"9 hours ahead of schedule," Eirik thought as they passed the 12-hour mark for their arrival. This was going to get very rough. Signe has gone over the blueprints of the pirate vessels and found them inferior to the *Void Wolf*. He had to keep his ship in the back of the formation, ready to absorb the brunt of the damage once the Kloxna ships started their pursuit.

With luck, they would be out of position, relative to where Eirik needed to go. If not, they would have to enter the atmosphere and make the rest of the journey at only a few kilometers altitude. This was something he would very much like to avoid, otherwise, the Kloxna on the ground would have time to start an attack, forcing them to disembark under fire. It would be a shooting gallery, and his men would be the targets of opportunity...

"David, take the bridge, I need to clear my head," He said out loud, receiving a grunt in return from David.

Eirik spent the next 30 minutes walking around the ship, trying to think of ways to improve his chances of success. As he passed through the storage bay with ammunition for the ship, he suddenly stopped. They had almost 2000 rockets for the external rocket systems hidden in their secret compartments. Since they were not going to fight but rather try to push through, they would have to rely on shields and so, the extra weapon systems would be shut down in favor of directing the extra power to the shields.

Maybe they could... Eirik ran to the comm panel on the wall and called Engineering.

"Signe, I need you to come to ammunition storage immediately!!

_____________________

5 minutes later Signe came half running into the storage bay, looking around in panic as if trying to locate danger.

"There you are!" Eirik said excitedly. "Signe, is there any way to make some improvised rocket pods that can be fired from inside the ship without draining the power?"

"Erm..." Signe stumbled in surprise at the random question. "Well... It's not difficult to make a firing system. You need some form of tubing to direct the missile, a firing mechanism, and some way to reload, considering we are talking about 50-kilo missiles. 2 men could probably take care of the reloading, metal tubes we got plenty of. It would need to add some sort of shield on the back to prevent blast-back from wounding the gunnery crew, and aiming would be all but impossible when you take the distances in space into account, even during ship battles.

Dozens of kilometers separate ships in combat and we need computer assistance when aiming to make sure we can actually hit something. The best you could get is a static broadside salvo of missiles, aimed in the most general of directions towards the enemy. To be frank, Captain, you might as well just dump the missiles in the void."

Eirik listened to her speak and when she finished, he immediately replied, "Doesn't matter. If it is possible, I want you to make as many of those improvised systems as possible and get them set up. Enlist as much of the crew as you need to make this happen. Let me know where they will be set up and I will get the wolf packs to start moving the missiles."

"With all due respect, Eirik, I fail to see what good that will do us." Signe protested. It was not because she didn't want to work, she truly did not see the point.

"Signe," Eirik said in a tired voice, "We are outmatched in every way except engine power when it comes to Kloxna ships. We have to push through a fleet that outnumbers us, that has superior firepower and shields, that has better targeting software, and we have to do so with 2 inferior ships, even compared to our own technology, out of a total of 3.

Having the option to fire missile salvos with reckless abandon will be needed to give us a fighting chance. Screw the ammunition, we can always get more. What matters most is that we do not lose any ships, and more importantly, any lives, during our attempt to insert troops on the planet. Now, I will try to bluff our way through, but the chances are slim at the best of estimates. And when the guns start firing, I want to be able to fire as much ordnance as possible in the shortest amount of time.

They do not have to be permanent, 3 or 4 shots will be all I need. This is not a prolonged battle, we are heading straight for the planet. "

Signe swallowed hard. She understood the implications. The fact that Eirik wanted more firepower as a deterrent without sacrificing shield strength told her that they would be under extreme fire. "How bad is it going to be, Eirik?"

"Multiple capital ships will be in pursuit and we have no way of knowing where they will be stationed before we exit FTL. And once we exit FTL we are headed straight for the planet. This is going to get ugly, Signe, and I am relying on you to keep our shields up. We are going to be at the back of the formation, presenting the juiciest target for the enemy ships to fire at." Eirik looked grim as he spoke. It was clear to see that he was worried about the coming operation.

"We are going to run the shields at 25% until the last possible moment. I want them to fixate their greedy little snouts on us, letting the 2 others get through relatively unscathed. Can you pull off something that makes it look like a reactor malfunction or battle damage, so they do not get suspicious?" He asked hopefully.

"Maybe. I would have to think this through and talk to my team" Signe said firmly. She did not want to give Eirik any sort of false hope.

"Just remember, we are working on a timeline here. If you cannot fake a reason for the shields being low, we will have to rely on them being stupid or eager. You have your orders, let's get to work."

_____________________

Corporal Tina slowly woke up from he restless sleep. The sound of exploding grenades and the shaking of the building told her they were not being charged. Yet. The bombardment had intensified in the last 14 hours. This was usually the big breath before the blow. Soon, the bombardment would stop and the Kloxna would come rushing in. And the mercenaries were still 12 hours away.

