Read Operation Hellfire for Free Online

front and back, shunting the broken fighter to one of the waiting landing platforms. It then dropped down, moving into the elevator levels and away from the unpressurised landing deck. Saffron let out a sigh of relief.
    "Incredible."
    Her fingers loosened until the sound of the klaxon returned, instantly reminding her that they were still in the combat zone. The image altered on the left computer screen as ANS Blackfish blasted away, leaving fighters, missiles, and wreckage in her wake. The Liberty Class destroyer had done an incredible job at protecting the small group of ships and fighters, and she made a mental note to visit her captain in person.
    "Five...four..."
    Saffron gripped tightly as the entire ship groaned under the immense strain of its main engines. Half a second later the flank engines opened up, and a terrible howl tore through the deck. It wasn't an unusual sound but not something the crew heard very often. A combat withdrawal might only happen once a year, perhaps more for ships at the front-line. Some crews might only ever experience such an event during training, and when that happened, there was always a vast amount of preparation. There were stories of ships exploding during such manoeuvres, and though rare it did happen from time to time, especially with older, less well-maintained ships.
    Just like Relentless. Well, except that the old girl is far from poorly maintained. She is one tough lady!
    "What the hell was that?" shouted one of the pilots.
    Saffron maintained her grip, but even at this level of acceleration, the powerful gravitomagnetic generators were able to balance the inhabited sections of the ship. She felt a little nauseated as her weight fluctuated ever so slightly, and then just as it had all started, the noises and groans faded. The klaxons stopped, and the sound of Captain Galanos' voice returned.
    "Relentless is away! All stations report in."
    A few of the younger or less experienced called out with excitement, but most simply went back to work. Saffron moved from the display and to where the next elevator was due to move up. There was still one fighter, and it was taking much longer than normal to arrive.
    Where is it?
    Now that the ship was clear, the canopy clamps on the nearest Lightning fighter unfastened, and Ensign Travis Foss jumped down from the cockpit to the cheers of the rest of Knighthawk Squadron. They were a small group of young men and women, but with the ships now hurtling through space, they could gather together to try and relax, even if it were only for a few hours. His brother had arrived seconds before and moved towards him, grabbing his forearm firmly.
    "You crazy idiot. You left me on my own out there so you could get your two kills. You know who you reminded me of out there?"
    Travis laughed back at him.
    "Let me guess..."
    He then pointed his finger at his brother and shoved it against his chest.
    "You?"
    Jaren's eyes widened with amusement.
    "Yeah, I did kind of knock down two myself."
    Travis shook his head and pointed at his battered fighter. It was riddled with cannon holes and would have been equally at home on a scrapheap, based on its current condition.
    "That bird is a monster. I kept getting hit, and she just took it all."
    His smile widened.
    "I hit a Mokku just after you landed as well."
    Travis winked back, and his smile seemed to widen even more.
    "That's right, baby, three kills for me!"
    As he gloated, his eyebrows rose just as Jaren lurched ahead, completely without warning and struck his brother hard in the torso. Travis staggered back and then lowered his head before charging into his brother. To anybody that didn't know them, it might have looked like a fight, but it was one of the many scuffles they broken out into on the ship.
    "Torabisu, Torabisu, Torabisu!" chanted Ensign Fletcher, soon joined by Artur and then a few of the others.
    It went on for a few more seconds before Ensign Hawkins moved from Cassandra who still sat upright on the