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ship on the HUD. Bucking and rolling, Berkson was unable to evade the 7, no, now 8 ships in diamond formation that hunted him. A round of alien fire glanced a forward wing on his fighter’s nose.
“Hang on, Berkson," he said, then executed a rolling climb to put him over the tank's coordinates Once above the fray, Caleb brought himself around to descend at a 45-degree angle upon the alien wings' six. There wasn't much distance between the lead fighter and Berkson. Caleb opted to intercept that craft first. His Starbrute vibrated as he increased velocity and swooped, target locks swirling, swirling, but failing to lock.
Shit!
His mouth went dry as he decided to strafe the jet anyway, but his bolt volley either fell short or merely grazed it. Caleb soared over the craft then nudged his stick to climb.
Engines flared as the alien fighter lifted away from its wings in pursuit.
Caleb pulled himself into an inverted loop, and while upside down he nervously checked his HUD. The alien was a wasp buzzing intently around his neck. As they pulled out of the loop, the enemy plane shot after him, sewing up the gap to half a ship's length. The NAV system console bleeped.
PROXIMITY ALERT. COURSE----
There were more words on the screen, but Caleb didn't waste time reading them. The view through the canopy was inevitably clear.
Berkson's Starbrute strung along two remaining aliens and all 3 were on a collision course with Caleb.
He grasped, two handed the joystick and slammed it towards the instrument panels. "BERKSON! HIT THE DECK!"
Caleb revved his thrusters and simultaneously nosedived with Berkson. Their fighters passed within ten meters of each other, and the long shadows of the tank's plane cast Caleb's cockpit in gloom. Warnings spilled across the NAV system's screen as Caleb flicked his glance between it and the inverted TB-54 overhead.
Behind them, the alien plane that'd been on Caleb's tail collided with the other two jets, sending an expanding ball of metallic smithereens in all directions. The thruster tubes of Caleb's ship were struck by some of the wreckage, jolting the craft repeatedly before the fragments were either melted or floated away.
Caleb threw back his head. "Yeeeeeeeeeahhhhhhhh!"
A war cry from Berkson echoed his.
"Not so fast," Berkson said. "Bandit's locked onto you, Caleb. Check 6!"
Caleb's LIDAR sounded an alarm.
"You see it, Waxman?"
"Yep," Caleb answered. "I'm on it."
"In your trail," Berkson replied.
"Is your NAV system up for it?"
Berkson snickered. "We'll find out."
"MARK!"
Caleb arced wide under the belly of the battle. Blue and White Wings had joined forces and furiously engaged a score of alien craft that were attempting to run a pinwheel formation around them. Starbrutes spat glowing venom at the aliens, ripping their ring to shreds.
"Nice block, Gluckstein!" Caleb complemented the other wing leader.
"I can't talk to you now, Waxman," Gluckstein said, his transmission breaking up. "I'm hit. HOTAS control gone. Bypass ineffective."
"Get the hell outta there!" Caleb cried.
Two contacts neared Gluckstein's ship, then it vanished soundlessly from Caleb's HUD.
"I've got her course plotted," Berkson broke in. "ETA: 13 seconds....twelve....eleven...."
Laura was starting to panic. "I can't jink him!"
"You're running at 85," Caleb said, feeling his hands begin to shake as he read her velocity from his HUD. "Max those damn thrusters!"
"They are!" she argued. "This is all I'm getting! He's firing!"
"Evade," Caleb shouted. "Brake and yaw!"
"We got about 5 seconds to do something, Waxman," Berkson bleakly observed. "And I don't know about you, but this bug's got my target locks jammed solid."
"Pull up alongside me," Caleb ordered. "We'll run an x-pattern in front of him----draw him away."
"Copy."
"Go!"
Caleb and Berkson came up on the alien's tail like madmen, howling in their links and laying down wild gunfire. They burst in front of the s hip, cutting across the alien's path in scissors-fashion. It was now up to the alien which target he'd choose to follow.
But the sonofabitch kept on Laura's 6.
Caleb banked wide and came up once more on his quarry.
Berkson's Starbrute was high and astern, but it was rising and falling as if riding upon tall waves. "Waxman, my NAV's freaking out again. I can't get to her."
"Hold your position. I've got an idea."
With that, Caleb swept forward, skimming over the alien and Laura, then yo-yoed inside behind Laura, putting the bug on his 6. He thumbed a button on his thruster control, then tapped in two numbers to jettison .08 percent of thruster coolant, hoping to confuse or slow the alien. He broke rapidly away.
The alien knifed through the liquid blob and continued doggedly after Laura.
"Gotta go for a shot, Waxman," Berkson said.
Caleb circled and put the alien in front of him. A fraction of a degree mistake would send his fire towards Laura. Gooseflesh fanned across his shoulders as he thought of how he'd nearly killed Berkson by making a similar shot. "She's in my line...if I engage, I could hit her!"
"Take the chance, Caleb!" Laura pleaded.
Caleb reached inside himself, wanting to pull out his Satan. He couldn't. She was too close. She would die in front of him. He had to shoot. No. The cockpit was suddenly too small. His eyes were watering now.
There was nowhere to run!"
A spate of laser fire suddenly reached out for Laura's craft, promising to cripple or destroy it.
Noooooo!
But then each bolt was systematically picked off before it struck Laura while a volley of fire rained down from above and tore the alien ship in two.
Caleb rocked sideways to avoid the glistening hulk that tumbled away from him.
"YAHOOOO! POPPED 'IM GOOD, CALEB!"
Frowning, then double checking his weapons console, Caleb answered. "It wasn't me!"
"Who got him?" Berkson asked.
"Uh, why don't you guys check your 3?" Laura suggested.
Caleb felt an adrenaline rush as he watched four immense supercarriers advance in box formation from behind the alien motherships. In the minutes that followed, a fleet of Starbrutes wove tight patterns through the asteroid field and emerged with laser cannons pumping enough fire to sweep clear the remaining alien jets. The supercarriers bombarded the motherships in a spectacular hail of fire that brought daylight to the heavens. Outnumbered, the motherships recalled the fighters launching from their bays and fled towards the dark side of the Jovian moon Ganymede.
Falling into a wedge pattern with Berkson and Laura, Caleb leaned back and took in a long breath that he'd put on hold since leaving the Galaxi.
Communication officer Rabin's voice came over the link. "69---this is command. Damage is nominal. Enemy in retreat. Return to base. Objective achieved."
The supercarriers continued to target the enemy, only now it wasn't a battle, but a nearby fireworks show in celebration. Caleb joined the rest of the fighting 69th, who cheered in the link as they headed home.
Mom, Dad, everyone. I made it! I'm all right!230Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpSIGdAyLRl
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