“What the—”
“What is it, Captain?” said Adrian to Captain Shultz, his copilot seated in his seat directly behind him.
Captain Shultz, a young native Terrestrian barely out of his teens, but an excellent navigator, pointed directly ahead and said, “Would you look at that?”
Adrian shot his head up and looked directly ahead. His draw dropped in awe of the sheer number of Gnol ships ahead of him. He knew that his men were severely outnumbered, but no one could have imagined what he saw before him.
Soon he would be flying into thousands and thousands of Gnol space fighters. Adrian could see Jake’s squadron of silver Wildcats scattered amidst the black Gnol fighters. There were plasma blasts and explosions everywhere. Adrian took a deep breath. “Red Leader, report!”
Adrian was relieved when he heard the static voice of his son within his flight helmet. “Twenty-six Wildcat 1s already down. There are too many of them. Black Leader, get in here now!”
Adrian squeezed his flight stick and said, “Black Team, engage!”
All one hundred Wildcat 2s darted off to join the battle. As Adrian entered the mass of space fighters, he maneuvered his fighter back and forth, dodging the plasma fire that was all around his ship. Within his helmet, Adrian could hear the screams of his brave pilots as they were obliterated.
“General, we got one on our tail!” Shultz yelled.
Adrian looked into his rearview screen. Directly behind him and matching him move for move was a Gnol space fighter. “Captain, fire the gun turret.”
Shultz pushed the button that activated the small gun turret that would fire a barrage of small plasma blasts at their pursuer. Adrian continued to watch the rearview screen as the turret fired. He knew that the small blasts wouldn’t do any significant damage to his enemy, but he hoped that it would distract him enough so Adrian could maneuver behind him.
As Adrian watched, he saw that the Gnol fighter was lining itself up for a shot.
“General, look out!”
Adrian looked up. His eyes widened as another Gnol fighter rapidly approached. He saw red plasma blasts exit the turrets in its wings. Without even a thought, Adrian yanked his flight stick to the left. His spacecraft banked left into a three hundred sixty degree roll.
Adrian looked out to his right and saw that he had barely avoided their deaths as the two Gnol fighters fired simultaneously. Both Gnol fighters landed direct hits on each other and exploded into two brilliant fireballs.
Adrian heard Captain Shultz let out a holler of total excitement. “Yes! Nice flying, General!”
Adrian allowed a small smile to crease along his face. It had been a long time since he had flown like that, and the adrenaline was simply astounding.
“Get him off of me!”
Adrian shot his head to his left and saw a silver Wildcat 1 speed past. Behind the Wildcat, was a Gnol fighter lining itself up for a shot. Adrian moved his flight stick back and forth as he flew his fighter into a direct line with the Gnol fighter. The Gnol zigzagged back and forth, trying to get Adrian off his tail, and at the same time, line himself up for a shot on his prey. But Adrian matched every move the Gnol made. The second the Gnol appeared in Adrian’s sights, he fired.
The blasts clipped the left wing of the Gnol fighter, causing it to spin out of control and into another Gnol fighter. They both exploded into bright red and orange fireballs. The blast was so bright that Adrian failed to recognize what was behind him before it was too late.
As he glanced into his rearview screen, another Gnol had fired upon him. Adrian tried to dodge the blast, but it hit his right wing. He felt the shudder of his space fighter. He tried to regain control, but his right wing thrusters had been damaged. As a result, it was impossible for him to bank left. “Captain, can you get that fixed?”
“Working on it now, General,” Shultz said as he started typing into his computer.
Adrian looked again into his rearview screen. The Gnol knew Adrian’s predicament and positioned itself for another shot. Adrian knew by the way the Gnol fighter positioned his ship that there was no way he could dodge the next plasma blast or missile fire. Then Adrian heard the tone he dreaded to hear.
