Tarizon, The Liberator, Tarizon Trilogy Vol 1

by William Manchee

  After breakfast Leek and his squad uncovered their fighters and gave them a thorough inspection. Finding no problems they checked the weather reports and calculated their fuel levels. The weather was currently calm but a tropical depression was moving from Lortec toward the Beet Islands. Hopefully they'd beat it there, but if they didn't it could mean they'd hit some rough weather. As for fuel, there was enough to get them to the Loyalist base, but with little to spare. This would mean they could have but one run on Pegaport and then they'd have to set their course straight for the Loyalist base. Any delay or deviation from their course could spell disaster.

  Thirty loons before sunrise they were in their planes and ready to take off. Since their fighters were only built for one pilot, Tam had to ride in Peter's supply hold, which was a bit cramped and uncomfortable. He let it be known how much he hated the accommodations.

  "You expect me to ride in there?"

  "Yeah. I'm sorry, but it's the only space available. Sgt. Baig said you'd be okay in there. The cargo hold is part of the cockpit assembly and fully pressurized. He rigged you an oxygen mask for you to wear while we're in flight."

  "How long will it take to get to the Beet Islands?"

  "Just long enough for a good nap."

  Tam sighed, shook his head, and climbed in the hold. Peter closed the door and then started his pre-flight instrument check. Once it was completed, he started the engines and pushed the throttle forward. The tires kicked up a trail of dust as they quickly gained speed. Soon they were airborne and heading toward Pegaport. Below them were the Drogal Mountains and Peter thanked God they were flying over it this time. Peter thought back to when he'd felt the claw of a Drogal grab his shoulder and yank him away. The thought of it gave him the shivers. He still couldn't believe he'd escaped. A loud thud from the hold brought Peter back to the present.

  "You alright in there, Tam?" Peter asked.

  "Not really, I can't get comfortable."

  "Sorry, buddy." Peter chuckled. "Just hang in there. We'll be at Pegaport momentarily."

  Their plan was to fly low to the ground to avoid the Pegaport Air Detection System. Together with their stealth capability it was unlikely they'd be spotted. As they flew low over Shaft 22, Peter thought of the rhutz who'd saved their lives. It was amazing to him how they had come to know of his presence on Tarizon and had become his protector without ever a word being spoken between them. Their speed brought them quickly to the foothills of the Drogals where their ATV had been blown up.

  "Okay. In one minute we'll be dropping over the foothills and into Pegaport. Brace yourself, this could be a rough ride."

  They had agreed that Sy would go in first and take out the hanger. Then he'd veer off to the right and try to knock out the Muscan missile launchers. Red would go in right behind Sy and take out the officers’ quarters and then base headquarters. He'd then go left and do as much damage to the ships in port as he could. Peter would come in last and knock out the armory and then take another run at the Muscan missile launchers, just in case Sy hadn't been successful in putting them out of commission.

  Peter watched as Sy dived down over Pegaport and headed straight for the main hanger. Sirens almost immediately began to wail as Pegaport’s airspace was breached. Two missiles shot out of the nose of Sy's fighter. They ran true to their target and the hanger exploded into a fiery inferno. As smoke and flames were billowing up into the sky the officer's barracks suddenly exploded as did base headquarters. Red flew by and veered left. It was Peter's turn now. Blowing up the armory was a bit tricky. If he wasn't careful, when the armory was hit, the explosion could knock him out of the sky.

  Peter came in straight at it, fired his missiles and then veered sharply to the right to avoid the concussion. The armory exploded when the missile hit and then a second later a series of explosions rocked Pegaport. Peter's big fighter rocked from the concussion, but he didn't have time to worry about it. He was coming up fast on the Muscan missile launchers. They were on fire from Sy's assault but one silo looked intact. He locked onto it and fired. The last silo exploded and debris was shot high in the air. A large piece of it came at him and almost ended his short career as a fighter pilot. Peter ducked reflexively as the debris narrowly missed him.

