Sat Mar 18, 2006 12:04 pm
This chapter finally introduces an actual adversary (which IMO was lacking up to this point). Enjoy!
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Disclaimer: Blablabla (see previous chapters)
Child of the Hispania, by Sybot
Chapter Nine: The Potential Divider
Alarms were already screaming when Paulo’s Centurion swung out of the hanger bay. He pulled hard on the controls and the missile sailed just beneath him, blowing a piece of asteroid off of Bruchsal Base. The Bundshuch Sabre that fired it opened up with its guns and sapped a chunk of Paulo’s shields in a strafing run. Paulo activated his afterburners and dashed to the relative safety of a small asteroid to assess the situation. The battle was focused around the two Cataphracts left outside to guard the base, but some of the Sabres had taken to ambushing Corsair ships as they launched. He tuned into the general channel.
“…me out here!”
“Got him!”
“…last time I do that…” *static*
“Get back here Paulo!” Mendez’ voice cut though the chatter like a knife, startling Paulo into action. He pulled out from behind the asteroid and checked his scanner. Mendez was keeping three Sabres away from one docking port single-handedly, his Titan moving in ways Paulo didn’t think possible. Suddenly a fourth Sabre appeared from behind the base, slowly winding across the asteroid’s surface in attempt to sneak up on Mendez. It was working, since Mendez hadn’t even noticed it.
Paulo swung behind the other three Sabres and made a strafing run on the surface of the base. The sneaking Sabre was briefly obscured by a cloud of dust, and when it settled a few seconds later, Paulo could see he had hardly made a dent in the Sabre’s shields. The pilot seemed to be dazed, as the ship sat in place for a few more seconds before springing off the surface and heading straight for Paulo.
“Just great…” muttered Paulo, backing his Centurion away rapidly. A Sabre could be equipped with much heavier weapons and shields than a Centurion. In a one-on-one fight he didn’t stand a chance. Nonetheless, he had to fight. The Sabre came at full burn towards him and opened fire as soon as it was in range. Paulo did the same, except he put his ship into a spin while shooting his guns. The result was neither combatant managed to land more than a few hits on the other. As Paulo spun past the Sabre he struggled to bring his ship back under control. The surface of Bruchsal was looming. The spin was too wild and the Centurion was hardly the most manoeuvrable ship around. As the asteroid’s surface filled the screen Paulo gave up on controlling the spin and simply fired the reverse thrusters at full blast. His ship stopped moving forward altogether, leaving it spinning in place.
Paulo had to work quickly. He was a sitting duck until he stopped spinning and got moving. The asteroid field was spinning dizzily on his HUD, friendly and hostile contacts flying everywhere. He had to ignore it and concentrate on the controls lest he get too disorientated. In the end it only took a few well-timed bursts from his side thrusters to bring his ship back under control. Paulo quickly pushed the controls forward. A few seconds later a torpedo passed through where he had been sitting. The Sabre tracked him with its guns, but Paulo’s sudden burst of speed had surprised the Bundshuch pilot and most shots missed. Before he had a chance to react, Paulo had managed to speed past and get behind him.
Paulo cut his engines and spun 180 degrees to get his guns focused on the Sabre. He was amused to the Sabre negotiating its large turning circle rather than attempting an engine cut turn. This couldn’t be a very skilled pilot. His neutron bolts sailed through space and smacked into the Sabre’s shields. Each one did minimal damage, but the constant barrage steadily wore down the shields. The Bundshuch pilot finally finished the turn and began evasive manoeuvres. He also activated shield batteries, much to Paulo’s annoyance, bringing his shields back to full strength. Paulo knew that he had to get behind the Sabre to stand a chance of victory, so he activated his thrusters and went off to one side of it.
“Incoming missile!” his computer squealed. Before he had a chance to react his whole ship rocked violently, though Paulo managed to stay in the chair. Even more alarms began to sound, blaring warnings that his shields were gone. Suddenly the ship rocked again and the engines cut out, leaving his Centurion drifting forward without any thrust. All power had been drained; the Bundshuch ship must have had a Paralyzer Missile Launcher attached.
