| From: | "Paul J. Adam" <shadowtk@********.DEMON.CO.UK> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | The Hunters - Part II |
| Date: | Fri, 29 Aug 1997 23:53:00 +0100 |
>>>>>[TO: SIGA Archive
FORWARD TO: General L S Cunningham, UCAS AF
Second half.
Still tired.
Just watch it.
+++++begin trideo
Lilith is flying a lazy figure-eight, listening to the action unfolding:
ready to assist wherever necessary, but not needed yet.
"Psychopath. Tallyho the Ghost. Cameras running."
"Pinkett. Psycho, I see you and the Ghost. Spook him for me, get him to
break right, and I'll lock him up."
Two clicks of the mike in return, then a pause... "Psycho. That spooked
enough for you? Pulling high and clear, I got you both covered."
"Pinkett. I'm on his six. Thanks, Psycho."
And that is that, you think. If Bellman in an agile MiG-57 couldn't
shake off Pinkett - the quiet, reliable, formation-trained Stormbird -
then an Aztlan stealth aircraft caught low and slow is meat on the
table. The Ghost is caught until Pinkett decides to let him go, and
Lynch is dancing attendance to record the festivities on a full suite of
sensors.
Lilith eases her aircraft into a gentle bank, reaching to disable her
Master Arm switch -
"Arashi. I have a second Ghost on my six." Calm tones from the Ares
pilot.
Lilith freezes for an instant, then pulls the MiG-57 around until she's
aimed directly at the strobe of Arashi's radar emissions. Her aircraft's
nose rises slightly as the afterburners light with two soft thuds, and
the airspeed begins to rapidly increase.
"Leopard Lady. Inbound to your pos, buster."
Hikaru says calmly "Arashi. He must have been here a while. Probably
wanted a look at the Valkyrie. No hostile action, so I'm going to show
him a few tricks..."
Lilith bursts through a high cirrus layer and there, three miles ahead,
are two faint IR signatures.
"Tallyho Arashi and the Ghost. Talley, where the hell are you?"
No answer as Lilith throttles back: the two warm spots are resolving on
IRIS and her own vision, into the double-delta of a Ghost and the sleek,
bird-like form of the Valkyrie: locked in a turning fight, as the Ghost
bleeds off speed in an attempt to shake the Ares fighter off. The
Valkyrie's wings extend as it adapts for low-speed high-G manoeuvring,
matching the Aztlan aircraft without apparent effort.
Lilith, slowing to stay outside the fight, watches with fascination as
the Valkyrie executes an impossibly tight turn that should have folded
it up like a toy, and the Ghost slides helplessly wide.
The Aztlan aircraft's tail flares with light and heat, abandoning
stealth in favour of power and speed: and the Valkyrie remains glued to
its tail. Arashi is "at the elbow", reacting to the Ghost's every
manoeuvre, and it's painfully obvious the Aztlan fighter is as totally
outclassed by the Valkyrie as the MiGs are. Lilith banks into a gentle
turn, staying clear: she'd only get in Arashi's way, and can pursue the
Ghost should it by some miracle escape.
Lilith allows herself to breathe deeply. "Leopard Lady. Arashi has the
second Ghost locked up solid. Talley, where the fuck are you?"
"Control. Pinkett, hold the Ghost, Psycho, blow past his nose. Flip him
into the ocean with your jetwash. Arashi, splash your bandit with
gunfire." Luttwidge's voice is flat and cold.
"WHAT?" Pinkett and Lynch snap in unison.
"Arashi. Having trouble getting a clean lock. Will close for guns." The
Valkyrie's wings reshape themselves again and it tightens its turn still
further, afterburners bright.
"Control, I say again, bring down both Ghosts -"
Lilith snaps her head to the left - something fast and hot is closing in
at well over Mach 1, heading directly for Arashi and her Ghost. Talley's
MiG-57, in full afterburner and coming to the party late.
"Lady. Talley, where-"
The MiG's nose is hidden by a strobing flash and a string of greenish-
blue fairy lights lashes out at the duelling pair, missing the Ghost
cleanly and passing behind it. The Valkyre flies through the stream of
shells, and is suddenly brightly lit by at least two explosions. Talley
blows clean through the melee, still on full afterburner.
"Arashi! I'm hit!" Urgent, but not panicked. Flame streams from her
right wing as the Valkyrie lurches.
"TALLEY, CHECK FIRE!" Lilith shouts.
"Control. Who's firing? Who hit you, Arashi?"
Lilith hesitates a microsecond, then breaks in towards the burning
Valkyrie, merely watching the Ghost as it dives clear.
"Arashi. I have a fire and severe other damage. Gun is dead. Busy....
Lilith, where's the Ghost?"
"Lady. Your Ghost is bugging out low and running for cloud." Lilith pops
her speedbrakes to slow the overtake on the Valkyrie: the flames
enveloping the right wing are already going out, though the right engine
is visibly cooling down and spewing smoke.
"Okay. MAX is helping me compensate. But, I can't track the Ghost.
Sorry."
"No problem. Belly check?"
"Please. If we're letting him go, can you stay with me until we make
Stockdale?" Arashi's voice is tense.
Lilith eases the MiG alongside, then under and around, studying the
wounded Valkyrie: some of the details are fuzzed, probably to protect
Ares' secrets. The Valkyrie is amazingly stable, for something so badly
damaged.
"You've got a big hole in the right wing. The fuel fire's gone out.
Right rudder's lost about two feet off the top, which is to say, most of
it. And it looks like your right engine and wing root took AP shells.
No sign of hydraulic leaks, no sign of thrown blades. Think you can make
it back?" Lilith asks calmly.
"They might need to rig the barrier." Arashi says, also calm now. "But
she'll make it. At least she's locked wings-spread."
The silence that follows is broken moments later.
"Pinkett. I am calling bingo and disengaging."
"Psycho. Skosh fuel. Disengaging to RTB."
"Control." General Dodgson's voice, not Luttwidge. "All units, disengage
and head home. Weapons tight. Arashi, do you need any other assistance?"
"Negative. Where's Talley?" Hikaru asks.
"AWACS shows him heading east at Mach 2 and still not answering."
Dodgson sounds regretful. "He doesn't have enough fuel to get home now,
even if he wanted to. We've scrambled SAR."
+++++end video
Matt caught the aftermath better than we did. We all made it back alive,
except Talley. We haven't even found his body yet.]<<<<<
-- 1Lt L R W Lynch <23:36:40/08-28-58>
Strategic Intelligence Gathering Agency
