Fanfiction: Valkyries
Created | Updated Apr 30, 2002
Dawn on Yirandra. The thin dawn rays slowely pierce through the thin cloud cover. Wing Commander Wesker gunned the engines of his Marauder, Ghostrider, and the craft banked to begin its attack run. Not far behind, Phoenix dropped down from above the clouds, with Kitfox, Gyro and Valkyre, three of the force's Thunderbolts, flying support.
'Wesker to wings, looking good from here, but thanks for the escort all the same, we should be fine from here...'
'Negative, sir,' Vickers replied, 'Thunderbolts are to stay with you until mission is accomplished, Admiral's orders.'
Wesker smiled. He knew too well that this was a lie, but Vickers was a veteran pilot who'd seen too many bombers go down from interceptors, and he clearly didn't want that to happen here.
'Well, if the Admiral says so...'
Wesker was cut short by a call from Turk, Ghostrider's Navigator.
'Sir! Bogeys inbound! Three at 1 o'clock and two at 9! Looted aircraft by the looks of it! They're coming in fast!'
Wesker cursed. Attacked from two sides by high speed flyers. He could already make them out on the horizon, banking around towards them. Lightnings. He opened the Vox channels.
'Ghostrider to All! Bogeys sighted! Thunderbolts are to clear the way! Repeat! Thunderbolts take out the three up front! We'll worry about the other two.'
A series of complaints, queries and, finally, confirmations filled the vox lines. The Valkyries set to work.
The fighting was intense. The two Marauders tilted to the left in order to give their turret-gunners a better shot at the approaching targets. Ghostrider scored a kill on the first, its wing blown off in a storm of Heavy Bolter fire. The second scored a hit on Ghostrider, puncturing the hull and turning Turk into a cloud of blood, bones and ruptured organs. The Lightning tried to come around, but found himself in the sights of Phoenix's rear gunner, who scored a direct hit on the canopy, blowing apart the pilot and controls.
Meanwhile, The Thunderbolts began their assault on the three Lightnings. Vickers claimed one on the first pass, his nose-mounted Heavy Bolters ripping through the lightweight aircraft. The other two were dispatched by his wingmen. All to easy, Vickers thought.
Gyro was hit from behind. Two streaks of plasma ripped through the fusilage like tissue paper, detonating the fuel and immolating the craft. Vickers opened the vox and screamed down the link.
'Daemoncraft! Daemoncraft!'
The daemoncraft roared out of the cloud cover, spitting plasmafire into the Thunderbolts. Suddenly the vox sounded.
'Vickers, this is Wesker, I want you to draw it underneith us.'
'Underneith! Sir, have you gone mad?' Vickers replied.
'Trust me. Wesker out.'
Vickers shrugged, he opened fire to catch the thing's attention.
'C'mon you b*****d! C'mon!'
Heavy Bolter fire pattered harmlessly off of the thing's dark, bloodstained hull. It turned to follow him. He headed straight for Ghostrider, and ducked away at the last minute. A twin-beam of Lascannon fire scorched the beast's flesh as it dived. Wesker ordered that the bombs be dropped.
The explosion destroyed the Daemon beast, and lit up the sky for miles around.
Wesker sat back in the pilot's seat. It wasn't over yet. They'd taken damage, Gyro was lost, and it was still a long way to the target...
