Chapter Twenty-Four
Mabra System, Fazaal Sector, Gaashox Quadrant
Grogaan found the days following Ellarna’s departure seemed to drag, but he refused to let his concerns over her safety affect him adversely. He purposely kept busy to keep his mind off those concerns, hoping it would alleviate the problem. However, on the fourth day, the event he believed was going to change his life forever began to unfold.
He arrived for work at his normal time, which was long before most of the others usually did, and was surprised to see Zaack sitting quietly in the crew room with a glass of fruit juice in his hand, already wearing his coveralls. “What are you doing here so early?”
“I didn’t feel like hanging around at home, and besides, I felt rather strange this morning. It’s as if something important is going to happen today, and I needed to be here early.”
Grogaan would normally have been surprised at his friend’s comment, but since he accepted certain facts about himself and his future, he began expecting strange things to happen. He saw fate’s hand in Zaack’s early appearance, but said nothing to him. “I’m glad you’re here early, because I need to talk to you privately. It’s nothing bad,” he added when he saw his friend’s worried expression. “I need to apologise to you.”
“No you don’t,” said Zaack. “You’ve nothing to apologise to me about.”
“Yes I do, and I need to do so now. We don’t know what the future holds, and I need to put things right with you and with myself. You always believed I was sensitive to the astral realm and its magic.”
“Yeah, I know, but I could be wrong, probably am.” Zaack shook his head, knowing he had let his friend down on the subject too many times.
Grogaan smiled. “Well, you were right all along.”
Zaack’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re joking with me, right?”
“No I’m not. My mother confirmed it to me a few days ago. My father had the gift, his father, right back to an ancestor two hundred years ago, one who was a highly respected Guardian.”
Zaack was delighted, and was proud to have a friend adept in magic. “That’s fantastic.”
“And yes, it is the magic that enhances my abilities,” he said, knowing his friend wanted to ask, but was hesitant in doing so. “So you see I was wrong to rebuke and be unkind to you.”
“Think nothing of it. I couldn’t call myself a friend if I took offence at such small trivialities. Let it be and don’t worry about it. You’ve had enough concerns to worry about.”
Grogaan shook his head. “It’s not trivial and there’s no excuse. I guess I just didn’t want to accept the possibility of being able to do magic. Anyway, I’m glad I’ve apologised and cleared the air between us.”
“Fair enough.”
Grogaan felt more at peace with himself having apologised, and as if another weight had been taken from his shoulders, one he had not realised he was carrying. It also helped ease his loneliness because of Ellarna’s absence.
Two hours later, a fleet of six cruisers arrived in the Mabra system. The five Hendara battle cruisers formed a loose attack formation with the ‘Vindicator’ positioning itself centrally behind them at about ten thousand kilometres from the planet.
The sensor operator in Mabra Defence Control glared at the screen, eyes wide and mouth ajar, wondering if he was seeing things.
“What’s up with you Kendaal?”
“Contact the Admiral. We’ve got a major problem. An enemy fleet has just arrived in the system. ID’s indicate they’re Hendara battle cruisers from the Hebradon Imperial Fleet.”
Kendaal opened a comm channel to the Admiral’s office.
“What is it Lieutenant?”
“The Hebradon Imperial fleet has entered the system, Sir.”
Admiral Yurgat cursed. “Raise planetary defence status to level two.”
“Yes Admiral, Sir.”
Admiral Yurgat opened the comm channel to fighter control. “Group Captain Deeran, the day has arrived when we may have to put our forces to the ultimate test. Recall all pilots to duty, all squadrons are to be prepared for combat and are to be in full readiness for launching. The Hebradon Imperial fleet has arrived.” He could feel the adrenaline running through his veins already, but now the tension would build as he waited impatiently for the Commander of the fleet to make contact.
Meanwhile, at Mabraant Engineering, Kopaz squadron were busy carrying out additional upgrading work to several fighters for the MDF. Grogaan kept a remote comm unit in the buttoned chest pocket of his coveralls, which was given to him by fighter control. He was refitting a power coupling in the engine bay when he received the prompting in his mind. He stopped what he was doing, stood up and closed his eyes. The sensation was the same he had experienced before, and he knew his path in life was about to change direction.
