Captain Jk turned to his first officer, the highly promising Mister Sck, and flicked on the auto-recording apparatus to ensure that his words were recorded for all his crew to hear:
"Today is a good day to be an ant."
*****
The Benny Internet Adventures
BIA#2: 'The Least Dangerous Game'
Chapter 5: "Fight or Flight."
by Ron Murphy
*****
Benny twisted the steering column of the open-top skimmer and sent the vehicle into a steep dive. Purple explosions of light swept the air above them and she could feel a wave of intense heat burning the back of her neck.
"George!" Benny yelled over the sound of the wind whipping past their ears. "Put the damned top up!" Another wave of Krevari cruisers swept past and scored several hits along the passenger side of the skimmer, causing the yellow go-faster stripe to blacken and burn away.
"Oh, no! Robin just had the 'Maid Marian' detailed last week!" George leaned out of the open window and swatted at the smouldering paint.
Benny shot a withering look at the back of George's head. "Never mind, I'll do it."
She reached out and slapped at a control. From the rear of the vehicle, a skeletal wire frame emerged and attached itself to the top of the windshield. "George, what the hell is this?" Benny shouted as another series of purple explosions impacted the wire frame and showered the back seat with bits of melted metal.
George threw his hands up to protect his face as the explosions threw him back into his seat.
"What? Robin had it taken out, since it never rains here unless we, um, I mean the Society, want it to."
Benny rolled her eyes and sent the skimmer into another dive to avoid another group of the small Krevari ships on her left.
"Damn, they're herding us. They want their flagship to make the final kill."
George glanced around, his lower lip trembling. Tears were beginning to stream down his cheeks.
"We're going to die," he mumbled. "It's not even going to be a noble death, we're just going to die. I mean, at least I could have died trying to save you...."
Benny let out a deep breath, shook her head, then reached over and slapped him across the face, hard.
"Snap out of it, George. Look for something we can use to get out of this mess."
George rubbed his cheek, then gasped and snapped his fingers. "Of course, Robin always kept a spare in the glove compartment." He flipped down the plastic door and a fat black metallic cylinder rolled out onto the floor. George snatched it and held it up triumphantly. Silver metallic cursive writing adorned the side of the tube that read 'PocketMasters Mini Smart Missile by Retronix'.
"Stop trying to impress me and use the damn thing!" Benny shouted as she pulled up suddenly to avoid yet another wave of miniature cruisers. As she levelled out, a phalanx spearheaded by the brightly coloured Krevari flagship appeared from out of the sun and began raining purple death down on the skimmer. George turned the weapon over in his lap and pressed a button on the 10-digit keypad. A pleasant feminine voice purred from a speaker next to the keypad.
"Thank you for purchasing a Retronix Intelligent Weapons System. For information on other Retronix Weapons Systems, please press 'one' now. To activate your online user's manual, please press 'two' now. For voice activated target acquisition..."
"Hit 'three', hit 'three'!!" Benny shouted, reaching over and stabbing at the keypad. The ends of the tube extended with a soft whirring sound and the calm voice continued on.
"You have chosen 'voice activated target acquisition'. Please aim your Retronix Weapons System at your intended target, identify it, and the patented Retronix A.I. computer will do the rest." Benny looked over her shoulder. The flagship was diving down and closing fast.
"Take out that flagship, George. The other cruisers will pull back without their leader!"
George pointed the tube at the brightly coloured cruiser and shouted in a nervous, high-pitched voice, "That ship! The ship closest to us!"
"Target acquired....target locked." The soft female voice sounded almost pleased.
"Fire!" shouted both George and Benny. Smoke poured out of the front end of the tube as a small red-tipped missile launched out of the back and spun away out of sight.
"George, you idiot! You were pointing it the wrong way!" Benny twisted and turned the steering column to avoid the flagship's assault, but the cruiser homed in on them. Purple bolts sizzled across the back of the skimmer.
The vehicle lurched as smoke began pouring out of the back.
"I'm sorry," George cried and tossed the used launcher out the window. The wind caught the tube, bounced off the trunk of the skimmer and right into the path of the flagship.
As explosions go, it wasn't much of an explosion, but the results were dramatic. One of the flagship's winged nacelles fell off and caught on fire as the rest of the ship spiralled down to the ground. The rest of the Krevari cruisers broke off the attack and flew down to aid their wounded leader.
Benny levelled the skimmer out and looked around to assess the damage. Not too bad, though the engine was sputtering a bit. And there was something following them.
George had a shocked look on his face. "I saved us! Did I just save you from certain death?"
Benny grimaced as she turned the vehicle toward the crevasse. "Yes. Yes you did. But I'm not happy about it."
The skimmer entered the narrow passage, closely followed by the Retronix Smart Missile, which was now closing in fast on its new target.
To be continued.....