T3 Phoenix-class Heavy Carrier Starship · bridge.
At the fighter command nexus, some dozens of crew were observing, in real time, the situation of the T3 interstellar fighters. They'd taken on the task of assisting those fighter squads in combat, and would, when some fighter fell into danger, dispatch nearby fighters to its emergency support. And beyond that, in cases where a T3 fighter was severely damaged, they'd order the pilot to retreat in good time — even to abandon the craft and escape with their life.
The foremost task Zhao Chen had given them was this: people matter more than the machines. When a choice had to be made, protect every last fighter pilot, at any cost.
Suddenly, one crew member saw, in the display, a T3 fighter most unluckily struck by the main gun of a T2 interstellar destroyer; happily, it had the protection of its one-directional shield. But the main-gun hit made the shield's energy drain away in an instant, and the point-defense fire that followed then caused damage to this T3 Phoenix-class fighter's body.
"Warning! Left wing of the craft damaged, power down 15%."
"Warning! Belly armor of the craft under attack; craft armor's comprehensive strength at 80% remaining."
Within this T3 Phoenix-class fighter's cockpit, the pilot could hear the fighter's alert tones.
"Phoenix 203, withdraw from the battlefield at once — I've already had the friendlies around you cover you! Please withdraw from the battlefield immediately!" the assisting crew member kept calling.
"Understood; Phoenix 203 beginning its return." Though there was reluctance in her heart, the pilot nonetheless obeyed the order and turned for home.
But over the course of the return, the fighter still kept coming under attack.
"Warning! The compressed oxygen within the craft is leaking; oxygen supply will be lost within five minutes."
"Warning! Craft power down 46%."
The fighter pilot could feel the fighter she flew trembling and lurching without cease. Buddy — this is our first sortie; whatever happens, you've got to get me back safe and sound!
"Phoenix 203, I'm detecting on my end that your craft is severely damaged, and the oxygen can only last five minutes. My recommendation is that you can abandon the craft; I'll contact the T3 Andromeda to dispatch an unmanned medical pod to rescue you!" the assisting crew member said with worry.
"This is Phoenix 203 — I can still hold on! I can fly this fighter of mine back!"
The assisting crew member called out, "Phoenix 203, have you forgotten what the Commander charged us with? Everything is to put your lives first. If the fighter's gone, we can build another anew — but if you people are gone, then you're truly gone!"
The fighter pilot looked at her operating panel, at those numbers glowing red without cease, and said calmly, "This is Phoenix 203; I understand the present situation. By the requirements of the operations manual, my fighter is still in a state that can be salvaged. Please let me make one more effort — I truly… don't want to give up my fighter!"
The assisting crew member bit gently at her lip, looking at the condition data of this T3 Phoenix-class fighter, No.203. "Then I'll remind you one last time: the moment your power drops to the 50% level, you must abandon the craft and protect your own safety. Otherwise I'll punish you by the wartime regulations — you may even never be permitted to board and fight again in your whole life. Phoenix 203, have you heard me clearly!"
"Understood!" The pilot drew a deep breath, and thought inwardly, Sister, I'll bring you back for certain — trust me!
A few minutes later.
In the hangar of the T3 Phoenix-class Heavy Carrier Starship, at an emergency-repair berth, a T3 Phoenix-class fighter slowly settled down off the lift platform. Over the course of being conveyed down, its body had already been sprayed with a great quantity of special foam — this could guard against risks such as the fighter exploding.
"This is Special Logistics Disposal Team No.1; get the pilot out at once! And at the same time inspect the fighter's condition, screening for every possible latent hazard." Crew dressed in specially made work suits began the rescue-and-inspection of this fighter riddled with wounds.
"The fighter's cockpit canopy is damaged and can't open normally. Activate the emergency-ejection device!" After the worker in charge of extracting the pilot had tried several times over and still couldn't open the canopy, she triggered the emergency device directly by software.
Click.
With a certain sound, the whole cockpit canopy popped out, revealing the cockpit within. The workers at once operated the mechanical arms to lift the pilot out, laying her on a medical stretcher readied well in advance, stripping the equipment from her body and checking her condition.
"The pilot has fallen unconscious, but there's no danger to her life; no injury marks on the surface of her body whatsoever."
And it was just then that the pilot opened her eyes; with a somewhat dazed gaze she looked at the wound-riddled T3 Phoenix-class fighter. "I… I brought… you back!"
Thereupon the pilot lost consciousness once more — but the look on her face was a great deal more at ease.
The workers exchanged a glance; toward this pilot they all felt no small admiration. Reckless though this behavior of hers had been, they could understand a pilot's feelings for her own fighter.
The bridge.
That assisting crew member in charge of Phoenix 203, hearing that the pilot was safe and sound, let out a long breath. Had the pilot truly met with some accident, she'd never have been able to forgive herself. Still, the damage to that Phoenix 203, by all estimates, was such that it could take no further part in this battle. Once the hangar workers had done some simple handling of its hazards, it would be temporarily sealed away in the hangar, to await, after the return home, being handed to an interstellar industrial ship for a major overhaul.
And it was just then that the assisting crew member noticed that among the 300 icons before her, standing for the T3 Phoenix-class fighters, one had turned black. That meant this T3 Phoenix-class fighter had been destroyed and fallen. She glanced at the number — it was the fighter her neighboring companion was in charge of, and she looked over with concern.
"It's all right — the pilot successfully abandoned ship before the fighter exploded. She's already been taken in by the T3 Andromeda's unmanned medical pod, and returned smoothly and safely; the pilot's vital signs are all normal." Her companion squeezed out a faint smile as she spoke.
Though the crew member was safe and unharmed, the first fallen T3 Phoenix-class fighter under her own charge had, in her heart, surely left her a touch grieved.
"Don't think too much on it; you handled it very well. And don't forget our Commander's words — a pilot's life matters more than the fighter!" she consoled her companion.
This battle had, in the blink of an eye, already gone on for close to an hour.
Though the enemy fleet's aim, just now, was to break through the Owl Dragon Fleet's defensive line and assault the T3 Phoenix-class Heavy Carrier Starship — the enemy fleet found itself, for all the world, as though it had plunged deep into a swamp; struggle as it might, it could not break free, and on the contrary sank in deeper and deeper. Those T2 interstellar frigates were absurdly, outrageously formidable; the T2 interstellar battleships had, more than that, a terrifying firepower; and there were the T3 interstellar battlecruisers of astonishing speed besides — wherever they passed, they left the enemy's warships crying out one grief after another.
And just as these slaver fleets were still locked in this hard, grinding fight—
around the two flagships of the Second Fleet and the Third Fleet, several oddly shaped interstellar stealth drones appeared out of thin air! And at the same time, four T3 Blizzards suddenly charged straight for these two flagships.
T3 Phoenix-class Heavy Carrier Starship · bridge.
"Execute step three of the plan — T2 Black Knight mecha, make ready for boarding combat!" Zhao Chen, his eyes narrowed, fixed his gaze on this scene.
10 T3 White Phoenix-class electronic-jamming interstellar stealth drones began working their electronic jamming upon those two T3 Flame Lion King-class Heavy Interstellar Battlecruisers that served as flagships!