The pilot looks out the cockpit window, scanning left and right and curses the broken scanner in the centre console on his right. This had become a regular problem now, due to the debris fields random nature. Explosive gas, metallic debris, mined out rocks - This field was not a happy place to be. Was this what he was reduced to now? Ling thought.
"There we go. Right there. Lt Xu, next time ensure the scanner works fully before we set off. We've wasted a good few minutes looking for our team, minutes which our enemies could have killed us in!" "Lijie, my apologises. It was working fine when we left Manchester." "No excuses, fix it. Now."
Ling sighed, perhaps he was being too hard on the kid. These were difficult times, the civil war was costing the rebellion dear each and every day. He needed his crew to stay focused. He looked down at his hands, they were trembling. How long had he gone without sleep now? Two, maybe three days? The price you pay for survival.
The Xi'an came along side one of the storage tanks. This was to be a delicate operation. The engineers which were rescued from the burning hulk of the Jackal had been working around the clock to re-pressurise the tanks and set up an effective delivery system. Coalition engines were efficient, they needed to be. However even the most efficient of engines still requires fuel. Ling powered down the Xi'an to standby mode and parked it alongside the tank. He walked down towards the cargo bay, scorch marks still showing from the fight against the Trotsky. What the Xi'an needed was a week in dry dock, instead - on the fly repairs and patch work had been the flavour of this war. Luckily, Storm's were built well for this purpose.
"How much longer?" "We should do it in this run, all things going well. We've nearly got all the hull punctures sealed off. We can start bleeding atmosphere in at that point and see if it holds. If we've got all the breaches then we need to fix the fuel hoses and delivery lines."One of the engineers replied to him. "You've got 12 hours. I'll take the first watch on the guns. Work quickly"
He made his way back to the cockpit, and sat in the control chair behind the Pilot and Co-Pilots seats. Since his scanner was offline, he was working purely with his eyes - which were growing heavier. 12 more hours, he hoped.
An alarm went off in the back of the ship which immediately startled Ling. Was he asleep?! No, he would never sleep on duty - but none-the-less, he was roused from his daydream.
"I have short range scanners back online." "Hmph, good. Now what enemies are awaiting us?" "None Comrade Captain, it seems the BAF are keeping well clear of this area. I assume they are preoccupied elsewhere." "Good, how far along are the Engineers?" "They have suffered a setback. This structure is old and the steelwork is suffering from metal fatigue. We probably won't get the tanks online in this run."
Ling slammed his fist against the dashboard of the weapons console. This entire operation was beginning to frustrate him. The Rebels had to get a source of fuel together and quickly. The explosive gas in the immediate vicinity was perfect if it could be harvested and separated efficiently and safely. The tanks would do that but time was running out however. With each passing day, the Volkhan was consolidating his gains and rebuilding that which the rebels had scuttled.
"If not this run, than the next?" "I do not know. The fuel hoses still need to be repaired. Then we will need to see if the tanks can hold and separate the gas efficiently. If they can, then we're looking at refueling all our ships by the end of next week." "When will our reserve fuel run out?" "Next week."
Ling sighed heavily. There was nothing he could do except wait and hope.
A full 12 hours later. The engineers and scientists were back about the Xi'an and were getting strapped in for their short voyage back to Holmfirth station. Ling rubbed his eyes as Lt Xu made his report.
"Everyone's aboard. Next run the tanks should be back up and running." "Might not be needed, check this out."
Xu studied the communique. He looked at his CO in apparent shock.
"They got the command module working?" "More than that, they've even got a makeshift bar." "Shows you where the priorities are."
Ling smirked. His young Lt was right, even in a fuel shortage - Coaltioners needed their vodka. Ling did not drink much of the stuff, save the occasion where he was required to, in order to show face and raise morale. Tonight would be such an occasion.
"We'll drop the engineers off, then head for the command module. We'll moor there, and settle in for the night. We'll pick up the engineers tomorrow morning to complete the work." "Sounds good. The makeshift gas collectors we've "acquired" from the Sigma systems will be arriving tomorrow." "How much usable fuel can we get out of this damn field anyway?" "Enough to last us a couple of years. 5 at the most. It's not a lot, but enough for our purposes."
