Chapter 16: Chapter Thirteen The Hunter, and the Hunted

Countryman settled into his command chair. He had been suddenly pulled from the meeting by officers on the bridge. Long-range sensors had detected the surviving elements of the Cathamari fleet.

He had already reviewed the logs. It was quite clear that they had been spotted. If he had to guess the active towing beams were responsible for raising their visibility to the point they could be seen. The Cathamari didn’t look like they were about to engage. Instead, they had scattered into several smaller battle groups and were making out of the system at their best speed. 

Countryman considered his options. They could just ignore the Cathamari, but they may end up spotting what he does with Star Tech One. If he reduced speed he could allow them to leave the system accosted. That would remove the risk, but it was an action that would not exactly meet with much approval. Giving chase however wasn’t something he wanted to do, and while he could send the Coto, and Umikaze that would mean splitting forces. Those ships were also aiding the towing so sending them off would reduce his effective speed.

His mind then settled on the two dozen X-1204s that he had. The Enterprise was designed to carry more, but those were all she had been loaded with. The X-1204 was the latest in space superiority starfighter, the design while technically still experimental was already put through extensive testing. It was even slated to replace all current-gen space superiority fighters. 

The new fighters were modular, allowing them to swap out loadouts depending on mission profiles. In all configurations, they were configured to carry up to four forward-facing particle cannons. They were excellent main weapons useful both for strafing runs on enemy capital ships, or for dogfighting hostile fighter craft. She had armored drop bays in her wings that could be outfitted with photon missiles for engaging other craft. Under the nose, she had a pair of micro-torpedo launchers compatible with photon torpedoes. Naturally, these torpedoes were a good deal smaller than those used on ships. Regardless having a few torpedoes was useful for attacking larger craft.

The Twelve zero Four featured light overlord armor and a dual-core pulse wave engine configuration. The armor wasn’t much as the ship was designed more for agility than taking hits. The armor was enough to shrug off most fighter weapons which were the biggest threat. For missiles, she had an energy web to destroy those missiles she failed to evade. Something they were very good at thanks to their powerful engines, and she even had a pulse detonation drive to allow her to greatly accelerate or decelerate when needed. The ship was powered by a fairly powerful micro-fusion plant and featured compressed fuel cells. Allowing the fighter to function for several days without needing to return to the carrier. The ship was even designed to take care of the pilot for that period.

Internally, the pilot had a small single-man cockpit and a rear engineering bay that could be accessed from the cockpit. The purpose of the bay was to allow the pilot to make emergency repairs if needed. The pilot's chair was designed to double as a bed, and a small cargo bay could store water, and rations for the pilot. It wasn’t the most comfortable, but it worked. 

The more he thought about it, the more he felt sending the fighters would be the best bet. They were extremely agile, their small size would allow them to pass through sections of the debris fields that his ships couldn’t. They would also be able to move faster, and they were even designed for stealth. He glanced at Greyman. “Prep the fighters. Their orders are to intercept and destroy as many Cathamari ships as they can. Focus on the groups closest to Mining Sector twenty-three.”

He nodded, “Aye, sir. Should I order a heavy torpedo loadout?”

Countryman confirmed that. With a heavy torpedo loadout, they would be carrying no missiles, in favor of more torpedoes. Useful for engaging capital ships. It would be nice if they could fit Electo Cannons on the 1204’s but the weapon wasn’t suitable for deployment on fighters. Not yet anyway. The loadout would reduce their options against fighters, but the Cathamari were not big on the use of fighters. They did use them, but not as much as they did at the start of the war. The reason for this was that their fighters could not mount energy shields. They simply couldn’t miniaturize the technology to be fitted on fighter craft. Whereas human overlord armor could be, which gave the UEF a significant advantage.