“Damn you!” Palo shouted, smashing his clenched fists onto the control panel. Until his power plant managed to bring up main power, he was a sitting duck. He managed to transfer enough power to activate his manoeuvring thrusters, bringing his ship around to face the Sabre, which was now almost within gun distance. As it drew closer Paulo, slumped back into his seat, knowing there was no way to restore power in time.
“You owe me for this Paulo!” Juanita’s voice suddenly growled, startling Paulo. At the same time a friendly contact sped into view, got into position behind the Sabre and started pouring neutron bolts and missiles into its rear. The Sabre gave up its attack run and turned to one side, attempting evasive action. Paulo watched as Juanita continued bombarding the Sabre. About twenty seconds later the engines came back online, along with all weapons.
“Time to pay…” Paulo muttered, pushing forward on the controls. He quickly closed into weapons range and joined the other Centurion in firing at the Sabre. Under the barrage the Bundshuch pilot could do nothing. In a matter of moments his ship was burning up.
“All craft finish clean-up and return to Bruchsal for debriefing,” Mendez’s voice rang through Paulo’s speakers. As Paulo turned back to the base, he was able to survey the aftermath of the battle. Most of the attacking Sabres had been destroyed and the rest were retreating in all direction. The Bundshuch were outnumbered and outflown, something that not even the superior Sabres could make up for. Corsair casualties were light. A handful of ships, mostly those that had been outside when the attack began, were lost. Also one Cataphract had suffered crippling damage, meaning it would probably have to be returned to Tripoli for the rest of the operation.
“Thank you, Juanita,” Paulo said as he pulled up alongside her ship on the way back. She didn’t give an answer. Paulo guessed she must still be angry, just not angry enough to watch him get blown to pieces. Along with most of the Corsair fleet, except a few remaining outside as defenders, they steadily filtered back into the docking bays.
When all the pilots had landed, and assembled in the bar, Mendez stood a table and began his debriefing.
“Today, we won a great victory,” he started. A resounding cheer went up from the collected pilots. “However, it can as much be attributed to the enemies incompetence as our piloting skill. The Bundshuch were relying on their superior craft and surprise to defeat us. They planned to quickly overwhelm the defenders, and then ambush the rest of us as we launched. Finally, I assume they planned to storm the base and retake it. Unfortunately for them, they underestimated our piloting skills…” Another cheer.
“…Meaning that they were held off long enough for enough ships to get out to prevent them from ambushing us further.”
“Sir!” a young soldier had come up to Mendez carrying a sheet of scorched metal. He handed over the sheet, saluted and marched out of the bar.
“This, however, is the most important thing to have come from the battle. We were wondering where the Bundshuch got so many Sabres from, considering we had believed their most powerful craft to be the Stiletto. Along with the usual Bundshuch symbols, the three Sabres we captured all bear the mark of a group unknown to us. It does not match any of the known Outcast shipbuilders. Naturally, we will discuss this with the Outcast delegation on Crete” He turned the sheet around to reveal a logo that Paulo had never seen before. It showed the five sleeper ships flying up. In between them was a lightning bolt. “We are currently interrogating the two Bundshuch pilots we captured. Once we know more, it will be announced. Finally, I want all of you to report to your wing commanders for a briefing on our strategy against Rheinland. Elder Denaer was injured in the attack, so he is unable to do it personally. Dismissed”
As he stepped down, the silence broke, and waves of conversation descended on the bar. Paulo didn’t stay to talk. He immediately left for Botella’s quarters. However, when he arrived, he was surprised to see two other Corsairs he didn’t recognise, along with Juanita and the Commander.
“Sorry Paulo,” Botella said, looking slightly disappointed, “a reorganisation of wings means you’ve been reassigned. Your new wing commander’s quarters are here” He handed over a small piece of paper with a room number on. Paulo was shocked, and started building up anger. He backed out of the room before he did anything in rage. The whole time he had been in there, Juanita had been doing her best to avoid noticing him. She probably had something to do with this! He was stewing the whole way, but most of his anger faded away when he found his new wing commander.
“Rogelio!” he exclaimed with surprise, seeing the Corsair he had met on Castile Base lying on the bed.
“Paulo!” Rogelio returned the surprised greeting. He stood and gave Paulo and very enthusiastic handshake. “I had no idea you’d been transferred to my wing!”
“So, you’re a wing commander now?” Paulo asked. It was quite surprising considering that they had been the same rank when they had joined separate wings just prior to the attack on Yanagi.
