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CHAPTER SIX

THE BATTLE BEGINS

Meanwhile, in Darin's hangar thousands fighters were being launched. X-Wings, Y-Wings, A-Wings and many others were flying out the launch doors and in to space to confront their enemy.

The fighters got into formation and went into attack mode. The pilots kept silent as they flew towards their opponents. They broke formation and picked their targets before they engaged them.

"This is red nine, I'm going in," said an X-Wing pilot.

He flew in and attacked a TIE fighter with intense focus. Blasting away as if there was no tomorrow.

The pilot of the TIE fighter tried his best to avoid being hit, however, it was not enough. A shot from the X-Wing struck the connection between the cockpit and the solar panels and blew it apart in an explosion.

"Yeah, I got one!" the X-Wing pilot exclaimed in excitement.

However, the victory was short lived. No sooner did he destroy a TIE fighter, he had one shooting at him. The X-Wing pilot pushed his fighter to the limit as he tried to outrun the TIE. However, the pilot in the attacking fighter was very skilled and was able to follow the inexperienced pilot. The attacker simply squeezed the trigger and fired several shots into the X-Wing.

"I'm hit!" he shouted.

The shots struck the port side of the fighter. It shattered both wings and blew out both engines. Another fighter was coming to help but it too was shot up and exploded.

"I'm coming red nine, hold on," said another pilot.

The pilot rushed to aid his fellow comrade and lined up to take the shot. He maneuvered his fighter and lined the TIE in his crosshairs then fired, taking out the TIE and freeing his comrade.

"Thanks red two, I'll have to nurse her back home," red nine said.

"No trouble at all," red two replied.

"RED TWO YOU HAVE FIGHTERS ALL OVER YOUR TAIL!"

While the two other pilots were talking, a TIE had come up behind red two and began attacking him. A fellow pilot saw this coming and alerted him. Red two took evasive action, trying to shake the TIE off and turn to attack it. However, the pilot of the TIE was very skilled and followed his every move. The TIE then put a few shots into the X-Wing's top port engine which exploded on impact.

"I'm hit but it's not bad. R2 see what you can do with it. Hang on back there!" Red two said in a panic.

The two fighters pitched and turned as if in a dangerous dance in space. Red two began to wonder if this was going to be his last battle when he heard something over the radio.

"Hold on red two, help is on the way."

Two X-Wing fighters rushed over to help their fellow pilot. They flew in behind the TIE and began setting up for a very dangerous maneuver. The maneuver called for the two fighters to attack the same target at the same time while behind one another. What made this kind of stunt dangerous was the high risk of friendly fire. The lead fighter turned his fighter onto its side and took his position behind the TIE. The other remained level and followed behind the lead pilot. At precisely the same moment, both fighters opened fire on the TIE.

They fired several shots until one eventually hit its mark, striking the cockpit of the TIE killing the pilot instantly. The other X-Wings regrouped and looked around for any more TIEs. Red nine was in serious trouble. Now his damaged X-Wing was losing power fast. The others put in a request for a cruiser to be sent to retrieve the damaged X-Wing and in a matter of minutes one was on its way to them.

The cruiser was weird looking, indescribably weird. The cruiser pulled up along side the disabled X-Wing and used a tractor beam to pull it into the ship's hangar for repairs. The taskforce was about to head for home when they received word that the Vlatorran fleet was approaching and to standby for reinforcements. They sat and waited for help to arrive and when it finally came, the pilots were awed at the sight.

"The cavalry has arrived."

There was little time to socialize before the Vlatorrans opened up on the defenders. Thousands of TIEs warmed them, attacking fast and hard. The defenders fought back with the same fierceness.

The battle was an all out war; cruisers fighting star destroyers and fighters attacking command ships. The battle was starting to lean towards in favor of the defenders until an unknown object came into the fray and took aim at an AUD cruiser. The object looked like a small moon with a large circular divot on the upper half. Several green lasers focused at one point when a large blast shot through the center of the divot and connected with the cruiser, blowing it to bits.

The defending fighters scattered to avoid the debris from the cruiser. They then regrouped and changed their targets to the object. Darin had been watching the battle and noticed the taskforce starting to panic. He quickly got in contacted with all of the taskforce fighters.

"Taskforce Delta, listen closely. That object is called the Death Star; it's a very powerful weapon capable of destroying the earth in one shot."

