the last second activate the auto pilot and eject."
"Do you we think we can? Avoid the beam, I mean."
She sounded nervous. Hell, so am I!
"I hope so, but it's all we can do."
"Sounds like you gals still need my help!"
"Cowboy?" Utter disbelief filled Sunny's voice. As if in answer, his Thunderbolt came into view from underneath them.
"Holy cow!"
Eile couldn't blame her. Nearly the entire left side of the plane had been shorn away. The only things left were his cockpit and a third of his wing.
"Damn, Cowboy, what's keeping you in the air?!"
"Aw, shoot, Miss Eile, these here Hogs were designed to keep flyin' on one engine, one tail, one elevator, and half a wing."
"And a prayer!"
"You got that right, Colonel, but this Old Gal's still got plenty o' fight left in her!"
"You should have skedaddled when you had the chance!"
"Well, I tell ya, Major, I thought about it, but then I realized I'd be lettin' the Colonel off too easily if she got killed."
"Aw, sheesh!"
"You've got a great plan there, Colonel, but you'll stand a better chance if I keep this Bad Boy busy fer ya. I saw the way it choked when it took a shot at us before. If I go after it, it may just concentrate on me and ignore you gals."
"You won't get any argument from me. Go for it."
"Eile, no!"
"It's his choice, and he's right. Punch it, Captain!"
"Right you are, Colonel."
"The Eye's coming around!" Sunny squealed.
"I've got ya covered, Ladies. Break right, Colonel, and come at 'im from behind. I'll keep 'im busy. YAR-HOOEY!" Even as he finished speaking, Cowboy banked his Thunderbolt left. It turned slow and shuddered, but it held together, much to Eile's relief.
She shifted the stick to her right and the Intruder turned and rolled in that direction. After a few minutes, she reversed direction, and the plane nosed around to point at the back of the Walker. She and Sunny watched as the beam lanced out at the Thunderbolt. It shifted left at the last second and the beam just grazed it. At the same moment, it launched two of its four remaining HARMs. The missiles slammed into the body, releasing an orange fireball. Eile couldn't see what kind of damage they did, but she knew the Walker would regenerate itself in no time.
"Okay, I need you to calculate a bombing run," Eile ordered Sunny.
"There's nothing to calculate. Just take us straight in."
"Are you serious?"
"We've gotta get in there before it blows Cowboy outta the sky or decides to take a shot at us. That means a level dive run at full throttle."
"Alright, let's kick this pig." Eile pushed the stick forward and the Intruder nosed down towards the Walker. She pulled all the way back on the throttle and felt the plane jump forward as it accelerated to full flight speed.
"Estimated time to target."
"Three minutes."
The beam flashed again, seeking the Thunderbolt. Cowboy rolled right and launched another HARM. It slammed into the Walker, but narrowly missed the Eye as it tracked the Thunderbolt. The beam fired again, and punched a hole in the plane's right wing, but the Thunderbolt kept flying. It rolled left and dove away, but the Eye continued to shift to the right.
Eile's gut froze as she realized it sought the Intruder.
"EEEP!" Sunny squealed.
"Taking evasive action!"
"No!" Cowboy bellowed, as the Thunderbolt jerked back to the right. "Stay on yer bomb run! I'll take care of it." He fired his last HARM. The missile hit the outer edge of the Eye. The blood-red orb snapped back in his direction and fire again. That time it sheared off half of Cowboy's right wing.
"Dammit! Cowboy, eject! Eject!!"
"No can do, Miss Eile," he said, his voice uncharacteristically hushed. "That EMP blasted my ejection system. This Old Gal and me are stuck with each other."
"Holy Jesus God."
The beam fired again, and took off his tail section.
"Sorry ta break our date, girl, but that's how the buttered biscuit falls. Still, that's my only regret."
"Cowboy, no!" Sunny cried.
"Aw, shoot, don't fret, Miss Sunny. I'm sure everthin' will be alright. Besides, now I'll have a chance ta date a real angel."
"Cowboy, I--" Eile began, but she choked up.
"No goodbyes, Colonel, no last sad words. Besides, yer getting my whiskey ration, so buck up! As fer that Walker, do me a favor."
"Anything," Sunny said.
The beam fired once more, and sliced through the Thunderbolt's underbelly.
"Send this Bad Boy ta hell! HEE HAW!!"
The Thunderbolt crashed into the center of the Eye, and the orb exploded, leaving a ragged hole.
Eile felt numb. She didn't liked Cowboy, but he was still one of her own. And strangely, she felt angered that they wouldn't have their date.
