Yen shivered at the thought of crashing into one of Earth’s oceans. As much as he felt helpless, Pelasi had touched on something that Yen might just be able to help with. Shrugging, Yen turned to his Uligart pilot. “I can’t help with the sensors, but I might be able to do something about the weather.”
Closing his eyes, Yen began to concentrate. The air around him shimmered, causing the walls of the cockpit to appear as though they were malleable; the walls danced in the flickering mirage. Blue light emanated from his body and suffused the dancing waves of psychic energy. Ahead of the Cair Thewlis, the dark clouds ignited in blue flame, the wisps of the clouds burning away like fuses leading to a powder keg. The entire storm cloud began to unravel faster and faster until, through the darkness, they could see the dark, rolling ocean below.
Dropping below the bottom ceiling of the clouds, the Cair Thewlis was engulfed in a torrential downpour. Sheets of heavy rain washed over the ship as it began leveling out just above the churning ocean waves. Swollen by the sudden storm, the ocean swells grazed the bottom of the transport as it flew above the frothing waters. White crests sprayed the hull before dissolving into steam on the surface of the ship still heated from its entry through the atmosphere.
Once the ship was running parallel to the ocean surface and well on its way toward the Terran mainland, Pelasi pressed on the throttle. Plasma infused flames leapt from the back of the ship’s engine, cutting a channel through the waves behind it as the superheated exhaust evaporated the ocean swells. As it hurtled toward the shore, sea mists erupted from around the Cair Thewlis.
Satisfied that Pelasi could handle the approach, Yen unbuckled from the copilot’s chair and opened the hatch leading into the crew compartment. Throughout the compartment, boxes that had become unhooked during the warp were strewn around the open area between the seated team. Though knocked around, the team still seemed in high spirits, something Yen hoped they maintained as they finally touched down on Earth.
“Alright, gentlemen,” Yen began as the stern faces turned toward him. “We’re through the worst of it and are on our way to the capital. We’re estimating a short five to ten minute flight until we reach the near shore and only a couple more minutes until we touch down on ground. Make sure you have everything you’re going to need to for this mission on hand. Once we touch down, we’re going to hit the ground running. There won’t be any time to sort through your gear when bullets are flying over your head.”
Yen took a step into the room and reached up, using an overhead metal beam for support. “Get your heads on straight. Those of you who are too distracted or afraid probably won’t be coming back alive. That’s not cruel, that’s honest.”
Pausing, Yen caught Buren’s angry look from the corner of his eye. Though he didn’t justify his anger by even sparing the Uligart a glance in his direction, Yen felt infuriated that Buren would still judge him for what happened with the Seques. In the near future, he and Buren would have to reevaluate their relationship.
“Check your weapons and ammo. Cross level if you’re short on any supplies. We’ll be reaching their radar range…”
Before Yen could finish his sentence, a roaring explosion rocked the Cair Thewlis. Yen was tossed from his feet, his hand slipping from the metal bar he was using for support. Collapsing to the ground, Yen wound up unceremoniously intermingled amidst a pile of assault packs. Growling, he tossed the bags aside and climbed to his feet. No sooner had he spun on the doorway leading to the cockpit than a second explosion rocked the ship, dropping him back down into the packs.
Staggering forward, using the walls for support, Yen opened the door and stepped into the forward cabin. With the open viewports, he could now hear even more distant explosions, as though the entire stormy sky was filled with exploding ordinance.
“What the hell is going on?” Yen yelled, as he slid into the copilot’s chair.
Warrant Pelasi’s arms were taunt as he struggled to maintain control of the ship. “I don’t know, sir. They just started opening up on us!”
Yen grimaced as the ship was rocked by another explosion. The right side of the window was filled with angry red flames as the round exploded nearby. As far as he could tell, though, the ship had yet to sustain any serious damage.
“Who?”
“Coastal guns, maybe?” Pelasi said, unsure. “They’re packing some pretty serious explosives, whoever they are.”
The force from another explosion drove the Cair Thewlis downward in a rapid descent. Yen could feel his last meal creeping higher into his throat and he suddenly felt very nauseas. As Yen braced himself against the forward console, Pelasi managed to regain control and pull the ship skyward moments before they would have crashed into the churning ocean below.
“Are you intentionally flying into every round they fire at us?” Yen yelled angrily, his heightened emotions overwhelming his sense of queasiness.
“Not intentionally, sir,” Pelasi retorted.
“Then do you think it’s even remotely possible for you to avoid one of the explosions?”
“I’m trying!” the Uligart yelled back. “If you’re so concerned, you might call one of the other pilots and get some Duun support down here. You have them blast those guns to hell and maybe they won’t do the same to us!”
Yen frowned at his pilot, knowing that though he was frustrated with Pelasi, the Uligart was also correct. Reaching to his throat, Yen activated the Squadron channel.
“Alpha Leader, this is Commander Xiao. If you’re not too busy up there, we could really use some of that air superiority we’ve heard so much about!”
Iana’s voice called back over the radio, though the background noise was filled with the sound of alerts and sirens sounding from within her cockpit. “This is Alpha Leader. No, sir, of course we have nothing important going on up here. Just relaxing and having the time of our lives. Hell, when you boys get done down there, feel free to come join us. We’re getting ready to fire up the blender and make some cocktails.”
“Can the chatter, Alpha Leader, and get me some air support!”
“Roger, sir,” Iana called back. “I’m breaking away two Duun fighters to your position now.”
Yen closed the channel and turned back to his pilot. “Buy us time. Dodge, weave, do whatever you have to do. Just keep us in the air long enough for the Duun pilots to get here.”
Warrant Pelasi turned on the internal ship’s communications. “Everyone hold tight. This is about to be a bumpy ride.”
The Cair Thewlis dropped nearly to the ocean’s surface before climbing steeply toward the overhead cloud cover. Pelasi continued a random flight pattern as they moved ever forward toward the Earth shoreline. As they grew closer to the shore, the rain began to lessen. In the far distance, Yen could see the faint silhouette of mighty skyscrapers, the tops of which were lost in the clouds above. Closer, however, the flash of fire alerted him that while the lightening rain allowed him to see the shore, it also allowed the large caliber coastal guns to see him as well.
“Incoming!” he yelled before another barrage of explosions rocked the ship. Gritting his teeth, Yen hoped that the Duun ships would reach them before they were blown out of the sky.
In response to his prayers, two small ships streaked overhead, rocketing toward the coast. The small Duun fighters were nearly impossible to track by the massive guns that jutted out over the water. Firing in a defensive pattern, the coastal guns tried to keep the two darting fighters at bay, but to no avail. From the cockpit of the Cair Thewlis, Yen watched as smoky trails leapt from the missile racks under the wings of the Duun fighters. The plasma rockets streaked toward the shore, the missiles separating until they were each targeted on one of the large caliber cannons. The guns continued to fire, but Yen knew that their fate was sealed as soon as the missiles were launched. Onboard the missiles, the computer system tracked the inbound rounds from the coastal guns and easily avoided the barrages. They drew close to the large cannons before launching skyward, flying over a hundred feet above the massive cannons before turning in midair. Hurtling downward, the plasma rockets slammed into the coastal guns one after another.