He was about to pull away from the craft to his front and try to eye the new assault coming up his back when his own Tomcat was thrown forward as if it were a toy. The tail section was pushed down and the nose went straight up. The twin vertical stabilizers were sheared away as if they were made of eggshell. In the split second before the cockpit was engulfed in flames, Derringer saw the second ship as it rammed him. The F-14 Tomcat disintegrated into a million pieces as the force of the impact, combined with its speed, pulled the plane apart. The wreckage scattered into the wind and pieces of debris fell smoking to a watery grave below.

Another strange light, this time bluish in color, shot forward from the second saucer and engulfed the first. The two ships were now encased in a giant silver-blue sphere.

USS Carl Vinson

We've lost contact with the two bandits, sir."

Harris made no comment. He watched as the single blip of one of his fighters suddenly lit the screen. It was losing altitude fast.

"Sir, Range Rider Two has declared an emergency, both engines are out," the radio operator called, finally hearing the distress calls from Ryan.

"Where in the hell is Range Rider lead?" Harris asked.

"Only Rider Two is on the scope, sir. Our Alert One aircraft are almost to the intercept point."

"Nothing on the two targets?" Harris asked.

"No, sir. They have gone completely off the scope. Shiloh verifies also."

Silence filled the Combat Direction Center as Harris moved for the bridge phone, but placed it back in its cradle when he heard the announcement to launch rescue choppers. Harris stood in silence. His hand moved to his chin and he closed his eyes. "What in the hell just happened?"

***

The Tomcat was falling too damn fast, Ryan thought. He had tried to ignite his engines twice with no luck. His panel was still brightly lit, but for reasons he couldn't understand, the big GE engines wouldn't fire. There was nothing left for the bird to do but fall from the sky.