Two of the F-16s were still tracking with the big bomber, climbing and turning slightly to converge with the next pod as the B-2 continued on its course toward the same spot, still unseen in the night. During training, Jack and his fellow B-2 pilots had been told again and again not to put all their faith in the stealth technology. In theory it made them virtually invisible to radar, but there were certain angles where the plane showed up like a beacon, and then there was always good old-fashioned eyesight. The sky was getting ever so slightly brighter behind them, and soon the fighters would be coming up alongside the big bomber. If they got within a thousand feet of Martin and Jack then the plane would be painfully visible as a big black silhouette against the first light of dawn, and then things could only get ugly fast.

* * *

“Come on.” said Shahim, to no one in particular, as he continued his supersonic turn. He was monitoring the radar to see how many of his cohorts came in pursuit. But as he watched, it was clear that two of the fighters were staying on track to intercept the B-2.

He considered his options. He couldn’t risk the bomber being discovered. And neither could he waste all his fuel in some Mach 2 pursuit. He needed to get this chase over with so he could return and fend off the two planes descending on his colleagues.

He sighed in an unusually human gesture. As he had feared must happen, he reluctantly engaged attack options in his mind once more. Forgive me, he thought as he scrolled through the tactical options in his head. Selecting the most fuel-efficient attack plan, he felt his body tense up in preparation for battle. An instant later, his machine mind engaged.

* * *

They saw the plane break upward before they registered the speed with which it was doing so. The squadron leader instinctively matched the maneuver, as did Pelishar Five on his tail. Pelishar Three was too slow responding, though, and instead started a long loop to intercept their target once he came back down.

The squadron leader could feel his weight increase as the G-force drove him into his seat. The planes rose together, the two pursuers in a tight phalanx about half a mile behind their quarry as their rogue cohort screamed upward. But the climb was too hard and too fast, and the leader felt himself starting to black out as his cockpit alarms flared. He was about to pull out when the front plane started to airbrake.