“Are you sure this will work, Commander?” Matheson was busy entering a program into his systems that Scarecrow had given him on a data key.
“Like a dream, SO.”
Scarecrow had ordered his wingman to hold position just outside the asteroid belt and await further orders. Oleander was in the Sirius B star system, so Shere-Khan couldn’t participate in the mission, but Rapace was at Deep Space Platform Three, and Bad Boy was their third TR-3B.
As Hutch had cautioned Scarecrow when he’d first applied it, the warning, “Abandon All Hope” he had painted on the nose of his TR-3B was for the most part, worn off. Instead, he’d rendered a new message which read, “Genesis 3:15” above a coarsely painted boot crushing a serpent’s head. It was reminiscent of the Red Boots shoulder patch, which had a crimson boot crushing an alien gray’s head with “EDF Marine Corps Special Ops,” and the motto, “Haec tabernus sunt stompin factum est,” (these boots are made for stompin’) beneath the image.
Now Scarecrow and Nutcracker sat patient, just outside the asteroid belt, at the very spot where the Mars Base reported Black Bart had entered. The comm clicked.
“Scarecrow, Bad Boy. Come in, over.”
Scarecrow checked his sensor readout and witnessed a lone TR-3B on an approach vector. “Bad Boy, Scarecrow. You’re lima-charlie, over.”
“Am I late, over?”
“Right on time, over. Alright, Lieutenant, let’s toss out our croc bait.”
“You want me to transmit the message just like this, Sir?”
“Yup. Don’t change a syllable.”
“Aye, Sir. Here goes. Transmitting now.”
Scarecrow’s challenge was short and succinct, just like his lacertilian counterpart’s original missive. It said simply–“This is Bird Frightener. Come to me and die.”
“Well Sir, it’ll definitely get his attention.”
“That’s the idea, SO. You ready, Vince?”
“As I’ll ever be, Commander. As Indiana Jones once said, ‘this world is too small for the two of us!’”
They didn’t have to wait long for a response.
“I’ve got something on an approach vector, Sir. Moving towards us from inside the asteroid belt.”
“Charge weapons, SO,” Scarecrow ordered, “activate stealth and shields.”
“We’re weapons hot, CAG. Shields and stealth activated, aye.”
“Put up the enemy’s approach vectors, Lieutenant. Let’s see them.”
“It’s spotty, Sir. Sensors are having a hard time with all the interference from the asteroids. Too many exotic metals.”
“The Admiral warned me they would interfere with sensors. Do the best you can, Cody.”
“Aye, Sir. Here you go.” Matheson transferred his sensor telemetry to Scarecrow and Williams’ tactical displays.
“Can you use that, Vince?”
“Not really. Not to get a solid weapons lock.”
“We’ll have to make due. Keep in mind, he’s probably having the same problems we are.”
“Not necessarily, Commander. He may have better tech. That may be why he chose this location. He can target us, but we can’t target him.”
“Home field advantage?”
Williams’ silence spoke for him.
“Regardless, here we are. Target manually if you have to. I’ll do my best to set up the shots. We can do this.”
“Scarecrow, Bad Boy. It will be just like old times, eh? Scarecrow and Bad Boy, at Red Flag, over.”
Scarecrow weighed Zvi’s comment for a moment, then replied, “Bad Boy, Scarecrow. At Red Flag we didn’t have to dodge asteroids. This will be a lot more dangerous. I’m loath to risk your life–to risk all of our lives, but–”
“Scarecrow, Bad Boy. This is Zvi you’re talking to, my old friend. I risked my life just walking to school every day when I was a boy growing up in the West Bank. And now it’s the job. It’s what we all do up here, over.”
“No time to argue, Sir,” Matheson said. “Bandit’s almost on top of us.”
“Scarecrow, Bad Boy. Alright, let’s implement our plan. Phase one–we’ll catch him in a pincer, over.”
Scarecrow nodded. “Count us down, SO!”
“Yes, Sir.” Matheson hesitated for a moment. Then, “…three… two… one… mark!”
“Bad Boy–Nutcracker, Scarecrow. Bracket, over.”