“My whole wing bar myself was wiped out when we attacked this place,” he said, abruptly looking far more saddened, so Paulo quickly changed the subject.
“The briefing?” he suggested.
“Once the others arrive,” Rogelio replied. A few moments later there was a knock at the door. “Good timing,” He said with a grin. Two other male Corsairs Paulo didn’t know entered. They managed to squeeze together sitting on the bed while Rogelio stood up at the room’s console.
“What’s happening then Sir,” one of the others asked.
“First thing,” Rogelio said, “unlike the others, our mission does not begin until tomorrow. Secondly, ours is of the utmost secrecy. This video of an interrogation of one of the Bundshuch pilots will help explain” He pressed a button and an image appeared on the screen. It showed a bruised and beaten man tied to a chair, surrounded by darkness.
“Who gave you the ships?” a stern Hispanic voice asked from offscreen.
“The Potential Divider…” the pilot groaned under the weight of his injuries, “they will stop you”
“Where are they based?” the voice continued. The pilot didn’t answer. A hand swung into frame, hitting him with enough force to knock him and the chair over and out of view. The camera moved to keep them in frame. “Where are they based!” the voice repeated, in a much angrier tone.
“N-New Berlin…” stuttered the pilot, “one of the asteroid fields”
“Kreuzberg Depot? They are working with the Junkers?” the voice demanded answers.
“No. One of the abandoned fields…” At that point the video cut out.
“We believe the ‘Potential Divider’ is the owner of the insignia that Mendez showed us earlier,” Rogelio said, bringing the logo onto screen, “we will be flying with Mendez’ wing…” Paulo and the other two Corsairs all looked very pleased with this turn of events “…and one other. Our mission is to investigate, and if possible, destroy, the base of the Potential Dividers. We know they have Sabres, so this may be a tough fight. I suggest everyone gets some rest.”
“Yes, Sir!” Paulo said in unison with the others. They stood, saluted as best they could in the cramped conditions, and marched out.
----------------
There you have it! The next Chapter won’t be started until after MFT3K episode 2 is done, but I promise rising action, and lots of it, as the Corsairs begin their decisive push against Dresden.
----------------
Disclaimer: Blablabla (see previous chapters)
Child of the Hispania, by Sybot
Chapter Nine: The Potential Divider
Alarms were already screaming when Paulo’s Centurion swung out of the hanger bay. He pulled hard on the controls and the missile sailed just beneath him, blowing a piece of asteroid off of Bruchsal Base. The Bundshuch Sabre that fired it opened up with its guns and sapped a chunk of Paulo’s shields in a strafing run. Paulo activated his afterburners and dashed to the relative safety of a small asteroid to assess the situation. The battle was focused around the two Cataphracts left outside to guard the base, but some of the Sabres had taken to ambushing Corsair ships as they launched. He tuned into the general channel.
“…me out here!”
“Got him!”
“…last time I do that…” *static*
“Get back here Paulo!” Mendez’ voice cut though the chatter like a knife, startling Paulo into action. He pulled out from behind the asteroid and checked his scanner. Mendez was keeping three Sabres away from one docking port single-handedly, his Titan moving in ways Paulo didn’t think possible. Suddenly a fourth Sabre appeared from behind the base, slowly winding across the asteroid’s surface in attempt to sneak up on Mendez. It was working, since Mendez hadn’t even noticed it.
Paulo swung behind the other three Sabres and made a strafing run on the surface of the base. The sneaking Sabre was briefly obscured by a cloud of dust, and when it settled a few seconds later, Paulo could see he had hardly made a dent in the Sabre’s shields. The pilot seemed to be dazed, as the ship sat in place for a few more seconds before springing off the surface and heading straight for Paulo.
“Just great…” muttered Paulo, backing his Centurion away rapidly. A Sabre could be equipped with much heavier weapons and shields than a Centurion. In a one-on-one fight he didn’t stand a chance. Nonetheless, he had to fight. The Sabre came at full burn towards him and opened fire as soon as it was in range. Paulo did the same, except he put his ship into a spin while shooting his guns. The result was neither combatant managed to land more than a few hits on the other. As Paulo spun past the Sabre he struggled to bring his ship back under control. The surface of Bruchsal was looming. The spin was too wild and the Centurion was hardly the most manoeuvrable ship around. As the asteroid’s surface filled the screen Paulo gave up on controlling the spin and simply fired the reverse thrusters at full blast. His ship stopped moving forward altogether, leaving it spinning in place.
