Night fell low. Endless darkness swallowed the last trace of sunset on Canopy Star's horizon like a hungry beast, leaving heaven and earth as dark and oppressive as ink.
Just then, beneath the deep darkness of Canopy Star's night sky, a black Medivac was struggling desperately through the night like a frightened, lonely hawk.
It kept darting up and down, diving low one moment, rolling the next, then climbing sharply as it performed all manner of dizzying and unthinkable maneuvers.
But it was no use!
No matter how hard it tried, the dozen or so Terra fighters from Horus's fleet behind it clung to its tail like maggots, following close behind and refusing to let it go.
They were fighters, after all, and no slower than the Medivac. On top of that, there were more than a dozen of them, while the Medivac was just one transport. Escaping the pursuit, encirclement, and interception of those wolf-like enemy aircraft was obviously no easy feat.
Whoosh—!
Whoosh—! Whoosh—!
Beneath the night sky, the Terra fighters—with their rugged, angular frames gleaming with a cold, dangerous metallic sheen—streaked through the darkness at astonishing speed. They relentlessly attacked the Medivac ahead, which was racing through the sky in a series of rolls, with everything from conventional autocannons and energy lasers to particle weapons and missiles.
More than a dozen fighters were ganging up on one, looking determined not to stop until they blasted the Medivac out of the sky.
Fortunately!
The Medivac's pilot, Gao Lanlan, was a seasoned veteran with exceptional skill. Faced with the Extremis of being shot down at any moment, she didn't panic. Her eyes sharp and her teeth clenched, she gripped the controls with both hands and concentrated on piloting the already sluggish transport, relying on her own superb technique and