Schrader once again sat in the cockpit of his XP-2000. His hands played over the controls as he relived a hundred fire fights from the same small space. He was forced to
acknowledge that this might be his last, his last chance to shine, the concluding chapter of his life. He looked to the four fighters under his command. All were piloted by combat veterans, Schrader
had made sure of that. He only hoped it would be enough. He snapped a cocky salute to the ground crew, gunned his engines, and shot out into the void. His small but effective team formed up behind
him.
"On my mark", he said calmly, "three...two...one...GO!"
He pushed the stick forward, rocketing forth directly away from the assembled Wyzenhymer force. The sheer power of his rapid acceleration made it impossible to maintain communications with the other pilots.
He'd know their status soon enough. Nausea swept over him and his vision blurred momentarily. "Here it comes.", he muttered to himself gravely.
A blinding flash of light pierced his very being as he made the violent transition to RF speed. Once his head cleared, Schrader checked his readings. All systems were operating a peak efficiency, and
the ride was much smoother this side of light speed. He keyed his mike.
"Check in.", he ordered.
"King-1, checking in."
"King-2, checking in."
A painfully long moment passed.
"King-4. checking in."
Schrader sighed as he shook his head. The odds had been bad enough before, now, as Schrader put it, they just plain sucked.
"Fill in the formation, King-4.", he said with a confidence he didn't feel.
"Roj, Hound Dog.", Four replied, adjusting for the missing ship. The four ships shot through hyper space toward their destination, each pilot mentally rehearsing his part of the operation. Schrader
seemingly had the easiest job of the remaining fighters, to fly straight up the middle. The other ships would drop to NS-ATS speed and attempt to take out the Wyzenhymer communications and warning systems,
providing the lieutenant with a clear avenue of approach. The rest was up to Schrader. If he succeeded, they would return to the USS Escort heroes. If he failed, they would be slaughtered by a
swarm of Wyzenhymer fighters.
