The Phoenix Reckoning (The Phoenix Conspiracy Series Book 6) (12 page)

If Nimoux had command of Special Forces garrisons instead, he would be certain his men could hold the cargo bay enemy long enough to await reinforcements. But unarmored and potentially untested Rosco soldiers? That changed the game. Nimoux did take some comfort in knowing the four soldiers he had brought with him were among the small team trying to hold against the enemy in the cargo bay. If they remembered the training Pellew and Nimoux had given them, they could help the Rosco lieutenants coordinate the defense there in the most optimal way. If they didn’t remember, then they would be no more use than the Rosco soldiers themselves, simply better equipped for battle.

“Alpha One, you may retreat as far as corridor Charlie Five if you must, but once you get there, it is imperative you stand your ground. If the enemy takes that hub, the station will be lost.”

“Understood, sir,” came the reply over the radio.

Nimoux felt his right hand instinctively curl around the sidearm holstered at his waist.
I should be commanding from the front
, he thought. But on Calvin and the doctor’s insistence, he remained away from the action. And, if his teams did their jobs properly, things should stay that way. However, if Alpha One’s forces collapsed too soon, then the command center itself would be vulnerable.

Nimoux looked around at the metal cage he was inside, and the steel door, and thought to himself,
if they get as far as here, then I’m a goner. There is no way to defend this deathtrap
.

***

First Lieutenant Ferreiro held his ground. He was on one knee and, from that position, behind the small amount of cover available, he carefully squeezed the trigger, firing in short bursts, aiming for the enemy’s heads. One went down. Then another. Then another. His clip ran dry. He dropped the magazine and slapped in another, still holding his position.

Despite his efforts, and those of his allies, the enemy was pressuring them hard. There were hundreds of Khan soldiers swarming the cargo bay, trying to take the corridor. Ferreiro was determined not to let them. But, no matter how many enemies he dropped, it seemed like two more appeared for each man that fell.

“Fall back,” commanded Alpha Two, the Rosco lieutenant in charge of their forces. “Everybody fall back to position two. They’ve got us here.”

Ferreiro did as he was told, even though he believed the retreat to be premature.
We could have held them there a few minutes longer
, thought Ferreiro, knowing how vital it was that they delay the enemy until reinforcements could arrive. However, he wasn’t about to hold the corridor alone, so he fell back with the others, taking up the best position he could find at the second chokepoint, knowing that the enemy had a foothold in the corridors now. The positioning still favored Ferreiro and his allies, despite being greatly outnumbered, but they only had so many positions they could fall back to.

“Here they come again!” someone shouted. Ferreiro raised his carbine and took aim again, lining up the iron sights with an enemy’s center of mass and then squeezing the trigger.
Short bursts
, he reminded himself.
Short bursts
.

Something was thrown their way; at first Ferreiro thought it was a grenade. He moved to kick it back down the corridor away from them, but just as he reached it, he realized what it was. “Flashbang!” he yelled as he kicked it. The instant his foot touched it, it went off, blinding him and deafening him with a shrill ringing sound.

Unsure of his position, and that of the enemy, he instinctively dropped to the ground, going entirely prone. He crawled toward where he thought cover was, waiting for his vision to clear and for the terrible ringing to go away.

***

“Three more missiles coming our way,” said Miles, in deep concentration as he worked the
Nighthawk’s
guns.

“Prioritize defensive fire,” said Calvin, not wanting to take any chances.

The beam weapon fired and a tiny explosion could be seen out the window. “There goes one,” said Miles. “Two.
Annnnd
three.”

“Now hit them with everything we’ve got!” said Calvin.

The
Nighthawk’s
shields had taken a pounding from the cruiser’s beam weapons; currently they were down to twenty-five percent strength, but the
Nighthawk’s
guns and missiles had ripped through the cruiser’s armor like it was made out of paper. Calvin imagined the chaos on the enemy ship; they’d taken critical damage, most of their systems must have gone offline.

Miles fired their weapons and this time, the fourth barrage targeting the enemy’s command ship proved to be the last. Finally, the enemy starship buckled and came apart, its hull splitting into thousands of pieces. Most of the ship exploded in a split-second flash.

“Cruiser destroyed,” announced Miles proudly.

By now the enemy squadron had taken notice of the
Nighthawk
. The frigates had moved in to help support the cruiser, and they remained a threat to the
Nighthawk
, but that maneuver only allowed the remaining Rosco ships to eliminate the rest of the enemy forces, which depended on the capital ships to hold their positions. Without them, they began routing in every direction, some even trying to jump to alteredspace. The Rosco squadron, what remained of it, continued to fight in formation—with near military discipline, and, because of that, they were able to make short work of the enemy squadron’s smaller ships, leaving only the two frigates.

“We’re taking a beating from the lead frigate,” said Shen. “Shields are completely offline and our starboard armor has been compromised.”

“Sarah, swing us around, show them our portside,” said Calvin. “Miles, deal with that frigate.”

“Trying to,” said Miles, “most of our guns are overheated and our ammunition supplies are low. I’m using the beam weapon to deal with incoming missiles.”

“Then hit them with
our
missiles,” said Calvin, as he stared at the 3D display and watched the frigates maneuver, trying to take the
Nighthawk
from multiple sides.

“We don’t have any more missiles,” said Miles, frustration straining his voice. “Five incoming missiles…I’ll have to divert our guns to deal with them.”

“The surviving Rosco ships are moving against the frigates,” said Shen. “They’ll be in firing range in thirty seconds.”