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Down in the starboard hangar, an exercise in controlled chaos was underway. The bay was filled with engineers busily going about the arming and fueling of two dozen fighters. Others were getting the catapults ready to launch the fighters. Like any ship designed to carry fighters, the Enterprise carried fighter catapults designed to accelerate fighters to combat speed. These systems were invaluable for combat hanger operations, but unlike sea carriers weren’t needed for the ships to launch. Hell, they didn’t even need a runway as there was no minimum speed needed for a successful launch. Ships could accelerate in the void if needed. For combat however that was less than ideal as being slow right out of the bay could make you a sitting duck for enemy fire.

In the locker rooms, the pilots were busy donning their armored flight suits. While the fighters had independent life support systems, it was standard practice for pilots to wear these suits. The provided the pilot additional protection and would allow them to eject if needed. Where they could be recovered later. The suits came with their own life support systems and a nutrient pack. A pilot could be kept alive for days by the suit if needed. Even better the suit was equipped with a pair of small thrusters and a navigational computer. Allowing for limited flight, at least until the power pack runs dry.

The pilots had already been briefed on the mission. Due to the distance, they were expected to spend three days with hard burning to make the needed intercept. Four battlegroups had been identified as primary targets with a single squadron assigned to each target. Two more had been identified as secondary targets for each squadron. 

Thanks to the distances involved resupply would be spotty. It would take less time to get back to the carrier, but doing so would give the Cathamari more time to escape. That was why they were being outfitted with a maximum torpedo loadout. Allowing them to hit more ships before they were forced to return for resupply. The micro torpedoes on these fighters wouldn’t hit as hard as those found on starships, but that didn’t make them useless. Afterall these torpedoes were only about a quarter the size of the torpedoes used by capital ships. Of course, while they were called micro these torpedoes were roughly in line with those used by seagoing vessels and fighters during WWII in terms of size. Modern ships being larger than their seagoing counterparts of that age typically mounted larger weapons. This included torpedoes and there were plenty of benefits. A larger warhead could deliver more energy on impact, and penetrate the heavier armor carried by modern ships more easily.

To make the smaller photon warheads on fighter torpedoes effective against capital ships, they were made shorter ranged out of necessity. Less fuel meant less range but also meant they could not make corrections as easily. These torpedoes still had enough for limited guidance which allowed them to qualify as a torpedo, and not a bomb or rocket. A bomb was little more than an unguided warhead, while a rocket was an unguided warhead with an engine.

Torpedoes were guided catapult-launched projectiles typically used for anti-ship roles, while missiles were guided projectiles typically used for engaging lighter craft such as fighters. Missiles were typically not catapult-launched and often received the entirety of their speed from their onboard engine and were typically shorter ranged than a comparably sized torpedo with a smaller warhead to boot.

Of course, none of the pilots were really thinking about the weapons or the mission. A few of the female pilots were instead remarking on the design of the locker room, which used curtains to provide privacy. “I know space is at a premium, but you would think ships as big as this one would have something better than privacy curtains.”

“You would, but apparently not.” replied a second pilot.

A male pilot called through the curtain, “I don’t see the issue. Seems to work fine from where I am standing”

“Of course, it works fine from where you are standing!”

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Another man interjected, “Stop teasing the ladies about the curtains, and get dressed!”

The first pilot pouted, “See that is exactly why we need something better. The men enjoy ogling us through the curtains too much.”

The second female scoffed, “I can’t see them, can you?”

The curtains were actually quite thick. Thick enough that you couldn’t see through them, although they only covered a small area around each locker. Enough for people to change with some privacy, but not much more. The girls couldn’t even see each other because of the design.”

The first sighed, “What I wouldn’t give for a more private locker room design.”

In response, the second female pilot replied, “Well don’t get your hopes up. I doubt we will see such a thing in our lifetimes.”

That killed the conversation in the whole room for a moment before someone said, “All the more reason to tear those scaly bastards a new one.”

“Yes. I’d like to see their world burn too.”

“At the moment I will settle for seeing the bastards that did it burn.”

“Yes, let's go burn their ships.”

