Battlestar Andromeda Part 13
Leaving Planet Aloria
Battlestar Andromeda
Inside the space shuttle Orion Zechs Merquise was not a happy man. Fifteen minutes after leaving Aloria his radar showed a squadron of Dakarian fighters coming towards the shuttle. He knew that his primary duty right now was to make sure the Ambassador made it back to the Andromeda safely but deep down inside he wanted to be out there with his men. The fact that his Commander had convinced him to let him fly a fighter only made the situation worse. He knew that Commander could hold his own behind the joystick, he was an ace pilot and no one to this day could beat his scores at the academy, but the fact remained that he should be inside the Orion where he was safe. His only hope was that Lt. Barton and Lt. Miller kept the Commander safe and watched his tail wings.
Further back in the cabin Heero watched as the fighters changed formation and he wondered what the reason was. Worried he unbuckled his seatbelt and walked towards the cockpit. Giving a quick knock in warning he turned the knob and walked in. Immediately upon entering he knew something was wrong. He listened as he heard Duo give out orders to the fighters and the ship. He felt his heart leap into his throat as he realized the situation. They were under attack and Duo was out there in the thick of it.
"Ambassador," Captain Merquise said interrupting Heero's thoughts, "I need you to please take your seat in the cabin. We have a situation here and it could get rough."
Heero looked around the cockpit quickly and saw the empty seat behind the Captain. "Negative Captain, I will stay here in this empty seat but I am not leaving this cockpit until I know that everything is alright."
"Suit yourself, just stay out of my way." Zechs growled.
Heero strapped himself in and watched the radar as more fighters flew towards Duo's squadron. He knew that the red blips on the screen were the fighters from the Andromeda but it was the blue ones that had him the most worried. These were the Dakarian fighters and there seemed to be more of them than there were of the Andromeda's. His fingers dug into the arms of the seat as he watched the blue blips move into a different formation. Never a man to believe in prayer he nonetheless said a quick prayer for all of the fighters out there.
Duo watched as the Dakarian squadron changed formation his hopes that they would turn back and not engage dashed. He knew that the Dakarian squadrons were much larger than their own but he also knew that his fighters were better. Just then he watched as the first Dakarian fighter shot off a blast towards their fighters. Well if these bastards wanted a fight he would give them one. Pushing the joystick forward he flew down under the Dakarian's and hit the turbo button giving him a burst of speed. He watched as an enemy fighter banked right and he flew up behind it. Hoping for the element of surprise he got behind the enemy and fired off a few laser rounds, hitting the fighter and watched as it exploded. He saw an enemy fighter come towards him to his right and he jerked the stick taking his fighter into a roll barely missing a direct hit.
"Commander!" he heard Lt. Barton yell, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine Lt! Watch your ass, you have a Dak* coming in at five o'clock!" Duo yelled back.
"I got it Commander!" yelled Miller.
Now fully engaged he listened in as his fighters called out orders to each other. Taking out three more enemy fighters himself he watched as one of his own was blown apart from an enemy blast. Knowing that there was nothing he could do at the moment he pushed aside his grief for the young man and continued fighting. However he sighed in relief as he heard Captain Merquise announce that the Orion had safely landed aboard the Andromeda, the realization that Heero was safe took a lot of weight off of his shoulders. Suddenly he heard Lt. Barton yell to him through his headset.
"Commander! Behind you!" Trowa yelled.
Duo looked on his radar to see two enemy fighters coming up fast and furious behind him. He banked left hoping to shake them but they hung on to his tail and followed. Growling he continued to jerk the stick from left to right desperately trying to out maneuver them. He barely registered Miller yelling to him that he was on his way to help, concentrating on his own flying. Suddenly an explosion was heard as one of the enemy fighters was hit by Miller. That left only one enemy that refused to be thwarted. Banking a hard right he saw the laser shot singe his right wing. Checking his control panel he saw that the hit failed to cause any serious damage. Taking a shaky breath he continued to fly his evasive pattern, praying that he could finally shake the fighter behind him.
On board the Andromeda Heero quickly left the shuttle and ran towards the control deck. His only thoughts now were to find out how Duo was faring. He knew that one of their fighters had been killed but the Captain had been quick to assure him that the fighter was not Duo's. Skidding to a halt inside the control deck he heard the yell from one of the pilots to Duo. He felt the blood drain from his face when he heard that Duo's fighter had been hit. Not wanting to be in the way of those on deck, Heero found himself a spot out of the way and continued to listen to the fighter fight.
"Barton, get your ass over here!" yelled Miller. "I've got three more Daks on the Commander's tail."
"What!?" yelled Trowa. "Where are they coming from!?"
"I don't know man, but I swear they know that the Commander is that fighter! They are targeting just that fighter!"
"Damn! Andromeda this is Barton! We need help! They just keep coming!" yelled Trowa.
"Copy that Barton. I have sigma and omega squadron on it way. ETA in less than five." replied Dorothy in a calm collected voice. "Captain Merquise what is your ETA?"
Zechs had ran to his fighter as soon as he had landed the shuttle and had led the gamma squadron back towards the fight with the delta squadron left to protect the Andromeda. "Andromeda we are entering the fight now. Winner take your squadron left and help Barton and Miller with the Commander. These sons of bitches want a fight lets give them one."
"Roger that Captain." replied Quatre.
