Post by EagleFire91 on Jul 23, 2006 18:30:19 GMT -5
This is where I get my screenname from.... It is a work in progress, but in the end will explain the whole reason why my screenname is EagleFire....
So anyway... This is a story that I am working on currently. Soooooo... I hope you like it! (It is the first two chapters)
The EagleFire Squadron
---Chapter 1---
Corrinth System, Sector 5; 0500 Hours
“Captain,” James Brooks said, his voice crackling through the com-link, “four waves of WarLords, headed south, at ten O’clock.”
“Copy that,” Captain Carissa Conroid replied, her hand rotating the joystick that controlled her fighter, “move four klicks west to intercept.”
“Are we free to fire, ma’am?” Taylor Fish asked.
“Affirmative, you know the objective.”
“Copy that, Gold Five, out.”
“Gold One, out.” Carissa rotated her craft’s nose down, pulling it into a steep dive at the enemy craft. Her wingman followed, matching her increasing speed. For most missions, this was a suicidal dive, but the WarLords were bulky crafts. Carissa’s surprise attack would force them to scramble.
“Got my back, Five?” Carissa asked, seeing her plan fold out in front of her eyes.
“Yes ma’am,” Taylor responded.
Carissa’s missile lock blinked red, causing her to release two missiles at her target. “Fox one, fox two,” Carissa warned, her missiles streaking out in front of her at the designated target.
“Gold One, bank left!” With a split-second reaction, Carissa slammed her joystick to the left, forcing her craft into a stomach wrenching G-Turn.
Lasers split the space, where her craft had been. Even with shields, a blast like that would have shattered her craft’s delicate hull. She was thankful for a wingman.
“Thanks Taylor, “ Carissa said through the comlink connected to her helmet.
“Gold four, you need help?” Carissa asked.
“Negative, one. I am regrouping at five klicks east,” James responded.
“Copy that. Taylor, keep me in your scopes. I may need help.”
“Yes ma’am.”
The aspect of surprise had worn off now. The WarLords would be ready this time. But she was the leader of the elite Gold Group, the pick of the crop. If she could not take the WarLords out, then no one could.
Carissa pulled smoothly out of her G-Force turn. Then, leveling out her nose, she barreled into the enemy’s formation. The warlords reacted faster than she anticipated. A quick turn, though, brought one of the WarLords into her HUD’s crosshairs, and with a quick blast of her lasers, it was gone.
“Turning two klicks east, I’ll be there in-” Carissa was cut off.
“Watch your aft Captain!”
In a split-second, Carissa pushed in the throttle, swinging the nose of her craft down. This caused a dive, accelerating her craft out of danger. The bulky attacker could not follow, its lasers sailing harmlessly through the space.
Carissa pulled out of the dive, pulling her throttle out again, and accelerating to safety.
“Whew, too close,” Carissa muttered under her breath.
“You okay, one?”
“Affirmative, regroup at one klick east.”
“Copy that,” Her wingman’s craft responded almost immediately, his craft sailing through space in order to regroup.
“Gold Two, report you status.” There was dead silence. Not a good sign! “Gold Two, report-”
“I saw him go down captain, he was with five,” Taylor admitted, his voice dropping to a whisper.
“=(! I…” Carissa trailed off.
“This is not time for remorse captain,” Lieutenant Alexis Briggs said, her voice cutting through the conversation, “We have one more wave of those WarLords headed this way.”
“I’ll disable the carrier,” Carissa said, choking back tears, “Taylor, break formation, you are needed here.”
“Copy that.”
Carissa’s sense of safety dissipated as Taylor’s craft disappeared in her rear window. Many fighter pilots were wary about attacking a craft alone, herself included.
Shutting her thoughts deep inside her head, Carissa switched her weapon to Ion Blasts. These blasts were only strong enough to cause the target’s computers to overload. This meant that the target was a sitting duck in space for a few hours until it was able to reboot the computers.
Too many times, had a fighter pilot destroyed a designated craft, instead of just disabling it, with standard lasers. So, to abolish this problem, scientists invented the Ion Blasts.
“Fighters are on their way, captain,” Taylor warned, “disable it fast, and get out of there.”
“Copy that,” Carissa responded. Aligning the carrier in the crosshairs of her HUD display, Carissa let off a missile. Unless she missed, which was unlikely, due to the size of the carrier, the missile would only knock out the shields of the carrier. Without shields, the carrier would be defenseless to her Ion Blasts.
The carrier made a sloppy evasive maneuver, trying to evade the missile. The maneuver was in vain though. The missile kept its mark, striking the carrier’s aft shields.
“Intel. is reporting shields down, you are free to engage!” Alexis reported, her clear voice flowing through the comlink.
“You have thirty seconds until the WarLords can fire on you!” Taylor warned.
“Okay, okay. I am engaging now.” Carissa pulled her joystick right, following the retreating carrier. With priceless seconds left, Carissa thumbed the trigger, releasing two rounds of Ion Blasts. She then slammed her joystick down, putting her craft into a steep dive.
