The Honour of the Knights (First Edition) (The Battle for the Solar System)

XII - The Sleeping Dragon

Many hours passed as the three Confederation carriers made the journey from Spirit to Aster, to meet with their appointment. During that time, preparations were made for their arrival and the start of the operation - Boarding parties suited up, checked their equipment, and were once again briefed as to how they were to invade Dragon and what their objectives were once they were inside; teams across flight decks loaded armaments onto fighters and bombers, and performed a variety of safety checks to ensure the craft could be deployed in a timely fashion; others tucked into a piping-hot cooked breakfast, as well as a plentiful supply of caffeine.

After struggling to swallow a few mouthfuls, Dodds pushed much of the rest around, his stomach warning him that he might come to regret consuming any more of the fried food. In the end, he scraped what remained onto the plate of a man sat opposite him, who was more than grateful of the second helping. Much of the conversation at the table was focused on the upcoming operation, mixed in with varied opinions of the fate of Dragon and the political strife within the Empire.

A mug of tea and a visit to the ship's doctor was enough to see Dodds through the lengthy mission profile that proceeded breakfast. A round of questions concluded the brief, and then it was back to the quarters again.

A short while later, the call came in - they were approaching Aster; all participants of the Initial Run were to prep for deployment. The flyers jumped up from seats and off bunks, filling corridors and lifts as they made towards the flight decks, to answer the request.

Dodds watched them go, feeling Estelle's anguish at having to stay put until they were required; if at all. Though he regretted the previous night's activities, he hoped that his services would not be called upon. In his groggy state, he was certain that to do so would only invite yet more disaster, and he'd had enough of that for one lifetime. He was determined to see the morning's wakeup call as the last he needed.

* * *

Parks watched from the bridge as the blue haze of jump space peeled away and the nearby stars came rushing forward. The Aster system lay in close proximity to a number of nebula: red, blue and green hues hanging like fine silk curtains amongst the distant stars. There were few who failed to be impressed by such a sight, many of the inhabited star systems throughout the known galaxy lacking any such splendour. The magnificence of the scene was not wasted on Parks either, despite the reasons for their being in the system. He remained motionless for a moment, to gaze upon it and felt some of his stress slip away. Griffin decelerated quickly, the stars around the carrier slowing.

"Jump completed, sir," he heard Liu say, as Ifrit and Leviathan came alongside. Though it was rare for accidents to occur during jumps, it was good to see the other carriers were still with them. So far, so good.

"Excellent. Open communications," Parks said. The holographic screens sprang up once again, and Hawke and Meyers appeared. "Commodore, Captain. Any issues to report?"

"None here," said Meyers. "Fighters and transports are prepped and ready to be deployed on your command."

"No reported issues," Hawke added. "Also ready for deployment."

There was a flash by Griffin's starboard side. A jump point was forming. From it emerged two carriers of similar design to that of Griffin and her two companions.

"Sir, Grendel and Grendel's Mother have just arrived in the system," a man by the name of O'Donnell, Griffin's head of communications, said.

"Perfect timing," Parks said. He turned back to Meyers and Hawke. "Commodore, Captain, deploy your teams. I want to ensure that we are able to execute our strike not only the very second enemy forces appear, but also if Dragon arrives earlier than was originally anticipated. The element of surprise should give them little chance to plot an escape and could well be key to our success here today."