“This is like the set of a porn film,” Will said and Robin smiled.
“It probably has been," Robin replied with a wink, heading towards the cockpit.
The cockpit was also red and white, but featured a large open circular window and a complex series of consoles. Will slid into the navigation seat, looking over various controls, levers and switches.
“It’s a TR-38!,” Will said, “I’ve flown one on Gappa 4! The whole planet's a giant desert! I had sex with a Gapposhian dancing girl. She didn’t tell me she was married. I stole a ship just like this and flew out of there,” Will said with a laugh. John looked at him curiously.
“So you escaped?” John asked with a chuckle and Will shook his head.
“No. The husband caught up with me in a star cruiser. Kicked the shit outta me. I was lucky to be alive,” Will replied.
“Oh,” John said finally, “.. great,” he went on.
“The point is, jackasses, I can fly this heap. You might wanna give me some time to get used to her though... It’s been a while,” Will said and John and Robin sat in the other two seats beside him in the cockpit.
Will flipped some switches and pushed a big chrome lever forward as the ship took off slowly, the landing gear raising into the lower section of the hull. Will smiled at his friends.
“Wooah! This bitch purrs like a Skittlecat!” Will cheered. Robin and John exchanged glances.
“What the hell is a Skittlecat?” John asked and Will smiled.
“You’ve never seen those? They’re tiny cats that fit into the palm of your hand. I used to have one as a kid. My er... brother ate it," Will replied, pulling back on the yoke and sending the ship speeding skyward.
The Alanna flew upward, darting high over the clouds, the dorsal engines burning at the rear in a display of magnificent orange light. The ship broke through the atmosphere, cruising into space. Will brought the ship into cruise control and relaxed for a minute. Outside – billions of stars blinked in the eternal darkness of infinite space.
A red light was flashing, catching Will’s eye. He began to panic a little. Flipping switches and studying his targeting system, he realised they had been followed.
“Ah crap," Will said suddenly. Robin turned to Will with a raised eyebrow.
“Something wrong, Captain?” he asked and Will automatically began to fumble his response.
“Yeah, Police issue fighters... Three of them. They’re hailing us, and they do not seem happy,” he said, flipping a switch. A robotic voice came over the communication channel.
“Attention pirate crew, this is the Sherwood police department. You have violated section 21879 under the stolen vehicle act. This is not acceptable. Lower your shields and prepare to be boar...” The voice cut out suddenly as Will cut off communication and flipped on the stereo, blasting “Mindfields” by the Prodigy. He smiled, turning to his shipmates.
“I guess we all have our problems" he said, pushing forward on the yoke and sending the ship speeding away from the fighters, which opened fire on the fleeing vessel.
The three triangular police fighters shot laser fire from the three cannons on the three points of their fighters, blue laser blasts which the larger freighter dodged with ease as the fighters chased The Alanna through space.
In the cockpit, the song blasted from the stereo as Will worked on aiming his reverse side cannons, blasting at the incoming fighters.
“Robin! I need you on the cannons!” Will yelled as Robin lifted a joystick from the console, studying the reverse targeting display and firing madly, using the joystick as a trigger.
Laser fire erupted from the rear cannons, blasting at the oncoming fighters as they rolled side to side through space to avoid each shot. Will performed a barrel roll, narrowly avoiding a barrage of laser fire.
“They’re gaining on us!” John exclaimed and Will smiled.
“Don’t worry, little Johnny... daddy’s got a few surprises,” Will said, pushing forward on the yoke and lifting the freighter upward, flipping it around so it faced the oncoming fighters. Robin lifted the forward attack joystick, his fingers dancing on the trigger, firing madly at the three fighters ahead of them. One of the fighters exploded, debris blasting in all directions.
“Wooh! Got one!” Robin yelled and Will smiled as Robin settled in, moving the target reticule to the next fighter and blasting it to pieces.
“There’s still one left,” John said, pointing towards it as though Robin and Will couldn’t see it. Robin fired over and over, but the fighter kept darting left to right to avoid each blast, still firing madly on The Alanna.
“Stay still you son of a bitch,” Robin said, focussing as though he were aiming an arrow at a target and firing a single shot, which hit its mark, blowing the last remaining fighter out of the stars.
Will and John cheered as Robin relaxed back into his seat. The ship flew towards the massive green forest moon of Sherwood as Will lay in a course for the forest.
“You sure can fly, Will,” Robin said and Will grinned.
“Well, you’re a pretty damn good shot. Now let’s head back to the forest, load this bad boy up with some supplies and get your wife back!” Will said with a proud grin on his face. Finally, he was starting to feel like Robin’s idea might actually work.
Chapter fourteen: Robin and his merry men
The king walked down the long corridor of the castle, looking out of the long line of Windows that looked out into the city,
