Jolo jumped up, stared down the line of people, only a few knew how to fight, and even those that could fight were outgunned.
“BG coming!” he yelled. “Scatter. They can’t get us all.”
“What are you gonna do?” said Katy.
“Fight,” said Jolo, grabbing one of the magna-hooks and a Fed rifle. Meanwhile everyone was scrambling to get into their boats and escape. If only we had the Argossy and Mantis’s gunboats, thought Jolo.
The first Cruiser flew in low and dropped a charge and the farmer who took the first tower down and several others were killed instantly, a big dark hole in the sand right next to the tower. Then the BG boat swung around for another run on the core group still moving toward their hover craft. A tiny girl was in the sand crying and Jolo picked her up and handed her to Katy. Get to the Scout and run back the way we came. The Argossy will be here in a minute or so.
“We ain’t got a minute,” she said.
“I’ll try to buy us some time,” said Jolo. He jumped onto the tower and ran along its length toward the BG cruiser. The big ship swung around again low and Jolo threw the hook as high as he could and it caught the underside near the port wing. He worked his way up the cable line, then grabbed the hook handle and started firing the energy weapon at the small section near the middle between the landing pads that housed the fuel cells.
The cruiser fired once on the cluster of small boats just before they scattered. One exploded into a burning ball of metal. But soon the BG gained altitude and started spinning like a dog chasing its tail. It had a few small top-mounted anti-missile turrets, but had no answer for a mad half-synth with a tiny energy rifle. Jolo fought to keep from falling, the cruiser now several hundred meters off the ground, but kept firing on the fuel cell cover. He glanced down and could just make out the small boats all heading in different directions. He was sure Mantis knew and would be coming.
The BG boat suddenly dropped and Jolo slammed against the fuselage and nearly lost the rifle. Then it spun again, trying to get a shot on one of the tiny boats scattering across the cracked, orange dirt. It let loose the rail guns and more dirt flew into the air, but it missed, the smaller, nimble boat zig zagging out of harm’s way. The cruiser wasn’t as agile in atmosphere and it was usually targeting much larger boats, but Jolo knew the little boats would eventually be torn apart by the big guns. A thick cloud of orange dust covered the scene as the black ship searched for another target. Jolo continued to try to melt the alacyte under the cells as the big boat homed in on one hover craft speeding off toward the west.
The cruiser surged forward, following the small boat, and moved out of the orange cloud into the clear blue sky. The fuel cell cover was cherry red and the gun was burning Jolo’s arm. He wondered how much further he could push the Fed energy weapon which suddenly seemed so small and insignificant. But he knew if he could get through and hit the fuel cells the ship would be crippled. The big ship dropped altitude again and Jolo caught a glimpse of the small ship the BG boat was targeting.
His heart sank when he saw brown hair and the unmistakable round nose of the Scout. The little girl who was crying earlier was sitting next to her clinging on to the seat. The BG ship fired the ion cannons again, orange chunks of earth flying up a few meters off her left side. She dodged right, the little girl sliding back and forth, now huddled down in the floor board.
Jolo didn’t know if he could hold much longer. The magna-hook could drag a giant 20x box of Fed ship parts and never let go but his arm felt like it was on fire. He couldn’t tell if the pain he felt came from the heat of the fuel cell cover or it was just the strain of trying to hold on with his one hand. How long was a man capable of clinging, one-armed, onto a war ship? And then he had to remind himself. I am more than a man.
By now the BG boat was all over Katy. He wanted to tell her to bail out and let them take the Scout, but she continued to run, rail gun blasts tearing the ground around her. One shot caught the nose and the Scout’s front end dug into the ground a little, the Scout suddenly slowing as Katy and the small girl slammed into the windshield. But this worked to their advantage as the big ship flew right over them. Katy got the Scout going again and sped off, which gave Jolo a little more time.
When the big ship turned again to track the Scout, Jolo nearly flew off, but he could clearly see a hole had opened up in the thin alacyte fuel cell cover. Once the big boat had a bead on the Scout again, Jolo had a tiny window of opportunity, a small moment when the big boat was tracking straight. He aimed the gun and sent the tiny ion stream in through the hole. He held it as long as he could. Gave the rifle a moment to cool, then hit it again and again. He knew if he could get one to blow, the rest would go. The
