“Blue One-Four-Seven, hold steady as I come back around.”
“Copy that. Holding steady, Gold Five-Nine-Zero.”
“Descending at a rate of ten-thousand—wait! Blue One, you’ve got a Glider on your tail! Bank right, now.”
“Uh, negative, Gold Five. I don’t see it. I’m not seeing him!”
“He’s there. Turn now, he’s got a lock on you!”
“Banking right!”
“He missed! Yes. Good flying, Blue One.”
“I’m looping back so he can’t get a lock on me again.”
“Better move fast. I count at least three more unfriendlies headed our way.”
“Copy. Switching to long-range laser. Doubling my shields. You should do the same, Gold Five.”
“On it. Be careful. This is where we always screw up.”
“Don’t remind me. Hold! What’s that to our right?”
“I can’t see. I’ve got a blind spot. What do you see, Blue One?”
“Are those reinforcements ahead? Yeah. I’m sure of it! There are five—no, six—ally ships at three o’clock.”
“Adjusting coordinates. Headed to join our team. Following, Blue One?”
“You better bet I—whoa! Gold Five, it’s a trap! They’re firing on us!”
“Pull out, Blue One! Pull—Ack! Darn it. We’re dead. We lost again.”
“Sorry, Pete. I thought we’d win this time.”
“No biggie. We can play again tomorrow night, after I’m done my homework and chores. Meet online at eight? And, Tom? Think of a new strategy. There’s got to be a way to defeat this video game.”
“Signing off.”
©Laura L. Zimmerman 2018
Photo by Taylor Leopold on Unsplash