"Give me a countdown," she growled. "I want yer estimate of its regeneration."
"Ten percent regeneration," Sunny said in a steely tone.
"Setting autopilot, locking in flight path."
"Twenty-five percent regeneration."
"Ninety seconds to impact."
"Fifty percent regeneration!" Sunny's voice became more strident.
"Sixty seconds. Stand by for ejection." She gripped the dual-eject lever.
"Seventy-five percent regeneration!"
"Thirty seconds. This is gonna be close!"
"Ninety percent!"
"Now!!" She yanked on the lever. The explosive bolts fired and the canopy leapt up and away. Eile heard the rumble beneath her as the Eye reformed, filling her vision, and it flared, preparing to fire.
Then she felt herself lifted out of the cockpit at breakneck speed. She shot clear of the Walker, the g-forces so strong she almost blacked out. A loud bang made itself heard over the roar of the ejection motor. Then the catches on her belts opened, the seat fell away, and she began to fall free. She pulled the ripcord and felt her parachute flow out of its pack. She heard it fill and expand, and felt the snap and jerk as it halted her fall.
She hung suspend for a few moments as she caught her bearings. Looking around, she saw the Walker beneath her some distance in front of her. Nearly a third of its body had disappeared, and it had come to a halt. As she watched, the edges of the cavity blackened and crumbled away. Her heart pounded in her chest from anxiety. In moments she would know if the reprogrammed nanobots worked. She held her breath, waiting for the visible regrowth, but it didn't occur. Then she saw the new edges blacken. As they disintegrated, the ruin spread, slowly at first but picking up speed with each second. It was like watching a time-lapse film of a potato rot. Half the Walker dissolved to powder in only a minute, and it toppled over as the rest of it fell apart.
Frenzied excitement exploded in her body. "YAHOO!!!" She kicked her legs in imitation of a jig. She jerked around, looking for Sunny, and saw her parachute a hundred yards off to her right. She waved, and felt immense relief when Sunny waved back.
As soon as Eile touched ground, she detached the chute and sprinted to where Sunny had landed. As she got close, she saw her with her helmet off, her mane of gamboge hair flashing in the summer sun. She knelt beside her emergency radio, which she switched off as Eile approached.
She stood up. "Pick up should be in an hour."
Eile removed her own helmet, and let her seal-brown ponytail flow down her back. "Good. After the debriefing, I'm gonna take a long shower and sleep for a day."
"Sounds wonderful! Then afterwards, you can pay your debt."
Eile frowned, confused. "Debt?"
"Yah, you owe me ten beers, remember?"
Eile grinned. She had forgotten about that. "Okay, yeah, ten beers."
Sunny sobered immediately. "We can drink a toast to Cowboy."
Eile nodded, feeling serious. "Yeah. About Cowboy. I'm gonna log it as an approved action. I don't think anyone needs to know he disobeyed orders."
&
nbsp; "Wouldn't base command have a full recording of our transmissions?"
"Once we got past the Poppers, the Walker's electromagnetic field would have jammed our long-range radios. I doubt command heard anything after that."
"I hope your right. I think he deserves a commendation and a medal. In fact, they all do."
Eile knew she meant the Eagle pilots as well. "I'm already way ahead of ya. In fact, I think we should have a public toast. I'm gonna divide their whiskey ration among the entire squadron, and after the briefing, we're all gonna toast them with the first round of drinks."
"I think that's only fitting."
Eile flashed a mischievous smile. "And speaking of insubordination, I'm not gonna mention yer defiance either."
"Thanks." Sunny returned a relieved grin. "You're a good partner."
"It's over and done with. I don't see any point in making it official. Just don't make a habit of it, okay?"
"Deal!"
"By the way, you were going to tell me something before Cowboy showed up. What was it?"
Sunny suddenly looked nervous. "I'm...not sure I should say anything now."
"Sunnyyyy, out with it. Don't make me make it an order."
She stared at her feet as she shuffled them in an anxious manner. "Well...I'm not disappointed Cowboy wasn't able to keep his date with you."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. In fact, I couldn't help feeling jealous when you agreed to his bet."
"Jealous?"
Sunny looked up. "Yeah. You see, ever since you assigned us together, I've had these feelings for you. I wasn't sure at first, but after our first mission I had no doubt."
Eile felt trepidation creep over her as she got an idea what Sunny meant. "What are you trying to say?"
"I...I love you, Eile."
Eile blinked, surprised, but her anxiety melted away. "What did you say?"
"I said, I love you, Eile."
"As in, romantic love, like with