A Quantum 7 Mission, the Hunter and the Hunted.
This story is a continuation from the post on 10/3 Crash and Burn.
The launch light pulsed from yellow to green.
The flight controller’s voice came over the radio, “Launch when ready.”
“Hold on,” Captain Donor’s voice buzzed in Brett’s earphones.
A split second later, Brett was violently thrust back in his seat as the Quantum 7 space fighter roared from the flight deck into the empty vacuum of space. From the intense g-forces acting on his body, it was clear that Brett was no longer in a simulator. This was the real thing.
Straight ahead, the enormous planet Colossus, with its breathtaking rings, filled the front window of the spaceship. Brett was amazed by the purple and blue bands churned up by the planet’s swirling winds. Stretching as far as he could see to his right and left, the smooth ring bands wrapped the planet, as if God wanted to make this planet special.
As it was for all first-year cadets, the experience was overwhelming. For a moment, young Brett Wallace forgot that he was on a space force training mission.
“Are you with me Wallace?” From the pilot’s seat, Captain Donor brought Brett back to reality.
“Yes sir,” he answered with a little extra snap, to convince the Captain that he was eager to do his job right.
“Get on that scanner, and make sure you cover all frequencies, so we don’t miss anything.”
“Yes sir,” Brett brought up the spectrum scanner on the instrument screen.
The scanner was important for finding alien ships, the whole reason for the mission. Space pirates could easily hide among Colossus’ moons and rings. There, they could prepare for an attack on Brett’s home planet of Dracon. Quantum 7 fighters were often sent out to search the Colossus system for intruders. Brett and Captain Donor were just one of 20 fighters on the mission.
For the last two weeks, the fighter squadron had been living aboard the space carrier on a journey from Dracon to Colossus. The name “carrier” was taken from the history books. Long ago, large ships filled with aircraft patrolled the oceans of Dracon. The carriers of today performed the same missions, except in space.
For the cadets, time on board the carrier was not wasted. Hours were spent in the classroom, learning space navigation, radio communication, and everything to do with space defense. Class time was followed by hours of homework. It was all part of the training program. For Brett and his class, the military program demanded a lot of hard work and discipline.
The rest of his time was spent sleeping, eating, and playing games with friends. Brett felt a little guilty that he had given up on this devotions, reading his Bible and praying. He told himself that he was too busy to spent time with God, but deep down, he knew it was just an excuse. His friend Shannon found the time to stay connected with God. If she could find the time, so could he.
“We are coming up on Torrid,” Captain Donor pointed to a tiny disk of light in the distance. “The space force is talking about building a base there.”
“I’ve heard that it is the only moon that has liquid water,” said Brett.
He was familiar with moon from his science classes. As they flew closer, he could see a faint plume of water spewing up from the surface. An erupting geyser put on a show for Brett and the captain while they sped by. As interesting as the moon was, Brett forced himself to turn his attention back to the scanner.
Soon, the bright, outer ring loomed large in front of the ship. The young cadet was awed as the captain flew the Q7 along the disk. At the speed they were traveling, the little ice and rock particles blurred together with the large chunks and boulders. It gave the appearance of a solid surface, as if the Q 7 could land on the ring, and Brett could get out, and walk around.
When they reached the gap between the rings, Captain Donor made a quick dive that took them to the opposite side of the rings. The fast maneuver caused Brett’s stomach to do a summersault, and a wave of nausea gripped him.
As he fought the urge to throw up, the scanner sent out a chirping alarm. The young copilot tapped the screen to bring up more information.
“There are four unknown ships. They are 50 miles out,” Brett reported the coordinates to the captain.
He continued to monitor the scanner, as if the sighting was a common occurrence. Brett suspected they were some kind of training ships put there by the space force to test the Quantum 7 pilots, like a cat and mouse game. However, his cool attitude melted away when he heard the tension in Captain Donor’s voice.
“This is Bravo-zero-nine. We have four unknowns on our scanner, possibly more!” he reported to the carrier ship. “We are in pursuit.”
Again Brett was pinned to his seat as the captain jammed the throttle to one hundred percent. Next, the “weapons active” light on the instrument panel flashed green. A chill ran down Brett’s spine. This was no game.
