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Lance Star and the Sky Pirates.
Chapter 1.
South America. June 1942.
“Mayday! Mayday!
I repeat, this is a Mayday! Can anyone hear me?”
The co-pilot
tossed down the squawk box in frustration. He had been trying to radio for help
since the enemy showed up. So far, no response.
“It’s no use,”
he said. “We’re either out of range or they’ve found a way to jam our
transmission. Either way, we’re on our own.”
“So, what else
is new?” the pilot said, chomping on the thick, fat, unlit cigar clenched
between his teeth. Buck Tellonger was a legendary pilot. He’d been flying
planes longer than his co-pilot, Tom Vincente had been alive.
Both pilots were
part of a famous flying squad called The Sky Rangers. The job of ferrying this
plane load of passengers and cargo was a favor to their friend and employer,
Lance Star. Lance’s childhood friend, archaeologist Simon Prentiss needed a
skilled crew to get him and his recently unearthed precious cargo to its
destination safe and sound.
They didn’t know
the exact contents of the crates they ferried, but Prentiss had indicated that
it was of high value not only to history, but to the United States and their
allies in the struggle against the growing threat of the Axis Powers.
Threats had been
made against Prentiss and his team. Those threats became real as soon as the
cargo plane was too far away from their take off zone to easily circle back or
for help to arrive in time to do any good.
Four small,
heavily armed planes attacked once they entered South American airspace. The
smaller planes reminded Buck of the Hornets the Sky Rangers sometimes used.
They were fast, maneuverable, and difficult to hit in a fight.
A cargo plane,
on the other hand, was none of those things. It was a big, slow metal tube with
wings. Strategic maneuvers were all but impossible. Not that it stopped the air
ace from trying a few of them anyway. “Hold on to your hats, boys,” he called
back before taking the plane into a dive.
Vincente could
swear that the pilot was laughing.
The laughter
stopped when the attacking plane got off a lucky shot. The cargo plane’s window
caught a hail of bullets and shattered. The cockpit became a torrential wind
tunnel. Visibility dropped quickly as the plane tumbled out of the sky,
spiraling down toward the thick jungle canopy below.
“Strap in and
hold on,” Buck shouted. “I’m taking her in!”
“Can you land
this thing?” Prentiss asked.
“It’s either
that or crash, Professor!” the pilot warned. “We’ll know which in a minute!”
The plane hit
the treetops at full speed, snapping them in half. The ground rushed up to meet
them quickly, but the air ace at the controls kept the plane parallel to the
ground until they finally hit hard earth, gouging their path in the forest
floor.
To be
continued…
Lance Star and the Sky Pirates.
Chapter 2.
Ace pilot, Lance
Star pushed the engines of the Skybolt II, the signature plane of the Sky
Rangers, to their limits. It had been a couple of days since his friends’ plane
went missing somewhere over the jungles of South America.
As soon as the
cargo plane piloted by Buck Tellonger and Tom Vincente was reported overdue, a
search was ordered. The government agents sent to spearhead the search had
proved more interested in finding and retrieving the cargo than the people on
board. Lance and his team had other priorities. Namely, finding their friends
whole and hearty. After that, they would worry about some trinkets found in an
archaeological dig.
Lance had known
Simon Prentiss since the two of them traveled the world with their famous
treasure-hunting fathers as kids. They were more than friends. Thay had become
family. Now that both of their fathers were gone, they were each the only
family one another had. Lance refused to think of life without his brother.
The Skybolt II
was an engineering marvel. Duel cockpit seating offered a unique flying
experience. Riding the second cockpit this trip was another friend since
childhood, Red Davis. Also accompanying them were Cy Hawkins and Jim Nolan,
each flying solo in Stingers, the Sky Rangers’ smaller, more maneuverable
fighter planes. General Pettigrew, their War Department contact, not to mention
an old friend of Lance’s father, had warned them about reports of pirates in
the area. The Sky Rangers came prepared to defend themselves.