Moments later, the remote bleeped four times in short succession, indicating a priority one message was waiting for him at the comm station. He went to the unit to retrieve the message, read it and stared at the screen for a few moments before the reality of it struck home. Grogaan was shocked, not having expected the empire to arrive for several more weeks. “So this is it, the moment we dreaded all along.”
The adrenalin began flowing, his pulse increased, but he remained surprisingly calm. He was thankful Ellarna was safe. Turning away from the console, he called to his friends. “Alright lads, the time has come for us to put our skills to the ultimate test.”
His friends glared at him, wondering if they heard correctly.
“You mean the Imperial fleet has arrived?” asked Eldaan.
Grogaan just nodded, and the others did not respond; they did not need to.
Kopaz Squadron donned their flight suits and then carried out all necessary pre-flight checks. When satisfied, they climbed into their ships, checked all systems were switched on and functioning, and the vertical thrusters on standby for a quick lift off.
Grogaan sealed his canopy and opened the inter-ship communications. “Alright, Kopaz Squadron, is everyone ready?”
“As ready as we’ll ever be,” said Zaack.
The others concurred with Zaack, and now all they could do was wait for the command to engage or stand down.
As Grogaan relaxed and tried to calm his spirit, his ability to draw on the magical power of the astral realm developed further, and he was now able to sense the emotions of his friends. He wanted to reassure them all would be well, but was unable to convince himself that it would, so remained silent.
Moments later, images of previous engagements with the Krelathan raiders came to mind. Kopaz Squadron had been victorious in every one, surviving when outnumbered more than three to one. Grogaan knew they would be facing a much larger force, and the approaching battle was going to be more intense and demanding than anything they had been up against so far. Even he knew there was little hope of outright victory.
The Krelathans admired the Pagraxan wolf for its ferocity and cunning, regarding it as the ultimate predator, and the ultimate test of a hunter’s skill was to kill one with only the standard length sabre. Grogaan knew of the wolf, its reputation, and how the Krelathans perceived it, and so he intended to fight like one, ferociously and ruthlessly without relent until the inevitable happened.
However, he did have an alternative plan.
Admiral Yurgat was led to believe he would receive a communication from the Imperial forces before any action was taken, but the communication system remained ominously silent. ‘They should have made contact by now. Should I deploy the starfighters or wait,’ he wondered. Five minutes of anxious waiting passed, and still he remained convinced the commander of the fleet would contact them. As the seconds continued to tick by, he rubbed his hands together nervously, forcing himself to wait just a little longer.
When another five minutes of silence passed, it was obvious the Imperials were not going to make contact. Yurgat decided to deploy the fleet as a precautionary measure. He opened the emergency comm channel. “All f
ighters are to deploy to their rendezvous coordinates. All weapons systems to be armed and charged.”
Squadrons of starfighters appeared all across Mabraant, everything the Defence Force could muster. The fleet numbered two hundred and twenty five starfighters, and eight battle cruisers, which were less than half the size of the Hendara cruisers, and would not last long under full bombardment, neither would the twenty smaller assault craft.
Kopaz Squadron was assigned to Flight Group Alpha, with Grogaan being given the rank of Acting Group Captain, and would be joined by Orange, Blue and Red Squadrons from the MD. It was one of nine such flight groups. When all ships reached their assigned coordinates, Admiral Yurgat gave the order to proceed on an intercept course at half throttle.
The Imperial battle cruisers looked enormous from a distance, but as the fighters closed in, the true size of the ships became apparent. “Look at the size of those ships,” said Parrin.
“They make our cruisers look so small,” said Marck. “It’ll be like Meela flies against a Sargeen Flycatcher.”
“Yes, but flycatchers can be overwhelmed and killed by Meelas,” said Hastoan.
Grogaan smiled. It was a fitting representation of the situation they were in, but could they achieve the impossible.
“Why haven’t they deployed their fighters to intercept us?” asked Doraant.
“Probably to draw us closer to their turbo lasers, and increase their chances of destroying us with fewer losses on their side,” said Eldaan.
“Cut the chatter Alpha Group,” said Grogaan. “Keep focussed, and remember what we’ve been through. Blue-One is right. Don’t let the size of those ships deceive you; they can still be destroyed, just like the flycatcher.”
