**********
"Shuttle 1 to Wildcat leader. ? I repeat ? Shuttle 1 to Wildcat 1. Get them off my tail!"
Jake heard the pleading of the shuttle pilot within his flight helmet. He turned his head to locate the shuttle. There it was, speeding its way south. Behind it were three Gnol fighters within firing range. "Wildcat 2," he said. "I repeat ? Wildcat 2 ? come in."
"Sir, this is Wildcat 7. We've lost nearly twenty Wildcats so far."
Jake cursed. "Wildcat 7, help those Chaties take out the two remaining plasma cannons. I'm going to help Shuttle 1."
"Roger that."
Jake jerked on his flight stick and felt the G-forces as he banked right. He straightened it out and shot off toward the three Gnols that were chasing the shuttle.
Suddenly, he saw a gigantic fireball burst on his left side.
"Shuttle 2 has been hit. I repeat ? Shuttle 2, h-"
Jake strained his neck and saw another large explosion and three Gnol fighters escape from the flames. Jake turned his attention back to Shuttle 1 and felt a deep sadness. No, they wouldn't. They had to know that the shuttle was full of women and children, he thought to himself, as he gritted his teeth. He then hit his accelerator for more speed.
"Get them off!" demanded the Shuttle 1 pilot, as one of the Gnol fighters fired. The hot red plasma bolt just missed the right wing as the shuttle pilot banked left.
Jake was within firing range on the middle Gnol when his alarm went off within his fighter. Jake looked at his rear monitor, saw that another Gnol was behind him, and he had just fired a missile.
Jake grabbed his flight stick with both hands and banked left. He held the stick and rolled the fighter three hundred sixty degrees with the missile just missing the underside of his Wildcat. He saw the missile clip the tail of the Gnol fighter on which he was about to fire. There was a bright explosion as the middle fighter ahead of Jake careened out of control into the fighter on its right. Both ships fell to the ground in bright red fireballs.
"I'm hit!"
Jake looked ahead and saw that the one remaining Gnol fighter trailing the shuttle had landed a shot on the left wing. "Is it bad?" he asked the shuttle pilot.
"Negative ? I still have control."
Then Jake saw brilliant, red flashes buzz by on each side of his canopy. The Gnol trailing him was still on his tail. Jake maneuvered his Wildcat back and forth while trying to get a missile lock on the Gnol ahead of him.
Suddenly, he heard a loud explosion. He glanced at his monitor and saw that the Gnol chasing him had burst into flames. "What the-"
"You're good to go, General."
Jake continued to look and saw one silver Wildcat fly through the flames.
"Wildcat 7, is that you?" he asked.
"Negative, sir, this is Captain Mechlis, Wildcat 10. You'll never guess what happened?"
Jake, who was still trying to get a lock on the Gnol ahead of him, felt annoyed. Why was this captain trying to play guessing games at a time like this? "Just tell me, Captain!" he ordered.
"General Hauler from Base 2 just arrived with an entire squadron of assault vehicles and hover tanks. They're taking out everything."
Jake was stunned. "What? ? Where did they get hover tanks?"
"I don't know, but he has them."
A smile grew on Jake's face.
Jake then noticed that the Gnol ahead of him was beginning to get in line for another shot. Jake tightened his grip on his stick and banked right to follow the Gnol fighter. Then, he heard the tone he was waiting for - missile lock. He squeezed the trigger, and a missile fired out from under his left wing.
The Gnol must have heard his missile warning. He tried to bank left and then right, but the missile kept him in its sight. The missile hit the Gnol fighter directly in the tail engine, causing it to explode into a bright red and orange fireball. Jake and Captain Mechlis both banked left to avoid the flying shrapnel.
"Shuttle 1 ? this is General Palmer."
"General."
"You're free. Captain Mechlis and I will escort you to the second base. E.T.A., twenty minutes. Your orders are to unload all civilians, and we will escort you back to Base 1. We need another shuttle for the civilians that were on Shuttle 3."
"Roger that."
Worlds Without End: The Mission (Book 1) Page 54