Theta Wing (Brimstone System)

Theta Wing
Fighter	Scimitar
Wingmen	Todd Marshall
Objectives	Rendezvous with Exeter-Class Destroyer at Nav 1 and escort it back to the Tiger's Claw
Notes	Rendezvous with Exeter at Nav 1 and escort it back to the Tiger's Claw
Previous	Alpha Wing (Brimstone System)
Next	Rho Wing (Brimstone System)

Mission Layout

• Between Tiger's Claw and Nav 1
  • Asteroid Field
  • 4 Salthi in asteroids
• Nav 1
  • 4 Dralthi
  • 1 Exeter-Class Destroyer
• Nav 2
  • Empty

The Memoirs of Lieutenant Colonel Carl T. LaFong

I waited near the rear of the briefing room, hoping to find Maniac before Colonel Halcyon entered. He found me instead.

"Hey, Prankster," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Try to keep up today, will ya? I had to lead you to every enemy ship yesterday. I'm gettin' tired of carrying you." He wasn't looking at me, but grinning at the rest of the assembled pilots, who were now crowding around.

He was trying to get my goat...and succeeding. "You aren't fooling anybody, Maniac," I said. "You disobeyed a direct order yesterday and put the mission, and me, in jeopardy with your grandstanding. You can really fly, but there isn't a pilot in the Killer Bee squadron who wants you on their wing."

"Holy hairballs, Prankster! I was just kiddin' around," he wailed. "You don't have to make it personal."

Halcyon entered and cut the conversation short. "We're gearing up for a major assault on Kilrathi bases in the system," he said. "HQ is sending in extra warships and we're going to escort them back to the Tiger's Claw for rendezvous."

Maniac and I would fly Scimitars again and meet an Exeter-class destroyer at Nav 1. We would return via Nav 2 to avoid a dense asteroid field. I just hoped Maniac had learned a lesson.

We were cruising on autopilot about 38,000 kilometers from Nav 1, when the first asteroids appeared. I set velocity at 250 KPS and prepared for the slow, twisting ride. "Just another headache to make a bad day worse," I thought. It wasn't going to get any better.

Maniac spotted the Salthi while we were still dodging rocks. I ordered a break and attack, knowing I probably didn't have to, and turned my attention to the enemy. "Dogfighting in a rock pile had better be the same as in the sim," I muttered.

I fought the impulse to increase speed and worked my way to the right. I had set speed to 150 and rolled left, when I saw the first flash from the Salthi's guns. I tapped the afterburner and squirted to the right to avoid incoming fire. I hit all stop, rotated left until the lead fighter was targeted, and launched a dumb-fire. Setting speed back to 150, I burned again. It doesn't pay to stand still for long.

The missile missed, but broke up the Salthi formation. I throttled back to 250 KPS and targeted the closest Salthi. I didn't want to lose him in the debris or confusion, so I locked the target and fired a two-shot burst. The key to asteroid combat turned out to be patience. It was slow, but taking down their shields with guns and then using the heat-seekers brought two down. The others succumbed to our mass-drivers. We just pressed when we had full blaster power and shields, and played keep-away otherwise.

We were almost to Nav 1 when the Dralthi showed up, heading right for the Exeter. We went to full speed, but by the time we caught up they were already hitting the destroyer. Screaming to break and attack, I went after the target nearest the capital ship.

It was good to be in open space again, and I pushed my advantage with the mass drivers. When the Dralthi turned and ran, I just stayed on his tail with the afterburners and blasted away. He went down immediately.

I taunted each of the remaining ships and all but one turned to attack me. I went after the one that didn't, and told Maniac to attack my target. He was right there, and it worked just like I planned. While the others were trying to get to our rear, our combined guns took out the ship that was still attacking the Exeter. With the odds evened up a little, the rest of the Dralthi wing wouldn't last long. I told Maniac to break and attack.

We continued to Nav 1 on a short recon of the area, then fell in behind the destroyer and cut our throttles to match her 100 KPS cruising velocity. It was a slow, but uneventful, trip back to the Tiger's Claw. That's the best kind.

I was almost impressed with Maniac this time. He'd followed orders, protected my wing, and eliminated a couple of bad guys. I couldn't have asked for more. I mentioned it to him on the way to our debriefing with the Colonel. "Were you talking to me out there?" he asked. "I was just finding a target and headin' for it." I couldn't tell if he was kidding or not.