"After crosses and losses men grow humbler and wiser"-Benjamin Franklin
The Eisengeier's Flight Deck-
The feeling of someone shaking his shoulders caused Karnage to snap out of his unconscious mode. "Uhhhh, what happened? My head is so hurting now," he said.
"Boss, you're alive!" said Ratchet. The boy knelt over Karnage on the front of the damaged plane and looked relieved that his leader was alright.
"I don't feel so good," said Karnage tiredly.
"You don't look so good either," said Ratchet, "You're bleeding from the ear."
Karnage touched his throbbing left ear and felt pain as he probed the wound. A small chunk of flesh had been shot off by Jager. He stood up uneasily from the cockpit and rolled over the side onto the wing. He jumped down to the surface and almost fell over. Ratchet jumped down and steadied him. Karnage threw an arm around the cub's shoulders and looked down at him. The boy looked up at him with a tired smile. Karnage noticed that the boy's eyes were red, as if he'd been crying. Karnage realized that the boy had been through a lot the past few hours, more than any child should.
"Boy you have been through a lot tonight," said Karnage, "But I will not lie to you, we are not out of this yet. You will go through more."
"I'm ready Boss!" said the cub with eagerness.
Karnage smiled and ruffled the cub's head. The boy had had his wrist broken, almost been killed, and had seen two of his fellow hijackers die in the space of a few hours. This was one tough kid. "Ratchet, once we make it to Pirate Island you will have your hands full with this ship."
The boy smiled and said, "There's nothing that I can't fix!" Then he quickly added, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot, we're going to be having some company in a few minutes."
Approaching the Eisengeier-
Captain Miclette grabbed his radio mike and hailed the Eisengeier, "Attention Eisengeier, this is Captain Miclette of the Gaul Air Corps. We will be attacking you in five minutes unless you surrender and head for Gaul, do you copy?"
The Bridge-
Declerc was in a panic. The Air Corps was on its way to shoot them down unless they surrendered. He knew that there were people manning the guns to defend the ship, but he doubted that they could hold off Miclette and his squadron. He had heard of Miclette before. The lion was the best air ace in the service and was among the top five fighter pilots of the Great War. They would definitely get passed the guns and disable the ship, plus the hijackers had no more pilots to defend with. Teeth chattering with nervousness, Declerc reached for the radio mike to speak with Miclette and ask for terms.
"Ah, Declerc, be so kind as to hand I the mike," came a voice from behind him.
"Karnage, you're alive!" said Declerc.
"Of course I am! Did you think you were speaking to a ghost? It will take more than three pilots to stop the great Don Karnage!" said the wolf.
"Karnage, there is an entire squadron coming after us headed by Miclette!" said Declerc.
"Ahhh, Louis Miclette himself! The great air ace is coming after me," said Karnage with a smile, "If our men haven't already, have them man the guns." Karnage took the mike from Declerc and spoke to Miclette, "This is the terror of the skies Don Karnage! talking to you with my voice, I will not be surrendering! So, uhh, how do you like them mangoes?"
There was silence for a moment and then Miclette answered, "This is Captain Louis Miclette and I and my squadron will be shooting at you…right…about…NOW!"
The Guns-
Guernon scanned the cloudy sky as he searched for the approaching planes. He couldn't see a thing and the sound of the rotors above him on the top of the aircarrier drowned out any other noise. How could he detect any planes? Without warning gunfire hit the side of the aircarrier and sparks erupted from above. Then there was a flash of light and an explosion.
"They're going for the rotors!" said the stork.
A Spaad fighter crossed his sights then and he pressed down on the anti-aircraft machine gun.
In the Air-
The twenty four Spaad fighters broke off into two equal groups and began their attack on the hijacked aircarrier. They fired their machine guns at the great airship in an attempt to disable the craft's rotors.
Captain Miclette saw that bullets were largely ineffective and ordered his men to drop their bombs onto the airship. Each fighter pilot had 2 hand-dropped bombs aboard which, if dropped correctly, could cause considerable damage. He watched as one pilot dropped his bomb down toward one of the many rotors that lined both sides of the aircarrier's flight deck. The bomb hit a few meters from its intended target and blew up, but left the rotor intact.
As the lion squadron leader flew on he noticed tracer rounds streaking up from the aircarrier. The hijackers had decided to man the guns. "I guess they will not be sending any fighters up after all," said Miclette.
The Bridge-
"Declerc you have the bridge, Ratchet head to the engine room," said Don Karnage.
"Oui capitaine," said Declerc, "I will man the radios and intercom. There are intercoms in the engine room and at the guns."
"Very smart idea my friend, I will take a gun," replied Karnage. The wolf turned and ran out the bridge in search of a machine gun to man.
