Iana turned sharply aside as another rocket went streaking past her right wing. The Terran fighters had been chasing her for the better part of half an hour and Iana had not, as of yet, found a way to lose them. She felt the sweat beading on her brow and soaking through her fine, blonde hair. Angrily, she wiped the sweat away and focused on the radar once again. Behind her, ever present, were the three fighters pursuing her in a lazy orbit over the northern continent.
Somewhere far below her battle, Yen and the Cair Thewlis were heading directly for the Terran capital. The plan had been for Iana and her three fighters in Alpha team to provide direct air cover for his ship. Upon arrival, however, even Iana had been surprised by the scope of the Terran space defenses. Improvised Terran warships offered little more than a dangerous distraction while the true Terran fighters provided the deadly firepower about which Iana was worried. Destroying the fighters before they had a chance to engage the Cair transports became her overarching concern, meaning that Yen was now flying solo as he skimmed the ocean’s surface.
Warning sirens roared through the confines of the cockpit as the Terran fighters launched another salvo of plasma rockets. Tilting to the right, Iana dropped her ship into a roll and sighed in relief as she watched the smoky trails of the missiles pass dangerously close. Her relaxation, however, was short lived as her radio began to chime.
Reaching forward, she answered the radio just in time to hear Yen’s angry voice. “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 sighed in frustration. “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 to make some cocktails.”
“Can the chatter, Alpha Leader, and get me some air support!”
Knowing Yen couldn’t see her, she still shook her head in irritation. Though her mission priority was still to protect the Cair Thewlis, she hardly had the resources to defend against the pressing Terran assault, much less split her assets to assist Yen. In the end, however she knew that only one priority truly mattered.
“Roger, sir,” Iana called back. “I’m breaking away two Duun fighters to your position now.”
Switching channels, she called out to her other pilots. “Alpha Three and Alpha Four. Break formation and provide cover fire for the Cair force. Once you’ve done sufficient damage on the surface, get back up here and give us a hand.”
“Roger that, ma’am,” Alpha Three replied.
Iana watched with regret as two of her four Duun fighters disengaged from their battle and dipped into the atmosphere, their hulls glowing hot as they passed through the friction-heavy upper layer. Sighing, she knew that she and Alpha Two were now entirely on their own.
Glancing through her forward window, Iana located Alpha Two from amidst the combination of wreckage, debris, and still flying craft. The space above Earth seemed like a long-forgotten graveyard, a place where old ships went to die. Iana frowned at the reference, realizing that this area was now also a place where old pilots went to die as well. Alpha Two seemed engaged with a small Squadron of the makeshift Terran ships and, though she was holding her own, Iana could use her help.
“Alpha Two, this is Alpha Leader.”
“Go ahead, ma’am,” Alpha Two’s musical Avalon voice replied.
Iana smiled to herself in the cockpit. “How familiar are you with a criss-cross?”
After a brief pause, Alpha Two responded. “I’m not familiar with the name, but I’m pretty sure I know what you have in mind.”
“Good,” Iana replied. “Then on my mark. Three…two…one… mark!”
Iana pressed forward on the controls, dropping her Duun fighter into a steep dive directly toward Earth’s surface. Simultaneously, her Avalon counterpart pitched upward, the two ships on a collision course. Iana felt her heart pound in her chest as she checked the radar. As she had assumed, the Terran fighters had maneuvered to match her new trajectory. Still firing, they were only slightly further behind now than they had been moments before. Through the forward window, Iana watched as the improvised fighters chased Alpha Two, their weapons ports now facing Iana front-on. Gritting her teeth, she accelerated. Even with the inhibitors lessening the pressure on her body, Iana still felt the gravitational forces began pressing on her limbs. Her chest feeling like a weight pressing on her lungs, she managed a few hitched breaths as she tried to open a gap between her Duun fighter and the Terrans in pursuit.
Flicking the controls, Iana caused the nose of her fighter to tilt slightly upward. Though it was hard to tell from her current position, she hoped that the Avalon noticed the gesture. If not, their cross was going to end in a bloody mess. As the miles disappeared between the ships, Iana eased up on the accelerator. Her slowing ship became a prime target for the Terran fighters in pursuit and they pounced, eager for the kill. Blinded by their desire for the kill, they failed to notice Alpha Two close the rest of the gap. At the last moment, Iana turned her controls upward just as the other Duun fighter dipped low. Iana could feel the buffet as the other ship passed within a few feet from the bottom of her Duun, the blast from her engine rocking Iana in the cockpit.
Behind her, the Terrans were completely surprised when a second Duun fighter launched toward them, missiles already leaping from their launchers under the ship’s wings. Trying to dodge, only one of the Terran fighters was able to avoid the plasma barrage. The other two were struck in the cockpits, their glass shattering as the rocket penetrated the windows and exploded on top of the pilots. The blue and purple flames consumed the two ships as they silently exploded in the void of space. Wasting no time admiring the explosion, Alpha Two turned sharply in pursuit of the third fighter.
Iana smashed through the center of the improvised fighters, sending the weaker ships scattering in all directions. Firing her machine guns haphazardly, bright tracer rounds filled the dark space as the bullets slammed into the reinforced hulls of the ships. Finding the cracks in between the hastily armored ships, Iana’s bullets bit deep into the crafts, tearing open their bellies and spewing forth their precious oxygen.
