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“Get to the 212!” Mitch yelled running toward the fighter-bomber. Followed closely by Ethan and Danielle they flew into the already opened hatch of the 212. Mitch dived into the pilots seat followed by Ethan in the copilots seat then Danielle in the fire-control navigation seat. Mitch fired up the twin nuclear powered Rolls-Royce jet engines taxiing the 212 toward the runway shutting off the hanger shield. Not waiting for any preflight checks Mitch pushed the throttle forward full power and blasted out of the hanger bay the shield returning to full power the instant they cleared.
“Fire Control computer won’t lock on any targets Mitch!
“Go manual use your visual Danielle.”
“Mitch heads-up debris everywhere, the fleet is done for!”
“I think you are right Ethan. Danielle how is the targeting going? I cannot keep dodging those blasts of blackness coming from those ships forever. They seem to blot out the stars; it is the only way I can see them!”
“They're not having any effect on them! I know I hit one dead broadside with no apparent damage.”
Mitch flew with extraordinary ability and control of the 212 as if it could fly like the F-219 Gladiator dodging blasts of darkness, debris, all the while watching his fellow pilots die. Never in his short life could he fly like this. Seeing the fighters blowing up made him think of back home on Earth the way hundreds of fireflies would wink out at night. Suddenly, he jerked the 212 hard left to avoid a slashing flash of darkness bringing him around facing the Intrepid in time to see a concerted attack by the enemy their beams of darkness slashing through space directly at her. In an instant, she exploded into a massive ball of flame. Mitch jerked the controls hard right and down to avoid the explosion and the debris that would follow the 212 screaming at the mistreatment. Smaller faster moving pieces struck the 212 but the shields held. Quickly looking back at his sister, he saw tears running down her face, but he could not afford to grieve while keeping them alive.
“Mitch what are we going to do? You can’t hold them off much longer, the fleets gone,” Ethan said saying the obvious.
In instant something changed inside Mitch, he imagined he could feel the 212 around him and sense the adrenalin pumped heartbeats of his companions. Reaching out farther, he could sense the whereabouts of the alien ships, when and where they were going to use their blasts of darkness. Then he found something else he saw in his imagination a vast circle of light with spiraling bands of gold, orange and red all spiraling inward like a funnel. He is not sure whether he imagined it or the image suddenly appeared in his mind but somehow he knew the circle of light is their only hope to escape this onslaught.
“Danielle set the two warheads to proximity detonation and to release them on my mark.” Mitch jerked the 212 hard left then hard right and down trying desperately to avoid a blast of darkness and more floating wreckage. Burning wreckage slammed into the side of the 212 causing some systems in the cabin to short out. Suddenly, their escape appeared right in front of them as vast circle of light. Mitch increased the speed of the 212 way beyond the normal operating parameters.
“Mitch what is that?” Danielle looked away from the fire-control panel to stare openmouthed at the bright spiraling circle of light.
“Our only hope of escape that's what it is, Danielle on my mark!” Mitch began counting down from five to one. When Mitch yelled her name, it brought her back to the grim reality that they faced preparing to unleash a fiery inferno in their little corner of space. Placing her hand on a holograph control panel an image of the warheads floated above her hand. Checking the systems holographic readouts making sure they were armed, she released them on Mitch’s mark.
The seconds passed as Mitch guided the 212 toward the spiraling circle of light. The sudden blast and the accompanying shock wave drove the beleaguered craft directly into the center of the circle of light. Instantly, the onboard systems started shorting and all control of the 212 was instantly lost. The off-line battery operated emergency systems came on controlling the pressurization in the cabin, oxygen and gravity. They hurtled through the light at a dizzying speed the intense vertigo causing all three to lose consciousness.