Page 49 of Game on Askole

Two fighters vanished in a geyser of flaming metal.

“Hard to port,”Tihar bawled as the Legionnaires’ destroyer fired its laser cannon.

I instinctively followed his instructions and put my Marauder into a steep bank. A blinding bolt of red energy missed the ship by a scant foot.

“Pretty,”KeeKee cooed.

“Hang on, kid.”I twisted the ship through a complicated zigzag of evasive maneuvers. I popped up behind a Legionnaire’s spacecraft and blasted it.

The craft wobbled and burst into a ball of rippling yellow flames.

Yee-haw! Only seven more to go. My Marauder shuddered and shook as it took hit after hit. “Bastards.” A warning light appeared on the command console. The starboard deflector shield was failing.

The voice of Lilkee, the Goddess of Chaos, whispered in my head,“Surrender, and I will be merciful.”

I asked Tihar,“Did you hear Lilkee’s offer?”

“I did.”

“Now she wants me alive?”

“Malik has discovered you are a Siren. He wants you as a breeder.”

Didn’t that sound lovely? I switched back to Lilkee’s mental link.“I’m going to pass on your generous offer. If I were you, I’d be more concerned with the approaching battle fleet. You might be a Coletti princess, but I doubt that will keep Talree and the Overlord from blowing your ship into itty-bitty pieces.”

“Waewae!”

“Right back at ya, bitch.”I unleashed a barrage of missiles at the fighters on my tail.

A missile struck the lead fighter, flipping it end over end. It crashed into another ship. The resulting blast took out all the Legionnaire ships pursuing me.

My tracking screen was suddenly full of red blips. My heart sank until I realized it was Tihar and his squadron. Whoa! Askole ships resembled black manta rays. I’d heard the fighters were a pilot’s wet dream, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on one. I bet I could sweet talk Tihar into letting me fly one.

More ships launched from the Legionnaires’ destroyer.

“Go. Now,”Tihar ordered.

“Yes, sir. Don’t get dead.”I entered the coordinates.

Somewhat miffed, Tihar responded,“I am Askole.”

“Your scaly hide won’t protect you from the vacuum of space.”

“My armor will.”

“Good to know.”

Two dozen Askole fighters whizzed by me. The blackness of space was abruptly filled with brilliant billows of orange and red flames as crafts disintegrated.

What was left of the Legionnaires’ ships turned tail and fled. First smart thing they had done all day.

I rubbed my eyes. The cosmos seemed to be shimmering. Did I have a concussion? To my astonishment, a Coletti warbird materialized out of nowhere. I gave myself a mental head smack. Duh. Their ships were equipped with cloaking devices.

The warbird’s laser cannons fired. The blinding red beams struck the Legionnaires’ destroyer repeatedly. I could sense Talree at the command console. He was one dude you didn’t want to piss off.

Tihar directed,“Engage your hyper drive.”

“Yes, sir, engaging hyper drive.”The view screen filled with streaks of yellow light andboom. The battlefield was gone.

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