Just milliseconds later, lasers blasted through the empty space above her. Good quick thinking Carissa, looks like it pulled you through another mission, Carissa thought.
“Nice timing, Carissa!” Taylor praised, “I’m following you up on your rear.”
“Copy… That…” Carissa breathed hard. The next time you do that, it will get you killed girl!
“Carrier Titan is reporting systems down! Good job, Captain Conroid,” the intelligence officer said.
“Alright, lets take out these WarLords and then scan our disabled carrier.”
“Copy that,” Taylor responded.
“I am on my own, wish me luck!” Alexis said.
“Good luck, just come home safely.”
“Roger, Gold Three out!”
“Gold Five out!”
“Taylor, watch you starboard side!” Carissa warned, “Move a klick west!” With lightning reaction, Taylor rolled his craft left, dodging the lasers threatening to take him down to his grave.
Carissa pulled out her throttle, making her craft barrel through the open space. Polling the spaceship west, she aligned a WarLord in her crosshairs. A metallic buzz sounded, indicating that her HUD had locked onto the bulky fighter. Switching to missiles, Carissa thumbed the trigger, releasing a SHST missile.
Though old, the Standard Heat Seeking Technology Missile served its purpose. These missiles locked onto the target’s heat source. It then would track the target until its death. The downside to these missiles was that they were easily evaded. A pilot, who knew what a SHST missile was, could power down his engine and cause the missile to lose its target.
The SHST missile strove forward, in front of Carissa’s craft, locking onto its target’s engines. The WarLord’s pilot was smart though. He shut off his afterburner, and pulled his craft into a steep dive. Without the heat source, the missile strayed off.
Grimacing, Carissa pulled her craft out of its roll, and tried to align the escaping WarLord in her HUD’s crosshairs.
“Don’t worry about him, one,” Taylor said, calling off Carissa’s rampage, “I have him.” Taylor’s craft shot out in front of her, pelting the WarLord with lasers.
The enemy craft wavered, trying to break free of its attacker’s laser fire. “Ha-ha! Gotch ya!” Taylor yelled through his comlink as the WarLord exploded in front of him.
“Okay, that’s the rest of the fighters. Lets scan the Titan and then get out of here!” Alexis said, her craft joining the group, forming the V-formation.
“Roger,” Carissa responded, “Captain of the carrier Titan, come in.”
“I copy, you CrossBow scum. If you dare hold me up any longer, I sw-”
“Captain of the Titan, I assure you we will not hold you up any longer than necessary. I also promise not to destroy you. All we need to do is search-”
“And what is the promise of a CrossBow captain worth? Huh?”
“More than you relies. I just need to scan you cargo.”
“What! I have nothing but food!”
“Good, then you have nothing to hide. Permission to scan you cargo hold?” The comlink when silent for a minute and then beeped back on.
“Granted.”
“Perfect,” Carissa smiled, “Gold Group, you are free to scan.” Carissa flipped a switch, activating her Tie3-Scanner.
The Tie3-Scanner was the newest invention from the CrossBow labs. It enabled pilots to scan through the deepest hulls. It then would display the results back immediately without leaving out a single detail.
“Scan done, I only found food,” Taylor said, his craft circling the carrier once more.
“Same here,” Alexis agreed, “transmitting results now.”
“Good,” Carissa responded, “we all got the same answers, lets get out of-”
“Captain Conroid, this is Intel. Come in.”
“I copy Intel. Go ahead.”
“Weapons were found aboard the Titan. Destroy it immediately.”
“What! You must have a mistake. Get me Commander Lusóntay immediately!”
“Yes ma’am,” The comlink went dead for only a second, then, the gruff voice of Commander Lusóntay came over it.
“Lusóntay here, what do you want Conroid?”
“Sir, I just did a Deep Technology Scan; there are no weapons aboard the craft!”
“You data was bad, I did one and received weapon data.”
“Sir all of the Gold Group concurs with me!”
“Destroy the man carrier, Conroid! Don’t test my patience!”
“But sir-”
“Orders are orders, Conroid! Follow them or I will replace you!”
“Yes sir…”
“That is more like it, Lusóntay out!”
“Gold One out.” Carissa was disgusted. The Squadron wars did not seem worth it anymore. If she had to break a promise, then…
“Our commands captain?” Taylor’s voice cut through Carissa’s thoughts.
“I… I…” For the first time in a long while, Carissa stumbled across a roadblock.
The Squadron Wars started long ago. Back when Mars had won its independence from Earth. After the Planetary War, the government of Mars was short money. So, they hired squadrons of fighter pilots to protect the airspace.
These squadrons, though, became too powerful, and began to fight for power of the government. This escalated into huge battles that threatened to split Mars in half.
Suddenly, Carissa was not thinking of her position, or the money she was paid. Even if the carrier contained weapons, it still contained vital food being transported to civilians. She had no right to stop it.
