He forced himself to focus on operating the gun and, as the first enemy fighter shot toward them, instinct took over as all hell broke loose.
Seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like they had passed so quickly it made no difference. The first fighter was in range before he realized and was shot down, the body of the aircraft exploding into debris overhead.
And then it continued. One after another, Oren called the fighters and Domik shot them down. Wave after wave of fighters falling from the sky. T’arq and Krystal did their fair share with the stealth shuttle, too.
One after another, they shot at the Xakul fighters, which seemed to come at them in an unending wave. Theirs wasn’t the only gun of this type on the base. There were another half dozen scattered around the perimeter.
The first to be destroyed by a Xakul ship exploded in a fireball that shot tens of meters into the sky. The shock wave shook the walls of their bunker and Domik gritted his teeth and kept firing.
The Xakul soon changed their tactics and began flying at the guns from directly into the sun, making it difficult to see.
One after another, the big guns were destroyed until it was just Domik and Oren left. And still they fired.
I made her a promise. And I will not break it.
Domik let loose a harrowing howl that shook the surrounding air, gripping the controls tightly as his hands flew faster than they had before.
I am coming for you, Clodagh. Life is nothing without you.
Again and again he fired, until one made it past all his shots, flying like a demon this ship kept coming, the black shape menacing as Domik gritted his teeth and bellowed his rage as he fired shot after shot.
“Two hundred meters!” Oren shouted from behind him.
Domik fired, over and over again.
“One hundred!”
A shot clipped the wing of the enemy ship, but it corrected and still came at them.
“Fifty!”
And then it was there. Almost on top of them. Domik threw everything the gun had at the fighter as it flew toward them, letting loose a battle cry like nothing he had ever screamed before.
A shot finally struck home, tearing the fighter in two and sending the debris flying. But half of the shuttle kept coming for them, toppling end over end as it wrought a path of destruction towards them.
“Brace for impact!” Domik shouted, showing his hands up in a futile attempt to protect himself from impact.
