Zorzl Shlaneep (BOXCARS)

FULL TEXT*Zorzl "BOXCARS" Shlaneep sat in his cockpit, chewing a cigarette

He swallowed, then immediately started another one

He'd just cleaned out Sparky at craps, so normally he'd be feeling pretty good, but this was going to be hia first combat mission in the Bullfrog and that made him nervous

He understood why they needed a new machine

Hell, he'd lost good friends to the Crotch Rocket

But the young jedi had never jad a problem grabbing a comet by the tail, and this thing made him feel like he was flying a bathtub

By the Old Ones he wished they'd settle on a new fighter

Boxcars was lucky all his life

On the day he was born a jedi had walked into his little village

The man had told his parents of his Great Gift, and trained him in the ways of Augustus Sol Invictus

A great sage from across the stars whose name, in his own tongue, meant the Wise and Unconquered Sun

The Great Friend to thr Groomshi, who had sacrificed himself that they might awaken

There were many stories around his death, but if you kept your eyes open it was pretty clear yhe B Team had killed him

His teachings had kept Boxcars safe throughout the war

He was not afraid to die, for he knew that he would pass into the great stream of The Force, like the jedi who had gone before him

When he closed his eyes he could feel them all around him

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">This machine though

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">The Bullfrog, they called it.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">This made him uneasy

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">He went through the dials again. So effin many of them

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">He'd barely been out of the air 4 hours, but he might have to go sgain at any minute

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">They were scrambling constantly, waiting for those super-powered party kids to come bail them out

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">He checked the roster. He was next up under Flight Sargent Michangan "PIGEON" Krark

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Named after a mythical raptor of old earth that could home to its prey from across the whole world

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">She'd lived up to the name pretty well, too, with one of the highest Bomber scores in the fleet

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">She didn't always bring much of her team back though

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Boxy sighed and ate another cigarette. He'd heard she'd been a huge opponent of changing out the Crotch Rocket

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Forflap hsd insisted though. The CRs could fall on a capital ship like a swarm of angry bees. They'd lose a few, but never enough

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Against those eeker fighters though it was more like being a school of fish against a pod of dolphins

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">He shuddered at the memory, ate another cigarette, and suddenly there was the scramble

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">In an instant the rest of his flight was in their Crotch Rockets, roaring to go.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">He'd follow along in the prototype, covering them

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">One by one they launched, six demons powered by adrenaline, amphetamines, and nuclear engines.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Then the Bullfrog was up

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Its engine roared like a dragon and shot off into space, leaving Boxy and thr back half of his ship sitting on the runway

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">He ate another cigarette, punched out, and went to bed.

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