“Carissa? Your order?”
“I’m sorry… I, I can’t order you to destroy it,” Carissa choked back tears.
“What!” Alexis was enraged, “I can’t defy Lusóntay’s order!”
“No! Please… Don’t you see that there are people-” Lasers shattered the empty space streaking forward toward the helpless carrier. The first round pelted the carrier only damaging the hull.
“What! You CrossBow scum! The counsel will make you pay! You’ll regret it!” The enraged voice of the Titan’s captain shot through the comlink.
Carissa knew it was only a matter of seconds before the carrier would become a burning fireball. So, switching to Ion Blasts, she slammed her craft’s left petal down, pushing the joystick left. This caused her craft to spin counter clockwise.
Before the spin stopped, Carissa let off a round of Ion Blasts at her comrade’s ship. With no time to dodge, Carissa’s surprised comrade took the hit.
“Carissa! You, you-” Alexis stuttered angrily, her craft lying dead in space.
“I’m sorry…” Carissa trailed off, “Taylor… I…”
“I can’t run with you Carissa, not can I go against you. So you will have to disable me.”
Carissa gladly accepted, she did not want trouble from her best friend. Muttering a “sorry” through the comlink, she let off another round of Ion Blasts.
Turning her craft away from her friends, Carissa docked with the carrier, in order to repair it.
---Chapter 2---
CrossBow Recruiting Center; 1200 Hours
“You seem qualified enough,” Commander Lusóntay said, looking through qualification papers, “You have enough kills in battle, but they aren’t everything.”
“I know, sir,” Lieutenant Ryan Anderson responded, “I can-”
“I don’t care what you can do, Anderson. It is whether you can perform the assignment.”
“Sir-”
“Anderson, think about it! You grounded yourself for three years after your father died. And, as I recall, you caused it!”
“Sir!” Ryan was on the verge of tears now. He did not cause his dad’s death, did he?
He remembered the event fully now. He could see, hear, and feel it all. The scream of the missile lock, the missile itself, blazing toward him, and then, his father’s craft swooping in front of him, taking the missile.
The missile meant for him, shot at him. If only he had followed his dad’s directions and stayed behind the lead fighter, he could have saved himself from the great suffering he experienced now.
The pain of the event flooded into his senses, controlling him fully now. He could not be a captain, not like this. He was too weak, even though he had gotten over this tragic event. But had he?
This was not the kind of thing you could easily forget. It was too hard, too painful, too…
Ryan almost erupted in tears in front of the commander.
“I… Sir…” Ryan trailed off. He had nothing to say, nothing that could get him the job.
“Tell you what, I’ll give you the position. If it works out, you can have it.”
“Thank you sir!” Ryan smiled, as best as he could, with his dad’s death still agonizing his conscious.
“Everyone in Gold Group is new and untrained,” Commander Lusóntay continued, “the veterans were let go after they failed to follow orders. Don’t let that happen to you, okay?”
“Yes sir!” Ryan saluted and walked away; his head hurt, it was all too much.
Maybe it was too soon to rejoin the squadrons; the war could be too much for him. The Squadron Wars, as Ryan understood it, was a fight for power over the government. When squadrons evolved into bigger ones, they began to attack civilian settlements and destroy carriers loaded with food and medical supplies. This was just because they tried to show that they had all the power possible.
The CrossBow squadron was different though, they wanted to restore peace in the government. They would never attack an unarmed carrier loaded with food or medical supplies, would they?
Gold Group was the right choice, Ryan decided. It would help him put his feet on the ground and become more stable. Gold Group was the elite group of fighter pilots inside the CrossBow squadron. They were challenged with some of the hardest missions that pushed their ability to the highest limit. Even though they were extremely talented, during missions the death rate was excruciatingly high. These suicidal missions were as close as you could come to hell, if you survived.
· · · · · ·
CrossBow Recruiting Center; 0400 Hours
Ryan trudged down the iron corridor toward the hanger. It reminded him of his old base, maybe a little too much. It brought back memories of his old “pilot days.” Ones that he just wished he could forget.
But he could not run away from them. They would just follow him wherever he went, swarming his conscious until he broke. He had broken, though. That thing was for sure. So by joining the CrossBow Squadron, though it may have made things worse, it corrected his error he made a long time ago. No matter how hard it was to stay in the squadron, he should have, instead of running away.
It is in my past now, Ryan thought, entering the hanger, I have a new start.
“Captain Anderson, I’m glad you could make it,” Ryan spun slightly, trying to locate the voice directed to him. Across the room, Commander Lusóntay smiled, motioning with his hand to come here, “Lets go Anderson! Meet you comrades, and then we can get onto the training mission.”
Ryan trudged over to the group, keeping his head high, like he would have done back in the day. But those days were over now. He had to move on. He could not go back to the past to change his actions. He would have to live with them now.