"What do we do to stop it before it destroys earth?" one pilot asked.

"The Vlatorrans want to use the earth's resources for their own use. They won't dare destroy it," Darin replied. "As for what to do about it; the Death Star's weakness is a ventilation shaft that leads directly to the reactor. The shaft is protected against blasters but can be penetrated with proton torpedoes. It is going to be a difficult shot to make, so be sure you follow one another incase you miss."

"I copy base."

The fighters formed up and began their assault on the Death Star.

"This is red three, is everyone ready?"

"We're all here and ready to go." a pilot replied.

"Begin your attack," red three said.

The X-Wing fighters began to peal out of formation and charge straight at the Death Star's surface.

"The ventilation shaft should be towards the top. Use the trenches to avoid most of their gun." Darin said.

The fighters filed into the nearest trench and followed it towards the top. Suddenly, the fighters came under fire from turrets in the trench. They tried to maneuver in the confined space to avoid the incoming fire.

Meanwhile, the battle between the Vlatorran cruisers and the AUD ships was getting intense. The Star Destroyers were some serious damage to the AUD cruisers and if that was not bad enough, the Vlatorrans launched their TIE defenders to take out the remaining AUD fighters. The TIE defenders swarmed in and engaged two B-Wing fighters as they chased after them.

The B-Wings split up and tried to lose their pursuers by flying in circles and attempting to out run them. However, the TIE defenders were to fast for the B-Wings.

"This is gold one, attack the Star Destroyers; we need to take out some of their heavy ships."

Soon three other B-Wings were on the attack and focused on one Star Destroyer at was threatening one of their cruisers. They began the attack on the Star Destroyer's command deck shield generators. They fired their blasters at them, causing only small amounts of metal to fly off. The fighters made several passes until they destroyed one that blew up in a large explosion. The B-Wings then attack the other generator on the other side on the command deck and destroyed that one too. They then began attacking the engines, trying to fire a missile into the destroyer's reactor. They fired their blasters until they finally knocked out one of the engines then fired a missile into the thruster and then ran like mad away from it just as the Star Destroyer exploded.

"One down, that'll teach them not to mess with us,"

Meanwhile, the flight of X-Wings was approaching their target. They armed their torpedoes and held their finger over the trigger. They waited until they were in range then fired the torpedoes and pulled out of the trench. The torpedoes flew straight for a moment, then made a sharp 90° dive down the shaft and exploded in the reactor, which lit up like a Christmas tree and then exploded, causing the Death Star to flash for a moment before the exterior began to blow apart. There was a loud bang and followed by a visible shockwave and that was the end of the Death Star.

Meanwhile, back on earth the situation was growing slowly but surely. The Vlatorrans have not invaded yet and a taskforce of sixteen naval ships were out on patrols. One patrol party was made up of seven Arleigh Burke class destroyers, five Ticonderoga class cruisers, and four AOE 6 supply class fast support ships. They searched for any sign of an invasion force coming towards the coast forty-five miles out. The patrol was on its third sweep when they spotted an incoming vessel. Lookouts identified it as a Russian Kirov class type 1144.2 Peter the Great heavy missile cruiser.

The ship was 823 feet long and displaced 26,190 tons. It was powered by four nuclear reactors with a top speed of 31 knots. The ship was operated by 727 sailors. The ship was heavily armed and dangerous.

The lookouts on the USS Striker scanned the horizon for any other vessels besides the Russian cruiser. Sure enough, another ship came into view. The lookouts identified it as a Russian Ivan Rogov class type 1174 large landing ship.

The ship was 515 feet long and displaced 14,060 tons. The ship was operated by a crew of 239 men. A gas turbine engine power the ship at a top speed of 19 knots with a range of 6,000 miles.

The cruiser and the landing ship followed closely as they approached the patrol. The USS Striker aimed her forward gun at the incoming ships and fired several blanks at them. Then another ship came into view. The lookouts identified it as a Russian Sovremenny class type 956 destroyer.

The Sovremenny fired live rounds at the USS Striker, causing geysers of water around the Striker. The Striker returned fire and the battle was on. The Striker turned to maintain her sights on the opposing destroyer and then put several round into the Sovremenny's forward deck, blowing it to bits. Metal rained from the sky and flames shot out from the deck. The USS Sharnhorse used an anti-ship missile to knock out the Sovremenny from the battle. However, the Striker failed to notice a Russian Zubr class Pomornik air cushioned landing craft sneak past them and was heading straight for the shore. The craft slipped through and made it to the shore where it began to unload the invasion force.

