"Good hit!" exclaimed Firebird. Then her face tensed. "He's going to ram us. Get his steering runner."
The blazing sled was hurtling towards them at terrific speed now. It was impossible to turn aside so that the enemy could not follow easily. Firebird tried it and the other sled changed to a new collision course.
Nathan fired again. Then a shot pierced their own housing as Firebird tried to weave out of the collision course. It made shooting difficult for Nathan but he put another shot into the motor of the enemy.
The blazing comet of the enemy sled was less than three hundred feet away now. Firebird could have turned tail to avoid collision, but that was apparently what the enemy wanted. His own position was increasingly desperate with the flames licking about the cabin and threatening the fuel tank.
Firebird kept weaving and brought out her own lance. She tried to hit the pilot, but her shots went wild.
"Stop weaving," said Nathan. "I've got to get a bead on that runner or we'll have to turn tail."
"It'll be your last shot," said Firebird, but she complied. Her slim hands held the sled steadily on a course towards the flaming wreckage that bore down upon them like a meteor.
Nathan raised in his seat and aimed carefully. He pressed the trigger. It was a hit. The steering runner of the enemy collapsed. The blazing sled reared end over end into the air hurtling towards them with the force of its momentum.
Firebird gave the wheel a mighty jerk and swerved aside as the wreckage plummeted into the space they had just vacated.
For moments they simply drove forward without saying anything as they lost speed.