17:04 January 9th, 1648 AC Batavian Standard Meridian Date TimeSimulation of the Carmarthen system, aboard a Typhoon type starfighter
“Alright, Green Squadron,” the voice of Jules ‘Salad’ Leclerq sounded through the Cluster, the connection friendly aircraft used within the newly formed virtual battlespace. “You heard the brief Seraph gave you, lads. We got three confirmed hostile frigates, single starfighter tender and around twenty to thirty bandits in the battlespace. Eight Skunks, presumed Passage, so expect twelve Skunks in the field until we resolve them. For the purpose of this exercise, we work as one air wing. Fighters will be split into Green, Sage and Lime. Lime will be held back on CAP duty. Blue Squadron is designated Teal, and AWACS is standard; Galaxy.”
He did a quick recap of the brief, which Cassandra had already given to Green Squadron after the initial exercise—takeoff and landing—that they went through. Luckily for her, time in the simulator suites used within Commonwealth flowed differently, allowing for more simulator time at the cost of increased strain on the mind of the pilot.
The reservists might not have been used to the tempo expected on a frontline carrier, but most of the pilots shook off their rust well. After all, they had to qualify to stay in the reserve. While it was significantly worse than the regulars, they would iron it out.
The neat formations of starfighters that formed—what was now the Green Wing was increasingly distancing itself from the broad, long form of the Orion-class carrier within the simulation. Like most deep space carriers the HMCS Bonaventure had a shape that seemed to be somewhere between wedge and a slab when viewed from the top, and from a distance, resembled Terran ships of old, with a blocky prow and hull, which made way to several mighty primary engines at the back, pointing directly back and slightly to the side.
On a readout, Cassandra could clearly see the layers of ablative armour which protected the mighty 1,2 kilometers long colossus. She could see its numerous weapon emplacements and the offset spinal lance, that could put even some other capital ships in danger. She might have been impressive—and she was, truly— but she knew that the newest capital ships built in the core worlds of the San Batavia Republic were even larger.
Like a constellation of stars trailing paths of blue light and amber, the 36 starfighters and five dropships of the reservist squadron arranged themselves into formation, surrounded by the smaller wingman drones which scattered around them like a cloud across the void. Despite the fact that there weren't enough fighters to equip every aviator, Cassandra insisted that in order to give them as much experience as possible before they were set to reach the rendezvous point, even those who would normally have to wait to be rotated in during operations would take part in simulator practice, to drill them all into a more effective, coherent unit.
But in the end, all of that didn’t really matter to where Cassandra was right now. In moments like these, it was truly just her and Lorelai, separated by a vast, unimaginable empty void, punctuated only by the quiet hiss of life support and the hum of the engine, which echoed through the frame of their starfighter. The massive machine seemed so tiny compared to the distances and speeds that were involved in starfighter and starship combat, measured in light milliseconds rather than the traditional kilometers of purely atmospheric warbirds or the meters a human could easily imagine in their daily lives.
Without her Shine, which was steadily rendering clean geometric markers for eighteen fighters of Sage squadron, they would only seem like barely visible twin-coloured trails of light. The dots marking the Typhoons in a formation were perfectly spaced around her own fighter, though if she would look through the virtual projection of the space outside of the kettle that kept her and Lorelai alive, she would struggle to find them.
For the exercise, considering she prepared the scenario, she passed command of the Air Wing to her XO, Salad. He was a little unsure, but in the end, he said he would do his best. With the size of her reserve wing he would have to pick up the duties of a squadron commander for portions of the wing either way, ready or not. Though Cassandra was quite sure that the older pilot was ready enough.
The other ‘squadron’ leaders for the exercise were similarly chosen from senior aviators and people who used to be in the Regular service for at least one term before. Cassandra knew they would be shaky, but it would have to do. She was presently flying forward as lead of Sage squadron, assisting Salad’s Greens not far away from them. The scenario was, unfortunately for Green squadron, quite harsh. They would be flying right into an unfair ambush.
