Zone Rider BATTLE OF THE RAINBOW GALAXY:A SIDE STORY BY CHRIS SCHEETZ Oh my head, he thought as he slowly removed the flight helmet. A fine stream of blood trickled down his forehead as he dropped the helmet to the floor of the cockpit. Although it was a large bump he didn't think it was anyhting serious. He rubbed his head with a gloved hand then looked up into the sky. It was a curious violet color very different from his home planet of Earth. Jake remembered how he came to be here. The Argo had just recieved a challenge from a Gamilon named Lysis. He and several of his mates in the gunnery section were re-assigned for fighter duty. This pleased Jake to no end. Being a fighter pilot was why he joined the EDF in the first place. Unfortunately when he signed up for the Starforce the entire pilot roster was taken up by Conroy's Black Tigers. Jake had to take one of the gunnery positions that remained. Still, he was in the Starforce. When he found out about his re-assignment he was the first one at the flight deck. Conroy quickly showed him his fighter's berth. "Be ready to go.",said Conroy. Jake just nodded and climed up the gantry to his berth. He couldn't believe he was finally going to fly. He was finally going to engage the Gamilons face to face. His mind wasn't clouded with glory-hunting; just revenge. He wanted revenge for what the aliens had done to his planet. Jake sat in his seat and closed the canopy. The alert bells rang soon after. The pilots rapidly manned their fighters and warmed up their engines. Jake watched as the fighters launched two by two from the Argo's landing bay. Within a minute Jake's plane was lowered to the launch deck. Jake was pressed back into his chair as the thrust of the engine propelled him out the hatch. The Gamilon planes shown on his scopes immediately after his launch. Jake pulled the stick to the right and pointed the nose toward the enemy. "Break into fours.",came Conroy's voice over his helmet-com. "Jake, you're with me.", said Conroy. "Roger.",answered Jake as he followed his wingleader. The enemy planes came from nowhere. It was as though they just appeared out of nothing. Within the first few seconds several of the tigers were down. Jake managed to pull away just in time to avoid laserfire from a Gamilon plane. He quickly moved into position behind the closest Gamilon and fired. Lasers eruped from the wing cannons and raked the enemy fighter. It exploded in seconds. Jake grinned as he acknowledged his first kill. Then it happened. Jake's plane shook as the Gamilon plane came up from behind and fired. Jake pulled a roll but was unable to escape damage. A fire warning alarm went off in the cockpit. Jake's engine was on fire. Jake cursed to himself. He was out of this game. It was time to turn back to the Argo. "Conroy, I'm dusted. I'm loosing fuel fast.",Jake reported. "Roger. Head back to base.",came Conroy's reply. Jake turned the ship back in disgust. His first time in a cosmotiger and he wasn't out for more than fiffteen minutes. Another warning came on. Jake looked to see a contact warning coming up his back. Jake looked back to see the Gamilon fighter doging him. "Damn!",Jake cursed. "I can't lead him back to the Argo.",he said to himself. Jake pulled to the right and headed for the nearest planet. He was playing a hunch. The Gamilon followed. Jake sped into the planet's stratosphere like a rock then pulled up. The Gamilon plane wasn't so lucky. It plummeted into the atmosphere and burnt up. Jake's hunch paid off. He didn't think the Gamilon planes were built to enter the atmosphere. The design of the ship was all wrong for that. Jake checked his fuel guage. He didn't have enough fuel to make it back to the ship. His last maneuver saw to that. Jake cursed again. The planet was his only hope. Jake started his decent. The cosmotiger,although built to enter atmosphere, was still buffeted violently by the air. The turbulance was unbelievable. Jake thanked his maker that the rudders were still working. He was somehow able to keep the plane level. The last alarm he would hear went off. The "LOW FUEL" indicator blinked on and off like it was blaming him for the damage. Jake pulled up the landing gear release as he prepared to touch down. No problem, he thought, I'll just have to glide down. There's plenty of flat land. It would have been that easy if the landing gear had deployed. They hadn't. Jake's landing was anything but "textbook". The next thing he knew was he was alive with a bump on his head. Jake checked his instruments. Most were inoperable. The radio still buzzed with static. "Hello Argo! Come in please!",he screamed into the com. Nothing came back. Did Lysis get the best of them? Jake sat back in the pilot's seat of the downed cosmotiger. No! We've come too far to be stopped now, Jake thought as he surveyed the surroundings. The planetscape looked very much like a desert. There was no vegetation as far as the eye could see. Rocks and sand covered the world. Jake felt a dread come over him as he popped the canopy. The air was dry but unexpectedly cool. He began to wonder how the planet got so desolate in the comfortable temperature. Jake climbed out of the cockpit and set foot on the planet. He unloaded an emergency container and began to go through the contents. Inside he found a lamp, several bottles of nutri-pills, a first aid kit and a homing beacon. Jake immediately set up the beacon. A light pulsed on the top as it sent out It's signal. Jake leaned back against the fighter. His ribs began to ache. The adreniline had worn off. Jake bandaged his head and sat. The hours went by rather quickly. Jake wondered wheather he hadn't lost consciousness a few times between those time checks. It was getting dark. Jake noticed something he hadn't before. There was a glow coming from a near by rock formation. Jake got up and grabbed for his astro-automatic. It was a habit he picked up during his training years. With a lamp in one hand and the gun in the other Jake made his way toward the rocks. It took three hours to get there. It wasn't as close as he thought. Jake doused the lamp and climbed up to one of the crests. Once at his post he looked down and found the source of the light. It was the Gamilon pilot! The light came from a fire he had started using the remains of his parachute. That Gamilon fabric must have been pretty tough to have burned for this long, Jake thought. It wasn't important. He had unfinished business to take care of. Jake didn't think as he slid down the side of the rock and landed in the Gamilon's camp. He pulled the trigger of his astro-automatic and fired. The pilot, who was already squatting, fell into the fire. Jake stepped back. It wasn't the pilot at all. It was his jumpsuit filled with more of the parachute material! Jake looked up to the rock crest to see the Gamilon standing there with a rifle aimed at him. The Gamilon fired. Jake dove behind the nearest rock. As he dove his leg was hit by the Gamilon's beam. Jake pulled his leg in. The Gamilon moved in. Jake fired blindly from his position. He heard a thump. Jake looked from behind the rock to see the enemy pilot lying on his chest with a smoking wound on his back. Then he heard a voice. "Jake!? Lieutennant Roberts!?",came the voice. Jake looked up to see Conroy and Hardy coming over the crest. "Over here!",Jake yelled as he collapsed behind the rock. Conroy and Hardy came running. "We thought we lost ya buddy.",said Conroy. "The Captain would have my head if I lost you on your first mission." Conroy grinned. Jake answered with a grin of his own. "You ever notice how you always show up in the nick of time?", asked Jake. "We're the Starforce. It's our job.", answered Conroy. THE END