Scarecrow went vertical with Nutcracker and Bad Boy darting away in opposite, lateral directions as the enemy saucer darted out of the field, firing as it came. Its shots missed as the trio of TR-3Bs executed a bat-turn and launched back towards it, all firing as they did. The TR-3B’s directed energy weapons thudded into the enemy’s shields with violent force, causing the saucer to pitch with a vehement shudder before it dashed back into the mass of slowly spinning boulders. The Solar Warden attack force continued firing as they pursued, once more striking the enemy TR with several well placed blasts. The saucer shook again and returned fire as it veered off away from Scarecrow and his birds. Their skill as pilots was evident as they jinked and avoided the enemy fire, then darted after the bandit as it sped away.
“Scarecrow, Bad Boy. A tough target eh, over.”
“Bad Boy–Nutcracker, Scarecrow. Continue pincer move. Let’s try to catch him between us and target him from three sides.”
With an adeptness that surprised the Solar Warden pilots, the enemy craft wove its way deeper into the asteroid field as Scarecrow, Bad Boy and Nutcracker positioned themselves for their maneuver.
“Scarecrow, Nutcracker. My WSO is having trouble with his targeting scanners, over.”
“Nutcracker, Scarecrow. It’s the exotic metals in these asteroids. He may have to target manually, over.”
The three Solar Warden birds began to gain on their prey, weaving through the rocky maze like a quarterback cutting through the defense attempting to tackle him before he scored a touchdown.
“SO, find me an asteroid up ahead with a high concentration of magnesium and beryllium, along with ice to provide an oxidizing agent.”
“On it, Sir. Odds are against finding all three together, but I’ll do my best with our limited sensor capabilities.”
“Vince, when Cody finds our rock, target it and fire so that the asteroid will detonate just as the saucer passes by.”
“Hmm … magnesium and beryllium … should make for some nice fireworks.”
“Got it!” Matheson shouted. “Today’s your lucky day, Sir. Transferring coordinates to tactical now.”
“Good.” Scarecrow formed a grim smile beneath his VRI helmet. “Get ready, Vince, he’s almost there …”
Williams targeted the upcoming asteroid chosen by Cody, then opened fire on it moments before the saucer approached it. The electrical charge from the directed energy blast separated the hydrogen and oxygen in the ice, allowing the combustible metals to ignite, and the explosion caught the saucer in the center of its blast, throwing it with violence against an adjacent boulder. It spun out of control, bouncing off several other asteroids as it did. Scarecrow, Bad Boy and Nutcracker sped forward, avoiding the flying debris from the detonation as they began laying down heavy fire. Several shots found their target, but the enemy’s augmented shields held. The saucer righted itself and darted away.
Scarecrow cursed again. “I was sure we had him there!” He increased his speed and followed with grim determination. “We’ll just have to keep at him.”
The Solar Warden pilots resumed their previous strategy, and approached their target in their pincer formation. It was difficult to line up their shots due to the asteroids they were constantly forced to evade.
“He’s headed for Kirkwood Gap Zone I, Sir,” Matheson said. “These rocks will thin out and we can target him more easily.”
“Negative. It’s a ruse. He’s gonna stay in the briar patch, Lieutenant. Let’s stick with our original plan.”
As Scarecrow had anticipated, the saucer executed a dangerous 90 degree turn just before reaching the edge of the Zone. Its intent was to fake the trio of TR-3Bs into flying out of the press of asteroids, then it planned to double back and target them while they were in the open. The three experienced pilots didn’t fall for its ploy however, and continued to follow close behind.
In time, they were in a position to fire, within a group of smaller asteroids that afforded them a better opportunity to target the enemy craft.
“Bad Boy–Nutcracker, Scarecrow. Fire on my mark, over.”
Both pilots acknowledged. The comm was silent for a brief moment, then,
“… Mark!”
All three opened fire, striking their target simultaneously. Then a fourth beam of particle energy hit it from above.
“Who’s that?” Scarecrow said. “Unknown spacecraft, identify yourself, over.”
“Aurora Tactical Two, Aurora Tactical One. Don’t ya recognize your CAG, Scarecrow, over?”
“Hutch? Is that you, over?”
“Tactical Two, Tactical One. In the flesh, over.”
“Reynolds,” Scarecrow said under his breath. “Hutch, Scarecrow. I thought you were still in the regeneration pod, over?”
