Take to the skies with Lance Star: Sky Ranger! Attacked by The Ghost Squadron, Lance takes the Skybolt II into evasive action. It's tense air combat in chapter 4 of Lance Star and the Ghost Squadron, now available in
Spotlight Media GA's The Beam (available in South Georgia) and on
Patreon.
You can join us on Patreon for as a little as $1 a month. In addition to this serialized pulp adventure, you also get other exclusive serialized novels, news, updates, sneak peeks, and more. Every little bit helps keep this creative train rolling.
Learn more about Lance Star: Sky Ranger
HERE.
Read chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4
HERE.
Chapter 4 also posted below. Enjoy.
Bobby
Lance Star and the Ghost Squadron
Chapter 4.
Lance Star took immediate evasive action. As a veteran of a world war and countless adventures that put his team and aircraft in the crosshairs of one villain or another, his reflexes were sharp. There wasn’t much he couldn’t pull off in the cockpit of an airplane.
The Skybolt dropped like a stone, the straps tightening as they pinned the passengers to their seats. “Talk to me, Buck!”
“Bogey coming in from two o’clock,” Buck’s voice echoed in his ear. A combat air ace, his voice remained neutral, calm. “One incoming surface to air missile. We’re being painted as the target, but I can’t tell from where. Bring us around for another look.”
“Hold onto your hats.” Lance took the plane into a roll, spinning the Skybolt out of the path of the missile, which passed by them, missing by only a few feet. The maneuver also gave Buck a better line of sight with the launch site. Surface to air missiles followed a search beam pointed at the target, painting it for the missile to find. Selenium cells reflected the beam to keep the missile flying true.
It was a good system, and worked well enough, but an experienced pilot suck as Lance Star had a better than average chance of escaping the beam.
Above them, the missile exploded, a shockwave hitting the Skybolt. No damage, but a turbulent ride.
“See anything, Buck?”
“Not yet. I--- We’ve got another missile incoming!”
Buck’s shouted warning sent Lance into instant evasive maneuvers. The missile flew past, missing the Skybolt by mere inches.
“Number three incoming,” Buck called.
“Hold on,” Lance told his passenger before pulling up hard on the yoke and taking the silver streak of a plane into a steep climb. “Anything, Buck?” he called through the mic.
“Clocked it!” Buck shouted, triumphant. “I’ve got a fix on the launch site’s location. They’re tucked in under a massive rocky outcropping. Or maybe it’s a cavern entrance. Hard to see from the air. I only got a fix on it because of the missile’s smoke trail.”
“Where’s the missile now?”
“Heading right for us, Lance,” Buck warned. “Putting us in place to spot the site also put us in the crosshairs.”
“We’re not beat yet,” Lance said. “There’s still a few tricks I haven’t tried yet.”
“Oh, my stomach doesn’t like the sound of that,” Cutter said from behind Lance.
“Didn’t you used to do barrel rolls after eating a big breakfast?” Lance joked as he took the Skybolt into a similar maneuver to the one they were discussing.
“That was a long time ago, pal,” Cutter groaned, feeling intense pressure push him deeper into his seat. “I’m not that guy anymore.”
“Lucky for you, I am,” Lance started, but a hard impact silenced him. The missile slammed into the Skybolt and exploded.
To be continued…
The first 6 chapters can also be found on
Patreon.
