"Jim, I can hear their engines. They're going to find us."
"I know, hang on, I can do this." Jim desperately tried to figure out the proper settings to get their craft back up into the air. "Not the primary thrusters, do we have working reverse thrusters? Sy, turn that knob on your left. Do you see anything for using cool thrust? This ship should have it, it was introduced last model. I don't want to light this forest on fire, especially while we're in it."
Sy helped Jim to poke around the cabin in search of the controls they wanted. Far less experienced with this type of craft, however, he allowed the older boy to take the lead. Instead he focused his energies on monitoring the various displays and the constantly changing information.
"Okay, reverse thrusters are being set now!" Jim pulled a lever and flicked two switches. He never paused as he focused on correctly identifying all of the controls. "I think I've got it all worked out. I just need to make sure I know which ones are still working. Hang on, test diagnostics are running, engine good, reverse thrust good, primary thrust good…."
"The thermal radar is picking up on approaching figures. We've got maybe two minutes, Jim."
"There's cool thrust! Okay, hang on, we can do this." The boys worked in tandem as Jim led the escape attempt. The first enemy figure burst out of the brush and into their clearing. The weapon in his hands was raised and aimed straight at them.
The engines roared as a burst of air escaped the reverse thrusters. The observation vessel leaped from the ground. A tree rushed up from behind them, the branches reaching to snatch the small craft from the air. Sy yelped and covered his head.
Jim slammed the lever on his left forward. The thrust swapped to the primary thrusters. The small craft shot forward and down, back towards their crash sight. His left hand flew across the controls making minor adjustments. The right hand was locked in a white knuckled grip around the tiller. Jim jerked the nose of their ship up to level out their path.
They rushed through the dense forest. Clearance was minimal, and every heart pounding second threatened to smash them into a tree trunk or unexpected rock formation. The cool thrust provided less power, a small blessing in disguise. The slower speed was all that allowed Jim to successfully weave their way through the unfamiliar terrain.
Behind them bits of bark exploded off tree trunks as the foot soldiers fired their canon blasters at the escaping ship. Everything rattled and at least five lights were blinking various warnings, but the ship stayed in the air.
"This is bad. We're going to be smashed up if we stay down here." Sy's voice was still shaky, though it grew steady as he focused on giving his assessment. "We're leaking fuel so we don't have very long in the air. Both wings are damaged but functional. Left tilt keeps flickering between disabled and damaged, but so far it seems to be working alright. It looks like there's some tree branches lodged in the rutter, that's probably what's causing it to malfunction. I don't want to be depending on it when it finally goes though. I believe all three opposing pilots landed. Do you think we can get above these trees and escape?"
"Only one way to find out. Hopefully we can get ourselves far enough away that we can find somewhere to hide before they get back up into the air." Jim angled them up. Greenery welcomed their spaceship with hidden claws. The branches screamed against the aircraft as they forced their way through the dense canopy. For a moment Jim thought they were going to be ensnared among the leaves.
Blue filled his vision. They shot out of the forest and into clear sky. No longer fighting against the jungle the observation craft sped up. Jim leveled the nose forward and turned on the combustion thrust. They surged through the empty air.
"I think we did it, Jim! I think we did it!"
The ship lurched violently. The sudden impact of the rocket took both boys by surprise. The craft spun wildly, a surge of cold air hitting them from a fan on the left. The predatory military jet dropped out of the sky from above and took aim again. Jim could only watch as his controls started flashing warning lights.
"Warning. Left wing missing. Land immediately. Warning. Left wing missing. Land immediately."
Jim growled. "Oh shut up, ship."
The second impact came moments later. The program froze once more. A single box popped up across their screens as the monotone voice read it to them. "Mission failed. You have died."