Gamma Wing (Dakota System)
| Gamma Wing | |
|---|---|
| Fighter | Rapier |
| Wingmen | Joseph Khumalo |
| Notes | Escort Drayman to Jump Point at Nav 1. Defend Drayman as it prepares for jump. |
| Previous | Tau Wing (Gimle System) |
| Next | Lambda Wing (Dakota System) |
Mission Layout
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The Memoirs of Lieutenant Colonel Carl T. LaFong
I was looking forward to flying Raptors with Captain Khumalo. He didn't have a reputation as a leader, but Knight starred in the role of wingman. He was steady, always in position, and didn't make mental mistakes.
We were covering medical transports as they delivered a new Watson's Disease vaccine to the settlers in Fargo Colony. We'd escort one Drayman to its jump point, then cover another on the way back to rendezvous with the Tiger's Claw.
We'd fallen into escort position, set our speed at 100 KPS to stay on the Drayman, and just set the autopilot when Knight spotted them. It was four Jalthi. I felt the hair on the back of my neck bristle. I ordered Knight to hit my target and we immediately maxed out the throttles.
The wave came straight in and I rolled left to get ready to punch the burners and try to slide above them. As soon as I saw their lasers, I fired two quick shots with the mass driver and immediately switched the setting to neutrons. I fired the burners and yanked the stick left. I was sliding too much and couldn't get into position to fire when they swept right under me. I burned again, rolled, and turned right and started the chase.
Knight fired first, sending full guns right up a Jalthi's pipes. I followed with two good shots from the neutrons, then caught him with two more shots as he turned. It was all over for that one. Now it was really getting crazy.
I had a Jalthi on my tail and it looked like my shields were in trouble. I dropped a Porcupine, rapped on the burner switch, and told Knight to break and attack. Then I pulled right just as hard as I could go and looked for the Drayman. It was under fire.
Knight was moving in from the right, so I broke left and started calling the cats whatever I could think of to really get under their skin. I could see Knight evading a missile and looping back on the sender.
They were still pretty far away, but I lined up and sent a Dart in just to keep them on their toes. "Even if it doesn't score, it'll definitely get their attention," I thought.
I was on full afterburners when I raced by the three Jalthi and almost splattered my fighter on the Drayman. It was close, but actually gave me an edge when I continued around the large ship and caught a Jalthi coming the other way. I switched to full guns and, at full blaster power, lit him up. He tried to run, but when the blaster was repowered, I was ready and he was down. The other two were already heading away when I turned. They Drayman was still on course.
The jump point was less than 7500 kilometers away when the Krant decided to ruin our day. They were close when we saw them, and we broke into an attack. I went to full guns and just concentrated on making every shot count. Sometimes it's tough to hold your fire until you're sure of a shot on target, but it's the only way to use full guns.
One cartwheeled before exploding when I caught it with four in a row to the side and followed with a Spiculum IR that barely got out of the tube before it hit him. Knight called for help and I raced over to help, shadowed by the third Krant.
I saw the one hitting Knight and altered course to come in from the rear. The Krant behind hit me with a burst, so I popped the afterburners and made a quarter-turn left for a little slide. I switched to neutrons and thumbed the fire button as I crossed behind the Krant on Knight. I hit him two or three times and noticed the damage in the right VDU. A quick turn and a Javelin and he was gone. I started to tell Knight to hit my target when I saw him already on the way. Two missiles and three hits from full guns, and the last Krant was toast. The Drayman jumped while we fought.
Four more Jalthi flared up just as we moved into position on Nav 2. We just stayed with the second Drayman, used our taunts and fought a smart fight. We were patient with the guns, waited until we had position, and made use of every weapon in our arsenal. I even finished one off with the mass drivers at almost 3000 meters. Just lucky, I guess.
I'd been real lucky. Until I hit the hangar, I didn't realize how many shots had hit me without taking out any major systems. Still, the mechs would be busy tonight.