The Gnol had locked itself onto Adrian’s fighter and was about to fire a missile that would obliterate him and Captain Shultz. Suddenly, Adrian saw the flash of a brilliant explosion. He looked and saw that the Gnol on his tail had exploded. He watched a silver Wildcat 1 fly though the fireball and he heard his son within his helmet. “Dad! You okay?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Dad, most of the Gnol fighters are retreating back to their battle cruisers. The wormhole must be opening soon. Take your squadron and inflict as much damage on those cruisers as you can. We’ll hold off the rest of the Gnol fighters.”
“Roger that,” replied Adrian as he thought about how grateful he was to have such a talented son. “Captain, how’s that wing looking?”
Captain Shultz continued to type into his computer for a moment longer before answering.
“Captain …”
“Got it, General. She should be able to go now.”
Adrian tested the fighter. He could now maneuver to his left just as if there had been no damage to his wing. He smiled and said, “Shultz, you’re a genius.”
“Thanks, General.”
Adrian then turned his attention to the mass of Gnol battle cruisers that sat motionless just above Terrest’s two moons. He hesitated for a moment as he thought about the odds he and his pilots were up against.
Ahead of him, he could see the three hundred eighty-four battle cruisers and the one command ship waiting for the wormhole to open. All of the Gnol ships reminded him of his Mars I Space Shuttle; the only difference being their colors, insignias, and, of course, their sizes. The Gnol battle cruisers were about five hundred times larger than the original Mars I shuttle, and the command ship about one thousand times larger.
Adrian swallowed and spoke into his comm. “Black Squadron, this is Black Leader. Engage the Gnol battle cruisers! I repeat, engage the Gnol battle cruisers!”
Adrian heard a series of roger thats as he sped off toward his targets. As his squadron approached, a barrage of plasma fire erupted from the cruisers.
“Evasive maneuvers!” screamed Adrian as he dodged the plasma blasts as well.
As Adrian dodged the blasts, he tried to line himself up for a missile shot. It was useless. The firepower of the cruisers was too powerful. Adrian’s pilots were getting picked off one by one.
“Dad, you have to retreat. You’re not going to make it!” yelled Jake.
Adrian was about to respond when his fighter shuddered violently, and he saw a bright flash of light. He heard Jake yell something and felt his body spinning at a velocity he had never felt before. He opened his eyes and saw the surface of one of Terrest’s moons rapidly approaching.
He gritted his teeth and used all of the strength he could muster to pull his fighter out of its spin. He knew that somehow he had to get his fighter upright so that it would land on its fuselage and hopefully skid to a stop on the surface. As the moon’s surface quickly drew nearer, Adrian struggled with all of his might to control the fighter. He screamed, pulling on his flight stick.
Just before the nose of his fighter penetrated the surface of the moon, he was able to level the ship out and pull the nose slightly upward. The fuselage of the fighter hit the surface with such an impact that Adrian thought for sure he was going to be ripped to shreds. Gray dust and debris from the moon exploded out from underneath his Wildcat.
He opened his eyes again and saw that his plan, at least for the moment, had succeeded. But now, he had a new problem. His Wildcat was skidding along the surface with such velocity that he was unable to reach his control panel and fire his reverse thrusters to stop. Just ahead, he saw a rock formation coming up fast.
His eyes widened with horror as he saw that his fighter was headed directly for a rock archway that was low enough to rip
the top of his ship to pieces. “Duck!” he shrieked.
Adrian ducked his head as far as his restraining belt would allow. Glass and metal splattered everywhere, and Adrian felt the back of his flight helmet scrape along the bottom of the arch.
After the fighter cleared the archway, Adrian sat up and looked directly ahead. Soon his body would be forever impaled upon the face of the cliff wall that his ship was about to meet. He quickly reached down to his right and pulled the ejection lever.
Adrian and Shultz were launched into the moon’s thin atmosphere just as the fighter collided with the cliff face. A brilliant fireball erupted, and Adrian felt the heat of the blast on his feet as he ascended toward space.
He knew that the velocity of the ejection seat ascent would send him and Shultz out of the moon’s thin atmosphere and forever floating in space. He quickly pushed a button on the ejection lever, and reverse thrusters fired. The ejection seat slowly descended and landed softly onto the moon’s surface.
