Page 50 of Rogue Starfighter

The Wraith shuddered as energy fire clipped our aft shielding.

“Shield at sixty percent,” Vesh said. “Second ship turning. Third still holding low.”

“He’s blocking us so we can't get to the moon.”

“Correct.”

“Then he thinks that’s where we’re going.”

“It's where we should go.”

“We need to convince him we disagree.” I pointed the Wraith toward open space and pushed both engines to full power. The interceptors followed. Weapons' fire crossed behind us in rapid white streaks. I flew on instinct, moving before openings appeared, flying through the gaps a fraction of a second ahead of the shots.

I dropped the nose and put us into a dive. The canopy flashed white overhead.

“Missile from starboard.”

“I need the second burst.”

“Released.”

The Wraith kicked as the countermeasure fired. The missile curved away and detonated close enough to rattle every panel in the cockpit. Warning lights filled my display. “What did we lose?”

“Aft shielding. Sensor range reduced by half.”

“Weapons?”

“One forward round.”

“One?”

“Would you prefer none?”

“Saving my gratitude for later.”

The lead Scythe closed behind us. The damaged ship fell back, but the third had moved to intercept our route toward open space. Exactly where I wanted it.

“Give me a flight path directly toward that moon,” I said.

Vesh marked the vector on my display without hesitation. I cut the port engine, spun the Wraith end over end, and fired it again as our nose came around. We reversed direction so fast my vision narrowed. The lead Scythe overshot. The third fired. The round hit our starboard wing. The sound came through the hull with a deep metallic rumble that shook my teeth and punched the controls out of my hands. The right side of the Wraith dropped. We began to spin.

“Starboard engine gone,” Vesh said. “Attitude jets two, four, and six not responding. Hull breach in the aft compartment.”

The moon rolled across the canopy. Black rock. Red sky. Black rock again. I caught the controls and fought the spin.

“Seal the compartment.” I'd flown a dozen missions like this in the video game, but my pulse had never pounded this hard. My heart actually hurt, but I showed none of it. I had Vesh's life in my hands, and I wasn't about to lose him like this.

“Done.”

“Can you give me anything on the right?”

“No engine. One attitude jet, intermittent.”

“I’ll take intermittent.”

Vesh rerouted power. The dead side of the ship coughed once. The spin slowed enough for me to find the horizon. The three interceptors turned toward us.

“We can't outrun them,” Vesh said.