You never know when life will throw you a backhanded blow. I’ve got to prepare them for the inevitable, Cassandra thought. And who knows, perhaps they would surprise her.
“You got that Lorelai?” she calmly asked through her Ghost. It was probably good to make sure that her WSO refreshed her knowledge of brevity codes and comms procedures.
“U-Uh… Yes! Skunk is for unidentified vessels, Passage is for unidentified civilian vessels.” Lorelai muttered out over the Ghost link. Cassandra gave her a mental nod.
“Alright, Sage Squadron, follow me, standard combat spread. Salad wants us playing vanguard for his Greens while they cover the Teals. Accelerate to cruise.” She said simply while checking the situation with her Ghost. She was somewhat pleasantly surprised. Lorelai seemed to handle her WSO duties well so far.
“This is AWACS Galaxy. Signatures detected. Designating Skunk One through Twelve. Data clearing up. Closest three contacts resolved as Passage One to Three,” the voice of the most experienced AWACS controller sounded through the Cluster. Cassandra didn’t know him personally, but she remembered his name was Evan Brant. He seemed competent so far.
“Aspect change, Skunk Four, Five and Eight resolved as hostile frigates. Designated as Corsairs One, Two and Three. Two clusters of bogeys in the battlespace, presumed hostile bandits. Updating battlespace.” The virtual projection of the battlespace her Ghost showed was updated with the new information, and her Shine pinged her with the new readouts of relative distances and speeds.
“Resolving signatures,” said Lorelai quickly, strangely much more calm than before. Did I manage to suppress my anxiety from returning to Cadair Idris in this same way? Or is she just steadier in a sim? She wondered to herself as she listened to Lorelai’s readout. “Bogeys seem to be mostly Screwballs and Tornadoes. Passage One and Three are Gordeldier class cargo ships. Passage Two is a standard cruiser sized freight ship, trailing atmosphere and vapor.” Oblivious to Cassandra’s inner turmoil, Lorelai dutifully updated the battlespace view around Cassandra.
Cassie did her best to suppress a shudder as she held her vector and saw the enemy markers on her screens. The simulated sluggish maneuvers of the cobbled together fighters from mismatched spare parts on old frames seemed just as clear as they were in her nightmares.
On her screen she saw Bonaventure moving to render assistance to the blocky, bulky form which was identified as Passage Two. The massive hulk was covered in shipping containers, many of them battered and dented. The two ships closed the distance at what was a relatively slow pace for maneuvers in space, but Cassandra had something else to focus on as the initial wave of thirteen fighters approached her formation of eighteen fighters belonging to Sage Squadron.
Cassandra grimaced. This time around it is much more favorable for the Commonwealth… Even though it is a trap.
“AWACS Galaxy, aspect change,” he announced, cutting through Cassie’s thoughts. “Bogeys now marked as Bandits. Weapons free. I repeat, weapons free.”
Almost exactly how it happened in reality, Cassandra noted to herself. This would be good exercise for any bridge crew out of practice as well, considering how many reservists were aboard the ship.
As they closed, the familiar warning noises broke though the calm hum in the cockpit informing her about enemy contacts appearing on their own systems. Cassandra considered her options as she flicked two signature-guided Cherubim type starfighter to starfighter missiles over to Lorelai, and the signature growl of the missiles entering search mode filled the cockpit.
“Alright Sages, you’ve trained for this. I marked our path in the Cluster. Fire on your marked targets and we’ll crank. Notch as necessary to avoid returning fire,” she said simply as they closed in.
“Wilco.” Lorelai quickly confirmed, only a slight hint of anxiety in her voice before the characteristic sound of missile lock broke the calm.
“Sage One, F-Fox two!” She heard Lorelai follow up as they engaged the enemy. Cassie immediately cranked, watching the dots representing missiles flying between the two groups of starfighters and the hashed mess of noise caused by countermeasures of both groups. The electronic brains of missiles strained to get through specters created by the ECM systems and jamming.