As Grogaan relaxed and focussed his thoughts on the his gift and the coming battle, he felt his body becoming energised. Without intending to do so, he sensed the thoughts of his friends, especially Zaack, who believed Grogaan had something planned to give them hope, and that his life was linked to the prophecy. It made Grogaan realise just how much his friend believed in him, his gift and the prophecy. Grogaan thought about the prophecy, and for reasons beyond his comprehension, he knew this battle was only the beginning. He recalled the first sentence, which seemed to be the key to it all:
“From beyond the stars will come a warrior, one from within yet from without.”
If he was the one spoken of, Grogaan knew he would survive this fight, but there was some doubt over whether or not he was the one, and if not, how could he play a part in the unfolding of the prophecy if he died today. It was too much to consider, and so he turned his thoughts back to his friends. He focussed his thoughts on Zaack, and attempted to implant details of his plan into his mind telepathically, but failed.
The anger began bubbling up inside and he could feel his heartbeat increase. Breathing deeply, he tried to control his emotions, knowing he needed to be alert the whole time. Any distraction caused by uncontrolled emotions would be enough to cost him his life before he was able to inflict enough damage on the enemy. To compound his problem, thoughts of Joeen and Ellarna plagued his mind.
He sensed Joeen’s thoughts clearly, and tried to close his mind to them, but could not. She was not thinking about fighting; her thoughts were on him and how her feelings for him had not diminished in the slightest. He sensed her jealousy, her wish that it was him who was holding her close in the evenings, not Ellarna.
Grogaan heard her cursing her weakness, and he tried again to close his mind to hers. He felt her love for him; how she longed to be his; that he would show his true feelings toward her, but was convinced he had been holding back, depressing them in fear of damaging their friendship. How right she was, but now it was too late for them both. He loved Ellarna with every fibre of his being, and nothing could or would change that. Destiny had other plans for him, and his future was with Ellarna, this much he knew without doubt.
His thoughts turned to Ellarna and how much he was missing her company. He wondered if he would live through the coming battle and see her again. Would she return to a Mabraant under Imperial rule and discover Grogaan had been killed in action? Had anything happened to her on route to the Ladorran Quadrant? The anger within intensified because of the enforced separation, and he was powerless to suppress it.
The longer the enemy took to deploy their fighters, the more the anger grew and the more determined he became to inflict a serious wound on the Imperial fleet, and the more acute his senses became.
“Keep calm and focussed Alpha Group,” he said when he sensed his friends were becoming anxious and fearful.
As he closed his eyes and tried to calm the growing anger, a vision of Miranda appeared. She was standing beside the lake holding up her hand and admiring her ring glistening in the sunlight. It was the last image Grogaan wanted to see at this precise moment, because it triggered the memory of the day she was killed. The memory cut him to the core of his being and his restraint crumbled. The anger exploded, tearing him apart spiritually. His love for Ellarna had unwillingly been pushed aside, replaced by grief and intense rage. He still despised the Krelathans, but because he was no longer able to vent his fury upon them, he focussed it on the Imperials instead.
He began feeling and sensing the emotions of those farther afield. There was much anger, frustration, fear, and anxiety. The level of emotion he sensed was threatening to overwhelm him, so he tried to focus on his anger and channel it into physical strength.
Slowly the anger began to recede to controllable levels. As it did, his body filled with energy and power, a tingling sensation flowed down his arms to his fingertips, and he heard a faint crackling sound like electricity sparking across contacts. Despite wearing gloves, Grogaan saw a faint glow at the end of his fingers from which tiny sparks emanated. It un-nerved him, mainly because he did not understand how or why this was happening. He tried to clear his mind of negative and worrying thoughts and focus on the battle ahead, but his mind was awash with thoughts of magic, the prophecy, and his destiny.
Then the inevitable happened.
“Admiral Jeffron, we have enemy fighters on intercept course. Two hundred and twenty five starfighters of varying make, plus eight battle cruisers, Sir,” reported the officer at the sensor station.
Jeffron turned his gaze toward the Empress. “Ma’am?”
“Order the fleet to deploy fighters,” she replied.
“We’re not going to give them the opportunity to negotiate, Ma’am?”
