OPERATION PHOENIX: DEFIANCE



        The _Defiance_ returned to realspace, a shudder
passing through the vessel and her sister ship, the
_Pasiphae_. The two vessels began heading towards Earth
orbit, with one hell of a fight ahead of them.

        Earth was under attack. The Jihad was in greater
danger at that one moment than it had ever been before.

        Captain Patrick Stewart sat in the command chair of
the _Defiance_, counting off the kiloclicks to Earth orbit.
Fortunatly, the ships came out of drivespace fairly close
to the planet, and it was only a matter of minutes before
the two Ganymede-class battlecarriers entered engagement
range.

        "ETA to entering plasma cannon range?" the captain
asked his tactical officer.

        "Four minutes," came the reply.

        Stewart pushed the intercom. "All fighter crews,
this is the captain. Repeat, all fighter crews, this is the
captain. Magnum launch! Repeat, all craft launch now and
head towards Terran orbit to engage the attacking fleets!"
As soon as the orders were transmitted, a hundred and
forty-four combat pilots ran towards the fore and aft
hangar bays to launch thier fighters, shuttles and
gunboats. On the _Pasiphae_, the same thing occured.

        Stewart checked the rangemeter. Two minutes. In two
minutes, 288 fighters had launched from two carriers and
headed towards the X'hirjq fleet to do damage.

        *       *       *       *       *       *

        Aboard a X'hirjq assault cruiser, _Thak'talu_
Hthissu looked in his lookpanel at the two large
battlecarriers approaching at at least six thousand
kintares an hour; a cloud of attackcraft flew about three
thousand kintares ahead.

        "How many attackcraft are in that formation?"
Hthissu asked.

        The fightmaster glanced at his lookpanel for a few
sixes of seconds. He looked at the _thak'talu_, a hint of
worry creeping into his face.

        "Great _thak'talu_," he said, "We're detecting at
least four sixties and seven sixes of attackcraft."

        "X'hiuuluq'x have mercy," a travelmaster across the
command chamber swore.

        "I see nothing bad in this," Hthissu said. "Nay,
the Mistress has provided us with a mighty conflict. This
is the stuff of the Warrior's Path; the Mistress of the
Hunt will recieve gifts today unheard of in six-sixties of
years!" Several warriors cheered at the commander's
enthusiastic statement.

        "Tell the _Jk'ttathu_ and the _Jk'gorth_ to launch
thier attackcraft. We are to destroy the pair of attacking
ships; they have no shields. SEND THE BOARDING PARTIES!!"

        *       *       *       *       *       *

        "Entering IPC range.... NOW!"

        "Fire the Ionic Plasma Cannons!" Captain Stewart
ordered.

        The two foreward ionic plasma cannons began
charging up. Thousand-meter-wide bands of plasma dispensors
began sending a powerful ionic charge through the weapons
as the plasma fields inside the ship approached the firing
point.

        *       *       *       *       *       *

        "We are detecting massive amounts of energy from
one of the enemy warships," the fightmaster said. "The
output seems to be at least six sixties of sixties of -"

        "I get your point, fightmaster. Continue heading
towards them.. twenty-four seconds to attack range."

        *       *       *       *       *       *

        The Ionic Plasma Cannons fired. Thirty octillion
degree ionized radon plasma shot towards a X'hirjq
battlecruiser that was approaching the _Defiance_. When it
contacted, the shields of the enemy ship immediatly buckled
under the sheer damaging force of a decillion watts of
energy. The beams continued, not slowed in the slightest,
through the hull of the X'hirjq battlecruiser. The plasma
set off fusion in the ship's atmosphere, and one second and
a bright flash later, there was a cloud of molten sand
where a battlecruiser once stood.

        "Time to recharge of IPCs 1 and 2, 19:59," the
tacoff said. Aft IPC charged and ready to fire."

        "Reports coming in from the fighters, Sir," the
flight control officer said. "No losses yet; some ships
damaged. They're all engaged."

        "Tell any fighters that are heavily damaged to
head to Spacedock for quick repairs," Stewart said. Pushing
the comm button again, he spoke to the crew. "All hands,
this is the captain. We are now entering engagement range
with the enemy fleet. Get to the nearest gun turret that's
unoccupied; all gunners fire at will."

        *       *       *       *       *       *

        "..all gunners fire at will." With that order, the
commander of the _Pasiphae_ sat down in his seat and tensed
himself for the battle to come.....





                        TO BE CONTINUED.