Tanks and Russia soldiers, who had been recruited by the Vlatorrans before the invasion, stormed the beaches. However, a taskforce was waiting for them to arrive. The invading force was now under heavy fire from Vzor 77 Dana artillery tanks. Shells exploded around the incoming tanks, sending sand into the air. The tanks kept on rolling of the landing craft as the shells fell around it. Then one lucky shell struck the craft on the command tower which explodes followed by the rest of the craft, leaving only smoldering wreckage. The tanks that made it onto shore were driving up the beach to the community that was in the area of the battle. Residence stood outside and watched as the two armies battled each other on the beach. The AUD tanks were not letting up on their attack against the invading army as they pounded the enemy tanks with anti-tank rounds and mortars.

The first few hours of the battle seemed to be against the Vlatorrans, but it was far from over. As the battle seemed to quiet down some, the Sharnhorse reported incoming ships from the north to the USS Striker. The captain of the Striker called up the USS Providence, a Los Angeles class attack sub, to report to the battlefield for possible combat with enemy subs.

The USS Providence was 360 feet long and displaced 6,802 tons when surfaced and 6,900 tons when submerged. Her conning tower was towards the front and had two fins jutting out from each side of it. The sub had a 'Body of Revolution' hull, meaning it was built in a circle. The sub's narrowest parts were at the very front and towards the front and rear. She had a top speed of 20+ knots, and was crewed by 13 officers and 121 of other ranks. She was armed with Tomahawk land-attack and surface-to-surface cruise missiles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, four 21-inch tubes midships for Mk. 48 torpedoes, and Mk. 67 mobile, Mk. 60 captor mines.

The Providence sank below the surface and cruised towards the battlefield. The crew knew exactly what to expect if they encountered an enemy sub during the trip or when they arrived. They traveled in total silence towards the battlefield which took about five minutes since the action had taken place close to shore.

When they arrived, they began to take their position along side the USS Sharnhorse and followed her as they continued their patrol. Everyone was on edge and knew full well that the Vlatorrans would not give up so easily. They watched and listened for anything unusual or anything that could be a sign of an approaching enemy ship. Men stood watch out on the deck of the USS Striker with small arms at their side; they were not taking any chances. For fifty-five minutes, all was quiet. The only sounds were of the ships engines and the sea washing against the ship's hull.

Meanwhile, in the USS Sharnhorse's sonar room, the operator monitored the screen closely. The only object on his scopes was the USS Providence. It was almost 10:50 PM when suddenly there was something new. On the sonar screen, coming from at ten o' clock was a huge object heading towards them. The operator put on his earphones and listened to the sound of the incoming object. The sound he heard made him turn white as a ghost and shiver with fear. The sounds were that of a Russian Typhoon class strategic ballistic missile sub.

The Russian Typhoon class was feared by all navies. The subs were 564 feet long and 76 feet wide. Its surface displacement was 23,200 tons and its submerged displacement was 48,000 tons. Each Typhoon had a crew of 160 and were powered by two 190 MW nuclear reactors and two 50,000 hp steam turbines. They also had a back up propulsion system of four 3,200 kW turbo generators and two 800 kW diesel generators. The propulsion system was connected to two seven bladed fixed-pitch shrouded props. When on the surface, the Typhoon had a top speed of 12 knots, however, when submerged its top speed was 25 knots. The Typhoons were armed with 20 RSM-52 ballistic missiles, 20 anti-submarine missiles and torpedoes.

"Sonar contact. Bearing 256, Russian Typhoon class ballistic missile sub!"

Out on the deck of the USS Sharnhorse, the crew on watch was awakened gong, gong of the alarms. The USS Striker and the USS Providence were alerted and ordered to attack the enemy sub

On board the Typhoon, the Russian crew followed orders from their Vlatorran commander. The Russian navy had been left a mess after the USSR collapsed. The Vlatorrans found them very easy to persuade to join them in their goal to take over the earth and that their commanders were pleased to see their vessels being used after sitting for so long. The Russians regarded the Vlatorrans as being God-sent. The Vlatorrans never argued and enjoyed being worshiped like Gods.

