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This fanfiction article, Silver Arrow, was written by Ajax 013. Please do not edit this fiction without the writer's permission. |
“Warning, warning, hazard ahead, change course.” The feminine voice warning system urged in its shrill voice.
Foxley pulled back on the throttle, yanking the stick down and to the right, matching it by stomping hard on the left thruster control, sending the Sabre into a razor-sharp turn. Driving the throttle back to combat speed and accelerating, he danced the red-tipped wings of his Sabre around the floating metal debris. His G-Suit pressed reassuringly against him, protecting him from the negative consequences of sudden deceleration and acceleration. The banging behind him indicated his Weapon System Officer felt less than impressed with this manoeuvre.
“We need to get distance and come back around. We have six medusas and a full belt left.” Sobieski listed their remaining arsenal dryly “Shields back to full as well.”
Foxley didn’t respond to his wizzo, and instead focused on piloting his Sabre through the floating wreckage ahead of them. This was the remains of the Greater Kenosha Terminus, before the Covenant forces over Mars tore it to pieces. Now it was a cloud of debris that used to house ten thousand people. His squadron had launched from AFB Somell Lake to join up with the Navy attempting to push back against the Covenant invaders, but their combat air patrol was separated within the rapidly expanding debris field. That was when…
“This is the will of the gods. Your destruction was preordained.” The Sangheili declared over open radio.
That was when the flight of Seraphs crashed into their formation. He’d been separated as the chaos of combat consumed them, but had, at the very least, downed a Seraph. He’d heard it though, his wingman making the call.
“Silver arrowhead on the lead Seraph, that’s the Silver Arrow!” Vicenzi was able to point out before his Sabre spun out of control and exploded in a shower of debris.
That means one of the Covenant’s top aces was stalking this battlefield. Foxley had survived an encounter once before with him, as his squadron of Longswords ran into the Silver Arrow with his flight over Meridian. He’d lost his squadron that day. That bastard had taken far too many.
“Warning, sensor lock, warning, sensor lock.” Came the voice warning system in the same urgent tone.
“Whining Wendy’s right! Sensor lock, rear, got a bogie on radar!” Sobieski replied, looking at her monitor
Foxley ratcheted the throttle up, knowing he had the straight-line speed advantage over the Seraph pursuing him, though only in a short burst.
He darted left and right, flying his Sabre between two twisted structural spars, before flying up and across a tumbling anchorage line.
“I see it is you once again red tips.” Announced the Sangheili on the open comms “You won’t escape me a second time, coward.”
It was him, the Silver Arrow. Foxley’s grip tightened on the stick as his breath unsteadied. He felt the neural interface begin to burn and thrum at the back of his head as he meticulously managed the fighter’s performance and actions through the man-machine interface. That bastard was back, and here over Mars. Last time he’d limped his Longsword home on half a wing, and Sobieski screaming obscenities at the defeat.
“We’re gonna nail him this time. Engine heat 57%, shields full.” Sobieski growled into his ear
Both felt the rush as acceleration kicked in, Foxley dialling the throttle up. Searing bolts of sunfire flashed over their shoulder, narrowly missing the Sabre. He pulled hard, looking over his shoulder as best he could to see the Silver Arrow chasing them. Their opponent was deservedly an ace, firing in short controlled bursts that raked ahead of them. As Foxley jinked around the outer remains of a service corridor, seeing plasma bolts impact on the outer metal skin and reduce solid steel to liquid in a flash of light. White hot molten metal sparked across their view as he flew his fighter by the corridor, trying to gain distance on his enemy.
Whining Wendy swapped from her urgent voice to a one-two--off beeping tone, indicating weapons launched. Sobieski corroborated this immediately.
“Guided weapons, deploying countermeasures!” She grunted
The Seraph behind them had fired a cluster of guided plasma torpedoes, orbs of purple-red plasma that chased their Sabre with predatory cunning. They homed in on them with unerring accuracy, snaking through the void as they went. White-blue flares leapt from the countermeasure dispenser, leaving long trails of silvery-white smoke. The incoming torpedoes began to shake and divert as their guidance was disrupted, losing the scent of their prey. The Sabre was bracketed by two explosions behind them as the torpedoes detonated prematurely into decoys, while the third flew past them with wild abandon, hitting debris ahead of them in a ball of fire. Foxley drew all his strength into the stick to pull them clear, flying through the bloom of flame.
