The Nastchruka Run Part One

The red glow of beams flashed across the front of the cockpit causing the dampeners to close down and darken the interior of the fighter.

"That was close!" Tor screamed.


 Tor slewed his old Battlehawk into a side ward spin and pushed the thrusters down to the full position. Tor was fighting in a completely defensive manner as he reached overhead to push his scanning computer into the on position.

"Ejaw where are you?" Tor glanced over head thru his darkened cockpit window as he spiraled again into a tight turn evading yet another row of glancing blasts from the weapons of the Commorium Fighter. "Damn this pilot is good!" Tor had to give his enemy credit.

When Tor had agreed to be the bait on the most recent Nastchruka Run he hadn't expected such an excruciating evasion to ensue. The Nastshruka Run was a common tactic used by Tor's pirate comrades to suck enemy fighter cover away from merchantman star ships. This tactic required a few important specific requirements to be successful. The target had to be on a run near some asteroids. It had to have at least two spots along a track that allowed pirate ships to hide. The whole idea was to sit in a suitable hidden spot with your star fighter powered down to minimum life support. Then as the mark flew bye, you lit your engines off, made a pass at the merchant ship and any support craft from behind as you zoomed past. Then your goal was to lead the enemy star fighter cover off into the asteroid belt or other suitable nebula. The trick being that this "bait" was to lead the enemy into an ambush in another area where your friends were waiting. Tor was in the midst of just such a Nastchruka Run now.

Tor angled his shields off to the right and scatted around a large sized asteroid to the left, effectively blocking his enemy from firing at him. He leveled out and pitched downward toward another large sized piece of debris. There sitting behind the debris, nose of her black, skull lined bomber pointing directly at Tor, was his wingmate Ejaw Atta'shol.

"Firing one, Tor please yaw right," came the ice cold voice of Ejaw.

Ejaw Atta'shol was the first combat fighter to contact Tor about the belief's of their new initiative. They believed the Federated Empire of Planets government was not as they seemed. That the government was leading the people astray through over taxation and uncontrolled spending. A group of like minded military people claimed they had been on missions that went against the basic tenants of "freedom for the people" that the government claimed to be protecting.

 To be continued.