“Scarecrow, Hutch. Nah, the doc pulled me out just after Vince. We wanted it to be a surprise for your wedding, but I heard you went after Black Bart, so I decided I didn’t want to miss the party.”
“Negative, Tactical One. Our plan only allows three of us, over.”
“Well, you’ve got a fourth, over.”
“Our plan doesn’t–”
“Tactical One and Two, Bad Boy. Can we focus on the task at hand?” Zvi said. “This bandit just withstood fire from all four of us at once. Any ideas how we can crack this kola nut, over?”
“Time to implement phase two,” Scarecrow said. “Lieutenant, transmit these coordinates to the other pilots. Air wing, Scarecrow. Drive him to me, and I’ll ambush him, over.”
“Scarecrow, Hutch. How will you take him out with only your weapons alone, over?” Hutch asked.
“Hutch, Scarecrow. Don’t worry–we’ve worked it out, over.”
“Tactical One copies, over,” Hutch replied.
“Air wing, Scarecrow. Prepare to execute, over.” Scarecrow broke off pursuit and darted toward his coordinates, swinging, swooping, spinning, dipping and dodging asteroids at an alarming rate of speed that had both Williams and Matheson holding their breath. He reached the chosen location and addressed Matheson.
“Cody, per our plan, on my mark, I’m going to need every ounce of MFD power you can squeeze out of our magnetic doughnut and transfer it to weapons.”
“Aye, Sir. I’ll set it up now and be ready to dump on your mark.”
“I want at least 900 percent. I’m gonna set up the shot for Vince, and he’ll have less than a split second to take it. Vince, if you don’t think you can make the shot, program bird-brain to fire for y–”
“Bird-brain’s offline, Sir,” Matheson said.
“What? Why?”
“It’s these exotic metals, Sir. They’re not only affecting the sensors. Bird-brain just executed an automatic shut-down to protect itself from their effects. It’s like placing a magnet against an old-style desk-top computer. If we stay in here much longer, other systems are going to start shutting down for the same reasons.”
“Don’t worry, Commander,” Williams said, his voice ringing with determination. “I can make the shot.”
“Alright, Vince. This is all riding on you, now.”
“I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t. Let’s punch a hole in this snakehead bully once and for all and send him straight to whatever hell-spawned demon-god he worships!”
On Scarecrow’s order, Cody cloaked their bird as Scarecrow swung around and parked them between two asteroids. The heavy metals in the duo of space rocks that wreaked havoc on William’s targeting scanners also acted as a primitive dampening field and masked their power signature, making them invisible to Black Bart.
“Vince, Cody. Be ready,” Scarecrow said.
“Aye, Sir,” the pair replied in harmony.
Scarecrow waited as he watched the tactical display. Just as he anticipated, Hutch, Bad Boy and Nutcracker herded Black Bart right to them. The enemy saucer approached their line of fire. What happened next transpired in less than a second.
“… Mark!”
Cody punched his console and the weapons display spiked–1,012 percent. Just what Scarecrow requested. Williams opened fire simultaneously with a rapid pulse barrage, and Petajoules of particle beam and directed energy struck the enemy saucer as it swept by. Its shields held for about a third of the craft’s diameter, then failed. The ablative armor initially withstood the terrible force of the TR-3B’s increased weapons fire, but it too collapsed when the beams reached the center of the saucer. They punched clean through, slicing the remaining length of Black Bart in half …
The enemy ace burst into a brilliant flash of tiny shards.
“Yesss!” Scarecrow shouted as he reached over and punched Williams in the arm, “Way to go, Short Round!”
“Wooooo … Hoooooo!” Williams screeched, almost deafening his crewmates.
Cody was bouncing around with enthusiasm in his seat behind them, performing an adrenaline-charged happy dance. Scarecrow slumped back into his seat and let out a heavy sigh, a feeling of contented vindication washing over him as he did.
“You did it, Sir!” Cody exclaimed as he reached forward and patted Scarecrow on the shoulder with enthusiastic vigor.
“No, Cody, we did it. All of us. You and Vince … Hutch, Nutcracker and Bad Boy included. We all did it together.”
“That’s what family does, Commander,” Williams said. “We look out for each other.”