Ratchet ran out after Karnage and then broke off toward the engine room.
Declerc looked out the bridge's window (what was left of it) and saw a couple of fighters fly past the nose of the ship. This was the first time Declerc had been in any sort of combat. He had asthma and wasn't allowed into the Army and so missed the action at the front. He was allowed to join the Air Corps, but had been kept well away from the front lines. He wasn't a terribly brave person and he wasn't one for violence, but tonight he had remained cool during the hijacking and had even rushed to shield the little wolf cub when the Reichlanders had attacked. He thought about it and realized that despite the attacking planes he wasn't scared or even nervous anymore. He smiled and grabbed the hand mike.
"Listen up boys," said Declerc over the intercom, "We have an entire squadron of Air Corps fighters attacking us and they're headed by the famous Captain Miclette himself. Were outnumbered and out gunned and the odds are against us. But remember, we survived a hijacking and we survived the Reichlanders, so we can survive this! Now let's show these sorry flyboys what were made of! Vive les Pirates!"
The Corridors-
Don Karnage stopped and started to laugh when he heard Declerc say 'Vive les Pirates' . "He thinks he is a pirate! Well tonight he and the rest of them have earned the right to be my noble pirates!"
The Guns-
Etienne fired his double barreled machine gun at an approaching Spaad fighter. The biplane took several hits and pulled away with smoke trailing from its engine. It bothered Etienne that he was fighting his own countrymen but he realized that he was in a life or death situation and needed to defend himself.
One the other side of the aircarrier, Niemens managed to down the first aircraft. The biplane had strafed the side of the ship and its pilot had dropped a small bomb that managed to knock out one of the many rotors on the flight deck. When the plane circled back the cheetah unloaded into it and the plane fell toward the sea below.
In the air-
Miclette watched as one of his planes went down, the first victim to the defenders. The squadron leader dove his plane toward the Eisengeier's flight deck and dropped a bomb on one of the rotors. The well placed explosive destroyed its intended target. Now the ship had lost two of its rotors.
The Guns-
Don Karnage had managed to find a cannon instead of a machine gun. He loaded a round into the weapon and spotted an approaching plane.
"Say hello to my little friend!" Karnage said as he fired the cannon. His shot knocked the plane from the sky in a bright flash. "HAHAHA! When you mess with Don Karnage, you mess with the bestest in the sky!"
The Engine Room-
A loud buzzing caught Ratchet's attention. He looked around and was suddenly bathed in a red light. Once the alarms had sounded the room's regular lighting was replaced with the red emergency lights. He ran to a control panel and saw that lights were flashing near two of the aircarrier's topside rotors. Immediately a third rotor light began flashing.
"Declerc, its Ratchet," he said into the nearby intercom, "We've lost rotor numbers 3,7, and 10!"
Declerc immediately came on, "I know! Listen, you need to shut them down. Even if they're destroyed they are still receiving power. Shut them down and the power will be diverted to the remaining rotors.!"
"I'm on it!" said the cub who rushed to follow Declerc's instructions. He had noticed that there were a total of 12 of the giant rotors on the ship and if three were now inoperable than that meant that they were being held aloft with only 75% power. Worse, two of the rotors were on the same side of the ship.
The Guns-
"Karnage, we've lost three rotors so far and we've lost power," said Declerc over the intercom.
"Take us lower then! Must I think of everything? I am in the middle of a battle, I have other things to worry about," snapped Karnage who added, "Deal with it!"
"Roger sir," said Declerc.
The Bridge-
Okay, if he wants us to go lower, then we're going to go lower! Thought Declerc as he pushed down on the controls and took the ship below three thousand feet.
In the air-
"They are descending men! Follow them and continue to knock out those rotors!" commanded Miclette to his remaining men. So far he had lost 4 planes to the defenders. He hated to admit it, but they were putting up a better fight than he expected.
One of the Gaul pilots flew in close and dropped his bomb on another rotor, causing it to sustain sufficient damage to knock it out of action.
"Capitaine Miclette, this is Colonel Chartrand, seeing as you and your men have passed the halfway point I am authorizing you to continue your pursuit. We have received permission from the Ligurian government to allow you to land on the island of Sisilly, over."
"Roger Colonel," said Miclette as he relayed the colonel's message to his pilots.
Cote de Azur Airfield, Gaul-
Colonel Chartrand looked at the table map and the marked positions of the Eisengeier and his aircraft. Intelligence had reported that three planes from Reichland had gone after the aircarrier and that all three had been downed by the hijackers. Right now his planes had less than a half an hour's worth of fuel left and would have to land on the Island of Sisilly. He had managed to clear the squadron to land there after he had spoken to the base's commander there.