She notched slightly; the slight correction being enough to avoid the only missile which managed to force its way through the jamming and countermeasures. As she expected, the larger Commonwealth fighter force had no issue clearing out the less capable and seemingly sluggish Screwballs and Tornadoes in front of them, with brilliant bursts of radiation filling the space where once was a fighter formation.
A few of the more sluggish pilots in her squadrons flickered out of the Cluster, but most losses were only among the ranks of the wingman drones which did their job well, taking hits for the actual Typhoons. Her formation nevertheless did their job as a shield, getting Green and Teal close enough to the hostiles for a launch.
A few moments later brilliant streaks from the larger, more capable Gemblade anti-ship torpedoes from Teal and the smaller Dawnbreaks anti-ship missiles from Green separated from the group of friendlies and roared towards the lead enemy frigate, the suicidal brains of the missiles braving brilliant streaks of light from repeater lances and point defense kinetics, overwhelming its point defense fire and blowing the sleek vessel into a cloud of debris.
“Corsair-1 destroyed!” The voice from AWACS Galaxy confirmed.
Practically no losses and few munitions expended while the enemy formation was reduced. So far—textbook engagement. She could clearly hear a few cheers and congratulations through the chatter of other aviators.
But Cassandra knew this couldn’t last… The exercise only just began.
17:12 January 9th, 1648 AC Batavian Standard Meridian Date TimeSimulation of Carmarthen system, lead fighter, behind Cassandra
Lorelai Bakker didn’t know why, but the anxiety which she usually felt in the cockpit was practically gone. She didn’t quite know what she felt through her Ghost connection with Cassandra, but it was oddly familiar which made her feel at ease. She felt more confident as she focused on her job aboard the starfighter, which was handling the Typhoon’s ECM, jamming enemy missiles and resolving contacts.
The sounds produced by the Typhoon were clear, the readouts on her Shine made sense, and the Ghost connection felt steady as she did her job in the cockpit. It went better than she could have imagined, so much so that a part of her considered that perhaps she could make it as a pilot. But then suddenly… She felt as if her throat ran dry, cold sweat running down her spine. A flash of radiation and light illuminated her cockpit, buckling the pressure of the shock that was keeping her frozen. She knew she had to do something, anything.
Talk, Lorelai! Talk! she thought to herself. She tried to work her throat, but nothing came out of her mouth. W-Why doesn’t any sound come out? Please! Something! She panicked for a moment before managing to overcome the sudden moment of muteness. She was sure it was Cassandra’s Ghost helping her. “T-The freighter… Besides Bonaventure. I-It exploded!” Lorelai managed to push out after a bit of a struggle while the brilliant flash of radiation slowly subsided and their fighter’s sensors updated with information from the surviving AWACS spacecraft.
She felt her chest contract again and body quiver. The freighter which was pulling besides the simulated position of their carrier was nothing more than a rapidly expanding debris field with several of the ablative armour panels of the digital simulacrum of their home burnt to molten slag.
“S-Stars and Tides… The Bonaventure… It’s damaged. Resolving— Aspect change! That freighter is launching a fighter? Eight—no! Twenty—Thirty! Fusilier types?”
She couldn’t believe it. Fusiliers? They were much closer to their own starfighters than the screwballs and tornadoes they faced until now! The status update from the AWACS and chatter almost flew past her as she focused back on keeping their fighter shielded by a steady stream of electronic defenses. She had to focus.
A moment of confidence turned into a nightmare.
She felt herself slipping into shock, her heart pounding in her ears and vision unsteady. No no no. Please. Will we have to face this?
“Calm down, Lorelai. It’s a sim.”
Cassandra’s voice broke through the haze of fear and anxiety, her vision clearing up as the more experienced pilot took back control of the missiles. Lorelai pressed her thighs together as much as she could as if she wanted to curl into a ball to protect herself from an invisible assailant… but she couldn’t. She was in the cockpit, in the kettle of a starfighter. She forced herself to breathe, yet the terror remained…
But… She is right. It is a sim, she told herself to steady her nerves. Right. With one less task on her hands, she could do this! She had to do this!