The Vlatorran commander ordered the crew to their battle stations and to prepare to launch torpedoes. The crew scrambled to their commander's orders and manned their stations. In the torpedo room, the crew loaded the subs four 630 mm torpedo tubes. At the fire control station, the torpedo tubes were flooded and the doors opened. The Vlatorran commander then gave the order to fire at the USS Sharnhorse. The officer at the fire control pressed a button and launched all four torpedoes at the Sharnhorse.

Meanwhile, the sonar operator reported that torpedoes had been launched from the Typhoon and were coming right for them. The commanding officer ordered countermeasures launched and the ship turn towards the Typhoon sub. The torpedoes homed in on the Sharnhorse and then encountered her countermeasures. The torpedoes then lost sight of the Sharnhorse. The operator let out a long sigh of relief that their demise was avoided. Things began to return to normal when suddenly the torpedoes reacquired the Sharnhorse and was back on target.

"TORPEDO HAS REACQUIRED AND IS HOMING!"

An officer approaches the operator with a look of worry and desperation.

"How long before the torpedo impacts?"

"Torpedo impact in one minute and twelve seconds," the operator replied.

"SOUND COLLISION!" the commanding officer ordered.

A buzzing alarm sounded and men from decks lower down scrambled up the ladders.

The officer turned to the operator again.

"How long?"

"TORPEDO IMPACT IN THIRTY SECONDS...TWENTY SECONDS...TEN, NINE, EIGHT, SEVEN, SIX, FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE! TORPEDO IMPACT, NOW!"

The ship lurched to the starboard side. The men were thrown with the ship as the torpedo slammed into the side and blew a hole through the hull. Water began to rush in and flood the ship. The damage control team dove in to try and plug the hole when the second torpedo struck, this time in the engine room. Then the third hit, blowing a hole in the bow. The forth and final torpedo hit the middle of the ship and blew a fatal wound through it. The damage control abandoned plugging the holes and went up to the deck and into the lifeboats. Men scrambled out of the inside of the ship and assembled on the deck to haul out the lifeboats. The ship was begging to list to port and the stern was slipping beneath the water. The men abandoned filing into the boat and just threw them into the water and jumped off. The Sharnhorse's sinking quickened and was rapidly disappearing beneath the waves. Air began to hiss from the sinking ship as water flooded the compartments. Men watched as their ship slipped beneath the waves.

The USS Striker requested an air rescue of the men to protect the remaining ships from being the Typhoon's next target. On the USS Sea Sparrow, a Sikorsky CH-53 Super Stallion was taking off to rescue the survivors from the water.

"Base, this is rescue one, we're on route to disaster zone," said the pilot.

They flew over to the cluster of lifeboats and hovered above them. A rescue swimmer connected one end of a line to a power winch and the other to a rescue basket. He then lowered the basket into the water and one by one, began to lift them out of the boats and onto the chopper. The rescue went smoothly and was complete in just fifteen minutes. The rescued men were delivered to the USS Striker where they were checked out and given temporary quarters. The rescue chopper then returned to the Sea Sparrow.

Meanwhile, the USS Providence hunted for the Typhoon that had now sunk one of the fleet's ships. Luckily, for the Providence, the commander of the Typhoon did not know about the sub's secret ability to travel in complete silence. The Providence moved in behind the Typhoon and flooded two of her torpedo tubes and launched an attack. The torpedoes struck the Typhoon, blowing it to bits and sank to the bottom. Now the score was tied. The Vlatorran high command was watching the battle on earth turn out poorly and decided to take a more direct approach. The plan was to dispatch one of their agents to Darin's hangar in Michigan and flush him out.

Meanwhile, Darin and Robert were about to go out for a ride in the FCLV, a vehicle that looked like a cross between a Hummer and a Ford Explorer.

They had just reached the garage when Robert was called to the command post in the hangar.

"Son of a motherless goat, I never get a chance to leave this hangar," Robert said.

"Look on the bright side; it might be that AUD high command decided to give you a more active roll in this war." Darin replied.