Paulo had to work quickly. He was a sitting duck until he stopped spinning and got moving. The asteroid field was spinning dizzily on his HUD, friendly and hostile contacts flying everywhere. He had to ignore it and concentrate on the controls lest he get too disorientated. In the end it only took a few well-timed bursts from his side thrusters to bring his ship back under control. Paulo quickly pushed the controls forward. A few seconds later a torpedo passed through where he had been sitting. The Sabre tracked him with its guns, but Paulo’s sudden burst of speed had surprised the Bundshuch pilot and most shots missed. Before he had a chance to react, Paulo had managed to speed past and get behind him.
Paulo cut his engines and spun 180 degrees to get his guns focused on the Sabre. He was amused to the Sabre negotiating its large turning circle rather than attempting an engine cut turn. This couldn’t be a very skilled pilot. His neutron bolts sailed through space and smacked into the Sabre’s shields. Each one did minimal damage, but the constant barrage steadily wore down the shields. The Bundshuch pilot finally finished the turn and began evasive manoeuvres. He also activated shield batteries, much to Paulo’s annoyance, bringing his shields back to full strength. Paulo knew that he had to get behind the Sabre to stand a chance of victory, so he activated his thrusters and went off to one side of it.
“Incoming missile!” his computer squealed. Before he had a chance to react his whole ship rocked violently, though Paulo managed to stay in the chair. Even more alarms began to sound, blaring warnings that his shields were gone. Suddenly the ship rocked again and the engines cut out, leaving his Centurion drifting forward without any thrust. All power had been drained; the Bundshuch ship must have had a Paralyzer Missile Launcher attached.
“Damn you!” Palo shouted, smashing his clenched fists onto the control panel. Until his power plant managed to bring up main power, he was a sitting duck. He managed to transfer enough power to activate his manoeuvring thrusters, bringing his ship around to face the Sabre, which was now almost within gun distance. As it drew closer Paulo, slumped back into his seat, knowing there was no way to restore power in time.
“You owe me for this Paulo!” Juanita’s voice suddenly growled, startling Paulo. At the same time a friendly contact sped into view, got into position behind the Sabre and started pouring neutron bolts and missiles into its rear. The Sabre gave up its attack run and turned to one side, attempting evasive action. Paulo watched as Juanita continued bombarding the Sabre. About twenty seconds later the engines came back online, along with all weapons.
“Time to pay…” Paulo muttered, pushing forward on the controls. He quickly closed into weapons range and joined the other Centurion in firing at the Sabre. Under the barrage the Bundshuch pilot could do nothing. In a matter of moments his ship was burning up.
“All craft finish clean-up and return to Bruchsal for debriefing,” Mendez’s voice rang through Paulo’s speakers. As Paulo turned back to the base, he was able to survey the aftermath of the battle. Most of the attacking Sabres had been destroyed and the rest were retreating in all direction. The Bundshuch were outnumbered and outflown, something that not even the superior Sabres could make up for. Corsair casualties were light. A handful of ships, mostly those that had been outside when the attack began, were lost. Also one Cataphract had suffered crippling damage, meaning it would probably have to be returned to Tripoli for the rest of the operation.
“Thank you, Juanita,” Paulo said as he pulled up alongside her ship on the way back. She didn’t give an answer. Paulo guessed she must still be angry, just not angry enough to watch him get blown to pieces. Along with most of the Corsair fleet, except a few remaining outside as defenders, they steadily filtered back into the docking bays.
When all the pilots had landed, and assembled in the bar, Mendez stood a table and began his debriefing.
“Today, we won a great victory,” he started. A resounding cheer went up from the collected pilots. “However, it can as much be attributed to the enemies incompetence as our piloting skill. The Bundshuch were relying on their superior craft and surprise to defeat us. They planned to quickly overwhelm the defenders, and then ambush the rest of us as we launched. Finally, I assume they planned to storm the base and retake it. Unfortunately for them, they underestimated our piloting skills…” Another cheer.