“No Admiral, we are not. The information provided by my contacts on Mabraant confirms the Mabraantan Senate will not agree to an audience with us. Even if they did, there would be mass protests and retaliation by the people. Apparently, they have increased starfighter production in an attempt to bring their fleet to full strength, proving they were preparing for conflict. The quantity of fighters they have deployed would suggest such, don’t you think Admiral?”
Although Treyanna preferred a peaceful approach to conquest, after tasting victory over the Krelathans she desired seeing her fleet in action again. Knowing the Mabraantans would refuse an audience, there was no other way to secure victory, and believed this conflict would not damage the stability of the Empire.
Admiral Jeffron nodded and turned to face the Captain. “Deploy fighters.”
The command was relayed over the comm to all ships.
“Fighters deployed and on intercept, Admiral.”
Jeffron walked closer to the main viewport to watch the impending battle. “This should be over fairly quickly,” he mused. He admired the Mabraantan’s for their determination to remain free from Imperial rule, even though their actions were about to cost them dearly. It seemed such a waste, because the result would remain the same; Mabraant would become part of the Hebradon Empire.
Treyanna returned to her command room where her disciples were waiting patiently for her. Together, they would use their magic to enhance the fighter pilots’ abilities. The group closed their eyes and focussed on their
magic, allowing it to infuse and heighten their senses. The moment Treyanna entered her state of mediation, she was able to see the pilots and sense their thoughts, but her spiritual vision appeared hazy.
As she focussed more intently, she became aware that her abilities were restricted, as if they were being inhibited by an external force. Never having experienced this before, the Empress was intrigued and moderately concerned. Despite this, she believed their magical power remained sufficient to give the pilots a small advantage over the Mabraantans.
Kopaz Squadron led Alpha Group, taking up their standard arrowhead formation, with the other three squadrons falling into place behind them: Blue squadron to their right, Red Squadron to the left and Orange squadron above, creating a three sided pyramid formation. This allowed all twenty four ships to open fire simultaneously, which Grogaan hoped would allow them to carve a path through the mass of incoming Imperial fighters.
“Maintain formation and break only if forced to do so, otherwise wait until I give the order,” said Grogaan.
The others signalled their acknowledgement and waited for the order to open fire. Alpha Group was the first to engage, and when they opened fire, the three Imperial fighter squadrons heading toward them were obliterated. The devastation shocked not only the Imperial commanders who were monitoring the battle, but those of the MDF as well. Many of the Imperial fighters attempted to avoid the onslaught, but in doing so, collided with their comrades. Before any member of Alpha Group even considered breaking formation, they had passed through the first wave of Zilons and were fast approaching the second.
Unfortunately, Imperial fighters were coming up from behind, so Grogaan gave the order for the MDF squadrons to break formation. Kopaz Squadron, however, continued on, but increased their velocity to outpace those in pursuit. Once again, the additional firepower wreaked havoc among the enemy. Their four powerful wingtip laser cannons penetrated the minimal shielding with ease.
“It’s like swatting flies up here Kay-One. Good thing those Zilon Fighters only have minimal shielding.”
“Keep focussed Kay-Four,” replied Kay-One. “Most of them may be vulnerable, but they still outnumber us. Watch out for the interceptors, the ones with twin wings. They have heavier shielding.” Grogaan did, however, agree with Eldaan; it was like swatting flies.
When Kopaz Squadron was forced to break formation, Eldaan paired with Lusiana, Doraant with Joeen, and Antaan from Red Squadron flew wingman for Zaack while Grogaan fought alone. Few managed to evade Grogaan’s relentless pursuit and barrage of laser bolts. He selected twin firing on a cyclic principle, top wing tip, lower nose, lower wingtip, upper nose. This cycle prevented the lasers form overheating or overloading, allowing an almost continual firing sequence with devastating results. He had not even bothered taking a tally of his kills.
Four of Mabraant’s cruisers were now entering the fray, bringing a little hope to the conflict. One of the Hendara battle cruisers broke defensive position and headed toward the oncoming cruisers. Grogaan saw this and decided it was time to hit the enemy hard and where it hurt the most. “Kopaz Squadron, radio code alpha two.” He selected the radio code and waited a few seconds. “Form up friends, we’re going to teach these Imperials a lesson they won’t forget. You too, Red-Six”
“Roger Kay-one, we’re on our way,” they replied. Antaan was surprised when Grogaan included him, and did not hesitate in acknowledging it.
