Three Square Meals Ch. 078

The Raptor's salvo of Photon Laser pulses blew out the last of the cruiser's shields, allowing her well-aimed shots to cut into the exposed underbelly of the Drakkar craft. Two of the remaining pulsed beams hit the unscathed black hull, the overloaded capacitors exploding as they absorbed too much energy. The last two of her six pulses struck directly on-target, aimed at the battle damage the cruiser had sustained in the minefield. The shots picked at a very angry wound, slashing through the unarmoured superstructure before burning deeply through the Drakkar ship.

The Nymph had savaged one of the cruisers with her opening shots, the Drakkar totally unprepared for the staggering amount of firepower the Raptor could bring to bear. Unfortunately, they had reacted quickly and the remaining vessels in the fleet had opened fire with everything at their disposal. She could safely ignore the purple beams and point-defence lasers, but the battleship was equipped with a battery of Heavy Cannons and burgeoning missile racks, which she had to be far more wary about. The Drakkar in the battleship had wasted no time in launching those deadly weapons her way.

A red warning light blazed on her console, accompanied by a siren that sounded irritatingly loud in the tight confines of the cockpit. The Nymph flipped a switch for her Pulse Cannons, activating the automated targeting computer, which let her concentrate on evading incoming fire. The upper spinal turret and the two on the gunship's flanks immediately spun on the spot, facing towards the rear of the Raptor. They blazed away, sending streams of Pulse Cannon fire at the pursuing missiles, the rapid spray of blue laser bolts zipping around the dark red heat-seeking warheads.

Jade looped the Raptor around the burning wreckage of the first Drakkar cruiser, pulling the flightstick back hard as she executed her turn at high speed. The g-force would have killed an ordinary pilot in an ordinary ship, but between the gunship's inertia-dampening device and the Nymph's resilient body, she barely felt a thing. She spotted a wing of Ashanath fighters ahead of her, the three strike craft having just finished their strafing run on the third black-hulled cruiser. If she continued on her present course, she would be leading the heat-seeking missiles straight towards them and she couldn't take that risk. Rolling her gunship to the right, she pushed its nose down, abruptly changing heading away from the silver fighters.

The Raptor's targeting computer did an admirable job of tracking the missiles, especially considering the unpredictable manoeuvres that the Nymph was executing to avoid getting hit by cannon fire. One missile after another exploded in a fiery-red blossom as their warheads were ignited by Pulse Cannon bursts, but there were dozens in that swarm and the computer couldn't hit them all.

Jade flinched as a thunderous explosion rocked the Raptor, the missile narrowly avoiding one of her engines, but hitting the upper spinal turret instead. The Pulse Cannon was blown apart in the detonation but remarkably, the armour held strong, its sparkling white sheen now ruined by an ugly black crater where the turret had once been.

"Fuck!" she swore under her breath, in an uncharacteristic outburst of anger. Jade could just imagine John's worried face when he saw the damage to the gunship, then his look of guilt for exposing her to danger. The last thing she wanted was to have him upset with her, or even worse, chastising himself!

*If it's getting too dangerous, pull back,* Alyssa said in warning, her telepathic voice tinged with concern.

The Nymph frowned and shook her head, knowing her blonde Matriarch would be able to see the gesture on her holographic image. *I'm fine,* she replied brusquely, too busy to answer in any detail.

A barrage of heavy shells exploded around the Raptor, none of them close enough to cause any damage, but still pattering the hull with tiny fragments of shrapnel. Remembering that it would take at least ten seconds until the next fusillade, she pushed the gunship's engines to maximum, then switched to manual turret control. There were still half-a-dozen missiles on her tail, but Jade was a much better shot than the computer, especially when the heat-seeking projectiles were travelling straight towards her. With its line of sight now clear after the upper turret's destruction, the lower spinal turret was able to join the flanking weapons in sending a stream of Pulse Cannon bursts at the missiles harrying her. It only took a few seconds to take each of them out and she sighed with relief as she focused on her flying again.

Travelling in a straight line like that had made her a much easier target for the Drakkar gunners and the gunship was struck by several purple Beam Lasers. She smiled as she imagined the incredulous looks on the hammer-headed aliens' faces as the Raptor remained unscathed, but there was a downside - the Drakkar now knew that she was immune to laser fire. It took them a little while to adjust to that revelation, but they switched targets after ten seconds, opening up on the Ashanath fighters which they'd previously left entirely unmolested.

