Into the Reckoning by James Rosone & Miranda Watson

Author:James Rosone & Miranda Watson [Rosone, James & Watson, Miranda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Front Line Publishing Inc.
Published: 2024-06-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Pitfall

Task Force 28

IVO Alpha Quadrant Mining Facility

Gravaxia System

Coop watched the reactor inch closer to 110 percent, the engines propelling the Gripen faster than it was rated to fly. The distance between him and Pronto’s last known location was diminishing quickly. Doing a quick inventor, he saw he still had two of his six JATMs and sixty-four percent of his ammo for the pair of rotary magrail guns, and his four laser blasters were fully charged and ready. In addition, he still had half his decoy flares and two loads of chaff decoys. With his weapons ready, he confirmed his defensive suite of ECM and ECCM electronic wizardry—electronic countermeasures and electronic counter-countermeasures—was fully operational. He smiled when he saw his defensive suite hadn’t deployed any of his four antimissile drone interceptors. At least I’m not out of defensive options yet, Coop told himself as he rapidly closed the distance to Pronto and Rogue.

Without warning, a flurry of movement caught Coop’s attention, his eyes widening in shock at the sight. On the far side of the mining facility—the area Gold Squadron was supposed to attack next—he saw something unimaginable—something he had never encountered in all his fights against the Zodarks. Several of what appeared to be storage containers near a pair of cranes connecting to some habitat domes began the process of transforming themselves into something new—something deadly.

Warning—Targeting Radar Detected—Warning—Targeting Radar Detected.

“Oh crap!” he said aloud as he pressed the blue ECM button, then the red—activating full-spectrum jamming.

Warning—Missile Launch Detected—Warning—Missile Launch Detected.

Coop’s heart practically jumped out of his throat as he watched missiles fire from what they had thought were storage containers.

Two missiles—five missiles—nine missiles—fifteen missile launches detected.

A red warning alarm started flashing across his HUD. One or more of those missiles had been fired at him. The rest, he assumed, were headed for his Gripens and the Valkyries of Gold Squadron lining up for the next attack. Shaking away the daze he’d momentarily fallen into, he banked his Gripen hard to the left, pulling away from the vector that would have taken him to Pronto and Rogue.

“Evasive maneuvers!” Coop’s voice cut through the chaos, his command clear and decisive.

His squadron scattered, reacting instantly to the threat. Coop’s pilots were desperately trying to shake off the incoming missiles—trajectories for each marking his pilots.

Warning—Ten Seconds to Impact—Warning—Nine Seconds to Impact…

Beads of sweat ran down the sides of Coop’s face as he yanked his control stick harder to the left and down, sending his Gripen into a spiral toward the asteroid’s surface. The g-forces pressed him back into his seat as he struggled to outmaneuver the missile or missiles still bearing down on him.

“Gold Squadron, form up on me,” Coop heard the familiar French-accented voice of Rogue’s XO, Lone Wolf. “The Blues are in trouble—I want all Valkyries to start targeting those missiles going after our Gripens,” ordered Lone Wolf.

Coop suddenly remembered he had signed an AMA in sickbay just the other day so she could fly. She had recently broken her left wrist.

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