Typical Header Stuff:  

     Even though most of these give you about as much coverage
as a g-string on a stripper, I'm going to play it safe and include
it anyway...

Wait a sec here.... I don't have to do that for this story... 
everyone who appears in it is MINE!!!!  This story tells about 
certain events alluded to during Episode 5 of wandering moon.

The Wanderer:  Wandering Moon:  Interlude: Turn and Burn


     In the Ginza, chaos seemed to have broken loose.  Or a very very
crazy modeler.  From what the police were able to gather from 
witnesses later, a two meter long model of a several year old anime
had been cutting in between buildings and generally scaring the 
population.  The best descriptions had come from younger salaryman,
whom the police figured had been rabid fans of the show when it was
on TV.  Then there were the reports of the military being on a 
heightened alert status, and reports of the model being sighted
by civilian air traffic.  The general consensus soon became a fear
that whatever it was that caused the strangeness that plagued the 
Juuban district was spreading.  Those that could put out general
feelers about finding other employment, while the rest quietly wished
they had chosen a different career path.

     The cause of all the commotion was, at that moment, enjoying
the fine thin air at 10,000 feet.  Star Ranger looked down at the 
island of Japan, spread out below him like a picture.  At the moment,
he was feeling rather guilty for the flying stunt he had pulled down
in the Ginza.  It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but it had
sort of gotten out of hand.  He hadn't been flying for the sheer sake
of it for a while.  He turned the thought over in his head and 
decided that it hadn't been since he had been torn from his home 
dimension, at least.  Not that he hadn't taken to the air since then,
but the times after that had all been because he had to, not because
he wanted to.  Flying for its own sake was a different breed of 
animal entirely.  No mission objective, no way points, and especially
no one trying to kill you!  Just open sky, allowing one to become
one with his thoughts.

     'You must become one with your aircraft if you ever expect to be
a truly great pilot,'  The words of his first flight instructor
echoed in his head, provoking a moment of irony.  One couldn't
become more one with his plane than Star Ranger was now!  No one had
ever understood it, because the probe he had merged with wasn't 
designed for what had happened.  Propelled Jumps, yes, but true 
flight?  And taking the shape of a plane while in flight, defiantly
NOT!  The best explanation anyone had every been able to come up with
was it was a result of the merging.  Then again, strictly speaking,
causing two pieces of matter to occupy the same place at the same 
time should have resulted in a rather fatal explosion.

     >>!!!!!!!<<  The robotic side of him had been trying to get his
attention for a little while now.  Star sighed and turned his 
attention to it.

     <<Yes???>>

     >>Two aircraft approaching rapidly on an intercept course.
Radio intercepts indicate high probability of hostile intent.  
Update: we are now being tracked by an airborne search radar.  Radar
has locked on and shifted to fire control mode.<<

     <<Looks like they aren't happy.  Let me hear what they are 
saying.>>

     #Attention unidentified aircraft.  This is Colonel Mizuno of the
JSDF.  You are in violation of Japanese airspace and are under arrest
for violating air safety regulations.  Acknowledge this transmission
and come with us or we will be forced to open fire.  This is your 
last warning.#

     #Come with you or get shot down, eh?  I think I'll choose C, 
none of the above!#  With that, Star Ranger broke down and away from
his pursuers, who followed him through the maneuver.  'Hmmm.  This
could be fun.  I haven't been in a 2v1 fight since I got shot down.
Of course, they have another advantage in that I don't really wanna
hurt them.'  #Tell ya what Colonel.  Get a cannon shot in on me and
I'll surrender.  If I get both of you first, you let me go.#

     #One of you against two of the best pilots in the JSDF?  We 
accept your challenge!#

     #Are you equipped with A-Miles?*# Star Ranger replied.

     #Yes.#

     #Good.  That will make scoring easy.#  With that comment,
Star Ranger pulled up into a booster climb, pulling away from the 
JSDF fighters and gaining an altitude advantage.

     <<Any idea what sort of plane's their flying??>>

     >>Analysis of radar signature indicates F-15 E Strike Eagles.<<

     Star Ranger cut his boosters and tumbled over, slashing back 
down between the two pursuing fighters, his simulated cannon firing.

     #DAMN!  Lead, 2.  He got me on that pass.  Breaking off.#

     Col. Mizuno swore to himself as he wrenched the heavy fighter
over the top and down after his quarry.   #Understood.  Remain in the
area in case this ronin decides to dishonor himself by breaking
our agreement.#  He worked through a high  yo-yo and managed to slip
onto the attackers tail as his wingman acknowledged the order.  His
quarry was just out of gun range, but Col. Mizuno felt he had gained
the initiative and added a touch more power to close the range.

     Star Ranger waited until just before his attacker got into gun
range before suddenly reversing the turn.  To Col. Mizuno it seemed
as if the blip marking his quarry suddenly vanished of his radar 
screen.  Cursing, he pulled his fighter up into an Immellman turn to
allow his radar to re-acquire the target.  It took a radio call to 
the orbiting radar plane to find it, as his target was now diving
for lower altitudes.  Smiling grimly, he pulled the plane into a 
steep dive to catch up.  As he expected, his elusive enemy suddenly
started to pull up, but Col. Mizuno was ready for this, yanking
back on his stick and feeling the G-forces slam him down into the 
seat.  His vision began to gray from the heavy g's he was pulling,
but he fought off the effects and made his way back onto the tail of
his turning quarry.

     Both combatants lost speed quickly during the tight turn.  At 
just above Col. Mizuno's stall speed, Star Ranger suddenly cut his 
engines and fired his breaking jets.  He started to spins as his 
wings stalled out, but then Col. Mizuno's Eagle was past and Star 
Ranger poured back on the power, recovering quickly and sliding
into perfect position for the kill.  From Col. Mizuno's viewpoint,
it was almost as if his target stooped dead in the air as he swept
past.  He swore as his A-Miles gear began registering hits to his 
engines, a lethal hit in real life.

     #Nice Try, Colonel,#  Star Ranger taunted as he dropped down out
of view and raced clear of the area.  #Maybe next time.... NOT!#

     Col. Mizuno just wondered how he would explain his shame to his
superiors as his wingman formed up on him and he turned for home.
 ----------

This is a side story to Wandering Moon.  It started out as the 
opening scene to Episode 5, but was originally cut because it didn't
advance the plot.  I decided to finish writing it in case someone
wondered just what the heck FRED and Raye were referring too...

* A-Miles:  a fictional adaptation of the US Army's Miles gear for 
dogfighting.