Now that she had a moment's breathing space, Jade replied to Alyssa, *I'm okay now, that was the last of the missiles. I'll make sure I don't go anywhere near the battleship's front firing arc.*

*Alright, but you take care now!* Alyssa urged her in return.

Jade's Photon Lasers had recharged, so she swooped towards the next closest cruiser, interposing its considerable bulk between herself and the battleship. Completely shielded from Heavy Cannon fire, she slowed the gunship down until she was brazenly parked off the cruiser's port flank, facing the brutal furrows the mines had ripped through its armour. The Drakkar captain responded to her impudence by trying to use his retro-thrusters to move out of the battleship's line of sight, but the Raptor with Jade as the pilot was far too nimble.

She shot out the cruiser's shields with her Photon Lasers, then opened up with her five remaining Pulse Cannon turrets, chewing through the remnants of the armour and then burrowing deeper into the vessel. Incendiary blue laser bolts triggered fires and minor explosions as she cored through the helpless Drakkar ship, the Raptor shrugging off the beam laser fire that reflected harmlessly off her hull. Finally, the Pulse Cannon bolts tunnelled through to the Bridge, ripping it apart in a blazing instant.

Inside the doomed vessel, alarms and sirens wailed as the emergency crews rushed to put out the raging fires. The comforting throb of engines suddenly died out and the cruiser's guns went silent, leaving the Drakkar crew staring at each other in fear. Multiple bulkheads began to slam closed, self-sealing to isolate damaged compartments from the inferno. The lights cut out a moment later as the ship lost power, the only illumination left was from the flickering flames. Without anyone on the Bridge to restore power and override those doors, the Drakkar were trapped, their fire-fighting equipment as lifeless as the ship. They could only watch in terror as the hungry flames licked towards them.

Jade nodded to herself in satisfaction, powered up her engines and rolled the Raptor away from the burning derelict, getting ready to do the same to the next cruiser in the formation. She knew that once every one of these escort vessels was destroyed, the Drakkar battleship would be even more exposed to a torpedo run from the incoming Ashanath bombers.

***

"Yeah! Eat that, you ugly fuckers!" Dana cheered, firing one Photon Laser after another at the swarm of incoming Drakkar dropships.

She had flipped the quad-mounted weapons to cycle individually now, rather than firing in pairs, which meant she could fire in one long stream of pulsed beams. Liberally hosing down the charging strike craft made hits much more likely, allowing Dana to correct her aim by shifting the blue beam onto her target. Although the bulky dropships were all shielded and armoured with black Onyxium alloy plating, her beams were quickly overwhelming the absorption capabilities of their capacitors with raw power. Another Drakkar ship exploded in a satisfyingly colourful detonation, making that her eighth kill in under a minute.

The dropships weren't heavily armed, with most sporting nothing more threatening than a pair of laser cannons, which they still fired gamely in her direction. Dana didn't bother to dodge, focusing instead on thinning out the swarm, but the sheer weight of fire eventually caught up with her. A red warning light blinked on her console as a chime echoed around the cockpit, alerting her to the fact that the Valkyrie's shields had been worn down and finally overwhelmed.

There were still another ten dropships barrelling towards the Ashanath's marooned Progenitor vessel and with the rate they were closing, she knew she had to hold her ground if she was going to stop them all. She ignored the Laser Cannon fire striking the hull, and sprayed a group of three dropships with Photon Lasers pulses, stripping them of shields. They were at medium range now, making them much easier to hit and Dana grinned as she pointed the massive Punisher Gatling their way.

While she continued firing her quad laser guns at the next set of dropships, the Gatling Cannon spun up and began spitting hyper-accelerated slugs into the Drakkar. The rounds were absolutely devastating as they smashed into the dropships, each hit skewering straight through their armoured hull. A single hit was all it took to gut each of the strike craft, depressurising the hull with the five-metre-wide holes she blasted through each one. Dana knew that with every writhing Drakkar sucked out into the void, more Ashanath would live this day, kept safe from the ravenous monsters.

She twisted the mech to face the next group, a wild grin on her face, but another warning chime drew her attention to the console again. Incoming missiles!