Kopaz Squadron formed up leaving the others to manage the best they could. “Kay-Four and Five pair off. Kay-Three and Six pair off. Kay-Two and Red-Six, you’re with me.”
The fighters headed toward the Hendara battle cruiser at full throttle, Grogaan at the lead with Zaack and Red Six on his wing. Fortunately, most of the Zilon fighters nearby were engaged with Orange, Blue and Red squadrons, so Kopaz squadron managed to make some distance between them and the enemy before their disappearance was noticed by too many. Those few who tried to engage head on were blasted into space dust.
“Kay-Three and Six target the shield generators with torpedoes; Kay-Four and Five follow up with torpedoes and target the main engines. Kay-Two, Red-Six, we’ll keep the enemy fighters busy.”
When several Zilon fighters appeared from the port side intending to engage Kay-Three and Six, Grogaan, Zaack and Antaan broke formation to engage them head on. Grogaan’s senses gave him an overwhelming advantage, so he flew solo while Antaan supported Zaack as his wingman.
Grogaan allowed his anger to rise, but only as far as he was able to keep control of it instead of it controlling him. He was relishing the challenge this battle was providing, and he released every ounce of anger, frustration and fury with each shot he took, making every enemy pilot he targeted take the punishment for the death of his family and friends.
Meanwhile, Doraant and Lusiana maintained their heading, waiting anxiously for the targeting computer to lock onto the shield generators. As soon as the lock tone sounded, they fired two proton torpedoes each, the second being fired two seconds after the first. If the first hit shielding, it would weaken it sufficiently for the second to do the damage, but it was unnecessary. Within moments, both primary shield generators exploded.
As Kay-Three and Six rolled and banked out of the way to avoid the turbo lasers, Kay-Four and Five fired their salvo of torpedoes at the main engines. There was another enormous explosion as the four torpedoes hit their targets. This caused a chain reaction which destroyed the remaining engines, and began spreading along the entire length of the ship.
When Grogaan’s readout indicated the cruiser’s shields had failed, he slammed the throttle forward and flew high above Eldaan and Joeen, rolled a hundred and eighty degrees and targeted the bridge from above, firing off two proton torpedoes two seconds apart. The first ripped through the structure destroying almost half of the bridge, the second finished the job.
“That’s it, one Hendara battle cruiser for the breaker’s yard,” said Grogaan.
Howls of delight erupted over the inter-ship comm system.
With the main bridge and all engines destroyed, the cruiser drifted out of control, its forward velocity carrying it on a course heading directly for Mabraant. The ship was being ripped apart from the inside as power and computer systems exploded. The planet’s gravity did the rest. Zilon fighters, shuttles, and escape pods were fleeing the ship dying ship. Some pilots were fortunate to survive, others were not. The resulting explosions provided a spectacular display, which was visible to the citizens watching from the planet.
Kopaz Squadron engaged the fighters fleeing the dying cruiser and wreaked havoc. While pursuing a fleeing Zilon, Grogaan noticed a concentration of Imperial fighters engaged in combat with Grey and Green squadrons of the MDF. Breaking his pursuit, he altered course and flew directly into the group with all eight lasers firing continuously, destroying ship after ship with relentless efficiency. His anger had been under reasonable control up to this point, but seeing another Imperial fighter was being deployed for every one destroyed caused that anger to swell.
The Mabraantan fighters were being destroyed rapidly despite the advantage in firepower and shielding. The latest MCIs built and modified were proving their worth, wreaking havoc among the enemy. Grogaan’s control of his anger was diminishing, but his senses were growing stronger. It was as if the anger was enhancing his ability.
He focussed more intensely and found his actions were being partially controlled by the magic he now knew he possessed, giving him excellent response and reaction ability. The restriction the Hefrask sisters were experiencing did not appear to have the same effect on Grogaan, which was proved by his rapidly climbing kill rate.
The effect of magic was beginning to overwhelm his senses, and for a few moments his thoughts started to become misty and confused. Shaking his head vigorously, Grogaan focussed as hard as he was able, and as rapidly as the mist rolled in it disappeared leaving his mind crystal clear.
