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tail. The fighter
ship shook violently and spun out of control. It came tumbling
down, falling towards the hard, rugged and hilly surface like a
heavy rock. Cooke knew soon the ship would hit the ground and he
would die. The thought scared him. He wasn’t ready to die yet. He
fumbled for a while but finally found the control levers – and
pulled them backwards.
    Maybe there was something he could still
do.
    The ship didn’t respond. He pushed the
levers forward and pulled then back again. Still - there was no
change. He didn’t give up though - he tried for the third time.
Toyer stopped spinning and steadied a bit. The damage was not that
lethal. Cooke pulled the left lever some more and the ship
straightened. He swerved the ship to the left, circling back
quickly to face the oncoming alien craft. It was in front of him in
his line of sight and fire now. He could see its blinking lights
clearly. He pressed the triggers. Toyer’s front heavy guns coughed
laser.
    Phfphfphfphfphfphfweeeeo!
    The laser guns whistled and screamed. The
alien craft swung to the right and Lieutenant Cooke followed it.
The tables were turned. He was now in control of the chase. The
alien ship raced to the south at high speed and Cooke gave chase.
It maintained its high speed dancing about in evasive maneuvers
avoiding his blasts. It continued south with him on its tail his
guns blazing and it kept to continuously dance out of his line of
fire. Twenty minutes later the two ships were still zigzagging
about in the Kalahari sky. The scorpion ship swerved east and Cooke
followed it. Finally he locked on it.
    The black scorpion went spinning downwards
and crashed against a hillside. Cooke sped past and circled back
quickly.
    “Lieutenant Cooke, the other alien craft is
coming this way. It shall be here in less than a minute.” Delilah
informed him.
    “I don’t care. I’m going to kill that
bastard who crashed. They killed Merida.” Cooke snapped.
    He swooped Toyer downwards like an eagle and
sprayed the crashed alien ship with laser fire. He wouldn’t be
Cooke Hamilton if he didn’t blow the asshole to pieces like they
did to Merida. After a few shots the alien craft exploded in a
blinding flash that turned night into day. Its shattered bits
scattered over the whole area. He dived his craft upwards to flee
before the other ship arrived, but he was late. A trail of red
laser fire hit his precious fighter craft. The poisonous black
scorpion that stung Merida to death had come for him too! His ship
rocked hard and went spinning to the ground.
    It was time to leave Toyer.
    He’d seen how this just arrived pilot
operated like. He didn’t want to be blown to pieces along with his
ship like Merida. The safest place to be was out there in the cold,
not inside the falling ship. He had to abandon Toyer before the
enemy could blow it to bits. He released the ejector seat and the
craft spat him out.
    He watched from above as his craft continued
spinning downwards, but quickly lost track of it as Xerla’s
blinding spotlights fell on him. In about five minutes Cooke hit
the hard ground. He rolled over, released the chute, and pulled
himself up. The unidentified craft was circling overhead. Its
bright lights on him - blinding him. He tried to run but laser fire
hit the ground around him. He stopped dead in his tracks. The craft
glided unhurried to the ground, its strong beams of white lights
still fixed on him.
    It stopped and hovered about 30 inches above
the ground a short distance away from him and its doors hissed
open. A dark figure loomed into view, a huge laser gun in its
hands. The figure jumped from the ship to the ground and hurried
across towards him; gun fixed on him. Cold sweat trickled down
Cooke’s spine. He risked a step backwards, arms raised in the
air.
    “Don’t shoot. Please.” He shouted in
English.
    “Nim ha kyo xixoha koba xi nom hanagas xiho
re tuxipitkazir!” The figure shouted in a strange alien tongue.
Laser blasts dug holes