Kelly Blake 3: Where the Stars Are Few and Far Between by Rodney Smith Page A

again, telling them, “Stick to the basics and you’ll come out of this alive.”
    As they were about to walk out to their fighters, she fixed them with a steely glare and said, “Remember what I taught you about close formation flying. Use your peripheral vision to keep track of the attack ships and use your main vision to scan for bad guys. Maintain your situational awareness.”
    They turned, climbed into their ships, and waited for the heavy attack squadrons to get ready for take off. It was only a few minutes before she heard the tower grant the 112th squadron permission to take off. That was Angie’s key to fire up and follow. She was under strict radio silence from now until the fighters broke away from the heavy attack ships.
    All her ships powered up and followed the 112th squadron into space. Her fighters pulled up between and slightly below the attack ships. If sensors picked them up at all, they would think the fighters were under wing munitions. Now all they had to do was make sure the attack ships flew a tight formation. Angie prepared for the cold and black feeling as the attack ships lined up for the ring. She matched velocities with the two attack ships above and to either side and in they went, experiencing the momentary blackest black and iciest chill of a ring transfer, and then she was out in open space.
    The attack craft increased speed to 0.9 c and Angie’s fighters matched speed. She turned on her targeting sensors and picked out the K’Rang picket line. She also saw the concentration of T’Pok attack ships behind and to the right of the line. She counted 24 ships. Well, two to one weren’t bad odds in her book. She wondered when they would strike.
    She didn’t have long to wait. As the 112th lined up to fire its load of missiles, the T’Pok pounced. To their credit, the 112th bore on, waiting until optimum firing distance as the K’Rang aircraft approached just below FTL. Finally, the 112th fired their missiles and turned up and left, away from the K’Rang. Now it was Angie’s turn. The fighting 68th flew straight ahead as the 112th turned back. Now the K’Rang were facing a squadron of stiletto-sharp, nimble F-53's, not a bunch of roly-poly slow attack ships.
    Angie divided the K’Rang amongst her squadron and pointed her ship at her two. When the K’Rang fighters came in range, she ripple fired four mini-seekers as the rest of her squadron did, too. The K’Rang formation broke up as the missiles slammed into ten of the K’Rang ships. She told her wingman to hang in close and launched her ship against the closest T’Pok. A burst from her new disruptor cannons made the K’Rang squadron commander disappear. Another burst took out his wingman. Her wingman lagged back slightly and caught a K’Rang trying to get on Angie’s tail. Angie got one more and the space was free of K’Rang ships.
    Angie formed up her squadron and watched the 130th and 302nd attack squadrons complete their missile runs and return to the ring ship. She maintained her position until the attack ships were back through the ring. Then she turned 30 degrees away from a direct course to the ring and accelerated to max speed. When she was parallel to the ring, she turned, closed with it, and slowed down to transition through the ring ship.
    Her squadron exited the ring above Leonov and landed without any radio contact other than on their internal low probability of intercept link. As she taxied to her parking spot, she saw a familiar face standing just outside the fence. She parked and popped out of her ship before the crew chief had even placed the ladder.
    Angie ran to and gave Tammy a big hug.
    “Tammy, what are you doing here?”
    “I work here. Who do you think you were flying with today? Your ship was just under my wing until we pulled away. Nice shooting, two to one, and you got them all.”
    This was almost too much to take in. Sweet transport pilot “trash hauler” Tammy was now a heavy attack ship