The image of the battle he was engaged in changed as he began se
eing it from a different dimension. Each enemy starfighter seemed to slow down making it easier to target, which Grogaan destroyed in rapid succession. He also became oblivious to the other Mabraantan pilots around. No enemy ship remained on his tail long enough to fire a shot that made any impact. Most of the Mabraantan ships that had been destroyed were the TS5s and older MCFs, but there were still over a hundred fighters left.
Grogaan noticed dozens more enemy starfighters entering the fray, thus tipping the balance back in favour of the Empire. Squadron after squadron of Imperial fighters was being deployed, and then destroyed one after another without relent. It appeared to Grogaan that the Imperial commanders thought of them as an expendable asset with little value, which caused a profound reaction in him that took him to the edge of his emotional limits.
The fighter Grogaan was targeting flew toward the Hendara Ultimar cruiser, and as he followed, he sensed a strange pulling sensation at the back of his mind. He focussed on it, and sensed the presence of another person who was using magic, one whom appeared to be much stronger in magic than he himself was. It also felt as if the person was beckoning him to yield to the other’s control, so he turned his thoughts back to the task in hand: Destroying enemy fighters.
The Mabraantan fleet continued to lose fighters at a steady rate, but Kopaz squadron’s excellent performance, along with that of the other modified MCIs was beginning to even the odds yet again. Each time this happened, the Imperials would deploy even more fighters making the odds more favourable for them.
Keeping in their pairs, Kopaz Squadrons’ eight lasers ripped through the enemy ships as if they were made of paper. Taking a freshly deployed squadron of twelve Zilons head on, they usually destroyed four before the enemy was close enough to engage effectively with their lower powered twin lasers, much to the angst of their commanders.
Grogaan knew their good fortune could not last much longer with the number of MDF starfighters diminishing with ever increasing rapidity. Within moments of his thoughts, the commanders of the enemy fleet had realised the Mabraantan fighters were more skilled than expected, and many of their ships appeared impervious to the Zilon’s lasers. It was also clear they were losing far too many of their own starfighters, much more than they had anticipated.
Over the next five minutes, Kopaz squadron destroyed a vast number of Imperial fighters, but it never appeared to make much of a difference. They would appear from nowhere and take out the enemy tailing a defender, then veer off to find another. With so many enemy ships in the battle, it was easy to pick one, fire off eight laser bolts without having to fire again, and then select another.
In another bold move, Grogaan called Kopaz Squadron to form up and target another battle cruiser, hoping to reduce the number of enemy fighters available. It was hard to break free with so many of them, but gradually they succeeded. This time, four of the squadron had to fend off the enemy while two targeted the ship. It was a close call, but Joeen and Lusiana managed to destroy the shield generators, but did take some minor damage in the process.
Immediately after the shield generators exploded, another squadron of Zilons appeared to defend the rear of the cruiser, giving Kopaz Squadron another real test of their capabilities. Several MDF fighters from Grey and Green squadrons flew to Kopaz Squadron’s support, a small token of thanks for Grogaan having helped them when in difficulty.
Eldaan and Doraant managed to break off and target the engines successfully, but this time it was harder again. Only one was able to lock target and fire at a time, while the other defended. It was worth the risk because another cruiser was heading for the planet’s atmosphere and destruction.
Grogaan flew as hard and as fast as he dared, avoiding fighter and cruiser lasers, hoping to get a shot at the bridge. The Imperials concentrated their forward firepower but he flew so close to the ship’s structure, the turbo lasers were unable to fire low enough. At the last moment, Grogaan fired two torpedoes and only just managed to pull up, flying through the explosion that emanated from the destroyed bridge. For a few moments, his ship vanished from all sensor readouts, but reappeared as he shot from the flames and electronic disturbance.
Grogaan rejoined the battle and continued destroying enemy fighters with relentless efficiency. Several minutes later, a sense of intense anger and fury hit him hard, making him miss a target for the first time. When he regained his composure and allowed his senses to stabilise, he knew instantly where the emotion had emanated: The Empress of the Hebradon Empire. He shuddered as his enhanced sensory ability allowed him to feel her growing anger toward the Mabraantan forces, and knew what she intended to do next.
The four remaining cruisers powered up their engines, repositioned so they were pointing toward the planet, and opened fire with their primary turbo lasers, destroying starfighters from both sides in the process. Minutes later, several squadrons of Zilon bombers headed toward the planet.
