The Syndicate

Location: Jenny Wren, Cockpit

After unceremoniously devouring the mean that Kitsune had produced he returned to the bridge dropping back into the chair, he noted that it was just about the right time as the timer was just ticking down to zero when he landed back in the chair. He manipulated the controls bringing the thruster's online and reorienting the vehicle for its next burn. Grabbing a hold of the microphone off the intercom unit he keyed it on. "Standby for a burn!" he said, spooling up the primary drive.

He watches the stars outside spinning for a moment and then glanced down at the navigational display, waited for the system to align then keyed the intercom again. "Here we go!" he said, and throttled up. He felt the subtle pressure of acceleration as the ship fought its current movement to change direction. He goosed the thrusters a bit keeping them on target. They would have one more course correction in about two hours. Hopefully it was enough to throw off their pursuers. He keyed the intercom once more. "Burn complete!" he said and pulled the throttle to idle. "About another two hours and we'll be doing one more course correction and then on to the planet Harvest." he nodded to himself and returned the microphone to its home on the intercom.

He took a breath while pulling a small flask from his pocket watching the stars speed by outside. He blinked his eyes as something caught his attention. Was only a split second but he was certain it was a body careening through space. He tensed up as there was a sudden and unmistakable thump somewhere from deep within the ship, and he opened his mouth to say something but blinked it away popping the top on his flask, he took a sniff of the contents and it was like a switch went off in his head. The smell of booze, ozone and gun powder filled his nose.


Some time ago...


"Damn it low, your too low I can't hit any of those alliance bastards!" Louie his recently provided gunner called back to him. "Too fast!"

"I go any slower were gonna die!" Low said as he tossed the ship into a roll to the right, and the world spun around them. It was just in time as several angry streams of high speed anti-aircraft fire passed through the space they had just been occupying. "You wanna live, you learn to shoot on the fly!"

A grin came to Lows lips as he could hear Louie trying very hard not to loose his lunch, he pulled the craft's nose up. "Another pass!" he said and followed the loops through by flipping the craft upright at the end of the long roll. "Starboard side." he sad and pulled up to bring the craft over a ridge as soon as they crested it he leveled and pulled a hard right turn. He could hear the little ship's cannons chugging away as the circled above the raging battle below.

"Yeah! Eat it!" Louie cried out as he held the trigger down.

"Pulling out!" Low said, then flipped the craft to roll away from the scene to port. Weapons fire littered the landscape down below and in the air, the occasional hit jostled the craft as the glided out of the area over another ridge. "Let me know when you've cooled and are ready for another pass."

"Shit!" Louie called. "We've got company!" he shouted.

Low's head spun around and he caught sight of the Alliance craft dropping out of the clouds behind them. It was angled right towards them, they were clearly here to clear them out and regain air superiority. "I see him!"

"We can't take that thing, get us out of here!" Louie yelled.

Low grinned, and snapped the craft up on its port wing and pulled back hard bringing it into a loop back towards the craft and the battlefield. "Yeah we can!"

"Your crazy, no wonder no one wants to fly with you!" Louie's grip tightened on the weapons controls as they came around. "Whats the plan!"

"Chicken!" Low said, you could hear the grin on his face. "Face your weapons aft!" he said.

"What?" Louie cried out turning and staring back at him incredulously. "No!"

"Do it or we die!" Low snapped. "As soon as we pass him open fire!" he said and he continued to aim for the incoming craft, he pushed the throttle full on, and then hammered a thumb into the afterburner pushing the craft to the point it was shaking violently. "Hang on!"

The oncoming craft clearly saw what was happening and likewise sped up, its weapons opened up chugging away.

Low rocked the small ship to the side and continued bouncing it around the incoming stream of weapons fire, there was the occasional tug on the craft as they took a direct hit or a glancing blow. "Get ready!" They were close enough Low could the see the alliance pilots eyes as they grew, and the smile spread knowing that his own larger craft with more mass would literally cleave through the old space-frame he was flying. He watched and grinned as the other pilot saw him rock his throttle full forward, slammed the vessels air break and flaps on full, spinning the craft into a corkscrew and slipping just under them but not before one round passed through the cockpit shattering the air tight atmosphere. "NOW!" he hollered.

Louie jammed his fingers down on the triggers and the small quad auto cannon began chewing into the rear of the Alliance craft.

Low straightened out and looked back watching the quad cannon rip into hull and engine housing sending the other vessel careening into the landscape below. As he turned back to see what was in front of him he had enough frame of mind to grab the eject handle between his legs, and pull sending both him an Louie free of the craft just as a surface to air missile was about to hit. He felt the shockwave and heat from the explosion and was thankful for the ejection seat between him and it for a long moment, almost an eternity he was airborne then gravity happened. The instant tug and pull of gravity, the ejection seat released and flew away and his chute deployed. It was a violent push, pull that nearly sent him into darkness but he shoot it away.

Low looked all around and couldn't find louie's chute, then suddenly just as he was sinking below the hills and heading feet first into the raging battle below he saw a chute in the distance and felt instant relief, he didn't get one killed. Glancing all around he quickly took stock of the situation, and knew that he was going to be on the ground very soon. He pulled his pistol and racked the slide holding it ready letting go of the guide lines for his chute, he was most certainly landing in the thick of it. As soon as his feet hit the ground he absorbed the shock of impact by rolling with gravity allowing his whole body to take the shock of the landing as soon as he stopped his roll he scrambled to his feet nearly taking a bullet for his efforts. He pulled the release for the chute and when they didn't give he ducked behind some cover and began cutting away the lines. He looked up and found a barrel pointing down at him as he cut the last guide line.

"Scum!" a voice said, but the face was shrouded by the sun in his eyes. What he did catch was the shock when there was a sudden tug on the mans head and he fell over.

Low grimaced expecting the dead man to flinch and pull the trigger but he didn't. Glancing to his right where he was certain the shot came from all he could see was the glint of a scope in the distance to which he gave a thumbs up and mouthed 'thank you' before bolting from that position back towards his own lines. As his legs pumped all he could think was that was the last time he was going to fly one of those rust buckets into combat.


And back to the here and now...

Low jolted awake, glancing around the cockpit. He was confused, and smelled like liqueur, gun powder and ozone. "What the hell!" He glanced down at the timer on the navigational board and ran a hand down his face then put the cap back on his flask and returned it to his pocket.

(Sorry I was board at work... and flashbacks are fun!)