Pulling out the other side, he swore as a purple and silver shape loomed ahead of them. The bastard had let his missiles chase them while he moved around to flank them.
“In your hubris, you resist the will of the Gods.” The Sanghieli continued his sermon.
The Seraph got its nose on them and fired a burst of plasma. Foxley’s last second reaction spared them taking a full burst, but they were still badly scored, with white flashes bursting across their shielding. An aura of golden light flared against each impact, protecting the hull beneath.
“Shields 14%! Another shot like that and we’ll be sucking void!” Sobieski growled, more at their enemy that Foxley.
He dropped his throttle, breaking into a narrow turn. The Silver Arrow made a critical error, he expected the pass would have been enough, and it meant he didn’t have enough energy to outturn them. Foxley came around, his HUD bringing up the target as the radar worked feverishly to find and keep a lock on. He activated both cannons and held his finger to the trigger. The radar chimed as it attained lock on for the Medusa missiles. Foxley and Sobieski worked in lockstep as she racked up two missiles, and Foxley put the nose on the Seraph, getting the cannons in place. Two missiles flew free of the Sabre, joined by a burst of fire from both cannons, fed back through his fighter as a dull rumble.
It was a bold hope, but the Silver Arrow was an expert pilot. The Seraph twisted, the long trailing tails coiling like a living creature, emitting light as it went. It twisted hard on the spot, managing to lose the first missile, while the second impacted the shield and exploded against it, the corona of neon blue energy absorbing the explosion. The hard turn meant the Silver Arrow dodged the burst of gunfire, leaving the shield dented, but the Seraph unharmed. Foxley overshot it on his intercept, with the Seraph now accelerating behind him, resuming the chase. Bursts of plasma fire came again.
His breathing grew more ragged, his neural interface ached as he focused in on managing the fighter as both man and machine strained to keep up this performance. The engines flared and ran to the red line as he attempted to get them clear of the pursuing Seraph. Another direct hit brought their shields to the point where the golden aura flashed brightly and disappeared. Foxley strained against the controls, as he fought to stay ahead of the imminent death Silver Arrow spat out behind them. All the time that hinge kept reading his sermon to them on open comms.
“Shields down, we’re onto armour!” Sobieski cried out, her calm running thin
Foxley panted heavily, his knuckles white beneath the environmental suit.
“Do you trust me buddy?” he asked
The response was immediate.
“Always.”
He was now at the maximum safe speed, with the Seraph running its own redline to keep up with them. He took a deep breath of air and prepared for what he must do. Foxley pulled back on the throttle hard, firing the braking thrusters on the throttle control, and firing both pedals to nose down the Sabre and buck it up. The g-forces on him were tremendous as his body and the fighter accelerated in different directions, with his wizzo grunting as she struggled to stay conscious. Silver Arrow failed to react, his Seraph moving too fast to safely manoeuvre. It flew right in front of the Sabre’s nose, with the entirety of the fighter filling his HUD.
“I won’t let you get away!” Foxley grunted, railing against the greying of his vision
He held down the trigger, the twin cannons rattling the whole Sabre as bursts of orange light emitted from the two muzzles. He must have emptied a third of the belt, the first few shots destroying the shield, and the remaining puncturing the hull from midship to the engine, leaving seven simmering holes in the hull.
“Your heresy will not delay your death!” Silver Arrow shouted, gasping and gurgling through injuries as he spoke.
The Seraph lost speed and twisted as the air rapidly escaping through the damage worked against the thrust to spin the craft. Jets of blue flame erupted out of the wounds in its purple skin, indicating catastrophic damage. The injuries and depressurisation caught up, causing the cabin to explode violently, ejecting material out. Plasma reservoirs and power systems reacted sympathetically, exploding in turn to create a series of brilliant azure explosions, culminating in a final one that vapourised the craft.
“W-we get ‘im?” Sobieski mumbled, barely conscious
Foxley finally exhaled, breathing a deep sigh of relief
“...Yeah.”