, you can't-."
"Help him up there," snapped el Bahari.
He wasn't even sure who it was that followed the order, but he made it up, where there was still a slight smell of smoke and burned plastic. The ugly blob of the Hornet's Nest still filled the space in front of him, explosions still ripping across its surface from the sustained attack of JTF1. The alien station was in bad shape, but not bad enough. All of his task force had been forced to divide their fire between the station and the enemy fleet, if only to keep themselves alive long enough to push through more damage.
Above the Nest, something glinted in the sunlight.
The sleek form of the Tianlong, pointing straight down at the crown of the station.
Hanging in space.
Waiting.
The sword of Damocles.
And then its engines fired, an angry red that could only mean every single safety measure for the ship's reactor had been disengaged. The reactor core was destabilizing; the ship likely already flooded with radiation, its captain either dead or dying as a result.
For a second, the ship simply hung there, and then, like sprinter hearing a starting pistol, it shot forward. The Tianlong's sharp bow drove deep into the Hornet's Nest, the stations quasi-organic hull splintering and fracturing, small explosions rippling outward in a mesmerizing geometric pattern. But the Soviet ship kept going, boring right into the enemy installation until Radko could see nothing of the ship but its engine glow and then-
And then the world went white as the Tianlong's reactor exploded.
When the world returned, the Hornet's Nest had cracked open like an egg straight through from top to bottom. Its top half was a mangled mess, torn open by the explosion.
A vibration rolled through the whole of the Vimy Ridge as the shockwave from the detonation hit. Radko, already slumped against the glass of the dome, felt it through to his bones.
He watched as the two udukiin dreadnaughts—both still flying, much to his relief—swooped in and began unleashing their fury on the reeling ril-galas defense fleet.
He watched the Royal Sovereign unleash a broadside.
Saw some of Outlaw Squadron outmaneuver a wing of ril-galas fighters.
Watched secondary explosions tear through what remained of the Hornet's Nest.
Slowly, unsteadily, Radko stood. Made his way to ladder that would take him down to the main command deck, Made it most of the way down, too, before stumbling on the last three rungs and falling to the deck with a thud.
El Bahari, of all people was at his side in a flash.
"What the hell is wrong with you," she said sharply, but quietly.
"That's a very long conversation," he said as she helped him up and then none-too-gently dropped him into a chair with full view of the sand table.
The sand table showing a holographic likeness of the mangled Hornet's Nest.
He looked up and el Bahari was doing something with her face. It wasn't something he'd seen before, it was...
"You're smiling."
"It happens sometimes. You're bleeding. Badly."
"That also happens sometimes."
Holy shit he was light-headed.
"Owens," he said, as clearly as he could. "Due to my injuries, I am placing Lieutenant Commander El Bahari in command of the HMCS Vimy Ridge."
"Understood, Sir," said Owens, who took a moment away from damage reports to smile and wink at Radko.
Narrowing his eye, Radko beckoned el Bahari in closer. With a frown, she did so.
"I'm going to want it back, though."
She smiled again and headed back to the sand table. Back to work.
A tablet sat beside him. He didn't know whose and he didn't care. Picking it up, Radko blinked away the fuzziness creeping into his vision long enough to stab his finger into the right sequence of commands to open a channel to Her Glorious Vengeance.
"Freyja."
"Finn," she said. He could hear the smile in her voice. "Are you okay?"
"Essentially."
"You're a bad liar."
"I'm a great liar. But Freyja," he said, breaking into a smile. "Guess what?"
"We did it. Finn... We did it."
"Yeah," said Radko, his gaze slowly settling on the glowing holographic Hornet's Nest, slowly tearing itself apart.
He raised his fist, palm upward, and slowly extended his middle finger toward it.
"Yeah, we did it."
About the author:
David Whale lives in Stoney Creek, Ontario Canada, with his spouse Mandy, his step-daughter Allie, and their dog Mundungus. He has been telling stories in various forms since he was a kid, from writing and drawing his own comic books to screenplays to novels.
When not writing, Whale enjoys reading, drawing, creating custom action figures, and trying like hell to finish the Stormtrooper costume he’s been working on intermittently for far longer than reasonable.
Website: WhaleWriter.com
Facebook: facebook.com/davidwhalewriter
Twitter: @davidwhale
Instagram: whale.david
A planet under siege.
The battle for Earth's survival begins...
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THE FINAL INSTALLMENT OF RADKO’S WAR
COMING SOON