Sea Rover Flight by C.P. MacDonald

Author:C.P. MacDonald
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-09-22T17:11:16+00:00

Chapter 3

Calin left the Captain’s quarters at a run, tearing up the center corridor to the cockpit as the staccato of blaster bolts hitting the hull increased. Dean, at his Engineering Station at the back of the cockpit, held a thumbs up sign to signal the engines were ready. Sliding into the pilot chair, Calin strapped himself in. And with well-practiced, automatic movements his hands flew through the pre-flight procedure for takeoff.

For a split-second his eyes fell on the empty seat beside him, the Captain’s seat. The cockpit was cramped but efficient, with just enough room for his chair, the Captain’s, Dean’s station behind them, and a passenger seat crammed into the corner.

He gripped the flight stick and advanced the throttles. Under his hands, he could feel the vibration of the ship intensify as he increased the power. The downward thrust of the twin engines raised the Sea Rover off the cavern floor into a hover inside a cloud of moon dust. The beating of the lasers on the shields increased. Rotating the ship’s nose to aim at the entrance brought the attacking PPD forces into view. Outside, scattered across the crater, were a dozen troop carriers. And hovering above them were six surface patrol ships. Several squads had taken up defensive positions outside the mouth of the cave.

“They’re really intent on ruining a perfectly fine day, aren’t they?” he grumbled to himself as he double-checked his safety harness.

He took a deep breath to steady himself, then rotated the engines to forward flight and slammed the throttles forward. The Sea Rover exploded out of the cave hard and fast, the roar of her engines shaking the ground. As he flew over the PPD troops, he tilted his engine thrust downward. The exhaust blew a squad of soldiers across the crater floor, bouncing over each other like tumbleweeds in the low lunar gravity.

He flew straight at the surface ships hovered in front of the entrance. The pilots barely had enough time to slip sideways to avoid a collision. Banking the Sea Rover onto her side, he blasted a patrol ship with the engine thrust. He smirked in satisfaction as it blew the patrol ship into the crater wall, followed by a crash to the floor. Calin continued his barrel roll until his ship leveled out, then pulled the nose up to to climb the crater wall.

The PPD behind him recovered from his surprise exit and opened fire, laser blasts showered the crater all around him. Dancing the ship side to side, he focused on the black sky above. Once he gained enough altitude, he could leave the surface ships behind. The Sea Rover had rudimentary stealth tech that could make them disappear from any PPD sensor or radar. But he had to put some distance between him and them for it to work.

The top edge of the crater wall quickly came into view. “Today is not the day, assholes. Better luck next time,” he snorted as they cleared the rim. The

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