Not long after that, they finished getting ready for battle. They sealed their lockers and the pilots filtered out into the bay, where the engineers were jockeying the fighters into the catapults for launch. When not in use they were typically left moored in special docking bays, so that they would be out of the way. In fact, a few X-1205 combat shuttles could be seen moored in docking ports on the ceiling. The X-1205 had been designed alongside the X-1204. It was part of the twelve hundred series project. In fact, the Enterprise was line item X-1250, hence its fleet registry as NX-1250. Although not every line item in the project had made it to prototyping. Some were rejected in the simulation phase.

The X-1205 which they weren’t taking with them for this mission was a multi-role combat shuttle. It could be configured to carry twenty soldiers and a tank into battle, or outfitted to carry bombs. For protection is sported a decent 55cm of armor. The shuttle carried four forward particle cannons of a heavier type than the 1204, and two dual particle cannon turrets for its own protection. Giving the craft a total of eight particle cannons. Given its modular design, the shuttle could be outfitted with missiles or torpedoes if needed which added to its versatility. Unfortunately, they weren’t intended for extended-range flight like the X-1204 was. They weren’t as agile either, but that didn’t mean they were slow. They were still quite fast, and maneuverable. It might be possible to fit them with extra fuel cells, and other equipment needed for extended flight, but they didn’t have a module for that on hand. As such they were not taking them with the squadrons.

Given the mission honestly the best ship to bring would be a heavy bomber. The Enterprise had been slated to carry a few squadrons of the X-1208, a fighter craft specifically designed to carry a loadout out of photon torpedoes, and photon bombs. However that fighter had still been waiting for final approval before production when they had been forced to launch prematurely. There wasn’t any point in grumbling about might have beens, and complaining about what they didn’t have.

The pilots clambered into their fighters, and sealed the armored cockpits. While Earth had access to transparent polymors that could be used in the construction of windows, they were found to be weaker than Titan alloy even after enhancement. It was why armored hatches dropped over the viewports of the Enterprise before battle. For visibility the pilots were given a holographic display that projected all the data they would need. The ship relied heavily on its sensors for flight data. That is not to say there are no traditional fighter viewports, there are. Its just the fighter uses the same type of sliding armored hatch to protect them as the Enterprise. 

In moments the fighters were ready to launch, and engineers had cleared the bay. Everyone did last minute flight checks, while the bay depressurized. By the time the doors were open all the pilots had signaled that they were battle-ready. The catapults lit up with blue-purple light, and seconds later the fighters were zipping out of the hangars at high speed. The pilots didn’t feel the high-g acceleration at all though thanks to the inertial dampers on their fighters. Their skilled hands simply guide the accelerating craft away from the ship, and into their assigned squadrons. Six ships to a squadron with four squadrons total. Each squadron set course to intercept their first assigned target. The hunt was on.

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  The Battlemaster watched the strategic master display. His tail moved as he noted the enemy battlegroup. He knew that they could see him, but so far he had noted no reaction to his splitting his forces. His instincts told him that they were already in a battle, but at this range actions could take days to see results.

He was looking for any sign of what they were up to. The warrior at sensors was acting as a second set of eyes looking for anything. When suddenly he noted an energy spike from the battleship. It lasted but a moment before vanishing. The Battlemaster couldn’t see them, but he knew what that meant. Fighters, they were launching fighters for a first strike attack.

He turned to the comms. “Alert all battle groups to be on the lookout for hostile fighters.”

The warrior immediately openned comms to signal his new orders. His tail lashed, as he considered what this meant. He hated dealing with Earthling fighters they some of the most agile craft he had ever faced. Thankfully they weren’t as frustratingly durable as their capital ships. His plasma cannons could in fact destroy them. Although some types could take a few hits before they were destroyed. Their small size made scoring those hits frustratingly difficult as well. Worse they typically outmatched his own fighters in a battle. A factor that led to them not using them much here. The craft were found more effective on other fronts.

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