Worlds Without End: The Mission (Book 1)
Page 75
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"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.