Though she had only destroyed three of the ten improvised fighters, Iana barely slowed as she turned in a wide arc, angling back toward the powerless satellite grid. Pushing forward on the accelerator, she quickly distanced herself from the slower moving improvised aircraft the Terrans had created as a defense for Earth. Though still capable of destroying her Duun fighter with their plasma rockets, they lacked the sophistication and advanced computer targeting systems that were standard on the Terran fighters. As a result, Iana found herself merely avoiding the improvised ships; brushing them off as though they were little more than an insect while she bought herself time. Her salvation came moments later when Alpha Two cut a swath through their formation, destroying another pair of their ships. Turning sharply, Iana rejoined the battle, leaving the remaining five ships decimated from a combination of gunfire and rocket explosions.
With their sector temporarily cleared, Iana leaned back heavily in the pilot’s chair and, reaching up, rubbed her eyes feverishly with the back of her hand. She could feel the dull ache growing behind her eyes, as the tension built in her body. It had only been an hour since they warped into Earth’s orbit and still an hour until the rest of the Fleet arrived, but they had been fighting the entire time. The current break in combat was the first reprieve she had truly earned since their initial invasion.
With her eyes still closed, she brushed her hair aside and activated the microphone at her throat. “Alpha Three, this is Alpha Leader. Give me a status report.”
The response was filled with static as the transmission passed through Earth’s thick atmosphere. “The Cair Thewlis has safely landed at the capital. We are on our way back to your location.”
“Roger that,” Iana said wearily. “You have temporarily clear skies.”
Sighing, Iana ran her own words through her mind: temporarily clear skies. Somehow, the Terrans continued to send ships out to intercept the invasion Squadron. Every time her pilots decimated the latest wave of enemy vessels, another launched from a different position on the planet’s surface and the battle began anew. So far, they had been lucky. Iana didn’t believe it was anything more than luck that had kept her and the majority of her pilots alive over the past hour. But she was losing more and more fighters each time the Terrans counterattacked. At the rate they were going, the Terrans would win a war of attrition after simply waiting for all the Alliance ships to make a mistake and be destroyed. Honestly, Iana had no reason to assume the results would be any different than just that. A small Squadron of Alliance Duun fighters and Cair transports had invaded the Terran home world. Even without their Fleet, the Terrans had vastly superior military numbers at their disposal. Iana frowned, having trouble believing that she ever thought this attack was a good idea.
“Alpha Leader, this is Bravo Three,” a rushed, gruff Oterian voice called over the radio. “The Terrans have launched another wave of ships from the southern pole. They destroyed the CairBailun before we even knew they were there!”
“Get back into formation and eliminate the Terran fighters before they get to any of the other Cair ships,” Iana ordered. “We still have…”
“The CairNoumlik has been hit!” a worried, effeminate voice interrupted. “They’re targeting the Cairs.”
Iana scowled. She should have guessed that it would only be a matter of time before the Terrans figured out the Alliance strategy. They’d now be targeting all the Cair ships, both still in space and on the planet.
“Alpha Three, this is Alpha Leader. The Terrans are doing a search and destroy on the Cairs. Is the Cair Thewlis still alright?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Alpha Three called back, his voice clearer as he passed through the upper atmosphere. “It’s still in one piece in the middle of…”
The radio suddenly went dead. Iana cocked her head to the side as she awaited the rest of the sentence that just wasn’t coming. “Alpha Three, say again.”
Again, silence stretched over the radio.
“Alpha Three, respond!” she ordered.
“Twelve o’clock low,” Alpha Two called out. “Terran fighters!”
Iana tilted the nose of her ship so that she was facing Earth’s surface. Far below her, skimming the surface of the atmosphere, three small Terran fighters were silhouetted against the vibrant blues and greens of the planet. Scanning in front of the fast craft, Iana could see the rapidly cooling blue and purple vapors, a signal that plasma missiles had exploded nearby. A knot grew in Iana’s stomach at the sight. She had to assume that the plasma bursts were what remained of both Alpha Three and Four. If that were the case, then the Terran fighters had nothing standing between them and the Cair Thewlis. Yen and his entire team could be in grave danger.
Without giving orders, Alpha Two fell into position beside Iana as she dove toward the Terran ships. She pressed heavily on the accelerator, speeding forward until the growing pressure on her chest threatened to break her ribs. Her hands and feet grew cold as her heart struggled to pump blood to her extremities. Even under the intense pressure of the dive, however, she still knew that she would never catch the Terran fighters before they reached Yen and his men. In her ambivalence, she had very possibly caused the tide of battle to turn against the Alliance Fleet.
Her eyes watering from the gravitational forces, she saw a faint red glow from the corner of her eye. Glancing over, her heart skipped a beat, both in excitement and fear. She did have a solution, if she was brave enough to try. Yen was counting on her to do the right thing, even if it meant endangering her own life. Realizing how much hung in the balance, Iana quickly realized that she didn’t truly have a choice in the matter. Sliding her hand over to the button, she took a deep breath.
“I’m really going to regret this,” she muttered just before activating the warp generator.