"Good thing the Ligurians are our allies sir," said Captain Sarveaux.
"It's a bad thing that I had to call them. Now news of the hijacking will get out and there will be an uproar in the government. This is a major embarrassment," said the colonel.
"Sir, if the Eisengeier escapes, then what?" asked the captain.
Chartrand took a deep breath and said, "Then the world will have to deal with the mad man that hijacked it."
The Guns-
"I'm a mad man!" Don Karnage said gleefully as he fired the cannon at two approaching planes. One of the planes had its wing shot off which caused it to spiral down to the waters below. "Quien su papa?" Karnage roared in delight, "I am having so much fun!"
The Engine Room-
"Declerc, we've lost number 8!" shouted Ratchet.
"Keep the power equally distributed. I'm taking us down to twenty-five hundred feet," answered the pig.
In the air-
Miclette watched as the Eisengeier began to dip below three thousand feet. As it did it tilted enough to expose the two large propellers on its aft. He seized the opportunity and threw his remaining bomb at the starboard propeller. The bomb exploded and damaged the device enough to make it lose half of its power. It would take more than one direct hit to completely destroy the propellers.
"Men, go for the propellers!" he ordered.
The Engine Room-
"Oh cripes!" said the wide-eyed Ratchet as he watched the starboard propeller warning light blink. "Declerc they're hitting the propellers!"
The Bridge-
"Roger kid," said Declerc, "Karnage, they're going after the main props. You've got to stop them!"
The Guns-
Jock and Gibber had rushed to the rear gun emplacements and immediately shot down another Spaad fighter. The attackers had abandoned the rest of the aircarrier and had congregated behind them.
"There must be almost twenty of them Gibber!" shouted Jock.
Gibber heard Jock's voice over the intercom and counted 19 planes. He shot one down. 18 left. He ignored the dull ache in his throat and fired away.
One plane broke off from the rest and came at the Eisengeier for a broadside attack. The pilot was aiming for the rotors. Guernon saw the pilot coming in and fired a prolonged barrage at the plane. The wall of incoming lead caused the pilot to jerk his aircraft hard to the left, but a stream of bullets found his plane anyway. The now out of control plane with its wounded pilot slammed right into the starboard side of the Eisengeier in a thunderous explosion that had enough force to rupture the hull.
In the air-
Miclette saw a bright flash on the starboard side of the Eisengeier and cursed to himself. "I gave an order to attack the rear propellers, not the rest of the ship! Keep at the propellers!" He roared.
The Engine Room-
Ratchet gulped as he watched the power level of the damaged propeller go down. He could hear the whining strain of the engines and began to worry if the damaged ship would make it to safety.
"Ratchet, how are we looking? I think we're losing power," asked Declerc.
"It doesn't look good at all," he answered.
"What's your prognosis?" asked Declerc.
"Not good," he replied."
"What do we need," asked Declerc.
Ratchet gulped again, "A miracle."
The Guns-
"Take that and that and that!" Karnage yelled as he fired away at the fighters. The planes moved from side to side and up and down and managed to escape his barrage unscathed. "Oh you make me so angry!"
In the air-
"Captain Miclette, we are almost out of fuel! We need to land quickly!" came the voice of Miclette's wingman, Lieutenant Guilliard.
"Keep firing, we're almost to Sisilly anyway!" Miclette answered. He wasn't going to let the fuel situation stop him from the attack. He planned to keep going until he was on fumes and forced to glide in to a landing.
Following their squadron leader's example, the rest of the pilots kept up the attack.
The Guns-
"Boy these guys are persistent!" said Niemens over the intercom to his fellow gunners. The cheetah had damaged a fighter causing it to peel away from the rest and head in for an emergency landing.
"You got that right mon ami, they're on us like white on rice," retorted Etienne.
"Keep fighting my noble pirates!" said Karnage over the comm.
"Did he just call us pirates?" asked Guernon.
"I think he did," answered Niemens, "Even Delcerc said pirates earlier."
"Pirates, I kinda like the sound of that," said Etienne.
The Bridge-
Declerc looked out a side window and realized that they were a few miles off the coast of Sisilly and yet still the attackers were on their tail. "Don't these guys ever give up?" he asked himself then noticed that they were slowing down.
The Engine Room-
Ratchet was doing his best to fix the one of the two engines. A moment ago the engine had let out a shriek and had begun to rapidly lose power. If he couldn't get it fixed then they'd be sitting ducks.
"Declerc, we're losing power fast!" He yelled into the comm.
"Do something kid, they're gaining on us!" came Declerc's reply.
