***
Back aboard the ship, Ellu was getting a bit bored. Wait a while, press the trigger. Wait a while longer, ignore Zeeree’s comments, press the trigger again. The aliens around the front entrance to the structure were both highly unimaginative and annoyingly persistent. They could seem to think of nothing other than trying to make it to the mobile cannon and use it but every time they ran out from behind their limited cover at the front entrance, Ellu fired the ship’s laser cannon and sent them scurrying back again. Ellu silently willed Saleek to hurry up and give her the signal so that she could pick them up, fly off and get back into space again, away from this barren planet.
Suddenly Zeeree interrupted her thoughts by saying, ‘Ellu, I am picking up two small craft on mid-range scans. They appear to be heading in our direction.’
Ellu’s forehead creased as she thought about this. ‘Can you give me any more info?’ she asked.
‘They are approximately forty Drekkmas away from our current position and they are moving quickly. Switching to short-range scanners,’ said Zeeree. A few moments later, she added, ‘They appear to be intra-atmosphere fighter craft. They are clearly very old – their exhaust emissions indicate that they are using a type of fuel which has not been in common use for years. I am not certain as to their armament but it is safe to assume that at the very least they have rapid-fire ballistic weapons.’
‘That would make sense if they are old fighter jets,’ mused Ellu as her fingers flew over the controls, inputting commands on her station’s console. ‘Any reason they might be heading our way? Do you think perhaps our friends down there have called for help?’
‘I would guess the latter,’ said Zeeree. ‘This planet has no organised military and there are no bases around here.’
‘Time till they get here?’
‘Approximately forty seconds. Correction...fifteen seconds.’
‘What?’ exclaimed Ellu in surprise.
‘They have suddenly increased speed,’ explained Zeeree sheepishly.
‘That’s just great. No time to lose, take us up!’ commanded Ellu.
‘Increasing throttle. Gaining altitude,’ said Zeeree as the ship moved away from the structure built into the sand dune.
Ellu didn’t have time to say anything else as the two fighter craft zipped past them at rapid velocity. They slowed down slightly and began to circle back, heading straight for the ship.
‘Evasive manoeuvres!’ she yelled but it was too late.
Before either she or Zeeree could do anything, the two craft opened fire. White-hot projectiles streaked through the cerulean desert sky leaving thin grey trails in their wake. The projectiles peppered the hull of the cargo ship, causing dents along both the port and starboard sides.
‘We have been hit,’ announced Zeeree. ‘Minimal damage to port and starboard armour. The ships are coming around for another pass.’
‘Screw this!’ exclaimed Ellu as she vaulted over her station and leapt into the pilot’s chair.
She grabbed the pilot joystick and yanked it hard. The ship suddenly banked left sharply and the two fighter jets flew past, the rounds from their weapons passing harmlessly through a nearby cloud.
‘Activate energy shield!’ commanded Ellu as she held the joystick with one hand and typed instructions into the computer with another.
‘Shield active and stable at one hundred percent power,’ informed Zeeree. ‘Those low-level ballistic rounds cannot penetrate our defences. If that’s the best they have, we don’t have a thing to worry about.’
‘Please tell me you did not just say that,’ said Ellu.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Do you know what a jinx is?’
‘Of course I do. Jinx. Noun. A person or thing that brings bad-’
‘I don’t mean a definition, you glorified dictionary!’ exclaimed Ellu as she pushed the joystick hard to the right to avoid another barrage of weapons fire from the two attacking craft. ‘Any time anyone says, “Well, at least it can’t get any worse”, it always does! You’ve just jinxed us!’
‘Perhaps you have been watching too many holo-films with bad writing,’ said Zeeree. ‘This is real life, Ellu. That kind of thing does not occur in reality. Those craft must be at least eighty years old. They cannot possibly get through our shield with those weapons.’
Ellu sighed in frustration. ‘You had to say it, didn’t you? You just had to.’
The cargo ship sped on through the desert sky, banking, climbing and zigzagging to avoid as much incoming fire as they could. However, in spite of their advanced age, the two fighter jets were remarkably agile and also faster in the confines of a planet’s atmosphere than the cargo ship, which was designed to operate mostly in space. They continued to fire white-hot projectiles at the craft, most of which missed. The ones that hit bounced harmlessly off the shimmering yellow energy shield. After a while longer, the pilots must have realised that their current tactics were wholly ineffective so they decided to change tack. The two pursuing craft initially decelerated, before climbing high into the sky, gaining altitude and accelerating rapidly.
‘What are they doing? They’ve stopped firing at us,’ said Ellu as she studied the read-outs on the display just in front of her. ‘Why are they climbing?’
‘They must have realised that their strategy was fundamentally flawed. Perhaps they are giving up and are preparing to return to wherever they came from,’ suggested Zeeree confidently.
‘I don’t think so,’ said Ellu. ‘I’m not that lucky.’
The pair did not have to wait long to discover the reason for the change in tactics. On the underside of one of the fighter craft’s chassis, a small hatch opened. Seconds later a bulbous, shining object was released which fell through the air rapidly. The sphere rocketed towards the cargo ship below and as it made contact with the protective energy shield, it detonated in a brilliant flash of pale blue. The explosion sent waves of silver energy washing over the shield, making it undulate and flicker as the warhead dispersed.
‘What was that?’ inquired Ellu nervously as she looked upwards towards the sound of the explosion.
‘I believe it was some kind of weapon detonation,’ answered Zeeree, although she didn’t sound too sure.
‘How come the sensors didn’t detect any weapons launch?’
‘I am not certain,’ said Zeeree honestly. A moment later she added, ‘Ellu, there....may be cause for concern.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘The energy shield surrounding this craft is down to sixty seven percent power. It must have something to do with that detonation we just detected.’
All of a sudden realisation dawned on Ellu’s face.
‘They’re bombing us!’ she exclaimed as another blast could be heard, this one louder than the previous one.
Without another word, Ellu grabbed the pilot joystick and yanked it hard to the right. The ship duly obeyed and turned sharply to the right, narrowly missing being hit by another bomb as it plummeted through the sky.
‘Energy shield now down to fifty three percent. Whatever they are using it is undetectable by my tracking sensors. I strongly suggest we retreat as there is no telling what those weapons may do to our hull once the shield fails,’ said Zeeree.
‘We can’t just leave Saleek and Kracht down there by themselves. They might need picking up at any moment!’ said Ellu defiantly.
‘If those weapons cause critical damage to our systems we will be unable to fly away even if we stay here and pick them up. I advise that we retreat and formulate a strategy to deal with these fighter craft properly.’
‘No, we’re not leaving them, we can’t!’ protested Ellu.