Stunned, Adrian sat motionless in his seat for a few moments before he unbuckled himself. He called out for Captain Shultz. “Captain …”
There was no answer.
“Captain Shultz, are you all right?”
Again, no answer.
Adrian checked himself from head to toe. He wasn’t injured anywhere; just sore from using muscles he hadn’t used in a long time. He unbuckled himself and rolled onto the soft, dusty surface. He stood up and noticed that the gravity reminded him of his first trip to Earth’s moon when he was training for the Mars’ mission.
Adrian tried to call for Jake through his communicator, but there was no response. He then called out for Shultz again as he turned to the rear part of the ejection seat.
Adrian turned his head and almost vomited at the sight of Shultz’s body. Shultz must not have seen the rock archway because not much was left of him. Adrian dropped to his knees in sorrow. As he mourned the loss of a promising young leader within the Terrest military, he noticed that the moon dust around him began to flurry.
He turned around and saw a Gnol transport shuttle landing about ten yards away from where he knelt. He quickly stood up and grabbed his sidearm, which was attached to the left leg of his spacesuit. He raised his gun upwards just as the shuttle landed. He waited a few moments as the ladder lowered and the door to the shuttle slid open.
Adrian maintained his aim upon the open doorway and waited. A space helmet peeked out, and Adrian fired. Adrian missed, his shot hitting just above the doorway. He lined up for another shot when another Gnol stepped out and fired. The blast hit the bottom of Adrian’s gun, causing it to fly from his hand. Adrian decided to surrender and raised his arms.
The two Gnols dressed in their red and black spacesuits approached Adrian with their weapons raised. One of them spoke to him. “Name and rank.”
Adrian didn’t respond.
“Name and rank now, or you’re dead!”
Adrian waited a few seconds. The Gnol who had spoken to him walked up to him and placed his weapon upon the shield of Adrian’s helmet. He began to squeeze his trigger.
“Adrian Palmer … General Adrian Palmer.”
The Gnol smiled and said, “Ah, General Dorange Gar would like you to join him on his trip to Earth.”
**********
“Dad! Dad! No!” Jake screamed as he watched his father’s fighter spin out of control toward the surface of one of the Terrest moons.
For what seemed like hours, Jake just stared at the moon as his father’s ship disappeared. Finally, he took a deep breath and said, “Red Leader to Base 2 …”
He waited a few seconds for either Petey’s or Anyta’s voice. There was no response.
“I repeat … Red Leader to Base 2! Come in …”
Again, he waited. Finally, after a couple of minutes, he heard Anyta’s voice. Jake could tell from the sound of it that she was trying not to cry. “Thi … this is Base 2, Red Leader. Report.”
“Black Leader is down. I repeat, Black Leader is down. I’m going after him.”
Anyta hesitated before she spoke, but then she said something Jake didn’t expect. “Negative, Red Leader. Your orders are to retreat back to base and provide air support for Blue Leader.”
Jake was shocked. What is she thinking, he thought. “What? I don’t understand. My dad needs help. I’m going down to that moon’s surface.”
Again, Anyta denied him. “Negative, Red Leader. Your squadron and the remaining Black Squadron are needed for air support.”
Jake ignored Anyta’s orders. He knew that his father had given Petey and Anyta full authority while they were in the battle, but he didn’t care. He didn’t want to admit to himself that his father might have been killed. He had to see for himself.
Jake pushed his Wildcat to full speed and sped off toward the moon’s surface. Meanwhile, the rest of the remaining Red and Black squadrons retreated to Terrest to aid in the ground battle.
As Jake drew nearer to the Gnol battle cruisers, they opened fire upon him. He dodged left and then right, avoiding the red hot flashes of energy. Just as he was about to enter the thin atmosphere of the moon, he heard Anyta again. “Jake, listen to me.”
He didn’t answer.