“Ok, this is Lieutenant Josh Bishop,” the commander motioned his had toward a brown-haired boy.
“Captain,” Josh saluted, “glad to be in you group.”
“And this,” Commander Lusóntay swept his hand toward the other person, “is Lieutenant Crystal Brooks.”
“Good morning, captain,” the brown-haired girl sang out in a voice that reminded him of a peaceful fountain, bubbling tenderly against the pebbles.
“Ok, the briefing will begin now,” Commander Lusóntay said, thumbing a button in order to start the projector. “This mission will be relatively simple. It is just for honing your skills, a little more.
The Raptor Squadron has placed their group, the Patron Attack Group, in the Corhall System. This group of Raptor Squadron fighters will provide air support to the Raptor Squadron Outpost, code name Black Hall. Black Hall is located on an asteroid, located in Sector Two.
You will attack and destroy the Patron Attack Group, and then provide air support for our A-13 Missile Boats. In flight objectives may change. Your mission begins in fifteen minutes, so get ready. Understand?”
“Yes sir!” the fighter pilots said simultaneously.
“Oh, one more thing,” Commander Lusóntay turned toward the group, “If you meet a pilot by the name of Carissa Conroid, destroy her at all costs.”
“Why? Sir?” Ryan looked intently at the commander. Either she was spreading lies about the CrossBow Squadron or she…
“She defected from Gold Group, and is spreading lies about us.” With that, Commander Lusóntay spun around and walked into the base.
“Guess we better get started,” Ryan said, still thinking about what the commander had said. Conroid… He recognized it from somewhere. A friend of his from the old times maybe?
Shaking off his thoughts, Ryan pulled on his life support system and helmet. Lets not screw up today! Ryan told himself. There would be no room for error on this mission.
“Good luck Anderson,” Josh smiled, giving him a "thumbs up."
“Yeah, you too, Josh,” Ryan replied, taking a step onto the ladder that would take him to the cockpit of his craft. Finishing his climb, Ryan slid into the pilot’s seat. It feels good to be in the cockpit. Pushing his thoughts to the back of his head, Ryan flipped a switch, turning on his comlink. He then nodded to the launch commander, who, in turn, nodded to the control tower. There was a brief wait, and then the launch light turned yellow.
“Gold One, you are clear to start you engines,”
“Copy that tower,” Ryan responded, flipping another switch. The engines ignited, spewing forth grayish smoke that tried to choke the hanger’s occupants.
“Wow, You haven’t flown that thing in a couple months, have you sir?” Crystal’s calm voice broke the comlink’s silence.
“No…” Ryan trailed off. He did not want to explain the event just yet. In time he would, but his comrades reminded him of his buddies back home. He trusted them with his secret, but his trust caused him to be stabbed in the back, beaten and left in the ally to die.
“Come on Ryan, you have a mission to complete,” Ryan scolded himself, “pull yourself together!”
“Gold Group, this is launch control. Catapult brakes are being released, prepare for launch.”
“Copy that, deploying afterburner,” Ryan responded, thumbing the afterburner. This was the worst part of the launch.
The catapult was attached to a fighter, and then released. This allowed for extremely short runways and more space in the hanger. Decent pilots, on the other hand, could only use the catapult.
In order to launch successfully, the pilot had to accelerate his, or her, craft at the correct time. If the pilot accelerated too early, the craft would become too hard to handle, due to the speed. But if the pilot accelerated to late, his, or her, craft would stall.
“Releasing catapult break in: five, four, three, two, one, launch!” The catapult tore away from its break, pushing Ryan’s craft across the runway.
Ryan eased up on his joystick, allowing his craft to hover above the metal floors. Moments later, his craft exploded out of the hanger.
“Gold One is good to go!” Ryan smiled, easing the throttle out. The launch was easier than he expected. Maybe I’m not as rusty as I thought I was!
“Gold Two is running smoothly,” Crystal said, notifying her captain, “Three is having last minute comlink problems. He is using a different ship, so it may be a while.”
“Okay,” Ryan responded, a little bit of a wait would not kill him. The wait would give him time to reflect on his father’s death. Maybe his father’s death was to make him grow up. In order to deal with the event, he had to mature, and he had. Even that way of thinking about it, though good, did not ease the event’s pain.
People told him to forget about the incident. But they did not understand that every sentence spoken, every event that happened to him, reminded him of his dad’s death. The only way to rid himself of the pain was to…
Ryan shuttered. He had thought about suicide before, but that was just running away from his problems. He could not do that, not now, not ever.
He remembered the graphic pictures of the Holocaust, still remembered in the year 2781. Men, women, and children were made to work in brutal conditions with out decent food and water. They were all starved to the bone, but did all of them commit suicide?
Even in those horrible conditions, if some of them survived, even when the temptation of suicide was great he could too.
“Alright,” Josh’s deep voice came over the comlink, “I am ready to go!”
“Good,” Ryan said, his mind some place else, “plot a course to the Corhall System. It should take about three hours to reach. So you can sit back and relax.”
