The Interstellar War

Chapter 6 - The Attack

The Zaron forces immediately attacked and launched all of their swarm fighters. We were bombarded by enemy fire and were taking heavy damage.
"Launch all fighter interceptors we need to take out the enemy swarm fighters!" ordered the captain. We launched all of our fighters and they engaged the enemy. We activated our canons and opened fire on the enemy command ships. We positioned our fighter ships around our command ships so they could deal with the enemy fighter ships. We managed to take out most of the enemy ships when all of a sudden something slammed into the command deck.
"Sir an enemy fighter ship has attached to our loading bay near the command deck. They are starting to board our ship!" shouted one of the crew members.
"Lieutenant, I need you to take Spartan Legion Silver 13 down to the bay and deal with our enemies. I'll work on taking out the fighter ship," commanded the captain. I took Legion Chief John and his legion down to the bay and we engaged the enemy. I activated my laser assault rifle and shot down three Zaron troops before I had to reload.
"Everyone maintain fire, I need cover," I shouted to the other spartans. I ran behind a container and grabbed a few plasma grenades. "Grenades out!" I shouted as I threw the grenades at the troops. Before they could react the grenades detonated, taking out the Zaron troops. We made our way over to the breach in the hull and guarded the entrance. We shot down any Zaron troops that tried to enter through the breach. The captain aimed one of the canons at the ship and shot it off of the hull. We went behind some containers so we wouldn't get sucked into the void of space. Within moments the ship's auto repair systems fixed the breach and we made our way back to the command deck.
"Good job Lieutenant, full systems ahead we need to take out the remaining defensive forces," said the captain. We made our way through the enemy defenses and towards the Zaron planet DarkZaron. We destroyed all of the enemy command ships remaining and made our way to the planet's defense center in orbit. "Aim all particle beams at the defense command center," said the captain. The defense command center was as large as at least twenty-eight football fields and would take lots of heavy firepower to destroy. The defense command center was in orbit of the planet and housed all remaining defensive ships and canons. We aimed the particle beam at the base and so did the other two command ships. "Fire!" commanded the captain as we opened fire on the base. The beams hit the base and a massive explosion occurred. The shockwave rattled the whole ship as the backup generators kicked in. As the smoke cleared we saw that the base was still there and the planet's defensive shields kicked in.
"Sir it appears that the DarkZaron defensive base has shields and the planet has defensive shields in case the main defenses are taken out. We need to retreat," said one of the crew members. All of a sudden the Zaron defense ships that were at the outer moons arrived and immediately opened fire on us.
"How many enemy ships are there?" asked the captain as he tried to direct the ships.
"There are fifteen Fleet Command Ships, two-hundred fighter ships, and around 3,800 swarm fighters," answered one of the crew members.
"Tell the fighter ships to enter hyperspace and retreat. Board all fighter interceptors into the main bays!" ordered the captain. All of our remaining fighter ships entered hyperspace to go and meet the main attack fleet in order to inform them of our situation. We were surrounded by the enemy as the defense ships bombarded our Fleet Command Ships.
The Zaron command ships deployed their swarm fighters and the fighters swarmed our ships.
"Sir, they are targeting our engines and thrusters!" said one of the crew members. Almost immediately on que the enemy ships took out one of our thrusters and we almost lost control of the ship. "Thruster one down sir, if they take out the other nine thrusters then we will fall to the planet's surface," said one of the crew members as we tried to fight back with our canons. We managed to take out a few of the fighter ships and swarm fighters when all of a sudden the Fleet Command Ship for fleet 521 fell from orbit.
"Captain Carter, we have lost all of our thrusters! We are falling to the planet's surface. I am sending a rendezvous to meet you in case you crash as well. See you soon," said Captain Rex from the radio. I watched in horror as the ship fell from orbit and eventually disappeared from view.
"This is Captain Sarah, we have lost most of our engines and are starting to enter free fall. We have received the rendezvous location and will make our way there once we land or well crash. Hope to see you soon," said Sarah through the com radio. I looked over to her fleet and watched as it slowly fell to the surface. We knew the risks of this mission and we took it. Even though we may have lost, there is still hope. If we can regroup and attack the defense base and destroy it then we can be evacuated when the main fleet arrives. I told the captain about my idea and he said it was brilliant but we needed to prepare for the worst.
Suddenly the whole ship was thrown off course and we all heard a massive chain of explosions.
"Sir we have lost thrusters three, five, seven, and eight. If we lose any other thrusters then we will fall to the planet's surface," said one of the crew members.
"Everyone we need to," the captain started to say right before getting interrupted by a massive explosion.
"Sir we lost engine two," said one of the crew members. That's when we started to fall. The ship started to fall down in a vertical position. If the particle cannon were to hit the surface first then it could explode. I quickly grabbed the engine control and activated the emergency thrusters and adjusted our path. I deactivated the particle cannon and ejected its power core so it wouldn't explode on impact. Our ship started to curve in a diagonal direction downward thanks to the backup thrusters. This would lessen the impact force and make our chances of survival much higher.
"Everyone prepare for impact! We are going to crash!" yelled the captain over the intercom. I quickly grabbed onto one of the command stations and prepared for the crash. We started to fall faster toward the surface and I could see the planet's surface rapidly approaching. Right as we slammed into the ground I got launched backward and got slammed into a wall. That's when everything went black.