The three enemy ships cooperated in an attack on the Ariel. Bearden swung his ship around and rushed it into the smoke screen.
He saw the huge bulk of the Tsing bear down upon him. He fired instinctively—and hit the control center.
Dodging aside as the Tsing fell past him, he missed the Tsin by inches. The pilot of the Tsin shot at the reinforcements of the Ariel’s right wing, loosening it.
For a few moments, he was alone, or, rather, the Ariel was alone. For he was at the control board in the War Building in the City of Franklin.
The Yuen, controlled by the master-pilot T’ang, rose up from beneath him, shot off the end of his left wing, and vanished into the mists of the smoke screen before the astonished Bearden was able to register a single hit.
He had better luck with the Tsin. When this swooped down on the Ariel, he disabled its firing control. Then, when this plane rose from beneath, intending to ram itself into the Ariel, Bearden dropped half his machine-guns overboard. They struck the Tsin, which exploded immediately.
Now only the Ariel and the Yuen remained! Master-pilot faced master-pilot.
Bearden placed a lucky shot in the Yuen’s rudder, but only partially disabled it.
Yuen threw more smoke-screen bombs overboard.
Bearden rose upward; no, he was still safe and sound in America, but the Ariel rose upward.