Lieutenant Mikhail Grishoff jerked back on the stick, causing his Wraith to fly upwards. A beam of energy passed directly beneath him, right where he had been a spit second before.
"Ha, missed me Boris! Your aim must be getting worse in your old age!" Mikhail laughed at the veteran Colonel. On the computer screen, he saw the man's face scrunch up, the footage thanks to the onboard camera.
"I may be old, but I can still beat you anytime!" Boris Lukovich retorted sharply, firing another energy beam at the speeding wraith.
"Bring it pops!" Mikhail taunted, easily avoiding the beam. He turned his Wraith quickly around and went straight at Boris. Then at the last second, he swooped down and beneath the Colonel. Tugging the stick hard to the right, he did a one-eighty and came up behind the man, firing off two quick shots. Boris anticipated this and executed a barrel roll, and Mikhail's shots narrowly missed his left wing.
"You can't keep dodging me forever gramps!" Mikhail shouted, turning hard around to face the Colonel again. Boris went up a little bit, just enough so that he skimmed over top of Mikhail's Wraith. The veteran was no fool, he had been in many battles and training sequences. Exercising his expertise, the Colonel went straight down, until he was about one hundred yards below the Lieutenant. He waited until Mikhail had passed over head and then turned sharply around, and came up on the unsuspecting mans underside.
"Game over pup!" Boris laughed, firing a single shot at the exposed Wraith. It slammed into the plane, encircling it in an inescapable energy field.
"Alright, you won, you old codger." Mikhail conceded defeat, and tried his best not to be a poor loser, despite the fact that he was very competitive, and like most people, did not enjoy losing. "Now let's get back to base or General Gray will have our asses on a platter."
"Ah, he's just an old softie, pay no heed to him." Boris chuckled. The veteran waited until the energy field surrounding Mikhail had dispersed and then they began to fly back.
"Ha! I'd like to hear you say that to his face!" Mikhail laughed, his good mood restoring.
"Yea, that'd be quite a show wouldn't it? Quite a show indeed!"
*****
Once they arrived back, they promptly headed to the Starport, where the General was waiting. They found the man in the map room, drawing something on a map of Khan'Alas. They entered as quietly as possible, hoping not to incur the wrath of the General.
"You're late." General Colin Gray said, without bothering to turn around. Boris shared a silent laugh with Mikhail, the General's tone was a testament to what Mikhail had said during their fight.
"Sorry General, I had to "beat" some sense into a certain wet-behind the ears pup." Boris said, sending a smirk Mikhail's way.
"Pup yourself you old geezer. What really happened General wa...."
"I don't care what happened. Let's just get down to business shall we?" Colin said impatiently, turning to face them for the first time since they entered. Boris and Mikhail shared one more silent laugh, then joined the irritated General next to the map.
"As you probably know, Sergeant, err, Major Mike O'Connor's mission was a success, except for the loss of James Walker. The Cerebrate was destro..."
"Mike got promoted? That's great, I really must congrautlate hi..."
"Boris would you please tell the Lieutenant to keep his mouth shut?" Colin said, become more irritated. A quick nod from Boris was enough to silence the embarrassed Lieutenant.
"Thank you. As I was saying, the Cerebrate was destroyed, and as a result the Zerg are unorganized, making this the perfect time to reclaim Khan'Alas." The General reasoned, pulling out a blue pen. Drawing a line on the map, he turned to face the two pilots. "This ridge hear is the perfect place to strike. About one-quarter mile from the fringes of the Zerg base. We will position our men on this plain like so, with our tanks positioned at the highest point in the ridge. To reach us, the Zerg will have to run up a steep incline, giving us a huge advantage. However, once the Zerg pick up our signal, they'll be swarming over that whole area before our Dropships have a chance to unload the grounds units."
He paused to take a breath and drew a circle right at the edge of the Zerg's base. "Here is where your air forces come in to play. It is your job to hold the Zerg back until we are ready to allow them through. It shouldn't take more than five minutes, but for the duration of the that time, you'll have not only the Hydralisks and Mutalisks to contend with, but there are a few Spore Colonies in the area as well."
"What do we do once the infantry is ready?" Boris asked, mentally jogging through the General's plan.
"You will remain in the premises and eliminate any air forces that the Zerg send. The tanks and Infantry can deal with the ground forces, but they will have severe difficulty fending off any flyers that manage to get through."
"How many are you sending in?" Mikhail asked, saying something for the first time since the General had snapped at him.
"Accompanying you and the Colonel will be the 3rd, 6th and 9th Volamose Wraith Squadrons, along with the 2nd and 8th Kolorina Legion Wraith Squadrons."
"The Kolorina Protectorate is involved in this?" Boris asked, surprised that the Volamose General was taking such measures to ensure victory.
"I know we and General Miller have had our differences in the past, but were both fighting for the same objective; preserving humanity." Colin explained, adding the little cliche at the end.
"I'm not so sure that that's Miller's motive for helping, General. I've never trusted that bastard in the past and I'm sure as hell not gonna start now!" Boris said indignantly.