Robert left the garage and headed for the command post. Darin started up the engine and drove out of the garage and onto the street above. He drove down to Hubbard and then onto Joy Road. He decided to take a drive down Hines Park. He pulled up to the intersection of Joy and Farmington where a taxi convertible pulled up next to him. He looked at the driver of the taxi who was motioning for him to roll down his window. Darin did just that and looked closer at the other driver. Driving the taxi was a dragon, probably 7' 10" and maybe weighed close to two hundred pounds. His skin was a blood red color with a darker shade of red stripes. His chest was a cream color that ran from under his chin down to the inside of his legs, stopping short of his knees. He had green eyes and two horns that jutted out from the top of his head. The dragon smiled and asked, "Are you Darin McClellan?" Darin was flattered that the dragon knew his name, but was suspicious about how the dragon knew it. He had never seen him before and the fact the he was currently at war with the Vlatorrans made it even stranger.

"Yes why?" Darin asked.

"No reason other than I'll give you a head start before I blast you to bits," the dragon replied.

He stood up out of his seat holding a large weapon resting on his shoulder.

Darin floored it and sped through the intersection. The dragon took aim and fired a shot at his truck and missed, hitting another car and blew it apart.

"Darn missed," the dragon said.

He sat down in his seat and took off after him. They sped through the park at speeds exceeding 150 mph, taking the turns and squealing their tiers. The dragon fired more shots at Darin as he chased after him. Darin's truck was armored; however, he did not know what kind of weapon the dragon had and did not intend to find out. The dragon was the Vlatorran agent and was bent on brining Darin down. He finally got a lucky shot in, striking the truck in the rear and blowing out a tire. Darin lost control and spun into a tree. He scrambled out and ran in to the woods. The dragon pulled up behind the disabled truck and took off after Darin. He chased him through the thin trees and out onto an open field. Darin looked behind him and saw that the dragon was still after him. He looked forward and saw a plays cape. He ran for it with the dragon a step behind. Darin jumped and landing on the upper level of the plays cape. The dragon was about to do the same when Darin noticed a tire swing nearby. As the dragon jumped, Darin threw the swing in front of him, hitting the dragon in the face and sending him into the ground.

"Ouch, that's gotta hurt," said Darin.

The dragon picked him self up and wiped his mouth. He then looked at Darin with intense hate.

"OH, YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT WITH YOUR LIFE!"

"How is a dragon with no brains is going to take me down?" Darin asked smartly.

"Like this!"

Out of no where, the dragon pounced on Darin and smashed him into the ground. Darin groaned in pain and looked up at the dragon, the world becoming dark around the edges.

"So, how dose it feel to finally have your worthless hid handed to you?" the dragon asked with an evil voice.

Darin blacked out before he could reply. The dragon picked up Darin's limp body and carried it to his car. He threw Darin in the back and got into the driver's seat. He pressed a button on his dashboard and the car lifted into the air before transforming into an Imperial shuttle and headed out into space. The dragon was heading towards a Star Destroyer where the Vlatorran commander was waiting for their prisoner.

Darin woke up to find himself in a strange room and chained to a wall. He heard footsteps coming towards him and looked up to see Kreg coming towards him.

"Kreg, boy am I glad to see you. Help me out of these chains."

Kreg did nothing, except drew closer and struck Darin across the face. Darin recoiled from the blow and looked at Kreg with a confused look.

"Help you. Me help a worthless human?" Never; the only good kind of human is a dead one." Kreg replied.

Darin's jaw dropped. He could not believe what he was hearing.

"Kreg, what has gotten into you. Before you were a kind hearted person, and now you're a monster." Darin said.

Kreg slapped Darin again, this time drawing some blood.

"SHUT UP YOU TRASH! I ONLY DID IT SO I COULD GET INFORMATION FROM YOU ABOUT THE AUD!"

"But I thought you had a kind heart." Darin said pleading.

"I don't have the heart for a human. Only for my kind." Kreg replied.

"What do you intend to do to me?" Darin asked.

"To make you watch the destruction of the human race and then finally kill you," Kreg replied.

Darin was horrified at the thought of something as that. He cursed himself for surrendering to them in his hangar. If the Vlatorran general had not been killed then, he would not be going through this.

Kreg released Darin from the chains. Darin decided to make a run for it. He had just hit the floor and took his first step before Kreg's tail smashed into him, sending him flying into the wall with a bone crushing sound. He laid there limp and motionless. Kreg then left the room and slammed the door shut. Darin wondered what he had got himself into as he tried to bear the pain of a broken leg. He reached for his watch and pressed a button that activated a homing signal and hopped that someone would find him in time before he took his last breath.