“25 miles and closing,” Brett called out. “15 miles… 10 miles… 5 miles”
Both Captain Donor and Brett stared out into the distance to get a glimpse of the unknown ships.
“There!” the well-trained captain spotted the exhaust jets from four rocket engines. “This is Dracon Space Force Captain Donor. Identify yourselves.”
The radio remained silent.
“This is Dracon Space Force, identify yourselves,” the pilot repeated.
Again there was no response.
The captain reported back to the carrier, “I have a visual. They are definitely space pirates.
Without warning, the Q7 cockpit lit up with pulses of intense orange light, and the ship shuttered violently.
“We are taking fire!” Captain Donor shouted.
For Brett, everything seemed to go silent. Even though his earphones buzzed with radio activity, his senses went numb.
“How could this be happening?” he asked himself, realizing his life could end at any second.
“Lord, please don’t let us die,” the frightened cadet prayed. Then he realized that this was the first prayer he uttered in two weeks. “I’m sorry I haven’t been praying more. Help Captain Donor and me get through this.”
Brett snapped back to his senses.
“Wallace! Wallace, activate the Holo!” Captain Donor ordered.
“Yes sir,” Brett tapped the instrument panel until the display screen read “Defense Holograph Active.”
Now, the enemy would see the Quantum 7 split into two ships, and then into three. After a few seconds, it would appear to merge back into one. Then, the process would repeat with a different pattern. This would confuse the pirates, so that they would not know which one to shoot at.
Brett looked up just as the four pirate ships split up into two groups. Like an attack dog, Captain Donor went after the nearest ship, and opened up with his laser cannons. The first round of blue streaks missed their target, but the captain adjusted his aim, and fired again. The ship blew to pieces in a blinding flash of light.
“One down,” the pilot added, as if he was shooting paper targets.
With a quick jerk of the control stick, he turned his attention to the next ship. But pulses of orange light all around the Q7 were a reminder that they were outnumbered and in grave danger.
The captain’s first two shots were misses, as the pirate ship weaved to the right left. When he squeezed the trigger the third time, the laser pulse clipped the spacecraft just enough to knock it out of action. It spun out of control toward Colossus. There, it was doomed to burn up in the planet’s thick atmosphere.
But now, the hunter became the hunted. The remaining two pirate ships were on the Quantum 7’s tail and firing with everything they had. Captain Donor thrust the fighter from side to side, and then up and over, in a tight loop. However, he could not shake the enemy ships. Brett could feel the impact, as their fighter absorbed an enemy shot. He worried that this might be the end.
That’s when a friendly voice broke over the radio, “This is Bravo-one-two, and Bravo-one-three. We are coming in hot at your six o’clock. Break hard to your left.”
Without hesitating, the captain whipped the Q7 to the left. Brett glanced behind them just as one of the pirate ships exploded. The last enemy ship tried to make a run for it, but it was too late. The Quantum 7’s poured on their cannon fire until it went up in a ball of white light.
Captain Donor’s looked over at Brett, “Well done cadet. That was some wild stuff, but you did all right. When you get your wings, you can fly with me any time. Now, how about you thank our friends.”
“Yes sir,” Brett flipped on his mic. “This is Bravo-zero-nine. Thanks for your help.”
A familiar female voice answered back, “This is Bravo-one-two. You’re welcome. I’m glad we got here in time,” said Shannon.
Captain Donor spoke up, “That’s enough action for one mission. Let’s get back on the carrier.”
Brett couldn’t agree more. On the way back, he whispered a short prayer, “Thank you Lord, for getting us through that.”
Then he vowed to start reading his Bible every day, and even invite Shannon and the other cadets to join him.
Other Stories You Might Enjoy
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What did Brett fail to do?
What was his excuse?
Have you ever used that excuse?
Read Joshua 1:8-9
What does it mean to “mediate on it day and night”? (your version may be worded differently)
What does God promise if we do this?
Remember how Brett was afraid when his spaceship was under attack. In Joshua 1:9, God tells Joshua to be courageous. When are we more strong and courageous, when you read and study God’s word, or when you don’t?
What are some things you can do to help you stay in the word?