Interloper-360°: Expanded Version

Angel Stardust 1: Quick Cash

My arms begin to feel the intense heat beneath my suit as they shield my face from the raging flames combusting over my console. I slam a fist down on a button to my right, and my dome door shoots open and lets fresh oxygen rush inside.

I struggle to undo my seatbelt, but once I get it off I climb from the fire and escape my shot-down fighter jet. I land in the dirt and hear the deafening whistles of enemy fighter jets flying overhead. They chase my teammates ruthlessly, and now there's not a thing I can do about it.

I hold a panel down on my P.V.D still clutching to my wrist.

Me (Personal): "Titan, I'm down! My ship's not getting back up."

Titan (Personal): "Understood, kid. We'll take these dogs out in the next ten seconds. Find some cover, I don't want any scrap metal taking you out on the way down."

My P.V.D pings, and this time it's Cheq on the line.

Cheq (Personal): "Stay put, Nev, I'm coming down to get you."

I hold the button again, but my eyes spot an abandoned Anti-Aircraft cannon just a sprint away.

Me (Personal): "Wait a sec, I have an idea. Do these cannons on the ground still function?"

Cheq (Personal): "They should, Paxes Defense Force only got ran out of here about a week ago."

My legs press hard into the sandy terrain as I carry myself to the cannon hastily. I get there in one piece and circle around the seat until I find the hatch to let me in. The cannon is still pristine, but nothing is working, it's been switched to passive mode.

My P.V.D switches to an 'All Broadcast' channel and Knight is the first to speak.

Knight (Group): "Titan, Cheq, I'm getting blasted over here and I can't shake 'em! I need some cushion!"

Cheq (Group): "Hold still, I'm coming in behind you! I see that scrapper pecking your backside. Damn, missed!"

Titan (Personal): "Nev, if you got the cannons working, now's a good time to try a test fire right on Knight's chaser."

Titan maneuvers his jet to a position behind Knight. Other ships intervene and he's forced to fly away as Cheq does the same.

Titan (Group): "Blast!"

I press all the important-looking buttons hoping for a reassuring sound, but nothing comes. I look up to the sky and see Knight's ship taking several hits from his pursuer's photon cannons.

Knight (Group): "I can't take another damn barrage like that, I'm gonna burst into flames!"

His left thruster shuts off, and his flying becomes unstable. He no longer has balance on his flight path, but he tries to keep it in the air while avoiding more laser fire. Titan and Cheq are too busy dealing with their own scuffle to help out. Two pilots out of the fight is certain defeat.

Me (Group): "Hold on!"

I bang all over a console I've never seen before. Finally, a whir of blue lights explodes from the targeting systems; the cannon is ready for use once I charge a blast. Knight desperately performs defensive maneuvers, my eyes shift between watching him and watching the "Reloading" screen.

I track the chaser's ship and find the targeting system to be sticky and easy to use. As soon as "Cannons Ready" appears on the screen, I press a button and let a massive blast shoot for the ship. It connects, and the ship explodes in a fiery red; the scrap metal falls down on the desolate planet.