Yeah thats it so far.... Hope u liked it!
So anyway... This is a story that I am working on currently. Soooooo... I hope you like it! (It is the first two chapters)
The EagleFire Squadron
---Chapter 1---
Corrinth System, Sector 5; 0500 Hours
“Captain,” James Brooks said, his voice crackling through the com-link, “four waves of WarLords, headed south, at ten O’clock.”
“Copy that,” Captain Carissa Conroid replied, her hand rotating the joystick that controlled her fighter, “move four klicks west to intercept.”
“Are we free to fire, ma’am?” Taylor Fish asked.
“Affirmative, you know the objective.”
“Copy that, Gold Five, out.”
“Gold One, out.” Carissa rotated her craft’s nose down, pulling it into a steep dive at the enemy craft. Her wingman followed, matching her increasing speed. For most missions, this was a suicidal dive, but the WarLords were bulky crafts. Carissa’s surprise attack would force them to scramble.
“Got my back, Five?” Carissa asked, seeing her plan fold out in front of her eyes.
“Yes ma’am,” Taylor responded.
Carissa’s missile lock blinked red, causing her to release two missiles at her target. “Fox one, fox two,” Carissa warned, her missiles streaking out in front of her at the designated target.
“Gold One, bank left!” With a split-second reaction, Carissa slammed her joystick to the left, forcing her craft into a stomach wrenching G-Turn.
Lasers split the space, where her craft had been. Even with shields, a blast like that would have shattered her craft’s delicate hull. She was thankful for a wingman.
“Thanks Taylor, “ Carissa said through the comlink connected to her helmet.
“Gold four, you need help?” Carissa asked.
“Negative, one. I am regrouping at five klicks east,” James responded.
“Copy that. Taylor, keep me in your scopes. I may need help.”
“Yes ma’am.”
The aspect of surprise had worn off now. The WarLords would be ready this time. But she was the leader of the elite Gold Group, the pick of the crop. If she could not take the WarLords out, then no one could.
Carissa pulled smoothly out of her G-Force turn. Then, leveling out her nose, she barreled into the enemy’s formation. The warlords reacted faster than she anticipated. A quick turn, though, brought one of the WarLords into her HUD’s crosshairs, and with a quick blast of her lasers, it was gone.
“Turning two klicks east, I’ll be there in-” Carissa was cut off.
“Watch your aft Captain!”
In a split-second, Carissa pushed in the throttle, swinging the nose of her craft down. This caused a dive, accelerating her craft out of danger. The bulky attacker could not follow, its lasers sailing harmlessly through the space.
Carissa pulled out of the dive, pulling her throttle out again, and accelerating to safety.
“Whew, too close,” Carissa muttered under her breath.
“You okay, one?”
“Affirmative, regroup at one klick east.”
“Copy that,” Her wingman’s craft responded almost immediately, his craft sailing through space in order to regroup.
“Gold Two, report you status.” There was dead silence. Not a good sign! “Gold Two, report-”
“I saw him go down captain, he was with five,” Taylor admitted, his voice dropping to a whisper.
“=(! I…” Carissa trailed off.
“This is not time for remorse captain,” Lieutenant Alexis Briggs said, her voice cutting through the conversation, “We have one more wave of those WarLords headed this way.”
“I’ll disable the carrier,” Carissa said, choking back tears, “Taylor, break formation, you are needed here.”
“Copy that.”
Carissa’s sense of safety dissipated as Taylor’s craft disappeared in her rear window. Many fighter pilots were wary about attacking a craft alone, herself included.
Shutting her thoughts deep inside her head, Carissa switched her weapon to Ion Blasts. These blasts were only strong enough to cause the target’s computers to overload. This meant that the target was a sitting duck in space for a few hours until it was able to reboot the computers.
Too many times, had a fighter pilot destroyed a designated craft, instead of just disabling it, with standard lasers. So, to abolish this problem, scientists invented the Ion Blasts.
“Fighters are on their way, captain,” Taylor warned, “disable it fast, and get out of there.”
“Copy that,” Carissa responded. Aligning the carrier in the crosshairs of her HUD display, Carissa let off a missile. Unless she missed, which was unlikely, due to the size of the carrier, the missile would only knock out the shields of the carrier. Without shields, the carrier would be defenseless to her Ion Blasts.
The carrier made a sloppy evasive maneuver, trying to evade the missile. The maneuver was in vain though. The missile kept its mark, striking the carrier’s aft shields.
“Intel. is reporting shields down, you are free to engage!” Alexis reported, her clear voice flowing through the comlink.
“You have thirty seconds until the WarLords can fire on you!” Taylor warned.
“Okay, okay. I am engaging now.” Carissa pulled her joystick right, following the retreating carrier. With priceless seconds left, Carissa thumbed the trigger, releasing two rounds of Ion Blasts. She then slammed her joystick down, putting her craft into a steep dive.
