David Schleifer
The First time...
It was an act of honor.
The Second time...
It was an act of vengeance
This time...
It will be an act of war.
Commander Janice Anders Daria and the crew of the Battlecruiser Pegasus bring the fight to the enemy in a new and spectacular military Science Fiction adventure that holds nothing back. Leading the Task-Force One-Able, they are the spearhead for invasion against the Drazakii.
But the Drazakians have other plans as well. A new threat has entered the scene. His name is Dii Van Toom, a civilian tactician that has his plans set. Already the bait is set and he waits with the Armada of Drazakii warships for the famed battlecruiser to fall into his grip.
www.battlecruiserzone.com
David Schleifer was born in Queens, New York in 1962. He was educated and raised in Miami, Florida. He studied eighteen years of Martial Arts under the Cuong Nhu system. He was also a practitioner of Kendo, Japanese sword fencing. Currently he is studying the art of Aikido under Wee-wow Sensei at Gold Coast Aikikai. He also studied and researched military and Navy tactics as well as Japanese History.
His writing career actually began in 1979 with the original concept draft of Battlecruiser: Prototype. But after joining the Florida Romance Writers in 1987 did he really start to produce manuscripts. In 1991, David Schleifer received his Diploma for passing the Advance Novel Writing Workshop from the Writer’s Digest School. David believes that writing is as much an art form as sketching or martial arts. Only by dedicating continuous determination will he be able to perfect his writing skills. Like any artist, he is never truly satisfied with his work, and so, he continues to produce newer manuscripts with the idea of advancing better with each new work.
Bandit!
Earth-time: August 3rd 3745
06:00 Starhours
"I got the target vector!" Attica's voice came over the helmet speaker as Jason checked his flight controls. Through the canopy viewport of his sleek Interceptor, the distant gas giant came into view.
"Distance and heading?"
"Unsure, Jason. He's jamming."
Jason could feel the tension building in him as he gripped the control stick. He tapped a template switch on his console activating the matrix scanner on the canopy's viewport. A small square flashed and he could see it moving around the planet, searching for any unnatural movement. As the sleek Interceptor moved over the dense planetary sphere, Jason remembered that this was Attica's idea. It was time to lose oneself here in the stars instead of his moping in his cabin on board the Battlecruiser Pegasus. Jason's scanner beeped and he turned to look at the top portion of Attica's helmet as he sat in the front seat.
"I got'em!" the three-armed Alythian said, his eyestalks protruding from his flight helmet. "Threat target in range."
Jason watched his scanner lock onto the distant metallic object near the polar region of the planet. Brief flares appeared on his display.
"Too late!" Attica turned one eyestalk in Jason's direction, "incoming missiles. I count eight of them."
"Have they got a lock?" Jason didn't like the way this was turning out.
"Confirmed, threat weapons locked!"
Jason tapped a template switch on his console, activating his neural link to the Interceptor's onboard computers. "Defend," he thought. The Interceptor's computer activated the ECM and vector thrust programs. A beep indicated that the rearward defense pod was armed. An alert tone followed, making Jason nervous.
"Malfunction! RDP is not working," voiced Attica as Jason heard him typing fast on his keyboard. Jason tightened his grip on the control stick and pushed it left. The Interceptor peeled to the left in a tight G-turn.
"Threat parameters on screen," Attica announced as he pressed a switch. Jason looked up at the viewport. The holographic viewport display system locked amber boxes around each of the incoming missiles, giving distances and time to impact.
"The first two are coming in," Attica announced.
Jason could see that as he banked the Interceptor once again, slamming the thruster controls to overthrust. The Interceptor flipped over and dived into a loop, turning away from the planet. The first missile careened overhead and exploded behind them in a blast that illuminated the Interceptor.
"That's one," Attica called.
But could Jason dodge the remaining seven? He looked up to see the second missile closing. Jason rolled the Interceptor twice, hitting his banking thrusters, and flipped the Interceptor around. The missile flew by and exploded. The flare, producing a surreal image around him, illuminated the canopy viewport. Jason could remember the last time he was in a surreal setting. The imagery of the twisted deck of the Battlecruiser Equus and the Drazakian warrior appearing from the shadows, grabbing Gloria Anders Daria around the neck and throat with his two-tentacled hand. He remembered the clattering of the medical pack as it slipped from her fingers and fell to the deck.
"Third missile coming in!"