"Ah fuck!" Dana cursed, spotting the tell-tale plumes from the plasma thrusters as the cluster of missiles raced towards her. She swung the Photon Laser crosshairs over the incoming missiles, but they were too small to properly track, her pulses of laser fire sailing past harmlessly. Her eyes widening in panic as she swore, "Shit! I knew I should have added Pulse Cannons!"

*Get out of there!* Alyssa blurted out in alarm. *Use the Progenitor ship as cover!*

Dana began to backpedal the mech, stumbling backwards in her haste to escape the deadly warheads racing her way. In her panicked state, the controls suddenly felt clumsy and awkward, now that she needed the Valkyrie to dance away like a gymnast. Controlling the thirty-metre-tall mech wasn't made any easier by the relentless hail of Laser Cannon bolts that blasted into her, leaving glowing craters in the glossy-white armour and further upsetting her balance. Tripping over, the mech crashed into the Progenitor ship's hull, jarring her in the Pilot's seat as the Valkyrie bounced off the silver surface, its limbs flailing wildly.

"Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" Dana snarled, wrestling with the controls and using the retro-thrusters to try and counter the anti-clockwise spin.

She just about managed to right herself, leaving the mech staring face-to-face with the swarm of missiles as they raced towards her. Acting more on instinct than through any conscious thought, Dana stabbed her finger down on the right trigger, unloading with the Punisher Gatling held in the Valkyrie's right fist. The rotary cannon spun in a whirlwind as the railgun barrels fired a storm of slugs into space, leaving faint trails behind them as they soared out towards their target. There was an explosion as the first missile was hit and she kept her finger clenched on the trigger as she picked off one after the other, quickly burning through her stores of ammo. She clipped the last missile with seconds to spare, the resulting detonation close enough to knock the mech sprawling with the blastwave.

Dana fought with the controls again for several seconds, before managing to get the Valkyrie under control and she couldn't help laughing with relief when she stopped it tumbling away. Her laughter was quickly replaced by anger as she turned the mech, eager to get her revenge on the big dropship that had launched that volley of missiles. She aimed her quad guns at the vicious looking craft that was surging towards her, taking careful aim as she prepared to blast it into millions of pieces with all four Photon Lasers and the last fifty rounds in the Punisher Gatling.

That was when something crashed into the mech with a bone-shaking impact, knocking her out cold.

***

"DANA!" Alyssa screamed in fear, whirling around to stare at John in shock. "She's hurt bad!"

Faye instantly projected one of her avatars over the Invictus' connection to the Valkyrie and appeared a split-second later in the mech's cockpit. She gasped in fright, her digital heart filled with torment when she saw what had happened to her friend. A huge docking claw had penetrated the armour plating then pierced deeper, smashing over the Pilot's chair and tearing a deep, ragged wound through Dana's leg. The teenager looked very pale, with blood pouring from a nasty gash in her head, smearing the left side of her face in crimson.

"She's bleeding to death!" Faye blurted out in the Invictus' Combat Bridge.

Sharp inhalations of breath could be heard around the Bridge, with Rachel letting out a cry of anguish.

John clamped down on his rising surge of panic and closed his eyes, checking to see Dana's status. He focused on his mental compartment for the exuberant redhead and could tell at a glance that she was in big trouble. Dana was unconscious, with broken ribs, a broken leg, and worst of all, internal bleeding and a fractured skull. Without bothering to waste time asking for permission, he sucked power from Alyssa to heal their friend, pouring his full psychic might into rapidly healing Dana's wounds.

The blonde gasped at the sharp draw of Eldritch power, but John saw only understanding in her eyes when he finally met her penetrating gaze.

Turning to look at Jade's frightened holographic face, he said urgently, "I've healed her wounds, but Dana's still in trouble! Can you get to her?"

The Nymph nodded immediately, replying, "Heading there right now!"

"Thank God we set up the active connection!" Alyssa exclaimed, her face tense with worry.

"No, thank you," he corrected her, remembering full well that she'd insisted on that precaution. He eased back in his Command Chair, resting a moment after expending a massive burst of his own psychic power reserves to save Dana's life.

"Those Drakkar dropships are closing on the Ashanath's Progenitor vessel!" Tashana warned them, staring intently at the Tactical Map.

Alyssa twisted the flightstick to one side, then pulled back sharply, bringing the Invictus around to face the Legacy. "We're on our way!" she announced, eyes narrowed in anger.