Just milliseconds later, lasers blasted through the empty space above her. Good quick thinking Carissa, looks like it pulled you through another mission, Carissa thought.
“Nice timing, Carissa!” Taylor praised, “I’m following you up on your rear.”
“Copy… That…” Carissa breathed hard. The next time you do that, it will get you killed girl!
“Carrier Titan is reporting systems down! Good job, Captain Conroid,” the intelligence officer said.
“Alright, lets take out these WarLords and then scan our disabled carrier.”
“Copy that,” Taylor responded.
“I am on my own, wish me luck!” Alexis said.
“Good luck, just come home safely.”
“Roger, Gold Three out!”
“Gold Five out!”
“Taylor, watch you starboard side!” Carissa warned, “Move a klick west!” With lightning reaction, Taylor rolled his craft left, dodging the lasers threatening to take him down to his grave.
Carissa pulled out her throttle, making her craft barrel through the open space. Polling the spaceship west, she aligned a WarLord in her crosshairs. A metallic buzz sounded, indicating that her HUD had locked onto the bulky fighter. Switching to missiles, Carissa thumbed the trigger, releasing a SHST missile.
Though old, the Standard Heat Seeking Technology Missile served its purpose. These missiles locked onto the target’s heat source. It then would track the target until its death. The downside to these missiles was that they were easily evaded. A pilot, who knew what a SHST missile was, could power down his engine and cause the missile to lose its target.
The SHST missile strove forward, in front of Carissa’s craft, locking onto its target’s engines. The WarLord’s pilot was smart though. He shut off his afterburner, and pulled his craft into a steep dive. Without the heat source, the missile strayed off.
Grimacing, Carissa pulled her craft out of its roll, and tried to align the escaping WarLord in her HUD’s crosshairs.
“Don’t worry about him, one,” Taylor said, calling off Carissa’s rampage, “I have him.” Taylor’s craft shot out in front of her, pelting the WarLord with lasers.
The enemy craft wavered, trying to break free of its attacker’s laser fire. “Ha-ha! Gotch ya!” Taylor yelled through his comlink as the WarLord exploded in front of him.
“Okay, that’s the rest of the fighters. Lets scan the Titan and then get out of here!” Alexis said, her craft joining the group, forming the V-formation.
“Roger,” Carissa responded, “Captain of the carrier Titan, come in.”
“I copy, you CrossBow scum. If you dare hold me up any longer, I sw-”
“Captain of the Titan, I assure you we will not hold you up any longer than necessary. I also promise not to destroy you. All we need to do is search-”
“And what is the promise of a CrossBow captain worth? Huh?”
“More than you relies. I just need to scan you cargo.”
“What! I have nothing but food!”
“Good, then you have nothing to hide. Permission to scan you cargo hold?” The comlink when silent for a minute and then beeped back on.
“Granted.”
“Perfect,” Carissa smiled, “Gold Group, you are free to scan.” Carissa flipped a switch, activating her Tie3-Scanner.
The Tie3-Scanner was the newest invention from the CrossBow labs. It enabled pilots to scan through the deepest hulls. It then would display the results back immediately without leaving out a single detail.
“Scan done, I only found food,” Taylor said, his craft circling the carrier once more.
“Same here,” Alexis agreed, “transmitting results now.”
“Good,” Carissa responded, “we all got the same answers, lets get out of-”
“Captain Conroid, this is Intel. Come in.”
“I copy Intel. Go ahead.”
“Weapons were found aboard the Titan. Destroy it immediately.”
“What! You must have a mistake. Get me Commander Lusóntay immediately!”
“Yes ma’am,” The comlink went dead for only a second, then, the gruff voice of Commander Lusóntay came over it.
“Lusóntay here, what do you want Conroid?”
“Sir, I just did a Deep Technology Scan; there are no weapons aboard the craft!”
“You data was bad, I did one and received weapon data.”
“Sir all of the Gold Group concurs with me!”
“Destroy the man carrier, Conroid! Don’t test my patience!”
“But sir-”
“Orders are orders, Conroid! Follow them or I will replace you!”
“Yes sir…”
“That is more like it, Lusóntay out!”
“Gold One out.” Carissa was disgusted. The Squadron wars did not seem worth it anymore. If she had to break a promise, then…
“Our commands captain?” Taylor’s voice cut through Carissa’s thoughts.
“I… I…” For the first time in a long while, Carissa stumbled across a roadblock.
The Squadron Wars started long ago. Back when Mars had won its independence from Earth. After the Planetary War, the government of Mars was short money. So, they hired squadrons of fighter pilots to protect the airspace.
These squadrons, though, became too powerful, and began to fight for power of the government. This escalated into huge battles that threatened to split Mars in half.
Suddenly, Carissa was not thinking of her position, or the money she was paid. Even if the carrier contained weapons, it still contained vital food being transported to civilians. She had no right to stop it.
“Carissa? Your order?”
