//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 // Story: War Between Gods // by Verathuum //------------------------------// The massive Gluhwurmchen carrier hovered silently just inside Discordia’s borders. Already it had deployed several squadrons of small attack aircraft, many ground troops, and a single air support squadron, but more was needed. On its belly sat a LRB-37, a large delta-wing bomber aircraft, awaiting departure. In front of the bomber, but still inside the hangar awaited a large humanoid robot, a Type 7, as it underwent final preparations. As of now the Gluhwurmchen was launching three VTOL troop carriers destined for the heart of Discordia, the heart of the conflict. The LRB-37 was repositioned slightly so the windshield wasn’t obstructed by the Gluhmwurmchen’s metal, and the crew could begin final checks with their vehicle as the VTOLs and Type 7 depart. After the VTOL carriers had departed safely, a section of the Gluhwurmchen’s floor started glowing and the massive Type 7 humanoid robot fell through, and continued its long fall all the way to the ground. The Florians in the flight deck of the LRB-37 watched the massive robot make its fall. After the Type-7 was clear, the bomber’s nose began dipping towards the ground and stopped at about a thirty degree angle. The engines powered up and two electro magnets carried the large bomber off its rails and into the air where it flew away towards the battlefields. The LRB flew close to the ground, within five hundred feet of the rocky terrain, and leveled off. Its engines lit up as they pushed the heavy bomber to its destination, and Mach cones began appearing around the wings. Soon the LRB was traveling at supersonic speeds, using the sonic boom and its shockwaves to disrupt enemy ground troops. The pilot and bombardier immediately began coordinating with ground troops and other vehicles on where the bombs were required. “Air support teams, this is Tango Team. Air support is needed from point Alpha 0274. They’ve got us pinned down and we can’t advance any farther.” “Uhh…roger Tango. Dagger is about five minutes out. Sit tight, we’ll clear the carpet,” the bombardier replied. “Don’t hesitate to throw the balls to the wall, Dagger.” “Heading set, one five two,” the pilot said as the bombardier was flipping switches and selecting the type of bombs he wanted to use for this operation. Meanwhile the pilot had turned the LRB to the desired heading and continued smoothly. Soon the bomber reached its destination and it had slowed to subsonic speeds. “Shoot on the first pass,” the pilot said, “from the way they were talking we’d better clean this up fast. We haven’t got time to waste picking targets.” “I know,” the bombardier replied, “Better keep it steady.” “You know me,” the pilot laughed. The LRB leveled off and climbed to about two thousand feet above the ground and its belly opened up, releasing a barrage of small, but powerful explosives. At the same time small guns pointed at certain targets on the ground and began firing at things the bombs couldn’t reach. The bombs exploded on the ground, and everything within range of the small explosion of light was vaporized, and things beyond that were left with outlines of whatever the bombs had vaporized. As the LRB continued moving forward, its bombs swept across the ground, clearing whatever soldiers had been oppressing Tango Team. The bombs eventually stopped falling and the LRB began preparing for another drop. “How’s it look, Tango Team?” the bombardier asked over his radio. “Clear,” was the reply, “A few stragglers but we can handle them.” “Roger, good hunting,” the bombardier said and cut off his radio. “Should we check on the Type 7?” “I think so,” the pilot said, “Goodness knows what Tenner’ll get himself into.” “Alright. Looks like we’ll need a heading of three three two.” “Done.” The LRB made a one-eighty and was now pointed directly at area that the Type-7 was in. It powered up its engines to almost full power and made its supersonic journey over the rocky desert. About half way, a large group of objects appeared on the radar. “Shit,” the bombardier said, “Zulus inbound. Gotta be at least a hundred of them.” “Meteors?” “Yep.” “Damn. I thought we were through with those…at least this side of the world.” “I suggest we redirect to zero four zero to go around these things. It’ll add a few minutes but we’ll be dead otherwise.” “Alright, right to zero four zero.” The pilot turned left until he was pointed forty degrees northeast and leveled off. “Are we clear?” “Looks like it. I’ll let you know when we can proceed.” “Right.” The LRB kept on its northeast path and remained patiently. A small noise in the rear of the flight deck got the attention of the crewmembers and the pilot went back to investigate. Just as he was about to check the small restroom, but the bombardier called him forward. “Dammit, there’s more asteroids.” “Shit,” the pilot said as he ran to the front. But it was too late; the asteroids had just begun pouring down around them. Bright balls of fire rained down, at first missing the LRB, but a stray meteor struck the left wing. The aircraft buckled and listed hard to the left throwing the pilot against the wall and he collapsed on the ground. He quickly stood up but his right arm was clearly injured badly. Still he managed to grab ahold of the joystick and correct the plane’s attitude as best as he could. Another meteor struck the center, effectively tearing the nose from the wings. “Fuck!” was all the bombardier could say before he was already standing, and running for the hole in the rear. There wasn’t enough time for the two to open the emergency hatch, and the hole was already there. The pilot took longer to escape since he spent a good portion of his time helping the stowaway out as well. Luckily, she had her own set of wings so she wouldn’t need the pilot the entire way down.