***

Vekrok guffawed with laughter as he watched one of his dropships slam into the mech, docking claws tearing into it as they locked into place. He'd never admit it, but for a moment he was actually starting to get worried when that mech survived the missiles and turned its guns towards the Breaker.

"Yeah, you're fucked now, podhumper!" he cackled, watching as the dropship barrelled away with the mech, leaving a shower of white debris in its wake. Turning towards Nezug, he added in a snarl, "Alright, enough fucking around. Bust a way into that ship!"

The pilot nodded eagerly, his jaw snapping with excitement. Twisting the flightstick in his hand, the Breaker changed course, now pointing directly towards the huge silver Ashanath vessel. The rest of the surviving dropships were fanning out, searching for good locations to plant breaching charges, but Vekrok's personal boarding craft didn't need to waste time with that.

The black-hulled siege ship rammed into the side of the Legacy with a mighty crunch, nearly knocking Vekrok from his feet. A dozen sharp claws sheared through the hull as they locked into place, the Drakkar ship looking like a huge bloated tick ready to feast on its host. There was a double-sized airlock door built into the front of the Breaker, which was surrounded by three bladed circles that began to rotate with an alarming grinding noise. As the high-pitched whine reached a crescendo, Vekrok leaned forward and pressed a button on the console, activating the forward rams that shoved the cutting discs into the silver hull. There was a hideous grinding screech as the blades cut through the armour plating, boring out a broad five-metre-wide hole in the side of the Ashanath vessel.

He thumped his massive fist down on the console, activating the comm interface hooked up to the rest of the Drakkar in boarding ships. "Have fun you vicious bastards!" he grunted, an evil smile on his face as he addressed hundreds of Drakkar marines. Vekrok's bulging eyes narrowed, his voice dropping a few octaves as he added menacingly, "But if you fuckers see any Greys in white dresses, you take them prisoner! If I catch anyone eating the bosses, you'll end up on my toothpick!"

Slavering with anticipation at the feast to come, Vekrok surged out of the cockpit and down the broad ramp to the boarding dock below. Drawing his twin swords and twin maces, Vekrok activated all four weapons, causing them to crackle with energy as they hummed to life. Towering over his armoured shock troops, he raised the weapons over his head and roared, "THE GREYS HAVE INVITED US TO DINNER! LET'S GET EATING!"

As the airlock doors swung open into the Legacy, the ravenous howls from the Drakkar reverberated down the corridors, leaving the Ashanath crew quaking in terror.

***

Dana's eyes fluttered open and she groaned at the tingling ache she felt in her chest, her right leg, and the numbing headache that left her dazed. Trying to get her bearings, she was aware that the mech was vibrating alarmingly, but even more disturbing was the fact that she was tilted at a precarious angle, her head resting against the left wall of the cockpit. The Pilot's chair seemed to be wrenched to one side, making her current position extremely uncomfortable. She twisted to try and find out what had happened, then stiffened in shock when she spotted the massive black claw that had sheared through the cockpit and had cleaved into the Pilot's chair, knocking it askance.

*Sparks! Are you alright?!* Alyssa thought to her, sounding deeply distressed.

Grunting with the strain of shifting in her seat, Dana glanced down at her numbed right leg and gaped at the savage rent torn in her armour. There was blood all over her Paragon suit, but the skin below looked healthy and undamaged.

*Yeah, I'm alright...* she replied, looking around owlishly. *I'm guessing John just patched me up?*

Alyssa's relieved laughter filled her mind as she explained, *You were dying, Sparks. He saved you!*

Dana froze as she stared out of the cockpit window, seeing the red world of Ashana looming large in front of her and filling up most of her view. A quick glance at her console confirmed it - they were racing straight towards the planet.

"I think I'm still in trouble," she muttered under her breath, pupils widening in alarm.

***

As the Raptor roared back to rescue the Valkyrie, Jade watched the Tactical Map in satisfaction as the Ashanath bombers finished their attack run on the Drakkar battleship. With the aid of the fighters weakening the cruiser's shields, she'd mauled the four escorting ships, finishing each one off with her Photon Lasers and Pulse Cannons. Stripped of its escort, the battleship was left in a horribly vulnerable position, which the vengeful Ashanath wasted no time in exploiting.