"Warp clear! Punchers, separate and avoid incoming fire!"

Nice to get a little warning, I thought as I hit the disengage switch and pulled my stick hard to the left. The feedback felt nice, offsetting the jar of the incoming shots finding my shields. My hands found their way to the controls, switching my jets to full burn and telling the targeting system to begin acquisition. I could hear the Captain already giving orders, but I knew the drill by now and didn?t need prompting.

"Punchers One and Two, flank the main group. Don't get into direct combat, concentrate on determining the size of the force. And try to find out where their warp location is, we'll try to cut it off. Punchers Four and Five, acquire your targets and try not to get boxed in. Change modes as necessary. Bridges!"

"Here, sir," came a rumble in return. It sounded like a mountain trying to speak and I was grateful I had Virus tinker with his mic. Without taking off at least some of that bass, Bridges over headphones would already have given me a headache. "Laying down covering fire now."

"Very good. Star Punchers, you have your orders. Carry them out!"

I rocketed toward the main enemy group, which had already started breaking off their attack on the Olgan defenses and had turned their attention to us. At least someone down there would survive. I looked to one side and saw that Dandy was already ahead of me, eager as usual to get started.

"Come along, Bean," he shouted over the comm, obviously enjoying the ride. ?Don't be left behind. After all, we wouldn"t want to disappoint our hosts after the trouble they went through."

I just shook my head. It was always hard to tell what Dandy enjoyed more, the excitement of battle, the knowledge that we were saving lives, or the sheer thrill of being on display. Knowing him, he'd probably say the latter. Biggest show-off I know.

But I didn't have much time to worry about it. Ships surrounded me now, so I let loose with everything I had. A battle against a Jumper fleet tended to be an exercise in chaos. We still had no idea how the Jumpers handled tactics, but it seemed much looser than anything our side used. They may have had weapons that kicked the collective asses of most of our forces, but when it came down to a fight you weren't fighting one fleet. You were fighting individuals, every one with their own style of combat. An inflexible pilot doesn't last long against the Jumpers.

klaammm!!!

Case in point, I thought, as what felt like a concussion knocked my ship sideways. I swung my aft guns to port and let loose, turning the ship that had tried to ram me into plasma. Bastards! You wanna fight dirty? We'll fight dirty!

I spun the ship around, firing almost randomly to give myself space, then accelerated into the first space that opened up. It only took that much to free me, and I was pulling on the transformation lever and pushed myself back into my seat to let the mechanisms do their work.

So for most of the time humanity was in space, the craft which flew there took little advantage of most of the abilities available to them. The basic form, even a hundred years later, was still based largely on the form of an atmospheric fighter jet, which most pilots of earlier days had first become accustomed to and understood.

But in space, there are tactics which a fighter cannot accomplish, even one fitted out for micrograv. So another, older form was taken, as soon as the technology was available. One which was intimately familiar to every fighter pilot to ever tread space.

I always shut my eyes during mode changes, something which Sarah never failed to make fun of me for. This time, of course, was no exception.

"Oh, Reggie, you know you should pay attention while you're fighting."

"Oh, be quiet. What do you know about it?"

A giggle came over the comm. "I know a more enjoyable time when you always close your eyes, darling. Is that what you're doing right now? Naughty, naughty!"

An involuntary blush came over me, while my comm became crowded with three voices laughing at my discomfort and the Captain ordering everyone to pay attention to the battle. I kept my mouth shut and turned my attention forward, now that I was ready to fight again.

I knew I was quite a sight. There I was, over forty feet tall, a humanoid machine ready to kick ass and take names. And I didn't give a damn what their names were.

There were times I wished space wasn't a vacuum. This was one of them. I felt like there should be some sound as I raked the nearest ships with charged shells, piercing energy-based shields and shredding armour in a very satisfying way. 'Bot mode always brought out the bloodlust in me and I screamed to compensate. To avoid having to give up the spotlight, Dandy screamed with me and together we cut a wide path through the rush of incoming ships.

"If I may interrupt your enjoyment," said a very calm voice. "I have completed my task and am ready to report."

"Go ahead Sensor," the Captain replied. "Bean and Dandy are quite done, I suspect. Although they may continue to fight while you report."

"Very good. Virus' results mirror mine, I have checked with him first. This is a light wave as they do not seem to be taking this system very seriously. I expect that, at the rate we are removing their ships from combat, they will soon retreat in order to report and alert a larger force. However, there are too many ships to allow an attack on their point of warp."

The Captain paused for a moment, considering his options. "Very well, Sensor, Virus, join the battle, but try to stay out of the main group. You don't have the protection Bean and Dandy do. Bridges, increase covering fire and move us in closer. Sarah, are you able to take the controls and keep your cameras active at the same time? I will need to watch the next phase closely, and will not be able to fly effectively."

"Of course, Captain. You don't need to worry about it. The cameras aren't nearly as important as the team."

I smiled. The Captain wasn't a fool, and he knew that Sarah was a damn good pilot, possibly better than he was. He'd seen Jumper retreats enough times before to know every movement, he just wanted Sarah at the controls because she'd be able to get Bridges and his big guns closer than he could.

"AAAARRRRAAAAA!!!!" I screamed, and opened fire with all I had. After all, wasn't this worth the trip"