“Handle our countermeasures and jamming. I’ll bring us through,”Cassandra said, her voice oddly soothing and Lorelai knew she was right. All she had to do was her part. After all, she would have the life of their squadron leader, the ace from Cadair Idris, in her hands!
She rearranged the information on her Shine and looked over the situation. It was as if all of the sounds returned at once, the blaring missile warning sounds filling her hearing while Cassandra commanded the Sage Squadron. She just had to jam those two specific missiles and confuse the rest with chaff and decoys.
Her breathing steadied itself and the feeling of her stomach being full of rocks and lead weights waned a little as she saw the results of her effort. Multiple large anti-fighter missiles from Corsairs Two and Three veered off-course as they chased digital spectres, with the third hitting one of their wingman drones instead of them.
She looked at the wider picture in front of them again. There had to be at least four bandits closing in on them, but it seemed that even their missiles didn’t find the mark, picking off others in their formation, giving them precious moments to react. She cleared up a target location and immediately heard Cassandra declare a launch.
“Fox Two!” she heard, but she didn’t even have the time to see if her pilot hit anything, putting her effort on keeping their own aircraft covered from danger as they violently turned away from the enemy. “Green One, splash two!”she heard, but she didn’t react as her focus was deep in the Typhoon’s systems, until suddenly… they opened the distance between them and the enemies.
She spotted an opening. Corsair-2 seemed to have suffered damage on the port side; a Gemblade from one of the Albedos had blasted through its shield and knocked out portions of its defenses. She quickly flagged it with her Ghost, sending the information to Cassandra. She sensed the feedback of a strange feeling through the Ghost, one she couldn’t place in her mind as Cassandra locked onto the target, calling the remaining Sages for an attack run.
She wasn’t sure what it was, but it didn’t feel bad.
“Sage One, Fox Three, anti-ship!” Cassandra said with confirmation from other surviving aviators of Sage Squadron, sending their Dawnbreaks at the damaged frigate in front of them before violently pulling away. Lorelai watched the sensors while trying to confuse the enemy point defense fire, before finally, the massive monster which was threatening them a moment ago ruptured in half, torn asunder by the bursts of destruction rendered by their missiles. She exhaled, the tension slowly leaving her body, muscles relaxing as she eased up.
“H-Huh?” she blinked in confusion. They made it through the enemy formation, though it seemed that most of Sage squadron didn’t share that same luck. There were only four Typhoons remaining in their formation, with a few, now precious, wingman drones, attempting to cover for them.
From what she saw on the overlay, their squadron wasn’t the only one that took the beating. The massive explosion of the freighter also took out most of Lime Squadron, the burst of radiation and debris sending many of them to their virtual graves. Bonaventure was damaged, and their AWACS was gone. Although it was being screened by Sage, Green was torn to shreds, down to eight Typhoons covering the remaining two Albedos.
Is this my fault? She thought to herself, even though she knew she couldn’t do more than just affect her direct surroundings. But even then it stung.
“Green leader to all of the green wing. RTB. Return to the barn,” she heard the familiar voice of Salad.
“Final landing exercise for those who made it. TAO called off the rest of the fighting exercise.”
At least it is over… Lorelai thought, shrinking deeper into her flight seat, hoping that she did at least acceptably well as the form of their Typhoon changed course, making best speed back for the familiar shape of Bonaventure. She saw as Cassandra brought them towards the soothing, faint jade green glow around its hangar bays.
She couldn’t wait to lie down into her bed… maybe read a book for a moment on her datapad or get something warm to drink…
But after a display like this? They were definitely sure of a long de-brief in the ready room… With these heavy losses they were probably not passing the standard of any commanding officer.y were probably not passing the standard of any commanding officer.