In the air-
"Captaine, they are slowing down!" yelled Guilliard.
So they are…, "Give them one last go before we land, take them!" Ordered Miclette.
The Guns-
"Uh-oh, these guys are gaining on us!" said Guernon.
"We're slowing down! Will be sitting ducks!" cried Etienne.
Karnage watched as the pursuers came at them in one final assault. Twin explosions rocked the aft of the aircarrier as two planes jettisoned their bombs. If they kept losing power then there could very well be another group of planes sent up after them. If that happened then he knew they wouldn't make it. Karnage reached for the comm.
The Engine Room-
"Boy, if you do not do something then we are going to be turned into Swiss cheese!" shouted Karnage over the comm. "No pressure or anything," he added.
Ratchet jumped onto the rapidly fading engine and screamed at it, "WORK, WORK YOU STUPID THING WORK!" He grabbed a ratchet and started hitting the engine with all his might, "WORK!"
The cub stopped hitting the engine and whimpered as the engine became quiet, "We're dead," he said and hung his head in defeat. Without warning the engine came back to life. Its low grumble grew to an intense roar and the power gauge lit up and the engine increased its output. The cub's eyes went wide as he stared at the engine. "C'mon baby, c'mon, you can do it, you can do it!" The engine miraculously reached full power and the vibrations caused the cub to rattle off of it and onto the floor. He lay there, face up with his eyes closed and laughed hysterically.
In the air-
As the Gaul aircraft pushed their planes to the limits of their fuel in a last attempt to knock out the Eisengeier's main propellers, the slowing craft suddenly sprang back to full power and moved farther away from them.
"They're getting away capitaine!" shouted Guillard.
Miclette swore a string of curses and fired off one last volley of rounds at the fleeing aircarrier. His pilots followed suit and one managed to land another bomb on the tail end of the vessel. It exploded, but caused little damage.
Miclette looked down at his fuel gauge: The needle was just passed E. He would have just enough fuel to make it in for a landing. Grudgingly he issued the order to land then he contacted headquarters. "Headquarters, this is Miclette. The target has sustained damage but has escaped," he paused then continued, "We have lost a total of 7 aircraft to enemy fire, over."
Chartrand came over the line, "Captain Miclette, land your planes, refuel, and return to base ASAP for your debriefing, out."
Miclette noticed that his superior terminated the transmission. Sighing he took his men into the allied air base.
Cote de Azur Airfield, Gaul-
Colonel Chartrand was furious. The hijackers had gotten away from the best pilot in the entire Air Corps. How in God's name would he explain the incident to his superiors? Thinking fast he came up with a plan.
"Captain Sarveaux," he said
"Oui Colonel," replied the captain.
"The news of this incident must never get out to the general public. If it does then the government could be out in the upcoming election. Get me in touch with General Souisson," said Chartrand. The colonel had a bright idea that may save his job and the upcoming election for the government.
"Oui Colonel, I will see to it," said Sarveaux.
The Eisengeier-
Don Karnage watched as the Spaad fighters broke off from their pursuit and headed toward Sisilly.
"Excellent! Now I can proceed to get away!" Karnage grabbed the intercom and spoke to his crew, "Attention my fellow partners in crime, do as I say and report to the bridge, please."
The Bridge-
Karnage sat in the captain's chair and addressed his crew, "Now that we have successfully stolen this ship I can now inform you all of the next phase of my most brilliant plan. For those that are new to the crew we will be flying over the desert and will go over the ocean on the way to Pirate Island. Any questions yes no?"
"We have a problem boss," said Ratchet.
"What is it?" asked Karnage.
Jock spoke up, "We have sustained damage to several rotors and are not able to reach high altitudes. Also, the damaged propeller lost power again so we are at best only going to be able to keep our speed at 50 percent. We need to land somewhere and make repairs."
"Unacceptable, the Gauls and their allies will be looking for me," said Karnage.
"We have what we need to fix the aircarrier aboard, but we need to land for a few days otherwise we may not make it to Pirate Island," said Jock.
Karnage thought for a moment then said, "Can we make it to the ocean?"
"If we fly low, say 1,000 feet, and keep our power at half then yes," Jock said, "But we will have to fly around Ghafia. That's Anglian controlled and more than likely the Gauls have alerted them to us."
"Very well then, make it happen," said Karnage who looked out of the broken window and watched as the first rays of light crept up from over the horizon. He thought about everything that had happened since he and his men had boarded the aircarrier. What should have been a quick hijacking had grown into a series of ordeals. He had managed to take the Eisengeier but at a steep price, the loss of two of his men and many others. Maybe he would learn something from this and be a wiser person. He sighed and said to himself, "It's been a long night."