"You will do as you're told Colonel." The General said coldy, then turning his attention back to the map, he drew a couple more sketches. "You have your orders, and I expect you to carry them out."
"Ha, missed me Boris! Your aim must be getting worse in your old age!" Mikhail laughed at the veteran Colonel. On the computer screen, he saw the man's face scrunch up, the footage thanks to the onboard camera.
"I may be old, but I can still beat you anytime!" Boris Lukovich retorted sharply, firing another energy beam at the speeding wraith.
"Bring it pops!" Mikhail taunted, easily avoiding the beam. He turned his Wraith quickly around and went straight at Boris. Then at the last second, he swooped down and beneath the Colonel. Tugging the stick hard to the right, he did a one-eighty and came up behind the man, firing off two quick shots. Boris anticipated this and executed a barrel roll, and Mikhail's shots narrowly missed his left wing.
"You can't keep dodging me forever gramps!" Mikhail shouted, turning hard around to face the Colonel again. Boris went up a little bit, just enough so that he skimmed over top of Mikhail's Wraith. The veteran was no fool, he had been in many battles and training sequences. Exercising his expertise, the Colonel went straight down, until he was about one hundred yards below the Lieutenant. He waited until Mikhail had passed over head and then turned sharply around, and came up on the unsuspecting mans underside.
"Game over pup!" Boris laughed, firing a single shot at the exposed Wraith. It slammed into the plane, encircling it in an inescapable energy field.
"Alright, you won, you old codger." Mikhail conceded defeat, and tried his best not to be a poor loser, despite the fact that he was very competitive, and like most people, did not enjoy losing. "Now let's get back to base or General Gray will have our asses on a platter."
"Ah, he's just an old softie, pay no heed to him." Boris chuckled. The veteran waited until the energy field surrounding Mikhail had dispersed and then they began to fly back.
"Ha! I'd like to hear you say that to his face!" Mikhail laughed, his good mood restoring.
"Yea, that'd be quite a show wouldn't it? Quite a show indeed!"
*****
Once they arrived back, they promptly headed to the Starport, where the General was waiting. They found the man in the map room, drawing something on a map of Khan'Alas. They entered as quietly as possible, hoping not to incur the wrath of the General.
"You're late." General Colin Gray said, without bothering to turn around. Boris shared a silent laugh with Mikhail, the General's tone was a testament to what Mikhail had said during their fight.
"Sorry General, I had to "beat" some sense into a certain wet-behind the ears pup." Boris said, sending a smirk Mikhail's way.
"Pup yourself you old geezer. What really happened General wa...."
"I don't care what happened. Let's just get down to business shall we?" Colin said impatiently, turning to face them for the first time since they entered. Boris and Mikhail shared one more silent laugh, then joined the irritated General next to the map.
"As you probably know, Sergeant, err, Major Mike O'Connor's mission was a success, except for the loss of James Walker. The Cerebrate was destro..."
"Mike got promoted? That's great, I really must congrautlate hi..."
"Boris would you please tell the Lieutenant to keep his mouth shut?" Colin said, become more irritated. A quick nod from Boris was enough to silence the embarrassed Lieutenant.
"Thank you. As I was saying, the Cerebrate was destroyed, and as a result the Zerg are unorganized, making this the perfect time to reclaim Khan'Alas." The General reasoned, pulling out a blue pen. Drawing a line on the map, he turned to face the two pilots. "This ridge hear is the perfect place to strike. About one-quarter mile from the fringes of the Zerg base. We will position our men on this plain like so, with our tanks positioned at the highest point in the ridge. To reach us, the Zerg will have to run up a steep incline, giving us a huge advantage. However, once the Zerg pick up our signal, they'll be swarming over that whole area before our Dropships have a chance to unload the grounds units."
He paused to take a breath and drew a circle right at the edge of the Zerg's base. "Here is where your air forces come in to play. It is your job to hold the Zerg back until we are ready to allow them through. It shouldn't take more than five minutes, but for the duration of the that time, you'll have not only the Hydralisks and Mutalisks to contend with, but there are a few Spore Colonies in the area as well."
"What do we do once the infantry is ready?" Boris asked, mentally jogging through the General's plan.
"You will remain in the premises and eliminate any air forces that the Zerg send. The tanks and Infantry can deal with the ground forces, but they will have severe difficulty fending off any flyers that manage to get through."
"How many are you sending in?" Mikhail asked, saying something for the first time since the General had snapped at him.
"Accompanying you and the Colonel will be the 3rd, 6th and 9th Volamose Wraith Squadrons, along with the 2nd and 8th Kolorina Legion Wraith Squadrons."
"The Kolorina Protectorate is involved in this?" Boris asked, surprised that the Volamose General was taking such measures to ensure victory.
"I know we and General Miller have had our differences in the past, but were both fighting for the same objective; preserving humanity." Colin explained, adding the little cliche at the end.
"I'm not so sure that that's Miller's motive for helping, General. I've never trusted that bastard in the past and I'm sure as hell not gonna start now!" Boris said indignantly.
"You will do as you're told Colonel." The General said coldy, then turning his attention back to the map, he drew a couple more sketches. "You have your orders, and I expect you to carry them out."