  Looking down at the base Peter saw a big transport plane starting to take off. It had to be Luga Vincente and the soldiers wanting to join the Loyalists. There were a couple of fighters being readied for take off as well. These would not be friendly. Although Peter had been advised that he should hit his targets and then immediately set a course for the Beet Islands, he couldn't let those two fighters get off the ground. If they did, they might take out the transport or try to engage them in battle which would waste precious fuel. After knocking out the last Muscan Missile silo, Peter swung around and took a run at the airstrip. There was one runway but two lanes on each side for aircraft waiting to take off. The transport was at the end of the west holding lane, just beginning to turn onto the runway. One of the fighters was on the move and halfway to the end of the east holding lane.

  The fighter was much faster than the transport and Peter knew it wouldn't take it long to catch up with it. Once it swung around and started up the runway it could easily lock onto the transport and fire a missile. Peter had to nail it before it got on the runway. The problem was the fighter and the transport were directly in front of him. There was a danger his missile might lock onto the larger transport even though it was farther away. To avoid that possibility Peter banked hard left and then circled back so he was coming at the fighter from the side. The fighter was picking up speed, so his window of opportunity would come and go quickly. When the two lines on his targeting screen were aligned, he fired. The missile sped towards its target. For a second the missile appeared to be heading straight at the transport, but the transport moved off the screen and the missile went right past it. The fighter exploded, flipped over on it's back and slid a hundred strides before it hit a metal storage building and finally came to rest.

  As Peter was flying overhead, he noticed the second fighter take a short cut across a grassy area to avoid the wreckage from the first fighter. His pulse quickened as he realized he wouldn't have time to swing around and take out the second fighter before he made it to the runway. He pushed the button on his communicator hoping Red was close by.

  "R3. Where are you?"

  "Coming at you."

  "I'm not going to be able to take care of that second fighter in time. Do you have any missiles left?"

  "No. I sunk the last one in the belly of a battleship."

  "Crap!" Peter replied.

  "Don't worry. I've got my laser. If I can get close enough I'll take him out."

  As Peter swung around to head back across Pegaport, Peter saw Red come in low and when he got in range there was a quick flash; the fighter immediately began to smoke and veer to the left. It ran off the runway and smashed into a tanker truck exploding on impact.

  "Nice job! R3. Now let's get the hell out of here."

  "Acknowledged, R1. Setting course to the Beet Islands."

  "R2. What's your position?"

  "I'm halfway there," Sy said. "What's taking you so long?"

  "We had a couple more targets to neutralize. We've got to check out our transport and then we'll catch up with you."

  "Acknowledged. I 'll take it easy until you catch up," Sy said.

  "Renegade 4. Come in," Peter said.

  "Renegade 4 here," Vincente said.

  "Congratulations! You're now officially Loyalists."

  "Thank you. We’re proud to be aboard."

  "What's your condition?"

  "Twenty-three soldiers strong, Sir."

  "Excellent. How's your fuel? Got enough to get to base?"

  "Should have. How about you?"

  Peter glanced at his fuel gage and winced. "I don't know. I used a lot of fuel taking out that fly that was on your tail. I hope this baby gets good gas mileage."

  "Don't count on it,"
Sy said. "They didn't build these things for fuel economy."

  "How’s your fuel supply looking, R2?"

  "I should be fine."

  "R3, how about you?"

  "I'm gonna go swimming, I'm afraid, if I try to go all the way."

  "That's my feeling too," Peter replied. "Anybody got any bright ideas?"

  Vincente replied, "There's a private airport on Lortec you could land there and possibly refuel. I'm not sure who owns that real estate right now, but it used to be a flight testing center for an aerospace company."

  "Good. Red and I'll detour to Lortec then. If we don't show up at the base by tomorrow, you better come looking for us . . . and bring fuel."

  "Acknowledged, R1. May Sandee be with you."

  Red and Peter broke formation and set their course for Lortec. Peter was sick inside as he had been so looking forward to seeing Luci. Now they'd be delayed in Lortec for God knows how long.