“Okay … if you’re not going to respond, then just listen. I’m hurting just as much as you are. Every part of me wants you to go to that surface to see if the man I love is still alive … but … but you can’t. We need you, Jake. The base is about to be penetrated, and the inexperienced pilots need your leadership. If you land on that moon, everything your father has fought for will be lost.”
Jake felt the tears rush down his face. He didn’t want to lose his father again. But Anyta was right. His pilots needed his leadership if they were going to prevent the Gnols from penetrating the base and destroying everything his father had worked so long to preserve – the free agency of his brothers and sisters.
Jake swallowed the lump that was in his throat and gritted his teeth. “Roger that,” he said as he pulled on his flight stick and rolled out of the moon’s atmosphere. As he neared Terrest, he looked at his rearview screen.
He could see the wormhole open as the mass of warmongering Gnols entered it with the intent to destroy or enslave every human being upon Earth.
**********
Celeste peered through her binoculars toward the entrance of her father’s magnificent city. She was perched atop a small hill about three hundred yards away and well hidden from the cover of night and a small grove of pine trees that surrounded her. She was sure that the guards in their towers wouldn’t be able to see her.
She continued to watch as Colonel Jantear guided the assault vehicle to the city gates. She looked around and counted approximately twenty-two guards within the vehicle’s immediate vicinity. One of the guards held up his hand to stop the hovercraft and waved for the driver to step out. Jantear stopped the hovercraft just as the side entrance slid open.
Celeste adjusted the focus on her binoculars so she could get a better visual of what was going on. As she did so, Jantear exited the vehicle from the side entrance and returned a salute the guard had given him. “So far so good,” she said softly. She was relieved; at least for the moment, the Gnol’s officer’s uniform that Jantear wore fooled the guard.
Her earpiece crackled, and she could hear the guard speak. “Uh … General … we were not expecting any troop movements today. What is your business?”
“We are returning from Ciminae,” Jantear said. “We have standing orders to report directly to Lord Chast himself, and for you to not ask any questions. Understood?”
“Uh … yes, sir. Sorry, sir. Do you have your identification codes?”
Celeste smiled and was impressed with Jantear’s playacting. From his performance, Celeste knew that he came across as a legitimate and condescending Gnol officer. She watched as Jantear handed the guard the disk that contained the authentication codes. The guard inserted the disk into the small computer he was holding and examined the in
formation.
After a few seconds, the guard looked up and then back to his screen. Again, he examined the information. He then looked back at Jantear and gave him a confused look. “Okay. It all checks out. You may enter.”
Celeste watched Jantear return to the driver’s seat. Once Celeste saw the vehicle enter the city and hover its way to the palace, she spoke to Jantear through the small communication devices they had on their collars and in their ears. “What was that all about?”
“What?” Jantear replied.
“That guard did not seem convinced about those codes.”
“What are you talking about?”
Celeste was confused. She knew what she had seen and could tell from the look on that guard’s face that he was not sure about the information he was looking at. “Jantear, you saw that guard’s face just as I did. And I could tell he was not convinced.”
“You’re being paranoid, Celeste. It worked, didn’t it? We’re in.”
Celeste knew Jantear was right, but couldn’t escape the feeling that something was amiss. She looked at her computer monitor that was next to her and could see that Jantear was nearing the palace gates. She continued to watch as Jantear went through the same actions he performed previously that got him into the city. The only difference this time, however, was that every one of his troops exited the assault vehicle and left it parked near the entrance of the palace walls.
She continued to watch through the small camera attached to Jantear’s uniform as he and his troops neared the main entrance of the palace. “Okay, Celeste. We’re at the main entrance,” he said softly into his comlink. “Where do we go from here?”
Celeste looked at her monitor and could see that Jantear and his troops were about to enter the entrance to the temple that honored her father and the goddess of light. She also thought that it was odd that there wasn’t another Gnol in sight. In fact, the entire palace courtyard and temple floor of the palace, which was usually abuzz with activity, was strangely empty.
Worlds Without End: The Mission (Book 1) Page 33