“The last radio
contact with Buck included a reference to sky pirates,” Lance said,
communicating to the others via a throat mic strapped around his neck. “Our
best guess is they were forced to make an emergency landing.”
“The canopy down
there is thick,” Red added. “Finding them is not going to be easy.”
“I know, but the
cargo plane was loaded down,” Lance said. “If they went down hard, it’ll leave
a mark. If I know Buck, he’s going to do a lot of damage on the way in. Look
for any signs of damage. Broken trees. Smoke.”
“What about
that?” Jim Nolan’s voice called back. “At your two o’clock, Skybolt.”
Lance craned his
neck. It would have been hard to miss what Nolan had pointed out. He eased the
yoke and brought the Skybolt around to get a better look at it.
“What in the
world…?” Red said, his voice trailing off as words escaped him.
“I’ve seen a lot
of oddball stuff with you guys,” Cy Hawkins said. “But this one takes the
cracker. Any idea what we’re looking at?”
Ahead of them a
bright, pulsing purple light shot into the heavens above from somewhere deep in
the jungle.
“I don’t know
what that thing is,” Lance said. “But I’d bet my last two-dollar bill that’s
where we’ll find Buck and the others.”
“No bet, boss,”
Hawkins said.
“All right,
gentlemen,” Lance said. “Let’s go find our friends.”
To be
continued…
Lance Star and the Sky Pirates.
Chapter 3.
“They say any
landing you can walk away from is a good one,” Buck Tellonger joked as he
stepped through the open cargo door to assess the plane’s damage.
“I hate that I
can now say I know this from experience,” Simon Prentiss said. “You okay?” he
asked when he noticed the pilot holding his left arm with his right hand.
“Don’t think
it’s broken.” Buck winced. “Hurts though.”
They stepped
around cargo strewn across the ground, most having fallen out of the broken
cargo door, which was damaged in the crash. Prentiss’ two associates, Buck
didn’t know their names, were picking up the scattered gold relics.
“I like shiny
baubles as much as the next man, professor, but picking up trinkets might not
be the best use of my time right now.” Buck said. “Tom, help our passengers. We
may have to hightail it out of here!”
“What about the
cargo?”
“Leave it.”
“We can’t!”
Prentiss said.
“Wanna bet? Don’t
test me on this, Simon,” Buck said. “My job is to keep you safe. Gold and
silver can be replaced. You can’t. Plus, I don’t relish the notion of telling
the boss I let anything happen to his best pal.”
“Lance wouldn’t
blame you.”
“I’d blame me,
Professor.”
“We’ve got incoming!”
Vincente shouted.
All eyes trained
skyward just in time to see the Sky Pirate’s plane attack. The first opened
fire, bullets peppering the cargo plane and surrounding jungle in a hail of gun
fire.
Everyone took
cover. Simon Prentiss ducked behind a large crate, one of the few undamaged
items. Bullets smacked the crate like angry mosquitos, puncturing the wood and
sending splinters flying. Simon screamed.
Then, there was
a moment to catch their breath as the pirate’s plane circled back for another
strafing run.
“Get to cover!”
Buck ordered.
Next to Simon, the
crate began to whine, soft at first, but growing louder by the second. He
stared at it, confused.
“Get away from
that thing!”
Another strafing
run. Bullets once again peppered both the plane and ground alike. Meanwhile,
the humming sound from the crate grew louder.
Then,
shockingly, it began to glow from within. Purple pulses of light pushed through
spaces in the wood and assorted bullet holes.
“Get him out of
there!” Buck shouted.
Tom Vincente broke
cover and ran toward the crate. He tackled Professor Prentiss, pushing him away
from the crate. They hit the ground hard with Vincente shielding Prentiss with
his own body as the whine increased all around them. The sound was deafening.
Buck shouted
something that neither of them could hear. He pointed skyward. Vincente understood.
The sky pirate’s
plane headed back for another run. They opened fire.
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