Bobby
Lance Star and the Ghost Squadron
Chapter 6.
“This is gonna hurt!”
Damaged from missile damage, the Skybolt II, famed shiny silver aircraft belonging to Lance Star, the leader of the adventurers known the world over as The Sky Rangers, dropped out of the air like a stone toward the rocky ground below.
While Lance fought the controls in an effort to land them as safely as possible, Buck Tellonger, his co-pilot, called in a mayday. They were a long way from civilization, somewhere in the open wilds of Utah, steep mountains, desert, buttes, and mesas surrounded them. It would be far too easy to get lost in a place like this. Even harder for rescue planes to find them.
Provided they survived the crash landing.
That was the first order of business. A gifted pilot, Lance had the situation in hand. In his varied colorful adventures, this was not the first time he had been shot at, and not the first time a plane he was in had been shot down. Between luck, talent, and experience, he was still in one piece, still flying.
Between him and Buck, they had logged in more hours in the cockpit than most. Their passenger, Jacob Cutter, was no stranger to air combat either. That’s how they all met. During the war. It seemed so long ago now.
The ground rushed at them quickly, rocks and brush zipping by like a blur. The Skybolt’s landing gear touched earth, the rubber wheels bounced, sending the plane back into the air before coming in for another attempt. The landing was rough. Pockmarked dusty trails filled in in place of the non-existent airstrip.
Once the wheels gripped the ground, the pilot pulled back, throttled down, and the great airship began to slow. A trail of dust trailed the plane as the wheels dug into dirt.
The Skybolt slammed to a halt, the front wheels buried, the plane’s twin noses pointing down. The pilots breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that the twin propellers survived undamaged. That increased their chances of getting back in the air exponentially.
“Everybody good?” Lance asked.
Both Buck and Cutter responded favorably. Once they were certain there was no risk of fire and everyone was unharmed, Lance popped the seal and followed Cutter through the Skybolt’s fuselage toward the cargo door at the back of the plane. The port side door took damage during the attack. By the time they hit the ground, Buck was already waiting for them.
“How’s it look?” Lance asked.
“It’s not pretty, boss,” Buck said, chewing on a thick, ugly, unlit cigar. Lance never understood his friend’s fascination with them. “We took damage, but it’s all fixable.”
“Can we get back in the air on our own?”
“I think we can get her in the air,” Buck said, running his hand along the silver hull. “I can’t guarantee she’ll be combat ready.”
“We may not have a choice, Buck,” Lance said. “Whoever shot us down is bound to come looking for us. We need to be ready for them.”
To be continued…
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