:: 29/12/2000 ::
We exited hyperspace in a denser region of the Dunari Nebula, hoping that the high-energy output would mask our power signature. Through the teal and orange space dust we could just pick up the blinking lights of the Turanic convoy. Our sensors showed that there were several ships guarding the ships, but all were Turanic, giving us a slight advantage in technology. There were fearsome Ion Array Frigates that could fry the Base easily, four of them; there was a squadron's worth of Missile Corvettes, and no Fighters. Our speed and maneuverability would have to be a match for their awesome firepower.
The Bloody Dagger was sent out to investigate. Jacyn had trouble using his Cloaking Emitters in our region of the nebula, probably due to interference from that sort of energy. The rest of us were watching him from the bridge on the holo-sensors. Once he cleared the denser region his ship seemed to ripple out of sight, until he was no more than an invisible wave in space. The Commander ordered, "Officer, patch in your visual cockpit feed." Almost instantly, the view changed to a view of the space immediately outside Jacyn's cockpit, as if we were looking through his eyes.
We could see all the ships in the convoy now, plus the escorts, but something else was there. It obviously had been masked by the energies of the convoy. "Uh, Commander, are you seeing what I am?" She nodded. "Yes, how many are there?"
"Hold on."
What they had been referring to was a pair of Minelayer Corvettes that were erecting a small wall of mines, protecting the aft of the convoy, as we watched. So far they had laid a 4 by 4 wall of the magnetic weapons. As the Cloaked Fighter swooped around the convoy picking up the entire fleet, he reported back, "Commander, I've got twelve Minelayers here, all Taiidan in make. There is a pair on each side of them, including the top and bottom areas. The mines are about five clicks from the convoy itself. I can only suppose they're making a defensive barrier such that no capital ship can safely approach them."
Captain Naabal banged his fist down. "Damn! It's too risky. We can't even leave this Godforsaken cloud without being detected." We didn't see our captain helpless until then, even though we'd only known him for about a week. "Dock with the Base, son, I guess we aren't going to attack just yet." Commander Paktu turned to him. "With all due respect, I'm in charge, and I say we have to blow them away. We won't get this chance again soon enough."
The door opened behind us, and Sergeant Gaalsien came onto the bridge, accompanied by two of his soldiers. "Commander Paktu, Captain Naabal, I think I have a solution to our dilemma." They both turned to him. Commander Paktu spoke first. "You mean…?" He nodded. "Halo Squadron."
We eyed them suspiciously. "What is Halo Squadron?" asked Alia. The Captain spoke first, "I think I can field that question." Commander Paktu glared at him. They obviously were in conflict over who should be in charge; half the time I'm not sure who's leading the squadron, her or the Captain.
"When we began the idea for Angel Squadron," he began, "we designed a three-group dynamic that would hopefully work to protect Hiigara. As you know, we have both Angel Squadron onboard Angel Base for flying deep-space attack missions, and the 82nd Pulse Rifle Brigade under Sergeant Gaalsien for planetary commando missions. You Angels are the elite of the elite, and because of that you were able to survive the first mission, which was quite a stretch of your abilities. Flying Mark 6 Interceptors, you have an advantage over most pilots by having the bonus of countermeasures, heavier armor, and increased maneuverability. But Interceptors can only realistically go so far. That's where the third group comes into play.
"A team of six Multi-Gun Corvettes, sensibly named Halo Squadron, have been shadowing us during our missions. If we were ever in serious need of backup, we could call them to help out. They sport modified engines that allows them to reach up to the speed of light. They enter our hyperspace window from behind, and then light-speed out to our port for ten minutes. It places them billions of miles away, so enemy sensors don't see them as ours, and their lack of numbers gives them a small sensor shadow. Now, if we can send a tight-beam transmission to their position, the Turanic fleet won't be alerted to our presence."
We all were very relieved. Six Multi-Guns on our side meant 36 more weapons. The mines could easily be taken out, and the Corvettes would be dust. Those Ion Frigates would be a problem, though…
As we waited for Halo Squadron to appear, I noticed something interesting. It had been almost half an hour, and Jacyn had not yet returned. He hadn't been destroyed, for he was still transmitting a sensor feed, but his not returning made for a suspicious curiosity to foster within me. Hopefully I was just being paranoid, but I never saw him in a positive eye. I'm not one to jump to conclusions, but I promised myself to try to keep an eye on him.
After the given ten minutes of waiting, the six ships arrived to our port side. By then, we'd loaded into our own ships, except for Nolan and his wing mate, Lt. Cm. Liir Hra, who had been installed in the Black Runner. The Heavy Corvette would fare much better than their two Interceptors, especially if Napalm's modifications to his vessel were more impressive than those to his Interceptor.
We undocked, and I saw that the ships were, true to their name, assembled in a circular formation (like a halo.) They patched a comm. signal into the squadron frequency. "This is Hal Somtaaw, Halo One. We haven't come at a bad time, have we?"
"The worst, Halo One, but we're glad you're here. Alright, Angels, form up, Delta formation. Begin pre-flight checklist."
"Uh, sir?" said Jude.
"What is it, Two?"
"Something's coming out of the clouds."
I looked in that direction, and I saw the Bloody Dagger. It was being trailed by the entire Turanic task force.