“…Meaning that they were held off long enough for enough ships to get out to prevent them from ambushing us further.”
“Sir!” a young soldier had come up to Mendez carrying a sheet of scorched metal. He handed over the sheet, saluted and marched out of the bar.
“This, however, is the most important thing to have come from the battle. We were wondering where the Bundshuch got so many Sabres from, considering we had believed their most powerful craft to be the Stiletto. Along with the usual Bundshuch symbols, the three Sabres we captured all bear the mark of a group unknown to us. It does not match any of the known Outcast shipbuilders. Naturally, we will discuss this with the Outcast delegation on Crete” He turned the sheet around to reveal a logo that Paulo had never seen before. It showed the five sleeper ships flying up. In between them was a lightning bolt. “We are currently interrogating the two Bundshuch pilots we captured. Once we know more, it will be announced. Finally, I want all of you to report to your wing commanders for a briefing on our strategy against Rheinland. Elder Denaer was injured in the attack, so he is unable to do it personally. Dismissed”
As he stepped down, the silence broke, and waves of conversation descended on the bar. Paulo didn’t stay to talk. He immediately left for Botella’s quarters. However, when he arrived, he was surprised to see two other Corsairs he didn’t recognise, along with Juanita and the Commander.
“Sorry Paulo,” Botella said, looking slightly disappointed, “a reorganisation of wings means you’ve been reassigned. Your new wing commander’s quarters are here” He handed over a small piece of paper with a room number on. Paulo was shocked, and started building up anger. He backed out of the room before he did anything in rage. The whole time he had been in there, Juanita had been doing her best to avoid noticing him. She probably had something to do with this! He was stewing the whole way, but most of his anger faded away when he found his new wing commander.
“Rogelio!” he exclaimed with surprise, seeing the Corsair he had met on Castile Base lying on the bed.
“Paulo!” Rogelio returned the surprised greeting. He stood and gave Paulo and very enthusiastic handshake. “I had no idea you’d been transferred to my wing!”
“So, you’re a wing commander now?” Paulo asked. It was quite surprising considering that they had been the same rank when they had joined separate wings just prior to the attack on Yanagi.
“My whole wing bar myself was wiped out when we attacked this place,” he said, abruptly looking far more saddened, so Paulo quickly changed the subject.
“The briefing?” he suggested.
“Once the others arrive,” Rogelio replied. A few moments later there was a knock at the door. “Good timing,” He said with a grin. Two other male Corsairs Paulo didn’t know entered. They managed to squeeze together sitting on the bed while Rogelio stood up at the room’s console.
“What’s happening then Sir,” one of the others asked.
“First thing,” Rogelio said, “unlike the others, our mission does not begin until tomorrow. Secondly, ours is of the utmost secrecy. This video of an interrogation of one of the Bundshuch pilots will help explain” He pressed a button and an image appeared on the screen. It showed a bruised and beaten man tied to a chair, surrounded by darkness.
“Who gave you the ships?” a stern Hispanic voice asked from offscreen.
“The Potential Divider…” the pilot groaned under the weight of his injuries, “they will stop you”
“Where are they based?” the voice continued. The pilot didn’t answer. A hand swung into frame, hitting him with enough force to knock him and the chair over and out of view. The camera moved to keep them in frame. “Where are they based!” the voice repeated, in a much angrier tone.
“N-New Berlin…” stuttered the pilot, “one of the asteroid fields”
“Kreuzberg Depot? They are working with the Junkers?” the voice demanded answers.
“No. One of the abandoned fields…” At that point the video cut out.
“We believe the ‘Potential Divider’ is the owner of the insignia that Mendez showed us earlier,” Rogelio said, bringing the logo onto screen, “we will be flying with Mendez’ wing…” Paulo and the other two Corsairs all looked very pleased with this turn of events “…and one other. Our mission is to investigate, and if possible, destroy, the base of the Potential Dividers. We know they have Sabres, so this may be a tough fight. I suggest everyone gets some rest.”
“Yes, Sir!” Paulo said in unison with the others. They stood, saluted as best they could in the cramped conditions, and marched out.
----------------
There you have it! The next Chapter won’t be started until after MFT3K episode 2 is done, but I promise rising action, and lots of it, as the Corsairs begin their decisive push against Dresden.