“It’s about damn time,” said Calvin, eager for some tactical support. Taking that cruiser head-on, especially when it had frigates to support it, had been ill-advised, and yet the
Nighthawk
and its crew managed to eliminate the cruiser. It was no secret that the
Nighthawk
packed a walloping punch. Unfortunately, the stealth warship had not been designed to take much abuse, and could potentially be destroyed by as few as two missile detonations within its shield radius. Already, they’d sustained one. And if the frigates continued hitting their starboard side, something the enemy frigates were maneuvering to do, the
Nighthawk
would be destroyed.

“The frigates continue to maneuver around us,” said Shen. “They’re focusing in on our starboard side.”

“Sarah, back off if you have to, but whatever you do, keep them facing our portside or stern, we need armor against those guns.”

“I’m doing the best I can,” said Sarah, “one frigate would be easy to out-maneuver, but two…two is much harder.”

“Good thing we have the best pilot in the galaxy, then, isn’t it,” said Calvin.

Sarah didn’t reply. She seemed too focused on her controls as she did everything possible to keep enemy fire away from their weak spots. As a pilot himself, Calvin could appreciate the skill with which Sarah maneuvered their ship.

“The Rosco squadron is engaging the second frigate. They’ve opened fire,” said Shen.

“Hopefully, that gives it something else to focus on,” said Calvin.

“Negative,” said Shen, “both frigates are still targeting us. I detect more missiles inbound.”

“So do I,” said Miles, “Damn guns, stop overheating!”

“Concentrate all our fire on defense only,” said Calvin. “Let the Rosco squadron destroy the frigates. Right now our concern is to stay alive.”

“A wise choice,” said Summers.

“Sarah, put some distance between us and those frigates,” said Calvin. “We’re faster than them, let’s get out of their missile range.”

“You got it, Calvin,” said Sarah, rapidly accelerating the
Nighthawk
. Of course, without the
Nighthawk
, there was no way the remaining Rosco ships could take on both frigates, so Calvin knew they’d have to return to the fight, but he insisted on doing so on his terms…not the enemy’s.

“As soon as we’re clear, drop any shields we’ve recovered and engage the stealth system,” ordered Calvin.

“What are you, nuts?” asked Miles. “Without us, those Roscos are dead in the water.”

“I understand that,” said Calvin, “just do it.”

“Okay, we’re clear,” said Miles. “Engaging stealth.”

The
Nighthawk
yawed starboard and continued its swift movement; the frigates stopped their pursuit, obviously unable to detect the
Nighthawk’s
position anymore. Deprived of their choice target, they focused all their fire on the Rosco squadron.

“Those frigates are going to make short work of them,” said Miles.

“What’s the status of our weapons?” asked Calvin.

“The guns are back online; we have limited ammunition, but enough to keep fighting, and the beam weapon is fully powered,” said Miles.

“Good,” said Calvin. “Sarah, bring us about and maneuver directly behind the nearest frigate. Miles, once we’re five thousand MCs away, drop stealth and open fire. Let’s see if we can’t take it out.”

“Aye, aye.”

“You’ve got it.” They both acknowledged him.

The ship swung about and they could see the frigate’s lights through the forward window, growing ever larger as they swiftly approached. There was a flash and Shen confirmed that another Rosco ship had been destroyed. “There goes the last sentry ship,” he said. “Now all that’s left are those two destroyers.”

“Five-thousand MCs,” said Sarah.

“Dropping stealth,” said Miles. “And firing!”

They were close enough to the enemy frigate that Calvin could see its armor being ripped apart. Soon their hull was exposed and it fared no better. The enemy frigate tried to turn about, desperate to show the
Nighthawk
their stronger side, and engage the
Nighthawk
with their own weapons, but the frigate was sluggish compared to the nimble
Nighthawk
, and before long it came apart entirely in one large flash, spraying debris everywhere.

“Frigate destroyed,” said Miles gleefully. “Just one bastard left.”

“Hit them with everything we’ve got,” said Calvin, knowing that between the
Nighthawk
, and the remaining Rosco ships, the only enemy ship left in the system wouldn’t stand much chance of survival. Evidently, their captain agreed with Calvin’s assessment because they tried to jump into alteredspace. They almost managed it too, but just as they were about to jump, their alteredspace system was hit and the jump failed, leaving them exposed until the
Nighthawk
and the Rosco destroyers could finish them off. One of the Rosco destroyers got in the last hit, and the frigate exploded.

“Goddammit,” said Miles. “I wanted that kill.”

“At least it’s over,” said Calvin. “We’ve achieved a complete victory against the Khans and the Enclave in space. I wonder how things are faring on the ground in Aleator One. Hail Nimoux, let’s see what he has to say, assuming he’s not too busy to tell us.”

“Hailing him now,” said Sarah. “He is able to reply,” she said.

“Put him through on the main speakers,” said Calvin.

“Nimoux here,” his familiar voice crackled over the loudspeakers.

“We’ve completely defeated the enemy out here,” said Calvin. “There won’t be any Khan or Enclave reinforcements coming aboard the station.”

“That’s good to hear,” said Nimoux.

“What’s the situation like down there?” asked Calvin. “If you have time to give us a quick update.”

“Two enemy transports were able to cut their way into the station and unload their invasion forces. Right now we’re fighting on two fronts. I’ve focused the majority of our forces against the near enemy, and we’re about to overwhelm them. They’ll have no place to retreat—except back into their transport.”

“If they do that, give us the word and we’ll destroy it,” said Calvin.

“My thoughts exactly,” said Nimoux. “Unfortunately, things are not going so well on the other front; they are rapidly losing ground, and if they continue to do so, the heart of the station will become vulnerable.”

“Are you safe where you are?” asked Calvin, concerned.