“I’m sorry… I, I can’t order you to destroy it,” Carissa choked back tears.
“What!” Alexis was enraged, “I can’t defy Lusóntay’s order!”
“No! Please… Don’t you see that there are people-” Lasers shattered the empty space streaking forward toward the helpless carrier. The first round pelted the carrier only damaging the hull.
“What! You CrossBow scum! The counsel will make you pay! You’ll regret it!” The enraged voice of the Titan’s captain shot through the comlink.
Carissa knew it was only a matter of seconds before the carrier would become a burning fireball. So, switching to Ion Blasts, she slammed her craft’s left petal down, pushing the joystick left. This caused her craft to spin counter clockwise.
Before the spin stopped, Carissa let off a round of Ion Blasts at her comrade’s ship. With no time to dodge, Carissa’s surprised comrade took the hit.
“Carissa! You, you-” Alexis stuttered angrily, her craft lying dead in space.
“I’m sorry…” Carissa trailed off, “Taylor… I…”
“I can’t run with you Carissa, not can I go against you. So you will have to disable me.”
Carissa gladly accepted, she did not want trouble from her best friend. Muttering a “sorry” through the comlink, she let off another round of Ion Blasts.
Turning her craft away from her friends, Carissa docked with the carrier, in order to repair it.
---Chapter 2---
CrossBow Recruiting Center; 1200 Hours
“You seem qualified enough,” Commander Lusóntay said, looking through qualification papers, “You have enough kills in battle, but they aren’t everything.”
“I know, sir,” Lieutenant Ryan Anderson responded, “I can-”
“I don’t care what you can do, Anderson. It is whether you can perform the assignment.”
“Sir-”
“Anderson, think about it! You grounded yourself for three years after your father died. And, as I recall, you caused it!”
“Sir!” Ryan was on the verge of tears now. He did not cause his dad’s death, did he?
He remembered the event fully now. He could see, hear, and feel it all. The scream of the missile lock, the missile itself, blazing toward him, and then, his father’s craft swooping in front of him, taking the missile.
The missile meant for him, shot at him. If only he had followed his dad’s directions and stayed behind the lead fighter, he could have saved himself from the great suffering he experienced now.
The pain of the event flooded into his senses, controlling him fully now. He could not be a captain, not like this. He was too weak, even though he had gotten over this tragic event. But had he?
This was not the kind of thing you could easily forget. It was too hard, too painful, too…
Ryan almost erupted in tears in front of the commander.
“I… Sir…” Ryan trailed off. He had nothing to say, nothing that could get him the job.
“Tell you what, I’ll give you the position. If it works out, you can have it.”
“Thank you sir!” Ryan smiled, as best as he could, with his dad’s death still agonizing his conscious.
“Everyone in Gold Group is new and untrained,” Commander Lusóntay continued, “the veterans were let go after they failed to follow orders. Don’t let that happen to you, okay?”
“Yes sir!” Ryan saluted and walked away; his head hurt, it was all too much.
Maybe it was too soon to rejoin the squadrons; the war could be too much for him. The Squadron Wars, as Ryan understood it, was a fight for power over the government. When squadrons evolved into bigger ones, they began to attack civilian settlements and destroy carriers loaded with food and medical supplies. This was just because they tried to show that they had all the power possible.
The CrossBow squadron was different though, they wanted to restore peace in the government. They would never attack an unarmed carrier loaded with food or medical supplies, would they?
Gold Group was the right choice, Ryan decided. It would help him put his feet on the ground and become more stable. Gold Group was the elite group of fighter pilots inside the CrossBow squadron. They were challenged with some of the hardest missions that pushed their ability to the highest limit. Even though they were extremely talented, during missions the death rate was excruciatingly high. These suicidal missions were as close as you could come to hell, if you survived.
· · · · · ·
CrossBow Recruiting Center; 0400 Hours
Ryan trudged down the iron corridor toward the hanger. It reminded him of his old base, maybe a little too much. It brought back memories of his old “pilot days.” Ones that he just wished he could forget.
But he could not run away from them. They would just follow him wherever he went, swarming his conscious until he broke. He had broken, though. That thing was for sure. So by joining the CrossBow Squadron, though it may have made things worse, it corrected his error he made a long time ago. No matter how hard it was to stay in the squadron, he should have, instead of running away.
It is in my past now, Ryan thought, entering the hanger, I have a new start.
“Captain Anderson, I’m glad you could make it,” Ryan spun slightly, trying to locate the voice directed to him. Across the room, Commander Lusóntay smiled, motioning with his hand to come here, “Lets go Anderson! Meet you comrades, and then we can get onto the training mission.”
Ryan trudged over to the group, keeping his head high, like he would have done back in the day. But those days were over now. He had to move on. He could not go back to the past to change his actions. He would have to live with them now.
“Ok, this is Lieutenant Josh Bishop,” the commander motioned his had toward a brown-haired boy.
“Captain,” Josh saluted, “glad to be in you group.”