Meanwhile Duo was using all his skills to keep the enemy from firing on him. He felt the sweat run down his back as he once again banked left into a roll barely missing another laser round aimed at him. His radar showed that he had four enemy fighters right on his tail and Miller trying desperately to fire on as many as he could. He had to agree with Miller's assessment that the enemy was targeting him because no one else had as many fighters after them as he did. With his total concentration on dodging the enemy he was unable to fire back and this made him as mad as hell. Another quick look at his radar showed him that more of his fighters were now shooting at the enemy behind him. One by one the enemy was blown away until only one was left. He banked right and pulled back on the stick in the hopes of getting behind the enemy but to his surprise the move seemed to be anticipated as the fighter behind him banked a hard left and did a loop ending with the fighter facing his left side. Duo felt a chill down his spine; it was a move that he had only known one person to make. Before he had a chance to get away he felt a pulse beam echo through his fighter.
"Fuck!" he screamed as he fought for control of his fighter. A pulse beam was different from a laser shot; this would cause the control panel of the fighter to be completely useless. The pilot would now have to rely on his skills to get his fighter back to the ship and without the use of his turbo it would be slow going. Many pilots had been killed or lost as they were unable to control the fighter. Keying in the sequence to kill everything but his communications and power he fought for control as the fighter shuddered and kicked trying to realign to the new commands.
As he finally got the fighter under control he glanced to his left and watched as the enemy fighter broke away from his fighters and go back towards his own ship. He listened as Captain Merquise gave the command to break off with the enemy, letting the final enemy fighters turn tail and run. Fear gripped him as he realized that there was a possibility that he would not make it back to his ship. He regretted his rash decision to fly the fighter back to the ship, deep down he knew that he was to blame for disastrous end to the fight. If the enemy had not targeted him his pilots would have been able to dispatch the fighters much quicker. Suddenly a voice came over his communications line.
"Commander, status!" yelled Zechs.
Taking a deep breath Duo said, "Not good Captain. I was hit with a pulse beam. My computer system is completely shot and all I have is power and communications. Right now oxygen levels are at 80% and falling."
Zechs swore at the situation that the Commander's fighter was in. After a quick assessment he issued his orders to his squadron leaders. "Barton, Winner have your fighters spread out and keep an eye out for any enemy fighters that might still be in the area. Then I want you two to get as close to the Commander's fighter as possible, you see any problems with his fighter you let me know.The rest of you head back to the ship, I will take point. Commander I want you to turn off your communications and turn it back on in ten minute intervals. In five minutes I want you to hit your turbo and then every ten minutes after. This may stabilize the oxygen levels and give you more power."
"Roger that Captain." Duo said then he switched his communications off, letting the silence surround him.
Once Zechs was sure the Commander had switched his communications off he then said, "Andromeda this is Captain Merquise."
"This is the Andromeda, go ahead Captain." said Dorothy.
"XO, enemy fighters have disengaged. We are on our way back but we have a major problem. Commander Maxwell has been hit with a pulse beam and his fighter has been partially disabled. He still has power and communications but his oxygen level is at 80% and falling. In an attempt to stabilize his oxygen I have him shut his communications down, this may also give him a chance to use his turbo at intervals in the hopes to get him back. Have medical stand by as I don't know if he has been hurt."
"Roger that Captain, keep in communications and let me know what your ETA is."
"Roger XO, Captain Merquise out."
Five minutes later Duo hit the turbo button and felt the fighter give a lurch. He winced as he was pushed back into his seat. The hit from the pulse beam had caused his body to be thrown around in the cockpit and he felt like one big bruise. Waiting another five minutes he turned his communications on and reported his status to Captain Merquise. He continued this for the next twenty minutes until finally he saw the Andromeda ahead of him. Turning his communications on one more time he contacted his Captain.
"Captain Merquise, have your fighters go ahead of me and land. I will come in last." Duo said his breath coming hard as his oxygen levels fell to 10%.
"Negative Commander, you go first so that we know that you have made it in safely." replied Zechs.
"Negative Captain, I order you as your Commander to have your fighters go in first. I will follow." Duo said, then more softly added, "Don't worry Captain, I will make it."
Zechs paused for a moment then said, "Roger that Commander. See you on board."
Duo watched as each of the fighters flew towards the landing tube on the Andromeda. As he watched Captain Merquise take his turn as the last fighter he took a deep breath and readied himself for his final approach. Just as he started forward his alarm sounded telling him that his oxygen levels were now at 1%. He continued forward and fought to keep conscious as the opening of the tube got bigger and bigger. His vision grew spotty and the joystick in his hand suddenly seemed harder to maneuver, pushing himself to his limits he lined his fighter up with the tube. He pressed the button to give himself one more burst of speed but nothing happened. Cursing in his mind he continued to push forward.
Suddenly just as he cleared the entrance to the landing tube his fighter the turbo finally kicked in only now it was not needed and he fought to bring the craft under control. He placed both hands on the stick and tried to keep the fighter straight to avoid hitting the sides of the tube, however the craft had seemed to have a mind of its own and he bounced off the right side of the tube. Pulling the stick to the left he tried once again to straighten out but then hit the left side. His final view before falling unconscious was the end of the tube coming up way too fast.
TBC...
* In the military when a fighter pilot does not know the enemy they refer to them as bogies. However, since our pilots know the enemy they refer to them as Daks short for Dakarian's.
Back to Rebecca's Fanfictions Page