happened?”
“The enemy pulled a kamikaze and took out three of the alliance ships. We’re trying to keep the rest of the bastards busy while we perform some search and rescue. I need you guys to rejoin your wing and get on patrol.”
“Understood.” Meagan shook her head. “Sorry, ground pounders. We’ll do what we can. You heard them, Mick…Tai’Li…um…guys? One pass and we’re back topside.”
“Seems a shame,” Mick said. “We could really do some damage.”
“They might have some real ground to air ordinance,” Meagan replied. “So we probably should be thankful we won’t be giving them juicy targets to pop.”
“The battleground’s coming up on visual,” Mick said. “Jesus Christ, do you see them all?”
Meagan squinted then leaned back in her seat. There were hundreds, possibly more, soldiers on the ground charging a fixed emplacement set up by the alliance. Their IFF lit up, showing blue on the left where a much smaller contingency tried to fend them off and red where the massive force congregated.
“Good lord, you’re not kidding.” Meagan sighed. “Let’s do what we can.”
She jerked her control back to avoid topping a tree then plunged down, firing her pulse cannons into the densest part of the crowd. Mick did the same and the Tai’Li fighters spread out to either side for maximum spread. They weren’t quite close enough to see the whites of their eyes, but she sure saw them react.
The first blasts threw bodies high into the air. It caused panic and the soldiers began running, trying to spread out to avoid the heaviest casualties but there was nowhere for them to go. While they might’ve overrun the position they were taking with sheer numbers, those numbers provided a target rich environment.
Craters appeared where bodies once were. Corpses became obstacles they had to clamber over to escape their own deaths. Two passes would’ve been devastating . Meagan thought as she came to the end of the line. Half of her considered trying another fly by on their way out when her scanner picked up an incoming missile.
“Do you see that?” Meagan called out. “Mick?”
“Yeah, some prick down there had the weapons you were worried about. I’ve got one on me too.”
“Us as well,” Tai’Li added. “We have countermeasures.”
“Yeah, us too.” Meagan sighed. “Alright, let’s follow orders and get topside. Allow their stupid missiles to get close then drop your ECM. Sync up on that too.”
Their countermeasures would distract the missiles and give them a chance to pull far enough away from the missiles to avoid being blown to hell. However, if they didn’t all drop them, there was a good chance the attacking rocket would change course and go after the bigger target. What was worse would be if they didn’t sync up, the missile could bounce between targets, not allowing any fighter to escape.
Her scans beeped, giving her a countdown. As the clouds above broke way to blue sky, she gunned her throttle. “Countdown,” Meagan shouted. “Three…two…one, fire!”
They dropped their ECM and pulled away from one another, separating out to allow their defensive measures to do their jobs. As the sky turned from blue to gray and eventually to black, the scans suggested her missile drifted back and went after her defense. “I’m clear!” She called out. “Mick, report!”
“Mine’s good.”
“I haven’t dropped mine,” Tai’Li One said. “It’s tight on
“The enemy pulled a kamikaze and took out three of the alliance ships. We’re trying to keep the rest of the bastards busy while we perform some search and rescue. I need you guys to rejoin your wing and get on patrol.”
“Understood.” Meagan shook her head. “Sorry, ground pounders. We’ll do what we can. You heard them, Mick…Tai’Li…um…guys? One pass and we’re back topside.”
“Seems a shame,” Mick said. “We could really do some damage.”
“They might have some real ground to air ordinance,” Meagan replied. “So we probably should be thankful we won’t be giving them juicy targets to pop.”
“The battleground’s coming up on visual,” Mick said. “Jesus Christ, do you see them all?”
Meagan squinted then leaned back in her seat. There were hundreds, possibly more, soldiers on the ground charging a fixed emplacement set up by the alliance. Their IFF lit up, showing blue on the left where a much smaller contingency tried to fend them off and red where the massive force congregated.
“Good lord, you’re not kidding.” Meagan sighed. “Let’s do what we can.”
She jerked her control back to avoid topping a tree then plunged down, firing her pulse cannons into the densest part of the crowd. Mick did the same and the Tai’Li fighters spread out to either side for maximum spread. They weren’t quite close enough to see the whites of their eyes, but she sure saw them react.
The first blasts threw bodies high into the air. It caused panic and the soldiers began running, trying to spread out to avoid the heaviest casualties but there was nowhere for them to go. While they might’ve overrun the position they were taking with sheer numbers, those numbers provided a target rich environment.
Craters appeared where bodies once were. Corpses became obstacles they had to clamber over to escape their own deaths. Two passes would’ve been devastating . Meagan thought as she came to the end of the line. Half of her considered trying another fly by on their way out when her scanner picked up an incoming missile.
“Do you see that?” Meagan called out. “Mick?”
“Yeah, some prick down there had the weapons you were worried about. I’ve got one on me too.”
“Us as well,” Tai’Li added. “We have countermeasures.”
“Yeah, us too.” Meagan sighed. “Alright, let’s follow orders and get topside. Allow their stupid missiles to get close then drop your ECM. Sync up on that too.”
Their countermeasures would distract the missiles and give them a chance to pull far enough away from the missiles to avoid being blown to hell. However, if they didn’t all drop them, there was a good chance the attacking rocket would change course and go after the bigger target. What was worse would be if they didn’t sync up, the missile could bounce between targets, not allowing any fighter to escape.
Her scans beeped, giving her a countdown. As the clouds above broke way to blue sky, she gunned her throttle. “Countdown,” Meagan shouted. “Three…two…one, fire!”
They dropped their ECM and pulled away from one another, separating out to allow their defensive measures to do their jobs. As the sky turned from blue to gray and eventually to black, the scans suggested her missile drifted back and went after her defense. “I’m clear!” She called out. “Mick, report!”
“Mine’s good.”
“I haven’t dropped mine,” Tai’Li One said. “It’s tight on
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