"the gunships pack a mean punch, with modular bomb configurations capable of clearing out potentially dangerous landing zones." The fighters dropped like flies, shrugged off by the massive A2s. Unfazed, the Hercules took the brunt of the Acheron assault, their multitude of turrets patiently locking on and pummeling their targets. One bogie took the bait, and two more of their fighters were obliterated by the A2s themselves. Acheron fighters were all over us, throwing their weight around and focusing most of their firepower on the A2s, while the beefy fighters on our side bobbed and weaved, taking pot shots at the Acheron ships and trying to draw them away. It all seemed to be over in a matter of minutes, but again, my internal clock is all messed up. We were engaged as soon as we broke through, I think. Everson sort of rattled off this play-by-play that I only half understood, while the rest of his small crew scrambled to man the remote gun turrets that basically serve as our last hope and prayer. Foregoing our recent training, I snuck up to the cockpit for a better view of the action. Last night as we began preparing to enter the atmosphere of Charon III, the sirens went off.īut this time it wasn’t a drill. He said that I shouldn’t be scared by the drills, because if anything went down, those bad boys would take care of it before we were within firing range. But Everson is a kind dude, and he keeps reassuring me that I’m here for a reason.Īs I was contemplating exactly what that reason might be, Everson pointed out three more Hercules, A2 gunships, flying out ahead. It makes me question my motives, my character, and my entire life trajectory up to this moment. Like, who am I? Some post-grad that went to one too many rallies and gets off on annoying her parents? I’m on a mission with this veteran who has real harrowing stories of loss. Everson heard about Sword of Hope, and had experience flying Hercules in the navy. The two states had been at war for ages, I remember reading about it in school, but Acheron had become steadily more aggressive over the last few years. The situation on Charon III had gotten really bad, with the Acheron military deeming any outside forces entering Dellin airspace a threat. On Dellin a couple years back, and it had been a big wakeup call to Everson. Some of his buddies, retired servicemen turned freelance haulers like himself, were killed attempting to make a pickup I, for one, am happy to forego the amenities of a starliner for the apparent durability of the M2. This is all getting very real, very quickly, but being in the Mama Bird makes me feel safe and oddly enough, almost comfortable. We’ll be breaking atmosphere on Charon any time now, and we’ve been running drills to make sure we’re ready if the ship takes live fire. I hate to cut this post short, but the sirens are going off. Abe says Charon III is no place for a starliner, and I’m inclined to believe him on that one. It’s obvious though, that the cargo bay wasn’t designed to accommodate personnel, and one of the other volunteers keeps wondering loudly why they couldn’t bring a starliner along for us. While that seems dubious, the sheer size and capacity of the ship interior is impressive, and I imagine almost limitless cargo configurations are possible, if you were to get creative with it. One crew member, a salty old navy vet named Abe, claims to have known a guy that fit three Auroras in an M2 hull. Our Hercules (which, according to the crew is nicknamed Mama Bird) has a tank and one of those off-road buggy things in its hull, in addition to the makeshift barracks that we volunteers currently call home. The ship somehow seems even bigger when you’re inside of it. Crusader's direct involvement has made the entire operation feasible. The Hercules are the heart and soul of Sword of Hope.
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