Alpha Wing (Brimstone System)
| Alpha Wing | |
|---|---|
| |
| Fighter | Scimitar |
| Wingmen | Todd Marshall |
| Objectives | Proceed to Nav 1 Proceed to Nav 2 |
| Notes | Proceed to Nav 1 Proceed to Nav 2 |
| Previous | Psi Wing (McAuliffe System) Sigma Wing (Gateway System) Tau Wing (Gimle System) Omicron Wing (Cheng-Du System) |
| Next | Theta Wing (Brimstone System) |
Mission Layout
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The Memoirs of Lieutenant Colonel Carl T. LaFong
The twitch at the corner of the Colonel's mouth betrayed his anxiety. I could tell the failed sabotage operation was squeezing the Confederation's resources in Brimstone system. Unsure of the strength of Kilrathi forces, Halcyon ordered Alpha Wing to gather intelligence on the enemy forces on the second planet.
Then he dropped a bomb.
"Maniac is your wingman, Prankster."
The normal rustling in the briefing room was stilled. Everyone knew my feelings about the cocky redhead, and, to add insult to injury, it was my first mission without a veteran guarding my wing. I started to protest, but decided I was still too new to the Claw to start griping about an assignment.
"How much trouble can he cause?" I wondered
Maniac sighted the enemy about 15,000 km from Nav 1. He notified me, hit full afterburners, and rolled into an attack on a single Salthi before I could respond.
"Keep formation!' I screamed. He kept racing away.
"Form on my wing!" I was frantic, knowing the colonel didn't want us to engage unless it was unavoidable.
"No way, Lieutenant," was Maniac's only reply. I ordered him back to base, but knew he wouldn't respond.
I wanted to leave Maniac to his own devices and blast away to the first Nav point, but I knew the Confederation needed every ship for the battles to come...and every pilot, no matter how undisciplined.
I broke to the left, rolled hard and headed for Maniac's target. New blips appeared on the radar screen. I kept them on the left of my viewscreen and circled to the right. I figured Maniac could handle a single Salthi, and I could try to sneak in behind the approaching wing.
Just as I discovered it was three Gratha, Maniac whooped and said he had obliterated his target. When I take on a heavy fighter like a Gratha from the cockpit of a Scimitar, I need my wingman's guns. If you're ever going to take an order, I prayed, take this one, Maniac.
I locked on to the trailing Gratha and ordered Maniac to attack my target. Surprisingly, he complied, and now we had two mass-driver cannons to work with. I launched a Dart, and watched the target break to avoid the explosive warhead. The Gratha was in perfect position for a kill, and I have to admit, Maniac's guns were honed. The right VDU showed that the enemy's shields were down, and after my first shot with the Gatling, the pilot ejected.
I ordered Maniac to break and attack since we were now one-on-one with the enemy. We stayed on the afterburners and crowded the Gratha until our mass drivers could weaken the shields and set up a score with the heat-seekers.
I was elated with our success, but infuriated by Maniac's senseless attack. Our damage was light, but enough to threaten the rest of the mission.
The two Krant came out of nowhere. I didn't even see them, but I knew there was trouble when Maniac left formation. I didn't bother trying to stop him.
I knew the battle would turn on the strength of our mass drivers against the range of the Krant's lasers. Avoid damage at long range, I thought, and we could hold our own in tight. It wasn't as much of an advantage as I thought.
I wasn't sure we would survive. My eject warning sounded and I was close to punching out, but a review of the damage display made me think I could hang on for a few more passes. I just concentrated on staying close to the Krant and using my mass drivers to weaken the rear shields. It looked like one of those old movies of race cars drafting one another at Indianapolis. I tried to stay within 100 meters so the Krant couldn't turn quickly and return fire. It worked, and the first Krant flew into a thousand pieces when a Javelin hit. With Maniac and I hammering the second fighter, it didn't last much longer.
Back at the Claw, I stormed into Halcyon's office and reported Maniac's lack of discipline. I screamed for court martial proceedings for disobeying a direct order. I wanted him hung from the highest yardarm, if we could just find a yardarm in space. "I'd like to honor both of your requests," the colonel said, "but we need every pilot-even the independent ones."
