Difference between revisions of "Battle of Alta Second"

 

The battle begins as soon as the DDF Flight School graduation is over, as the DDF quickly launches eleven full flights and five scouting trios, totaling eighty-seven pilots. The DDF also calls in all of its reserves from the [[deep caverns]]. The pilots approached the shipyard and Ironsides asks the scouting trios for fighter estimates on the Krell. The scouting trios determine that a first wave of Krell contains fifty starfighters, while a second wave carries another fifty starfighters. Both sides understand the titanic consequences the battle would have.{{book ref|sky1|48}}

 

Ironsides orders [[Riptide Flight|Riptide]], [[Valkyrie Flight|Valkyrie]], [[Tungsten Flight|Tungsten]], and [[Nightmare Flight|Nightmare]] Flights to provide cover fire for the inside flights protecting the shipyard from a Krell bombing. One of the flightleaders reports a bomber, with a confirmation from three other ships. Scout [[Cloak]] gives a scouting confirmation, and Ironsides orders the pilots to drive it away, at the risk of pushing it towards [[Alta Base]], more than two hours away. One of the flightleaders tells Ironsides that they had the [[lifebuster]] on the run, but that it was headed towards Alta. Cloak informs Ironsides that the bomber is faster than most, so Ironsides orders the scouting contingents to move to intercept the lifebuster. The flightleader of Valkyrie flight tells Ironsides they are down to three pilots and request support, only for their line to go short. Another pilot tells Ironsides that Valkyrie flight would be absorbed into their flight. Ironsides then orders a full offensive to protect the shipyard, and all the flightleaders give a verbal confirmation.{{book ref|sky1|48}}

 

Cloak tells Ironsides that the bomber is moving extremely fast, has an escort of ten ships, and could easily get in blast range of Alta Base, so Ironsides orders her to engage it with just her flight of twelve scouts. Both the battle at the shipyard and around the bomber continue for some time, before Cloak finally reports that the bomber had been destroyed and that the lifebuster was falling to the ground and ordered all of the scouts to get clear before it exploded. It hits close enough to Alta Base that Spensa could hear the explosions from underground in [[Igneous Cavern]]; after it exploded, Ironsides congratulates Cloak, only to be told by [[FM]] that Cloak didn't make it out of the blast and that only three scouts survived. Ironsides then orders the three survivors to return to the battle at the shipyard.{{book ref|sky1|48}}

 

== Second Lifebuster ==

 

Ironsides gives Spensa a heading for the Krell force, eight minutes away from the death zone, telling Spensa she can make it in two. Spensa tells her she might have a few reinforcements coming, and heads towards the force without a shield.

 

Spensa gets a visual confirmation on the lifebuster, so Ironsides gives her the order to shoot it down, regardless of how close it is to Alta Base. Spensa engages and immediately gains twelve tails. They chase her around, trying to draw her away from the lifebuster, but she stays focused and scores a few hits on the bomber, which its shield absorbs. She continues dogfighting with the escort, and finds that she can faintly hear the commands being sent to the Krell ships and is able to react to them before the Krell.

 

All of the junior admirals gather around Ironsides, gazes locked on the hologram of Spensa weaving in and out of destructor blasts. All of the remaining flights have been disengaged from the battle at the shipyard, and are on their way back to Alta Base. They knew they would be too late, so all of Alta and Igneous' hopes rode on Spensa.

 

Instead of ejecting, Spensa is able to control her starfighter and guide it to the ground. She skids into the ground just as Arturo informs Ironsides that he, Nedd, and Kimmalyn have successfully stolen their parents' private craft and are headed toward the Krell. Flight Command informs Spensa that a Krell ship is coming to destroy her wreckage, but she tells them she's stuck in her straps. The Krell ship opens fire, only for its destructor blasts to be blocked by the shield of a W-shaped large fighter, M-Bot. Cobb calls into Flight Command as Mongrel and tells Spensa to hang on. Cobb slams the Krell into the ground using M-Bot's light-lance, then skims towards Spensa's ship. Cobb gets out and helps Spensa out of her ship, then tells her she has to fly M-Bot and go take out the bomber. Spensa tells him she could hear the Krell commands, so he tells her to ignore the defect, that she isn't predestined to destroy the DDF, but that she can choose to save it. M-Bot tells Spensa he rewrote his code to identify Spensa as his pilot, thus forcing him to follow the commands of his new pilot and fight.  Spensa gets in M-Bot and fires up his systems, everything but his stealth mode, so the Krell will see her coming.{{book ref|sky1|51}}

 

Several powerful families inform Ironsides that they are escaping as the last line of emergency gun emplacements inform her that the Krell fighters are coming close to engage them. She then makes contact with Arturo, ordering him to shoot down the lifebuster, regardless of the effect it might have on Alta Base. He gives confirmation, just as Rikolfr informs Ironsides of an unidentified fighter approaching the battle at Mag-20. Spensa then identifies herself over the comm line as Skyward Eleven.

 

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== Notes ==