He scrambled up the ladder into his own cockpit, then hastily keyed the switch to bring his fighter to full power.  They’d been sitting in the ready room when the alert had sounded; if he’d had his druthers, half of the formation would have been on combat space patrol at all times.  But he understood the Captain’s logic, even if he didn’t like it.  They didn't dare let the aliens seem something that suggested the decoy carriers weren't real.

“Ready for launch,” he said, once he’d strapped himself into the cockpit.  “Check in, by the numbers.”

One by one, the pilots sounded off.  Nothing had gone wrong, thankfully; he’d seen several deployments when starfighters had suffered failures that had forced the crews to hold them back long enough to be fixed.  Pilots hated it when that happened, but Kurt suspected that it was better than suffering a catastrophic failure while in interplanetary space.  He checked in with the CIC as soon as all of the pilots had reported in, then braced himself for the launch.  It always felt like a roller coaster, despite the best compensators the Royal Navy could produce.

He forgot his concerns as soon as he was blasted out of the tube into interstellar space.  The stars burned brightly around him, illuminating the darkened shape of the carrier.  There was no way they could see the alien craft with the naked eye, but their carriers were showing up clearly on his display.  The starfighters, on the other hand, weren't showing up at all.  He gritted his teeth, realised just how dangerous the alien stealth systems could be.  If their sensors were unreliable, the aliens could just snipe the human craft out of visual range, picking them off one by one.

“Additional sensor drones are being launched,” the XO said.  “If the aliens can't maintain their stealth when they go to full power ...”

And if they can, we’re dead, Kurt thought.  He looked back at the alien carriers on the display, trying to estimate how long it would take the alien starfighters to enter engagement range.  But there just wasn't enough hard data to make a realistic guess.

“Alpha and Beta, with me,” he ordered.  “Delta and Gamma, remain to cover the Old Lady.”

He listened to the acknowledgements, then gunned the starfighter’s thrusters, forcing it forward.  Ahead of them, the alien carriers grew larger on the display.

***

Ted wanted a drink, desperately.  Something to give him a little courage and determination, something to keep him going as seven massive alien carriers bore down on his command.  It was clear that the aliens had been fooled by the decoys – it was the only explanation that made sense – and yet, he knew all too well that they had the firepower to deal with the illusionary ships.  He needed a drink ...