She rose from the nook she had found among the rubble and grabbed her rifle. She might be praying she would never have to fight again, but she was damn well not going to leave her single best chance of survival out of reach. She walked through the basement storage rooms they had turned into their last fallback position. The basement used to house thousands of tons of materials for the industrial complex above, but it had been emptied before they arrived, most likely to pull the workers and materials away to work on war material.

She saluted the guards at the stairs as she passed them and set a course for the nearest lookout post. As she got closer, she could hear the sound of explosions growing louder with every step. She turned the corner and saw the half-crumbled security booth that functioned as an OP* towards the east, where the bulk of the enemy forces was located. The rest were located to the south, boxing them in. The north and west approaches were blocked by a heavily polluted river, most likely as a result of the string of factories running along the riverbank.

Before she could approach a figure came rushing out from the booth, sprinting towards her. Seconds later a few of the improvised artillery shells hit the ground between them, meters behind the running soldier. The detonation and fragments from the shells made the soldier stumble, but he didn't trip, and he made it to safety next to Tina.

"Damn lizards have us zeroed in." He panted as he leaned against the concrete wall "FUCK!!!! I hate when it's my turn to run. Apologies, Ma'am." The soldier straightened up and saluted and Tina returned it casually.

"What are the Kloxna up to?" She asked. As the commanding officer, she could not stoop to name-calling. A certain standard was expected of Terran Military and she was clinging to this sense of normality like a shipwreck survivor clinging to driftwood.

"They are gathering in force, but they seem to be taking their time. Almost as if they are savoring the moment before the kill" He added grimly.

"Chin up soldier, we got reinforcements coming. Just 12 more hours. If we can see them off for that long, we got 500 mercenaries coming to bolster our ranks." She said, trying to cheer up the young soldier.

"And what good are 500 men going to do against the literal sea of Kloxna I see through the binoculars?" The soldier sneered.

Tina wanted to protest, but even without the binoculars, she could see the plains outside the complex roll with the numberless enemy facing them.

"It is 500 soldiers more than we currently have. Be thankful for what you get!" She snapped back at him, her fear making her angrier than usual. "Now, how are you going to get back to your post, trooper?"

The soldier looked to the security booth and back at Tina. "Usually, we loop around and approach from one of the sides. This time, I think I will run back from here, just to switch it up. So I'm grabbing a smoke and a short breather before running back so they think I looped around again." He said while fishing a cigarette out of a pack in his pocket.

"Can you spare one? I left my own in my backpack." She asked him, eager for a cigarette. She had indeed left her own pack behind, something she would rectify as soon as possible.

With a grunt, he handed her a cigarette from his pocket before lighting his own. She fished out a lighter and did the same. For a few minutes, they smoked in silence before the soldier spoke again, this time his voice sounded tired and hopeless. "Do you really think those mercenaries are going to show up, Corporal?"

"I am certain they will, soldier." She replied mechanically. "Never show doubt in front of your subordinates." She thought to herself.

"Do you think they got extra supplies?" The soldier continued. "Otherwise, we are out of drinking water in a day."

"Of course they do. We might have to pay when we are done, but having a full belly and a full bandolier of extra magazines again would be worth it, wouldn't you say?" Tina had to find a positive angle to all of this. If she gave up, so would the remaining soldiers.

"If you say so, Ma'am." The soldier said as he took the last drag of his cigarette and flicked it away. Without another word, he broke into a sprint, reaching the crumbling booth without issue. Some 15 seconds later, the area around the booth became pockmarked with exploding shells. Maybe the Kloxna hoped the shrapnel would find its way in.

Tina turned around and walked off to relieve one of the guards at the stairs to the basement. It was better than doing nothing.

____________________

Eirik was sitting in his chair on the bridge. In one hand, he was holding his datapad. In the other, he was holding his axe, resting it against his shoulder.

"Leaving FTL in 2 minutes, Captain," David called out.

"Call the Kloxna fleet the moment we get them on scanners. Start moving towards the planet at the same time. No matter what, you do not top the ships moving towards the planet!" Eirik said, seeing the Captains of the 2 other ships nod their heads in acknowledgment on the screens in front of him.

"Aye, Captain," David replied.

Pressing a button, Eirik called Engineering. "Signe, how are we looking?"

"You have 32 missile pods on each side of the ship, good for maybe 5 salvos. I managed to rig the engine to appear as suffering from a fairly common but severely hampering fault and the shields are holding steady We are green across the board." Signe's voice rang out across the bridge.

"Received. See you on the other side" Eirik said as he pressed the button again.

"Leaving FTL!" David called out and as soon as the ship transitioned into the system, a call came through as the 2 other ships appeared behind them and started moving towards the planet at the fastest speed that was not considered attack speed.