Zeal Does Not Rest

[Accounting Troll]

It had seemed like an anachronism - sea faring aircraft carriers against the invading aliens. But what choice did humanity have? The army was so badly overstretched that it simply couldn't defend the perimeters of an airbase from a Morelman with a sniper rifle or a rocket launcher. The army was already relying on civilian militia units with the most basic of firearms training merely to defend the refugee centres against the besieging transgenants in this desolate new world.

 

HMS Invincible was now stationed in the Baltic, USS Harry S Truman, the only American carrier to have made contact with the Council of Earth so far, was stationed off the north coast of Egypt, the French Charles de Galle was stationed in the Western Mediterranean, the Admiral Kuznetsoz (the only carrier in the Russian fleet before the Invasion) was stationed in the Barents Sea, and HMS Ark Royal was stationed in the North Sea. Between them, these five aircraft carriers had to provide the bulk of the air support for Council forces. By a stroke of sheer bad luck, HMS Illustrious had been in the middle of an extensive refit during the Fall, and the survivors lacked the manpower to make the Illustrious seaworthy again.

 

Commodore Thompson read through the daily status report of the war against the Reticulans. The news was bad. Plans were being drawn up for the evacuation of the base near Lagos because of the encroaching Biomass. There was also a preliminary account of a new weapon being used by the aliens - the microslug acellerator, which was apparently capable of literally shredding a soldier wearing combat armour.

 

A message from Command HQ in Geneva came through on the radio. "Radar surveillance has picked up over 60 alien craft heading in your direction from the south-west. It is believed that most of these craft are fighters and that their intention is to launch a direct attack on the Ark Royal. ETA is in a little over one hour." The aliens must have realised the significance of the carriers, and decided to launch a direct attack. This was the largest single concentration of alien craft since the Fall.

 

The Commodore thought for a moment about how best to use the forces at his disposal. HMS Ark Royal was fitted with two 20mm Oerlikons capable of firing 1,000 rounds per minute, and three shorter range 30mm Goalkeepers, capable of firing up to 4,200 rounds per minute. The available air power consisted of eighteen Sea Harriers and twelve reconnisance and transport helicopters. Alien plasma cannons were far more powerful than anything mankind posessed, but plasma cannons had a slow rate of fire and their range was limited. The thick armour plating on a carrier would be able to withstand a plasma bombardment for a while.

 

"I want all the Sea Harriers in the air right now. Tell the pilots to head north-east and stay in a holding pattern at 7,000 feet. The enemy fighters won't be approaching the ship at much above 2,000 feet because their weapons don't have the range. When they launch their first attack run, the Harriers can surprise them. And once the Harriers are in the air, get the helicopters well away from here - they've hardly got any weapons."

 

Another message was received from Geneva, confirming that the Ark Royal was the target of a fleet of one alien battleship and 63 fighters, and that 22 fighters from the Charles de Gaulle and 17 fighters from the Invincible had been despatched to provide assistance.

 

The alien fleet was spotted a few minutes later. The fighters were flying in three inverse V wings, and the battleship was immediatly behind them.

 

The Oerlikons opened fire on the lead alien fighter and the Goalkeepers began firing a few seconds later. The fighter soon crashed into the sea, billowing black smoke. A second was shot down by the time they reached the ship.

 

Three alien fighters broke off from the main group and launched an attack run on one of the Goalkeepers. The gunners could have saved themselves by jumping into the sea, but they knew this was their chance to hit back against the invaders. They had the satisfaction of seeing a fighter explode before a wave of superheated plasma washed over them, killing them instantly.

 

The remaining alien fighters started strafing the deck and the superstructure. The runway was badly chewed up - any Harriers that managed to survive the battle would have to find somewhere else to land. The alien battleship opened fire with its heavy plasma cannons. Part of the Ark Royal's hull began to melt and buckle under repeated heavy plasma hits.

 

Then the Sea Harriers entered the fight, attacking from above. Seven alien fighters were destroyed in the first wave of AMRAAM and Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. Half of the Harriers kept the alien fighters busy, while the other half attacked the alien battleship. The battleship was struck by eighteen guided missiles simultaneously, blowing it to smithereens in a blinding flash. The Ark Royal bridge crew cheered in celebration.

 

The alien fighter pilots had got over their surprise and they were beginning to inflict casualties on the Harriers. The surviving Harriers scattered as the pilots tried every evasive manovere they had ever learned. The objective now was to prolong the battle until the squadrons from the Charles de Galle and the Invincible arrived. Unfortunatly, the alien fighters were faster, more manoverable, better armed in close combat and more numerous. Despite the efforts of the remaining ship's gunners, one Harrier after another either exploded or crashed into the sea. The aliens did not quite have everything their own way, sometimes the gunners downed an enemy fighter and sometimes two or three Harriers managed to gang up on a lone alien fighter, destroying it with their cannons and remaining missiles. Finally, however, there was only one Harrier left. The pilot realised his life expectancy was measured in seconds, so he deliberatly rammed the nearest alien fighter, destroying both craft in an incadescant fireball.

 

Over half the alien fighters remained and they were now free to turn their attention to the Ark Royal. One gun after another fell silent as the fighters strafed the deck. The aliens then turned their attention to the hull and the superstructure. The hull was heavily armoured but it could not stand up to this treatment forever. Part of the more lightly armoured superstructure began to collapse. A fire now raged in the superstructure and smoke was billowing from the ruptures that were beginning to appear in the hull.

 

Half a dozen alien fighters suddenly exploded - the French Mirage fighters had arrived in the nick of time! More alien fighters were downed by the French missiles before the alien fighters organised themselves. The Mirage fighters used the same tactics that the Harriers had used earlier - try to keep the alien fighters at long range where homing missiles have the advantage over plasma cannons. This time, the aliens no longer had numerical superiority. Two minutes later, the Harriers from the Invincible arrived, completing the victory.

 

Commodore Thompson had been one of the few bridge officers to survive the battle. As the helicopter took him to hospital, he was lost in sombre thought. Of course, it had been a victory over the aliens, just like the radio was saying, but it was a pyrric victory. Nearly 200 crewmen and pilots were dead, 23 irreplaceable interceptors had been lost, and the Ark Royal would probably have to be abandoned as there simply wasn't the manpower for the necessary drydock repairs. This meant a massive reduction in air support for the territories held by Council of Earth forces. The Commodore desperatly hoped that the alien losses had been severe enough to cause them to abandon their new strategy.