6 Years Ago...
"Alright, Max, listen carefully... I've got a special conference that I have to go to. You know, Sky Knight stuff... so, I'm leaving you in charge until I get back... think you can handle it?" Krala smiled slyly as the younger Onyxian nodded softly.
"Let me know if anything happens while I'm gone... 'til then, try to keep the Scimitar in one piece for me..."
"You got it, Chief!" Max responded a bit too eagerly; this was his first time in command, and he was too excited for words. He blushed a bit when Krala raised an eyebrow.
"Easy, Max... it's okay to be excited about your first command... just, try to control yourself, okay?" She smiled again as he nodded in agreement.
"Yes, ma'am." He saluted stiffly, and she chuckled.
"Krala, it's time to go." Starling called from behind them. They both turned to face her, and Max's blush returned.
"See ya later, kiddo..." Krala teased, and rubbed his hair playfully. Starling giggled a bit as he shooed her hand away. He spent a few minutes after they left fussing over his hair. Normally, he didn't care what it looked like, as long as it was presentable. But when Starling was around, it was completely different. He thought about how perfect she was, going over every detail of her face in his mind. His blush deepened as he moved his way down her frame, nearly moaning out loud as he passed over her chest; she was pretty big, and Max couldn't help but steal a few peeks at her when she wasn't looking. He was snapped back to reality when his other teammates filed in. When he heard the door slide open, he managed to calm down enough to address them without looking nervous.
"Krala put me in charge while she's gone... anybody got a problem with that?" He smiled as they all shook their heads; they knew he was good enough to challenge Krala, and none of them wanted to mess with someone that strong.
"Alright, guys... let's get back into the air. We're making a pit stop before we head back to Onyx." They shuffled out after the hybrid, and he smiled softly to himself; he was respected enough that no one made any complaints about his orders... yet. He knew that it wouldn't be too long before he was back under Krala's command, and he wanted to show them all how good a leader he could be until she returned.
Several Hours Later...
"Max, we've got incoming!" Sklar turned to face the hybrid, who pulled down a periscope to look around.
"Bearing?"
"185 degrees."
"Helm, hard to starboard; bring us about!" The ship lurched to one side as it turned sharply; the Scimitar was very tough and heavily armed, and despite being nearly 4,000 tons heavier than any other ship of its size, such as the infamous Condor, it was surprisingly fast and maneuverable. As the ship swung around, two other teammates trained the beam guns outward, ready to face anything that came their way.
"There, I see them! Cyclonians, coming in fast!" The ship shook a bit as it was rocked by cannon fire.
"Shields!" Max shouted over the rumbling of the ship, and as soon as he spoke, a massive explosion could be heard back aft. The ship lurched forward, knocking everyone off of their feet. Max held onto the periscope tightly, and managed to reach the shield activation button on the helm controls. As they heard the sudden, familiar "whoosh" as the shields went up, another loud bang shook them again, as the lights dimmed a bit.
"Damnit! They've hit the port ventral engine!" Krent yelled as another blast came from the side.
"What the hell are they shooting at us with!?" Sklar called forward from the ventral periscope at the back of the bridge
"Battleship cannons! The vessel's emerging from a cloud bank behind and below! Hang on!" Max dove for the ship's controls as they felt the hit of another cannon blast. This time, the shields held, and Max yanked back on the controls, pulling into a shallow climb. The ship listed lazily to port, dragging a bit as the port ventral engine finally failed completely. Max kicked in the secondary engines on the carrier's pontoons, and as they leveled out, he pulled a hard right turn, cutting off a destroyer climbing to intercept. The crew came close to blacking out as they entered a crushing 16G dive, nearly crashing into the Wastelands below as Max leveled out. The destroyer chose not to follow, as Max dove in and out of pockets of dense smoke trying to evade the battleship shooting at them from above. Finally, he growled loudly in anger, and pulled a 90 degree climb, the Scimitar screaming past the battleship at breakneck speed, mere yards away. He nosed over, and rammed the battleship's dorsal bow, knocking the massive ship into a shallow nosedive. Max pulled up again, and quickly slammed into the destroyer's midsection head first from below, breaking it in half as the forward section of the pontoons collapsed slightly under the impact force. Max yelled in excitement as the other Cyclonians retreated.