Ling nodded and strapped himself into the pilot's chair. He powered up the Xi'an and swung her away from the storage tanks - admiring the work put in. These guys were working flat out. A sustainable fuel source for the medium term was within their grasp, with no reliance on any outsider forces.
"Cruise speed on my mark, 3, 2, 1, mark." "Accelerating." "Scan for commercial traffic. "Scanning the jumpgate.. Looks clear." "Standby to hack the gate again, ensure our arrival and departure are erased."
A few weeks after the storage tanks became fully operational, Captain Ling and the Xi'an had its next task. The scanner next to him beeped again, and Ling immediately swung the ship hard to starboard and up.
"Trotsky's sensor sweeps are getting more intense." "They probably know we're here, it's difficult to trust people these days."
Xu reset and intently studied the scanner.
"Nil contacts, we're doing good." "Soon as we're within 15k, I want a short wave burst transmission stating the Eagle has landed. Nothing more." "Alvarez is expecting us however?" "Think! He's expecting us but all he sees at medium range is a Storm gunboat. He can rip us from the sky before we even get close enough to show our Rebel IFF."
Ling sighed. He had tried to train his men as best he could, but sometimes the blindingly stupid questions were still asked. He had taken on a few extra bodies from the Havana such that the Xi'an was now at full operational and battle ready status once more. The transmission from the Xi'an was accepted by the Havana and communications were established.
"CPW-Havana, Xi'an actual. Good to see you. We've some urgent engineering work to complete. Request priority clearance to dock-4." "Confirmed Xi'an. General Alvarez welcomes you to the Havana. Proceed to dock-4.
Ling smiled and worked the controls to sweep the Xi'an up close to the Havana and extended the docking arm. Within a few moments, they had a hard seal and Ling powered down the little ship. He grabbed a few items of gear and moved quickly with his men to the docking port.
"Lieutenant?" "Dragovic, I'm escorting you to the hanger deck. You are to begin work at once, preparations have already been made for your arrival and the Cheif is ready to assist in any way he can." "Very well, show us the way."
The hanger deck was exactly as Ling requested. Three Insurgents sat in a row in their racks ready to be taken apart. Components and equipment were laid out in a typically organised fashion. It was only at this point that Ling actually started to think that the task that Wexler had asked of him could actually be done. Well, it had to be now - The plans were already set in motion. Ling had 24hrs, to reinforce that point - a large digital timer started up on the opposite deck wall. 23:59:31 and counting.
"Get to work, I want the countermeasure droppers and thrusters off first. We'll then work at removing the armour and fuel tanks. You have an hour to do the CM's and Thrusters - Move!"
Insurgents were beautiful things. Graceful and foreboding yet striking when compared to the Alliance fighters such as the Guardian and Templar. An Insurgent in pieces was a different sight. One which was not pretty. The counter-measures and thrusters had been removed efficiently. The deck gang was now concentrating on removing the wings to allow access to the fuel tanks. Removing the wings was not an issue as they were typically removed for transportation, however the tanks were never designed to be removed. And so the first problem of the night occured.
"How we gonna get it out past the Engine, the ships built around it!" "The cockpit, remove the cockpit, disconnect all the fuel lines, drain the anti-matter and slide the tank out from there." "But we can't remove the cockpit just yet until all the electronics are properly disconnected. Then we need to reinforce the cockpit with that roll-cage design of yours." "Yes, in the space where the tank is right now - I want to remove the Engine casings and remould it to a V shape. This will then direct an explosion down and around the cockpit. Again, enhancing the pilots chances of survival." "What will hold the engine together then?" "Nothing other than those two struts holding it in place. This thing is not meant to survive Xu, it's designed to keep the pilot alive and to be as combat effective as possible to make the trap real. Remember that."
Xu sighed, he was aware of the mission but he just couldn't see the effectiveness of sending three insurgents out to most probably die. A loud crash and a thud came from Escort-3.
"What was that?!" "I'm sorry sir! The bolt sheared and the wing just fell off!" "Hrrmph."
Ling looked at the mechanic. It was not his fault, all ships that came off a production line were not the same. They may look the same and the components were generally the same, however batch production meant that either of the three were either older or younger or built somewhere else to the other two.