Grogaan knew continuing the fight was a futile gesture, and decided it would be better to live to fight another day. Even his unique ability was insufficient to prevail against the odds they were now facing. He estimated it to be in excess of eight to one, and would only increase. As he watched the bombardment for a moment, he was only too pleased Ellarna was no longer on the planet, but he feared for his mother and Ellarna’s family.
Checking his sensor readout, he saw there was now only a mere eighteen MDF starfighters left, and was unable to guess the number of the enemy destroyed. “Kopaz Squadron, we can’t do any more here. It’s time to withdraw so we can return another day to take up the fight. All fighters of Mabraant select secure channel alpha-two-five-zero.” Grogaan transmitted a set of co-ordinates that would enable them to escape the system.
The remaining fighters acknowledged receipt.
“Break off and head for the rendezvous immediately.”
One by one all remaining fighters broke off their engagements and set course for the designated coordinates. Grogaan was still targeting Zilon Fighters relentlessly, trying to give his friends a little help to break away. When the last MDF fighter accelerated, he slammed the throttle forward, kept his trigger depressed and the moment he was clear, stopped firing and accelerated to lightspeed.
As the tension began to ease, the overwhelming effect of the magic lessened, allowing him to think more effectively on things other than combat. During the escape flight, Grogaan thought about the battle. He knew something was not right about it, and as he relaxed his mind, enlightenment struck. The enemy fighter pilots’ abilities had been enhanced by magic, and knowing the Hefrask sisters were Megrein sorcerers, believed it must have been them who were responsible, not that it had helped them much, especially against Kopaz Squadron.
The remaining starfighters decelerated to sub-lightspeed just outside the Mabra system. He was relieved to see all of Kopaz Squadron had made it safely.
“What the hell are we doing in the middle of nowhere Grogaan? There’s nothing here,” said Parrin, his voice filled with disdain.
“That was the first of three short flights. I sent only one set of coordinates as a precaution in case anyone else picked up the transmission, and you can guarantee one of those Hendara cruisers did. This way, they will only be able to track us to this point.”
“Good idea, Grogaan. So how many of us made it?” asked Doraant as he looked around, and felt distraught as only ten ships registered on the sensor screen. “Ten! Is that all?”
“That’s all I’m afraid. Ten out of over two hundred. I’ll transmit the next set of co-ordinates and then we had better be on our way.” Moments later the ten remaining fighters accelerated to lightspeed for a journey that took a couple of hours. After the third journey of about an hour and a half, the group decelerated to sub-lightspeed in the Breolis System.
“Where are we now Grogaan?” asked Eldaan.
“That is Breolis Seven, a small planet orbiting the smaller of two stars in this system.”
“I never knew there were two stars in the Breoli
s System,” said Parrin.
“You’d be surprised how many people outside the system don’t know about it either, and that’s the beauty of it. It’s far enough away from the standard shipping lines to keep it relatively free from prying sensors. There is one distinct drawback, it’s orbit it close enough to the sun to create desert like conditions over eighty per cent of its surface, and believe me it can get very hot, especially in the summer season.”
“Great, just what we need, and I bet it’s the height of summer there now as well.”
“Stop complaining Parrin,” said Doraant. “So Grogaan, where will be staying and for how long?”
“All will be revealed in due course, but there is an air conditioning system that functions exceptionally well,” said Grogaan.
“That’s the only good news I’ve heard all day,” said Parrin.
The other three MDF pilots remained silent, grateful to be alive, as were the five pilots of Kopaz Squadron. Despite this, all were feeling guilty that they survived when so many had died, but they also knew Grogaan was right. Remaining alive would give them a chance to fight back one day.
All knew the simple fact: Had they remained in the battle they would have died too, and it would have achieved nothing more than a few more destroyed enemy ships. To continue the fight once the Imperial cruisers commenced the bombardment of their planet was futile.
There was no hope of victory.
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Books By W. H. Cann
The Guardians Series
Book 1: Path to Vengeance
Book 2: Sorcerer’s Duel
Book 3: A Guardian Reborn
Book 4: Storm Conjurer
Book 5: Grand Master
Other Fiction
Island of Heartache
Lady Arabella
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