"That's right, you bastards! You better run!!" Max kicked in full power and pulled into a cloud bank 2,000 feet above.
"Krent, damage report!" Max barked from the helm as he engaged the autopilot.
"The port ventral engine's been completely destroyed. It'll need to be replaced. Lucky shot."
"Anybody hurt, you better speak up now before I change course and have to pilot this thing." Max yelled as he looked over the crew. They seemed fine, but he had to be sure.
"I'm fine." Krent's soft voice called from the engineering console at the back of the bridge.
"Same here." Sklar finally spoke up as he clung to a grab handle bolted to a bulkhead, trying to get his bearings back after having been knocked unconscious during the fight. Max walked over and forced the older Onyxian's eyes open.
"You have bleeding in your left eye. You're not fine, Sklar."
"I'll live, Max. We need to get back to base while we're still clear of those Cyclonians dipshits." He tried to fight out of Max's strong grip, but the tall hybrid simply pinned him against the wall, roughly slamming his leg into Sklar's stomach to keep him still while he looked him over.
"You need to lie down and rest. You've got a mild concussion and possible retinal damage. If it gets any worse, I'll have to remove you from duty until you've fully recovered." Max growled a bit when Sklar scoffed dismissively. He grabbed the older man by the throat, and lifted him off of his feet, watching his eyes widen when he realized that he was in the air.
"Listen to me, Sklar... I'm not just the medic and carrier pilot anymore... right now, I'm your leader, so when I give you an order, I expect you to follow it. Understand?" The smaller man nodded compliantly as he was returned to floor level. Max smiled as Sklar shuffled out slowly, and he turned back to the rest of his crew.
"Anybody else hurt?" Their sharpshooter, Spart, shook his head from his position on the starboard gun mount. From her position on the portside gun mount, their tactician Frelara shook her head as well, but she lost her footing as she climbed back down from the gunner's seat. Her body landed roughly on the floor, and she cried out a bit as she hit shoulder-first.
"Frelara, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine... just a bit shaken up after those maneuvers. Nice flying, by the way." She nodded softly, rubbing her shoulder as she got back to her feet.
"Don't thank me yet. We're still hours from Onyx. They could come back at anyti-" Before he could finish, the ship took another hit from behind. He pulled down the starboard periscope, and saw the Cyclonians behind them again. This time, they were led by a black-haired human, about six inches shorter than Max. He growled softly.
"The Dark Ace... that traitorous lowlife... Prepare for battle!" He re-raised the shields, but they weren't strong enough against the barrage of cannons that hit them from all sides.
"Damnit!"
"They're everywhere!"
"Stand your ground! Krent, divert auxiliary power to the shields! Frelara, get on the port gun, Spart, to starboard!"
"What about Sklar!?"
"Just Do it! Krent, get back aft and secure the engine room! We're going to play a little game of chicken..." He pulled another tight turn, this time to the left, and then, to the amazement of the Cyclonians, performed a tight left-hand chandelle to spin around, aiming back at them. As the Cyclonians spread their formation to avoid a collision, Spart and Frelara opened fire on them, knocking out many of the Switchblades. The Dark Ace managed to steer clear of the cannons, but his lieutenant took a direct hit to his engines, entering into a flaming death roll.
"Hang on! We'll be clear of their formation in six seconds!" Max yelled as he pulled into another tight turn. Finally, mercifully, they pulled clear. Max grunted a bit as he put the ship back on autopilot and walked back toward Frelara.
"How are you holding up?" He smiled a bit as she got down from the gunner's seat.
"I'm okay. Glad to finally be rid of those guys." She smiled a bit herself, and then shot a worried look over to Spart.
"I'm okay, boss..." The sharpshooter nodded softly as he got back down from the gun mount.
"Good... for now, it seems, we have the sky to ourselves..." Max shifted his eyes back and forth suspiciously.
"I'm going to go check on Sklar." Spart said as he left the bridge. Frelara turned around and walked over to Max, who'd resumed looking over the skies with the starboard periscope.
"So... how mad do you think Krala's going to be when she gets back?"