"At least the wing's only dented. Ensure that the maneuvering thrusters still work and then get that cockpit unmounted."
Ling wiped the sweat from his forehead. The clock clicked to 19:59:47.
"4hrs in, we're making good progress." "Sir, Escort-2 is ready to have the sensor arrays stripped out." "Good good, have Mr Dragovic sort that out. Just in case I break the tri-band.. thing.. whatever he was talking about."
He took a step back, each Insurgent now had 8 men working on it furiously. Orders were barked from the lead mechanic on each Escort down to the men getting their hands dirty. Trays of bolts and components removed were cataloged and stored. Another 20 men were sitting and waiting patiently behind Ling. Welders and weapon's officers, and many other tradesmen all were ready to do their part when the time came.
"A touch under 20hrs left. If we all work through the night, they can all be done by morning. Can we still get a test flight done... unless..."
He thought to himself. Of course, although Ling factored a test run into his time-frame - The logistics of that would have been far too difficult. The Trotsky was nearby. The Insurgents were supposed to have their wings removed, be loaded onto the Xi'an and then transported back to Omega-50 without detection. Unless they flew there under their own power? No, not enough fuel. The FTL stabilizers were to be removed as well. Ling would have to do the test back at Omega-50, mere hours before the mission.
The digital timer clicked to 5:00:00 and then the hourly beep was heard. Ling's uniform was again profusely dirty and he had black marks all across his face. The task however, was nearly finished.
"Right, reconnect the cruise engines and startup the main powercore. Let's hear her live."
Escort-3 duly replied with a cough and a beautiful hum.
"That's all 3?" "Escort-1's got a few electronic issues, but nothing we can't fix on the way." "Explain." "By your orders, We installed that old-fashioned hydraulic system to aid the pilots control of the Insurgent. It doesn't work for Escort-1 and the problem must be in the electronics as we've fully tested the fluid system." "Very well, lets get these onto the fork lifts and onto the Xi'an. It'll take an hour to get all the fighters and equipment in and strapped up safely and 4 hrs to get out there."
He looked at the clock. 4:49:21, they could just do it. If they were quick..
"C'mon let's get these birds loaded!"
Ling wiped the sweat from his forehead and grabbed his gear. He had no time for pleas tries with the deck staff whom helped him so merely gave a respectful nod and salute. Down at the Xi'an, the Insurgent's were being loaded aboard. It was a tight fit, and could only be done with the wing's removed. Ling squeezed past the fighters and up the ramp to his command cockpit. He sat in the pilot's chair and began his pre-flight checks. Once they were completed, he stood up and walked to the cargo bay.
"Are we done?" "Nearly, everything and everyone is aboard - we're strapping everything down just now. The ammo can be loaded in when we get to Omega-49."
Ling breathed a sigh of relief, he headed back to the cockpit and strapped himself in.
"CPW-Havana this is Xi'an actual. All birds are loaded in and we are ready to depart." "Confirmed Captain Ling, safe flight and good hunting." "Disengaging docking clamps, see you soon Havana."
With that, The Xi'an roared off into cruise speed. Ling was not caring about detection now. Even if the Trotsky was close, they could never catch the Xi'an. Ling send his last coded transmission to Wexler.
"Mission Accomplished. I'm giving the Xi'an everything and I know a couple of shortcuts, we'll be there. On schedule."
Major Ling was piloting on a patrol of Omega-49 when word reached his ears of an impending rebel buildup.
"Major Ling sir! Orders from the top, we're to prepare to push forth." "Into what exactly?" "Doesn't say yet, but we're to RV with our fighters and bombers units." "Very well, plot a course for the Boar's Inn. We'll take on some of that crap fuel. See if you can acquire us some more gear. Rifles and ammunition. Prepare for war Lieutenant. "Sir!"
Ling swung the gunboat back towards the Dublin system. It was quieter than usual these days and patrolling was becoming much easier. The Volkhan was occupied on several fronts and now, it seemed that the Rebellion was to strike it's killer blow.
"If we fail, the Rebellion falls and the Volkhan will wage unrelenting war. We must not fail, no matter what the cost. Ensure all the men are aware of that."