Battle of Canis Mei

It took a mere ten minutes for Warshyka to get his people together and posted in defensible positions throughout the town. Sadly, the speed of their deployment wasn’t due to his superior command ability, but because his ground forces were extremely limited.

All he had available to him were the leftovers from the Thorn. Roughly two dozen of the crew were planet side when the Imperium showed up. Bolstered by himself and Roxy they made up the entirety of their ground forces.

He himself sat atop a roof with a duracrete ledge barely large enough for him to take cover behind, overlooking the south end of the colony with a new fifty cal. He glanced to Roxy in a similar position across the street from him and gave her an all set signal. Glancing up at the sky he saw the battle begin as tiny lasers shot from the pinpricks that were battling corvettes. He turned on the comm and sat it next to him.

“Concentrate all fire on the lead corvette!” Wint’s voice was the first he heard. “Harpy Squadron, give those bombers some cover!” Warshyka couldn’t help but notice a difference in her voice now that she was in command of a fleet. The usual innocence was gone altogether and replaced by a more commanding tone that demanded respect.

“Harpy Lead, you’ve got two on your six!” another voice said.

“I see ‘em!”

“I’m coming around for a shot. Steady, steady, ha! Got him!”

“This is Exodus Three, I lost my wingman, two in—” the pilot’s voice was replaced by a sharp burst of static.

Wint came through again, “Disruptor, move to vector seven-six. Take out their engines!”

“Copy that Captain.”

“That transport’s running the gauntlet!”

“Cavalry’s here gents, looks like you could use a hand.”

“Marauder Squadron, about time,” Wint sounded relieved. “Concentrate on that transport, it can’t make it to the surface!”

“We’re on it.”

“The Disruptor is taking missile fire! Multiple hits!”

“This is Disruptor, we’ve lost three engines, we’re falling back.”

“Harpies, see if you can swat some of those flies off the Disruptor.”

“We’re a little busy over here!”

“This is Exodus Lead, we’re inbound on the Disruptor.”

“This transport is highly armored! Missiles are having minimal effect!”

“Take out their engines, just stop them from reaching the planet and this battle is won!” Wint exclaimed.

“Rodeo, I want that missile corvette. Do your thing.”

Warshyka felt so helpless down here. All he could do was look up at the lightshow and hope that the tiny explosions he could make out weren’t his people.