“And this,” Commander Lusóntay swept his hand toward the other person, “is Lieutenant Crystal Brooks.”
“Good morning, captain,” the brown-haired girl sang out in a voice that reminded him of a peaceful fountain, bubbling tenderly against the pebbles.
“Ok, the briefing will begin now,” Commander Lusóntay said, thumbing a button in order to start the projector. “This mission will be relatively simple. It is just for honing your skills, a little more.
The Raptor Squadron has placed their group, the Patron Attack Group, in the Corhall System. This group of Raptor Squadron fighters will provide air support to the Raptor Squadron Outpost, code name Black Hall. Black Hall is located on an asteroid, located in Sector Two.
You will attack and destroy the Patron Attack Group, and then provide air support for our A-13 Missile Boats. In flight objectives may change. Your mission begins in fifteen minutes, so get ready. Understand?”
“Yes sir!” the fighter pilots said simultaneously.
“Oh, one more thing,” Commander Lusóntay turned toward the group, “If you meet a pilot by the name of Carissa Conroid, destroy her at all costs.”
“Why? Sir?” Ryan looked intently at the commander. Either she was spreading lies about the CrossBow Squadron or she…
“She defected from Gold Group, and is spreading lies about us.” With that, Commander Lusóntay spun around and walked into the base.
“Guess we better get started,” Ryan said, still thinking about what the commander had said. Conroid… He recognized it from somewhere. A friend of his from the old times maybe?
Shaking off his thoughts, Ryan pulled on his life support system and helmet. Lets not screw up today! Ryan told himself. There would be no room for error on this mission.
“Good luck Anderson,” Josh smiled, giving him a "thumbs up."
“Yeah, you too, Josh,” Ryan replied, taking a step onto the ladder that would take him to the cockpit of his craft. Finishing his climb, Ryan slid into the pilot’s seat. It feels good to be in the cockpit. Pushing his thoughts to the back of his head, Ryan flipped a switch, turning on his comlink. He then nodded to the launch commander, who, in turn, nodded to the control tower. There was a brief wait, and then the launch light turned yellow.
“Gold One, you are clear to start you engines,”
“Copy that tower,” Ryan responded, flipping another switch. The engines ignited, spewing forth grayish smoke that tried to choke the hanger’s occupants.
“Wow, You haven’t flown that thing in a couple months, have you sir?” Crystal’s calm voice broke the comlink’s silence.
“No…” Ryan trailed off. He did not want to explain the event just yet. In time he would, but his comrades reminded him of his buddies back home. He trusted them with his secret, but his trust caused him to be stabbed in the back, beaten and left in the ally to die.
“Come on Ryan, you have a mission to complete,” Ryan scolded himself, “pull yourself together!”
“Gold Group, this is launch control. Catapult brakes are being released, prepare for launch.”
“Copy that, deploying afterburner,” Ryan responded, thumbing the afterburner. This was the worst part of the launch.
The catapult was attached to a fighter, and then released. This allowed for extremely short runways and more space in the hanger. Decent pilots, on the other hand, could only use the catapult.
In order to launch successfully, the pilot had to accelerate his, or her, craft at the correct time. If the pilot accelerated too early, the craft would become too hard to handle, due to the speed. But if the pilot accelerated to late, his, or her, craft would stall.
“Releasing catapult break in: five, four, three, two, one, launch!” The catapult tore away from its break, pushing Ryan’s craft across the runway.
Ryan eased up on his joystick, allowing his craft to hover above the metal floors. Moments later, his craft exploded out of the hanger.
“Gold One is good to go!” Ryan smiled, easing the throttle out. The launch was easier than he expected. Maybe I’m not as rusty as I thought I was!
“Gold Two is running smoothly,” Crystal said, notifying her captain, “Three is having last minute comlink problems. He is using a different ship, so it may be a while.”
“Okay,” Ryan responded, a little bit of a wait would not kill him. The wait would give him time to reflect on his father’s death. Maybe his father’s death was to make him grow up. In order to deal with the event, he had to mature, and he had. Even that way of thinking about it, though good, did not ease the event’s pain.
People told him to forget about the incident. But they did not understand that every sentence spoken, every event that happened to him, reminded him of his dad’s death. The only way to rid himself of the pain was to…
Ryan shuttered. He had thought about suicide before, but that was just running away from his problems. He could not do that, not now, not ever.
He remembered the graphic pictures of the Holocaust, still remembered in the year 2781. Men, women, and children were made to work in brutal conditions with out decent food and water. They were all starved to the bone, but did all of them commit suicide?
Even in those horrible conditions, if some of them survived, even when the temptation of suicide was great he could too.
“Alright,” Josh’s deep voice came over the comlink, “I am ready to go!”
“Good,” Ryan said, his mind some place else, “plot a course to the Corhall System. It should take about three hours to reach. So you can sit back and relax.”
Yeah thats it so far.... Hope u liked it!