Jason shook out of his brief flashback at Attica's interrupt. He slammed the control stick and rolled the Interceptor away. The departure view on his center MFD display showed the missile falling away only to see the fourth missile dropping down into his wake. Jason pulled back on the control stick, peeling the Interceptor just as the missile exploded. Half the lights on his board turned to amber as shrapnel damage was located by the Interceptor's skin-sensors. The third missile detonated farther ahead of the Interceptor as an afterthought. Four missiles down, two are away by another ten seconds.
Jason twisted to look over his shoulder; his breathing came in small gasps as he tried to control the adrenaline rushing through his system. He remembered a similar time when he had that adrenaline rush. It was shortly before seeing the image of Gloria arching her back in pain as the Drazakian inserted his extended stinger into the base of her neck. He could see her gurgling attempt to scream as he froze in horror.
"Jason!" shouted Attica.
Jason slammed the control stick to the right, kicking the reactionary pedals with his feet and rolling the Interceptor, barely dodging the fifth missile. The missile's explosion rocked the Interceptor. Jason continued to roll the Interceptor as the sixth missile also passed by his wing and detonated.
"I’ve got the last two missiles coming in but I’ve lost the enemy Klaw fighter," said Attica. Jason could hear him typing fast on his keyboard, trying to locate the enemy fighter. Jason could also hear Doctor Hamilton's voice echoing in his ears, being pulled back to his painful memories of the death of the one he loved. It was at that moment when his heart was torn into two. "There's nothing I can do for this," Doctor Hamilton snapped. Jason could see Gloria convulsing on the floor, blood gushing from her ears, nose and mouth and turning green with venom. Doctor Hamilton's medical scanner passed over Gloria as he snapped, "What the hell is this stuff!" Jason's eyes blinked as sweat dropped from his forehead. He twisted around and peeled the Interceptor away just in time. The seventh missile missed and the eighth missile exploded just behind Jason's Interceptor. More lights turned amber on his board, some turned red.
Jason heard Hamilton's voice echoing again in his mind. "There's nothing I can do for this," while he remembered the rage running through him as he saw Gloria lying dead on the deck.
"That's it, the last missile." Attica looked back over his shoulder at Jason. "Jason, I still don't have the-- BANK NOW!"
Jason slammed the control stick as bolts screamed pass the canopy of his Interceptor. He kicked the pedals and put the interceptor into a bank. Bolts ripped up the starboard wing, punching holes in the armor. Jason flipped the Interceptor over and the Klaw fighter behind them continued its pursuit. Jason could feel the sweat on his palms as the Klaw fighter continued its relentless chase. Bolts flying from the Klaw's disruptor cannons continued to scream past Jason's Interceptor as he banked around. He could feel the same rage coming over him as he slammed the control stick over. The Interceptor went into a tight turn. The Klaw followed; VIFFing in a Vectoring in Forward Flight maneuver behind him with the help of its vectored VTOL thrusters mounted beneath each 'claw' tipped edge. Jason reversed his thrusters and the Klaw fighter passed by his windshield. Jason peeled behind the Klaw.
"Threat targeted," announced Attica as he sighed in relief.
"Display," said Jason. Attica was quick to place a box on the Heads-Up-Display around the Klaw fighter as it began its bank.
"Acquire," Jason thought to the computer. The box around the Klaw turned amber.
"Confirm lock-on," said Jason into his helmet's pickup. The sweat was drying off him now that he got things under control. He just wished he could have controlled his past. Gloria may have still been alive if--.
"Confirmed," Attica reported.
"Action," Jason thought. The on-board computer link fired one of the tracking missiles from beneath Jason's Interceptor. Jason and Attica watched as the missile closed on the dodging Klaw. The missile missed but the guidance system turned it about and brought it back after the enemy Klaw fighter. They watched as the missile went right up the Klaw's afterthrusters. The canopy suddenly turned pure white, but not with any explosion.
"What the--?" Jason looked up as the canopy suddenly whirred open on hydraulics. Attica half rose in his seat to turn toward Jason sitting in the back seat. The canopy reached its full length and the bulky frame of Engineer First Class 'Red' Farenton looked into the cockpit.
"Sorry to ruin your simulation, Sub-Commander Jason, but you're wanted on the bridge," said Farenton.
"Why? What's happened?"
"I believe we just declared war on the Drazakian Dynasty."
"War!" said Jason.
"So it's finally going to happen," added Attica.
Jason removed his helmet and handed it to the engineer. He stepped out of the simulator, hearing Attica's feet right behind him.
