by Greg Dragon
~ * ~ * ~
The phantom shuddered as Rafian broke the atmosphere of Vestalia and triggered the cooling mechanisms to keep the ship online. Almost immediately, the Geralese defense drones were on him. They did not ask him to identify himself, and they did not fire any warning shots. They came at him by the dozens, machine gun fire tearing the sky apart, but Rafian VCA was too focused, too ready to die, and too aware of their reaction.
He cut through the defenses easily. His entry cleared once again, and he was able to pull up the navigation and find the country of Cerium and what was identified as the Zynec compound. The phantom was outfitted with advanced cloaking mechanisms, and he made sure to go off the grid as soon as the last of the defenders were downed.
Zynec would take some time to reach, as he had chosen to drop onto the planet in a different area from the one previously selected for the mission. Geralese planes were beginning to lift into the sky, desperately trying to find him and put an end to what they probably assumed was an invasion.
Rafian wondered to what length they would go to stop him after realizing there was no host ship that was launching fighters, no wingmen to his phantom, and no real sign of anything that would be considered an invasion force.
They kept launching ships, however, and his initial attack, as precise and deadly as it was, was being taken very seriously. Still, no matter how many defense drones they sent looking for him, they posed no problem for the invisible ship that was zipping along at low altitude over the beautiful azure waters of Vestalia.
“To think that we all used to live here in relative peace,” Rafian uttered to himself as he cruised along.
He thought about the Helysian, and he felt disappointed in himself for not finding Aurora to tell her good-bye. His sister had found herself a beau and was usually occupied with him whenever Rafian was trying to grab her to talk. When he had sought her out to tell her of the mission, he learned she was on Meruda with her lover, taking a short vacation.
He had managed to say good-bye to Vani. It was an emotionally draining departure, as she was the queen of melodrama. But he felt himself missing her antics more than he felt comfortable to admit. Vani had taken a holo-shot of him to keep on her mantle in case things went south on the mission. She also told him that she would write his biography and asked permission to edit her parts to make her seem more loving to him back when they were kids.
It was amusing, but Vani was a character. Her crazy requests and antics were the medicine he needed to laugh off the serious nature of his departure. Now he flew through the mountains of south Cerium and could see the Geralese base that he was directed to destroy.
Coming out of cloak to arm his guns, Rafian entered Zynec Prime like a bat out of hell. Barracks, buildings, and bases were lased and burned under his deadly fire, and though the Geralos launched ships and surface-to-air attacks at him, the phantom was too fast, too seasoned, and always a step ahead.
Rafian’s mind was working overtime. He knew that by now, the Geralos would have called in reinforcements to stop his onslaught. But he wanted to be done and at the drop zone a lot quicker than any incoming rescue.
The wing of the phantom got nicked about thirty minutes into his raid, and he felt as though that would end his flight. He took emergency measures to make sure the ship would stay deadly, and he was happy to see that the damage was nothing major.
He set the phantom right and continued to rain fire upon any structure that came across his path. One of the biggest obstacles he faced up to this point was literally a flying fortress. The behemoth delivered so many angles of attack that he found himself actually sweating as he dodged and darted, having the ship’s AI assist and adapt to the patterns.
It was a frightening experience to have what appeared like a large flying city drifting to intercept your course, shooting everything that it had at you. The way Rafian flew that morning was nothing short of legendary, even among aces, and though the fortress slowed his progress and forced him to fight, it was soon rocked from a well-timed series of shots into each of its air vents. Before long, the Zynec landscape erupted into flames as it crashed into the ground.
On Helysian, the group of Phasers watched the glitchy holo-update of Rafian’s ship as he made his way through the bombing run. Marian was having a hard time watching, so she let the feedback of the others cue her in on when to look up from the floor at the action that was unfolding.
Phasers had begun to use micro-recorders on missions that were high level enough to warrant rescues. A micro-recorder was no bigger than a mosquito and had a built-in cloaking device so it stayed out of sight as it followed the Phaser around. It transmitted the recording back to the command center, where an officer would watch closely, ready to send in the troops as it became necessary.
With the uproar on Cerium, the only way the Phasers would be able to help their commander now was through the crystal. As he neared the drop point, they witnessed another fortress appear before him, and they knew the Geralos were getting desperate. One of the men, Frank OTA, whom Tayden had personally recruited and trained to become a Phaser, had assumed command. He stepped in front of the holo-video, straightened his jacket, and addressed the group.
“Our commander was not given enough time to plan this drop, and he is relying on his talents to get it done. Instead of sitting here admiring his skills, why don’t we send another ship in to distract the incoming Geralese force? For all they know, there is only one desperate, rogue ship doing immense damage on their base. Now, if they see two, they will likely overthink this whole thing and start slipping.”
A Lyrian ace who was listening countered Frank. He wanted to make sure nothing was going to be done outside the commander’s orders. “Frank, the crystal and our drop will be confusing enough for our enemies. The main reason we sent in a sole bird was to minimize their panic, so that we can come out of the backdoor firing and take that city silently. Drop in another bird now, and they will assume it’s an invasion. This would ruin everything our commander is fighting for.”
Frank sat back down and cursed. Of course the man was right in what he said, and though he wanted to help his commander, he didn’t want to jeopardize the plan and be the cause of a failed mission.
Marian, who had been listening silently to the conversation, stepped up to the spot where Frank had stood and asked the men and women to ready their battle gear. She also asked the pilots to hop into their cockpits and await the signal of the crystal that Rafian would be dropping soon.
Surprisingly, the Phasers did not object and scattered to their respective corners to ready their equipment. Marian, who was already dressed and ready, stared at the holo-vid as the second fortress went down in a ball of flames and Rafian shot through the debris like a bullet.
Finally, when Rafian shot down a would-be ace Geralos pilot and cruised into the valley that sat behind the Zynec structure, the assault ceased, as if his attackers were giving up. Slowing the Zero-Tolerance to a hover, he opened up the cockpit and threw the baseball-sized crystal into the sandy earth. As soon as he did this, a column of light erupted from it skyward, and six heavy fighters roared from the light towards the area he had just entered.
In a matter of minutes, Marian and the other thirteen Phasers were through the light as well, armed and ready to fight. Rafian felt his heart swell with happiness to see his wife, and it was the first time he had allowed himself to accept the weight of the situation. Knowing that the mission was not yet completed, he landed, ran to her, and touched his helmet to hers.
She was happy to see him make it and impressed at his skill, since she had never seen him fly. With the Phasers all around him, Rafian pulled out his rifle and led them back into the compound to clean up any survivors.
